Psychology Commons^™

Hoping As A Transformational Imperative In Puerto Rico: A Phenomenological And Grounded Theory Study Within Colonized Space, José Luiggi-Hernández

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the United States continues to restrict Puerto Rico’s self-determination and imposes oppressive institutions such as the Oversight Board, the people of the archipelago live in precarity and hopelessness. Limited psychological research on colonialism has focused on the detrimental impact of oppression and its influence on the development of fatalism and the inferiority complex. On the other hand, existing psychological theories of hope fail to describe how it is lived within the post-colonial context and to explain the ways in which this psychological phenomenon arises even in the face of systematic dehumanization. As Puerto Ricans show evident signs of hope …

Maladjustment Among Victims Of Bullying, Jack Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying has garnered attention from educators, social scientists, and the public at large for nearly 50 years, but the dilemma persists. We have seen that bullying is a high-risk factor for psychological adjustment across the lifespan. The current study has surveyed college students to ascertain their perceptions of adjustment in adult life. The study has added to the existing literature in addressing the role of reduced perceived control in the maladjustment of bully victims. A novel contribution was made by comparing the strength of this potential mediator to another documented correlate of poor adjustment among bullying victims, thwarted belonging.

Initial Examination Of The Mental Health Disorders: Screening Instrument For Athletes, Brad C. Donohue, Jesse Scott, Grace Goodwin, Kimberly Barchard, Greg Bohall, Daniel N. Allen

Psychology Faculty Research

Introduction: There is a need to psychometrically develop assessment instruments capable of screening mental health disorders in athlete populations. The current study was conducted to determine reliability, validity and clinical utility of the Mental Health Disorders Screening Instrument for Athletes (MHDSIA).

Methods and results:: 259 collegiate athletes completed the MHDSIA. Factor analysis determined a single factor with good internal consistency, and this factor was positively correlated with an established measure of psychiatric symptomology (Symptom Checklist 90-R), demonstrating its concurrent validity. An optimum clinical cutoff score (i.e., 32) was determined using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses to assist appropriate mental health …

Using Motivation To Assess Affective States Of Captive Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) In Response To Visitor Presence And Crowd Size In A Walk-Through Zoo Exhibit, Julia King

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how visitor presence influences affective states of captive red kangaroos housed in a walk-through zoo exhibit by using motivation to consume a food reward in desired vs undesired locations and with/without an additional challenge feeder as a proxy for affective state, while considering individual variation and personality.

Age And Sex Of Wild Asian Elephants Observed In And Around Protected Areas In Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Leah D. Wersebe

Theses and Dissertations

This study observed the wild Asian elephant population in and around Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary and found a greater proportional presence of adults and subadults than calves and infants per observation, and a greater proportion of males than females outside of the protected area compared to inside the protected area.

The Contribution Of Syntactic Awareness To Vocabulary Learning, Harry M. Steves

Theses and Dissertations

We explore the relationship between syntactic awareness and vocabulary learning, targeting parts of speech, punctuation, and relative clauses. Performance on a syntactic awareness questionnaire correlated with performance on low-difficulty vocabulary learning involving nonsense words. Base vocabulary had a significant effect on the contribution of syntactic awareness to vocabulary learning.

Black College Students Perceptions Of The Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate, Rickae Rodney

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored Black college students’ perceptions of COVID-19 related mandates. Black college students with higher perceptions of racism, stronger ethnic identity, and greater distrust in science were expected to have more negative attitudes about COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates. Results varied when relationships were tested.

Seasonal Crop Foraging Habits Of Asian Elephants And The Response Of Farmers Near The Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Scott J. Gulizio

Theses and Dissertations

The consequences of human-elephant-conflict are of concern to a range of interests, including conservation, animal welfare, and socio-economic initiatives. Loss of crops due to elephants is a particularly contentious issue and a multitude of elephant deterrents have been tried to help prevent or diminish crop-foraging. This study examines the seasonal crop-foraging habits of Asian elephants just outside of Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Specifically, we sought to analyze when the elephants would forage crops, for how long, and how farmer presence affected this behavior. Additionally, to better understand patterns of deterrent use, we cataloged which deterrents were deployed by the farmers …

Csf1r Regulates Schizophrenia-Related Stress Response And Vascular Association Of Microglia/Macrophages, Ling Yan, Yanli Li, Fengmei Fan, Mengzhuang Gou, Fangling Xuan, Wei Feng, Keerthana Chithanathan, Wei Li, Junchao Huang, Hongna Li, Wenjin Chen, Baopeng Tian, Zhiren Wang, Shuping Tan, Alexander Zharkovsky, L Elliot Hong, Yunlong Tan, Li Tian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Microglia are known to regulate stress and anxiety in both humans and animal models. Psychosocial stress is the most common risk factor for the development of schizophrenia. However, how microglia/brain macrophages contribute to schizophrenia is not well established. We hypothesized that effector molecules expressed in microglia/macrophages were involved in schizophrenia via regulating stress susceptibility.

METHODS: We recruited a cohort of first episode schizophrenia (FES) patients (n = 51) and age- and sex-paired healthy controls (HCs) (n = 46) with evaluated stress perception. We performed blood RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and brain magnetic resonance imaging, and measured plasma level of colony stimulating …

The African American Dream Deferred: Exploring The Relationship Between The “American Dream” And The Black American Millennial Reality, Simonleigh P. Miller

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this qualitative study is to highlight and bring understanding to the lived experiences of Black American millennials. This study was conducted from the constructivist and critical research paradigms and utilized Reflexive Thematic Analysis methods to analyze qualitative data. The study places specific focus on Black or African American millennials’ associated thoughts and feelings regarding their current reality and positionality within the American context, and its relation to the idealized reality of the American Dream. The influence of the American Dream on the African American millennial reality was explored to gain a better understanding of how, or if …

Caregiver Burden: Support Needed For Those Who Support Others And The National Health Service, Michael Stephanou

Patient Experience Journal

This literature review focuses on the complexities and inequalities of informal caregiving in the UK and was inspired by the story of the following individual: EL is a 68-year-old Caucasian lady who attended Movement Disorder Clinic and was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease Dementia following many years of symptoms. The diagnosis came as a big relief to EL and her daughter (SL) who were eager to get treatment started as soon as possible. EL lives alone with SL and solely relies on her for care and support. SL does not have children and devotes her daily routine to looking after her …

Toward A Comprehensive, Data-Driven Model Of American Political Goals: Recognizing The “Values” And “Vices” Within Both Liberalism And Conservativism, Brian P. Meier, Benjamin Wilkowski, Emilio Rivera, Laverl Williamson, Erika Dimariano, Adam Fetterman

Psychology Faculty Publications

When a person indicates they are “liberal” or “conservative,” an important part of what they are communicating is their goals for how they would like society to be structured. However, past theories have described these goals in dramatically different fashions, suggesting that either conservativism or liberalism reflects a divisive or unifying goal. To help overcome this impasse, this research team systematically compared a broad, representative sample of all possible higher-order goals (drawn a previous lexical investigation of more than 1,000 goals) to the political ideology of American adults (total n = 1,588). The results of five studies suggested that proposals …

Participant Acceptability Of Questionnaires Impacts Sexual Victimization Prevalence Rates, Raeann E. Anderson, Erica L. Goodman, Emily M. Carstens Namie

Psychology Faculty Publications

Obtaining accurate prevalence rates of sexual violence is made difficult by discrepancies in self-report questionnaires. Thus, the current study sought to explore participants’ perceptions of acceptability (i.e., perceived difficulty and preference) as a potential mechanism of discrepancy between different questionnaires. Participants were 673 college students who completed two frequently used sexual victimization questionnaires, the Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Victimization (SES-SFV) and the Post-Refusal Sexual Persistence Scales-Victimization (PRSPS-V). Participants then answered questions about each measure’s perceived difficulty and their preference between the two. Participants found the PRSPS-V easier to understand and preferred it 2.5 to 1 over the SES-SFV. Preference was …

Tell Me, Do You Feel It Too? A Meta-Analysis Of Dyadic Emotional Contagion In The Workplace, Stefanie Fox

Dissertations and Theses

Emotional contagion influences multiple important individual and organizational outcomes, including burnout, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behaviors, and task performance. The current meta-analytic review utilizes Barsade and colleagues' model of emotional contagion in organizational life and Van Kleef's emotions as social information model, creating a theoretically and empirically based examination of emotional contagion in organizational dyads covering the past 30 years of research. It offers nuance to traditional positive and negative affect conceptualization by utilizing Van Kleef's four social emotion categories (i.e., affiliation, appeasement, dominance, supplication) along with general positive and negative valanced emotional expressions as antecedents of emotional contagion. Using …

Identifying Associations Between The Family Environment And Anxiety And Depression Among Children Ages 0-17 In The United States, Reagan A. Richardson, Nicole M. Holt

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This study analyzes whether physical, emotional & neurological, family environment, or community-related factors display the strongest association with anxiety and depression among children ages 0-17 in the United States.

Using IBM SPSS v. 27, we conducted a univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis on data from the 2017 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) with a sample size of 21,599. Our independent variables included 30 questions from the NSCH which were compared to a mental health index score.

Our study shows that about 10.6% of children suffer from either anxiety, depression, or both, and the univariate model found that 19 …

Meaningful Work, Sarah Stepanek, Megan Paul, Danielle Crawford

Umbrella Summaries

What is meaningful work?

Meaningful work is defined as “work experienced as particularly significant and holding more positive meaning for individuals” (Rosso et al., 2010, p. 95). In general, meaningful work is considered to be work and work accomplishments that are viewed as valuable, worthwhile, and aligning with one’s values (Allan et al., 2018). Current theory suggests that meaningful work tends to result from self-actualization or from working towards a higher purpose (Lepisto & Pratt, 2016). More specifically, meaningful work may come from feeling a sense of unity with other people, serving others, from developing oneself, or from working towards …

Relationships Between Burnout, Isolation, Secondary Trauma, And Self-Compassion In Mental Health Providers, Michael Underiner Psyd, Rodger K. Bufford, Mary Peterson Phd, Daniel Rodriquez Psyd

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Burnout is a common challenge among mental health professionals It is the main catalyst for professional misconduct (Morse, et al., 2012) and common among mental health professionals (Prime, et al., 2020; Sampiao, et al, 2021; Simionato & Simpson, 2018). COVID-19 increased social isolation, decreased social support, and strained family systems among mental health practitioners increasing risk (Prime, et al., 2020; Sampaio, et al., 2021). Social distancing also diminished systemic resources and increased reliance on personal resources for coping. Ongoing vicarious trauma increased, thus fostering burnout (McBride, et al., 2020; Shoji et al., 2016). Self-compassion is proposed as a possible solution …

"Next Year Is Our Year": An Examination Of Sport Fandom Of Perennial Loser Teams, Ethan Puckett

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study set out to examine the relationships between NFL team success and various fan traits like grit, global and collective self-esteem, team fandom, and sport fandom. The main hypotheses of this study were that fans of perennial loser NFL teams would demonstrate significantly higher levels of grit, sport fandom, and team fandom than fans of more successful teams and significantly lower levels of global and collective self-esteem than fans of more successful fans. Participants were recruited via online forums as well as in person via Western Kentucky University’s Study Board. There were a total of 85 participants, all of …

The Impact Of Beliefs About Emotions On Emotion Regulation & Psychological Health, Sarah Brock

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examined the effects of different beliefs about emotions (controllability vs. control value) on emotion regulation strategies and psychological health, specifically depression. Little research has examined how different types of beliefs about emotions may interact to impact the emotion regulation strategies they implement, whether that be cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, or acceptance. Online questionnaires measuring beliefs about emotion controllability, emotion control values (i.e., whether emotions should be controlled), emotion regulation, psychological health, and coping strategies were completed by 164 participants (117 females; 42 males; 4 non-binary). The participants ranged from 18 to 33 years old. The study found evidence …

How Gender Roles Impact The Social Perceptions Of Sexual Assault, Autumn Zwakenberg

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study set out to examine how different factors such as the gender of the victim, the gender of the perpetrator, and the scenario of sexual assault, can influence an outsider’s opinion of the sexual assault. There were two main hypotheses: the first is male and female participants would perceive the push-away scenario as sexual assault at equal rates, but significantly more female participants would perceive the victim allowing the perpetrator to unbuckle their pants scenario as sexual assault. The second is male and female participants would view the male perpetrator scenarios as sexual assault equally, but significantly more female …

Associations Between Parenting Styles & Parental Self-Efficacy, Brian Richards

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is an association between parenting styles and parental self-efficacy using a United States sample. One hundred twentytwo parents with at least one child between the ages of 5 and 12 years were recruited for the study. Participants were asked to complete a survey with measures for parenting styles and parental self-efficacy as well as demographic information. Results indicated that authoritative parenting style was positively correlated with parental self-efficacy; while authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved styles were negatively correlated. There is a need to replicate these findings to increase confidence that the …

An Existential Punchline: How Humor Functions In A Young Adult Friendship Facing Advanced Cancer, Megan E. Solberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young adults (i.e., age 18-39) only comprise 4% of the total cancer population, yet cancers in this group are commonly found at more advanced stages due to situational factors influencing delayed diagnosis including access to healthcare, quality health insurance and competing life demands that may hinder prioritization of healthcare. Young adults with cancer also face unique challenges including higher rates of psychological distress, which may contribute to increased risk of social disconnection in response to cancer. Research suggests that humor may be a helpful coping approach and communication mechanism for mitigating distress and discussing difficult topics. Grounded within the frameworks …

The Words. Or Holes. Or Both: Writing As An Integrative Methodology For Trauma, Daniel A. Castle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project seeks to identify methods authors have used to integrate their traumatic experiences. My work will analyze the genre of War Literature and specific authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and Kurt Vonnegut to explore the way writers describe the trauma of combat. Using insights from neuroscience and psychology, I will expand the field of Cognitive Literary Studies from a focus on the reader to a focus on the writer by linking neurological functions with narrative tools.

Examining Access To Decent Work Among Women Veterans: A Psychology Of Working Theory Perspective, Rebecca C. Gaines

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated predictors of decent work among a sample of women Veterans (N = 354), grounded in the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT). A structural equation model demonstrated that women Veterans’ experiences of marginalization, economic constraints, work volition, and career adaptability all directly predicted their ability to secure decent work, and economic constraints and marginalization experiences indirectly predicted decent work via work volition. Proactive personality was additionally examined as a moderator variable and did not significantly moderate any model paths; however, it was found to be a unique predictor of decent work and work volition, as well …

Counselors’ Spirituality, Attitudes Toward Suicide, And Self-Efficacy In Conducting Suicide Risk Assessment, Tayler Hendrix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between perceived spiritual support and counselor self-efficacy in conducting suicide risk assessment, and the moderating effects of attitudes about suicide on this relationship. Based on existing theory and empirical evidence, perceived spiritual support was hypothesized to have a positive predictive relationship with counselor self-efficacy in performing suicide risk assessment; further, four different constructs pertaining to attitudes toward suicide were also hypothesized to moderate the strength and direction of this relationship. A sample of Master’s level clinicians and advanced standing Master’s graduate students (N=132) completed on online survey containing instruments measuring perceived spiritual …

Taiwanese International Students In Clinical Supervision: A Phenomenological Study, Joey Chiao-Yin Hsiao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The population of international students has continued to grow in the past two decades and become an important segment of U.S. university enrollment (Ng & Smith, 2001). Altogether, there is limited literature that is devoted to international students’ experience in clinical supervision and merely any international students studies specifically focused on the Taiwanese international student subgroup. This study examined the experiences of Taiwanese international students in clinical supervision. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to extract the phenomenon of participants’ lifeworld and qualitative data were collected from individual semi-structured interviews with Taiwanese international students (N=6). Data analysis led to four …

Queer Interethnic Relationships: Couple-Level Minority Stress And Resilience For Intersectionally Marginalized Partners, Sree Sinha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interethnic relationships and same-sex relationships continue to increase in the U.S. While LGBQ and heterosexual people are equally likely to be in romantic relationships, LGBQ individuals are more likely than their straight peers to be in an interracial or interethnic romantic relationship. The present work aims to expand intersectional investigations regarding queer people of color (QPOC), including accounting for their individual as well as relational well-being, by use of the couple-level minority stress (CLMS) paradigm. CLMS theory speaks to the unique stressors experienced as a result of being in a relationship that is societally marginalized, impacting both dyadic and individual …

Effects Of Using Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Interview Skills To College Students With Autism, Kimberly Degroot

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Unemployment and underemployment rates for college students with autism following graduation are higher than other college graduates. One area of need identified for students with autism is interview skill development. Therefore, it is important for them to improve their interviewing skills to help them better succeed in their search for employment. Currently, there are a variety of procedures used for improving interviewing skills with individuals with autism (e.g., video modeling, applied behavior analytic techniques, and virtual interviews). This study replicated the procedures of Stocco et al. (2017) and Roberts et al. (2021) who evaluated the effects of behavioral skills training …

Building Teachers’ Capacity To Implement Equitable Family, School, And Community Partnerships Through School Psychologists’ Consultation: The Partnership Capacity Building Consultation Model And Case Study, Bryanna S. Fatigate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The urgency to prioritize equity-driven policies is amplified by the disproportionate education and health outcomes that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eradicating inequity demands the prioritization of robust family, school, and community partnerships (FSCP). For decades, research has highlighted the benefits of FSCP, which may include improvements in student academic achievement, behavior, ratings of school climate, and attendance; furthermore, FSCP is associated with higher guardian involvement, mentor opportunities, career development, and a reduced need for more intensive services such as special education (Adelman & Taylor, 2015; Anderson- Butcher & Anderson, 2018; Constantino, 2016). To reap the benefits of such partnerships, …

Investigating Visuospatial Working Memory For Facial Emotion And Identity, Brianna Lowe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The central executive plays a key role in the encoding of visual stimuli in working memory, including the memory for faces in a social context. Faces often contain important details about the identity of social targets as well as the emotion that these targets are expressing. Encoding accuracy requires that we have resources to consider and organize facial features into a holistic representation of a target. Of course, emotion recognition accuracy may be critical to encoding success. The cognitive demand on the participant when evaluating facial stimuli impacts emotion recognition accuracy and therefore the encoding of facial features and emotion …