Psychology Commons^™

An Aviator Centered Approach To Mental Health: A Preliminary Look At Stressors, Barriers To Care, And Untreated Aviator Mental Health, Aric J. Raus

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The purposeful crash of Germanwings 9525 in March 2015 provided a wake-up call to the aviation community on the ramifications of untreated mental health in commercial aviation. While the airline industry and governmental regulating bodies reacted quickly with peer-support networks and attempts to de-stigmatize seeking assistance, few actions or studies have focused on mental health from an Aviators perspective. This presentation explores the possible stressors impacting aviator mental health among three distinct aviator professional categories: Commercial Aviators, Military Aviators, and Aviators in Civilian Training Programs. After providing an overview of stressors, the discussion transitions into what is known about the …

Validation Of Training Satisfaction Survey, Cassandra Domingo, Nicholas Nieves, Robert Thomas Dr

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The Training Satisfaction Survey (TSS) was developed as part of a larger project to examine the features of Virtual Reality software and supporting devices as a training program on visual illusions and spatial disorientation. The TSS is a 13-item, self-report scale which gauges participants’ level of training satisfaction. Participants responded regarding their most recent experience with a Frasca C172 Level 6 Flight Training Device. The TSS was designed to measure overall satisfaction using three subfactors: relevance, enjoyment, and technology satisfaction. These factors can be used to identify impediments to learning (e.g., training was not easy to follow) to create more …

Cortical Connectomic Mediations On Gamma Band Synchronization In Schizophrenia, Xiaoming Du, Stephanie Hare, Ann Summerfelt, Bhim M Adhikari, Laura Garcia, Wyatt Marshall, Peng Zan, Mark Kvarta, Eric Goldwaser, Heather Bruce, Si Gao, Hemalatha Sampath, Peter Kochunov, Jonathan Z Simon, L Elliot Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aberrant gamma frequency neural oscillations in schizophrenia have been well demonstrated using auditory steady-state responses (ASSR). However, the neural circuits underlying 40 Hz ASSR deficits in schizophrenia remain poorly understood. Sixty-six patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 85 age- and gender-matched healthy controls completed one electroencephalography session measuring 40 Hz ASSR and one imaging session for resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) assessments. The associations between the normalized power of 40 Hz ASSR and rsFC were assessed via linear regression and mediation models. We found that rsFC among auditory, precentral, postcentral, and prefrontal cortices were positively associated with 40 Hz ASSR in …

Skin Stories And Family Feelings: The Contradictions Of Skin Picking In Mother And Daughter, Katrina Jacinto

Crossings: Swarthmore Undergraduate Feminist Research Journal

Skin picking, otherwise known as dermatillomania, is considered to be a medical disorder by the DSM-5. However, the embodied experiences of skin picking in myself and my mother do not align with the neat definitions offered by psychiatry. Through autoethnographic material and an ethnographic interview with my mother, I argue that skin picking is a bodily technique that is pathologized through stigma. In particular, I suggest that skin picking reveals the body as a polyvalent entity, in which the same features and practices take on different meanings in different bodies. This frames the discrepancies between mine, and my mother's, experiences. …

Social Capital And The Nonprofit Infrastructure; An Ecological Study Of Child Maltreatment, Duncan J. Mayer

Student Scholarship

Child maltreatment is a significant social problem that responds to neighborhood conditions, including disorder and support. Using administrative sources with the census response rate and geocoded nonprofit tax forms in a cross-sectional ecological design (N = 443), this article explores two understudied supportive factors in neighborhoods: aggregate social capital and nonprofit organizations. A series of Poisson models show aggregate social capital and nonprofit density are negatively related to child maltreatment rates, while the relationship between social capital and child maltreatment rates varies by the number of nonprofits present in the neighborhood. The results provide new insights into the ecology of …

Seeing And Unlearning Whiteness: A Mindfulness Workshop For Racial Justice, Emily Haranas

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Racism is a deeply embedded, foundational aspect of American society. However, because the privilege of Whiteness insulates White individuals from the workings of systemic injustice and oppression and enables them to choose the conditions of their accountability in the movement for racial justice, many remain painfully blind to this fact. As such, there is a significant need for those who have been racialized White to develop a critical awareness of the powers and privileges ascribed to their racial identity. The working premise of this thesis is that mindfulness can assist White individuals in unlinking the socialized habits of mind that …

“I Am Not Going To Hide Who I Am”: How Jewish Girl Activists Navigate Their Relationship To Voice, Visibility, And Representation, Cheryl Weiner

Educational Studies Dissertations

This dissertation examined how 32 Jewish activist girls, aged 14 to 18, who were affiliated with Jewish communities navigated their relationship with voice, visibility, and representation. A primary goal of the study was to understand the challenges they faced in their everyday lives and to make their knowledge known. Research questions that guided the study included: 1) How do Jewish activist girls navigate their relationship to voice, visibility, and representation?; 2) What are the unique challenges experienced by Jewish girl activists?; and 3) How do Jewish girl activists exercise resistance against the challenges they experience? The literature that informed this …

Enhancing The Quality Of Life For Senior Citizens: A Facilitator’S Guidebook For Mindful Music And Movement, Shannon Sexton

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Music appreciation and enjoyment enhance well-being throughout the lifespan. The challenges and constraints that people experience as they age can lead to lack of access to music, decreased physical activity, and fewer avenues for creative expression. Group music and movement interventions created for older populations offer opportunities for social connection and improved quality of life. Mindful practices add further benefit when combined with these interventions. Current available programs are scarce and most often do not encompass mixed modalities. In addition, the benefits of these programs do not show long-term sustainability. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the effects …

Does Preschool Executive Control Mediate The Impact Of Early Environmental Unpredictability And Deprivation On The General Factor Of Psychopathology A Decade Later?, Eric Phillips, Rebecca L. Brock, Tiffany D. James, Jennifer Nelson, W. Alex Mason, Kimberly Andrews Espy, Timothy D. Nelson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: Although deprivation has been consistently shown to increase risk for psychopathology through impaired executive control, the unique effects of other dimensions of early adversity, such as unpredictability, on executive control development are poorly understood. The current study evaluated whether deprivation and/or unpredictability early in life have unique effects on the general factor of psychopathology through impaired preschool executive control. Methods: Participants included 312 children (51% female) oversampled for greater sociodemographic risk. Preschool executive control was measured using a battery of nine developmentally appropriate executive control tasks. Dimensions of adversity were measured with observational and caregiver assessments, and …

Why So Serious? Using The Belongingness Need Tenet From The Self-Determination Theory To Examine Workplace Humor And Its Outcomes, Katharine Lucille Mcmahon

Dissertations and Theses

The small body of literature for workplace humor remains fragmented due to the lack of coherence in conceptualization and theory. Furthermore, the distinction between positive and negative humor adds complexity to predicting the outcomes of humor. Focusing on the foundation aspect of humor as a form of social play provides guidance on choosing a theory-informed integrative framework that could explain the implications of humor in the workplace. The belongingness need tenet of the self-determination theory offers a promising framework to synthesize existing research and to direct future studies. Paper 1 reviews the literature and concludes with an integrative framework suggesting …

The Psychological Impact Of Disaster Relief Work On Disaster Relief Volunteers In North America, Zachary Daniel Richard Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated the psychological effects that disaster relief work has on disaster relief volunteers in North America. It provided the necessary framework for research that was conducted to examine if disaster relief volunteers are more vulnerable to developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after they volunteer in disaster relief or if they become more resilient and develop posttraumatic growth (PTG) instead. This quantitative study also provided research questions and hypotheses and is a road map for future research. Disaster relief volunteers provide many irreplaceable services to the field of disaster relief. Understanding how disaster relief volunteers are impacted by the …

Finding Forensic Evidence In The Operating System's Graphical User Interface, Edward X. Wilson Mr.

LSU Master's Theses

A branch of cyber security known as memory forensics focuses on extracting meaningful evidence from system memory. This analysis is often referred to as volatile memory analysis, and is generally performed on memory captures acquired from target systems. Inside of a memory capture is the complete state of a system under investigation, including the contents of currently running as well as previously executed applications. Analysis of this data can reveal a significant amount of activity that occurred on a system since the last reboot. For this research, the Windows operating system is targeted. In particular, the graphical user interface component …

Microrna-Mrna Networks Are Dysregulated In Opioid Use Disorder Postmortem Brain: Further Evidence For Opioid-Induced Neurovascular Alterations, Sandra L Grimm, Emily F Mendez, Laura Stertz, Thomas D Meyer, Gabriel R Fries, Tanmay Gandhi, Rupa Kanchi, Sudhakar Selvaraj, Antonio L Teixeira, Thomas R Kosten, Preethi Gunaratne, Cristian Coarfa, Consuelo Walss-Bass

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: To understand mechanisms and identify potential targets for intervention in the current crisis of opioid use disorder (OUD), postmortem brains represent an under-utilized resource. To refine previously reported gene signatures of neurobiological alterations in OUD from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann Area 9, BA9), we explored the role of microRNAs (miRNA) as powerful epigenetic regulators of gene function.

METHODS: Building on the growing appreciation that miRNAs can cross the blood-brain barrier, we carried out miRNA profiling in same-subject postmortem samples from BA9 and blood tissues.

RESULTS: miRNA-mRNA network analysis showed that even though miRNAs identified in BA9 and blood …

Disability Severity, Professional Isolation Perceptions, And Career Outcomes: When Does Leader–Member Exchange Quality Matter?, Brent J. Lyons, David C. Baldridge, Liu-Qin Yang, Camellia Bryan

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Employees with disability-related communication impairment often experience isolation from professional connections that can negatively affect their careers. Management research suggests that having lower quality leader relationships can be an obstacle to the development of professional connections for employees with disabilities. However, in this paper we suggest that lower quality leader–member exchange (LMX) relationships may not be a uniform hurdle for the professional isolation of employees with disability-related communication impairment. Drawing on psychological disengagement theory, we predict that employees with more severe, rather than less severe, communication impairment develop resilience to challenges in lower quality LMX relationships by psychologically disengaging from …

Adolescent Psychological Assets And Cardiometabolic Health Maintenance In Adulthood: Implications For Health Equity, Farah Qureshi, Anne‐Josee Guimond, Elaine Tsao, Scott Delaney, Julia K. Boehm, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Positive cardiometabolic health (CMH) is defined as meeting recommended levels of multiple cardiometabolic risk factors in the absence of manifest disease. Prior work finds that few individuals—particularly members of minoritized racial and ethnic groups—meet these criteria. This study investigated whether psychological assets help adolescents sustain CMH in adulthood and explored interactions by race and ethnicity.

Methods and Results

Participants were 3478 individuals in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (49% female; 67% White, 15% Black, 11% Latinx, 6% other [Native American, Asian, or not specified]). In Wave 1 (1994–1995; mean age=16 years), data on 5 psychological assets (optimism, …

How Did Covid-19 School Closures Affect Adolescents With Adhd?, Nandini Jhawar, Ashley Schiros, Andrew S. London, Kevin Antshel

Population Health Research Brief Series

COVID-19 school closures drastically affected school-aged youth and their parents, with greater challenges among youth with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This brief summarizes results from a recent study examining the risks, protective factors, and family processes that shaped well-being among adolescents during COVID-19-related school closures. Findings show that adolescents with ADHD were more likely to experience negative consequences from school closures, including difficulty adjusting to online learning, reduced socialization, and increased mental distress. However, youth and families also experienced some benefits, including increased family reconnection and reduced school-related anxiety.

Coping Mechanisms In Graduate School: A Discipline Comparison, Sandra P. Montenegro

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The current study aimed to provide an overview of graduate students’ stress and coping mechanisms. Per self-reported questionnaires, participants (N=95) rated their experiences with academic-related stressors, common coping mechanisms, and strain outcomes (somatic symptoms, insomnia, and burnout). This study found that task-related stressors were the most prevalent for graduate schoolwork. More specifically, graduate students in STEM, Arts & Humanities, and Social Sciences rated the amount and difficulty of the tasks (quantitative and qualitative properties of tasks) as the highest stressors in graduate school. The preferred coping strategies across all fields were planning and emotional coping. Additionally, students in STEM reported …

The Relationship Between Self-Leadership And The Implementation Of Integrity And Transparency In The Palestinian Public Sector Institutions: “Ministry Of Finance As A Model”, Diab Ali Jarrar Dr, Marwa Said Zaki Farah

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية للبحوث في التعليم العالي

The study aimed to identify the importance of self-leadership and its relationship with the application of integrity and transparency in the Palestinian public sector institutions. To achieve this objective; the study adopted the descriptive analytical approach, and a questionnaire was prepared with variables that were derived after an in-depth review of the relevant literature, and it was distributed using a stratified relative sample to a sample of (259) respondents, and it was analyzed through the (SPSS25) program. The study was supported with planned interviews with specialists in law, Psychology, sociologists, key employees in the ministry of finance. The study came …

The Psychosocial, Economic And Physical Impacts Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Institutionalized Older People In Jordan, Manal Anabatwi, Shawqi Abdalrahman Alhajhassan, Tamara Adel Al Wreidat, Reham Ibrahim Abu Ghaboush, Asma Ibrahim Abdallah, Hmoud Salem Olimat, Talal Abd Alkareem Alqudah

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية للبحوث في التعليم العالي

This Qualitative study aims to discover and analyze the psychological, economic, social and physical effects of the Corona pandemic on older people, specifically those who reside in nursing homes. The qualitative approach was used, and 16 in-depth interviews were conducted with older women and men in August 2021 using the convenience sample. The study concluded that the corona pandemic has caused the elderly residents of the guest house to experience a variety of problems, including their increased fear of death as a result of the virus spread, as well as their feelings of loneliness, anxiety and mental disorders. The study …

Children And The Cold War: Race & Hypocrisy Amid Fear Of Nuclear War, Richard D. Mctaggart Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

During the Cold War, American propaganda centered the wellbeing of the child in its messaging warning of atomic attack at the hands of the Soviet Union. However, despite American claims that all children were valued by the United States, this was proven untrue by its unequal treatment of Black children.

The Case Of The Disappearing Owner: Do Dogs Show Behavioral Evidence Of Violation Of Expectation?, Rita Kanagat

Theses and Dissertations

The What the Fluff challenge became a series of viral YouTube videos that started in 2018. In the videos, a person stood behind a blanket in a doorway in front of their dog and lifted and lowered the blanket revealing and obscuring themselves, and finally disappearing with a final blanket drop. The dogs’ reactions were varied but were suggestive of a violation of expectation response. We conducted a community science study that employed methodologies consistent with the What the Fluff Challenge paradigm that were conducted in the owners’ homes with their dogs. Each owner was required to run a control …

Examining Long-Term Repetition Priming Effects In Spoken Word Recognition Using Computer Mouse Tracking, Samantha E. Tuft, Sara Incera, Conor T. Mclennan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Language researchers in a variety of disciplines have used priming as a tool to investigate theoretical questions. In spoken word recognition, long-term repetition priming effects have been obtained across a number of behavioral tasks (e.g., lexical decision, shadowing). Repeated – primed – words are responded to more efficiently than new – unprimed – words. However, to our knowledge, long-term repetition priming effects have not been examined using computer mouse tracking, which would provide data regarding the time course of long-term repetition priming effects. Consequently, we compared participants’ lexical decision responses using a computer mouse to primed and unprimed words. We …

Tell Me What To Do Not How To Do It: Influence Of Creative Outcome And Process Goals On Creativity, Melissa G. Keith, Carolyn M. Jagacinski

Psychology Faculty Publications

The current research examines the utility of using creative outcome goals and process goals to enhance creativity. We propose that although creative outcome goals are likely to have a direct positive impact on creativity, the relationship between process goals and creativity is mediated by creative process engagement. Results from an experimental study demonstrated that creative outcome goals, particularly specific creative outcome goals, relate directly as well as indirectly to outcome creativity through creative process engagement. Creative process goals, however, impact outcome creativity only indirectly through creative process engagement. Process goals also had a negative impact on perceptions of autonomy, which …

Faking And Conspiring About Covid-19: A Discursive Approach, Rosa Scardigno, Alessia Paparella, Francesca D'Errico

The Qualitative Report

In the more general climate of post-truth - a social trend reflecting a disregard for reliable ways of knowing what is true, mostly acted through massive use of misinformation and rhetoric calling for emotions - an alarming “infodemic” accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting healthy attitudes and behaviors and further lessening trust in science, institutions, and traditional media. Its two main representative items, fake and conspiracy news, have been widely analyzed in psycho-social research, even if scholars mostly acknowledged the cognitive and social dimensions of those items and devoted less attention to their discursive construction. In addition, these works did not …

Peer Deviance As A Predictor Of E-Cigarette Use Pre And Post Pandemic, Jenna Dunham, Heather Kissel, Ty Brumback

Posters-at-the-Capitol

There is growing concern regarding the use of e-cigarettes among younger demographics. Also known as vaping, e-cigarettes have been posited as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes and have increased in popularity due to marketing, added flavors, and discreet delivery methods (Durkin et al., 2021; Hart et al., 2017). Research has shown dangerous and adverse outcomes of using e-cigarettes, including mood disorders, attention deficit, addiction, and lung injury (Durkin et al., 2021; Krishnasamy et al., 2020).

Peer group deviance is associated with risky external behaviors in young adults and youth (Durkin et al., 2021; Kendler et al., 2016). This research …

"Alcohol Is Not Fun Anymore!": A Study Of Alcohol Expectancies During Covid-19, Sara Mcfarland, Katie Ison, Heather Kissel Phd, Ty Brumback Phd

Posters-at-the-Capitol

College parties normalize alcohol use and students develop expectations about drinking due to peer influence and previous experience with alcohol. Our study investigated changes in alcohol expectancies by collecting cross-sectional data on predictors of alcohol use in young adults before and after the start of the pandemic. Data for 46 participants (mean age=20.74, 72% female) were collected prior to March 2020, while data for an additional 26 participants (mean age=19.27, 80.8% female) were collected starting in 2021. During the laboratory session, participants completed surveys and a structured clinical interview. We examined responses from the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ). This self-report …

Breaking Point: The Ironic Evolution Of Psychiatry In World War Ii - Appendix A, Rebecca Schwartz Greene

History

This book informs the public for the first time about the impact of American psychiatry on soldiers during World War II.

Breaking Point is the first in-depth history of American psychiatry in World War II. Drawn from unpublished primary documents, oral histories, and the author’s personal interviews and correspondence over years with key psychiatric and military policymakers, it begins with Franklin Roosevelt’s endorsement of a universal Selective Service psychiatric examination followed by Army and Navy pre- and post-induction examinations. Ultimately, 2.5 million men and women were rejected or discharged from military service on neuropsychiatric grounds. Never before or since has …

Breaking Point: The Ironic Evolution Of Psychiatry In World War Ii - Appendix B, Rebecca Schwartz Greene

History

This book informs the public for the first time about the impact of American psychiatry on soldiers during World War II.

Breaking Point is the first in-depth history of American psychiatry in World War II. Drawn from unpublished primary documents, oral histories, and the author’s personal interviews and correspondence over years with key psychiatric and military policymakers, it begins with Franklin Roosevelt’s endorsement of a universal Selective Service psychiatric examination followed by Army and Navy pre- and post-induction examinations. Ultimately, 2.5 million men and women were rejected or discharged from military service on neuropsychiatric grounds. Never before or since has …

Exploring Associations Between Military Identity And Well-Being Outcomes Among Post-9/11 Veterans After Separation, James David Lee

Dissertations and Theses

Approximately 200,000 service members exit the military each year; as of 2016, there were 19 million veterans in the U.S. As service members transition out of the military and acclimate to civilian life, they face a multitude of stressors. For example, estimates vary from 44 to 72% of veterans reportedly experience increased stress during their transition which often entails securing civilian employment, navigating interpersonal difficulties, and adapting to the challenges of civilian life. These stressors have harmful consequences and have been linked to physical and mental health, and suicide risk. Despite these findings, research examining the well-being of veterans following …

Yearning For Popularity: How Are Popularity Goals And Self-Perceived Popularity Related To Aggression And Victimization?, Sunmi Seo, Joo Young Yang, Kristina L. Mcdonald

Psychology Faculty Publications

Many adolescents want to be popular. Popularity goals are associated with adolescents’ relational and overt aggression and aggression has been linked to greater risk for victimization. The current study sought to examine if popularity goals may be linked to victimization through associations with aggression and if self-perceived popularity and gender may moderate these relationships. Participants were 292 adolescents (60.3% girls; 44.5% seventh graders, 55.5% eighth graders; 79.5% White/Caucasian) from the Southern United States. Results indicated that relational aggression accounted for the association between popularity goals and victimization and that self-perceived popularity strengthened this indirect effect for girls but not for …