Social Psychology Commons^™

Neighborhood Cohesion, Neighborhood Disorder, And Cardiometabolic Risk, Jennifer N. Robinette, Susan T. Charles, Tara Gruenewald

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Perceptions of neighborhood disorder (trash, vandalism) and cohesion (neighbors trust one another) are related to residents’ health. Affective and behavioral factors have been identified, but often in studies using geographically select samples. We use a nationally representative sample (n = 9032) of United States older adults from the Health and Retirement Study to examine cardiometabolic risk in relation to perceptions of neighborhood cohesion and disorder. Lower cohesion is significantly related to greater cardiometabolic risk in 2006/2008 and predicts greater risk four years later (2010/2012). The longitudinal relation is partially accounted for by anxiety and physical activity.

Family Income, Cumulative Risk Exposure, And White Matter Structure In Middle Childhood, Alexander J. Dufford, Pilyoung Kim

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Family income is associated with gray matter morphometry in children, but little is known about the relationship between family income and white matter structure. In this paper, using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics, a whole brain, voxel-wise approach, we examined the relationship between family income (assessed by income-to-needs ratio) and white matter organization in middle childhood (N = 27, M = 8.66 years). Results from a non-parametric, voxel-wise, multiple regression (threshold-free cluster enhancement, p < 0.05 FWE corrected) indicated that lower family income was associated with lower white matter organization [assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA)] for several clusters in white matter tracts involved in cognitive and emotional functions including fronto-limbic circuitry (uncinate fasciculus and cingulum bundle), association fibers (inferior longitudinal fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus), and corticospinal tracts. Further, we examined the possibility that cumulative risk (CR) exposure might function as one of the potential pathways by which family income influences neural outcomes. Using multiple regressions, we found lower FA in portions of these tracts, including those found in the left cingulum bundle and left superior longitudinal fasciculus, was significantly related to greater exposure to CR (β = -0.47, p < 0.05 and β = -0.45, p < 0.05).

Picture This: Using Photo-Research Exhibits As Science Outreach, Eden J.V. Hennessey, Mindi D. Foster, Shohini Ghose

Psychology Faculty Publications

Is a picture worth a thousand words? This paper discusses a unique science outreach initiative–provocative photo-research exhibits on sexism in science.

Gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is not only a concern from a social justice perspective, but also has negative consequences for scientific innovation and the economy, given that lack of workplace gender diversity is associated with lower revenue and returns. Science outreach (i.e., public outreach by scientists) could be particularly impactful in Waterloo, Ontario – a region known as ‘Canada’s Silicon Valley’ that contributes over $30-billion annually to the global economy. Portraying complex social issues …

Enduring Chronic Kidney Disease: An Investigation Of Psychosocial Factors And Life Satisfaction In Older Adults Receiving Dialysis Treatment, Bailee Sobotka

Honors Theses

Chronic kidney disease is a condition during which the kidneys begin to shut down and no longer filter blood efficiently. Once the disease has progressed far enough, dialysis treatments are mandatory to sustain life. To further understand how older adults receiving dialysis treatments cope with their disease, psychosocial factors were evaluated to investigate possible correlations with life satisfaction using a Life Satisfaction Index Z (LSI-Z). Expected correlations with life satisfaction were sociability, financial satisfaction, importance of spirituality, and activities of daily living scores. Interviews were conducted with 30 dialysis patients and results were analyzed using various statistical measures. Significant correlations …

Entertainment-Education Videos As A Persuasive Tool In The Substance Use Prevention Intervention "Keepin' It Real", Youngju Shin, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht, Janice L. Krieger

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Based on social cognitive theory and narrative engagement theory, the current study examined hypothesized indirect effects of engagement with keepin’ it REAL (kiR) curriculum entertainment–education (E–E) videos on youth alcohol use via youth drug offer refusal efficacy. Students in 7th grade (N = 1,464) at 25 public schools in two Midwestern states were randomly assigned to one of the two versions of the kiR curriculum, the kiR urban version and the kiR rural version. Each version had their own set of five culturally-grounded E–E videos depicting communicative skills to refuse drug offers. Differential effects for engagement components …

Social Factors In Prescription Stimulant Abuse Among College Students, Trevor J. Levingston

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In an attempt to maximize their academic performance, many American college students turn toward such prescription stimulant drugs as Adderall and Ritalin, which can increase users' attention span and ability to focus, but are not without risks, including such aversive side effects as anxiety, migraines, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Prevalence rates for prescription stimulant abuse (PSA) by college students vary widely, with rates as high as 50.6% (McCabe, West, Teter, & Boyd, 2014). PSA among college students is most commonly endorsed for perceived academic benefits, but many students report engaging in recreational PSA, often to resist the depressant effects of alcohol …

Water, Sanitation And Hygiene In Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement, Katelyn Bergl

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Culture On The Use Of Healthcare Services By Refugees In Southcentral Kentucky: A Mixed Study, Chika N. Ejike

Dissertations

The world as a global village has become a ubiquitous trope in the popular discourse, and Bowling Green, Kentucky, with its substantial immigrant population, may be considered an exemplar of this idealized community. It has become an ideal location for research regarding the challenges faced by immigrants. Due to the diverse cultural identities of the refugee/immigrant population, it is particularly well suited for studies into complex culturally dependent healthcare utilization patterns.

The central research question for the study was as follows: What are the healthcare-seeking behavioral patterns (as influenced by culture) among refugees at their nearest healthcare facilities? This mixed …

Attachment As Affirmation To Inhibit Health Risk Information Avoidance, Elizabeth C. Mccrary

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research on information avoidance has revealed that people choose to avoid negative health information, but that this effect is interrupted by self-affirmation (Howell & Shepperd, 2013). The current study aimed to contribute to the field’s understanding of the conditions under which self-affirmation reduces information avoidance by using a unique affirmation: secure attachment figures. I hypothesized that activating a secure attachment would serve as the affirmation necessary for participants to choose to view their risk information for a fictitious enzyme deficiency. However, when given a choice, participants in both the experimental and control conditions chose to view this information. At …

Being While Doing: An Inductive Model Of Mindfulness At Work, Christopher Lyddy, Darren J. Good

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness at work has drawn growing interest as empirical evidence increasingly supports its positive workplace impacts. Yet theory also suggests that mindfulness is a cognitive mode of “Being” that may be incompatible with the cognitive mode of “Doing” that undergirds workplace functioning. Therefore, mindfulness at work has been theorized as “being while doing,” but little is known regarding how people experience these two modes in combination, nor the influences or outcomes of this interaction. Drawing on a sample of 39 semi-structured interviews, this study explores how professionals experience being mindful at work. The relationship between Being and Doing modes demonstrated …

"You're Doing Fine, Right?": Adolescent Siblings Of Substance Abusers, Cynthia E. Clarfield

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There has been a rising interest in addiction medicine and addiction treatment in both the medical and behavioral health science fields. Research suggests having a family member with a substance abuse problem has negative impacts on both physical and mental health (Orford, Copello, Velleman, & Templeton, 2010a). Despite advances toward understanding the experiences of family members affected by a loved one's addiction, the siblings of substance abusers have been largely excluded from scientific research and literature. As a result, little is known about how siblings experience the impacts of a brother or sister's addiction; even less is known about the …

The Effects Of Gender And Perception Of Community Safety On Happiness, Jennifer K. Daffon

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Income-based indicators of happiness have been shown to be limited in their ability to predict happiness. Alternative measures of happiness have been gaining prominence in happiness research, and two predictors of happiness were investigated in the current study. The extent to which happiness (measured by affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being) could be predicted by gender and perception of community safety was investigated with 19,644 participant responses to The Happiness Alliance Survey. Multiple linear regression models indicated that gender and community safety are significant predictors of affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being. The effect of the predictor variables was similar …

Socio-Cognitive Factors And Perceived Consequences Associated With Alternative Forms Of Alcohol Use, Abbly L. Braitman, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael, Amy L. Stamates, Cathy Lau-Barraco

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: Popular media have highly publicized alternative forms of alcohol use (eg, eyeballing, inhaling alcohol vapor) among college students as a growing concern, possibly associated with severe health risks. Formative research indicates rarity of use.

Participants and Methods: College students (Study 1: n = 411; Study 2: n = 687) completed an online survey.

Results: Findings confirmed infrequent use of alternative methods of alcohol use and low likelihood of trying them in the future (Study 1). Participants indicated varied reasons for possibly trying each alternative form of alcohol use, but consistently perceived consequences for all forms (ie, health concerns), as …

Attune With Baby: An Innovative Attunement Program For Parents And Families With Integrated Evaluation, Sara Beth Lohre

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Infants speak in their own language; sounds, screeches, cries, and howls that help them to communicate their caregiving needs. Unaware, parents may develop a checklist of caregiving approaches to the baby. The infant tells the adult directly what they need, and waits for the parent to respond. Infant talk may change from soft and quiet to loud and aggressive; coos and cries become crying and screams as the infant’s caregiver—communicating the intensity of emotion, urgency of their request, or their frustration with varied and sometimes inadequate, failed, or missing caregiving patterns the infant has no choice but to accept. When …