Pathways To Success, Annabelle Fyke

Honors Projects

This paper explores the importance of creating trauma-informed classrooms to support students’ emotional and academic success. As increasing numbers of students are affected by adverse childhood experiences, educators must adopt approaches that recognize and respond to trauma. The purpose of this paper is to examine key principles of trauma-informed education and how they can be effectively implemented in school settings. Drawing on current research and educational frameworks, this paper highlights strategies such as building strong teacher-student relationships, promoting emotional regulation, and maintaining consistent and supportive classroom environments. The findings suggest that trauma-informed practices can improve student behavior, increase engagement, and …

Clustering Of Internet Behaviors And Associated Mental Health Outcomes Among U.S. Adolescents, Aakansha Singh, Timothy Grigsby, Miguel Fudolig, Ying Guo, Clariana Ramos De Oliveira

School of Medicine Research Poster Showcase

Poster: Clustering of Internet behaviors and associated mental health outcomes among U.S. adolescents

Cross-Cultural Differences In Academic Pressure, Anxiety, And Sleep Quality Among High-Achieving Students In The United States And South Korea, Yumi Choi, Brett Zollinger, Jisook Park

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This study examines cross-cultural differences in academic pressure, anxiety, and sleep quality among high-achieving students in the United States and South Korea. As academic success becomes increasingly competitive in both countries, students often face significant psychological and physiological challenges. This research investigates how differing educational systems and cultural expectations influence levels of academic pressure and their subsequent impact on anxiety and sleep quality.

Data were collected from high-achieving high school students in both countries using standardized measures, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. Comparative analyses were conducted to identify differences in perceived …

Addressing Sensory Processing And Regulation To Improve Developmental Outcomes In A Nicu Developmental Clinic, Faith Crumley

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Background and Significance 

Infants and children who spent time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experienced intense sensory stimuli early on, during a critical period of brain development. These early experiences have been associated with later challenges in sensory processing and regulation, impacting developmental outcomes (Pineda et al., 2023). Following discharge, NICU Developmental Follow-Up Clinics play a key role in monitoring developmental progress and identifying delays. Given the influence of sensory processing on regulation, motor development, and participation in occupations, early identification is critical. This capstone project was conducted at a NICU Developmental Clinic to address the need for …

Emotion Regulation As A Moderator Of The Association Between Stressful Life Events And Changes In Religiosity, Catharine Mann

Senior Theses

Previous research indicates that religion and spirituality can have a beneficial impact on the well-being of individuals, both promoting health and reducing poor mental and physical health outcomes. Religiosity often shifts across the lifespan, but some experiences can predict those changes. For example, stressful life events (SLEs; e.g., loss of a family member, serious illness) are often associated with a decrease in religiosity. Past research has shown that in adults, the experience of SLEs predicts less identification with previously held religious beliefs. This relation could be influenced by a number of factors, but many are likely related to the use …

Silent Cries: Analyzing The Psychological Profiles Of High School Shooters, Kayla Martinez

Posters - 2026

• School shootings have become a recurring event for the past couple of decades in the United States
  • high school has the most exposure to these shootings
• Shootings can cause serious trauma and various mental health issues in the students and staff who survived (as well as communities)
• Protocols put in place seem to only be reactive rather than proactively identifying and preventing the occurrence
• Most people overlook the previous behaviors of the shooters

Exploring The Psychological Health Of First Responder Women And Their Children, Shelby S. Deschepper

Honors Thesis

Abstract

First responders (law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians) often face occupational stressors and may have exposure to traumatic events. As a result, they are at risk for developing mental health conditions. Although there is substantial research on first responder mental health, potential gender differences within this population have received limited attention. The existing evidence suggests that first responders who are women encounter an even higher risk for adverse mental health outcomes than first responders who are men. Additionally, few studies have explored the mental health outcomes of children with first responder parents, and even fewer have …

Tough Love Or Just Tough?: The Effect Of Juvenile Military Bootcamps On Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors, Paris Labadie

Honors Theses

Externalizing behaviors, which are mental health problems manifested as outward behavior, have negative impacts on the environment and relationships (Liu, 2004). They include traits such as impulsivity, aggression, and substance use. Externalizing behaviors are more common in justice-involved youth compared to those who were not involved. Interventions for justice-involved youth, such as military boot camps, offer an alternative to incarceration and provide rehabilitation opportunities and routine. Theoretical research suggests military boot camps are problematic, citing the ineffectiveness of “scared straight” tactics. To date, there are few studies examining changes because of completing boot camps. There are also no studies examining …

Children’S Perspectives On Playfulness: A Child-Centred Qualitative Study, Risa Rylander, Stephanie Burns, Jocelyn Dautel

International Journal of Playwork Practice

This qualitative study examines children’s lived experiences of play and playfulness through interviews and creative methods with 10 children aged 8–11 in a Playwork setting. Thematic analysis identified three core themes: playfulness as an internal experience; the contextual nature of playfulness; and Playwork theory in practice. Children described play as joyful, immersive, and intrinsically motivated, shaped by factors such as comfort, outdoor access, social relationships, and autonomy. They valued adult support that preserved freedom. Findings challenge narrow definitions of playfulness, emphasizing calm, solitary, and open-ended play, with implications for designing responsive, child-centred play environments.

Enhancing Academic And Religious Values Through Literacy: An Ethnographic Qualitative Study In A Hindu Student Community, Ni Komang Sutriyanti, I Wayan Widiana, Ni Luh Ika Windayani, I Gede Wahyu Suwela Antara

The Qualitative Report

This study explores the influence of Indonesia's school literacy initiative program, also known as the school literacy movement (SLM), on academic achievement and religious character formation among Hindu students at Bali Mandara State High School. The SLM’s effects within Bali’s predominantly Hindu community provide a perspective on how literacy initiatives intersect with cultural and religious education in a largely Muslim country. The objective of the study was to assess the transformative impact of the SLM on both educational outcomes and character development, specifically examining its alignment with Hindu teachings. A qualitative approach was employed, with data collected through semi-structured interviews …

Analyzing Methods To Support Students Left Behind In Colorado Primary/Secondary Schools, Grace Hudson

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

In the United States, there has been an increase of deportations, since 2024, of undocumented immigrants. This has disproportionally affected Mexicans and others from Latin American countries (Dreby 2012) due to them being the largest group of undocumented people in the United States. One effect of these deportations is an increase in children that are left in the United States while their parent(s) are in detention or have been deported. Some of these children are in mixed-status families, which means that the child has a different citizenship status than their parents or other members in their family, which allows for …

Enacting Tension: A Phenomenological, Art-Based Study Of Nicu Siblings’ Lived Experience Through Engagement With Dramatic Reality, Rebecca A. Versaci

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

A Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization reorganizes family life, yet siblings’ perspectives are rarely centered in NICU research. This phenomenological, art-based dissertation explores NICU siblings’ lived experience as revealed through the roles they created during engagement in dramatic reality. Eight child siblings of NICU patients participated in a storymaking and improvisational role-play intervention. Transcripts, participant artwork, and stories were examined through thematic analysis, and dramaturgical coding. Three central tensions organized children’s dramatic worlds: It’s Hard to be Together and It’s Hard to be Apart, I Want to be Free, but I am Trapped; I Want to Help …

Stress And Sleep In A Community Sample Of Preschool-Aged Children, Khadija Awale, Akira Isaac M.S., Alyssa Rodriguez M.S., Sara Bufferd Ph.D.

The Cardinal Edge

Stress influences sleep patterns, as elevated stress levels can decrease adequate sleep. However, research on this relationship in preschool-aged children is limited. The current study examined the relationship between stress and sleep in preschool-aged children and sought to evaluate associations between children’s stress and sleep, as well as parental psychopathology (i.e., anxiety and depression). Participants included N = 609 parents and their children ages three to five at Time 1. 368 of whom participated again when children were ages six to eight years old at Time 2. Participants completed study questionnaires, and children’s hair samples were taken to assess cortisol …

Anhedonia Underlies The Association Between Childhood Unpredictability And Adult Ptsd Symptoms: Evidence From Three Independent Longitudinal Cohorts, Christopher Hunt, Laura M. Glynn, Elysia Poggi Davis, Tallie Z. Baram, Caroline M. Nievergelt, Giovanni Castillo, Christian Cortes, Christine Y. Chang, Dewleen Baker, Victoria B. Risbrough

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Unpredictability in the child’s environment has recently emerged as a significant and unique form of early life adversity (ELA). Cross-sectional studies have linked childhood unpredictability with increased post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in adults; however, no prospective studies have tested the link between childhood unpredictability and PTSD risk in later life, nor what processes, such as increased anhedonia symptoms, might mediate such risk. Here, we leveraged three distinct prospective, longitudinal cohorts to test the hypothesis that unpredictability during childhood contributes to adult PTSD via worsening anhedonia symptoms.

Methods

Participants were male service members (n=314), adult females (n=170), and adolescents …

Early Childhood Echo (Ec Echo) Start-Up & Operations Manual, Lisa Long, I. Michelle Gaither, Ruby Brenner, Bradley Long, Emily Mcclelland, Malcolm Huell, Lauren Elliott, Katerina Sergi

Publications

The Early Childhood ECHO (EC ECHO) Start-up & Operations Manual is a practical guide to launching case-based telementoring and professional development using the Project ECHO® model. Prepared for early childhood programs and agencies. Adapted from Mississippi’s EC ECHO implementation (2023–2025) and aligned with Project ECHO® guidance.

Evaluating Youth Programs With Intention: Integrating Developmental Research For A Youth-Centered Approach, Brittany Hite, Tiffany Berry, Evangelia Theodorou, Michelle Sloper

Journal of Youth Development

Conducting applied research or program evaluations in youth settings requires a unique combination of expertise. Although evaluation approaches provide general guidance on how to conduct high-quality evaluations, they rarely provide specific guidance on how to engage in evaluation with organizations serving youth. Fortunately, the field of youth development provides extensive information about how youth develop, facilitators of and influences on youth development, and important considerations for collecting data from this population. This paper provides an approach to evaluation that integrates youth development research. By integrating this literature into their evaluation practice, the authors identified two underlying principles (contextual sensitivity and …

Positive Youth Development And Connection With Nature Through Urban Agriculture, Casey Ortbahn, Marijke Hecht, Kristi Lekies

Journal of Youth Development

Youth urban agriculture programs connect youth with nature and support positive youth development. In this qualitative study, we use photovoice to amplify youth voices and explore 16 high school youths’ perceptions of how participation in a youth gardening program supported their confidence, connection, and sense of belonging. Using qualitative thematic analysis of photos, posters, and interviews, we identify several program processes that supported confidence and belonging, including meaningful relationships with peers and adults, connections with nature, and relationships with more-than-human beings. Our analysis reveals that nature is an important context for youth development and that nature is also more than …

Launch Skills: Virtual Career Camp Connects Rural Youth To Diverse Career Pathways, Caroline Homan, Meagan Hoffman

Journal of Youth Development

Rural youth often encounter persistent barriers in career and workforce readiness, including limited access to career exploration resources, mentorship, and post-secondary exposure, challenges that are compounded by geographic isolation and higher rates of rural poverty. To address these gaps, this manuscript describes the development and implementation of Launch Skills, a virtual career camp designed to broaden rural youths’ awareness of career pathways within food, agriculture, natural resources management, and human sciences (FANH). Grounded in Positive Youth Development principles, Launch Skills was collaboratively developed by North Dakota State University Extension and South Dakota State University Extension to provide flexible, accessible, and …

Implementation And Outcomes Of The Men Of Strength (Most) Club, Marni Kan, Ashley N. Lowe, Jason Williams, Cheryl Roberts, Katherine Suellentrop, Nichole M. Scaglione

Journal of Youth Development

Evidence is lacking for positive youth development programs for boys that use gender transformative approaches and promote peer leadership to prevent sexual violence and teen dating violence. This study aimed to address gaps in violence prevention research and youth development practice by evaluating implementation and outcomes of the Men of Strength (MOST) Club. Sixteen high schools were randomized to MOST Club or a control condition and 60 boys from nine of the schools completed baseline and follow-up surveys. Trained program facilitators completed logs after each session. Although the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with both program implementation and data collection, MOST Clubs …

Boosting Agriculture Career Readiness In Stem Through A Virtual Symposium, Suzanna R. Windon, Hosung You, Christina Grozinger, Natalie Boyle, Hongmei Li-Byarlay, Torrence A. Gill, Simon Zebelo

Journal of Youth Development

This study evaluated a recorded virtual career symposium aimed at enhancing STEM in Agriculture and graduate education readiness among students from Minority-Serving Institutions.The evaluation focused on changes in participants’ perceived readiness for STEM careers and graduate education, the relationship between readiness and demographic factors, and participants’ overall experience with the event. Featuring presentations from faculty and alumni, the symposium highlighted career pathways in agriculture and entomology, essential skills, and graduate education opportunities. Participants from five institutions were invited to view the recorded sessions and complete an online survey. Of the 56 responses received, 41 were analyzed. Results indicated that most …