Community Psychology Commons^™

Clinical Diagnostic Whole Exome Sequencing For Infants In Intensive Care Settings: Outcomes Analysis And Economic Evaluation, Hadley Stevens Smith

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Whole exome sequencing (ES) is an extensive form of genetic testing and increasingly used as a diagnostic tool. Clinical uptake of genome-scale sequencing occurred without clear guidelines for application or robust information regarding potential impact on patient health outcomes or cost of care. For infants in intensive care with suspected genetic conditions, ES can be especially powerful to identify a specific diagnosis and inform crucial decisions about medical care. However, little is known about the cost-effectiveness of ES compared to other diagnostic strategies. This project first assessed the literature on pediatric clinical ES. Then, using electronic medical record, diagnostic laboratory, …

Fire Department Support And Physical Activity Of Volunteer Firefighters: A Cross-Sectional Examination, Sarah Wagner

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Greater health and fitness of volunteer firefighters protects them from cardiovascular disease-related deaths, reduces risk of injury, and improves job performance, which subsequently provides better protection for the majority of the U.S. population who is served by volunteers. Given the strong social support system characteristic of the U.S. fire service, there seems to be potential opportunity to influence the behaviors of firefighters by creating a culture that promotes healthy habits rather than unhealthy. Objective: Determine the association between fire department culture’s encouragement of physical activity and volunteer firefighters’ moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Methods: A cross sectional analysis was performed …

Evaluating The Impact Of Early Initiation Of Antiretroviral Therapy (Art) On Patient Outcomes Among Hiv-Infected Adolescents And Young Adults In Uganda, Hilda Sekabira Nakalema

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Introduction: Since the introduction of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), treatment initiation criteria have continually been revised to start these lifesaving drugs before onset of advanced disease and optimize ART benefits for people living with HIV. However, little is known about the effect of these changes on treatment outcomes among young people. We evaluated the effect of such a policy change on long term adherence and treatment outcomes among young people, aged 15-24 years.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of young people, 15-24years old, who started ART from January 2012 – December 2016. We used administrative data from the District …

Ends Device Types And Subsequent Use Of Combustible Tobacco Products Among Texas Youth, Aslesha Sumbe

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The aims of the study were to determine whether ENDS device types (i.e., disposable devices, replaceable cartridges, and refillables) at initial, or first ENDS use is longitudinally associated with subsequent initiation of combustible tobacco products (cigarettes, hookah, cigars) and continued, past 30-day use of combustible and ENDS products. This study is a secondary analysis of data from the Texas Adolescent Tobacco and Marketing Surveillance system (TATAMS) study, a longitudinal cohort study of students who were in the 6th, 8th, and 10th grades (n = 3907) during the 2014-2015 academic year. Data were collected every 6 months, from 2014-2018. Using data …

Dynamic Competing Risk Model For Multi-Type Recurrent Events With Dependent Termination, Alokananda Ghosh

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as diseases that involve the heart and/or blood vessels is the number one cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the United States more health care dollars are spent managing and treating CVD and/or its complications than any other disease process. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of deaths (43.8%) attributable to CVD, followed by stroke (16.8%), hypertension (9.4%) and heart failure (HF) (9%). CVD-related deaths and attendant morbidities, which include lifelong disability are in many cases preventable. This research proposes a dynamic risk model that handles multi-type …

Poetic Representation Of Immigrant Bengali Women From Queens, New York: A Qualitative Exploration Of Narrative In Relation To Physical And Cultural Migration, Tabashshum J. Islam

Publications and Research

Poetic Representation of Immigrant Bengali Women from Queens, New York: A Qualitative Exploration of Narrative in Relation to Physical and Cultural Migration is a qualitative poetic inquiry and collaborative creative writing project. Five participants were interviewed and invited to engage in a collaborative writing process with the themes of immigration, cultural negotiation, and oral family history. All participants identified as college-educated Bengali women with a connection to Queens, New York, as well as being an immigrant or relative of an immigrant in the United States. From transcriptions of one-on-one interviews and personal notes, research-poetry was created to center on the …

The Impact Of Extracurricular Leadership Activities On Adolescent Life Satisfaction, Brittany Bearss, Nicholas P. Palumbo

McNair Scholars Program

Little research has explored the role of different leadership activities on the psychological well- being of adolescence. However, previous research has shown that leadership development along with the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs: autonomy, relatedness, and competence; and experiencing feelings of vitality lead to optimal functioning and development and positive life satisfaction (Ryan & Deci, 2000; 2001). The current study uses Self Determination Theory (SDT) and Authentic Leadership Theory (ALT) as guiding frameworks to examine the relationship between leadership activities and adolescent life satisfaction. The study aimed to explore how the three basic psychological needs, feelings of vitality, …

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Homeless Chronicity, And Age At Onset Of Homelessness, Joseph T. Tucciarone Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood adversity is associated with numerous negative outcomes across multiple domains, including mental and physical health, interrelationships, and social functioning. Notably, research suggests that childhood adversity has a dose-response relationship with these outcomes; that is, greater numbers of adverse experiences in childhood are associated with worse outcomes. These outcomes overlap with many risk factors of homelessness. This study sought to address two questions: 1) Does a dose-response relationship exist between childhood adversity and chronic homelessness? 2) Does childhood adversity negatively predict the age at which homelessness first occurs? Adults experiencing homeless who are accessing homeless services in the Tri-Cities area …

Female Genital Mutilation In The United States: Estimating The Number Of Girls At Risk, Phyllis Chesler

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Female genital mutilation (FGM) destroys the capacity of women to experience sexual pleasure. It causes serious medical complications such as bleeding, painful urination, cysts, dangerous and recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, the growth of scar tissue that make marital intercourse a nightmare and that turns childbirth into an experience of danger and torture. Due to immigration, FGM now poses a potential health crisis in the West, both in Europe and in the United States. To estimate how many girls who live in the West are at risk, one can measure the prevalence of FGM in the non-Western countries where …

Assessing Hospitalizations Due To Assaults At Dell Seton Medical Center (2015-2018), Stephani L. Curry

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Physical assaults are a major public health concern in the United States, with rates being on the rise during the last couple of years (WISQARS Nonfatal Injury Reports, n.d.). In Austin at the Dell Seton Medical Center [DSMC], physical assaults are a main reason for hospitalization, making up nearly 10% of their hospitalizations, with around 250 patients per year. No subgroup of the population is risk free from physical assaults; however, national data suggest some sociodemographic groups are at higher risk than others (“Injury and Violence Prevention”, n.d.). Given the diversity of Austin, TX, it was unclear whether local sociodemographic …

The Association Of Cell Phones With Adolescents' Academic Performance, Sleep, Time Spent With Friends, And Cyberbullying Exposure, Johanna E. Peyton

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

This study examined the association between owning or having access to a cell phone with/without internet access and adolescent academic performance, whether they met the guidelines for recommended nightly sleep, the amount of time spent with friends outside of school and the presence and frequency of cyberbullying experienced by 8th and 11th grade participants in the 2015-2016 SPAN study in Texas. This study also examined the association between gender of the adolescent and the above-mentioned outcomes.

The study group consisted of 5,421 adolescents from 8th grade and 3,635 from 11th grade. The 8th grade sample contained 51.48% males(48.6% females) and …

Exploring Prenatal Risk Factors Among Hispanic Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. – A Pilot Study In The Rio Grande Valley, Lauren Tien

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: Peer-reviewed studies suggest that a hostile gestational environment is associated with delayed neurological development in infants. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is estimated to affect 1 in 59 children in the United States; however, few studies have specifically investigated risk factors for autism in Hispanic children. Purpose: The University of Texas RGV Hispanic Autism Research Center (HARC) studied Hispanic children with ASD and their biological mothers to identify potential environmental exposures and prenatal risk factors that could impact the risk for ASD through preliminary research in the Rio Grande Valley. Methods: This pilot study recruited 25 Hispanic mothers and their …

Illusory Boundaries And Perceived Access To Rural Mental Health Care, Caitlin M. Shelby

Honors College Theses

This study examined the potential effects of illusory boundaries (in the form of county lines on a map) on distance judgments, specifically distance to mental health care (therapy) and perceived accessibility to said mental health care. 47 undergraduate psychology students completed our study through SONA on Qualtrics. Participants were presented with a series of 10 maps. Each map had two pins, one labelled “you are here” and the other labelled “therapy location” with a key on the bottom for reference (however, participants were instructed to not use their fingers as a measurement tool to keep the distance judgment a perceived …

Won't You Be My Neighbor, Christian Campbell, Elizabeth Sullivan

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Won’t You Be My Neighbor

Social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s). The groups which people belong are an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of belonging to the social world. Neighborhood communities like Pittsburgh’s Hill District can foster social identity for members. However, when the group we belong to is heavily judged and scrutinized our sense of identity can be affected. The current study aims to understand how personal attitudes and perceived external attitudes of one's community effects the same individual’s communal identity and personal identity. …

Creating Better Roommate Dyads: The Rold Of Optimism, Pessimism, And Preception Within College Roommate Relationships, Madison A. Murphy

Selected Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to address the relationship between optimism/pessimism, perception and roommate relationships in college students. Participants were conveniently pooled from Southeastern University and were assessed via an online survey. Literature was compiled supporting the hypotheses that the researcher created. After analysis, it was found that optimism/pessimism correlated with roommate relationships and perceived similarity of optimism and pessimism correlated with roommate relationships. These results supported some of the researcher’s hypotheses but not all of them

The Impact Of The Aca Cost-Sharing Elimination Provision On The Utilization Of Breast, Cervical, And Colorectal Cancer Screening Services Among Insured Individuals In The United States, Sara Salah Atallah

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Preventive cancer screenings are essential to early detect cancer and subsequently save lives. However, out-of-pocket expenditures for cancer screening services deter individuals from obtaining them. In an effort to improve the utilization of cancer screening, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implemented a cost-sharing elimination provision that removes all forms of cost sharing including copayments, co-insurance and deductibles from certain preventive care services that are recommended by widely known scientific figures such as the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). This study evaluated the impact of the ACA cost-sharing elimination provision for preventive care services from 2008 through 2016 using …

Teaching English To Refugees Through Storytelling, Emily Camplejohn

Senior Honors Theses

Many refugees are trying to learn English while assimilating to a new culture. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has identified several needs and goals of refugees including competence in the language of the receiving culture and participation in a new, welcoming community. Storytelling, expressing or receiving a narrative through oral or written communication, can be implemented for teaching English to refugees with these goals and can link academic learning with real life experiences. In addition to using storytelling as a meaningful way to interact with language, storytelling also fosters a community within the classroom. The teacher is …

The Need For Emotional Intelligence In The Workplace, Leah Davis

Senior Projects

This thesis explores why emotional intelligence is valuable in the workplace, arguing it helps to create positive employee morale. As our society becomes more diverse, so does the environment of the workplace. These developments place increased demands on employees, requiring skills of social and emotional intelligence to function in newly dynamic work environments. Findings and recommendations emerge from an analysis of peer-reviewed journal articles, literature reviews, books, and case studies from the fields of business and psychology. Results verify that emotional intelligence is beneficial in the workplace due to increased workplace demands, employee morale, and informational diversity. This analysis also …

Spatial Analysis Of Exposure To Soil Heavy Metals, Oral Bioaccessibility And Risk Assessment In Houston, Texas, Tsai Shu Chu

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Chronic exposure to heavy metals could lead to adverse health effects such as cancer, neurological development diseases and immunological diseases. The ingestion pathway has been considered the major exposure route for heavy metal contaminated soils. Heavy metals may be proportionally bioaccessible for the human body to absorb. There are no risk assessment studies done in Houston to evaluate health risks from exposure to heavy metals and no spatial analysis done yet. The aims of this dissertation are (1) to characterize 13 heavy metals: magnesium (Mg), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc …

Stochastic Search Variable Selection Applied To A Bayesian Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model For Dyads, Adriana Lopez Ordonez

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In behavioral science research, many outcomes of interest can be influenced by interpersonal relationships (Gyarmathy & Neaigus, 2007). To assess such outcomes, data can be collected using dyads. Each dyad has two elements, an actor, who responds to a stimulus and a partner, who can potentially influence the actor (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006). One popular model for analyzing dyadic data is the Actor Partner Interdependence model (APIM). In this study, we proposed a variable selection method applied to a probit Bayesian Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model (Bayesian HGLM) to fit the APIM to dyadic data. The proposed method used stochastic …