Health Psychology Commons^™

Impacts Of Diabetes Stigma On Acute Healthcare Engagement Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Kate Camillo

Honors Theses

Introduction: Individuals frequently experience public and self-stigma stemming from type 2 diabetes. Prior studies have linked stigma with higher levels of poorer diabetes outcomes such as greater disease-related distress and worse glycemic control. However, few if any studies have examined the association between diabetes-related stigma and healthcare utilization. This gap in the literature is critically important given the importance of proactive disease management and preventive care as well the high costs of acute service use in this population. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between type 2 diabetes stigma, patient activation, and acute medical …

Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Health Behaviors And Mental Health During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review, Kara C. Middleton

Honors College Theses

The Coronavirus pandemic had many negative impacts on healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, specialist care providers closed their offices to reduce transmission. Maternal healthcare was severely impacted. Mothers were unable to receive the prenatal and perinatal care they needed. Other specialist care, such as mental healthcare was severely impacted as well. There was also a lack of prenatal care occurring due to offices being closed. There is an established link between anxiety, depression, emotional eating, and Gestational weight gain. Gestational Weight Gain is associated with a higher prevalence of behavioral health conditions that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reflective Journaling Intervention To Impact Self-Awareness, Professional Health, And Overall Well-Being In Nurses, Brittany M. Langan, Katherine Keppen

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Background. Burnout among nurses has been on the rise and was exacerbated with the pandemic. Reflective journaling after work may be a strategy to decrease feelings of burnout. Reflective journaling, as an intervention, has been shown to improve self-awareness, compassion fatigue, and burnout among nurses. The purpose of this study was to pilot a 4-week reflective journaling intervention in hospital-based nurses and describe participant professional quality of life, self-awareness, and overall well-being.

Theoretical Framework. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) was chosen as the theoretical framework because it identifies the belief that performing a particular behavior will lead to a …

Post-Traumatic Growth, Resilience, And Coping In Aya Cancer Survivors, Julia Piluk

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors experience psychosocial outcomes of cancer that may cause a positive or negative outlook. Qualitative data (N=26) was collected and analyzed for subthemes of post-traumatic growth, resilience, and coping methods. Results suggest that overall, AYA cancer survivors report a sense of hope for their future.

Patterns Of Diet And Physical Activity In Adolescent Cancer Survivors, Madison Fertig

Theses and Dissertations

Diet and physical activity have been shown to reduce the risk of obesity and related diseases in cancer survivors. Adolescents are at a unique developmental stage where they have more control over their own health behaviors, indicating an important time to develop and maintain healthy behaviors.

Sociopolitical Determinants Of Health In The Proposed Rezoning Of Richmond Hill/Ozone Park, Ny, Khemraj J. Persaud

Publications and Research

The community of Richmond Hill/Ozone Park, Queens, NY has been split into multiple zones and has needed rezoning for decades. The area consists of a range of people from different ethnic backgrounds, including Indo-Caribbean, South Asian, and Afro-Caribbean. Racial health disparities persist in this district, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. I conducted research about how ongoing political issues in this community has been affecting the overall health of its residents and what is being done about it.

Lifetime Cannabis Use Is Associated With Suicidal Ideation And Non-Suicidal Self Injury, Diamonde Mccollum, Katie Moskal, Jenni Teeters

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

Poster regarding cannabis use.

The current study hypothesized lifetime cannabis use frequency would be linked to greater risk of lifetime suicidal ideation, lifetime suicide attempts and lifetime non-suicidal self injury.

Improving Depression Screening And Follow-Up Care In Underserved Populations, Alicia D. Hankins

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing DNP Capstone Projects

Depression is a substantial source of financial, emotional, and physical burdens to patients and their families worldwide. It also disproportionately affects economically disadvantaged populations. To combat the depression crisis, The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published guidelines to boost depression screenings of all patients presenting for healthcare services. A review of literature and the completed needs assessment confirmed low rates of depression screening in the rural primary care sector. This project took place in an outpatient primary care facility in rural Arkansas, where current depression screening tools were not being used. The goal was to increase the percentage …

Associations Between Trauma History And Dimensions Of Self-Concept In College Students, Francisco Carrillo-Alvarez

Honors Scholar Theses

Past research in the literature of the self has considered the influence of potentially traumatic or adverse events. In this study, we aim to explore this relationship among undergraduate students utilizing various measures of self-concept including global self-worth, self-concept clarity and domain specific measures of self-perception. Various measures were administered to 308 participants that aimed to determine the instances of potentially traumatic events experienced and the subjective level of distress, in addition to the self-concept measures of global self-worth, self-concept clarity and the domain specific measures of self-perception including self-fulfillment, autonomy, and emotional self-adjustment. The results reveal that global self-worth …

Examining Difference In Social Perceptions Between Women Using Hormonal Contraceptives And Naturally Cycling Women, Caroline B. Johnson

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The term “stress” refers to a person’s psychological and physiological response to the demands and pressures of the world around them (Farlex, 2021). Past research has shown that stress can have negative side effects on a person’s well-being (Aneshensel et al., 1991; Wunsch et al., 2017; Michie, 2002). Although people experience stress, some people perceive more stress than others. Perceptions are important because the way one understands certain conditions can elicit distinct emotional and physiological responses (Kemeny, 2003). An important factor that has not received a lot of attention is women’s use of hormonal contraceptives. In the United States, 24.4% …

Examining The Effects Of Different Coping Styles On Dependent Stress Generation, Whitney Skaggs

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, I prospectively examined the associations between different coping styles and stress. Stress can be classified as independent, which is stress that an individual has no control over, or dependent stress, which is stress that occurs because of the individuals’ actions. Coping is how individuals deal with that stress. With the role that coping plays in stress, I expected that it would relate to stress generation. I hypothesized that some forms of coping would prospectively predict the occurrence of less dependent stress but not independent stress. To test this hypothesis, I had college students (N=73) complete …

Relationship Between Pet And Human Separation Anxiety On Owners’ Anxiety And Physical Health, Noah Ross

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Pet ownership has always been thought to be beneficial, but some recent studies have not been consistent with this statement. A possible explanation for this is an unhealthy overdependence that pets and pet owners have developed as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. In this paper, I examine whether separation anxiety from pets, people, and separation behavior of pets could be predictors of anxiety and physical health. The first prediction was that pet and non pet owners differed demographically. Also, it was hypothesized that separation anxiety from humans, separation anxiety from pets, but not pet separation behaviors predicted anxiety and …

The Importance Of Health Anxiety And Emotional Reasoning To Understand Vaccine Hesitancy And Safety Behaviors: Implications For Public Health Campaigns In A Covid_19 Era, Samantha Ballas, Kimberli Treadwell

Honors Scholar Theses

This study examined the impact of health anxiety and emotional reasoning on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and preventative behaviors, hypothesizing that high anxiety and emotional reasoning would predict lower vaccine hesitancy and higher COVID-19 preventative health behavior after controlling for demographic variables. A large international non-probability convenience sample of 532 individuals consented to an online survey in a cross-sectional period from March through August 2021 (one month following availability of vaccinations in the USA). Participants completed questionnaires online. Health anxiety and general anxiety were significantly correlated with COVID-19 preventative behaviors, including mask wearing and social distancing, and emotional reasoning. General anxiety …

Simultaneous Alcohol And Cannabis Use In College Students: Examining Context, Route Of Administration, Cognitive Factors, And Consequences Via Daily Diary, Jennifer Lynn Shipley

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Cannabis and alcohol use are pervasive among college students. Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis (commonly referred to as simultaneous alcohol and marijuana [SAM]) use (i.e., effects overlap) is more prevalent than concurrent alcohol and cannabis (commonly referred to as concurrent alcohol and marijuana [CAM]) use (i.e., effects do not overlap). Consequences of SAM use are often greater than CAM or single substance use. Research has explored cognitions (motives, expectancies) and contexts (environmental, social) as predictors of SAM use among adolescents, young adults, and adults; however, research is needed among college students specifically. Limited research has examined type of alcohol and route …

Which Generation Is Having Safe Sex? Millennial Or Gen-Z, Rachel Silver

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This research study aims to examine the sex practices of Millennials vs. Gen Z's. There are many concerns and questions about the long-term effects of hook-up culture for modern youth. In the last few years, there has been a rise in STDs and a decrease in teenage pregnancy. This quantitative research intends to find out where are education gaps are and the most significant motivators for young people to use protection and contraceptives through a list of questions in a survey. The goal is to understand better the similarities and differences between Millenials and Gen-Z's safe sex education and …

Taking Health-Risks As A Short-Term Mating Strategy, Alvin Jun Jie Wong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Diseases pose a recurring, and often indiscriminate threat to the health of individuals. However, there exists a wide range of behavioral responses between individuals when it comes to taking health precautions or undertaking risks in response to this perennial threat, with some responses seeming maladaptive to an individual’s survival. The present study adopts the lens of evolutionary psychology and suggests that taking health risks represent a short-term mating strategy in men, which potentially trades survival for reproductive fitness. Taking health risks is hypothesized to be an honest signal of both good genes and a strong physiological immune system, both of …

Perceptions Of Risk, Work, And Lifestyle Changes On Mental Health Of Healthcare Workers Amidst The Covid-19 Pandemic, Awatef Ergai, Leeanna Spiva, Lin Li, Ryan Breshears, Ginny Q. Zhan

Faculty Articles

The COVID-19 outbreak is significantly affecting the mental health of healthcare workers worldwide. This study aims to investigate mental health outcomes of healthcare workers in a health system located in the Southeastern US during the first peak of the pandemic and examine the association of specific factors on the mental well-being of healthcare workers. A cross-sectional survey of 388 healthcare workers was conducted. Data were collected using a 79-item questionnaire, which included the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) instrument, the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) instrument, and the 22-item Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), to assess symptoms of depression, anxiety, and …

#Metoo: The Literary And Social Impact Of Sexual Violence Narratives, Aura Comer

English Undergraduate Honors Theses

To fully understand the severity of sexual violence and its pervasiveness in America, I will present statistics of rape and sexual assault, as well as available legal court statistics of justice and punishment for offenders (or a lack thereof). However, there must be an acknowledgment of the disparity in information and representation pertaining to indigenous, LGBT+, immigrant, and minor communities. Note that these statistics do not speak to the complete pervasiveness of rape and sexual assault in the United States, given the negligent protection and lack of belief in victims, which results in victim silencing and a lack of reporting.

Effects Of Income Disparity On Relationships, B. Lynn Mcelyea

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Shifting social norms are leading to changes in family structures. More women are working, and more families are relying on dual income to provide for the household than ever before. These changes in family income are happening fairly quickly in our society and for that reason, as our society shifts towards a more egalitarian mindset, we should view these variables using primary and secondary earner as opposed to through the lens of a husband and a wife. The aim of this study was to examine relationship satisfaction and how that might be affected by differences in income or earner status …

Providing Effective Assessment Feedback To Patients: Lessons Learned From Feedback After A Severe Injury, Kelsie Mcquinn

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper seeks to articulate lessons learned from feedback received after a severe injury in order to help guide neuropsychologists provide effective feedback to patients. Given that there is no agreed upon conceptual framework for providing neuropsychological assessment feedback, parallels are drawn from what works in clinical psychology – the working alliance. I use personal examples to highlight how the working alliance, as well as other psychological principles, can help inform neuropsychologists provide the most effective feedback to patients.