Psychology Commons^™

Are There Gender Differences In Perceived Sexual Self-Efficacy Among African-American Adolescents?, Michelle L. Redmond, Rhonda K. Lewis

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: African American adolescents accounted for more than half of all HIV/AIDS cases in 2009. Behavioral Strategies are needed to help lessen the incidence of HIV/AIDS among this population.

Purpose: The aim of his study was to examine sexual self-efficacy practices and beliefs among African American adolescents. We also examined gender differences between African American adolescents to better understand their perceptions of sexual self-efficacy, condom use intention, and other safer sex practices and beliefs.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 214 African American adolescents using survey instruments to examine their beliefs, perception and intentions on the use of condoms, …

Research Brief: "Examining The Lived Experience And Factors Influencing Education Of Two Student Veterans Using Photovoice Methodology", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about how student veterans' military experiences impact their social and higher education experiences. In policy and practice, student veterans should seek help from faculty and staff, and universities should be available to address the needs of student veterans; the VA should increase its partnerships with universities to allow for additional access to resources for student veterans, and policymakers should support universities in creating student veteran centers. Suggestions for future research include expanding the size and diversity of the sample, reducing constraints on participants, and allowing for group-sharing experiences within the study.

Use And Perceived Effectiveness Of Coping Skills Among Police Officer Spouses, Andrea L. Dinsmore

Andrea L. Dinsmore

Discusses her research on the types of psychological stressors faced by the spouses of police officers and their methods of coping.

Assessment Of Competence Restoration: Determining The Threshold, Andrea L. Dinsmore

Andrea L. Dinsmore

Discusses the legal precedent and research basis of evaluating a defendant's mental competency to stand trial, the variables that contribute to non-restorable incompetence to stand trial, and the differences between patients who are restorable to competency versus those who are not restorable to competency.

Reliable Gains? Evidence For Substantially Underpowered Designs In Studies Of Working Memory Training Transfer To Fluid Intelligence, Tim Bogg, Leanne Lasecki

Psychology Faculty Research Publications

In recent years, cognitive scientists and commercial interests (e.g., Fit Brains, Lumosity) have focused research attention and financial resources on cognitive tasks, especially working memory tasks, to explore and exploit possible transfer effects to general cognitive abilities, such as fluid intelligence. The increased research attention has produced mixed findings, as well as contention about the disposition of the evidence base. To address this contention, J. Au and colleagues (2014; doi:10.3758/s13423-014-0699-x) recently conducted a meta-analysis of extant controlled experimental studies of n-back task training transfer effects on measures of fluid intelligence in healthy adults; the results of which showed a …

Beyond The Dialectics And Polemics: Canadian Catholic Schools Addressing Lgbt Youth Issues, Renato M. Liboro, Robb Travers, Alex St. John

Psychology Faculty Research

In 2012, Canadian media coverage on Bill 13—an Ontario legislative proposal to require all publicly funded schools to support Gay-Straight Alliances as a means of addressing issues concerning bullied lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students—instigated a divisive exchange among representatives of the Ontario Catholic school sector. Beyond these dialectics and polemics, a proactive mix of advocates from schools in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) of Ontario took steady steps to address the circumstances of their LGBT students. This study included semi-structured interviews with ten stakeholders from the WCDSB to determine if strategies and programs deemed successful for …

Conflict In Families And Nursing Home Placement: A Phenomenological Study, Stephen John Pidwysocky

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

In the limited qualitative research about families who have placed a family member in a nursing home, conflict is identified as a significant problem (Lashewicz & Keating, 2009; Lashewicz et al., 2007). Whether it is related to absence of filial responsibility on the part of adult children, (Ganong & Coleman, 2005; Piercy, 1998), adult child ambivalence (Bengtson et al., 2002; Lüscher & Pillemer, 1998), female and male gender caregiving roles (Spitze & Trent, 2006; Dayton-Ingersoll, 2003; Aronson, 1992), differences in levels of commitment on the part of adult children to assist older parents (Silverstein et al., 2008), adult children being …

Low Fidelity Flight Simulation In Collegiate Aviation, Vladimir N. Risukhin

Aviation / Aeronautics / Aerospace International Research Conference

Aviation college pilot training programs, lessons and exercises contain portions that do not require training in sophisticated and highly expensive full flight simulators and flight training devices (FTD) with high fidelity of simulation, or in real aircraft flights. Relatively inexpensive personal-computer-based flight simulation facilities named low fidelity simulators (LFS) can boost development of aircraft pilots’ cognitive and behavioral skills. The paper attempts to reveal how the LFS can support aviation college flight training and research activities. In the Western Michigan University College of Aviation, peer mentoring technique proven to be helpful in higher education institutions has been applied to flight …

Human Factors Considerations In Autonomous Lethal Unmanned Aerial Systems, Kristine Kiernan

Aviation / Aeronautics / Aerospace International Research Conference

The United States military is committed to the development of complete autonomy in unmanned vehicles, including armed unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The design and deployment of autonomous lethal UAS raises ethical issues that have implications for human factors. System design, procedures, and training will be impacted by the advent of autonomous lethal UAS. This paper will define relevant vocabulary, review the literature on robot ethics as it applies to the military setting, discuss various perspectives in the research community, address levels of UAS autonomy, and discuss implications for operator training, responsibility, and human-machine interaction. Familiarity with these ethical issues and …

[Special Issue On Sea Demographics] Response - Counseling/Psychology, Loan T. Phan

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Response to Mark E. Pfeifer's featured article.

Stakeholders' Perceptions Of Parent Involvement In Young Adults' Intercollegiate Athletic Careers: Policy, Education, And Desired Student-Athlete Outcomes, Analise Barker

Research on Capitol Hill

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Examination Of The Psychosocial Adjustment Of Khmer Refugees In Three Massachusetts Communities, Leakhena Nou

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This paper uses a sociological stress process model to explore the Khmer adult refugees' experience in Massachusetts. The analysis is based on the responses of three focus groups in the Khmer communities of Lowell, Lynn, and Revere, Massachusetts. The focus groups provided an in-depth understanding of sources of stress, stress mediators, and psychosocial adjustment/adaptational patterns for Khmer refugees who had experienced the Cambodian genocide. Symptoms and reactions associated with underlying causes of mental health problems had culturally specific relevance to physical illness and mental health.

Personality Test Faking: Detection And Selection Rates, David J. Wolfe

Theses and Dissertations

This study will examine the utility of Kuncel & Borneman's (2007) novel approach to faking detection using unusual item responses, after having addressed several limitations of their previous study. Their approach will be applied to a group of Romanian professionals that took a personality test (the NEO-PI-R) on two occasions 12-24 months apart. This within-subjects design using real job applicants will allow for evaluation of faking at real-world individual levels, as well as offer the ability to analyze Kuncel and Borneman's (2007) proposed technique with a prevalent selection tool that uses a more conventional five-option response set. Following the theory …

The Effects Of Repetitive Thought And Construal Level On Alcohol Consumption, Andrew Mark Kiselica

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Repetitive thought, or the recurrent, often cyclical, focus on self-relevant concerns and experiences, is one liability that may be common across internalizing (INT) and externalizing (EXT) disorders. One particular area of interest for examining repetitive thought as a transdiagnostic process is in relation to alcohol use because alcohol abuse and dependence are the most common, and possibly most costly, EXT disorders. This study experimentally induced abstract repetitive thought, concrete repetitive thought, or distraction to test if repetitive thought and construal level have an effect on drinking behavior. It was hypothesized that individuals in both repetitive thought conditions would drink more …

Thinking And Feeling: The Influence Of Positive Emotion On Human Cognition, Mark S. Barajas

The Hilltop Review

The interaction of thinking and feeling has remained an enduring question of psychology and philosophy. After centuries of philosophical debate, only recently have psychologists, aided by technological advances, conducted rigorous research on the relationship between affect and cognition. This paper integrates contemporary approaches from cognitive psychology and neuropsychology to understand the influence of positive affect on cognition. The broaden-and–build theory (Fredrickson, 2001) suggests that positive emotion enhances human cognitive flexibility, expands one’s repertoire of thoughts, and facilitates development of cognitive resources. The dopaminergic theory of positive affect (Ashby, Isen, & Turkin, 1999) presents dopamine as an important mediator of the …

Celiac Is A Social Disease: Family Challenges And Strategies, Gonzalo Bacigalupe, Aleksandra Plocha

Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD, MPH

Celiac disease is the most common autoimmune inherited disorder in the United States, affecting approximately 1% of the population. Little research exists on the impact of family processes on adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD), the only treatment for celiac disease. The objective of this qualitative study was to examine the barriers that families with a celiac child face and the strategies they use to adhere to the recommended diet. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 families with a child between the ages of 6 and 12 diagnosed with celiac disease. Grounded theory and narrative analysis were used to analyze …

Terri Erbacher And Jonathon Singer Discuss Suicide In Schools With Whyy's Maiken Scott, Terri A. Erbacher Phd, Jonathan Singer

Jonathan B Singer

No abstract provided.

Ptsd/Sud In Individuals With Physical Disabilities: Identifying Problems And Promising Interventions, Melissa L. Anderson, Douglas M. Ziedonis, Lisa M. Najavits

Melissa L. Anderson

Co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD) is common, affects multiple domains of functioning, and presents complex challenges to recovery. Initial research indicates that individuals with physical disabilities experience higher rates of lifetime trauma and PTSD, and exhibit more severe SUD compared to non-disabled individuals. To expand upon these initial findings, we conducted a series of two studies on PTSD and SUD among individuals with physical disabilities.

Developmental Perspectives On Motivational Resilience: Predictors Of Eighth-Grade At-Risk Students' Academic Engagement And Achievement, Heather Anne Brule

Dissertations and Theses

This study uses the concept of stage-environment fit (Eccles et al., 1993) in conjunction with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) to guide an investigation of at-risk eighth graders' motivational and academic resilience. A developmentally-calibrated method was used to divide students into motivational and academic resilience groups based on their resilient, average, or stress-affected levels of academic engagement and GPA. Data from 167 eighth graders and 155 sixth graders were used to examine the extent to which students' ratings of autonomy, teacher support, peer support, and engagement in garden-based education were related to resilience group membership, and whether these four …

Attentional Filtering Of Visual Information By Neuronal Ensembles In The Primate Lateral Prefrontal Cortex., Sébastien Tremblay, Florian Pieper, Adam Sachs, Julio Martinez-Trujillo

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The activity of neurons in the primate lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is strongly modulated by visual attention. Such a modulation has mostly been documented by averaging the activity of independently recorded neurons over repeated experimental trials. However, in realistic settings, ensembles of simultaneously active LPFC neurons must generate attentional signals on a single-trial basis, despite the individual and correlated variability of neuronal responses. Whether, under these circumstances, the LPFC can reliably generate attentional signals is unclear. Here, we show that the simultaneous activity of neuronal ensembles in the primate LPFC can be reliably decoded to predict the allocation of attention …