Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Is Everyone Rated Equal? An Examination Of Factors Related To Sexual Risk In Ethnically Diverse Male Adolescents Who Have Sexually Offended, Veronica Chavez

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As the juvenile justice system has evolved, there has been a need for clinicians to make judgments about risk posed by adolescents who have committed sexual offenses. There are inherent difficulties in attempting to assess risk for violence among adolescents due to the developmental changes taking place and the absence of well-validated instruments to guide risk prediction judgments. With minority groups increasing in numbers in the U.S., it is likely that professionals will encounter minority individuals when conducting risk assessments. Overall questions regarding race/ethnicity have been neglected and there are few if any published research that explores risk factors with …

Counselor Preferences Of White University Students: Ethnicity And Other Important Characteristics, Yi-Ying Lin

Masters Theses

In the last several decades, multiculturalism has became the one of the most popular research topics in psychology and counseling, and the counselor preferences of ethnic minority clients has been well researched. However, in the history of research on counselor preferences, the needs and preferences of ethnic majority clients have been neglected. This study investigated the counselor preferences of White university students.

This study examined three primary research questions: whether counselor ethnicity influenced White university students’ initial counselor preferences, what were White university students’ preferences for various counselor characteristics, and whether White university students preferred specific counseling styles for different …

Organizational Cultural Competence Of Post-Secondary Health-Related Academic Units, Laura Elizabeth Dotson

Masters Theses

Each year, the United States is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse and creating many challenges for healthcare professionals. Extensive literature has documented a gap between minority and majority populations’ health outcomes. According to the Institute of Medicine, one way to eliminate health disparities is by providing cross-cultural training to future and current healthcare professionals. A few models in healthcare delivery systems have assessed their own organizational cultural competence. However, due to the unique differences between health care delivery systems and post-secondary health-related academic units, there exists a need to develop and validate a model for organizational cultural competence of …

Relationships Among Person And Environment Variables And Turnover Intention In Adults With Multiple Sclerosis, Wanda Shull

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The organization and management literature presents a large base of research on the concept of turnover intention, i.e. the point at which a person decides to leave employment. What is known is that turnover intention is the precursor to employee turnover, yet very little research exists in the rehabilitation field to address this concept in terms of persons with chronic illness and disability. This study examines this variable in the population of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Employing multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to analyze three blocks of variables and their impact on turnover intention, the results show that groups …

Failure Of Intimate Partner Violence Screening Among Patients With Substance Use Disorders, Esther K. Choo, Christina Nicolaidis, Robert H. Jenkinson, Jessi M. Cox, Kenneth J. Mcconnell

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives: This study examined the relationship between substance use disorder (SUD) and intimate partner violence screening (IPV) and management practices in the emergency department (ED). Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adult ED patients presenting to an urban, tertiary care teaching hospital over a 4-month period. An automated electronic data abstraction process identified consecutive patients and retrieved visit characteristics, including results of three violence screening questions, demographic data, triage acuity, time of visit, and ICD-9 diagnosis codes. Data on management were collected using a standardized abstraction tool by two reviewers masked to the study question. Multivariate logistic regression …

Asian Race/Ethnicity As A Risk Factor For Bile Duct Injury During Cholecystectomy., Stephanie R. Downing, Ghazala Datoo, Tolulope A. Oyetunji, Terrence Fullum, David C. Chang, Nita Ahuja

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Iatrogenic bile duct injury (BDI) is an uncommon but serious complication of cholecystectomy, with identified risk factors of acute cholecystitis, male sex, older age, and aberrant biliary anatomy. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (1998-2006) was queried for cholecystectomy performed on hospital day 0 or 1. Bile duct injury repair procedure codes were used as a surrogate for BDI. We identified 377,424 patients who underwent cholecystectomy, with 1124 BDIs (0.3%). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, Asian race/ethnicity was a significant risk factor for BDI (odds ratio [OR], 2.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59-3.23; P < .001). This persisted for laparoscopic (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.28-5.39; P = .009) and open (2.21; 1.59-3.07; P < .001) cholecystectomies. No other race/ethnicity was identified as a risk factor for BDI. We report a new finding that Asian race/ethnicity is a significant risk factor for BDI in laparoscopic and open cholecystectomies.

The Blood Drive Of Wku Greek Week: Issues Of Altruism, Egoism, Integration And Separation, Cynthia Halcyone Cotton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis focuses on the Blood Drive which takes place during the spring Greek Week event at Western Kentucky University. I primarily investigate the varying methods of negotiating issues of altruism and egoism in terms of the Blood Drive as well as way that the Blood Drive fits into the WKU Greek yearly cycle. I focus on issues of the process of identity in social Greek-letter organizations and how the process of this identity is renegotiated during the Blood Drive and other Greek events.

I interviewed people from several groups for this paper. Initially, I interviewed Blood Donor Recruitment Representatives …

Lgb-Affirmative Therapists' Use Of Developmental Models Of Lgb-Identity In Therapy. A Phenomenological Investigation, Victoria E. Cane

Dissertations

Socially sanctioned hostility toward sexual minority persons continues to be a reality in the United States and worldwide. Therapists working with sexual minorities have responsibility to provide non-pathologizing, affirmative therapy to these clients. A central aspect of affirmative therapy is therapists' recognition and understanding of sexual orientation (SO) identity and developmental models of sexual minority identity have a played a vital role in promoting this understanding. Although such models have been central to the practice and training of affirmative therapy, therapists' applied use of the models has not been empirically investigated. For this phenomenological study, nine affirmative therapists were interviewed …

The Role Of Unrealistic Optimism In Explaining Preventive Behaviors In High Versus Low Endemic Malaria Settings In Belize, Daniel G. Handysides

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Of all the diseases an individual can encounter in the world, malaria is one of the most destructive. Simple measures like sleeping under a bednet would greatly reduce the burden (Abeku, 2007). When people estimate their risk relative to others, they are most often unrealistically optimistic, which may explain why those at risk often fail to perform behaviors, such as using a bednet that will reduce their risk. However, one study showed that people at high risk for malaria held pessimistic perceptions of their risk for the disease, but the reasons for this finding are unclear (Morrison, Ager, & …

Program Evaluation Of A Community-Based Door-Through-Door Medical Escort Service, Lauren A. Martin

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report summarizes the program evaluation findings of a Boston-based organization’s Medical Escort program. This “door-through-door” service strives to provide medical transportation, physical assistance, and emotional support to elders on their way to the doctor’s office, during medical appointments and on the way back home again. By offering added assistance the program attempts to remove environmental barriers associated with access to health care. This evaluation combines previously collected program statistics with surveys (32) from program volunteers and phone interviews (78) with recipients.

The Influence Of Competing Perceptual And Motor Priors In The Context Of The Size-Weight Illusion, Gavin Buckingham, Melvyn Goodale

Gavin Buckingham

When lifting objects of identical mass but different sizes, people perceive the smaller objects as weighing more than the larger ones (the 'size-weight' illusion, SWI). While individual's grip and load force rates are rapidly scaled to the objects' actual mass, the magnitude of the force used to lift these SWI-inducing objects is rarely discussed. Here, we show that participants continue to apply a greater loading force to a large SWI-inducing cube than to a small SWI cube, lift after lift. These differences in load force persisted long after initial errors in grip and load force rates had been corrected. Interestingly, …

The Influence Of Childhood Abuse On Longitudinal Course Of Recovery In Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Kee-Hong Choi

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Background: Empirical outcome studies have identified specific symptomatic, cognitive, emotional and functional sequelae of childhood abuse in people with severe mental illness (SMI). These findings illuminate the need for an integrated understanding of biological, psychological, environmental, and developmental aspects of SMI. Purpose: The purpose of the present study includes the following: 1) to examine reliability and validity of the comprehensive child abuse rating system in a sample of individuals with SMI, 2) to examine the influence of childhood abuse severity on recovery of psychotic symptoms, neurocognition and social-cognition, and social functioning in people with SMI during 12 months of inpatient …

Telemedicine And Advanced Technology Research Center: Quarterly Report, April 18, 2010 To July 17, 2010, Bea Babbitt

Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center

Development of a P.O.I. and a Blended Learning Ecology for use in Combat Lifesaver Skills Training for the Army.

Multiple Mechanisms Of Consciousness: The Neural Correlates Of Emotional Awareness., Jayna M Amting, Steven G Greening, Derek G V Mitchell

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Emotional stimuli, including facial expressions, are thought to gain rapid and privileged access to processing resources in the brain. Despite this access, we are conscious of only a fraction of the myriad of emotion-related cues we face everyday. It remains unclear, therefore, what the relationship is between activity in neural regions associated with emotional representation and the phenomenological experience of emotional awareness. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and binocular rivalry to delineate the neural correlates of awareness of conflicting emotional expressions in humans. Behaviorally, fearful faces were significantly more likely to be perceived than disgusted or neutral faces. Functionally, …

Examining The Interrater Reliability Of The Comprehensive Inventory Of Mental Health And Recovery And Rehabilitation Services (Cimhrrs), Robert W. Johnson

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation is one step in the continuing development, evaluation, and validation of the Comprehensive Inventory of Mental Health and Recovery and Rehabilitation Services (CIMHRRS). The CIMHRRS is an instrument to guide comprehensive assessment of programs that provide integrated services to people with serious mental illness (SMI).

The project described in this dissertation evaluated three key aspects of its performance in real world application: practical feasibility, internal consistency and reliability, and ability to distinguish between different programs. Investigators utilized a combination of principles and methods, associated with psychometric scale development, field methods, and program evaluation. Using a structured site review …

Human Induced Rotation And Reorganization Of The Brain Of Domestic Dogs, Taryn Roberts, Paul Mcgreevy, Michael Valenzuela

Anatomy Collection

Domestic dogs exhibit an extraordinary degree of morphological diversity. Such breed-to-breed variability applies equally to the canine skull, however little is known about whether this translates to systematic differences in cerebral organization. By looking at the paramedian sagittal magnetic resonance image slice of canine brains across a range of animals with different skull shapes (N = 13), we found that the relative reduction in skull length compared to width (measured by Cephalic Index) was significantly correlated to a progressive ventral pitching of the primary longitudinal brain axis (r = 0.83), as well as with a ventral shift in the position …

Human Induced Rotation And Reorganization Of The Brain Of Domestic Dogs, Taryn Roberts, Paul Mcgreevy, Michael Valenzuela

Morphology Collection

Domestic dogs exhibit an extraordinary degree of morphological diversity. Such breed-to-breed variability applies equally to the canine skull, however little is known about whether this translates to systematic differences in cerebral organization. By looking at the paramedian sagittal magnetic resonance image slice of canine brains across a range of animals with different skull shapes (N = 13), we found that the relative reduction in skull length compared to width (measured by Cephalic Index) was significantly correlated to a progressive ventral pitching of the primary longitudinal brain axis (r = 0.83), as well as with a ventral shift in the position …

Deficits In Attention To Emotional Stimuli Distinguish Youth With Severe Mood Dysregulation From Youth With Bipolar Disorder., Brendan A Rich, Melissa A Brotman, Daniel P Dickstein, Derek G V Mitchell, R James R Blair, Ellen Leibenluft

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Studying attention in the context of emotional stimuli may aid in differentiating pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) from severe mood dysregulation (SMD). SMD is characterized by chronic irritability, arousal, and hyper-reactivity; SMD youth frequently receive a BD diagnosis although they do not meet DSM-IV criteria for BD because they lack manic episodes. We compared 57 BD (14.4 +/- 2.9 years old, 56% male), 41 SMD (12.6 +/- 2.6 years old, 66% male), and 33 control subjects (13.7 +/- 2.5 years old, 52% male) using the Emotional Interrupt task, which examines how attention is impacted by positive, negative, or neutral distracters. We …

Plasma Prekallikrein Levels Are Positively Associated With Circulating Lipid Levels And The Metabolic Syndrome In Children., James A. Mackenzie, Kristen A. Roosa, Brooks B. Gump, Amy K. Dumas, Kestutis G. Bendinskas

Brooks B. Gump

Plasma prekallikrein (PK) has been shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors, but these associations have not been investigated in children. The present study examined PK activity in relation to well-established cardiovascular risk factors in a cohort of children aged 9–11 years (N = 97). We found a significant and positive association between PK and fasting levels of total cholesterol (p < 0.01), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < 0.01), and triglycerides (p < 0.001). In addition, there was a significant association between PK activity and the metabolic syndrome, a clustering of risk factors considered to have an impact on atherosclerosis and CVD mortality. Finally, we found that children with a family history of CVD had significantly elevated PK activity. These novel findings warrant further investigations into the relationship between circulating PK levels and CVD risk factors because PK may be involved in the progression of the disease state. Il est bien connu que la pre´kallicre´ine (PK) est associe´e a` la maladie cardiovasculaire (CVD) et a` ses facteurs de risque, mais ces associations n’ont pas e´te´ ve´rifie´es chez les enfants. Cette e´tude se propose de ve´rifier l’association entre l’activite´ de la PK et les facteurs de risque de CVD aupre`s d’une cohorte d’enfants aˆge´s de 9 a` 11 ans (N = 97). On observe une corre´lation positive significative entre la PK et les variables suivantes : la concentration totale de choleste´rol a` jeun (p < 0,01), les concentrations des lipoprote´ines non a` haute densite´ (p < 0,01) et la concentration des triglyce´rides (p < 0,001). De plus, on observe une corre´lation significative entre l’activite´ de la PK et le syndrome me´tabolique constitue par un ensemble de facteurs ayant un effet sur l’athe´roscle´rose et la mortalite´ due a` la CVD. En dernier lieu, les enfants avec des ante´ce´dents familiaux de CVD pre´sentent une plus importante activite´ de la PK, et ce, de fac¸on significative. Ces premie`res observations sugge`rent d’autres e´tudes sur la relation entre la concentration sanguine de PK et les facteurs de risque de CVD, car la PK pourrait eˆtre implique´e dans la progression de la maladi

Plasma Prekallikrein Levels Are Positively Associated With Circulating Lipid Levels And The Metabolic Syndrome In Children., James A. Mackenzie, Kristen A. Roosa, Brooks B. Gump, Amy K. Dumas, Kestutis G. Bendinskas

Falk College Research Center

Plasma prekallikrein (PK) has been shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors, but these associations have not been investigated in children. The present study examined PK activity in relation to well-established cardiovascular risk factors in a cohort of children aged 9–11 years (N = 97). We found a significant and positive association between PK and fasting levels of total cholesterol (p < 0.01), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < 0.01), and triglycerides (p < 0.001). In addition, there was a significant association between PK activity and the metabolic syndrome, a clustering of risk factors considered to have an impact on atherosclerosis and CVD mortality. Finally, we found that children with a family history of CVD had significantly elevated PK activity. These novel findings warrant further investigations into the relationship between circulating PK levels and CVD risk factors because PK may be involved in the progression of the disease state. Il est bien connu que la pre´kallicre´ine (PK) est associe´e a` la maladie cardiovasculaire (CVD) et a` ses facteurs de risque, mais ces associations n’ont pas e´te´ ve´rifie´es chez les enfants. Cette e´tude se propose de ve´rifier l’association entre l’activite´ de la PK et les facteurs de risque de CVD aupre`s d’une cohorte d’enfants aˆge´s de 9 a` 11 ans (N = 97). On observe une corre´lation positive significative entre la PK et les variables suivantes : la concentration totale de choleste´rol a` jeun (p < 0,01), les concentrations des lipoprote´ines non a` haute densite´ (p < 0,01) et la concentration des triglyce´rides (p < 0,001). De plus, on observe une corre´lation significative entre l’activite´ de la PK et le syndrome me´tabolique constitue par un ensemble de facteurs ayant un effet sur l’athe´roscle´rose et la mortalite´ due a` la CVD. En dernier lieu, les enfants avec des ante´ce´dents familiaux de CVD pre´sentent une plus importante activite´ de la PK, et ce, de fac¸on significative. Ces premie`res observations sugge`rent d’autres e´tudes sur la relation entre la concentration sanguine de PK et les facteurs de risque de CVD, car la PK pourrait eˆtre implique´e dans la progression de la maladi

Mobile Librarian Service To The Wayne State University College Of Nursing, Nancy A. Wilmes

Library Scholarly Publications

In recent years, College of Nursing faculty and students have visited the Science and Engineering Library (which houses the Nursing Collection) less frequently to obtain reference assistance and research support. Nursing faculty and students are using online resources for their research, but these patrons still need to be able to ask questions and obtain clarification about: database search strategies, electronic journal access and full-text document delivery. To address these important resource and service issues, the Nursing Librarian Liaison has been offering reference service and research support in person, on-site in the Wayne State University College of Nursing office building. This …

Development Of A P.O.I. And A Blended Learning Ecology For Use In Combat Lifesaver Skills Training For The Army, Bea Babbitt

Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center

The primary purpose of the project, as originally conceived, was to design and implement a series of applied research studies to validate the effectiveness of a blended learning ecology in the teaching of life saving medical skills to US Army combat military personnel. The project has undergone several changes to include changing the focus to the development of a Program of Instruction (POI) for Combat Lifesaver Skills (CLS). The new scope of work which has been followed for the past year includes the completion of the POI as well as the integration of the Personal Response System (PRS) into the …

Animal-Human Relationships In Child Protective Services: Getting A Baseline, Lisa Anne Zilney, Christina Risley-Curtiss, Rebecca Hornung

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The inclusion of certain aspects of animal-human relationships (AHR), such as animal abuse and animal-assisted interventions, can enhance child welfare practice and there are resources available to promote such inclusion. However, there is little knowledge of whether this is being accomplished. This study sought to fill this gap by conducting a national survey of state public child welfare agencies to examine AHR in child protective services practice, their assessment tools, and cross-reporting policies.

Interpretations Of Interpretations: Combining Community-Based Participatory Research And Interpretive Inquiry To Improve Health, Jessica Gregg, Lourdes Centurion, Julio Maldonado, Raquel Aguillon, Rosemary Carmela Celaya-Alston, Stephanie Farquhar

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Latina immigrants from Mexico suffer significantly increased morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer when compared with non-Hispanic White women, largely owing to lack of screening and appropriate treatment. Objectives: To demonstrate that by combining the tools of community-based participatory research (CBPR) with the tools of interpretive inquiry, it is possible to address explicit community concerns surrounding a particular problem such as cervical cancer while also examining what other, perhaps less immediately visible, matters consume the time and attention of community members. Methods: We first briefly discuss and compare CBPR as an approach to research and interpretive inquiry as a …

Reducing Heavy Drinking Among First Year Intercollegiate Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Web-Based Normative Feedback, Diana M. Doumas, Tonya Haustveit, Kenneth M. Coll

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study evaluated the efficacy of a web-based personalized normative feedback program targeting heavy drinking in first year intercollegiate athletes. The program was offered through the Athletic Department first year seminar at a NCAA Division I university. Athletes were randomly assigned to either a web-based feedback group or a comparison condition. Results indicated high-risk athletes receiving the intervention reported significantly greater reductions in heavy drinking than those in the comparison group. Additionally, intervention effects were mediated by changes in perceptions of peer drinking. Findings support the use of web-based normative feedback for reducing heavy drinking in first year intercollegiate athletes.

Food Handling Practices, Knowledge And Beliefs Of Families With Young Children Based On The Health Belief Model, Adeline Lum

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Objective: To determine current food handling practices, knowledge and beliefs of primary food handlers with children 10 years old and the relationship between these components.

Design: Surveys were developed based on FightBac!™ concepts and the Health Belief Model (HBM) construct.

Participants: The majority of participants (n= 503) were females (67%), Caucasians (80%), aged between 30 to 49 years old (83%), had one or two children (83%), prepared meals all or most of the time (76%) and consumed meals away from home three times or less per week (66%).

Analysis: Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rho) …

Exploring Online Sexually Explicit Material: What Is The Relationship To Sexual Coercion?, Valerie Gonsalves

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

With the popularity of the Internet, it is easy to access sexually explicit material. Past research has demonstrated that exposure to sexually explicit material in traditional formats (i.e. magazines and videos) may have an influence on male attitudes and behaviors towards females, but these effects appear to be minimal and dissipate over the long term. Though the body of literature examining Internet sexually explicit material is smaller, researchers have found little to no effects on attitudes or aggressive behaviors immediately after exposure. However, research regarding exposure to online sexually explicit material has not included forensically relevant variables.

Previous research has …

Women's Compliance In Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment: The Role Of Children And Mental Health, Cathy Gertrude Cooke

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of children and mental illness in women's compliance in a treatment program for substance abuse. Information was retrieved from medical records of female clients ( N=221) who took part in a community-based day treatment program for substance abuse in a large city in southeastern Virginia during a 32-month period. It was anticipated that, as compared to women who resided with minor children, women who did not reside with minor children would have greater treatment success defined as: (1) more days in the treatment program; (2) higher percentage of negative …

A Parasitological Paradox: Why Is Ascarid Infection So Rare In The Prehistoric Americas?, Daniela Leles, Karl Reinhard, Martín Horacio Fugassa, Luis Fernando Ferreira, Alena M. Iñiguez, Adauto Araujo

Karl Reinhard Publications

Ascaris lumbricoides (giant roundworm) and Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) are the most common intestinal parasites found in humans worldwide today and they almost always co-occur. However, we find two distinct patterns in archae­ological material. In historical North American and Old World contexts, the association of A. lumbricoides and T. trich­iura is similar to the modern epidemiological picture. In contrast, the co-occurrence of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura eggs in prehistoric South America is rare. For prehistoric contexts, T. trichiura is the most common parasite found in ar­chaeological material. Recently molecular biology techniques pointed to a subdiagnosis of roundworm infection in pre- …

On The Number Of Trials Necessary For Stabilization Of Error-Related Brain Activity Across The Life Span, Jason Themanson, Matthew Pontifex, Mark Scudder, Michael Brown, Kevin O'Leary, Chien-Ting Wu, Charles Hillman

Jason R. Themanson, Ph.D

The minimum number of trials necessary to accurately characterize the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe) across the life span was investigated using samples of preadolescent children, college-age young adults, and older adults. Event-related potentials and task performance were subsequently measured during a modified flanker task. Response-locked averages were created using sequentially increasing errors of commission in blocks of two. Findings indicated that across all age cohorts ERN and Pe were not significantly different relative to the within-participants grand average after six trials. Further, results indicated that the ERN and Pe exhibited excellent internal reliability in preadolescent children …