Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Social World(S) Of The Scooter: Two-Wheeled Mobilities In Cairo And Alexandria, Ahmed El Serougui

Theses and Dissertations

My research project looks at the scooter as a particular type of two-wheeled motorcycle, which has shot into prominence as a specific mode of transportation used by middle class women and men in the past few years and has been notably visible in prominent Egyptian cities. This research is based on a multi-sited ethnography in Alexandria and Cairo, tracing the scooter through the urban landscape in time and space, addressing first questions related to navigating the city in times of pandemic and what kind of theory could be produced from these ordinary cities in such an extraordinary time.

This research …

Drivers And Distribution Of Solar Pv In New York State, Jessica Stretton

Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates the drivers and distribution of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in New York State using statistical analysis and GIS. Rooftop residential solar projects were found across the state but were most heavily concentrated around the cities of New York, Schenectady and Ithaca. Larger scale, ground-mounted projects were located upstate and the less densely populated areas of the Lower Hudson Valley. Although there were more projects and kW generation downstate, individual solar PV installations were more likely to be larger in size upstate.

Postsecondary Education Achievement And Employment Outcomes In Adults With Self-Reported Autism Diagnosis, So Yeon Park

Theses and Dissertations

More autistic adults are entering into the work force and enrolling in postsecondary schools. However, overall, autistic adults experience a more difficult time than neurotypical peers completing postsecondary education, obtaining employment, and maintaining employment. Less is known about outcomes for subgroups of autistic adults who have typical or elevated intellectual and verbal abilities. The present study looks at the significance of self-reported autistic traits, camouflaging, and mental health (anxiety, depression, intolerance of uncertainty) factors for predicting educational and employment outcomes in a sample of 148 adults with an autism diagnosis and no co-occurring intellectual disability. Of the total sample, 118 …

Why Do Street-Level Bureaucrats Risk Themselves For Others? The Case Of Public Health Care Workers In Egypt, Mohamed Adel Ahmed Eraky Moussa

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how street-level bureaucrats play an essential role in working under tremendous psychological and physical pressure with limited resources. Healthcare workers are at the front lines to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, and they are most vulnerable to infection and illness. Therefore, it is essential to identify the factors that enhance health care workers’ motivation at the time of pandemics and determine their willingness to risk their lives for others. The current study covers a sample of public health care workers working in two central quarantine public hospitals in Egypt. It considers a range of …

Mentalization, Attachment And Quality Of Emerging Adults' Relationships, Mai K. El Ghannam

Theses and Dissertations

The emerging adulthood phase has specific characteristics related to identity formation and raising the desire for autonomy and independence. One of the exciting functioning abilities at this life stage is their interpersonal functioning abilities. The emerging adults' quality of relationships can be better understood by understanding their attachment styles and mentalization capacity. Thus, this study aimed at understanding the correlation between emerging adults' different attachment styles, mentalization capacity, and their level of interpersonal functioning. A total of 77 emerging adults participated in the study by answering questions related to their mentalization capacity, attachment style, and interpersonal functioning level. The results …

An Exploration Of The Contextual Interference Effect On Trained Trick Retention In Companion Dogs (Canis Lupus Familiaris), Madeline Messina

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to enact behavior change is pivotal to dog training success. Currently, there are few studies informing the best training practices. This thesis sought to enhance current training practices by applying a human motor skill learning theory, the contextual interference effect (CI), to a trick-training paradigm with companion dogs.

Arbitration Outcomes And Employer Size In The Context Of The American Arbitration Association 2010-2020, James H. Call

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the ``repeat player" effect in employment arbitration for counsel appearing repeatedly in the same arbitration forum, and the impact of employer size on arbitration outcomes, and finds that the repeat player effect has a notable impact only on arbitrations involving the largest employers.

Opportunities For Wonder In A Public Park, Alexander Butler

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests unstructured play is important to a child's mental and physical development, and the natural world provides excellent opportunities for formative experiences. Urban environments, however, present challenges to finding and enjoying wild spaces. The potential role of public parks, supported by a small survey of college students, is discussed.

Rental Discrimination On The Basis Of Immigration Status, Diego S. Osorio

Theses and Dissertations

We employ a field experiment to assess the degree of housing discrimination against Hispanic immigrants versus someone with Hispanic heritage. The results indicate that individuals who indicate that they are immigrants in their rental applications are less likely to receive a response.

The Effects Of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility On Financial Returns, Kevin Acevedo

Theses and Dissertations

A major issue concerning companies is global warming and the impact that firms have on the environment. Companies are taking steps towards sustainability, but it is unclear if sustainable business practices are beneficial to companies’ financial performance. This paper examines the effect of environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Fortune 250 companies on financial performance. The analysis reveals significant effects on financial performance, but they are inconsistent and hard to interpret.

Attachment Style Moderates Polygenic Risk For Ptsd In U.S. Military Veterans: Results From The National Health And Resilience In Veterans Study, Amanda Jf Tamman

Theses and Dissertations

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) derived from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may inform risk models of PTSD. To date, however, no known study has examined moderators such as attachment style that may impact the relation between PRS and PTSD. Main and interactive effects of PRS and attachment style on PTSD symptoms were evaluated in a nationally representative sample of trauma-exposed, European-American U.S. military veterans (N=2,030). PRS were derived from a GWAS of PTSD re-experiencing symptoms (N=146,660) in the Million Veteran Program. Higher re-experiencing PRS and secure attachment style were independently associated with more severe PTSD symptoms. …

Perceived Parenting, Personality Traits, And Personality Pathology In An Adult Sample, Elizabeth Concetta Vento

Theses and Dissertations

Parenting practices influence offspring’s emotional and developmental behavior. The present study explored the relationships between retrospective ratings of perceived parental care in childhood and general and pathological personality traits in adulthood. Participants were comprised of three adult samples college undergraduate students (N = 105; 69% female), ages 18 to 33 (M = 19.70, SD = 2.28), general population (N = 99; 63% female), ages 18 to 83 (M = 44.71, SD = 16.27), and comedians (N = 111; 33% female), ages 18 to 67 (M = 37.24, SD = 11.20). Data from participants were aggregated from a larger study done …

Caregiver Engagement In Treatment For Adolescent Behavior Problems: Construct And Predictive Validity, Nicole Piazza Porter

Theses and Dissertations

Identifying core elements of family therapy is a relatively new line of research that has the potential to increase the availability of family therapy in usual care by proving a flexible and accessible alternative to manualized treatment. The current study extends this line of research by exploring the psychometric properties of a Caregiver Engagement factor comprised of four caregiver engagement interventions grounded in family therapy theory and clinical expertise: Enhances Love and Commitment, Caregiver Collaboration, Caregiver Ecosystem, and Joins with Caregivers. The study sampled a total of 320 audio or video recorded sessions and outcome data from 152 cases treated …

Graduate Students’ Perceptions Of Psychotherapists’ Engagement In Common Factors, Manuel Jose Orellana

Theses and Dissertations

The study investigated the extent to which common factors (CF) interventions are found within the training recording of cognitive behavior therapies. Some scholars have proposed that effective psychotherapy can be accounted for by Common Factors that exist across all psychotherapies that work. This study aims to see if CF interventions are found within cognitive behavior therapies. To discover the extent to which CF interventions are found within cognitive behavior therapies, we asked graduate students in a psychotherapy course who were assigned to watch training sessions of CBT sessions and instructed to rate the therapists’ behaviors using the Multi-Theoretical List Psychotherapeutic …

Placement Instability, Perceived Social Support, And Internalizing Symptoms In Youth In The Child Welfare System, Michelle Cusumano

Theses and Dissertations

High rates of youth in the child welfare system (CWS) experience placement instability, or frequent moves between household, institution, or placement (Fisher et al., 2013). Placement instability has been shown to predict subsequent internalizing symptoms regardless of the maltreatment type, severity, or frequency experienced by the child in foster care (McGuire et al., 2018). Frequent moves between biological parents, foster or kinship caregivers, or group homes may detrimentally affect youth’s social support networks, which are known to serve as a protective factor for maltreated children and adolescents (Folger & Wright, 2013). The current study aims to examine longitudinally whether perceived …

The Motivational Role Of Feedback On Working Memory, Danielle Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that motivation plays a vital role in what we remember. Motivation can be either extrinsic (e.g., a reward for doing well) or intrinsic (e.g., wanting to do well). Here we test if intrinsic motivation improves Working Memory (WM) performance. In an online study, undergraduate students (N=358, 334 after excluding participants that did not complete at least 25% of the survey) completed reverse letter span tasks, recalling 42 sets of 4-9 letters that were shown for one second in reverse order. We manipulate intrinsic motivation via feedback. Participants were randomly assigned to feedback (FB) and no-feedback (NFB) …

How Traditional Bullying And Cyberbullying Relate To High School Student Attendance And Suicidal Ideation, Thomas Sposato

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the frequency and possible connection between student self-reported bullying victimization, suicidal ideation, and reported fear of attending school. These school and societal problems have potential negative impacts on individuals, families, and school learning communities. Their negative effects may be compounded when occurring together. Previous research has connected bullying behavior to student absenteeism to suicidal ideation. These connections were further explored in this study using the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which is overseen by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The purpose of this survey is to focus on illness, death, and disability among adolescents, and …

The Relationships Between Poor Health, Coping Styles, And Health Practices: A Test Of Several Possible Moderators, Pawel Sadowski

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine the relationship between poor health and coping styles and the relationship between poor health and health practices. Another goal of this study was to observe if variables such as depression, religiosity, and locus of control might serve as moderators of these relationships. The participants and data used in this study were from the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample. The materials used included the Health Practices Questionnaire (HPQ), the Personal Attribute Survey (PAS), the Comprehensive Health Survey (CHS), and the Experimental Personality Survey (EPS). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that poor …

Exploring The Relationship Between Restricted And Repetitive Behaviors, Anxiety, And Aggression In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ashley Gabriele

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated associations between restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) and anxiety, RRBs and aggression, and anxiety in aggression in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet no study has investigated the nature of the relationship between all three constructs. As such, the goal of the present study was to test the hypothesis that anxiety mediates the relationship between RRBs and aggression. Participants consisted of 115 parent(s)/guardian(s) of children with ASD who completed parent/caregiver-report questionnaires on the frequency and severity of their child’s RRBs, anxiety symptoms, and aggressive behaviors. The present study is the first to use construct-specific measures …

Controlling For Developmental Language Differences In Spanish-English Learners: A Comparison Of The Ortiz Picture Vocabulary Acquisition Test And Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey-Third Edition, Amanda Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the vocabulary knowledge of Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) when controlling for developmental language norms. This research was essential given the multitude of literature indicating the connection between vocabulary skills and later academic success and the substantial achievement gaps between ELs and English Speakers (ESs). Considering the different normative standards in the Ortiz PVAT and WMLS III English, where the former includes bilingual, exposure-based norms, and the latter does not, this study evaluated the vocabulary knowledge of 27 Spanish-speaking ELs between the ages of 5 and 11 …

Clinical Adaptations Of Cognitive Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, And Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy As A Result Of Culture And Language, Rebecca Wade

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive Behavioral Therapies are frequently used and highly effective; however, most of the research is conducted on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations who are relatively homogeneous. The present study evaluated the use and adaptations of Cognitive Therapy (CT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) based upon WEIRD status, language, and cultural values as measured by Hofstede's country comparison (2021). In a survey, therapists worldwide (n=121) reported their use and adaptation of the techniques within their therapeutic orientation. Although no significant differences were found between WEIRD or language groupings specific to CT, CBT, or …

Associations Between Problem Recognition And Help-Seeking Behavior In Mothers Of Preschoolers, Samuel T. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Preschool children are often underserved in mental healthcare. One explanation for this is that caregivers do not recognize preschoolers’ mental health difficulties as problems. While previous research has identified an association between a caregiver’s skill at accurately applying diagnostic labels and help-seeking, factors such as behavior severity, functional impairment, and caregiver stress are important to the help-seeking process as well. The current study examined associations between all these variables. Participants were 82 adult mothers of preschoolers. The participants read a series of vignettes describing preschool-aged children with depression, anxiety, and ADHD, and then answered a series of questions to assess …

Norm Sample Stratification And Socioeconomic Status: Examination Of Language Development Across Education And Income, Gavriel Franco

Theses and Dissertations

The norm samples that are developed in Westernized countries are typically created using a routine process in test development that involves stratification of a range of independent variables. However, this method of creating norm-referenced samples may be discriminatory against individuals from low SES backgrounds since sampling across the full range of SES invariably results in an “average” that characterizes middle-SES individuals best. Because SES is generally stratified by category, according to U.S. Census demographics, any such sample developed in this manner is likely to be appropriate only for individuals within the “average” SES range. The literature contains a wealth of …

Do Sleep And Executive Functioning Predict Intimate Partner Violence? Investigation Of A Moderational Model, Ayelet Hochman

Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed if sleep and the executive function (EF) of response inhibition interact to predict intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration in emerging adults. This study conducted a secondary data analysis on a sample of college students in romantic relationships who completed a series of EF tasks and self-report measures on emotional and relationship functioning. This study analyzed data from 86 college students (81% female) between the ages of 18-23. Moderational models were tested to evaluate whether deficits in response inhibition and sleep problems interact to predict IPV perpetration. Perpetration of any IPV, only minor forms of IPV, and only …

The Role Of Social Skills In Protecting Against The Impact Of Family And Community Violence On Youth Psychopathology, Emily Christine Hockenberry

Theses and Dissertations

Children and adolescents are exposed to family and community violence at high rates, and poly victimization is common. Further study is needed to assess the unique and additive effects of witnessing or directly experiencing violence in multiple contexts on psychopathology in urban youth of color. Additionally, analyzing the role of protective factors, such as social skills, in moderating the relation between violence exposure and psychopathology may aid in identifying unique and shared pathways by which different forms of interpersonal violence may impact mental health outcomes. This study sought to examine whether social skills (cooperation and assertion) moderated the relation between …

Patterns Of Change In Caregiver Anxiety And Depression During Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Tohar Scheininger

Theses and Dissertations

Caregivers play an integral role in their child’s trauma-focused cognitive-behavior therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen & Mannarino, 2006), an intervention that has established efficacy in treating children’s trauma-related symptoms (Cohen et al., 2017). Unfortunately, extant literature on TF-CBT lacks a comprehensive understanding and representation of demographic characteristics and baseline symptomatology for caregivers who participate in TF-CBT at community clinics. Furthermore, although researchers suggest that TF-CBT may improve caregivers’ own distress, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression from pre- to post-treatment (e.g., Cohen et al., 2004a; Cohen et al., 2004b; Deblinger et al., 2011; Tutus et al., 2017), there is no assessment of …

The Internal And External Expectancies Scale: Development And Validation., Joanne Raptis

Theses and Dissertations

Healthy lifestyle habits are widely known to improve physical and psychological wellbeing, but many struggle to regularly practice these behaviors. As an overarching solution has yet to emerge, it may prove more fruitful to instead personalize behavior change recommendations and interventions. The present study examined whether individual responsiveness to internal and external expectations can be measured, as it could be a useful behavioral factor to target with tailored treatment recommendations. This construct was first postulated by popular author Gretchen Rubin (2015) but has yet to be studied empirically. For the current project, the Internal and External Expectancies Scale (IEES) was …

Effect Of Shame-Proneness, Guilt-Proneness And Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms On Difficulties In Emotional Regulation, Yekaterina Nikiforova

Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to traumatic events will affect most individuals in their lifetimes, with some going on to develop emotional dysregulation difficulties, posttraumatic stress symptoms, shame, and guilt. The present study used a trauma-exposed college sample of adults from a northeastern university (n = 612, age M = 20.79, SD= 3.33, n = 463 female, n = 149 male) to test for a moderating effect of shame-proneness and guilt-proneness on the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and difficulties in emotional regulation, and lack of emotional awareness, a subcategory of difficulties in emotional regulation. The correlational relationship between these constructs was also investigated. …

Predicting Teacher Referral Of Psychopathology In Students: The Role Of Experience, Knowledge, And Gender, Carmel Y. Brunswick

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are key players in recognizing mental health difficulties in their students and subsequently facilitating the referral to intervention process. However, the absence of a systematized approach leaves lingering doubt regarding accurate identification, rate of referral, and intervening factors, requiring a need to explore them further. Furthermore, to date, there is limited research examining teacher ability to recognize behavioral manifestations of trauma in their students. The current study surveyed primary and secondary teachers (n=54) across the United States. An anonymous survey presented a series of vignettes depicting behavioral representations of various childhood disorders. Teachers were asked to make a series …

Posthuman Queer Ecosexuality: Shakespeare And Earthly Consummation, Lisa Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

“Posthuman Queer Ecosexuality” explores the culminating productivity of a queer landscape fertilized by dead bodies. Tragedy as a genre provides a higher queer possibility simply because it does not contend with picture perfect happy endings. By seeing an inherent connection between queerness and death, the paired couples of the specific Shakespearean tragedies explored in this project, King Lear (1605), Othello (1604), and Antony and Cleopatra (1607), fertilize the respective landscapes within their plots. These main six characters are queered by forced connections to nature due to their gender, race, or function as a ruling body. Once they are placed in …