Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Fp-21-03 Mothers’ Experiences Of Unintended Childbearing, 2017, Karen Benjamin Guzzo

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-21-07 Grandchildren Living In Grandparent -Headed Households, 2019, Lisa Carlson

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-21-08 Same-Sex Married And Cohabiting Couples Raising Children, Wendy D. Manning, Krista K. Payne

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-21-19 Recent (2019) Marriages To Same-Sex And Different-Sex Couples: Marital History And Age At Marriage, Krista K. Payne, Wendy D. Manning

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-21-21 Stepfamilies Among Currently Cohabiting And Married Women Under 45, 1988 And 2017, Karen B. Guzzo

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

An Equity-Focused Assessment Of The City Of Richmond’S Rvagreen 2050 Planning Process, Meghan Z. Gough, Eric Asplund, Rebekah Cazares, Gabriella Francese, Logan Ashby, David Sale, Rebecca Acland, Sara Barton, Nicholas Jancaitis, Ben Jordan, Desmond Smallwood, Jen Allen, Molly Mickens, Kerry Ramos, Sarah Mullarney, Michelle Murrills, Joseph Pickert

Urban and Regional Studies and Planning Reports

Local climate action and sustainability initiatives are often critiqued for their inattention to issues of equity and justice. In response, an increasing number of cities are now attempting to respond to this critique by making equity a more explicit goal of their climate action plans: Richmond Virginia is among those cities. The City of Richmond's Office of Sustainability committed to prioritizing equity in the RVAGreen 2050 plan by recognizing how Richmond’s history of racism and structural inequalities have exacerbated climate concerns for largely Black and Latinx communities and centering historically marginalized communities of color in the engagement process. Students in …

Paying It Forward: A Strategy For Developing A Culture Of Lifelong Engagement And Inclusion For First-Generation Students, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute At Virginia Commonwealth University, Winifred Campbell, Kuei-Lan Chuang, Maria Rivera, Christopher Schreiner, Jon Snider, Srinivas Sistla

The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute Publications

This project aims to propose a strategy for VCU to increase the engagement and connection among First-Generation VCU students to create lifelong commitment as alumni through VCU’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR). The team proposes to expand DAR’s outreach through collaboration with key VCU stakeholders (e.g., YOU First at VCU). By developing a positive undergraduate experience, students’ loyalty to VCU will result in greater engagement as alumni, paying it forward.

Attitudes And Opinions About Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing In Undergraduate Science Students, Morgan N. Driver, Sally I-Chun Kuo, Olivia Nayeri, Chloe J. Walker, Chelsea Derlan Willians, Tricia Smith, Amy E. Adkins, Danielle M. Dick

Graduate Research Posters

Background: There has been exponential growth in the number of direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits sold in the past decade. Consumers utilize direct-to-consumer genetic tests for a number of reasons which include learning about one’s ancestry and potential ways to manage health. Emerging adults tend to be early adopters of new technologies; however, there has been little research regarding the opinions about direct-to-consumer genetic testing in emerging adults.

Methods: Data came from a study conducted in an upper-level biology course focusing on understanding undergraduate science students’ overall experiences with receiving personalized genetic testing results from 23andMe. The present study used data …

Relations Between Sexual And Gender Minority Stress, Personal Hardiness, And Psychological Stress In Emerging Adulthood: Examining Indirect Effects Via Human-Animal Interaction, Camie A. Tomlinson, Jennifer L. Murphy, Angela Matijczak, Shelby E. Mcdonald

Graduate Research Posters

Introduction: Although there is emerging evidence that companion animals are important sources of comfort and support for many LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other sexual and gender minority identities) individuals, little is known about the interplay between sexual and gender minority (SGM) stress, human-animal interaction (HAI), and psychological adjustment in this population. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examined the role of HAI in relations between SGM stress (i.e., microaggressions, victimization) and psychological adjustment (i.e., self-efficacy, psychological stress) during emerging adulthood.

Methods: Our sample included LGBTQ+ young adults between the ages of 18 and 21 …

The Effect Of Self-Rated Health And Race/Ethnicity On The Relationship Between Feelings Of Content And Frequency Of Seeing Their Primary Care Provider, Alexandra Wynn, Kristina Beatrice Hood

Graduate Research Posters

Racial and ethnic minorities face significant health disparities as they are less likely to receive preventive health services, receive lower-quality care and have worse health outcomes for many chronic conditions than White people (Hostetter, Klein, 2018). Thus, it is important to analyze what psychological and social factors affect these populations and how they contribute to healthcare engagement. One psychological correlate that has not been focused on is self-rated health. Self-rated health has mainly been analyzed for its relationship with personality and physiological factors but little research has focused on how it influences seeking medical care. Fair/poor self-rated health was found …

Principal Components Analysis Corrects Collider Bias In Polygenic Risk Score Effect Size Estimation, Nathaniel S. Thomas, Peter B. Barr, Fazil Aliev, Sally I. Kuo, Danielle M. Dick, Jessica E. Salvatore

Graduate Research Posters

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide polygenic scoring has emerged as a way to predict psychiatric and behavioral outcomes and identify environments that promote the expression of genetic risks. An increasing number of studies demonstrate that the effects of polygenic risk scores (PRS) may be biased by the inclusion of heritable environments as covariates when the environment is influenced by unmeasured confounding variables, an example of collider bias. Inclusion of the principal components of observed confounders as covariates may correct for the effect of unmeasured confounders.

METHODS: A simulation study was conducted to test principal components analysis (PCA) as a correction for collider bias. …

Evaluating Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Access To Primary Care Among Gay And Bisexual Men In The Us, A Population At High-Risk Of Hiv Infection, Jessica S. Kiernan, April D. Kimmel

Graduate Research Posters

BACKGROUND: 69% of new HIV diagnoses in the US are among gay and bisexual men, with disparities by race and ethnicity. Primary care providers increasingly provide HIV prevention. Racial and ethnic disparities in primary care access are well-documented, but their persistence among gay and bisexual men is unknown. We examined racial and ethnic disparities in access to primary care among this population.

METHODS: We used nationally representative person-level sociodemographic, health status and utilization data, and data on organizational- and socially determinant barriers to care, from the National Health Interview Survey, 2013-2018. Outcomes were: 1) general physician visit

RESULTS: The sample …

Colobinae Evolution: Using Gis To Map The Distribution Of Leaf Monkeys Across Southeast Asia Over Time, Marie Vergamini, Christina Mcgrath, Lisa M. Day

Graduate Research Posters

The Colobinae, or leaf monkeys, are distributed geographically across Africa and Asia. Colobinae are specialized arborealists and leaf eaters with sacculated stomachs, sheering teeth, reduced thumbs, and very mobile shoulders. Colobinae diverged ~10.9 million year ago (Ma) from the Cercopithecidae in Africa, and Asian colobines appear in the fossil record in the late Miocene ~8.5 Ma. However, an incomplete fossil record means little is known about the evolutionary pressures that led to Asian colobine migration and diversification. Here, we use recent fossil discoveries and geospatial information to develop hypotheses about how geographic barriers played direct roles in Asian colobine evolution. …

Mapping The Vcu Campus Food Environment, Heather N. King, John C. Jones, Dan J. Albrecht-Mallinger

Graduate Research Posters

Preliminary research from a related VCU faculty team indicated that roughly ⅓ of all VCU students experience some level of food insecurity. Inventions to remedy this dire situation will require a more complete picture of the campus food environment. This project documented aspects of that environment. Our research team surveyed vending machines within Monroe Park buildings and facilities, along with nearby corner stores that were easily accessible to the university. Our team employed two instruments from the nationally recognized Nutritional Environment Measure Survey (NEMS), a toolkit created by Penn State University, to determine the nutritional quality of the campus food …

Vcu Service-Learning Impact Measure (Slim) Report, 2020-2021, Katie Elliott, Jackie Stephens

The VCU Service-Learning Office distributes the Service-Learning Impact Measure (SLIM) at the end of every semester to evaluate the impact of service-learning classes on student learning. Results are used to guide program improvements that enhance the quality of service-learning courses and outcomes for students, faculty, and partners.

Social Mobilization In Partisan Spaces, Florian Foos, Peter John, Christian Muller, Kevin Cunningham

Articles

Three decades ago Huckfeldt and Sprague hypothesised that partisan context constrains information sharing between neighbours. We develop their theory to identify implications for campaign mobilisation in homogeneous and mixed-partisan contexts. We argue that GOTV spillover effects should vary with the proportion of rival party supporters in a neighbourhood. Based on two samples of households that were either included or excluded pre-random assignment from a street-level GOTV experiment, we test this expectation of differential spillover effects. We estimate neighbourhood party preferences based on targeting data made available by the UK Labour Party. We find that spillover effects on party supporters are …

Blessing Or Burden? The Impact Of Ptsd Service Dogs On Military Families, Elise A. Miller, Leanne O. Nieforth, Shelley M. Macdermid Wadsworth, Marguerite E. O'Haire

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

While PTSD service dogs are specifically trained to interact with their veterans, emerging evidence suggests that service dogs may also have an impact on other members of veteran households. To our knowledge, only one study quantifies these effects focused on veteran spouses (McCall et al., 2020). Our study aimed to quantitatively measure the impact of PTSD service dogs on military family wellbeing. Data was collected from survey responses of 88 veteran spouses who rated their experiences on standardized outcome measures. Each spouse answered the surveys at two time points: (1) baseline, and (2) three months post-baseline (follow-up). Spouses in the …

Exploring Taiwanese Creative Arts Therapists' Professional Identity After Returning Home From Studying Abroad, Rhona Jung Jung Chang

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study aimed to document Taiwanese creative arts therapists' career experiences after studying abroad and returning home, and how they perceive their professional identity as creative arts therapists in Taiwan. This qualitative study explores the experience of eight female professional Taiwanese creative arts therapists, including two art therapists, two dance/movement therapists, two drama therapists, and two music therapists. Interviews were conducted, and the participants were asked about their personal experience of art-making, the practice of creative arts therapies in Taiwan, and the understanding and awareness of their professional identity.

Data from this study was gathered by the interviews' transcripts and …

Cyclical Change In The Sleep-Emotion Relationship, Olivia H. Tousignant

Psychology Department Dissertations

Research has begun to elucidate psychological processes involved in optimal sleep experience; the current study examines how sleep reciprocally relates to emotional valence and emotional arousal. To understand the nature of sleep-wake emotional cycles, the compatibility of sleep theory and dimensional emotion theory needs to be tested. The current ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study examines patterns that construct (a) emotion characteristics that predict sleep and (b) sleep components that predict emotion characteristics and their fluctuation. Longitudinal multilevel data was collected from 198 adult participants via an online platform. Participants completed a measure of baseline insomnia severity status. For up to …

Mapping And Comparing Political Ideologies, Masculinity Ideologies, And Shame Ideologies, Megan Clapp

Psychology Department Dissertations

This study explored the relationships among political ideologies, masculinity ideologies, and shame ideologies within three online communities. Three different ideological communities, all on Reddit (a discussion-based social news website), were chosen based on previous research suggesting they differ in terms of their conceptualizations of gender and support for or rejection of feminism: r/TheRedPill, r/MensRights, and r/MensLib. This study uses a framework for understanding Ideologies as Complex Adaptive Systems (ICAS) as articulated by Thagard (2017), which uses Cognitive and Affective Maps (CAMs) as its primary tool of analysis. Using the postings on the Reddit sites as our raw data, we created …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Use Of Academic Library Resources, Ruth Sara Connell, Lisa C. Wallis, David Comeaux

Library Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted higher education, including academic libraries. This paper compares the use of library resources (including interlibrary loan, website and discovery tool pageviews, database use, patron interactions, etc.) at three university libraries before and after the pandemic. The latter part of the 2019 and 2020 spring semesters are the timeframes of focus, although two control timeframes from earlier in those semesters are used to determine how the semesters differed when the coronavirus was not a factor. The institutions experienced similar patterns of use across many metrics.

Sigmorphon 2021 Shared Task On Morphological Reinflection: Generalization Across Languages, Tiago Pimentel, Maria Ryskina, Christopher Straughn

Library Faculty Publications

This year’s iteration of the SIGMORPHON Shared Task on morphological reinflection focuses on typological diversity and cross-lingual variation of morphosyntactic features. In terms of the task, we enrich UniMorph with new data for 32 languages from 13 language families, with most of them being under-resourced: Kunwinjku, Classical Syriac, Arabic (Modern Standard, Egyptian, Gulf), Hebrew, Amharic, Aymara, Magahi, Braj, Kurdish (Central, Northern, Southern), Polish, Karelian, Livvi, Ludic, Veps, Võro, Evenki, Xibe, Tuvan, Sakha, Turkish, Indonesian, Kodi, Seneca, Asháninka, Yanesha, Chukchi, Itelmen, Eibela. We evaluate six systems on the new data and conduct an extensive error analysis of the systems’ predictions. Transformer-based …

Adapting An Hbcu-Inspired Framework For Black Student Success In U.S. Lis Education, Ana Ndumu, Shaundra Walker

Library Faculty Scholarship

This perspective essay explores Gasman & Arroyo’s (2014) HBCU-inspired framework for Black student success as a prism for re-envisioning LIS education. In response to calls for anti-hegemonic LIS education, the authors discuss a potential tool for Black student success and suggest its benefits to LIS education. The framework can introduce non-white, anti-racist educational practices to the work of educating the U.S. library workforce; it is relevant in light of ongoing racial and political strife in U.S. society.

An Exploratory Study Of The Prosecution Of Fatal Child Maltreatment: Criminal Charges Filed Against Presumed Perpetrators In The United States In 2017, Kerry Lee, Emily M. Douglas

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

In the United States child maltreatment fatalities (CMFs) do not usually meet the standard for manslaughter or murder, resulting in convictions of lesser crimes and little jail time. This exploratory study examined the charges brought against suspected CMF perpetrators in 2017. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using data obtained from the Nexis Uni newspaper database, that has over 40,000 high quality media sources, for the year 2017. We found that the most frequently used charges were endangering the welfare of a child and murder, the former of which was more related to neglect-deaths and the latter to physical abuse-deaths. …

The Neural Basis Of Social Cognition In Typically Developing Children And Its Relationship To Social Functioning, Sarah Hope Lincoln, Cora M. Mukerji, David Dodell-Feder, Arianna Riccio, Christine I. Hooker

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to think about the perspectives, beliefs, and feelings of another, develops throughout childhood and adolescence and is an important skill for social interactions. This study examines neural activity in typically developing children during a novel ToM task – the Movie Mentalizing Task– and tests its relations to ToM behavioral performance and social functioning. In this fMRI task, children ages 8–13years (N=25) watched a brief movie clip and were asked to predict a character’s mental state after a social interaction. Engaging in the Movie Mentalizing Task activated the ToM neural network. Moreover, greater neural activity …

The Factors Influencing Hazard Mitigation Governance, Kyle Overly

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

As the frequency and intensity of disasters increases so too does the need to take proactive measures to reduce disaster risk. Across the nation local, state, and federal emergency managers work collaboratively to implement hazard mitigation programs that seek to reduce disaster risk. This study examined the factors that influence hazard mitigation governance in FEMA Region III states including Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C. The results showed that organizational capacity, networks, collaborative governance, and community engagement all influence local and state adoption of hazard mitigation projects. The results also showed that there is a need to …

A Dimensão Utópica Na Filosofia Do Melhoramento Social Em Adam Smith [The Utopian Dimension In The Philosophy Of Social Betterment In Adam Smith], Maria Pia Paganelli

Economics Faculty Research

Adam Smith não se concentra na criação de um mundo ideal, mas no entendimento de que mudanças sociais para melhor são um produto não intencional do comércio. Além disso, como que para destacar a concretude dessas mudanças, ele vê o crescimento populacional como a forma de medir essa melhoria da sociedade.

Adam Smith does not focus on the creation of an ideal world, but on the understanding that societal changes for the better are an unintentional product of commerce. Furthermore, as if to highlight the concreteness of these changes, he sees population growth as the way to measure this betterment …

The Economic Costs Of Biological Invasions Around The World, R. D. Zenni, F. Essl, E. García-Berthou, Shana M. Mcdermott

Economics Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

The Legacy Of Hope Summit: A Consensus-Based Initiative And Report On Eating Disorders In The U.S. And Recommendations For The Path Forward, D. Blackwell, Carolyn Black Becker, O. Bermudez, M. E. Berrett, G. E. Brooks, D. W. Bunnell, D. Cabrera, C. Costin, N. Hemendinger, C. Johnson, K. L. Klump, C. A. Levinson, M. Lutter, M. Maine, C. J. Mcadams, B. H. Mcgilley, S. B. Murray, E. Myers, J. D. Ouellette, C. M. Peat, K. Saffran, S. Setliff

Psychology Faculty Research

Background: Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to reach a cross-disciplinary consensus on issues fundamental to the field of eating disorders in the United States (U.S.). In January 2020, 25 prominent clinicians, academicians, researchers, persons with lived experience, and thought leaders in the U.S. eating disorders community gathered at the Legacy of Hope Summit to try again. This paper articulates the points on which they reached a consensus. It also: (1) outlines strategies for implementing those recommendations; (2) identifies likely obstacles to their implementation; and (3) charts a course for successfully navigating and overcoming those challenges.

Methods: Iterative and consensual …

Illusion Vs. Disillusion: Chinese Viewers' Articulation Of "House Of Cards", Zhaoxi Liu

Communication Faculty Research

This study explores how Chinese viewers articulate the meaning of the Netflix series “House of Cards” through analyzing viewer comments posted on Sohu Video, which streamed the show in China. A qualitative textual analysis of the comments reveals that the Sohu viewers turned the commenting of the show into articulations of democracy and China’s political conditions. In their articulation, some endorsed American democracy as a superb political system, while others resented it as being dark and corrupt, similar to the one in China. Still other viewers made a connection between “Cards” with China’s lack of freedom of speech. These connections …