Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item Toward a Theory of Risk Information Processing: The Mediating Effects of Reaction Time, Clarity, Affect, and Vividness(2011) Skubisz, Christine; Turner, Monique M; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This project examined the variables that mediate the relationship between the exogenous variables numerical presentation and numeracy and the endogenous variables risk perception and risk related decisions. Previous research suggested that numerical format and numeracy influence outcomes. The question that remained unanswered was why? The goal of this project was to peer into the proverbial black box to critically examine information processing at work. To examine possible mediating variables, two theoretical models that have emerged in the risk perception literature were tested. The first is an evolutionary theory proposing that over time, individuals have developed an augmented ability to process frequency information. Thus, frequency information should be clearer and people should be faster at forming risk perceptions with information in this format. According to this model, processing speed and evidence clarity mediate the relationship between evidence format and risk perception. A second framework, the affective processing theory, argues that frequency information is more vivid and people derive more affect from information in this format. Therefore, according to this model, affect and vividness mediate the relationship between presentation format and risk perception. In addition to these two perspectives, a third theory was proposed and tested. The integrated theory of risk information processing predicted that reaction time, clarity, affect, and vividness would all influence risk perception. Two experiments were conducted to test the predictions of these three theories. Overall, some support for an integrated model was found. Results indicated that the mediating variables reaction time, clarity, affect, and vividness had direct effects on risk perception. In addition, risk perception had a strong influence on risk related decisions. In Study 2, objective numeracy had a direct effect on reaction time, such that people with high numeracy spent more time forming risk evaluations. Furthermore, people with a preference for numerical information evaluated numerical evidence as clearer and more vivid than people who preferred to receive evidence in nonnumerical formats. Both theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.Item Factors Influencing Childhood Swimming Instruction: Evaluation of the "Safe Water Initiative: Maryland" Program for Drowning Prevention(2010) Monteiro, Erinn Hurley; Green, Kerry M; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Background: Increasing swimming ability is a key preventive step in decreasing childhood drowning, a leading cause of unintentional mortality in the U.S. Yet, it remains unclear what factors influence parents to ensure that their children learn to swim. This study examined how attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and barriers relate to parents' intentions and decisions to seek swimming instruction for their children. The evaluation also examined whether free introductory swimming lessons may be a useful model in changing any of these factors. Methods: The Safe Water Initiative: Maryland (SWI:M) community-based program provided free introductory lessons in summer 2010 to over 100 children who had previously never received swimming instruction. Parents/guardians completed pretest (N = 81) and posttest (N = 79) written surveys as well as a second follow-up online survey six weeks after the program ended (N = 71). The pre-and post-test surveys included questions about barriers as well as two scales on attitudes/beliefs about swimming importance and perceptions about drowning risk. These two scales were developed and their reliability (alpha=.70-.89) and validity evaluated as part of this study. Results: Participants were predominantly African-American mothers, the majority of whom had little to no swimming ability. Results revealed significant increases in attitudes/beliefs, perceptions, and intentions from the beginning to the end of the SWI:M program. While attitudes/beliefs and perceived susceptibility were significant predictors of intentions, strong intentions did not predict behavior, as only 14% of participants' children had received additional swimming lessons by the second post-test. Cost was reported as a significant barrier to pursuing additional instruction. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary findings for future research investigating factors influencing childhood swimming instruction. Reduced- or no-cost swimming lessons may be a key drowning prevention method, but additional research is warranted to find ways to address prevailing barriers. Evaluating the effectiveness of this and other programs is an important step in potentially decreasing morbidity and mortality due to drowning.Item BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES REGARDING HPV VACCINATION AMONG COLLEGE-AGE WOMEN: AN APPLICATION OF THE HEALTH BELIEF MODEL(2010) Schaefer, Kathryn; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The human papillomavirus (HPV) represents the most common sexually transmitted disease. The development of the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, protects women from becoming infected. The current study examined attitudes toward the HPV vaccine in 150 college-age women who had received the vaccine and 58 college-age women who had not. Data were collected using an online survey and correlations and regression analyses were run to assess for relationships between the variables of interest. Using the Health Belief Model (HBM), predictor variables included perceived benefits, barriers, susceptibility and severity regarding HPV infection and vaccination. Additional psychosocial variables were also explored. Results indicate that for unvaccinated women, perceived benefits accounted for unique variance in predicting vaccine intentions. Moreover, self-efficacy, cues to action and subjective norms all accounted for unique variance in differentiating vaccinated from unvaccinated women. In summary, women's decision to get the vaccine involves a complex interplay of factors.