Psychology
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2270
Browse
126 results
Search Results
Item The Chick or the Egg? Multi-Group, Short-Term Longitudinal Relations Between Grit and Literacy Achievement(2019) Boyars, Michal Yablong; O'Neal, Colleen R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The impact of grit on achievement is well established, but it is unclear whether achievement impacts grit. This short-term longitudinal study examined the direction of relations between grit and literacy among diverse elementary school student groups. Most grit research features a unidirectional design (e.g., grit affects achievement). Yet, recent research supports cross-lagged models in which socioemotional skills and achievement affect one another. In addition to testing cross-lagged effects, this study examined the direction of grit-literacy relations for different demographic groups (i.e., age, gender, and dual language status). Method: Participants included upper elementary students (N = 396; 3 schools; Mage = 9.61; 55% female; 59% dual language learners; 11% Black, 6% Asian, 29% Latino/a, 8% Multiracial; 39% White). Measures were student-reported grit, teacher-reported grit, and a student literacy achievement performance task (Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension, TOSREC). Analytic Approach: An autoregressive cross-lagged design included two time points over 4 months. A cross-lagged model was compared to unidirectional models (i.e., direct and reverse) for best fit. Multi-group analyses were then used to examine whether grit-literacy relations differed as a function of demographics. Results: The data fit the cross-lagged model better than the direct or reverse models. Within the context of a cross-lagged model – which contained both the direct and reverse effects – there was a significant relation between Time 1 literacy achievement and Time 2 student-reported Grit-PE, suggesting that literacy achievement can predict later Grit-PE. There were no demographic differences in the fit of the data with the cross-lagged model between gender, DLL status, and age groups. Findings of the current study support the examination of reciprocal effects in grit-literacy relations and its generalizability among students. Longer-term cross-lagged studies are needed to further understand the temporal sequence between grit and literacy.Item A Daily Diary Analysis of Preschool Depressive Behaviors: Same Day and Prospective Associations Across 14 Days(2018) Leppert, Katherine A; Dougherty, Lea R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Depressive disorders can be observed in early childhood and are associated with significant concurrent and prospective impairment. Although young children demonstrate similar depressive behaviors as older children and adults, certain depressive behaviors, such as sadness and irritability, are more common in early childhood whereas other depressive behaviors, such as loss of pleasure and suicidal ideation, are much less common. However, little is known about day-to-day variations in common depressive behaviors and factors impacting those variations in early childhood. The current study examined the day-to-day variability and co-occurrence of two common depressive behaviors in young children, sadness and irritability, and predictors of their day-to-day change. Participants included 291 parents of preschool-aged children (ages 3-5). Parents completed a baseline questionnaire assessing demographics, current emotional/behavioral problems, and functional impairment, and then completed an electronic daily diary for 14 days assessing the frequency of daily depressive behaviors, sleep quality, and parent-child relationship functioning. Results indicated that irritability and sadness frequently co-occurred during the same day and were concurrently and prospectively associated with parent-child relationship functioning but not sleep quality. Moreover, we observed between-person stability, but within-person variability, in children’s sadness and irritability across 14 days, and that this variability was moderated by several factors. With few exceptions, we observed greater between-person stability in sadness and irritability for older preschoolers, for males, and for children with overall better functioning (e.g., absence of less common depressive symptoms, fewer baseline psychiatric symptoms, lower baseline impairment, better parent-child relationship functioning and sleep quality). Importantly, our findings highlight stability of children’s sadness and irritability relative to peers and variability relative to their own mean sadness and irritability, as well as provide evidence regarding factors predicting the day-to-day stability or variability of these common depressive behaviors. Understanding daily variation in child depressive behaviors and factors predicting variation can identify at-risk children and provide targets for prevention and intervention, which is particularly crucial given that preschool depression predicts later depression and other psychiatric disorders.Item DELTA AND THETA: A TIME-FREQUENCY FRAMEWORK FOR MEASURING ERPS(2019) Arenson, Melanie; Bernat, Edward; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Time-frequency methodologies, which allow for the examination of spatially and temporally overlapping subprocesses, have shown that delta and theta can be used to explain the majority of variance in many traditional ERP components. Furthermore, prior work suggests that traditional ERPs likely contain separable activity associated with the salience and central executive networks, which indexed by theta amplitude and theta ICPS, respectively. The present study sought to validate a core set of measures in the theta and delta bands (amplitude, ICPS and ITPS measures) using a novelty oddball task, which allowed us to assess the separability of SN and CEN activity indexed by medial-frontal theta. Our results indicated that time-frequency amplitude, ICPS and ITPS each represent separable processes, such that delta amplitude indexes task-based elaborative processes, theta indexes relevant SN-related information, and ICPS indexes activity associated with the CEN; therefore, all can be used to more fully characterize ERP data.Item THE IMPACT OF ETHNIC AND RACIAL IDENTITY ON THE RELATION BETWEEN AFRICAN AMERICAN TEST ANXIETY AND LATER ACHIEVEMENT(2019) Daye, Alyssa Lauren; O'Neal, Colleen; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The present study tests a protective factor which may mitigate the negative impact of test anxiety on academic outcomes. This study examines ethnic and racial identity as a moderator of the impact of test anxiety on grades and academic ability self-concept among African American adolescents. The study relies on the existing longitudinal Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (MADICS) dataset, a public use dataset collected from 1991-2000. The subsample consists of 533 African American youths in Wave 3 and 399 African American youths in Wave 4. The present study uses two waves of data from participants aged 13 to 18. This study employs self-reported questionnaires of test anxiety, ethnic and racial identity, grades, and academic ability self-concept. Moderation analyses are conducted to test ethnic and racial identity as a protective factor mitigating the impact of test anxiety on later grades and academic ability self-concept, while adjusting for gender, socioeconomic status, and age. Results indicate that ethnic and racial identity moderated the relation between test anxiety and GPA, such that the lower the level of ethnic and racial identity, the more protective it becomes. Discussion centers on potential causes for the unexpected trend in moderation.Item Feminist Consciousness and Empowerment as Moderators in the Relationship between Sexism and Self-Objectification and Alcohol Use in College Women(2019) Le, Thomas; Iwamoto, Derek K; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)While past research has revealed a positive association between sexism and women’s alcohol use, no studies have examined how feminist identity may moderate this association. Thus, with a sample of 329 college-attending women, we examined the extent to which sexism, self-objectification, and benevolent sexism were associated with alcohol-related problems and heavy episodic drinking, as well as the extent to which various forms of feminist identity moderated those associations. Results showed that self-objectification was positively associated with heavy episodic drinking, whereas neither sexism nor benevolent sexism were associated with maladaptive alcohol use. Sexism was positively associated with alcohol related problems for women of color. Results also showed that the active commitment form of feminist identity moderated the association between self-objectification and heavy episodic drinking. No other interactions with moderating variables were significant. This study emphasizes the importance of examining gender-relevant factors when working with women who engage in risky alcohol use.Item Bereaved College Students: Examining Predictors of Grief Counseling Skills Among University Counseling Center Therapists(2019) Jankauskaite, Greta; O'Brien, Karen M.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Between 22% to 30% of college students are grieving a death of a close friend or family member, and nearly 60% of college seniors report experiencing at least one loss in the last three years of college (Balk, 2011; Cox, Dean, & Kowalski, 2015). The university counseling center often is the primary resource for bereaved students, yet centers have limited resources and some psychologists reported inadequate training for working with grieving students (Kim, 2016). This study examined predictors of grief counseling skills in a sample of university counseling center therapists. Grounded in the death competence model (Gamino & Ritter, 2012), results indicated that cognitive competence and emotional competence predicted grief counseling skills, with training/experience being the most robust predictor. Future directions for research and clinical implications are discussed.Item DO POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS PREDICT OLDER ADULT WELL-BEING? PROSPECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, SOCIAL FUNCTIONING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS IN A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE(2018) Hunt, Carly Ann; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in older American adults. To improve both individual and population cardiovascular health (CVH), the American Heart Association (2016) has emphasized the concept of ideal cardiovascular health, which involves achieving ideal levels on several health factors (e.g., blood pressure) and health behaviors (e.g., exercise engagement). Using nationally representative data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey, the present study explored whether positive affect (PA) relates to ideal CVH in 1266 adults followed over a 20-year period, above and beyond the effects of negative affect (NA). At present, the relative contributions of PA and NA on CVH remain unclear. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion posits that PA supports health by 1) broadening one’s repertoire of adaptive behaviors and 2) building personal resources, which could be psychological, physical, or social. From this perspective, CVH was explored as a physical resource that may build in conjunction with and following. Analyses also explored the extent to which PA predicts a broadening of behaviors relevant to CVH and healthy aging (i.e., volunteerism) and a building of psychological resources tied with CVH and healthy aging (i.e., positive reappraisal, or the tendency to locate positive meaning during times of loss and difficulty). Linear growth models were used to examine initial levels and change trajectories in outcomes, and post-hoc analyses were conducted using multiple linear regression modeling. Collectively, results suggest that PA is irrelevant for CVH and provide support for the well-established detrimental effects of NA on CVH. PA did not associate with volunteerism, and NA predicted lower volunteer engagement on average at the 20-year follow-up. PA, and not NA, supported positive reappraisal use. Results also provide evidence of the well-documented detrimental effects of socioeconomic and racial disadvantage on CVH. Implications for further research are discussed.Item Appealing to Masculinity or Empathy?: Educating Men to Recognize Warning Signs of Dating Violence(2018) Kearney, Monica Sherri; O'Brien, Karen M; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Dating violence continues to be a social concern for young adults (Barrick, Krebs, & Lindquist, 2013). Dating violence occurs often on college campuses, with between 16% and 50% of college women reporting experiences of dating violence prior to graduation (Knowledge Networks, 2011; Murray & Kardatzke, 2007). However, over half of college students reported that it is difficult to identify warning signs of dating violence (Knowledge Networks, 2011). Moreover, one study determined that undergraduate, heterosexual men have more difficulty recognizing warning signs of dating violence than undergraduate heterosexual women (Kearney & O’Brien, 2016). Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess multiple strategies to increase recognition of warning signs of dating violence and engagement in an online dating violence intervention with a sample of heterosexual college men. Participants were assigned randomly to one of four conditions: (1) the appeal to masculinity condition, (2) the appeal to empathy condition, (3) the combined appeal to masculinity and empathy condition, or (4) the control condition. Participants were instructed to watch the first component of STOP Dating Violence (O’Brien et al., 2016), a short online video intervention developed to educate college students about dating violence. Participants in the control condition received the standard intervention, while participants in the experimental conditions viewed a brief (one minute) introduction before beginning the intervention. Results indicated that all participants demonstrated an increase in ability to recognize warning signs of dating violence after participating in the intervention. Moreover, there was an interaction of time and condition for three dimensions of dating violence warning signs. However, condition did not have an effect on engagement with the intervention material. The results and future directions for research are discussed.Item The Development and Validation of a Hierarchical Multiple-Goal Pursuit Model(2019) Samuelson, Hannah Leigh; Grand, James A; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Individuals are faced with multiple goals in life, at work, and across these realms every day. Organizational psychologists have begun to address how individuals prioritize goals over time using computational modeling and simulation (e.g., Vancouver et al., 2010). However, they have focused on situations in which an individual must neglect one goal to prioritize another with certainty about the consequences of their actions. Further, the impact of higher-level motivations (e.g., values, identities), on more proximal goal choices remains to be incorporated into dynamic theories of goal pursuit. The current project advances this work by developing a hierarchical multiple-goal pursuit model (HMGPM), which proposes a hierarchical goal system based on Kruglanski and colleagues’ (2002) goal systems theory. The HMGPM specifies qualitatively different levels in this system – means, tasks, and distal goals – and describes the mechanism by which they influence one another via instrumentality. A computational model is specified and subsequently simulated in a virtual experiment. Specifically, contexts are examined in which two tasks can be simultaneously pursued or prioritized one over one another under varying goal network structures and means instrumentality certainties. Specific conditions are then replicated in an empirical repeated-measures experiment in which participants act as university advisors and make schedules for hypothetical students. Simulation and lab study results revealed 1) when individuals have multiple tasks, they prefer a multifinal means that simultaneously accomplishes both, 2) when individuals have a single task, a multifinal means may be less appealing despite its instrumentality, and 3) uncertainty may further drive individuals to maximize their overall likelihood of progress using a multifinal means. Comparisons of the simulation and lab study results revealed 1) the process by which individuals choose means may not simply be driven by a utility-maximization rule at each decision point, and 2) individuals may discount a multifinal means’ instrumentality via a different mechanism than previously theorized (e.g., Zhang et al., 2007). In sum, the current project advances our understanding of how individuals make choices between their many possible actions depending those actions’ consequences, and their ability to predict those consequences, for their multiple goals.Item Understanding Secondary Educators’ Knowledge of Mental Health and Their Perceptions of Their Role in Addressing Student Mental Health(2019) Ross, Ana-Sophia; Wang, Cixin; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Adolescents have significant unmet mental health needs and schools represent the most common place for youth to receive mental health services. Teachers are primarily responsible for recognizing and working with students with mental health needs. Scholarship has investigated teachers’ knowledge pertaining to signs and symptoms for mental illness and found that teachers report little confidence in their knowledge, and have difficulty accurately identifying students struggling with mental illness. Research has provided some insight into how teachers can promote positive mental health amongst their students but little is known about classroom educators’ perceptions about how they can address student mental health concerns. Thus, this qualitative study utilized thematic analysis to investigate 27 teacher/classroom educators’ perceptions about how they can help students who struggle with mental health problems. Five main themes emerged from the analysis: 1) school collaboration, 2) student support, 3) family involvement/family-school partnership, 4) school reform/systematic change, and 5) teacher professional development training. Additionally, the study also investigated educator’s knowledge of signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Eighty-five percent of teachers were able to correctly identify depression from a vignette while all participants were able to identify an eating disorder from a vignette. This study provides insights about how to improve school-based mental health efforts, with specific attention to classroom-based educators’ role in the provision of services.