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Toddlers of Latina Adolescent Mothers: The Effect of Cognitive and Language Development on Emotion Dysregulation
Adolescent mothers face a number of challenges that place their families at risk for less optimal parenting and poor child outcomes. For example, children of adolescent mothers are at risk for higher levels of dysregulated patterns of emotion. Emotion dysregulation is a key element to the development of psychopathology later in life. However, important predictors of emotion dysregulation, such as the child’s early cognitive and language development have yet to be studied in samples of Latina mothers or adolescent mothers and their children. The current study aims to further explore the longitudinal relationship between children’s cognitive and language development and subsequent emotion dysregulation in a sample of Latina adolescent mothers and their toddlers. The present study consists of 149 adolescent Latina mother-toddler dyads. Mother-toddler dyads participated in two waves when the children were aged 18 months (W1) and 24 months (W2). During W1, children’s cognitive and language abilities were measured using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development; emotion dysregulation was coded at W2. Hierarchical linear regression was used to test the effects of cognitive and language abilities in Latino children, age 18 months, and its influence on emotion dysregulation at age 24 months. After controlling for baseline levels of negative reactivity at W1, we found that cognitive abilities were not significantly associated with emotion dysregulation. In contrast, language abilities were significantly associated with emotion dysregulation, such that better language abilities were related to lower levels of emotion dysregulation.
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Going from Bad (Social Media Use) to Worse (Smartphone Addiction)
Smartphone use has become so much a part of everyday life, that individuals may not realize the potential for addiction to these devices. This study assesses social media use, smartphone addiction, and quality of life. Participants were 405 undergraduates (91% Caucasian, 77% female) who completed online surveys. Social media use was assessed by summing self-reported minutes on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Snapchat. Smartphone addiction was assessed using the Cell-Phone Addiction Scale (MRCPAS; Roberts et al., 2014). Quality of life included physical and mental health, assessed using a modified version of the SF-12 Health Survey (Ware et al., 1996), and depression, anxiety, and stress, assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). Scales had good reliability (range = .74 to .90). Preliminary analyses indicated that being younger was related to more social media use, smartphone addiction, and better physical and mental health; females also reported greater social media use and more smartphone addiction than did males. Therefore, primary analyses controlled for age and gender. As predicted, partial correlations indicated that more social media use was related to worse physical health, more anxiety, and more stress (all r’s > ± .10, all p’s < .044). Similarly, greater smartphone addiction was related to worse physical and mental health, and more depression, anxiety, and stress (all r’s > ± .18, all p’s = .000). Overall, it appears that excessive social media use is not a good thing, but smartphone addiction is worse; strategies focused on decreasing both are needed.
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Examining the Protective Effects of Self-Esteem in Self-Critical Perfectionism and Demoralization
Increasing prevalence of distress disorders (i.e., major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder) among young adults highlights the need to understand factors that may contribute to these problems (Mirzairad et al., 2016). One commonly studied factor implicated in distress disorder development is self-critical perfectionism (SCP), or maladaptive concern over mistakes and having extremely high standards (Sherry et al., 2013; Wang, Sheveleva, & Permyakova, 2019). Past research suggests that protective factors, such as high self-esteem, may buffer the effects of SCP on distress disorder symptomology (Feng et al., 2018). The goal of this study was to replicate and extend the previous research and re-examine whether self-esteem moderates the association between SCP and demoralization (a primary marker of distress disorders; Sellbom, Ben-Porath, & Bagby, 2008) among college students. Using a sample of 276 undergraduates, we first calculated zero-order correlations between scores on measures of SCP (Big Three Perfectionism Scale; Smith et al., 2016), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; Rosenberg, 1965), and demoralization (RCd of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011), which indicated moderate to strong associations between all variables. We also performed regression analyses to examine the main and interactive effects of SCP and self-esteem on demoralization. Results suggest that, although SCP and self-esteem did have significant main effects on demoralization, they did not have a significant interactive effect. In all, contrary to previous research, our data did not support the buffering effect of self-esteem on SCP and distress disorder symptomology. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed.
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Major and Study Habits
When looking across majors there are several similarities in study habit tendencies. We decided to focus on this topic in our Research Methods class experiment because individuals come from a variety of backgrounds and find common interest in a specific major. We will analyze the similarities between the study habits of the differing majors. To collect data, we created an anonymous online survey to measure grade point average (GPA), study habits, use of colored pens, note taking abilities, and handedness. We hypothesize that 1) individuals in the social and health sciences are more likely to use colored pens, 2) individuals in humanities and health sciences will have the best study habits based on GPA, 3) individuals in humanities and health sciences will have a tendency to use flashcards and highlight their notes, and 4) individuals in the health sciences will have a tendency to be left handed and are more likely to wish they were better note takers. Our study has been approved by the Kent State IRB and data collection is ongoing.
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Natural Hair & Hair EsteemGenerations of systematic hair discrimination has left African-Americans inadequate in the eyes of society, which has been linked to poor mental health. Black people are taught to be impatient with their thick curls and that it is an inconvenience to take care of their hair. Self-acceptance and self-love is required for African Americans to overcome the generational curse of low hair-esteem, however, less is known about the implications of positive hair esteem. This study explores the association between hair esteem and quality of relationships with other women, including how mental health moderates this association. I hypothesize that positive hair esteem will be associated with better quality relationships with other women and that the strength of the association will vary by self-reported mental health. Participants include women identifying ages 18-45+ who completed an internet-based 25 question survey inventory, which included an established measure of hair esteem (Bankhead & Johnson, 2014), questions about the quality of their interpersonal relationships, and an assessment of mental health. Data collection is in progress. The findings will add to our understanding of the benefits of positive hair esteem for mental health and lay the foundation for utilizing hair to unify and empower women. |
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Spelling Errors; Types and Frequency
Spelling tests have begun to be used as a factor to assess reading skill and literacy. Examining spelling errors from these tests can provide insight about the components of the long-term memory representations of word spellings and overall lexical expertise. This study investigates spelling errors to analyze sound-letter mappings during spelling to find patterns of error. These patterns of sound-letter mapping errors identify mappings that are difficult to learn and spell. Participants were given a spelling recall test, where they were asked to write the correct spelling of a spoken word. We analyzed the misspelled words and determined if they were phonologically plausible or not and whether errors follow the orthographic rules of English. We further characterized four types of letter errors: additions, deletions, transpositions, and substitutions. Substitutions were further categorized into four categories, identifying what had been substituted and for what: vowel substitution for another vowel, vowel substituted for consonant, consonant substituted for vowel, or consonant substituted for another consonant. We evaluated the error patterns in terms of the nature of spelling representations, and what parts of the words are easier to learn than others. The idea that some parts of a spelling representation may be more easily learned or remembered than others is referred to as orthographic texture (Canda & Folk, 2019; Jones, Folk, & Rapp, 2009). The error patterns provide insight into how spellers learn sound-letter associations.
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An Examination of the Validity of an Adapted Brief Black Media Measures Questionnaires
Background: The representation of Black women in the media has notoriously changed throughout the years (Griffin, 2014). Many stereotypical media messages of Black women have strong negative undertones. These messages can greatly impact Black adolescent girls, as images may influence their development of self. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the validity of using an adapted Brief Black Media Measures Questionnaire in a sample of Black adolescent girls. Method: As part of a larger study that utilized a culturally-infused stress and anxiety intervention, we collected data from 201 urban Black adolescent girls. We assessed the frequency, appraisal, and identification of stereotypical images of Black women by administering an adapted Brief Black Media Measures Questionnaire (BBMMQ). This validated questionnaire was adapted to include more modern images of Black women as well as more simplified questions. Results: The factorability of the 9 items BBMQ was examined. Skewness and kurtosis values were acceptable, indicating data were normally distributed. An exploratory factor analysis revealed 3 Factors, which is expected given that three stereotypical images of Black women: promiscuous, angry and caretaker are used in the original measure. Conclusion: Our findings support the validity of the adapted BBMQ in a sample of urban Black adolescent girls. Future research should explore utilizing the adapted BBMQ in national samples of Black adolescent girls.
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Perceived Stress: Does Positivity Matter?
Background: Black adolescent girls are at a higher risk for stress and anxiety than White adolescent girls (Neal-Barnett, 2017). Many researchers argue that perceived stress is more important than experienced stress, as perceptions are closely related to an individual’s current functioning (Rueggeberg, 2012). People tend to perceive their stress as negative or positive. Subsequently, the way an individual perceives stress may affect their mood, coping strategies, and overall mental health. Currently, limited data explore Black adolescent girl’s perceptions of stress. Methods: As part of a larger study that utilized a culturally-infused stress and anxiety intervention, we collected data from 201 urban Black female middle school students. At baseline, we qualitatively assessed positive participant views about stress and then quantitatively assessed stress and anxiety scores using the Stress Test, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children 2nd Edition (MASC-2). Results: Our findings indicated that there was no significant mean difference in reported anxiety and stress scores between participants who identified positive aspects of stress and those who did not. The average stress level was 31.1333, indicative of low stress. The average PSS score was 21.3095, indicative of moderate stress. The data showed insignificant results when comparing stress levels with overall stress and anxiety among the participants. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a positive view on stress does not have an impact on one's overall stress and anxiety levels. Given these findings, future research should explore the relationship between positive and negative views on stress.
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Examining the Relationship Between Head Injuries and Depression in Youth Populations 6 Months Post-injury
Head injury is a prevalent issue that accounts for over 80% of traumatic injuries leading to death in the United States (Verive, Stock, Singh, 2017). Previous studies have confirmed the link between brain injury and subsequent development of a mood disorder (Luis & Mittenberg, 2010). Our research expands this finding by examining the link between perceived injury severity and the development of depression symptoms 6 months post injuries in head injury patients compared to orthopedic injury controls not experiencing a head injury. The recruited sample included a diverse range of child and adolescent participants with considerable variation in injury type and severity. Levels in depression after a head injury were assessed in early adolescents at one week and six months. Data was collected from a larger study examining risk and resilience factors associated with a pediatric injury resulting in an emergency room visit. To assess pediatric head injury, data was pulled from participant medical charts to assess injury type. This was used in conjunction with patient self-reports assessing subjective appraisal, S&S appraisal. The S & S appraisal evaluated cognitive appraisal and perceived severity of the injury. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). The present analysis explores the development of mood disruptions post-head injury by examining the subjective appraisal towards the event. Additionally, this analysis explores injury type to further differentiate head injury from an orthopedic injury and subsequent psychopathology.
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Gender Differences and Study Habits
The purpose of this research is to examine gender differences in the study habits of students by analyzing previously collected survey data. In this study we hypothesize that males and females differ in not only, style, but approach, and frequency of study. The first hypothesis is about style and suggests that females prefer to write in cursive, use pens of several different colors, and take notes much more frequently than males who tend to use print rather than cursive and use only one or two colors of ink. The second hypothesis is about approaches to study or the method/methods preferred by each group. This hypothesis suggests that females and males differ in approach in that males only employ one or two methods, whereas females use various methods of study such as note taking, flash cards and highlighting their materials. This research is important to educational professionals because previous research has eluded to educational professionals favoring good students over those who struggle and more male students being prescribed behavioral medications at an earlier age than females on average. Males are already at a disadvantage traditionally speaking and for this reason understanding differences in preference of study between the genders lends itself to a better learning environment for both.
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