Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has recently been recognized as a mental disorder. However, research on IGD has neglected to examine how gaming might compensate for psychological wellbeing that is missing in life. Therefore, we examined 301 adult gamers exhibiting low (46.2%), moderate (32.2%), and high (21.6%) levels of disordered behaviors on psychological well-being (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment) and distress (negative emotions and loneliness), both in life and while gaming. Low-risk gamers experienced the lowest levels of distress, both in life and while gaming, whereas high-risk gamers experienced the highest levels of well-being while gaming. Moderate-risk gamers had similar levels of wellbeing while gaming to low-risk gamers and similar levels of distress in life and while gaming to highrisk gamers.

Caffeine is a stimulant that is regularly consumed by a large amount people worldwide. Although there are many perceived benefits from using caffeine, there may be some downfalls. Caffeine is shown to be correlated with lower academic performance and reduced sleep quality. Shorter sleep duration is also linked to lower academic performance. The current study takes a correlational approach to find the strength of the relationship among sleep duration, academic performance, and caffeine intake. Data collection will be complete in the next two months. Implications of the findings will be discussed.

This research compared lifetime trauma exposure reported during the COVID-19 pandemic with an age- and gender-matched comparison group in terms of lifetime trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and physical and mental health. Participants (N = 70) were undergraduates (81% female; 94% White; M age: 20.64) who completed online surveys. Results indicated more than 80% in both groups reported at least one lifetime trauma. Contrary to expectations, no participants in the pandemic group reported anything associated with the pandemic as their most distressing life event. In addition, there were no between-group differences in PTSD symptoms, physical health, or mental health. Taken together, these findings suggest that clinicians should consider the notion that although living through a pandemic may be stressful, most individuals are successfully managing the pandemic.

Black adolescent girls can be vulnerable to stereotypical negative media images, as it can contribute largely to their perception of self and potentially influence their behavioral expectations in society. One form of societal critique is the acting White accusation (AWA), where several Black adolescent girls report being accused of displaying stereotypically White characteristics. The current study seeks to analyze the relationship between the AWA and exposure to, appraisal of, and identification with media stereotypes of Black women. In addition, we examined the role of ethnic/racial identity in these relationships in our sample (n=40). We found significant associations between appraisal of Black media images and receiving the AWA, bother associated with the acting White accusation, and bother intensity. Future research should aim to address the significance of the findings to the extant literature.

Some people may contend that “pets are people too.” This research compared pet owners with ageand gender-matched non-pet owners (N = 120) in terms of their beliefs about pets, quality of life, and mindfulness. Participants were undergraduates (62% female; 78% White) who completed online surveys. Results indicated that pet owners had more anthropomorphic beliefs regarding pets than did non-pet owners. Also, for pet owners only, more anthropomorphic beliefs were related to worse physical and mental health, and less mindfulness. These findings support the notion that it may be bad to think “pets are people too.” Overall, clinicians should consider the notion that individuals who report extreme closeness to pets may benefit from mindfulness interventions that, in turn, may improve their overall quality of life.

In this study, we compared levels of psychological distress in full-time faculty tenure track (TT), fulltime non-tenure track faculty (NT,), and part-time contingent faculty (PT). On March 17th, 2020, all Kent State University full-time faculty were emailed a survey, yielding 682 valid responses meeting inclusion criteria for these analyses (62% female, 87% white). Measures included the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6, cite, Cronbach’s α = .83), an item assessing the risk of contracting the virus, and demographic items. A 2 (sex; male vs. female) by 3 (faculty status; TT vs. NT vs. PT) factorial design revealed no significant main effects or interactions. TT, NT, and PT faculty experienced elevated psychological distress as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Implications and limitations discussed.

Coping strategies play a significant role in childhood development and require investigation. We sought to add to the validity of the Negative Emotion Regulation Inventory (NERI), a questionnaire that assesses coping in specific emotional situations. 105 preadolescents completed an altered version of the NERI and measures of anxiety and parent-child attachment. We tested if the scenarios were related to children’s emotions and coping strategies. We replicated findings that coping varied by emotional situation. As expected, we found significant correlations between coping and anxiety as well as secure parent-child attachment. These replications provided evidence for the reliability and validity of the adapted NERI and suggest the measure can capture coping strategies. Future studies could use the NERI to identify coping strategies that promote positive mental health.

Introduction: This study aimed to examine associations among food insecurity, biological sex, and emotional eating in emerging adults. Methods: Participants included 232 college students (82.3% female; 83.2% Caucasian; BMI: M =25.28, SD=5.20; Age: M=19.90, SD=2.45) who completed the Household Food Security Survey Module: 6-Item Short Form and Emotional Eating Scale (α=.93). Results: Food insecurity was positively associated with emotional eating (B=1.35, 95% CI[.24, 2.48]), controlling for BMI. The association was stronger for males than females. Conclusions: Emerging adults, particularly males, with food insecurity may be at greater risk for emotional eating. Future research should investigate risk factors, such as stress. Interventions promoting healthy eating may benefit from addressing participants’ food security.

A total of 437 NCAA Division I student-athletes completed the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) as a part of a pre-season evaluation. Despite being at elevated risk of exposure, student-athletes endorsed low levels of coronavirus-related anxiety, and more research is needed to understand the mental health effects of Covid-19 in athletes.

In this experimental study, the objective is to explore a relationship between mind-wandering and multitasking during distanced learning sessions at home. Particularly, we are interested in college students who have been forced to engage with online classes due to the pandemic. The importance of understanding this possible relationship is furthering academia in accordance with student behavior, especially amidst the wave of technological advancement that is ubiquitous in university settings. The expectation of this study is that participants will perform best in the control condition that has no distractions (despite their own individual mind wandering), and the irrelevant probe condition will do the worst on the posttest. Ultimately, how does having multimedia distractions during synchronous lectures or sessions impact the student’s ability to concentrate?