Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Filtering by
- Creators: College of Health Solutions
The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of a modified Assisted Cycling Therapy bicycle for improving depression in children with Down Syndrome (DS). Seven participants completed 2x/week for 8 weeks, 30 minutes at a time of ACT, in which participants’ voluntary pedaling rates were augmented via the bicycle motor, ensuring that they were pedaling at a rate greater than their self-paced rate. Depression was measured using a modified version of the Children’s Depressive Inventory, called the CDI-2. Our study demonstrated that the scores from the CDI-2 decreased, demonstrating less depressive symptomatology after the conclusion of the 8 week intervention. Our results were interpreted via our model of the mechanisms involved in influencing the success of ACT. Future research would include a greater sample size, a more relevant measure of depressive scores, and a consistent data collection environment. However our initial pilot study showed promising results for improving mental health in children with DS.
The primary goal for this study is to assess and develop an understanding of the effects of Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT) on self-efficacy and exercise perception of children with Down syndrome (DS). ACT is a stationary bicycle that has a mechanical motor that moves the pedals 35% faster than their self-selected rate. This intervention continued for 30 minutes 2x/week for 8 weeks. A total of seven participants were assessed through the study, however, due to a variety of limitations only two participants completed pre and post testing questionnaires. Our results showed that self-efficacy improved following ACT. Both participants experiences improvement in their total self-efficacy score. However, only one participant showed improvement in exercise perception following the intervention. Interpretations of our results are analyzed in consideration with behavioral limitations that may be present within children with DS. Additionally, these results provided guidance for future research. These include alterations to the intervention time period, as well as the sample size of the study.