Theses and dissertations

This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

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Light Exposure and Children's Sleep: A Twin Study with Objective Measurement

Description
Sufficient sleep in childhood is fundamental to proper development as well as preventing behavioral or emotional complications later in adulthood (Gregory & Sadeh, 2012; Bruni, 2010). Sleep is controlled by a 24-hour cycle of hormonal regulation termed the circadian rhythm, which is controlled by different environmental inputs such as light…

Sufficient sleep in childhood is fundamental to proper development as well as preventing behavioral or emotional complications later in adulthood (Gregory & Sadeh, 2012; Bruni, 2010). Sleep is controlled by a 24-hour cycle of hormonal regulation termed the circadian rhythm, which is controlled by different environmental inputs such as light (Reppert & Weaver, 2002). Previous research has also demonstrated that light exposure at night can delay the night phase production of specific hormones that promote sleep (Zeitzer, Dijk, Kronauer, Brown, & Czeisler, 2004; Chang, Aeschbach, Duffy, & Czeisler, 2015), which in turn delays sleep onset. Such studies involving the effects that light may have on sleep have focused on adult subjects, however, and it is important to explore this idea in childhood to promote proper development. The first aim of this study was to examine the effects of light exposure in the hour before bedtime on different measures of sleep in middle childhood. The second aim was to determine the genetic and environmental contributions to light exposure and sleep. A diverse sample of 490 twin children was assessed at 8 years of age. Twins followed a week long protocol in which they wore actigraph watches that collected data on both light and sleep. Zero-order correlations with subsequent multilevel regression analyses showed that any light exposure in the hour before bedtime was significantly positively associated with sleep onset latency. Twin intraclass correlations indicated no heritability for light exposure, but did indicate some heritability ranging from 7-66% for the sleep indicators. Overall, these findings regarding the impacts of sleep in childhood build upon an area of research that has only been explored in adulthood. These impacts of light on sleep in childhood suggest that possible interventions ought to be explored for implementation to minimize the long-term effects of altered sleeping patterns in childhood.
ContributorsScheel, Sydney Elise (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Clifford, Sierra (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Ethnic Discrimination, Socioeconomic Status, and Health in India

Description

Significant health inequalities exist between different castes and ethnic communities in India, and identifying the roots of these inequalities is of interest to public health research and policy. Research on caste-based health inequalities in India has historically focused on general, government-defined categories, such as “Scheduled Castes,” “Scheduled Tribes,” and “Other…

Significant health inequalities exist between different castes and ethnic communities in India, and identifying the roots of these inequalities is of interest to public health research and policy. Research on caste-based health inequalities in India has historically focused on general, government-defined categories, such as “Scheduled Castes,” “Scheduled Tribes,” and “Other Backward Classes.” This method obscures the diversity of experiences, indicators of well-being, and health outcomes between castes, tribes, and other communities in the “scheduled” category. This study analyzes data on 699,686 women from 4,260 castes, tribes and communities in the 2015-2016 Demographic and Health Survey of India to: (1) examine the diversity within and overlap between general, government-defined community categories in both wealth, infant mortality, and education, and (2) analyze how infant mortality is related to community category membership and socioeconomic status (measured using highest level of education and household wealth). While there are significant differences between general, government-defined community categories (e.g., scheduled caste, backward class) in both wealth and infant mortality, the vast majority of variation between communities occurs within these categories. Moreover, when other socioeconomic factors like wealth and education are taken into account, the difference between general, government-defined categories reduces or disappears. These findings suggest that focusing on measures of education and wealth at the household level, rather than general caste categories, may more accurately target those individuals and households most at risk for poor health outcomes. Further research is needed to explain the mechanisms by which discrimination affects health in these populations, and to identify sources of resilience, which may inform more effective policies.
ContributorsClauss, Colleen (Author) / Hruschka, Daniel (Thesis director) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2022-05