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Social Intelligence Training: A Pilot Study

Description

Humans require sufficient social understanding and connectedness to thrive (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). The current study evaluates the effectiveness of the Social Intelligence Institute's training program pilot. At a middle school in Phoenix, Arizona, students in a 7th and 8th grade class participated in this pilot program during the spring of 2013. Pre- and post-test questionnaires administered indicated changes in participants reported measures of Perspective Taking, Empathetic Concern, Interpersonal Expectations, and Relationship Self-Efficacy. The program consists of seven modules, each with several sessions, including instructional videos with reflection questions and class discussions. It was predicted that there would be a significant increase in mean scores for the dependent variables in the questionnaire mentioned above from the pre-test to the post-test. However, the null hypotheses were not rejected; statistical significance in t-tests of the measured variables were not met. Yet, the program was more effective for 8th graders than for 7th graders for Perspective Taking. This study of the SI pilot program demonstrates areas of improvement and provides support for wider implementation in the future.

ContributorsBailey, Jonathan Donald (Author) / Zautra, Alex (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Short, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)

Created2013-12

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 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

Interactive Effects of Family History and Age of Drinking Onset on Alcohol Problems through Executive Function and Drinking Induced Disinhibition

Description

The purpose of this study was to examine executive cognitive functioning (ECF) and drinking induced disinhibition as potential mechanisms through which a family history (FH) of alcohol problems contributes to off-spring alcohol-related problems. We also examined the hypotheses that indirect effects of family history would be moderated by age of drinking onset, hypothesizing that indirect effects of family history through ECF and drinking induced disinhibition would be stronger among those with an earlier age of drinking onset. The sample included 177 college aged heavy drinking participants (66.2% men; 33.8% women; 78.8% Caucasian; 10.1 % African American; 6.9% Hispanic; 4.2% Multi-racial; 4.8% other) participating in a randomized controlled trial of naltrexone (vs. placebo) plus brief motivational counseling for drinking reduction. Measures of family history, self-control, working memory, and drinking induced disinhibition collected prior to randomization to treatment condition (intake assessment), were used to explore the hypothesized mechanisms of FH effects. Although FH was not related to either working memory or self-control, self-control predicted both drinking induced disinhibition and alcohol-related problems, with a marginal indirect effect of self-control on problems through drinking induced disinhibition. Age of drinking onset did not moderate relations between FH and measures of ECF (working memory and self-control). The findings suggest that self-control is a major factor contributing to the development of alcohol-related problems. Thus self-control may be an important target of intervention regardless of age of drinking onset or family history status.

ContributorsPerry, Elizabeth Danielle (Author) / Corbin, William (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Meier, Madeline (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2016-05