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- Creators: Department of Psychology
Description
Mental health perceptions within the Somali community are shaped by cultural, educational, geographical, and religiosity factors. This study aimed to explore the mental health views of Somalis in Somalia and those in the United States, considering the influence of culture and religion. A comprehensive survey was conducted, and data from 44 participants were analyzed using paired t-tests and correlations. Results revealed diverse beliefs among participants, with some attributing distress to spiritual causes like possession by Jinn or punishment by Allah, while others viewed it as a result of loss of faith or biological factors. Despite limitations such as a small sample size and recruitment challenges, the study contributes to understanding the views of an understudied group. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to address the changing mental health views as well as the needs within the Somali community.
ContributorsNur, Istarlin (Author) / Cohen, Adam (Thesis director) / Johnson, Kathryn (Committee member) / Aglozo, Eric (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by memory decline and dementia, and conclusively diagnosed postmortem from tangles and plaques. Plaques come from β-amyloid protein (Aβ), which damages the brain, especially the hippocampus, a structure vital for memory formation. However, whether plaques and tangles cause or result from AD is unclear. Our goal was to use a preclinical AD model to identify the early stages of cognitive dysfunction before AD becomes severe to enhance targeted interventions. We used a transgenic mouse (APP/PS1) that slowly develops plaques, with minimal expression around 5-6 months (young adult) with more expression by 12 months (middle-age). Our aim was to determine whether young adult mice would show cognitive symptomatology that could be used as a future metric for targeted treatment before AD advances further. We had three independent variables: Sex (Male, Female), Age (5-6, 8-10 months) and Genotype (APP/PS1, wildtype, WT). We used behavioral assays to assess spatial memory (hippocampal function), working memory (prefrontal cortex function), and anxiety (amygdala function). For my honor’s thesis, I focused on using the Morris Water Maze (MWM) to assess hippocampal function and the Open Field (OF) to assess anxiety and locomotion. In MWM, all groups were given four trials/day for four days with a probe trial to assess strategy immediately after the last trial on day 4. All groups swam shorter distances across days to show they were learning and revealed sex differences. The APP/PS1 males (young and old) learned the task more slowly than their WT male counterparts, but were using spatial strategies as demonstrated by the probe trial. For the females, all groups learned the task similarly, but the probe trial revealed that the APP/PS1 females (young and old) were using non-spatial strategies. Moreover, the males significantly swam shorter distances than the females, learning faster. The use of the visible platform task confirmed that the mice were capable of performing the swim task. For the OF, mice were placed in a square arena and given 10 minutes to explore and found sex differences in anxiety profile. All the female mice expressed similar anxiety profiles, whereas the APP/PS1 males had higher anxiety profiles than their WT males counterparts. These results revealed that there were sex-specific differences in cognition and anxiety profiles in the APP/PS1 mouse model. This indicates that individual characteristics are important to consider when using tailored interventions. In summary, these findings emphasize the potential for early detection and targeted treatment strategies to help mitigate AD progression.
ContributorsMontero, Martina Anne (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Gewirtz, Jonathan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) accounts for 10% of patients on dialysis and leads to a complete life transformation, as patients suffer from pain, fatigue, and isolation. With 22% of ADPKD patients experiencing depression, this study hoped to unveil specific coping strategies that mediate the link between patients’ sources of social support and levels of depression (Simms et al., 2016). Online survey data was collected with a sample of ADPKD adults (N= 81, 67.9% female), administering measures that capture social support (SS), coping strategies (CS), and depression. Mediation analyses revealed that the relationship between three types of social support (e.g., family, friends, and significant others) and depression, were significantly mediated by two types of coping strategies: acceptance (p < 0.05 - 0.01) and planning (p < 0.001). More specifically, acceptance coping partially mediated the link between the social support of family and significant others and depression, whereas acceptance coping demonstrated a trend towards partial mediation in the link between friends’ social support and depression, with acceptance mitigating depression. Interestingly, utilizing planning coping masked the link between familial social support and depression, such that planning increased depression. Taken together, ADPKD patients who learn to accept their diagnosis are less depressed, while those who plan ahead experience greater depression.
ContributorsFusciello, Chiara (Author) / Taylor, Teri (Thesis director) / Flores, Valerie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Caregiving for a disabled or ill relative can be an extremely stressful role, leading to increased acute physiological responses to stress and also chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. Furthermore, an important consideration for studying CVD and daily stress in caregivers is less is known about gender differences in the effects of caregiving. The aims of this study were to examine the associations between gender and daily stressors on cardiovascular health in caregivers. A sample of 1,841 respondents (ranging from 33-84 years) from the Midlife in the United States study answered a question about caregiving and participated in both a daily diary and biomarker subprojects. Within the sample, only 13.04% of respondents classified themselves as caregivers. Regression analysis was used to test 1. whether stressor exposure and stressor reactivity, which is the emotional response to stress, differ by caregiver status and gender, 2. cardiovascular health as indicated by the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple Seven measure (on scale of poor, intermediate, or ideal) is predicted by caregiving status and gender, 3. whether daily stress is associated with Life’s Simple Seven, and 4. whether daily stress moderates the associations between caregiving and gender with cardiovascular health. Important findings of the study included that caregivers and women experienced more daily stressors, while caregivers and men had greater cardiovascular risk, but this was not related to experience of daily stressors. These results are discussed within the context of study limitations and opportunities for future research building upon daily stress and caregiving.
ContributorsBiernot, Kelsey (Author) / Koffer, Rachel (Thesis director) / Gómez-Morales, Abigail (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Objective: Previous studies have expressed that individuals with dyslexia may be hypersensitive to stimuli when compared to typical individuals, creating the neural noise hypothesis. This study uses electroencephalogram (EEG) to look at participants' mismatch negativity (MMN) response to the distinctive English phoneme /æ/ and an allophone of the phoneme /æ/, measuring their reaction to the variation between these two sounds.
Methods: Twenty-two adults, fourteen with dyslexia and 8 controls partook in an auditory oddball EEG experiment measuring MMN with the amplitudes and latencies being collected.
Results: Five participants demonstrated a large MMN response, four of which were in the dyslexic group. These participants’ results indicate an increased sensitivity to phonetic differences.
Significance: Understanding how some individuals with dyslexia process phonetic differences may be key to comprehending how a dyslexic subtype takes in auditory information.
ContributorsOvaska, Madeline (Author) / Peter, Beate (Thesis director) / Daliri, Ayoub (Committee member) / Kim, Yookyung (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Latinx youth experience increased risk of depressive symptoms (DS) due to cultural and universal risk factors. Acculturative family distancing (AFD) and mother-adolescent conflict (MAC) are significant in predicting depressive symptoms (DS) among Latinx adolescents. Guided by resilience frameworks, this study examined the effects of AFD and MAC on Latinx adolescent DS, and whether family cohesion (FC) moderated these relations. Self-reported survey data was gathered from 207 Latinx students and analyzed using regression analyses. Results indicated that MAC and AFD were significant and positively related to DS. However, family cohesion (FC) did not emerge as a significant moderator for these relations.
ContributorsTimmons, Isabella (Author) / Nair, Rajni (Thesis director) / Bauer, Richard (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
I researched and discussed the background of muscular hypertrophy as well as the potential mechanisms of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. I proposed a hypothetical study that could help distinguish the effects of strength versus fatigue training and identified the impact of some key variables on muscle hypertrophy. The outcome of this hypothetical study could help improve the way athletes train in order to better suit their specific performance needs.
ContributorsSchaffer, Tarah (Author) / Rawls, Alan (Thesis director) / Smith, Cameron (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced Wallerian degeneration and secondary injury sequelae are associated with persisting neuroinflammation hypothesized to increase risk or early-onset of neurodegenerative diseases. At 6-months post-midline fluid percussion injury (FPI) in a rodent model of TBI, we evaluated markers of neuropathology (amino cupric-silver stain), axonal injury (APP), neuroinflammation (ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule, Iba-1), autophagy (neutral red), phospho-tau (AT8), macrophage recruitment (CD68), and lysosome (LAMP-1) pathology in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus in male and female Sprague Dawley rats (n=5-6/group). Positive silver staining was present in injured and age-matched shams; however, the organization, localization, and degree of neuropathology differed within the regions of the DG. A 45% increase in neutral red staining pixel density was present in injured rats compared to sham (p<0.05). No AT8 staining was present in the DG or observed in other brain regions. No quantifiable sex differences were detected. Differential distribution of neuropathology and evidence of persistently activated autophagy pathways implicate novel differences between age-related and injury-related neuropathological processes that require further investigation.
ContributorsRajaboina, Bhavik (Author) / Olive, Foster (Thesis director) / Thomas, Theresa Currier (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
The present study, Examination of Parent-Child Relationships in Latino Families
investigated the relationship between early adolescent experiences on coping behaviors, as
determinants of present day depressive symptoms and resilience. Three multiple regression
models were conducted (Model 1) Predictors of Problem Solving Coping, (Model 2) Predictors
of Depressive Symptoms, (Model 3) Predictors of Resilience. Following this a cross tabulation
analysis was conducted to look at (Yes = Mention) and (No = No Mention) of Active Problem
Solving across 3 levels of Quality of Relationship with Father. This study found that (a) Quality
of Relationship with Father was a significant predictor of Problem Solving Coping Behavior.
Also, (a) Father Expectations and Problem Solving Coping Behavior in adolescence were
significant positive predictors of Resilience. This evidence suggests that Quality of Relationship
with Father in adolescence aids in the development of specific skills and capabilities for (a)
effective Problem Solving Coping Behaviors and (b) effective Expression of Resilience.
ContributorsCarbajal, Robert (Author) / Castro, Felipe (Thesis director) / Carlos Chavez, Fiorella (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
DescriptionA creative project focused on addressing food insecurity within ASU, addressing problems faced between the Pitchfork Pantry and ASU on the Basic Needs Task Force, and finding innovative and sustainable solutions to continue combatting food insecurity efforts at ASU.
ContributorsDickson, Ren (Author) / McCoy, Maureen (Thesis director) / Cunningham, Anna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05