Matching Items (31)
Description
Although discrimination is implicated in ethnic health disparities, social support may buffer against its negative effects on health. This study investigated whether prenatal maternal discrimination and social support would predict postpartum cortisol in low-income Hispanic women and infants. Among infants whose mothers reported high discrimination, low maternal social support was associated with high infant cortisol (ß= -0.293, p= 0.03). This provides evidence for the social buffering hypothesis.
ContributorsJewell, Shannon Linda (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Gonzales, Nancy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Experiencing poor, unrefreshing sleep is a common occurrence for individuals with chronic pain. Sleep disturbance predicts not only greater pain and disability, but also heightened negative affect and reduced positive affect in individuals with chronic pain. Such fluctuations in affect have been linked with more negative and fewer positive social events. For those with chronic pain, negative social relations can exacerbate pain, whereas positive social interactions can help decrease disability. Thus, exploring the sleep‒social functioning process in chronic pain may be one way to improve daily functioning and quality of life. The current study examined positive and negative affect as two parallel mediators of the within-day relations between sleep quality and positive and negative social events in individuals with chronic pain. For 21 days, electronic daily diary reports were collected from 220 individuals with fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by widespread chronic pain. Within-person relations among reports of last night’s sleep quality, afternoon affects and pain, and evening social events were estimated via multilevel structural equation modeling. Findings showed that positive affect mediated both the sleep quality‒positive social events and sleep quality‒negative social events relations. That is, greater than usual sleep disturbance last night predicted afternoon reports of lower than usual positive affect. Low positive affect, in turn, predicted evening reports of fewer than usual positive social events and more than usual negative social events that day, controlling for the effects of afternoon pain. In addition, negative affect mediated the sleep quality‒negative social events link. That is, greater than usual sleep disturbance last night predicted afternoon reports of higher than usual negative affect, which, in turn, predicted evening reports of more than usual negative social events that day, controlling for the effects of afternoon pain. Of the three significant mediated paths, the sleep quality‒positive affect‒positive social events path was the strongest in magnitude. Thus, a night of poor sleep can have an impact on social events the next day in those with chronic pain by dysregulating affect. Further, findings highlight the key role of positive affect in the sleep‒social functioning process and potential socio-affective benefits of sleep interventions in chronic pain.
ContributorsKothari, Dhwani J. (Author) / Davis, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Examination of Shame as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Disordered Eating
Description
Background: An emerging literature has found associations between food insecurity and disordered eating behaviors. This study was two-fold. First, to replicate the existing literature that food insecurity is associated with disordered eating symptoms including loss of control over eating. Second, to expand the existing literature by examining stigma control theory, which purports that experiences related to food insecurity potentially induce stigma-related shame, with disordered eating behaviors used to cope with the shame. Further, to explore if emotion coping strategies moderate associations between shame and disordered eating. Method: This is a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study of 582 adults with food insecurity. Participants completed a 20-minute online survey on food insecurity, shame related to food insecurity, coping strategies, and disordered eating behaviors. Analyses: Hierarchical regressions were computed where food insecurity, shame, and emotion focused coping were entered as predictor variables, followed by their interaction terms, and with disordered eating behaviors entered as outcome variables. Results: Regressions suggest that a) internalized shame partially mediated the relationship between food insecurity and global disordered eating, b) internalized shame did not mediate the relationship between food insecurity and loss of control, c) emotion focused coping did not moderate any relationship. Discussion: Internalized shame may be one mechanism in which disordered symptoms arise in food insecure populations, however emotion focused coping does not have any effect on this relationship. Results indicate that coping strategies alone may not reduce eating disorder symptoms, and internalized shame may be an important predictor of disordered eating in food insecure populations.
ContributorsGomez, Francesca (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis advisor) / Berkel, Cady (Committee member) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Internalizing symptoms are prevalent among adolescents, especially among Latinos, and can have negative consequences on health and development. Understanding the risk and protective factors leading to internalizing difficulties among Latino youth is critical. The current study sought to assess the effects of family risk and peer social rejection in the seventh grade on internalizing symptoms in the tenth grade, and the potential buffering effects of social support from family and from friends, among a sample of 749 Mexican American youth. Structural equation modeling was used to examine pathways from seventh grade family risk and peer social rejection to internalizing symptoms in the tenth grade. Perceived social support from family and perceived social support from friends were tested as moderators of these relations. Gender differences in these pathways were also assessed. Results showed that family risk did not predict tenth grade internalizing symptoms, but that peer social rejection predicted increased internalizing symptoms for girls. Furthermore, buffering effects were not confirmed; rather social support from both friends and family had no effect on the relation between family risk and internalizing symptoms, and high levels of social support from both sources amplified the effect of peer social rejection on internalizing symptoms. Secondary analyses suggested that at low levels of social support from both sources, peer social rejection predicted decreased internalizing symptoms for males. Limitations and implications for prevention and future research are discussed.
ContributorsJenchura, Emily C (Author) / Gonzales, Nancy (Thesis advisor) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Committee member) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The construct of adult emotional intelligence has gained increasing attention over the last 15 years given its significant socioemotional implications for the ability to label, understand, and regulate emotions. There is a gap, however, in understanding how emotional intelligence develops in children. Parenting is one of the most salient predictors of children’s behavior and the current study investigated its prospective link to children’s emotional intelligence. More preceisely, this study took a differentiated approach to parenting by examining the distinct contributions of maternal sensitivity and emotion socialization to children’s emotional intelligence. In addition, executive function, considered a “conductor” of higher-order skills and a neurocognitive correlate of emotional intelligence, was examined as a possible mechanism by which parenting influences emotional intelligence. Data were collected from 269 Mexican-American mother-child dyads during 2-year (parenting), 4.5-year (executive function), and 6-year (emotional intelligence) laboratory visits. Both parenting variables were assessed by objective observer ratings. Exeutive function and emotional intelligence were examined as latent constructs comprised of relevant parent-reported and objective measures. Due to a lack of adequate fit, the emotional intelligence variable was separated into two distinct latent constructs, emotion knowledge/understanding and emotion dysregulation. Results indicated that neither dimension of parenting was predictive of dimensions of emotional intelligence. On the other hand, children’s executive function was positively related to emotion knowledge. Finally, executive function did not emerge as a mediator of the relation between parenting and dimensions of emotional intelligence. Taken together, these findings highlight the need for a nuanced developmental and bioecological framework in the study of childen’s executive function and emotional intelligence.
ContributorsRoss, Emily (Author) / Crnic, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Bradley, Robert (Committee member) / Grimm, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Ecological systems theory argues that multiple nested systems impact child development. This study used a moderated mediation pathway to examine whether presence of a grocery store, number of fast-food restaurants, outdoor play space, and outdoor play safety affected children’s blood pressure and BMI through variation in healthy family habits. Maternal perceived neighborhood social and cultural cohesion was examined as a moderator of the mediated effect. Data was collected from 214 mother–child dyads via biological measurement, maternal-report surveys, and geocoding of children’s neighborhoods using Google Earth. Zero-order correlations showed that higher number of fast-food restaurants in a child’s neighborhood was correlated with less engagement in healthy family habits and lower child BMI z-score. In all models, higher neighborhood social and cultural cohesion was associated with more engagement in healthy family habits. No statistically significant mediated effects or moderation of the mediated effects were found. Future directions may aim to identify which objective neighborhood environment indicators influence child health and what are potential variables mediating the relation.
ContributorsHernandez, Juan Carlos (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Anderson, Samantha (Committee member) / White, Rebecca (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Subjective social status (SSS) is a marker of perceived social rank that has been linked with depressive symptoms over and above objective socioeconomic status (SES),
but longitudinal studies are limited. SSS has been theorized to capture perceived relative
versus absolute deprivation and the corresponding psychosocial processes underlying
status-based disparities in health. The literature suggests that upward social comparisons
inherent in appraising SSS may confer psychosocial risk, which may in turn increase risk
for depressive symptoms and stress-related inflammation involved in the pathogenesis of
depression. However, no studies have examined whether interpersonal and biological
factors simultaneously contribute to the inverse relation between SSS and depressive
symptoms. This study examined whether (1) lower SSS was longitudinally associated
with increased depressive mood symptoms, independent of income, and (2) whether
higher social strain and lower social support simultaneously mediated the SSS—
depressive mood symptoms relation directly and indirectly through higher interleukin-6
(IL-6). This study utilized secondary data from a representative community sample of
804 middle-aged adults taking part in a study of healthy aging between 2007 and 2012.
Plasma levels of IL-6 and self-reported SSS, social support, and social strain were
assessed at baseline, followed by an assessment of depressive mood symptoms by phone
interview on average 20 months later. Results from multiple regression analysis revealed
that lower SSS predicted higher depressive symptoms at follow-up after adjustment for
sociodemographic characteristics and baseline depressive mood symptoms. Path analysis
indicated that social strain significantly mediated the relation between SSS and
depressive mood symptoms, but not after adjustment for baseline mood symptoms.
Lower social support mediated the relation between lower SSS and higher depressive
symptoms, but relations were non-significant in adjusted models. Contrary to predictions,
paths including IL-6 were not significant. Lower SSS may represent a robust risk factor
for subsequent depressive mood symptoms above and beyond income, in line with the
conceptualization of SSS as a measure of relative deprivation. Further research
examining biopsychosocial mechanisms would elucidate the implications of perceived
low status and inform intervention efforts aimed at reducing the global burden of
depressive symptoms.
ContributorsMoore, Shannon Victoria (Author) / Davis, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Anderson, Samantha (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Examining processes that characterize the ebb and flow of emotions offers insight into how infants modulate their own emotional experience as well as how both mothers and infants jointly regulate their emotional states. Drawing from polyvagal theory, which posits that vagal tone supports the capacity to quickly, flexibly, and adaptively respond to contextual demands (Porges, 2003, 2007), I hypothesized that infants with greater vagal tone (indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) would show stronger evidence of emotion regulation and coregulation processes during free play and a frustrating task at 24 weeks child age. To evaluate these hypotheses, I used dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM; Asparouhov, Hamaker, & Muthén, 2018) to examine biologically-based differences in second-by-second infant emotion regulation (equilibria, volatility, carryover, and feedback loops in positive and negative affect engagement) and mother- and infant-driven coregulation processes, among a sample of 210 low-income, Mexican-origin mother-infant dyads. Results offered evidence of both mother-driven and infant-driven emotion coregulatory processes during free play, which did not differ based on infant RSA. Results offered limited support for RSA-based differences in infant self-regulation processes during the teaching task, such that infants with below average RSA tended to respond to increased negative affect with subsequent increases in positive affect engagement. Prenatal maternal depressive symptoms also accounted for greater infant emotional volatility and weaker mother-driven emotion coregulation. Results highlight the unique roles mothers and infants play in achieving emotion regulation, as well as between-dyad differences in these processes, suggesting multiple pathways towards resilience among low-income, Mexican-origin families.
ContributorsSomers, Jennifer (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis advisor) / McNeish, Daniel (Thesis advisor) / Spinrad, Tracy (Committee member) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The first step in providing adequate prevention of children’s behavior problems is identifying possible predictors. There is an established relation between parenting style and behaviors and children’s future outcomes, including risk of externalizing behavior problems, but the mechanisms that may explain this relation are unclear. The current study investigated whether child executive functioning plays a mediating role between parenting style and externalizing behavior problems. I hypothesized that parenting style, specifically harsh authoritarian parenting, would predict a decrease in child executive performance, then leading to increased child behavior problems. Additionally, sex differences within this model were examined. Parenting styles and child externalizing behavior problems were measured through mother’s self-report within a sample of 322 low-income, Mexican-American mother child dyads in the Phoenix metropolitan area. A mediation model was performed, including relevant covariates, to test for significance of the mediated pathway. The results of the current study indicated that authoritarian parenting style significantly predicted greater externalizing behavior problems in the sample, but only for girls. Interestingly, it was also found that the addition of biological siblings predicted less behavior problems, again only for girls. These results promote understanding of the influences on behavior problems in children that can escalate to delinquency and criminal behavior. This information is critical for the development and improvement of strategic interventions.
ContributorsPerry, Beth Madison (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / van Huisstede, Lauren (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Obesity is associated with many well-established health risks as well as high annual public health costs. Intervening in the trajectory of obesity becomes significantly more difficult after a child has reached obesity. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the processes that influence weight early in life. Parents serve as one of the main influences on child health, have a significant impact on the weight of their offspring, and are often incorporated into childhood obesity prevention programs. However, the mutual influence that parents and children have on each other is not accounted for. Using an Actor-Partner Interdependence model, the current study 1) examined the effect of children’s and mother’s temperament (e.g., negative affectivity, effortful control, and impulsivity) on their own weight as well as the weight of the other dyad member, 2) explored the effect of the interaction between mother and child temperament on both members’ weight, 3) assessed the effect of mother’s approach to food on mother and child weight, and 4) investigated how temperament might moderate the relationships between mother’s approach to food and mother and child weight. The sample consisted of 220 mother-child dyads. Children ranged from 4 to 6 years of age. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires on their own temperament and approach to food as well as their child’s temperament. Weight measures were assessed in the laboratory for both mother and child. Results indicated children’s impulsivity was related to their mother’s higher weight. The interaction between mother and child temperament was not significantly associated with weight. However, the interaction between child impulsivity and mother’s approach to food was significant; the effect of the mother’s approach to food on her own weight depended on their child’s impulsivity behaviors. Specifically, mothers’ approach to food on her own weight was nonsignificant when her child showed higher levels of impulsivity. The association of mother’s approach to food with her own weight was stronger when her child exhibited average to low impulsivity levels. This investigation of the influence of mother and child on each other’s weight is well-placed for translation into later obesity preventative and intervention efforts for family systems.
ContributorsOhrt, Tara (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Iida, Masumi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021