Matching Items (22)
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- All Subjects: Stress
- Creators: Department of Psychology
Description
Exploration of a mouse model (C57BL/6J) capable of demonstrating behavioral changes after adolescent social isolation that are consistent with prior findings may prove beneficial in later research. This study examined 2 proposed long-term effects of isolated housing (one mouse/cage), when compared to group housing (two mice/cage) during adolescence. Mice were placed in their respective housing conditions after weaning (PND 21) and remained in those conditions until PND 60. The same cohorts were used in both phases of the experiment. Phase 1 sought to confirm previous findings that showed increases in ethanol intake after adolescent social isolation using a 2-bottle preference Drinking-in-the-Dark (DID) design over a 4-day period (PND 64-PND 67.). Phase 2 sought to elucidate the effects present after adolescent social isolation, as measured using response inhibition capabilities demonstrated during fixed-minimum interval (FMI) trials (PND 81-PND 111). Findings in phase 1 of the experiment were non-significant, save a strong tendency for female mice in both housing conditions to drink more as a proportion of their bodyweight (g/kg). However, a trend of lower bodyweight in single housed mice did exist, which does suggest that detrimental stress was applied via the used of adolescent isolation in that housing condition. Findings in phase 2 showed little effect of adolescent social isolation on mean inter-response time (IRT) at any criterion used (FMI-0, FMI-4, FMI-6). Evaluation of mean interquartile range (IQR) of IRTs showed a significantly greater amount of variation in IRT responses within single housed mice at the highest criterion (FMI-6), and a trend in the same direction when FMI-4 and FMI-6 were tested concurrently. Taken as a whole, the findings of this experiment suggest that the effect of adolescent social isolation on ethanol intake is far less robust than the effect of sex and may be difficult to replicate in a low-power study. Additionally, adolescent social isolation may interfere with the ability of mice to show consistent accuracy during FMI tasks or a delay in recognition of FMI criterion change.
ContributorsSmith, Nathaniel B (Author) / Sanabria, Federico (Thesis director) / Olive, Foster (Committee member) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
As a democratic innovation involving deliberation and decision making, participatory budgeting (PB) often catalyzes powerful changes among individual participants and within their respective communities. Certain models of PB designate autonomous spaces for young people to determine how to spend a portion of a particular budget, typically that of a municipality or school. These processes of youth PB may address recent trends in the underrepresentation of youth in civic spaces. Following the initial launch of youth participatory budgeting (youth PB) in Cluj (Romania), I spent three weeks in Cluj conducting 45 semi-structured interviews with youth PB participants and one focus group with youth PB facilitators. This thesis explores two areas: (a) the main dynamics of the online Cluj youth PB process (team development and organization, themes of projects proposed and their intended impacts, and inclusion throughout the process) and (b) impact of youth PB on participants (participant learning, change, and empowerment). Main findings suggest that organized groups with ongoing projects dominated the youth PB process and that a majority of projects aspired to impact either all residents of Cluj or a specific youth group (e.g. young artists, young engineers), while very few projects intended to impact young people in Cluj broadly. More than 85% of participants reported feeling empowered by involvement in youth PB. Some differences in learning and change were found by gender, ethnicity, and age. Key recommendations for future iterations of this process include establishing deliberation between teams, encouraging informal group development, restructuring the voting process, and enhancing inclusion of ethnic minorities and migrants.
ContributorsBrennan, Ashley Jane (Author) / Schugurensky, Daniel, 1958- (Thesis director) / Almasan, Oana (Committee member) / Levine, Peter (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The transition from high school to college is associated with considerable life strain for adolescents, including higher reported levels of daily stress and negative affect (NA), and alterations in stress physiology have been linked to poor health. The purpose of this thesis was to use an ecological momentary assessment design to study associations between momentary experiences of negative affect and cortisol levels in a sample of adolescents transitioning to college. I also examined the potential moderating effects of two potential vulnerability or protective factors, alone status and perceived social support from friends. Adolescents provided salivary samples and completed paper-and-pencil diary reports of socioemotional experiences and alone status five times per day for three consecutive weekdays, as well as completed self-report questionnaires on perceived social support from friends. Within-person increases in momentary negative affect were associated with momentary cortisol reactivity. Alone status significantly moderated this association such that the association between momentary negative affect and momentary cortisol levels was only significant when individuals were with others and not when they were alone. Perceived social support from friends did not significantly moderate the within-person associations between negative affect and momentary cortisol levels. The findings add to our understanding of physiological correlates of socioemotional experiences, as well as contexts in which these associations may be exaggerated or attenuated. The findings inform our understanding of potential pathways by which physiological reactivity to socioemotional experiences may affect the health of adolescents as well as how prevention efforts could reduce potential poor health outcomes associated with heightened stress reactivity.
ContributorsKomarnisky, Sydney-Paige Milan (Author) / Doane, Leah (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This thesis aimed to discover the risks of being a high achieving student, in secondary school contexts. With the growing concern for college admission, the high achieving student has become more prevalent within society. This paper sought to gain deeper understanding into the risks and implications of attempting to achieve excellence for high achievers. Interviews with three frontline personnel at two college preparatory schools and one International Baccalaureate degree program were conducted. It was found that in the studied geographic location, peer pressure and relations, parental pressure, perfectionism, extra-curricular activities, college admission, mental health implications, and coping mechanisms are themes that are highlighted through interviews with primary staff of high achieving students. Although personnel at each of these secondary schools were clearly aware of the stress experienced by their students, a disparity remained between how certain programs managed the stress and how it negatively impacted students. College preparatory faculties appear to be more involved and current on their students' stress. This study was limited and further research should be conducted in the future that expands on this concept in various sociogeographic locations.
ContributorsClaybaugh, Anna Katherine (Author) / Scheiner Gillis, Georganne (Thesis director) / Martin, Carol (Committee member) / Wells, Cornelia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Community Action Research Experiences (CARE) collaborated with Citizenship Counts, a local non-profit organization that provides free civics curriculum to middle and high school teachers nationwide, to evaluate the effectiveness of the current curriculum and create additional curriculum materials. Data were collected over a three-month period through online and paper surveys distributed to teachers who had used some aspect of the Citizenship Counts curriculum previously. Of the teachers contacted, nineteen responded with completed surveys. The results indicate that teachers are pleased with their experience working with Citizenship Counts, but that there were areas where improvements could be made. The additional curriculum materials created were quizzes, which can be added to the Citizenship Counts curriculum as an additional improvement. The main areas of concern from teachers were the Citizenship Counts website and additional help when planning Naturalization Ceremonies.
ContributorsHenderson, Abigail Elizabeth (Author) / Knopf, Richard (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / Rodriguez, Ariel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects over 300 million people worldwide, with the hippocampus showing decreased volume and activity in patients with MDD. The current study investigated whether a novel preclinical model of depression, unpredictable intermittent restraint (UIR), would decrease hippocampal neuronal dendritic complexity. Adult Sprague Dawley rats (24 male, 24 female) were equally divided into 4 groups: control males (CON-M), UIR males (UIR-M), control females (CON-F) and UIR females (UIR-F). UIR groups received restraint and shaking on an orbital shaker on a randomized schedule for 30 or 60 minutes/day for two to six days in a row for 26 days (21 total UIR days) before behavioral testing commenced. UIR continued and was interspersed between behavioral test days. At the end of behavioral testing, brains were processed. The behavior is published and not part of my honor’s thesis; my contribution involved quantifying and analyzing neurons in the hippocampus. Several neuronal types are found in the CA3 subregion of the hippocampus and I focused on short shaft (SS) neurons, which show different sensitivities to stress than the more common long shaft (LS) variety. Brains sections were mounted to slides and Golgi stained. SS neurons were drawn using a microscope with camera lucida attachment and quantified using the number of bifurcations and dendritic intersections as metrics for dendritic complexity in the apical and basal areas separately. The hypothesis that SS neurons in the CA3 region of the hippocampus would exhibit apical dendritic simplification in both sexes after UIR was not supported by our findings. In contrast, following UIR, SS apical dendrites were more complex in both sexes compared to controls. Although unexpected, we believe that the UIR paradigm was an effective stressor, robust enough to illicit neuronal adaptations. It appears that the time from the end of UIR to when the brain tissue was collected, or the post-stress recovery period, and/or repeated behavioral testing may have played a role in the observed increased neuronal complexity. Future studies are needed to parse out these potential effects.
ContributorsAcuna, Amanda Marie (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Olive, M. Foster (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
Chronic stress is a risk factor for many diseases that impact the brain, including Alzheimer’s Disease. Unlike acute stress, chronic stress reduces neuronal plasticity, which can lead to neuronal remodeling and suppression. This project investigates the effect of stress on the dendritic complexity of hippocampal neurons in rats, demonstrating a methodology for procuring and analyzing these neurons. The brains of the 160 rats from the Sustained Threat and Timing (STAT) experiment were frozen. The STAT experiment investigated the effect chronic variable stress had on prospective and retrospective timing in rodents. Using a cryostat, thin coronal slices of brain tissue were placed on microscopic slides. The tissue samples were then stained using the Golgi method of silver staining. Hippocampal neurons were assessed using Sholl Analysis; the dendritic complexity of these neurons was quantified. The method of using Sholl Analysis was found to be an effective process in measuring dendritic length of hippocampal neurons.
ContributorsMiller, Amara Delaney (Author) / Sanabria, Federico (Thesis director) / Gupta, Tanya (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Animal assisted activities and therapy have demonstrated efficacy but the question remains of whether the animals themselves are the mechanism of change or if other factors mediate this relationship. We investigated novelty and touch as mediators between therapy dogs and stress reduction as no other study has done both. Additionally, we were interested in whether the belief that a treatment is relaxing or simply providing a break acted as mediators. We explored these relationships using three conditions: therapy dog interaction, massage, and no-treatment control. Interacting with a therapy dog is similar to receiving a massage in each of the mediators of interest. Thus, should the therapy dogs outperform the massage in relieving stress, it suggests something there is something unique about the dogs themselves, beyond the mediators held constant for both the therapy dog and massage condition. We included the no-treatment control to determine whether treatment at all was effective in reducing stress. We tested 40 participants aged 18 to 43 years old over the course of three days. Participants were measured pre-treatment using two self-report surveys of stress, the Stress Overload Scale- Short (SOS-S) and the Stress Appraisal Measure (SAM) as well as a physiological indicator of stress, heart rate variability (HRV) measured by the Scosche Rhythm24 Waterproof Armband Heart Rate Monitor. Participants were randomly assigned to a condition for seven minutes. Afterwards, all measures were readministered. We found no significant interaction of time on condition nor any main effect of condition on any of the measures. However, we found significant main effects of time on both subscales of the SOS-S and the threat, centrality, controllable-by-others, and stressfulness subscales of the SAM. We are unable to determine whether there is a unique benefit of therapy dogs themselves but overall, the event was effective in reducing stress as reported by the participants. We recommend continued investigation of mediators in animal assisted activities and therapy.
ContributorsBryant, Gillian Varnedoe (Author) / Wynne, Clive (Thesis director) / Patock-Peckham, Julie (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
Family influences are known predictors of adolescent health and well-being trajectories, yet little research has investigated how adolescents’ orientation to family may be associated with their physiological stress responses. Influenced by the strength-based approach to culture, this study evaluated 418 Hispanic adolescents' familism values and perceived life stress in family, school, and peer domains to investigate prospective associations with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress responses to the Group Public Speaking Task for Adolescents (GPST-A). Prior growth-mixture modeling on this sample revealed a five-class solution of cortisol responding to the GPST-A that was used here as the dependent variable: one class showed a more pronounced pattern of reactivity, potentially indicative of hyper-responsivity to the stress task; two classes showed evidence of a low to moderate cortisol response, potentially indicative of an adaptive physiological response to the challenge; and two classes showed patterns of non-responsivity, potentially indicative of hypo-responsivity. Results demonstrate that the role of familism is nuanced in the context of stressors, potentially offering both promotive and risk-amplifying effects for the physiological stress response system. This study offered several novel findings in the relation between cultural factors, salient stressors of adolescence, and HPA activity.
ContributorsSmola, Xochitl Arlene (Author) / Gonzales, Nancy (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Doane, Leah (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This project examines biophilic design principles to demonstrate the impact it can have on the well-being of college students at Arizona State University. This paper details our collaboration with Hayden Library, and design elements proposed using biophilic design for the new Prayer and Meditation room as part of the 2019 renovations of the library. We will explore and explain what biophilia/biophilic design is and the specific impacts it can have on humans by including a literature review of previous studies and some in-person research experiences. The literature examined includes how biophilic design has specific positive effects on humans and how we can apply this to students visiting the newly renovated Hayden Library. This project also contains data and information from a workshop (November 1, 2018) organized to gather input from professionals at Shepley Bulfinch for the design of the Prayer and Meditation room. The input from the designers is combined with the body of research on biophilic design to present
to the Hayden Library 2020 renovations team.
to the Hayden Library 2020 renovations team.
ContributorsMcGuire, Ryan (Co-author) / Puga, Susie (Co-author) / Bernardi, Jose (Thesis director) / Bochart, Sonja (Thesis director) / Doane, Leah (Committee member) / Harrison, Anna (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05