Experiences of queer women and nonbinary individuals with mental health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on mental health. Queer women and nonbinary individuals disproportionately experience mental health issues when compared to heterosexuals, often facing challenges in receiving care from providers who are sensitive to their concerns and competent in their care. Objective: To report experience of queer women and nonbinary individuals in the United States with mental health care services before and during the pandemic. Methods: Data were gathered via a 43-item survey about experiences with mental health care services before and during the pandemic that was posted on four social media sites, and flyers hung in university student centers and businesses friendly to LGBTQ individuals. Queer women and nonbinary individuals between the ages of 18 and 75 were invited to participate. Descriptive statistics and Spearman?s correlations were used for data analysis. Results: There were 175 participants who met inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. During the pandemic, more survey participants received mental health services compared with before the pandemic. How they received care significantly changed from before the pandemic (mostly in-person) to during the pandemic (mostly remote). Participants reported being seen significantly more frequently for mental health care during the pandemic compared to before. A higher percentage of participants received both psychotherapy and medication during the pandemic compared with before. They were generally satisfied with their mental health care;however, satisfaction was significantly higher during the pandemic. Conclusion: During the pandemic, compared with before, significantly more participants received mental health care and there were significantly more virtual mental health visits, more frequent mental health visits, more intensive therapies, and higher patient satisfaction. Telehealth care was perceived to be beneficial by most participants. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Predictors of early literacy skills in kindergarteners with dyslexia familial risk

This dissertation research study aimed to determine the predictors of early literacy skills in kindergarteners with dyslexia familial risk. The home literacy environment, preschool attendance, and parental self-efficacy are known predictors of early literacy skills, specifically letter naming knowledge, in typically developing children. Letter naming knowledge is an early literacy skill that is important to future reading achievement and outcomes. Letter naming knowledge is also a powerful pre-literacy predictor of dyslexia. Dyslexia commonly manifest as difficulties in acquiring basic reading skills and is highly heritable. The population for this study was primary caregivers of kindergarteners with a first degree relative with a diagnosis of dyslexia. Participants completed the Home Literacy Checklist, Tool to Measure Parenting Self-Efficacy via an online survey with questions regarding preschool attendance, letter naming knowledge skills, and the presence of a diagnosis of dyslexia among first degree relatives. SPSS Statistics (Version 28) was used to run descriptive statistics. The sample was comprised of 12 primary caregivers. This sample size was not appropriate for the chosen analysis of multiple regression. Using exploratory data analysis, the data was organized and summarized. Due to an inadequate sample size caused by a low response rate, no conclusions could be drawn from this data. The research questions were not answered and there were no findings. COVID-19 restrictions impacted research sites and the level of participation, with participants being less available, school closures, and mandatory quarantines, creating a difficult atmosphere for completion of this research study. As a result, the lack of data during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns led to several revisions of the research plan. The revisions involved eliminating the need for standardized test scores, using primary caregiver report to determine the level of difficulty of letter naming knowledge of the kindergarten student, and using social media to recruit participants. Recommendations for further research were comprised of ways to increase the pool of participants by expanding inclusion criteria, eliminating the use of standardized test scores, considering the length of the survey, and the use of social media along with an incentive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The space between stress and reaction: A three-way interaction of active coping, psychological stress, and applied mindfulness in the prediction of sustainable resilience

Amid a global pandemic, data was collected to explore the extent to which resilience practices (active coping and applied mindfulness) under varying degrees of stress levels can promote sustainable resilience, defined as the ability to move through challenges in a way that leads to increased positive adaptation to meet present and future challenges. Results did not support the proposed three-way interaction;however, post-hoc analyses indicated that active coping (r = .316) and applied mindfulness (r = .250) were independently predictive of sustained resilience and, when combined, predicted approximately 20 percent (R2 = .203) of sustained resilience one month later. Furthermore, the results suggest a significant quadratic two-way moderation between mindfulness and sustained resilience at different stress levels suggesting that at high stress levels, moderate levels of mindfulness are most predictive of resilience. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Social connection: An exploration of screening methods in primary care

Research has found a correlation between a lack of social links and greater prevalence of mental health issues, indicating that social connection is a key determinant in both physical and mental health outcomes. Social isolation has been related to loneliness, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and other major health problems. Urban lifestyles, technology advancements, and the COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to this problem. In order to address related physical and mental health issues, healthcare professionals must have a thorough understanding of the prevalence of social connection impairments as well as how to identify and treat them. This study surveyed primary care physicians on their approach to evaluating social connection in patients and identified potential barriers to gathering this information. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and beliefs of primary care physicians in the United States towards the impact of social connection on the health of their patients and the extent to which they screen and assess for social connection. Surveys were collected from 208 licensed primary care physicians. Results showed the majority of participants agreed that addressing a patient's social connection is as important as addressing their medical needs and that they feel comfortable asking about a patient's current social connection. However, fewer participants reported being well informed about self-report tools or using validated measures to screen for social connection in their practice. These results suggest that there may be a need for more resources to help primary care physicians incorporate screening for social connection into their practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Exploring how care home staff manage responsive behaviours, associated with dementia, in care homes in Ireland, during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Care home residents with dementia often exhibit responsive behaviours including agitation, aggression and wandering. Psychotropic drugs are often prescribed to manage responsive behaviours but contravene guidance as they increase the risk of serious adverse events and death in people with dementia. Aim: This thesis aims to understand how care home staff manage responsive behaviours to identify the barriers and facilitators to implementing a non-pharmacological approach to behaviour management. Methods: This thesis was underpinned by the transformative paradigm and critical theory. A review of qualitative studies was conducted to synthesise understanding of the facilitators or barriers to implementing non-pharmacological strategies to behaviour management (PROSPERO protocol registration CRD42020165948). The findings from the review, in addition to a qualitative survey and patient and public Involvement informed the design of the qualitative interview study to understand how responsive behaviours are managed by care home staff in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) prior to, and during the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, 25 interviews were conducted with staff from 21 care homes across Ireland. Reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative data was informed by Braun and Clarke (2019). All participants provided written informed consent. Ethical approval was obtained from Lancaster University. Findings: The findings from the systematic review and qualitative study found the barriers to taking a non-pharmacological approach to manage responsive behaviours included inadequate staff training and multidisciplinary collaboration. The qualitative study extends current knowledge by showing that a power hierarchy exists between healthcare assistants and nurses that posed a barrier to taking a non-pharmacological approach to behaviour management. Facilitators to taking a non-pharmacological approach included effective leadership and family involvement in resident care. Conclusion: This thesis extends knowledge by conceptualising how responsive behaviours are managed using both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to identify the facilitators and barriers to implementing non-pharmacological strategies to behaviour management. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Essays in economic policy and human behavior

This dissertation is composed of three chapters. While the chapters pertain to very different contexts, an overarching theme is the analysis of human behavior in response to policies that are inherently economic.The first chapter is the product of joint work with Justin Holz and Rafael Jimenez Duran. It studies repugnance towards price gouging. Emergencies like natural disasters or pandemics trigger sharp price increases for essential products. Anti-price gouging laws are ubiquitous and people take costly actions to report violators to law-enforcement agencies, which suggests that they value punishing sellers that spike prices in these situations. This chapter uses a field experiment to understand individuals' willingness to report sellers who increase the price of personal protective equipment at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that reporting decisions contain information about repugnance to price gouging and find that willingness to pay to report is non-trivial and heterogeneous. We also find evidence that repugnance is partly due to distaste for seller profits, depending on the product. These results suggest that regulation discussions would benefit from incorporating repugnance into welfare and from addressing products separately.The second chapter focuses in the use of temporary driving restrictions as a tool for air quality management in Mexico City. Road congestion is understood to be a major source of urban air pollution and is also associated with other large non-health-related costs. Millions of people live in cities in which the number of cars on the road is controlled by allowing or prohibiting the use of a car on a given day depending on its license plate number. The empirical evidence available suggests little benefit from these programs;the policy increases the marginal cost of using the road for some users while decreasing it for others and incentivizes the acquisition of extra vehicles. This chapter studies the effect of temporary increases in the stringency of the restrictions as an add-on policy intended to alleviate extreme pollution events. The increased restrictions are triggered by Ozone levels surpassing a pre-specified threshold. This, coupled with the fact that said threshold was modified several times between 2005 and 2018, allows us to identify the effect of the policy. We document a sizable increase in the average speed of cars in the city during restricted days. This suggests the policy does alleviate congestion. We also observe a reduction on Carbon Monoxide and Ozone concentration, but these results are not robust to changes in the specification's functional form. While we cannot explicitly quantify welfare effects, the minor improvements are unlikely to compensate the major disruption in the commuter network without serious investment in public transit alternatives.The third chapter, co-authored with Enrique Seira and Alan Elizondo, investigates the role of information disclosure on financial markets as tool for consumer protection. We implement a randomized control trial in the Mexican credit card market for a large population of indebted cardholders and measure the impact of disclosures of interest rate and time required to pay outstanding debt on default, indebtedness, account closings, and credit scores;these disclosures are required by law in the United States. We also test the effect debiasing warning messages and social comparison information has on the same outcomes. We find that providing salient interest rate disclosures had no effects, while comparisons and debiasing messages had only modest and short-lived effects at best. We conduct extensive external validity exercises in several banks, with different disclosures, and with actual policy mandates. We conclude the null result is robust. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

An exploratory study of the social and emotional impact of COVID-19 on LGBTQ+ adolescents living in rural communities

This study examined the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on 16 LGBTQ+ individuals 16 -18 years of age in rural Washington. Data were collected using semi structured virtual interviews, an Experience Questionnaire (EQ) and the Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children - Edition 3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BASC-3). A few major themes emerged from the data: changes in relationships, negative psychological impacts, resiliency, and challenges such as barriers, tensions, and routine changes. Participants found COVID-19 restrictions created barriers to accessing social outlets such as extracurricular activities, LGBTQ+ community center, and so on, as well as engaging with resources for mental and physical health. Participants reported that navigating the significant changes in routines due to school closings and social distancing measures negatively impacted their mental health. Online school, increased home responsibilities, lack of structure or routine, and pressure to maintain grades were the main stressors found to contribute to a decline in mental health. Tensions related to having differing opinions from family members were often triggered or exacerbated by increased proximity with family, due to being stuck at home. Tensions also included experiences of homophobia, transphobia, and racism. These tensions contributed to lower mental health, as many participants felt "trapped" in their own home and unable to reveal parts of their identity. Participants reported that COVID-19 restrictions also impacted their relationships positively in some ways. Some participants found that COVID-19 restrictions allowed them to get out of negative relationships, identify healthy or positive friendships, and be more intentional in their friendships. Although most participants experienced negative psychological impacts on their mental health, many were also able to identify areas of resiliency and improvement. Participants identified new methods for coping, found new and innovative ways to engage with support networks, and found that increased time alone allowed for self-improvement and unprecedented identity exploration. Results of the study add to the limited research currently available about the impact COVID-19 restrictions had on LGBTQ+ youth in rural areas and provide critical information for professionals who work with school-aged LGBTQ+ populations, especially those living in rural communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Perceptions of skill transference from dungeons & dragons to personal, social, and work

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single-case study was to explore the perceptions and social interactions of participants in an online role-playing game campaign. Six participants were recruited from social media groups. All participants were over age 18years and had 3 or fewer years of experience playing the traditional role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Game play was conducted, managed, and observed through a virtual tabletop simulator during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic. Methods triangulation including semistructured interviews, journal prompts and entries, and observations were used to gather data from the study participants and game manager. Narrative data were coded and analyzed weekly to monitor for saturation and other quality controls. The data provided information from the perspectives of the game players leading and cooperating as a team. Data analysis resulted in three main themes (skill identification, social interactions, and leadership skills) and nine subthemes (weakness identification, problem identification, problem resolution, teamwork, delegation, conflict resolution, decision-making, emotional response, and empathy) demonstrating new learning capacities that were transferred socially to various life interactions. Results indicated that the participants gained the ability to recognize learned skills and how to transfer the new knowledge and skills from the campaign to their personal, social, and work lives. Study results increased the body of contextual knowledge on how professionals may view learning from gamification and role play opportunities and their recognition and perception of how to obtain new and transferable skills. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Socioemotional functioning as a moderator of the predictive ability of the DIAL-4 on academic achievement

Student performance on kindergarten screening measures and level of kindergarten-entry skills have been shown to be predictive of subsequent academic achievement, thus making kindergarten screening measures a useful tool that guides the monitoring of student progress over time. Though a commonly used tool to assist in kindergarten placement considerations by educators nationwide, the literature is lacking in studies that demonstrate the predictive ability of the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning - Fourth Edition (DIAL-4) on later academic achievement. Related, behavioral and emotional functioning has been demonstrated to significantly impact student achievement. While the literature supports the predictive ability of kindergarten screening measures on academic performance, research is limited on how behavioral functioning moderates this predictive relationship. The present study aimed to examine the predictive ability of the DIAL-4 on later academic achievement and identify whether behavioral and emotional functioning impacts upon, and to what degree, the relationship between academic achievement and the DIAL-4. Additionally, this study examined the impact of the pause of in-person learning, as caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement and behavioral and emotional functioning through within-samples comparisons of student functioning in 2019 and 2021 to identify change amongst individual students. The results support the predictive ability of the DIAL-4 on subsequent academic achievement with significant correlations between DIAL-4 scores obtained before kindergarten with subsequent measures of academic achievement. The was no evidence found for a moderation effect of behavioral and emotional functioning on the prediction of academic achievement. Lastly, when controlling for scores on the DIAL-4, the data suggest a decrease in rate of student academic achievement and an increase in emotional and behavioral dysregulation following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated by statistically significant differences in BERI scores as well as significant decreases in rates of growth in reading ability within some cohorts. These findings provide educators with empirical evidence for the utility of the DIAL-4 in predicting academic achievement as well as insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students' functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Workplace attachment: Perceived employee support and commitment: A qualitative, descriptive, phenomenological study

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological descriptive study was to understand how employees perceive the level of support received from their employers in the workplace. The study encompassed employees with both secure and insecure attachment style types from across the entire State of Maryland. The study collected data via interviews from the participants, taking note of their perceptions of how they felt supported in the workplace. Twelve participants with varying occupations were selected and completed the following: a qualifying questionnaire, a workplace attachment questionnaire (Self-Reliance Inventory), and a personal semistructured, open audio interview with the researcher. Data was analyzed using the Braun & Clarke 6 Step Thematic Analysis Approach. As a result of the analysis, five themes emerged: Workplace, Work, Agency, Job & Organization;Management;Colleagues & Coworkers;Support & Commitment;and COVID-19. There is a research gap on this topic in workplace studies and employee attachment. By conducting this study, future researchers would be able to build upon this research to continue improving relationships in the workplace. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Working in person during the COVID-19 pandemic: The job demands and resources of reopening the economy

This study investigated the effects of working in person during the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived job demands and resources for employees. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model of employee stress indicates that workplace stressors can result in various negative employee outcomes when not adequately buffered by job resources. We extended this model to working in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. We posited that two job demands related to working in person during the pandemic (i.e., the perceived risk of transmitting the disease and job insecurity) would directly influence employee stress. Moreover, we expected that these added job demands would negatively impact employee well-being when organizations do not provide adequate resources to mitigate the risk of disease transmission. Through the lens of pandemic, we contended that any workplace in which employees are susceptible to transmitting the disease may be considered a high-risk environment. Applying previous literature of occupational stress in high-risk workplaces, we discussed how the current health crisis in the United States may increase burnout for employees. To this end, we proposed a model of employee well-being, on which we conducted a path analysis to determine how working in person during the COVID-19 pandemic impacts one's occupational stress and burnout. Analyses indicated that our proposed model did not possess good fit. However, results supported the overall notion that job demands resulting from an increase in perceived risk of the pandemic does indeed increase general work stress, which in turn, increases employee burnout. Implications for reducing the harmful effects of job demands by providing resources which mitigate risk are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Clinicians' perceptions of telehealth services during the Covid-19 pandemic in virginia

The onset of COVID-19 introduced unprecedented changes to how U.S. public health services were delivered. Many public and private agencies faced mandatory closures, social distancing mandates, and rapid transitions to telehealth interventions and treatment. Mental health clinicians witnessed disruptions in continuity of care and an increase in mental health risks overall. Although some studies have been conducted to survey clinicians' perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of technology-based interventions, knowledge about mental health clinicians' experiences and perceptions in Virginia was sparse. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how mental health clinicians in Virginia described their experiences and perceptions of using telehealth in providing services to clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The social-ecological systems and technology acceptance models were used to explore the experiences and perceptions of clinicians. Data analysis led to the identification of themes: (a) pre-COVID-19 treatment and services (b) adjustments to rapid implementation of telehealth, (c) convenience and flexibility to providing services following acclimation, (d) technological barriers to providing telehealth services, (e) challenges with limited understanding and exposure to technology, (f) protocols and managing expectations, (g) acceptance and aversion to telehealth service, and (h) lessons learned for future practice. The findings of this study have potential implications for positive social change by providing insight into the ease of use of telehealth models, encouraging ongoing training for clinical professionals, and informing future research and practice in the mental health field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Mediators of the relationship between psychology doctoral students? Perceived stress and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic: Self-care and social support

It has been well established that psychology doctoral students experience an inordinate amount of stress. Extant literature has proposed that engaging in self-care and feeling socially supported by peers and faculty has resulted in decreased stress levels and an improved quality of life (e.g., E. Ayala et al., 2017;Bamonti et al., 2014;Colman et al., 2016;Rummell, 2015).This study explored the relationship between perceived stress due to COVID-19 and perceived quality of life and via two mediators: self-care practices and perceived social support. Limited research has investigated psychology doctoral students' perceived quality of life during wave one of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected using a quantitative online survey that also included two open-response items focused on quality of life and perceived social support. The sample included 350 health service psychology doctoral students aged 18 years and older. A parallel multiple mediator analysis revealed: (a) perceived stress was negatively related to quality of life;(b) a direct effect of stress due to COVID-19 on quality of life when controlling for self-care practices and perceived social support;(c) perceived stress was inversely related to self-care practices and perceived social support;(d) self-care practices and perceived social support were significantly and positively related to perceived quality of life;and (e) self-care practice and perceived social support significantly mediated the effects of perceived stress due to COVID-19. Results supported the importance of psychology doctoral students engaging in self-care practices and being provided ongoing social support from their doctoral programs and faculty to mitigate the deleterious effects of stress on quality of life. This research has advanced the field of education and training in applied psychology doctoral programs by elucidating the importance of professional and personal social support for trainees? quality-of-life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Examining the lived experiences of mental health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

The problem addressed by this qualitative descriptive study was the challenges mental health providers experienced and their ability to continuously provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Burn out and secondary traumatic stress are common conditions experienced by mental health providers due to the nature of their work. Resilience plays an important role in a person's ability to effectively navigate through life's challenges, therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand and describe the lived experience of mental health professionals during a wide-spread crisis, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of the resilience theory. A qualitative descriptive method and design were used for this study as this provided opportunity to collect and describe the lived experiences of mental health clinicians who provided mental health services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling on social media. The research sample included 12 participants, 11 of which were female, and 1 male. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the participants. The interviews were uploaded and transcribed through Descript transcription software and were manually coded and themed by the researcher. Three research questions were used for this study which included: How do mental health professionals describe the effects of COVID-19 on their delivery of services to their clients? How do mental health professionals cope with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic? and What needs do mental health professionals identify to effectively continue the provision of services during the pandemic? The results of the study indicated that mental health professionals need to feel supported by their workplace which includes social support among employees as social interaction as coping was identified as important by the clinicians. Most participants did identify an increase in stress and burnout symptoms. Participants noted that they need additional trainingin telehealth to feel prepared to provide services through these virtual platforms. Employers are recommended to incorporate social support, and trainings. Future research will benefit from studying the long-term outcomes of the pandemic on the clinician's coping and resilience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Do you want to be an organ donor? Why question order and straightlining matter

This trio of studies is designed to investigate a possible means of increasing donor registration rates, as doing so can save lives by increasing the number of registered organ donors. Many Motor Vehicle Departments (MVDs) ask a series of probing health and legal questions prior to asking visitors about registering as an organ donor. This practice may diminish registration because of straightlining, a type of satisficing, which is a common problem in survey research where respondents do not give the most accurate response, often in an attempt to diminish effort. When straightlining, some individuals may not register as an organ donor simply because they did not notice they were being asked to register, even if they support organ donation. The first study was an MTurk experiment that found that moving the registration question from last to first position within a series of probing questions significantly affected how often individuals expressed willingness to register as a donor. Study 1 found an order effect online for both donors (OR = 2.57) and non-donors (OR = 2.01). Study 2 took advantage of a decision by New Mexico MVDs to move their donor question from after a series of health and legal questions to before it. Thus, Study 2 served as a conceptual replication of the first study, by using secondary data to examine this change's effect on registration behavior in the Department of Motor Vehicles in New Mexico. This change in question location occurred on April 2, 2020. Unfortunately, this was within two weeks of a statewide stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As this, this represents a critical history effect, it serves as a rival explanation for all the results from Study 2. Not all analyses indicated meaningful results, but when controlling for an overall decline in registrations, this downward trend was attenuated by the change in question position. Additionally, both prior donor and non-donor visitors to the MVD were more likely to re-affirm their previously selected donor statuses. However, these effects could have been the result of the pandemic. Study 3 replicated the order effects observed in Study 1 for the donors, but did not find this effect among the non-donors. Study 3 also added an examination of instructional manipulations to see if it was possible to assuage the tendency to straightline using different instructional manipulations on MTurk. One instruction focused on real-world implications-that when asked to register as a donor, this represents placement on the donor registry. This approach may be applicable for use in MVDs, and was expected to be effective for individuals who already possess extremely favorable attitudes about registration. The other approach was based on equity theory and was expected to be especially helpful in online research contexts. However, this experiment did not find support for the use of these instructional manipulations. Taken together, these studies shed important insight into how question order influences organ donation registration willingness. Across Studies 1 and 3, there was evidence that the order in which the donor registration question is asked influences donor registration rates for donors, as well as for those who are paying the least attention. This dissertation did not conclusively observe the same effect for those who are not registered donors. Thus, when it is possible to do so, listing the donor question prior to any other health and legal questions may increase willingness to register. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Identifying online sports betting motivations associated with betting intention

The online sports betting industry has grown exponentially since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports betting on May 14, 2018 (U.S. Betting Report, n.d.). Accordingly, various sport industries (e.g., major sporting media, major sporting leagues) have associated themselves rapidly and closely with this emerging and lucrative market (DraftKings, 2021a;King 2020a, 2020b). However, despite this enormous growth in the online sports betting industry, academic sport management journals have given little attention to the subject (Cason et al., 2020;Lopez-Gonzalez et al., 2020;Nosal & Lopez-Gonzalez, 2021;Stadder & Naraine, 2020). Further, although scholars have obtained valuable findings (e.g., economic motivation, sports betting operators' social media use, effect of macro environment, such as COVID-19, on online sports betting), our understanding of this sport market is still preliminary. To extend our knowledge of sport consumer behaviors related to online sports betting, this dissertation is designed to identify and examine the relationship between online sports betting motivations and online sports betting intentions. By applying extent theories (i.e., the push-pull framework, self-determination theory, and technology acceptance models) from online sport consumption and gambling studies, nine motivations to engage in online sports betting were identified: excitement;sport fandom;confidence in sport knowledge;positive/negative technology-readiness impulsivity;socialization;monetary gain;promotion, and convenience. These motivations were hypothesized to motivate online sports betting intention and examined with quota sampling data based upon the American Gaming Association's core sports bettors demographics (AGA, 2019). Confirmative factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to examine the measurement model and the hypotheses, respectively. The results revealed that four motivations (i.e., monetary gain, excitement, convenience, and negative technology-readiness) were related to online sports betting intention, while five motivations (sport fandom, positive technology-readiness, impulsivity, socialization, and promotion) were not. The results provided foundational knowledge of what motivates and encourages sport fans to engage participate in online sports betting based upon existing theories. In addition, the findings provide practical implications, as understanding the relative importance of multiple motivations to engage in online sports betting allows practitioners to allocate resources accordingly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Influence of conspiracy mindset, trust in science, and political affiliation on COVID-19 reactance

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed extreme divisions in the social and political structure of the United States. When health organizations recommended strategies such as physical distancing, hand hygiene, sanitation of surfaces, and isolating when sick to slow the spread of the disease, Americans appeared to divide into two factions;those who followed the public health guidance and those who persistently ignored it, often voicing perceptions of loss of freedom due to the guidance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the extent to which political affiliation moderated the relationship between conspiracy mindset, trust in science, and reactance responses to COVID-19 public health protocols. The social identity approach, a blend of social identity and self-categorization theories explains the polarization in the United States to public health guidance designed to slow the spread of disease. Online surveys were administered via Survey Monkey to 220 American citizens who were active politically. Results indicated that political conservatives were significantly more likely to endorse conspiracy theories and to resist compliance with COVID-19 public health protocols. Additionally, those who distrusted science were significantly more likely to resist compliance with COVID-19 mitigation practices. Findings from this study have the potential to promote positive social change through a better understanding of the reasons for resistance to public health protocols designed to thwart the spread of COVID-19. Importantly, these results can be used to develop messaging that targets those susceptible to conspiracy beliefs and instead direct their attention to the science that informs public safety protocols in the interest of us all. . (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Dancing with your baby: The experiences of the breastfeeding mother-infant dyad discovered through the artistry of symbolic dance

Dancing With Your Baby: The Experiences of the Breastfeeding Mother-Infant Dyad Discovered Through the Artistry of Symbolic Dance is a study that explored the experiences of the breastfeeding mother-infant dyad through the dance/movement therapy techniques mirroring, leading and following, image making, and symbolic dance.An art-based research study with the inquiries of the breastfeeding mother-infant dyad in mind, was designed with a phenomenological approach that included autobiographical narratives and embodied lived emotions and reflection, which allowed for the integration of dance and movement within the arts-based research realm. Interviews were conducted with each participant to provide an in-depth comprehension of their breastfeeding and postpartum experiences. The participants attended three open group discussions where they expressed their breastfeeding struggles and accomplishments, bonding with their child, and motherhood. Participants were asked to create gestural descriptors that described their breastfeeding experience, and through the image making process, participants choreographed a symbolic dance which was captured on film. Journal entries included written testimonial and self-portraits created through photography and visual art. Eight themes emerged from this study: loneliness, pain, tired, importance of nurturing their infant, guilt, grief, joy, and closure. The researcher's embodied empathetic reflection to the mother-infant movement sequences were also captured on film and is accompanied with a voice over that addressed the participants feelings and thoughts, and the overarching themes.This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided participants insight in finding resilience during breastfeeding and nurturing their infants during stressful times through therapeutic movement, kinesthetic empathy, and artistic dance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Examining the predictive relationship between emotional intelligence and turnover intentions in virtual work environments

Emotional intelligence has been found to have a significant impact on team performance and overall employee satisfaction levels, which in turn has been found to have an adverse effect on turnover intentions. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational-predictive study was to determine if and to what extent emotional intelligence (EI) predicts turnover intention (TI) in the employees of virtual Financial Technology (FinTech) organizations in the United States. The emotional intelligence theory by Mayer et al. (1990) and the theory of planned behavior by Ajzen (1985) were utilized as the theoretical foundations of this study. The data were collected on LinkedIn through convenience and snowball sampling from employees working virtually at FinTech organizations. A sample of n =120 was collected using the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) by Wong and Law and the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS-6) by Roodt. The findings from multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the overall regression model was statistically significant, F(4,115) = 2.99, p = .022, R2 = .094. Due to the statistical significance, the subsequent hypotheses were tested to answer the overarching research question. The results indicated that the EI subscale items OEA and UOE did not significantly predict TI;however, SEA and ROE did significantly predict TI. These study findings contribute to both the theoretical foundations by expanding the additional predictors of TI in virtual FinTech organizations within the United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Asian Americans and grief in the COVID-19 pandemic: A critical analysis of the literature

The present study is a critical analysis of the literature about Asian Americans and grief during the COVID-19 pandemic. This dissertation provides an inclusive review and impression of the existing literature on Asian Americans' grief reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the discussion of the need to disaggregate Asian American data. The literature provides a history of Asian American immigration and demographics. Current literature identifies how Asian American subgroups differ in grief responses and the increase in xenophobia towards Asian Americans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations are made regarding the continued efforts to disaggregate Asian American data and complete further research on the grief response of Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)