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Browsing by Author "Harman, Jennifer, advisor"

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    Biomarkers of allostatic load mediate stress and disease: a prospective structural equation model
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Outland, Pearl L., author; Harman, Jennifer, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Myers, Brent, committee member; Forssell, Stephen, committee member
    Minority stress theory is often cited as the explanation behind physical health disparities for sexual minority individuals, but the exact mechanism linking a stigmatizing social environment to outcomes of disease is not well understood. This study sought to bridge minority stress theory with the theory of allostatic load in physiology. A sequential mediation model was hypothesized, in which sexual orientation would predict higher rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and more chronic conditions, mediated via two intervening variables: everyday discrimination and allostatic load. Using data from the MIDUS, N = 495 participants (n = 45 sexual minority) were followed prospectively from 1995 -2015. No differences by sexual orientation were found for cancer or cardiovascular disease. Being a sexual minority, experiencing more everyday discrimination, and having a higher allostatic load score were all significantly associated with having a greater number of chronic conditions. Mediation and the indirect effect were not fully supported. This study was an important first step in beginning to identify the causal pathways that link sexual minority stress to disease. Further research that uses more comprehensive measures of multi-dimensional minority stress, and/ or that consider alternative operationalizations of physiological functioning are needed to better elucidate the exact process.
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    Goal orientation and alcohol use during the transition to college
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Grant, Allison M., author; Harman, Jennifer, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Graham, Dan, committee member; Riggs, Nate, committee member
    Alcohol use peaks in early adulthood and rates are significantly higher among college students than their non-college attending peers. Negative alcohol-related outcomes are common among college drinkers. This longitudinal study aimed to reduce negative alcohol-related outcomes, indirectly, by promoting the salience of first-year students' academic goals. Students were randomly assigned to set academic goals or no goals (control) at the start of the fall 2014 semester. Alcohol-related cognitions, past-month alcohol use, negative consequences of drinking, self-control, goal importance, and goal commitment were measured at baseline. Students revisited their goals and completed the alcohol measures in three follow-up surveys. The Motivational Model of Alcohol Use provided structure for testing hypotheses that setting academic goals would be associated with reduced negative alcohol-related outcomes via the effect of condition on drinking motives (H1), self-control would moderate the associations between goal condition, alcohol-related cognitions, and negative alcohol-related outcomes (H2), and goal covariates would moderate the association between self-control, alcohol-related cognitions, and negative alcohol-related outcomes (H3). Longitudinal path models were estimated in Mplus using Bayesian methods. All models fit the data well, but provided limited support for the hypotheses. Setting academic goals did not influence negative alcohol-related outcomes, indirectly, however a meaningful and negative direct effect on negative alcohol-related outcomes was found. Self-control did not moderate the association between goal condition and negative alcohol-related outcomes. Finally, goal importance did not moderate the association between self-control and negative outcomes via drinking motives. Setting academic goals represents a promising, but complex tool for preventing college alcohol misuse.
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    Parental alienation, authoritarian parenting, and their effects on attitudes in alienated children
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Saunders, Luke, author; Harman, Jennifer, advisor; Rhodes, Matt, committee member; Saunders, Kyle, committee member; Tompkins, Sara Anne, committee member
    Research has yet to investigate the attitudes of alienated children other than that of the valences towards their parents. The present study investigated the relationship between parental alienating behaviors (PABs), authoritarian parenting style, and their possible effects on attitudes in children who have been alienated from a parent by another. Participants enrolled in introductory psychology courses (n = 656) were recruited to participate in an online, self-report survey that measured indicators of parental alienation, authoritarian attitudes, prejudicial attitudes, need for closure, splitting, and retrospective ratings of parenting styles and PABs. Results indicated that alienated children did not score significantly higher than children who were not alienated on authoritarian attitudes, and that splitting was not a significant mediator in this relationship. However, results showed a significant relationship between PABs and authoritarian parenting, and a significant correlation between splitting and need for closure. Future research should further investigate attitudes in alienated children.
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    Relational maintenance in mixed-modality romantic relationships
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) McDonald, James Ney, author; Harman, Jennifer, advisor; Martey, Rosa, committee member; Graham, Dan, committee member; Byrne, Zinta, committee member
    Social information processing theory (SIP) provides clear predictions for how online and offline relationships should differ, but does not cover mixed-modality relationships (MMRs). Individuals in MMRs employ both face-to-face (FtF) and technology mediated communication (TMC) for relational maintenance. Stafford and Canary (1991) and Stafford et al. (2000) suggest that self-disclosure and discussion of one's relationship (relational maintenance strategies originally referred to collectively as "openness") depend on the use of another strategy, assurance-giving, to determine one's association with relationship satisfaction. I sought to determine whether relationship-talk and self-disclosure, independent of assurance-giving, are negatively associated with relationship satisfaction, and whether the use of face-to-face (FtF) or technology mediated communication (TMC) have any bearing on the interaction between assurance-giving and openness strategies. It was expected that assurance-giving would moderate the relationship between openness strategies and satisfaction when the strategies were enacted by the same communication channel but not when communicated by different channels. Mechanical Turk users (n = 289) in romantic relationships completed the openness and assurance-giving subscales of the Stafford et al. (2000) revision of the Relational Maintenance Strategy Measure (RMSM), reporting their engagement in maintenance behaviors using FtF and via TMC. Regression analyses were used to determine whether three maintenance strategies (assurance-giving, self-disclosure, and relationship-talk), communicated using either of two general channels (FtF and TMC), predicted satisfaction in romantic relationships, and whether assurance-giving interacted with either relationship-talk or self-disclosure, using TMC or FtF channels. The direct negative relationship between openness and satisfaction found in past research was not replicated in this study, but both TMC self-disclosure and TMC relationship-talk interacted significantly with TMC assurance-giving. For individuals with average or below average engagement in assurance-giving via TMC, greater engagement in self-disclosure or relationship-talk predicted lower satisfaction. These results suggest that openness strategies are not inherently harmful when communicated using FtF, but when communicated via TMC they may be detrimental to satisfaction if relationship partners do not complement openness strategies with heavy engagement in assurance-giving.
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    The influence of social ostracism on drinking as a social identity among women in college
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Dickens, Danielle, author; Harman, Jennifer, advisor; Henry, Kimberly, committee member; Matheson, Jennifer, committee member
    According to the social identity theory, social threats can lead to greater identification with one's in-group, and/or greater derogation of out-group members in order to establish or maintain self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). The purpose of the present studies is to extend the social identity theory to examine whether college women classify their drinking behaviors as a group identity (light, moderate, heavy drinker), and whether they are likely to associate with their in-group and derogate out-group members when faced with social ostracism. It is hypothesized that when threatened with social ostracism, classification (e.g., self-stereotyping) with a group (light, moderate, heavy drinker) will vary according to the status of the participant's group, with moderate drinkers being viewed as higher status due to the developmental stage and context of the population. An initial survey, followed by an experiment utilizing a social ostracism manipulation was used to test the study's hypotheses. The results indicate that classification with a drinking group is significantly associated with drinking behaviors. Participants who were socially ostracized derogated the out-group with negative stereotypes, but did not classify positively with their in-group. The hypotheses examining the relationship between drinking group and drinking behaviors and out-group and in-group derogation were supported. Implications for prevention are discussed.
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    The scientific rigor of parental alienation studies: a quality assessment of the peer reviewed research
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Marsden, Joshua, author; Harman, Jennifer, advisor; French, Kimberly, committee member; Bright, Charlotte, committee member; Tompkins, Sarah Anne, committee member
    Parental Alienation (PA), a form of family violence, has negative outcomes for children and parents. Despite being a generative field of science, some critics contest the validity of PA research. Utilizing the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and building upon the Harman et al. (2022) systematic review, a comprehensive assessment of 155 studies published up to March of 2023 was conducted to examine the quality of empirical, peer-reviewed PA research. The findings indicate a consistent high level of scientific rigor in PA research, irrespective of when a study was published. The robust quality of PA research addresses several PA criticisms. By addressing concerns regarding the legitimacy of PA research meeting scientific rigor, evaluating the quality of empirical PA methodology will provide further insights regarding said scientific validity, further aiding the decision-making process for family court systems and policy makers.
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    Using power imbalances to differentiate between forms of family violence
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Grubb, Caitlyn, author; Harman, Jennifer, advisor; Biringen, Zeynep, committee member; Rickard, Kathryn, committee member
    Forms of family violence can be characterized by differences in power between the parties involved. According to interdependence theory, power is the inverse of dependence, so the less powerful person in a relationship is dependent on the more powerful one. It was predicted that participants who were trained on these power dynamics would be able to better label situations involving family violence according to interdependence theory and recognize the power imbalances. Results indicate that training did not help participants in labelling forms of family violence using the terminology from interdependence theory. However, participants were able to recognize the power imbalances among situations of family violence in predicted directions. It is important that family violence is assessed accurately so that interventions are implemented appropriately and that interventions that are used do not cause further harm to families.