Mountain Scholar :: Browsing by Author "Prince, Mark, committee member"

Browsing by Author "Prince, Mark, committee member"

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Open Access
A latent profile analysis of intuitive eating behaviors related to wellbeing, eating behaviors, and physical activity during the early COVID-19 pandemic
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Johnson, Ashlie N., author; Graham, Dan, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Rickard, Kathy, committee member; Shoemaker, Lauren, committee member
Intuitive eating (IE) is a promising approach to improve eating behaviors that is primarily focused on eating in attunement with one's internal signals of hunger and satiety. Intuitive eating is related to an array of benefits including improved physical and mental health; however, many gaps exist in the IE literature. The current work utilized a novel approach in the IE context, a latent profile analysis (LPA) of 947 adults, to identify common patterns of responses to the four subscales of IE during the early COVID-19 pandemic, a time period currently understudied in the IE field. The study employed independent LPAs for two subsamples (n = 446 undergraduate students and n = 501 community members) to detect potential differences in model structure. The derived profiles were then used to test associations between COVID-19-related changes in dietary behaviors and weight concern, gender, weight loss attempts, physical activity, and mental health. LPAs of the combined sample resulted in a four-profile model. This model structure was not replicated in the undergraduate and community subsamples which showed notably different profile solutions. The two undergraduate profiles distinguished patterns of responses that were associated with lower overall (Low) and moderately high (Mod-high) levels of IE. Men were more likely to be in the Mod-High profile compared to women and the Low profile was associated with higher amounts depression, anxiety and weight loss attempts, increases in food eaten during the COVID-19 pandemic, and higher probabilities of increased weight concern during the pandemic. The community subsample showed a four-profile solution. 1: high levels of Unconditional Permission to Eat (UPE) and low levels of Eating for Physical Rather than Emotional Reasons (EPR), Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues (RHSC), and Body-Food Choice Congruence (B-FCC), which was related to increases in amount of food eaten, depression, and anxiety, and higher probabilities of increases in weight concern compared to the other profiles. 2: moderately high levels of UPE and very low levels of EPR, RHSC, and B-FCC, which showed the highest rates of weight loss attempts as well as high probabilities of increased weight concern. 3: moderate to high levels of all 4 IE subscales characterized by fewer weight loss attempts than profiles 1 and 2. 4: highest overall levels of IE which had the most stability in their weight concern compared to the other profiles. There were no gender differences between the four profiles of the community subsample and there were no associations with physical activity in either the undergraduate or community subsamples' profiles. These findings support the hypothesis that multiple, distinct profiles of IE exist and have unique relationships with health-related behaviors and outcomes. However, profile structures did vary between the undergraduate and community subsamples, suggesting limited generalizability between the two groups. Together, results suggest that IE levels both globally and in specific, naturally-occurring combinations of subscales are differentially related to eating and dieting behaviors, body image, and mental health. In application, findings suggest there may be benefits to recognizing varying patterns of IE to create tailored techniques for interventions seeking to increase these adaptive eating behaviors. Future research should continue to employ person-centered approaches alongside variable-centered ones to study more diverse populations and non-pandemic conditions.
Open Access
A qualitative study of disease adjustment: inflammatory bowel disease post-traumatic growth
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Bascom, Elise, author; Chavez, Ernest, advisor; Fisher, Gwenith, committee member; Jennings, Louise, committee member; Prince, Mark, committee member
The current study developed a model of post-traumatic growth to assess the multiphasic, transitional experience of patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by a provider at the Centers for Gastroenterology in Northern Colorado. Specifically, this study examined individuals within the IBD population who have received a diagnosis of either Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) was used to identify the primary domains and subthemes from six participant interviews. Four large domains were extracted from the data, which were used to construct a model of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Post-Traumatic Growth (IBDPTG). The four, major domains include identity loss/grief, the perception effect, identity reconstruction, and post-traumatic growth (PTG). The original model proposed for this study included all of the aforementioned domains, except for the perception effect. The trained research team involved in this study conducted three meetings to discuss and compare domain/thematic findings. We identified that participants' attitudes/beliefs about their diagnosis was a precursor to progressing to the identity reconstruction phase, and, therefore, needed its own, distinct domain. Subthemes were also identified in each of the four domains, which further captured the nuances and complexities of IBD disease management for our participants. Participants were also asked to complete two sets of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), two sets of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), one Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCLR-90-R), and the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Participants were asked to retrospectively complete the first set of self-report questionnaires (BDI-II, BAI, SCL-90-R), as they reflected on their psychological state during their most severe disease experience. We then conducted a semi-structured interview with each participant that lasted approximately 60-75 minutes. After the interview portion of the study, we asked participants to complete the BDI-II and BAI based on their symptom presentation within the last two weeks. We compared the difference between levels of anxiety and depression during active and inactive disease flares. Scores on the BDI-II indicated that participants experienced high levels of depression during severe flares, but that their mood greatly improved with adjustment and mental stability. Scores on the BAI also indicated that the participants experienced higher levels of anxiety during periods of disease relapse, as opposed to periods where their disease was dormant. The SCL-90-R was used to supplement the qualitative data obtained during the interviews. The PTGI was given to the participants at the end of the study to examine whether our qualitative data captured any additional, potentially disease-related growth not yet addressed on the questionnaire. The three subthemes identified in the domain of PTG include: positive personal growth, positive social growth, and positive growth in disease perception.
Open Access
An investigation of mindfulness, adolescent psychopathology and regulatory emotional self-efficacy
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Miller, Reagan L., author; Lucas-Thompson, Rachel, advisor; Coatsworth, J. Douglas, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member
A robust body of literature suggests that mindfulness benefits mental health and psychological well-being, but the majority of this research has only been conducted among adults; also, mechanisms that link these two concepts are not fully understood. Mindfulness is theoretically expected to reduce psychopathology through more effective emotion regulation and, as a result, greater beliefs about one's ability to regulate their own emotions; therefore, regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE) is a likely mediator of this relationship. In order to comprehensively understand the relationship between the variables, however, two theoretical models were tested; RESE was first tested as a meditator and secondarily tested as a predictor of mindfulness. Among a sample of 149 adolescents (14-21 years old), bias-corrected bootstrapped estimates revealed that RESE was not found to be a mediator in the relationship between mindfulness and adolescent psychopathology. RESE was, however, a better predictor of mindfulness and subsequent reductions in adolescent psychopathology. These results suggest that mindfulness and RESE work together to reduce adolescent psychopathology and that adolescents may need to have effective management of their emotions before being able to practice mindfulness. Going forward, the investigation of additional mediators, as well as multiple facets of mindfulness among a more diverse and longitudinal sample, warrants further investigation.
Open Access
Associations between number of standard doses of tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabis use motives and cannabis-related negative consequences
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Tyskiewicz, Alexander J., author; Conner, Bradley, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel, committee member; Tompkins, Sara, committee member
Objective: Recently, the National Institutes of Health published a notice of information regarding the establishment of a standard unit of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to be used in research. To address this notice, the current study examined if associations between cannabis use and cannabis related consequences and cannabis use motives would differ when using standard dose as a measure of cannabis use compared to cannabis use frequency. I hypothesized that there would be a positive significant relation between each cannabis use motive and cannabis-related consequences. I hypothesized significant positive relations between motives and number of standard doses. I hypothesized that the positive relation between motives and cannabis-related consequences would be partially mediated by cannabis use as measured by standard dose but not cannabis use frequency. I also hypothesized that none of the cannabis use motives would significantly predict cannabis use frequency, cannabis use frequency would not predict cannabis-related negative consequences, and cannabis use frequency would not mediate the relation between cannabis use motives and cannabis-related negative consequences. Method: I conducted five path analyses to test study hypotheses in a sample of individuals (n=84) who reported regular to heavy cannabis use. I ran non-inferiority tests to test hypotheses of non-significance. Results: Coping motives significantly positively predicted cannabis-related consequences (b=0.376, SE=0.136, p=0.006), such that a one-unit increase in coping motives was expected to increase cannabis-related consequences by a factor of 1.45 (45%). Number of standard doses significantly positively predicted cannabis-related consequences (b=0.24, SE=0.122, p=0.046) such that a one-unit increase in number of standard doses was expected to increase cannabis-related negative consequences by a factor of 1.27. (27%). In the social motives model, social motives significantly positively predicted cannabis-related negative consequences (b=.358, SE=.133, p=.007) such that a one-unit increase in social motives was expected to increase cannabis related consequences by a factor of 1.43 (43%). Also, social motives significantly positively predicted number of standard doses (b=0.3, SE=0.097, p=0.002) such that a one-unit increase in social motives was expected to increase the number of standard doses by a factor of 1.349 (35%). Enhancement motives significantly positively predicted cannabis-related consequences (b=0.406, SE=0.161, p=0.012) such that a one-unit increase in enhancement motives was expected to increase cannabis related consequences by a factor of 1.50 (50%). Further, rate ratios (RR) revealed that one unit increases in number of standard doses ingested predicted larger increases in cannabis-related negative consequences than did one unit increases in cannabis use frequency across all models with significant results. All indirect effects were not significant. Conclusion: Previous research has reported mixed findings on the relations between cannabis use frequency and motives and cannabis use and consequences. Results suggest that number of standard doses and cannabis use frequency differ in the ways in which they predict both cannabis use motives and cannabis-related negative consequences. Further, results suggest that neither number of standard doses nor cannabis use frequency mediate relations between cannabis use motives and cannabis-related consequences.
Open Access
Attitudes and beliefs about older adult suicide and about older adults who died by suicide, and the role of ageism
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Kulish, Bailee, author; Canetto, Silvia Sara, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Gorin, Moti, committee member; Tompkins, Sara Anne, committee member
Background: In most countries, individuals age 65 years or older have the highest suicide rates (World Health Organization, 2018). However, suicide is not uniformly common among all older adults (Canetto, 1992, 2017). For example, in the United States (U.S.), European-descent men age 65 years or older have high suicide rates while African-descent women age 65 years or older have low suicide rates (Canetto, 2021). These patterns suggest cultural influences on older adults' suicide. Studies indicate that cultural factors like suicide attitudes and beliefs predict suicide. For example, a U.S. longitudinal study found that suicide acceptability predicted subsequent suicide in the general population–in some cases, by a twofold increase (Phillips & Luth, 2020). Most studies of attitudes and beliefs about older adults' suicide have been conducted in Anglophone-countries. This study explored attitudes and beliefs about older adults' decision to suicide and about older adults who died by suicide in a non-Anglophone country, Israel. Specifically, this study examined Israeli attitudes and beliefs about older adult suicide/female and male suicide, attitudes and beliefs about older adults who died by suicide/females and males who died by suicide, and the role of ageism in these attitudes and beliefs. Methods: Attitudes and beliefs about older adult suicide (as compared to younger adult suicide) as well as female and male suicide, and attitudes and beliefs about older adults who died by suicide (as compared to younger adults who died by suicide) as well as females and males who died by suicide, depending on one of five precipitants (1. A Chronic Nonfatal Debilitating Physical Illness; 2. A Terminal Debilitating Physical Illness; 3. An Achievement Failure; 4. Widowhood; 5. Economic Hardship) were measured. A modified version of the Suicide Attitude Vignette Experience (Stillion et al., 1984) form A was used as the stimulus material. Participants were asked to evaluate the suicide using Deluty's (1988-1989a, 1988-1989b) 7-point scales of suicide acceptability, permissibility, and agreement, as well as Stillion et al.'s (1989) 5-point scale of sympathy for the suicide, expanded to seven points to match Deluty's scales. To assess attitudes and beliefs about the person who died by suicide, participants responded to a 7-point scale about how emotionally adjusted they thought the person who died by suicide was (Lewis & Shepeard, 1992, as modified by Dahlen & Canetto, 1996). In addition, respondents expressed their view about the seriousness of the suicidal intent of the person who died by suicide via a 7-point scale (Dahlen & Canetto, 1996). Lower scores on these 7-point scales indicated less acceptability, permissibility, agreement, emotional adjustment, and seriousness. Ageism was measured using the 6-point scale, Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) (Fraboni et al., 1990), as revised by Bodner & Lazar (2008). Ageism was the average of the 21 FSA items scores, as done in a study by Gamliel and Levi-Belz (2016). Low scores on this 21-item measure indicated less ageism. The sample was 1,107 individuals: 551 older adults ages 61 to 91 (Mage = 72.06, SD = 6.77) (276 females and 275 males) and 556 younger adults ages 21 to 37 (Mage = 25.82, SD = 3.94) (285 females and 271 males). The older adult participants were recruited from community day centers and the younger adults from university campuses and workplaces. Results: The decision to suicide, across sex and age of the person who died by suicide and across suicide precipitants, was rated as follows: acceptability (M = 5.656, SD = 1.779), permissibility (M = 5.466, SD = 1.912), agreement (M = 5.826, SD = 1.661), sympathy (M = 5.337, SD = 2.104). The person who died by suicide, across sex and age of the person who died by suicide and across suicide precipitants, was rated as follows: emotionally adjusted (M = 5.535, SD = 1.712), seriousness of suicide intent (M = 2.681, SD = 2.035). Older adult suicide was rated as relatively less acceptable, less permissible, less agreeable, and as eliciting less sympathy than younger adult suicide. Younger adult suicide following achievement failure was considered most permissible and acceptable and received the most agreement and sympathy across precipitant conditions. Younger adults whose suicide followed an achievement failure were rated as more serious in suicide intent than older adults whose suicide followed a terminal debilitating physical illness. However, older adults whose suicide followed a terminal debilitating physical illness were rated as more serious in suicide intent than younger adults whose suicide followed a terminal debilitating physical illness. Male suicide was considered more permissible than female suicide. Female and male suicide was evaluated similarly in terms of acceptability and sympathy. No difference was found between the perceived emotional adjustment of females and males who died by suicide, although males who died by suicide were believed to be less serious in their suicide intent than females who died by suicide. No differences were found in suicide acceptability and permissibility, agreement with, or sympathy for older adult suicide across respondents' characteristics such as their sex or age. The average ageism score, independent of respondent characteristics (i.e., their sex and age) was M = 2.966, (SD = 0.683). Younger adults (M = 2.891, SD = 0.716) held less ageist beliefs than older adults (M = 3.044, SD = 0.629). Ageism did not predict acceptability, permissibility, agreement, or sympathy with the older adults' decision to suicide, nor the perceived emotional adjustment or the perceived seriousness of suicide intent of the older adult who died by suicide. Discussion: This study's findings on attitudes and beliefs about older adult suicide, and about older adult suicide precipitated by a terminal debilitating physical illness, did not align with the findings of similar U.S. studies. A main finding of this study was that older adult suicide was rated as less acceptable, less permissible, and less agreeable than younger adult suicide. Older adult suicide following a terminal illness received the lowest amount of sympathy when compared to other conditions involving both older and younger adults, except for younger adult suicide following a terminal debilitating illness. Further, older adults whose suicide occurred after a terminal debilitating physical illness were rated as more serious in their suicide intent when compared to younger adults whose suicide followed a terminal debilitating physical illness, but not to younger adults whose suicide followed an achievement failure. In fact, younger adults whose suicide followed an achievement failure were rated as most serious in their intent relative to all other precipitant conditions. This study's findings on attitudes and beliefs about persons who died by suicide were both similar to, and different from U.S. findings about attitudes and beliefs about persons who died by suicide. This study found no difference in attitudes and beliefs about older adult suicide depending on respondent characteristics (i.e., their sex and age), in contrast to some U.S. studies. Furthermore, in this study ageism was not a predictor of, or a moderator for attitudes and beliefs about suicide, in contrast to a prior Israeli study's findings that ageism moderates suicide attitudes and beliefs. Possible explanations for the divergent findings across studies include differences in national context and culture, and method issues, Recommendations for future research include using a broader range of attitude and belief questions, examining ageism via qualitative methods, and studying suicide attitudes and beliefs across a diversity of national and cultural contexts.
Open Access
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.
Open Access
Cannabis use consequences: a multi-ethnic site investigation of risk and protective factors
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Gutierrez, Crystal, author; Borrayo, Evelinn, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Davalos, Deana, committee member; Schillington, Audrey, committee member
Cannabis is the most popular regulated drug in the world and use rates continue to increase as legalization becomes more prevalent. Heavy cannabis use has been associated with a variety of mental health concerns and psychological distress has been observed to be a risk factor for the development of Cannabis Use Disorder. The current study examines how psychological distress relates to cannabis use consequences across sites in the United States, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Spain, and Argentina. Additionally, this study also explores protective coping strategies that users employ that may reduce the incidence of negative cannabis use consequences. Participants were recruited from university research pools and given surveys that assessed the individual's cannabis use behavior, possible risk and protective strategies, and problematic use outcomes. Results from this study may inform clinical interventions for the treatment and prevention of cannabis use disorder and make suggestions about ways to alter these interventions based on the location of services provided.
Open Access
Decreasing problematic alcohol use with behavioral strategies: a cognitive model
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Darwin, Marielle L., author; Davalos, Deana, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Malcolm, Matthew, committee member
Problematic alcohol use is a pattern of hazardous consumption that commonly leads to negative outcomes that affect college students' ability to complete day-to-day responsibilities. Behavioral strategies such as ensuring a safe ride home or avoiding drinking games is linked to a reduction of alcohol-related consequences by providing concrete tactics to enable a change in patterns of consumption. Thus, improving an individual’s ability to utilize these strategies before or during alcohol consumption is targeted in contemporary interventions and preventative approaches. In spite of this practice, much is unknown regarding the underlying cognitive facilities needed to: retain awareness of these strategies, choose approaches in accordance with the situation at hand and update these tactics as needed. If the ability to productively utilize these methods is dependent on cognitive abilities, then individuals with poor cognitive function may be at a disadvantage. The aim of the current study was to investigate the roles of executive cognitive functioning and metacognition as they relate to behavioral strategy usage and adverse alcohol-related outcomes. Results indicate that executive cognitive functioning is inversely related to the number of experienced alcohol-related consequences. Furthermore, low executive function and metacognitive beliefs about alcohol pertaining to the cognitive harm of drinking interacted to significantly affect the use of behavioral strategies, which in turn was inversely related to consequences. The findings of the current study offered a cognitive-based model in support of the practice of employing strategies to decrease alcohol-related consequences, and determined whether implementation of these tactics can successfully take place in those with poor cognitive and metacognitive function.
Open Access
Don't take that tone with me! An examination of attribution and evaluation as a consequence of incivility perceived in workplace email
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Goldman, Chloe B., author; Fisher, Gwenith, advisor; Cleveland, Jeanette, committee member; Henle, Chris, committee member; Long, Ziyu, committee member; Prince, Mark, committee member
This research investigated how people in the workforce interpret and react to the experience of incivility when it is perceived in workplace email. The purpose of this study was to assess relationships between perceptions of incivility in email, the fundamental attribution error, and associated judgments made about the email content and sender. Moreover, this work examined the similarity-attraction paradigm to test whether perceptions of similarity to the email sender moderated the aforementioned relationships. In this vignette-based survey, participants were asked to evaluate email content in the context of hypothetical workplace scenarios. These participants were recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk workforce pool (MTurk), resulting in a final sample of 219 respondents. Results indicated that people make the fundamental attribution error more often when perceptions of incivility are high, and that perceiving incivility is associated with a poorer evaluation of the email sender's communication skills and with a lower desire to work with that email sender in the future. In addition, participants who perceived themselves to be more similar to the email sender evaluated the email sender positively even when they detected incivility. Findings in this study do not support that the perception of incivility or attribution was related to email content ambiguity or cognitive load. This work contributes empirical evidence to research about email and computer mediated communication (CMC) in organizations and the pitfalls of miscommunication or misinterpretation on lean media platforms. Implications for workplace training and organizational policy change are discussed.
Embargo
Ecological momentary assessment of mechanisms of change during a mindfulness-based intervention for adolescents exposed to chronic stressors
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Miller, Reagan L., author; Lucas-Thompson, Rachel, advisor; Shomaker, Lauren, advisor; Haddock, Shelley, committee member; Prince, Mark, committee member
Adolescents exposed to chronic stressors (e.g., financial instability) are at heightened risk for developing mental health problems. Chronic stressors may contribute to greater mental health problems by interfering with adolescents' ability to effectively regulate emotions. According to the mindfulness stress buffering hypothesis, mindfulness acts as a buffer against the deleterious effects of life stressors by ameliorating maladaptive stress appraisals and by improving emotion regulation. However, an assumption of this hypothesis is that individuals can maintain mindfulness and regulate their emotions during periods of stress. These two papers explore this assumption by first investigating the real-time, dynamic relationship between life stressors, mindfulness, and emotion regulation difficulties (Study 1) and then by exploring if mindfulness training may help to ameliorate the negative effects of life stressors on mindfulness and emotion regulation (Study 2). Eighty-one participants who were 10-18 years of age (Mage=13.75 years, SD=2.17; 56% male; 57% Caucasian; 24% Hispanic/Latino; 7% Native American; 7% more than race; and 5% Asian/Pacific Islander or Black/African American) completed ecological momentary assessments (EMA) three times a day for seven days at three different intervals (baseline, mid-intervention and post-intervention) throughout the study, contributing to a total of 3,178 EMA reports. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that the presence (versus absence) of stressors and the greater severity of stressors both were associated with lower mindfulness and greater emotion regulation difficulties concurrently in the same moment, but not prospectively from one moment to the next. In other words, life stressors may only be more immediately associated with lower mindfulness and greater emotion regulation difficulties as short-term, delayed effects from one moment (T1) to the next moment (T2) were not observed. Also, mindfulness training, compared to an active control group, was protective at post-intervention against the negative (concurrent) effects of stressors on mindfulness and emotion regulation (Study 2). Findings highlight that adolescents' life stressors may degrade untrained mindfulness and emotion regulation at given moments, but mindfulness training may help to buffer against these negative impacts of life stressors. Going forward, it will be helpful to investigate these relationships in the context of mental and physical health outcomes and to include longer periods of follow-up to determine the sustainable benefits of mindfulness training for adolescent health.
Open Access
Emotion's role in challenging interpersonal contexts and substance use: a multilevel mediation analysis
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Mataczynski, Maggie, author; Emery, Noah, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel, committee member; Tompkins, Sara Anne, committee member
Emotions have a well-established role in substance use, however there are several mixed findings on how exactly positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) influence substance use. Interpersonal contexts are known to influence both emotions and substance use, especially among youth. This study attempted to clarify the relationship of emotions and substance use by hypothesizing that there is a cascade effect of challenging interpersonal contexts (CICs) that facilitate acute changes in PA and NA which, in turn, leads to increased substance use. This study used secondary data from a parent ecological momentary assessments (EMA) study to examine the links between CICs, emotions, and substance use in a sample of young adult college students. Multilevel path analysis results echoed other studies in that an occurrence of a CIC was associated with participants feeling overall worse at the same moment (more NA, less PA). Interestingly, at the within-person level, PA at the previous moment exhibited a significant positive direct effect on substance use at the next moment. CICs at the previous moment exhibited an indirect effect on substance use at the next moment through acute changes in PA at the within level. CICs also exhibited a direct positive effect on substance use at the between-person level. There were no significant observed effects for NA at either the within- or between-person level. Our study replicated how CICs can make individuals feel worse while also indicating unique findings of PA's role in how CICs are associated with substance use.
Embargo
Emotional availability (EA) brief: single session feedback and coaching for improving fathers' emotional availability across a wide developmental spectrum
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Lincoln, Michael, author; Biringen, Zeynep, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Harvey, Ashley, committee member
Fathers are a historically underrepresented population in developmental research and must be considered for their modern presentation in parenting processes. Emotional Availability (EA) is a construct that captures the parent-child relationship quality and predicts positive outcomes for children. A recently developed intervention, the EA Brief, is a program conceptualized for easy administration that may be utilized to improve father-child dyadic functioning across a range of child ages. The final sample of interested fathers was 18 fathers with children between 4-months and 13.5-years. For pretest sessions, all fathers completed surveys (demographic information, the Emotional Availability Self Report, and the Flourishing Scale) via Qualtrics, followed by a 20-minute filmed interaction via Zoom which was later coded for EA. Immediate Intervention Group (IIG) received one pretest before the intervention and one posttest after the intervention over a 3-5 week intervention delivery. The intervention involved a 2-hour interactive Zoom workshop where information about EA, attachment, and mindfulness was provided, a 1-hour individualized, Zoom EA feedback/coaching session, and two weeks of text reminders about the covered content. In contrast to the IIG, the Waitlist Control (WC) participants received two pretests (same assessments as above) separated by the 3-5 week time period corresponding to the timing of intervention delivery for the IIG. After the second pretest, they received the same intervention as the IIG. All IIG and WC fathers received posttest sessions (exact same assessments as for the pretests noted above). Across 16 target variables assessing EA, six observed variables showed post-intervention improvement (a < .05) though no significant findings were found on self-reported measures. These findings suggest that fathers respond to programs that provide guidance for clinically informed, research-based parenting despite the program having limited effect on their self-perceptions of how they parent.
Open Access
Estimating variability across numeric and spatial information
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Spahr, Kimberly S., author; Clegg, Benjamin A., advisor; Wickens, Christopher D., advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Smith, Charles, committee member
Research has demonstrated the difficulty of estimation and prediction, particularly in complex and uncertain conditions. Specifically, humans lack precision or are biased in making estimates of variability from continuously distributed stimuli, such as hurricane trajectories (spatial information) or sets of random numbers (numeric information). Conversely, people tend to provide calibrated estimates of average behavior for both spatial and numeric stimuli. Using either spatial or numeric stimuli, past studies noted that people tend to underestimate variability but provide accurate mean estimates. Nonetheless, no experiments have utilized both spatial and numeric stimuli to identify the extent to which people estimate variability, and to a lesser extent, mean behavior, across different types of information. This individual differences perspective holds significant implications for training and support in making calibrated decisions under uncertainty. The current study addressed this gap by presenting participants with a spatial task and a numeric task, each of which assessed knowledge and calibration to variability and means. Using cross-task correlational analyses, this study explored the extent to which similar mechanisms might underlie performance in both domains of stimuli. During the spatial task, participants learned the location of varying trajectories, and then reported on the likelihood of possible trajectory endpoints (spatial variability) and the average trajectory. During the numeric task, participants viewed lists of random numbers, and estimated the mean and spread of these lists (numeric variability). A correlational analysis revealed that participants who gave more accurate estimates of variability on the spatial task were not necessarily more accurate when estimating numeric variability. Such findings indicate that different cognitive processes likely support the understanding of variability for different types of information. Additional research is necessary to elucidate which cognitive mechanisms are involved; possible systems include working memory and numeracy. Participants expressed a similar overestimation bias to variability across both tasks. This bias trend does not replicate prior literature for either spatial or numeric information, and future studies will focus on how to induce participants to change their response biases. Finally, mean estimation performance correlated across tasks, meaning that those who were more accurate when estimating spatial means were more likely to accurately estimate numeric means.
Open Access
Evaluating gender/sex measures for inclusion of non-binary participants
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Schlechter, Thomas E., author; Conner, Bradley T., advisor; Dockendorff, Kari, committee member; Prince, Mark, committee member; Graham, Dan, committee member
With the amount of research on Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Expansive communities growing, there has been increasing attention paid to the methods used to collect and analyze gender/sex data from participants. Across fields, multiple methods of collecting gender/sex data have been used, but recently a large portion of the literature has highlighted the Two-Step Method (Tate et al., 2013; NASEM, 2022) as a current best practice. However, the Two-Step Method is not without flaws, notably the disagreement on inclusion of categories outside of man, woman, and transgender which may limit the extent to which Non-Binary participants feel included and represented by this approach. This study asked Non-Binary participants to respond to three different survey instruments used for gender/sex data collection and then asked to rate how well they understood the question(s) and if they felt included by the questions. Additionally, participants rated the accuracy of the category each measure assigned them to their own lived experience. Results found that all measures were comprehensible and inclusive, but that measures explicitly including Non-Binary as a category were more accurate to participants. Implications for these results in the inclusion of Non-Binary communities in research are discussed.
Open Access
Examining the moderating effects of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status on the association between substance misuse and mental health in adolescence
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Hatch, Kyle, author; Riggs, Nathaniel R., advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Luong, Gloria, committee member
Adolescence has been shown to be a critical time for healthy development, however, research has suggested that substance use is high during this developmental period. Adolescent substance use is of concern, as it can lead to negative developmental health outcomes. Specifically, adolescent cannabis use has been associated with mental health outcomes like depression. This thesis sought to investigate the relationship between adolescent cannabis use and depression, and to test potential moderators such as race/ethnic identity and socioeconomic status (SES) in this relationship. It was found that adolescent cannabis use, along with assigned female sex at birth and low-SES, were associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescence. Race/ethnic identity and SES did not significantly moderate the relationship between adolescent cannabis use and depression. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future studies are discussed.
Open Access
Examining the relationship between work stressors and mental health among women in academia
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Clancy, Rebecca L., author; Fisher, Gwenith, advisor; Crain, Tori, committee member; Prince, Mark, committee member; Henle, Chris, committee member
This study aimed to increase our understanding of the relationship between work stressors and mental health outcomes for female faculty members in American colleges and universities. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to identify how work stressors and the work and nonwork interface (e.g., work/nonwork interference, work/nonwork enhancement) related to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and burnout for female faculty members, and sought to examine how these relationships differed amongst women who were parents and those who were not. I distributed an anonymous online survey to faculty members employed by colleges and universities across the United States. The final sample size included 216 women. Results indicated that general job stress and work interference with personal life were positively related to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and burnout, and work enhancement of personal life and personal life enhancement of work were negatively related to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and burnout. However, organizational support and nonwork social support generally did not moderate these relationships. Further, parents and non-parents had similar ratings (i.e., non-significant differences) of work stressors and mental health symptoms. The present study provides incremental information about women's experiences in academia and lends support to existing theories in the occupational health psychology literature regarding the occupational stressor-strain process. This study can be used to inform the development of interventions in academia to reduce work-related strain. Importantly, implications for preventing employee burnout and supporting psychological recovery in academia are discussed.
Open Access
Exploring daily-level characteristics of the cannabis-exercise relationship
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Stallsmith, Vanessa T., author; Karoly, Hollis, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Graham, Dan, committee member; Bell, Chris, committee member
Physical inactivity is a growing public health concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 53.3% of U.S. adults meet the recommendation for aerobic physical activity, and alarmingly, only 23.2% meet the recommendation for both aerobic and muscle-training activity. This leads researchers to wonder what strategies or behaviors may facilitate exercise engagement. Interestingly, preliminary research has shown that cannabis, one of the most widely used substances in the United States, may be positively related to physical activity. However, most research on cannabis and exercise has been cross-sectional and administered low doses of low-THC cannabis, which is not representative of common legal-market cannabis products or typical use patterns in the U.S. Additionally, these studies did not evaluate other factors that may occur in the context of the cannabis-exercise relationship such as affect. The current study will leverage a daily-diary design to explore relationships between exercise, cannabis use, and affect. It will also characterize a sample of participants who both use cannabis and frequently exercise in terms of their demographics, cannabis use, exercise engagement, exercise enjoyment, goal attainment, and motives for combining cannabis with exercise. Overall, this study aims to (1) characterize daily-level associations between exercise engagement and cannabis use, (2) explore daily-level associations between exercise engagement and affect over the course of the study, and (3) utilize descriptive statistics to characterize the sample in order to understand who is likely to use cannabis and exercise, how they do it, why, and their resultant experiences.
Open Access
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.
Open Access
Hormonal contraception and eating pathology: a study among undergraduate women
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Almengual, Mallory, author; Rickard, Kathryn, advisor; Prince, Mark, committee member; Cox-York, Kimberly, committee member; Graham, Dan, committee member
Objective: To investigate the relationship between hormonal contraceptive (HC) use and eating pathology, and to assess the moderating effects of cognitive restraint and other demographic features on this relationship among undergraduate women at Colorado State University. Method: A correlational study design was used to collect data from 458 female undergraduate participants through self-report assessments capturing demographic information, reproductive health history, and constructs associated with eating pathology. Specific measures included the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18), the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3), and the Beck's Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Participants were categorized based on their HC use—especially focusing on Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC) and Short-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (SARC)—to establish the connection between the type of HC and symptoms of eating pathology. Multiple linear regression analyses identified relationships, with a consideration of potential mediating effects of cognitive restraint and demographic variables. Results: Findings revealed a significant relationship between long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) use and specific psychological outcomes, such as reduced interpersonal insecurity and increased emotional dysregulation, suggesting a multidimensional impact of HC types on psychological and behavioral patterns in this population. Although cognitive restraint was anticipated to be a moderating factor, the study did not find evidence to support a significant moderating effect on the relationship between HC use and eating pathology. Age of menstrual regularity emerged as a noteworthy covariate affecting psychological outcomes. Conclusion: The study offers important insights into the variant effects of different types of HCs on psychological health and eating behaviors among college-aged women. These findings indicate that different types of hormonal contraceptives may have unique effects on psychological outcomes and eating behaviors. The differential outcomes with LARC and SARC underscore the need for comprehensive, individualized reproductive health counseling that both addresses the potential psychological impacts of contraceptive methods and is sensitive to the evident disparities. Further research is recommended to decipher the complex interactions between HC use, cognitive restraint, and eating pathology. These findings have critical implications for refining clinical practices and reproductive health education to promote the wellbeing and bodily autonomy of menstruating individuals, and to better address the mental health needs related to contraceptive choices.
Open Access
Identifying support needs and intervention opportunities for perinatal fathers: an exploratory sequential mixed methods study
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Rayburn, Stephanie, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Braungart-Rieker, Julie, advisor; Lucas-Thompson, Rachel, committee member; Prince, Mark, committee member
The transition to fatherhood is a time of increased stress and risk for depressive and anxiety disorders for fathers. Father adjustment affects family well-being, but support programs that target perinatal fathers are not widely available, and it can be difficult to engage fathers in the programs that are available. Identifying the support needs of perinatal fathers and opportunities for intervention is an important and underexplored avenue for promoting early healthy family development. The following dissertation includes a review of developmental theories and extant literature and proposes a model of paternal perinatal development. Three studies are then presented using an exploratory mixed methods design. Study A explores perinatal father experiences and perceptions of their support needs. Study B quantitatively assesses social support as a predictor of parenting engagement, role conflict, and well-being in postpartum fathers. Study C investigates qualitative and quantitative evidence for a proof-of-concept evaluation of a piloted community-based group intervention program called DadSpace. Findings from Study A indicate that fathers find value in connecting with other fathers and are interested in support and information that are relevant to fathers. Findings from Study B indicate that both social support and self-efficacy are significant predictors of postpartum father parenting engagement and well-being, including work-home role conflict and satisfaction, parenting stress, depression, and anxiety. Findings from Study C demonstrate that perinatal fathers find value in a program that connects them with other fathers and supports them in exploring issues relevant to them; however, recruitment remains a challenge.