Browsing by Author "Riggs, Nathaniel R., committee member"
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Item Open Access "En frente de la batalla": centering the voices of Latine frontline workers in defining, understanding, and addressing community needs and solutions in tourist regions in Colorado during the COVID-19 pandemic(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Lucci-Rimer, Elizabeth, author; Conner, Bradley T., advisor; Muñoz, Susana M., committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel R., committee member; Henry, Kimberly L., committee memberLatine workers make up a significant proportion of the U.S. frontline workforce, with disproportionate representation in lower-earning positions that offer less job security. Throughout the pandemic, Latine frontline workers have faced disparate rates of COVID-19 illness, severe health impacts, death of loved ones, and economic losses. These circumstances have increased mental health difficulties, including chronic stress, depression, and anxiety. During the pandemic, Latine frontline workers in tourist communities in Colorado have suffered severe economic losses and ongoing health risks associated with frequent COVID-19 exposure and inequitable healthcare access. The present qualitative study used liberation psychology and Latino critical race theory to center the stories of Latine frontline workers in a tourist community in Colorado. Interviews were conducted with eight Latine frontline workers or spouses of frontline workers and five agency workers from nonprofits or the public sector in a tourist community in Colorado. Latine frontline community members were asked to share their stories of how their communities had experienced the pandemic, their definitions of the community's needs, and their ideas for solutions. Agency workers were asked to provide their perspectives and context. Analysis was conducted using critical qualitative inquiry and an interpretive analysis based on the theoretical frameworks. The resulting themes included community member's experiences and definitions of strengths, problems, and solutions. The results were shared in the community and recommendations were given to local agencies. This study advocates for employers, landlords, nonprofit and local government agencies, schools, and healthcare organizations to engage in equity-based structural and operational change and to assume an advocacy role in addressing underlying causes of health, mental health, educational, housing, and economic inequities.Item Open Access Familial concern and adolescent simultaneous polysubstance use on American Indian reservations(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Smith, Joey K., author; Conner, Bradley T., advisor; Swaim, Randall C., committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel R., committee memberAmerican Indian (AI) adolescents are at increased risk for substance misuse and related problems. AI adolescents initiate consumption earlier compared to non-American Indian (non-AI) adolescents, and are three times more likely to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder than non-AI adolescents. AI families may be more tolerant of substance misuse than non-AI families, and are likely to employ parenting styles which emphasize modeling and the importance of extended family. There is considerable literature on AI substance misuse, but to date no studies have examined simultaneous polysubstance misuse (SPM) within this population. SPM is the ingestion of two or more substances within the same period of time, so that the effects of the substances overlap. The synergistic effects of SPM are related to increasingly problematic outcomes in adolescents, such as increased substance misuse. Based on previous research, 3 hypotheses were offered: (1) that four proposed subscales, Substance Misuse Concern, Substance Misuse Deterrence, Substance Misuse Discussion, and Parental Monitoring, would comprise the latent construct Familial Oversight; (2) that Familial Oversight would significantly negatively predict increased likelihood of SPM endorsement; and (3) that this relation would be significantly moderated by participant's self-identified race, such that, for AI individuals the relation between Familial Oversight and SPM would be stronger than for non-AI individuals. Data were collected from middle and high school students (n = 4661) attending schools on or near AI reservations. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test the hypothesized model. Results indicated that modeling Familial Oversight as a unidimensional latent variable resulted in excellent model fit, x2(2) =20.23, p < .05; CFI = 0.994; SRMR = .064; RMSEA = .044 (90% C.I. [.128 - .063]); however, the factor loadings supported a two-factor model. Following modifications, a two-factor model of parenting was created with Parental Monitoring as a separate latent construct and the three remaining factors indicating the latent variable Familial Attitudes on the Misuse of Substances (FAMS); the modified model demonstrated excellent fit, x2(8) =32.87, p < .05; CFI = 0.997; RMSEA = .026 (90% C.I. [.017 - .035]). The two-factor model indicated SPM was negatively associated with Parental Monitoring (b = -0.131, S.E. = 0.033, b = -4.04, p < .001) but not significantly related to FAMS (b = -0.044, S.E. = 0.025, b = -1.79, p = .07). Finally, a multigroup SEM was conducted to test invariance, which demonstrated strong fit, x2(32) = 91.42, p < .05; CFI = 0.980; RMSEA = .028 (90% C.I. [.022 - .035]); however, self-identified racial status did not moderate the relations (p > .05). Though the proposed construct was not successfully indicated, Parental Monitoring demonstrated that parental awareness was important in significantly reducing the risk of SPM. Given AI adolescents' increased risk of negative outcomes, the known relation of AI substance misuse to familial influences, and Parental Monitoring's ability to reduce risk, it is important to understand how these factors are related to SPM.Item Open Access Longitudinal panel networks of risk and protective factors in youth suicidality(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Wallace, Gemma T., author; Conner, Bradley T., advisor; Henry, Kimberly L., advisor; Merz, Emily C., committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel R., committee memberRates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are increasing among youth in the United States. Younger age at onset for STBs confers higher vulnerability to lifetime mental health concerns, yet relatively few studies have investigated STBs during the critical developmental period as youth transition from childhood into early adolescence. Several domains of risk and protective factors have been identified, however accurate prediction of STBs remains poor. Network analyses that can examine pairwise associations between many variables may provide information about complex pathways of risk for STBs, thereby improving the timing and targets of interventions. The present study applied a longitudinal panel network approach to elucidate potential risk and protective pathways for STBs across early adolescence. Data came from 9,854 youth who participated in the population-based Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (Mage = 9.90 ± .62 years, 63% white, 53% female at baseline). Youth and their caregivers completed an annual measurement battery from when participants were ages 9-10 through 11-12 years (i.e., three timepoints). 1,699 youth reported past or present STBs at one or more study timepoints. Panel Graphical Vector Autoregressive models evaluated temporal within-person, contemporaneous within-person, and between-person relations between several previously identified risk and protective factors for youth STBs, including mental health symptoms, socioenvironmental factors, life stressors, and substance use. An autoregressive effect was observed for STBs in the temporal network. In the contemporaneous and between-subjects networks, STBs had consistent direct associations with internalizing symptoms, low-level substance use, family conflict, lower parental monitoring, and lower school protective factors. Possible indirect pathways were also observed, in which other mental health symptoms and stressful life events might contribute to STBs through internalizing. Results emphasize that family and school experiences are salient social risk factors for early adolescents. Age-specific interventions may benefit from prioritizing targeting internalizing symptoms and early substance use, as well as promoting positive school and family support. Results support the use of longitudinal network approaches to understand the complex interplay between STBs and different domains of risk and protective factors.Item Open Access Optical imaging of emotional responding to sensational stimuli in high and low risk-seeking individuals(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Kentopp, Shane, author; Conner, Bradley T., advisor; Rojas, Donald C., committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel R., committee memberSensation seeking is a reward-based personality construct linked to engagement in risky behavior. A neural and conceptual overlap between emotion and reward suggests there is an emotional component to sensation seeking. The current study sought to assess the theorized emotional component of sensation seeking by measuring a distinct pattern of visual cortex activation that accompanies the induction of emotion via visual stimuli. Undergraduate participants were recruited based on a prescreening personality assessment. Thirty-five participants were sorted into groups with either high or low scores on risk seeking (a facet of sensation seeking) and exposed to emotional, sensational, and neutral video stimuli. Participants rated their emotional response and reward valuation following each video. Activation in the primary visual cortex was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Activation during the sensational conditions was assessed for similarity to the emotional conditions and compared between risk seeking groups. Imaging results revealed no significant differences between conditions or groups. Participant responses to stimuli indicated that individuals high in risk seeking experienced a more positive emotional response to sensational videos than individuals low in risk seeking. Participant responses to stimuli also indicated that individuals high in risk seeking endorsed a stronger approach response to sensational stimuli. The study encountered methodological challenges, which limited its statistical power and ability to measure the hypothesized effects. Stimulus response data, however, provided preliminary support for the role of emotional processes in risky behavior amongst individuals high in sensation seeking. These findings suggest that targeting emotion regulation processes in individuals who are high in sensation seeking may be an effective approach to reducing engagement in risky behavior.Item Open Access The impact of bullying and act variables on meaning in life for adolescents(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) O'Donnell, Maeve Bronwyn, author; Steger, Michael F., advisor; Chavez, Ernest L., committee member; Graham, Daniel J., committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel R., committee memberResearch has shown that the experience of a meaningful life for adolescents is an aid in development and related to psychological health, physical health, and academic functioning (e.g., Brassai, Piko, & Steger, 2011; Kiang & Fuligni, 2009). Most meaning research to date, however, has primarily focused on adulthood, with few studies that focus on meaning in adolescence. Even fewer studies have addressed barriers or facilitators to experiencing meaning in adolescence. The current study seeks to address this gap in the literature with a sample of adolescents (n=145). In the first part of the study, bullying perpetration and victimization are examined as factors that may be associated with less meaning (i.e., inversely related). In the second part of the study, two Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) related variables, mindfulness and self-compassion, are examined as factors positively related to meaning. A hierarchical regression was then performed to determine if these variables predicted meaning. Results revealed that meaning was inversely related to bullying perpetration, but not bullying victimization, and positively related to mindfulness and self-compassion. Controlling for all other factors, self-compassion independently predicted meaning, which suggests that self-compassion may be highly relevant to an adolescent's development of meaning. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.Item Open Access You can feel good: positive outcomes of marijuana use(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Parnes, Jamie E., author; Conner, Bradley T., advisor; Prince, Mark A., committee member; Swaim, Randall C., committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel R., committee memberTo date, limited marijuana research has focused on identifying reinforcing outcomes related to use, often perceived as positive outcomes. Operant conditioning and social learning theories suggest that the reinforcing aspects of substance use are a primary contributor to maintained use, and in turn, risk of dependence. Individuals who use marijuana report expecting positive outcomes which motivates use; however, the occurrence of such positive outcomes are rarely examined. Moreover, research has yet to develop a reliable, validated measure of positive marijuana-related outcomes. The present study sought to develop and psychometrically evaluate such a measure. I hypothesized that: 1) positive outcomes would be positively associated with marijuana use, positive expectancies, and negative outcomes, 2-3) positive outcomes would be unrelated to alcohol use and positive alcohol outcomes, and 4) positive outcomes would account for unique variance in recent use, controlling for expectancies and negative outcomes. Scale items were developed using inductive and deductive methods. College students (N = 883) and community adults (N = 214) completed a survey measuring marijuana use frequency, positive outcomes, expectancies, and negative consequences. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tested scale dimensionality and structure in the college sample and community sample. The final factor structure achieved excellent model fit (CFI = .96-.97, RMSEA = .03-.05) and internal consistency (ω = .84-.90). Four factors emerged from the data: Social Enhancement, Mood Enhancement and Relaxation, Perceptual Enhancement, and Sexual Enhancement. Invariance testing supported configural invariance between the two samples. Study hypotheses supporting scale validity were largely upheld. Positive outcomes were positively associated with recent use, controlling for expectancies and negative outcomes. Positive outcomes were also either unassociated or negatively associated with alcohol use, and unassociated or weakly associated with alcohol positive outcomes. Positive outcomes were also differentiated from positive expectancies and more influential in predicting typical use frequency. Findings implicate that positive outcomes are an important factor in explaining recent marijuana use, necessitating the need for future longitudinal use to understand their role in maintained use and dependence. Additionally, positive outcomes can be a target for clinical interventions by informing replacement behaviors or enhancing motivational interviewing techniques.