Undergraduate Research Posters

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  Differences in Mental Health and Ethnic-Racial Identity between White Gender Variant Students and Gender Variant Students of Color

  Xuxa Sky Lark, Arlenis Santana, and Chloe Walker

  Differences in Mental Health and Ethnic-Racial Identity between White Gender Variant Students and Gender Variant Students of Color

  Xuxa Sky Lark, Depts. of International Social Justice and French, Arlenis Santana, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, & Chloe Walker, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Diamond Y. Bravo, Dept. of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, and Dr. Chelsea Derlan Williams, Dr. Amy Adkins, and Dr. Danielle M. Dick, Dept. of Psychology

  Gender variant college students (i.e., transgender, genderqueer, and questioning) experience increased risk for mental health disparities, discrimination, bullying, family disownment, homelessness, and hate crimes, to name a few (Eisenberg, 2017). Further disparities arise when the intersections of gender and race are both considered; however, few studies have tested ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development among gender variant individuals (Kattari, 2016), which is predominantly tested in cisgender populations (e.g., Aoyagi et al, 2017; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). This is a notable gap given that ERI is a normative aspect of adolescence and emerging adulthood that is associated with positive development (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). Understanding ERI and mental health among diverse gender variant individuals is important to be able to create effective interventions and resources across ethnic-racial backgrounds that considers individuals’ unique lived experiences (Mossakowski, 2003). To address these gaps, the current study, grounded in the minority stress framework (Meyer, 2003) and ERI frameworks (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014), tested differences in mental health (i.e., anxiety and depression) and ERI (i.e., exploration, resolution, and affirmation) between White gender variant students and gender variant students of color. The sample in the current study was from a larger university-wide study (i.e., Spit for Science; Dick et al., 2014), and consisted of 112 ethnically diverse gender variant students who identified as a White student (n = 72) or identified as a student of color (n = 40) in college. Students ranged in age from 18-24 years old (M = 20.15, SD = 1.61), and were 4.6% transgender women, 11.11% transgender men, 30.16% questioning, and 53.97% genderqueer. The Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R; Derogatis & Cleary, 1977) was used to measure levels of depression and anxiety, and the Ethnic Identity Scale-Brief (EIS-B; Douglass & Umaña-Taylor, 2015) was used to assess ERI exploration, resolution, and affirmation. First, descriptive statistics were conducted to examine correlations among variables (Table 1). Next, hypotheses were tested with five t-tests that tested mean differences in mental health and ERI between gender variant White students and students of color. Findings indicated gender variant students of color (compared to White gender variant students) had significantly higher ERI exploration (t (107) = -6.49, p = .00), ERI affirmation (t (106) = -2.23, p = .03), and ERI resolution (t (106) = -5.61, p = .00). Although gender variant students of color had higher mean levels of anxiety and depression than White gender variant students, this difference was not significant (p > .05). Discussion will center on how ERI may be a protective factor for gender identity-based risk factors among gender variant students of color, which will be a fruitful area for continued investigation and intervention efforts.

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  The Impact of Submersion on the Quantification of Host and Bacterial DNA

  Grace Sprouse

  The Impact of Submersion on the Quantification of Host and Bacterial DNA

  Grace Sprouse, Depts. of Forensic Science and Chemistry, with Dr. Catherine Connon, Dept. of Forensic Science and Dr. Baneshwar Singh, Dept. of Forensic Science

  Microorganisms, which contribute to carrion decomposition, can be used as a clock to estimate time since death. There has been an increase in the amount of studies looking into how bacteria can be used to estimate time since death. Much of this research has been aimed at examining how microorganism communities can be used to determine post mortem interval (PMI) in land environments, for example, research completed by Finley et all1, which focused on how microorganism communities differ on corpses and in the soil surrounding the body. Finley et all1 research was used to see how these quantities can be used to determine PMI. However, the comparison between 16S rDNA and nDNA has not been explored. Changes in bacterial DNA quantity may inform researchers on feasibility of using bacteria on remains to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI) and postmortem submersion interval (PMSI). It could also provide insight regarding bacteria: host nDNA ratio, guiding decisions on best methods for victim ID (i.e., microbe based PMSI estimation or DNA profile development). Therefore, this research sought to compare bacterial DNA (16S rDNA) to host nuclear DNA (nDNA) recovered from long-term submerged skeletal elements (e.g., rib and scapula) using two different extraction methods (e.g., organic-phenol chloroform and solid-phase). Using 10” x 10” cages, each containing five ribs and scapulae, samples were submerged in a freshwater lake (e.g., Henley Lake) and river (e.g., James River). Approximately ca. 250 accumulated degree days (ADD), one cage was collected, totaling nineteen lake and twenty-four river collections.

  The resulting 364 samples underwent DNA extraction (e.g., organic phenol-chloroform and ChargeSwitch®) before being analyzed via agarose gel electrophoresis (1.0% agarose gel). Gel visualization was performed to evaluate the separation of DNA bands and assess the quality of the extraction method used on each sample. In preparation for Real-Time qPCR quantification, standard curves were performed. Using the ABI 7500, each sample will be quantified twice, once using bacterial primers focusing on variable region 4 of 16S rDNA and once utilizing FH1733 porcine nuclear primers2. This section of the research will continue when the university reopens.

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  A Narrative Review of Protective Factors that Predict Enculturation Processes for Latinx Individuals in the U.S.

  Jane Sun, Jennifer Rodriguez, Alanna Cason, Yessica Flores, Karl Villareal, Arlenis Santana, and Chloe Walker

  A Narrative Review of Protective Factors that Predict Enculturation Processes for Latinx Individuals in the U.S.

  Jane Sun, Dept. of Psychology, Jennifer Rodriguez, Alanna Cason, Yessica Flores, Karl Villareal, Arlenis Santana, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, & Chloe Walker, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Chelsea D. Williams, Dept. of Psychology

  According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the rise of immigration led the Latinx community to experience the largest population growth amongst all ethnic-racial groups (Sanchez et al., 2012). Enculturation is the process of preserving heritage cultural values while enduring the influence of the current, surrounding culture (Schwartz et al., 2013). Enculturation is a subcomponent in the broad spectrum of acculturation, the process through which the introduction of two differing cultures induces cultural changes (Rodriguez et al., 2002). While current research has focused on the protective factors involved in the acculturative process, minimal research has centered on the protective factors in enculturation amongst the Latinx community. The aim of the current narrative review was to identify the protective factors (e.g., language, values, generational differences, group membership) associated with enculturation of Latinx U.S. citizens. Implications will discuss the promotion of social awareness within the Latinx community.

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  Stress and Positive Coping in Older Adults

  Jazzmin-Guy Swain

  Stress and Positive Coping in Older Adults

  Jazzmin-Guy Swain, Dept. of Exercise Science, with Dr. Faika Zanjani, Dept. of Gerontology

  Stress can become a huge health risk factor for older adults. Stress occurs when individuals experience demands or threats without sufficient resources to meet these demands or mitigate threats. Everyone has some form of the same stressor(s), money job/school, health and family, which are the main common stressors. In every population, if those stressors are prolonged the stress can become chronic and become detrimental to a person's health. The reason stress often becomes chronic is because individuals may not know how to overcome their stress. As individuals age their health can decline but the stress doesn't necessarily dissipate which then put older adults at increased risk of diseases. One stressor that the older adults uniquely experience is stress about their age. Older adults can experience stress related to worries about growing old, like potential declines in mobility, brain functioning,health, hearing and seeing, and ageism, discrimination against a person because of their old age. A way to address the effect that stress has on the older population is by giving advice on positive coping mechanisms. Introducing positive ways to manage stress can potentially have positive effects for reducing the stress, and also providing a positive viewpoint on aging and improving health. Accordingly, this study aims to obtain feedback on a developed positive coping poster. In collaboration with iCubed Health and Wellness Aging Core and Richmond Health and Wellness Program (RHWP), we implemented a survey to assess poster feedback and aging related stress levels to RHWP low-income senior housing resident population. Survey results will provide insight about the individual stress and how they feel about using positive coping mechanisms to cope with their own stress. The poster design, development, justification, and preliminary survey data from n=10 participants will be described and discussed to direct future health interventions.

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  Examining the Relationship Between PTSD Symptom Clusters and Drinking to Cope Motives on Drinking Outcomes

  Fatima Tariq

  Examining the Relationship Between PTSD Symptom Clusters and Drinking to Cope Motives on Drinking Outcomes

  Fatima Tariq, Dept. of Psychology, with Dr. Christina Sheerin, Dept. of Psychology and Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics

  Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among combat veterans, and its symptoms are categorized (in DSM-IV) in clusters of: reexperiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Alcohol use disorder (AUD), often preceded by risky drinking behaviors such as binge drinking, and PTSD comorbidity is especially common in veteran populations. One theory underlying this comorbidity is that individuals use alcohol to self-medicatePTSD symptoms. Extant literature more often examines the relation on PTSD symptom severity as a unitary construct rather than on individual symptom clusters,a gap the present study attempts to fill.The aims of this study were to examine whether PTSD total symptom severity and each symptom cluster had significant main effects on a range of alcohol use outcomes (total frequency, binge drinking, and risky drinking) and determine whether self-reported drinking to cope motives moderate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and alcohol use outcomes. It was hypothesized that a) the hyperarousal symptom cluster would most strongly predict alcohol outcomes, as compared to other clusters, and b) drinking to cope would moderate the relationship between PTSD symptoms on alcohol use outcomes, such that those who reported greater drinking to cope motives would endorse higher severity of alcohol use. The present sample (N = 211) consists of a combat trauma-exposed subsample of individuals from a larger study of OIF/OEF veterans (90.5% male, 70.1% white, 70.1%) assessed for PTSD, determined through clinical interview with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-IV. Participants also completed the drinking to cope subscale from the Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ-Cope) and the Timeline Folllowback measure (TLFB; with outcome measures including total number of drinks per month, risky drinking status, and total number of binge days). Analyses consisted of a series of separate hierarchical regression models, with PTSD severity scores (total and symptom cluster) entered in Step 1, DMQ-Cope entered in Step 2, and their interaction entered in Step 3. Linear regressions were conducted for the continuous number of drinks per month, a logistic regression was conducted for risky drinker status, and a negative binomial regression was conducted for number of binge drinking days. In the linear regressions examining whether total PTSD symptom severity and each symptom clusters had significant main effects on total number of drinks per month, while all PTSD severity scores were initially associated in Step 1 with total alcohol use (all ps <0.02), when DMQ-Cope was added to the model (Step 2), they were no longer significant. In the final step (Step 3), DMQ-Cope showed main effects (all ps < 0.001), but there were no significant interaction effects found (all ps > 0.15). The pattern for both risky drinking status and number of binge drinking days was the same. PTSD total and cluster scores were not associated with either outcome in any of the Steps (all ps > 0.35), DMQ-Cope showed a main effect in all models (all ps < 0.003), and no interaction effects were found (all ps > 0.107). The current findings show that across all alcohol use outcomes, drinking to cope is a strong predictor of alcohol use outcomes, over and above the impact of PTSD symptoms in this sample. Drinking to cope has been independently associated with both PTSD and alcohol misuse and the current study’s findings add to the existing literature. Contrary to hypotheses, however, hyperarousal symptoms were not associated with alcohol use outcomes and no moderations were found. Limitations include limited diversity within the sample and future research would benefit from examination in civilian populations, extension to different types of traumas, and examination of other alcohol use outcomes, such as risky drinking behaviors and problems.

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  The Socioeconomic and Policy Barriers to Refugee Health

  Matt Tessema

  The Socioeconomic Barriers and Policy Barriers to Refugee Health

  Matt Tessema, Dept. of Journalism, with Dr. Dina Garcia, Dept. of Health Behavior and Policy

  There are multiple barriers that make it difficult for refugees to get adequate healthcare and among their largest barriers is meeting their oral health needs. The goal of this study is to figure out what those barriers are, whether it is financial or educational, and how to address it. This will be determined through the use of qualitative data from our semi-structured interview questionnaire. Those that will be interviewed include the health liaisons of refugee camps and the refugees themselves. The subjects will come from the surrounding refugee resettlement camps in the Richmond, VA area. The questions will aim to identify the refugee oral health care habit and their concerns gauging how much knowledge they have around oral health. These interviews will be audiotaped. We will then qualitatively analyze our data.

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  There's More to Sleep than Counting Sheep: A Cross Sectional Analysis of Sleep Health

  Elizabeth Torres, Sanika Lawate, Hali Russell, Emily Donovan, and Pablo Soto

  There's More to Sleep than Counting Sheep: A Cross Sectional Analysis of Sleep Health

  Elizabeth Torres, Depts. of Psychology, Biology, and Chemistry, Sanika Lawate, Hali Russell, and Emily Donovan, M.S., and Pablo Soto, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Joseph Dzierzewski, Dept. of Psychology

  Background: Studies have supported the claim that good physical health and positive affect have a lasting positive impact on the body and the brain across all age groups. High levels of activity and positive affect can boost immunity, increase life expectancy, and promote resiliency. Studies have also shown that poor physical health and low affect can negatively impact sleep quality. While the associations among physical health, affect, and sleep have been examined, the present study aims to extend these findings to sleep health, a newly developed construct which aims to emphasize the benefits of sleep, rather than the negative effects of the absence of sleep. The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive power of affect for sleep health above and beyond age and physical health, in a large sample of adults. Methods: Data from this study were drawn from a larger online survey investigating sleep and health outcomes across various developmental stages. In this study, physical health, affect, and sleep health were self-reported. Sleep health was measured using the RU-SATED, and affect was measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Physical health was measured as the total number of self-reported medical conditions from a list of common conditions. A hierarchical linear regression was conducted, with age in block 1, physical health in block 2, positive and negative affect in block 3, and sleep health as a dependent variable. Results: A three-level hierarchical linear regression was computed to investigate if affect predicted sleep health above and beyond age and physical health. When age was entered, it predicted sleep health, F(1, 3282) = 61.87, p < .001, R2 = .019. This initial model revealed that 1.9% of the variance in sleep health was predicted by knowing the participant’s age. When physical health was entered, it predicted sleep health, ∆F(1, 3281) = 78.53, p < .001, ∆R2 = .023. This model revealed that an additional 2.3% of the variance in sleep health was predicted by knowing the participant’s physical health. When positive and negative affect were added to the model, they significantly improved prediction, ∆F(2, 3279) = 178.26, p < .001, ∆R2 = .094, revealing that an additional 9.4% of the variance in sleep health was explained by positive and negative affect. All variables together significantly predicted sleep health outcomes, F(4, 3279) = 128.43, p < .001, R2 = .135, with 13.5% variance in sleep health explained. In the final model, age (β = .10, p < .001), physical health (β = -.09, p < .001), positive affect (β = .17, p < .001), and negative affect (β = -.24, p < .001) were significant predictors of sleep health. Conclusion: The current study suggests that affect predicts sleep health above and beyond age and physical health. Greater positive affect and fewer chronic health conditions are associated with better sleep health. Inversely, greater negative affect and more chronic health conditions negatively are associated with worse sleep health. Therefore, people who have higher negative affect (i.e., negative emotions, including anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness as well as low self-concept) report poorer sleep. Future studies would benefit from a longitudinal design to examine the associations among positive affect, physical health, and sleep health over time. Moreover, studies could incorporate clinical samples with chronic medical conditions to further explore the associations among affect, physical health, and sleep health. Given the strong association between affect and sleep health, future studies could also explore interventions that foster positive affect to see if manipulation of affect improves sleep health.

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  Targeted Bisulfite Pyrosequencing & Amplicon Bisulfite Sequencing Epigenetic Analysis

  Charles Tran, Lin Xie, Min Zhao, and Edwin JCG van den Oord

  Targeted Bisulfite Pyrosequencing & Amplicon Bisulfite Sequencing Epigenetic Analysis

  Charles Tran, Dept. of Biology, with Dr. Karolina Aberg, VCU School of Pharmacy

  Background: The Great Smoky Mountain Study is a longitudinal study that started in 1992 and includes 1,420 participants that were 9 to 13 years at intake and have since been revisited ~ every 2 years. Participants (and their parents) provided detailed assessment of stressors and health outcomes as well as blood samples at each interview. In a recent methylome-wide association study the samples were used to identify methylation marks associated with childhood trauma. In the current work, we present an investigation to replicate these methylation marks in an independent sample. Objective: Our objective is to optimize and apply epigenomic-specific protocols in order to replicate trauma associated methylation biomarkers in an independent study sample. Materials and Methods: We will use DNA samples extracted from saliva from The Young Adolescent Project, another longitudinal study which has obtained relevant information related to childhood trauma. In this sample we will perform replication of top findings using targeted amplicon bisulfite sequencing in saliva samples where amplicons are amplified with JUNO sequencing platform or Pyromark PCR pyrosequencing. Forward and reverse primers are first designed using Pyromark Assay Design software. Primer set candidates are chosen based off of a score of 100; scores are determined by potential for mispriming, likelihood for primer dimers, etc. Higher scores correlate to better PCR performance. Then, BiSearch, an online primer-design algorithm and search tool is used to check primer sets in order to ameliorate PCR efficiency by avoiding non-specific PCR products due to genomic repetition. PCR product is then examined with 2% agarose gel electrophoresis and Agilent Bioanalyzer chip-based capillary electrophoresis in order to determine if amplicons of the correct size were obtained. (Once primers of sufficient efficacy are designed, they are subject to 5’ biotin tag modifications—this makes purification of proteins and other target molecules easier while utilizing streptavidin-coupled Dynabeads). Methylation sites incompatible with JUNO due to amplicon sites exceeding 200 base pairs would instead be analyzed using Pyromark Pyrosequencing Assay for which it is easier to design assays but is more costly and lower throughput: the output of resulting data being similar in quality. Results: We attempted to design assays for 60 loci. Of these we have designed and validated the quality of 23 assays for JUNO and 3 for the Pyromark Q96 sequencing and quantification platform. PCR analysis followed afterwards. We were not able to design assays for 34 sites due to: amplicon sites having exceeded 200 base pairs, forming of hair pins, forming of primer dimers, amplicon sites being too far from target region, or formation of multiple PCR products, as determined by IDT analysis. The 3 primer sets were incompatible with JUNO due to formation of primer dimer and hairpin formations when 5’ tags were added therefore Pyromark Q96 assay was optimal. Conclusion: In conclusion we have optimized and evaluated 23 assays for the JUNO sequencing platform and 3 primers for Pyromark Q96 that, in the next step, will be used to assess the replication of loci of interest in trauma associated methylation biomarkers from saliva samples.

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  Aesthetic Chills: An Autoethnographic Study

  Jessica Turner

  Aesthetic Chills: An Autoethnographic Study

  Jessica Turner, Dept. of Psychology, with Dr. Richard Bargdill, Dept. of Psychology

  The purpose of this poster is to describe autoethnographic research that recorded experiences of aesthetic chills. Aesthetic chills are a psychophysiological response to stimuli that create pilo-erection and a “chill” effect on the body not related to temperature (i.e. goosebumps due to experiences of beauty). For the last two years, the researcher has made a written record of each instance of his experience of an aesthetic chill and the circumstances that triggered the chill. The data consists of brief descriptions of the triggering event, the date the chill occurred. Some descriptions also include the location where the chills were experienced on the body (i.e. back of the neck) as well as the intensity of that chill (mild, intense, pulsar). The encounters have been analyzed for similarities in conditions and given a number in numerical order of the date it was recorded. This research has provided both quantitative and qualitative data to analyze for the purpose of understanding more about the how frequently and under what thematic categories the aesthetic chills occur for this researcher.

  According to Denzin (2008) analytic autoethnography has five key features. It is ethnographic work in which: (a)The researcher “is a full member in a research group or setting” meaning that the researcher is also the participant (b) The researcher “uses analytic reflexivity;” the researcher is researching one’s own experience and has decided in advance how to capture that experience. (c) The researcher “has a visible narrative presence in the written text.” That is, the data is a record of the researchers experience and contains one’s personal knowledge. (d) The researcher “engages in dialogue with informants beyond the self.” The data is to be shared with other researchers of the topic and his research team. e) Researcher “is committed to an analytic research agenda focused on improving theoretical understandings of broader social phenomena.” The research is intended to answer questions about whether recording aesthetic chills increases one’s sensitivity to them and thus increases their frequency.

  Dr. Bargdill is the autoethnographer since he is both author and focus of the research. He is the one who narrates his experiences as the observer and the observed. By being able to incorporate himself into the research, he is able to tie together the personal aspect of the culture, thinking and observing as an ethnographer and both the writing and describing as a storyteller and researcher.

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  Latinx Immigrants' Healthcare Access: Barriers, Consequences and Strategies for the Future

  Ashley Victor, Farheen Zaman, MiJin Cho, and Paola Callejas

  Latinx Immigrants' Healthcare Access: Barriers, Consequences and Strategies for the Future

  Ashley Victor, Depts. of Bioinformatics and Product Innovation, Farheen Zaman, MiJin Cho, and Paola Callejas, with Dr. Indira Sultanić, School of World Studies

  As the largest minority group in America, the Latinx population faces significant obstacles to receiving equitable healthcare. The Collective Corazón—a VCU student organization that addresses Latinx healthy equity through service and advocacy—performed a meta-analysis to pinpoint the barriers that the Latinx population faces in health care, determine the consequences in the community, and formulate strategies for the future. This study found that overall, immigrants tend to have lower rates of healthcare coverage compared to people born in the United States. Latinx immigrants in particular struggle because of language barriers within the healthcare system, as well as a lack of cultural competency of healthcare workers, and the inability to obtain health insurance because of their immigration and socioeconomic status. These factors lead to poor health outcomes for Latinx immigrants that are not seen in members of the community born in the United States, including low birth weights, chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma, and musculoskeletal problems. Based on these findings, this study posits that these disparities can be mitigated by addressing language and cultural barriers through training programs centered around cultural humility, the increased use of professional interpreters, and the development of community health resources, like school-based health centers.

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  Psychometric Assessment of the Spanish SCORE-15 for Families of Individuals with Parkinson's Disease in Mexico

  Jack Watson

  Psychometric Assessment of the Spanish SCORE-15 for Families of Individuals with Parkinson's Disease in Mexico

  Jack Watson, Dept. of Psychology, Dr. Grace McKee, Mid-Atlantic MIRECC, Dr. Sarah Lageman, VCU School of Medicine and Dept. of Psychology, Dr. Teresita Villaseñor, University of Guadalajara, and Dr. Paul Perrin, Dept. of Psychology

  Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and can lead to a number of mental health problems for both patients and caregivers. Research has suggested that worse caregiver mental health predicts greater patient mortality for individuals with neurodegenerative diseases, and caregiver mental health is best when family needs are met. As healthcare trends toward an outpatient, home setting, it is important to study the effects of PD within the family setting. Objective: To test the proposed three-factor structure found in English of the Spanish Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation (SCORE-15, a measure of family dynamics) in a sample of PD caregivers from Mexico. Method: PD caregivers (n = 148) were recruited from an urban academic medical center in Mexico. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis (CFA/EFA) of the SCORE-15 were conducted. Results: Results from an initial CFA suggested that the three-factor SCORE-15 solution was a poor fit to the data, and an EFA was conducted in order to determine a better factor structure. We found evidence for a two-factor structure representing (1) general pathology and (2) family strengths. This factor structure bore little resemblance to the original three-factor structure (strengths and adaptability, overwhelmed with difficulties, and disrupted communication). Discussion: The SCORE-15 was originally validated in an English-speaking population. Our results suggest that the SCORE-15 does not measure the same three factor structure in Spanish in the context of PD for which it was intended within English-speaking samples. This could be due to the wording of the measures, the translation, or the cross-cultural applicability of family dynamic constructs. Future research would benefit from investigating this discrepancy in order to improve cross-cultural sensitivity in measures of family dynamics.

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  Health Disparities among Latinx Communities: Issues of Access to Information, Interpreters, and Bilingual Providers

  Shea Wenzler, Roma Kankaria, Sydney Welles, and Anubhav Thapaliya

  Health Disparities among Latinx Communities: Issues of Access to Information, Interpreters, and Bilingual Providers

  Shea Wenzler, Depts. of Psychology and Political Science, Roma Kankaria, Sydney Welles, and Anubhav Thapaliya, with Dr. Indira Sultanić, School of World Studies

  Members of the Latinx community in Richmond and the United States face challenges in obtaining equitable health care access because of socioeconomic and systematic barriers within the healthcare system. This analysis conducted by the Collective Corazón—a VCU student organization that addresses Latinx healthy equity through service and advocacy—examines the underlying causes of Latinx health disparities. Special emphasis is placed on access to just, equitable, and ethical care, information, qualified interpreters, and bilingual healthcare providers—with the objective of proposing viable solutions to alleviate health disparities. This study found that while the U.S. Census Bureau identifies the Latinx population as the fastest growing demographic in the country, the group’s average income and educational attainment fall below the national average, causing increased amounts of stress and thus contributing to poor mental and physical health outcomes. The health disparities created by these socioeconomic factors are further exacerbated by discrimination by healthcare workers and language barriers that result from a lack of qualified interpreters and bilingual providers. This situation creates a cultural divide in which Latinx individuals who are less comfortable speaking English are more likely to turn to alternative forms of support, such as religious and community institutions. This study contends that increasing physician and interpreter training, designing and delivering culturally specific eHealth and Telehealth tools, connecting language access to patient safety and quality of care, and encouraging connections with community leaders are ways to lessen the challenges faced by Latinx individuals in healthcare.

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  Conversations About Race and Perceptions of Racial Discrimination Among Emerging Adults

  Angel Whitfield, Alanna Cason, Maria Cisneros, Arlenis Santana, and Eryn DeLaney

  Conversations About Race and Perceptions of Racial Discrimination Among Emerging Adults

  Alanna Cason, Depts. of Psychology and Criminal Justice, Angel Whitfield, Maria Cisneros, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, Arlenis Santana, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, & Eryn DeLaney, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Chelsea D. Williams, Dr. Tricia Smith, Dr. Amy Adkins, and Dr. Danielle Dick

  College students of color have positive race-related experiences (e.g.., positive conversations), as well as negative race-related experiences (e.g., racial discrimination and negative experiences about race; Spencer 2006). Limited work has focused on conversations students have about race, although the U.S. has become more diverse especially in college settings (Martinez-Acosta & Favero, 2018). To address these gaps, the current study focused on bidirectional relations between students’ conversations about race and how they are related to discrimination experiences among 95 college-age students of color. We hypothesized that (1) more negative conversations about race (and less positive conversations) would increase students’ perceptions of racial discrimination, and (2) the more students experienced discrimination, they would have more negative conversations (less positive conversations) about race. Two linear regression analyses were conducted. The first analysis indicated that negative conversations about race (B = .38, p

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  An Analysis of the UK and US on the Perceived Adequacy of Workplace Mental Health Programs

  Julia Woods

  An Analysis of the UK and US on the Perceived Adequacy of Workplace Mental Health Programs

  Julia Woods, Depts. of Business and Psychology, with Dr Deborah DiazGranados, VCU School of Medicine

  Research examining employee provided health benefits typically concentrate on evaluating a program’s impact on organizational outcomes such as retention, absenteeism, presenteeism, and cost-effectiveness (Cuffel, Goldman, and Schlesinger, 1999; Munz & Kohler, 1997). The typical methods used for evaluation of these programs tend to be quantitative in nature, however, qualitative methods could help organizations better understand how its employees react to and view such programs. This paper explores employee’s perceptions of health benefits provided by employers, specifically mental health programs, within the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries were chosen because of perceived similarities in culture, labor markets, views of the parity of mental and physical health care, and focus on individual's rights. A review and analysis of major categories of mental health programs were conducted to best capture the cultural context, effectiveness, and employee perception of employee health benefits. The search for literature primarily included online searches of the following databases (e.g., Google Scholar, PsychINFO, PubMed, PsycNET) for literature published between 1995 and 2019. The following key terms were used in different combinations: Mental health programs, mental health benefits, adequacy, employer-provided programs, employee satisfaction, employee perception, either the United Kingdom or the United States. In addition, to highlight a few common employer-provided mental health benefits a targeted search was done for specific benefits (e.g., employee assistance programs, workplace counseling, cognitive behavior therapy, mental health insurance/coverage, and stress management interventions) in combination with the previously listed terms. The initial search resulted in eight publications that were then used for a manual secondary search of reference lists which resulted in three additional publications that were used for the review. Results of the analysis of sources indicate that employer-provided benefits improved employee’s mental well-being, which in turn impacted their work. Interestingly, one study conducted by Elliot and Williams (2002) reported comments like “I haven’t had any panic attacks since counseling ended,” and “my workload is now being dealt with more quickly” by counseling clients. Qualitative reports such as these are particularly interesting when trying to understand how employees view their work after they conclude a mental health program. Future research should consider examining questions such as: 1) what is the overall and longitudinal impact on employee well-being from employer-provided mental health benefits, 2) how do employer-provided mental health programs influence personal well-being, and how does an employee’s personal well-being in turn influence employee productivity, and 3) how do cultural differences and a country’s approach to mental health care inform the employee’s availability/accessibility to mental health care at work.

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  Effect of Political Ideology, Femininity, and Gender on Abortion Stigma

  Rym Yousfi, Emily Beatty, Allison Patev, and Chelsie Dunn

  Effect of Political Ideology, Femininity, and Gender on Abortion Stigma

  Rym Yousfi, Dept. of Psychology, Emily Beatty, and Allison Patev and Chelsie Dunn, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Kristina Hood, Dept. of Psychology

  Abortion stigma is a negative characteristic attributed to individuals who terminate a pregnancy that marks them as inferior to social ideals of womanhood (Kumar et al, 2009). One factor influencing abortion stigma is political ideology. Conservative individuals display more opposition to abortion and hold more abortion stigmatizing attitudes, when compared to their liberal counterparts (Bessett et al, 2015). Further, individuals’ gender may impact endorsement of these stigmatizing attitudes towards individuals who have had an abortion. Women have less stigma likely due to the fact that they could need to have an abortion (Patev, Hood, & Hall, 2019). Although gender seems to predict abortion stigma, it is unclear how individuals’ endorsement of traditional feminine characteristics may relate to abortion stigma, independent of gender. Abortion violates fundamental entities of womanhood, such as being a nurturing mother and being sexually pure (Kumar et al, 2009). Feminine ideals indicate that women should not have control over their own reproduction and sexuality, leading to increased stigmatizing attitudes towards women who have an abortion (Norris et al, 2011). Therefore, the endorsement of traditional feminine ideals may lead to increased abortion stigma, regardless of political ideology or gender. Limited study has examined the relationship between feminine characteristics and abortion stigma. Better understanding abortion stigma is essential; as, research has shown that stigmatizing attitudes can greatly affect the health of individuals who have had an abortion (Major & Gramzow, 1999; O’Donnell et al., 2018). The current study sought to determine the effect of femininity on abortion stigmatizing attitudes, beyond the effects of political ideology and gender. We initially projected that individuals with more traditional feminine values would hold more abortion stigma.

  Participants (N= 305) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk and completed an online survey. The survey included the Stigmatizing Attitudes, Beliefs, and Actions Scale (Shellenberg et al., 2014) to assess abortion stigma, the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence et al., 1974) to assess femininity, one item assessing gender (i.e., men coded as 1 and women coded as 2), and one item assessing political ideology (e.g., lower scores indicate conservative ideology). A hierarchical regression was conducted to determine how individuals’ femininity impacts abortion stigma, beyond the effects of gender and political ideology. Political ideology was entered in the first step, and was significant,b= -.54, SE= .28, p< .001, with more of a conservative ideology related to increased abortion stigma. Political ideology accounted for 29.1% of the variability in abortion stigma. Gender was entered in the second step, controlling for political ideology, and was found to be significant, b = -.11, SE= 1.29,p= .03, with women holding less stigma than men. Gender accounted for an additional 1.1% of the variability in abortion stigma, beyond the effects of political ideology. Finally, femininity was added into the third step, controlling for gender and political ideology, and significantly predicted abortion stigma, b = -.11, SE= .16, p= .03, and accounted for an additional 1.0% of the variance in abortion stigma. However, this finding was not in the predicted direction. We found a negative relationship, indicating that individuals with more femininity held less abortion stigma. This is counter to our original prediction, where we projected that individuals with more traditional feminine characteristics would hold more abortion stigma.

  These findings extend on previous work determining factors that predict abortion stigma. Having a better understanding of these factors combined influence will aid in decreasing abortion stigma. These results could help to create educational programs on sexual and reproductive health that can reduce abortion stigma and bias, and ultimately could lead to reducing negative health outcomes for individuals who have had an abortion.

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  Characteristics of Medicaid Dental Providers Who Provide Oral Health Services to Pregnant Women in Virginia

  Hasib Zaman

  Characteristics of Medicaid Dental Providers Who Provide Oral Health Services to Pregnant Women in Virginia

  Hasib Zaman, Depts. of Bioinformatics and Computer Science, with Dr. Shilipa Naavaal, VCU School of Dentistry

  Introduction: Medicaid is a federal program that provides health insurance for low-income adults, children, pregnant women, and elderly adults in the United States. Virginia expanded their Medicaid, both financially and demographically, in January 2019 and currently has 1,317,981 individuals enrolled in Medicaid, which is an increase of 39.7% from 2018; however, within this expansion, there was no increase in budget for dental Medicaid. Although there are programs, such as Smile for Children, that cater to the oral health of pregnant women, many women do not use the available opportunities due to limited awareness and accessibility of services, as well as cultural factors affecting the quality of service (e.g., linguistic differences). Furthermore, only 39% of dentists nationwide accept Medicaid and/or children's health insurance, which not only discourages young families from seeking oral healthcare, but also limits their accessibility to these vital services. In order to clarify oral healthcare disparities for pregnant women, this study will explore the characteristics of providers who participate in Medicaid and provide oral health services to pregnant women in Virginia. Findings can inform policy focused on improving Medicaid participation among dental providers. Methods: The 2015-2018 Medicaid provider data was obtained through the State Department of Medical Assistance Services. The license numbers of each provider were collected using a public License Lookup tool available through the Virginia Department of Health Professions (VDHP). Additional provider characteristics (i.e., gender, age, years in practice, location) will be requested from the VDHP. Descriptive analysis is done to explore the characteristics of Medicaid providers, to map the distribution in the state of Virginia . Results: Analyses revealed that most providers were located in the Eastern and Northern regions of Virginia’s health districts (55%). These regions have the greatest number of providers that were involved in Medicaid, as it is a very suburban area containing a vast variety of demographics. Following these regions, there are approximately 11% of the providers in the Central region. Furthermore, the Northwest and Southwest regions combined to make up for approximately 34% of providers. Further analysis will be conducted in order to determine the socio demographic context of the providers within these regions. Discussions: During pregnancy, there is an increase in hormones that can affect one’s body’s response to plaque which can lead to increased tooth decay or gum disease. Therefore, there is a need to improve dental providers' participation in Medicaid to improve oral health services among pregnant women. These results have implications for workforce growth and development. Our study results suggest disparities in the distribution of dental providers by various characteristics. Findings provide an overview of the distribution of Medicaid, oral health providers throughout Virginia, with a particular concentration in the Northern region. Additionally, with regions such as Eastern and Northwestern that have a higher percentile of women that do not speak English fluently while having more providers that tend to be caucasian , there are demographic barriers between the two parties that inhibit women from seeking services.

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  Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care

  Casey Zapata, Demetrius Carter, MaryKate Crawford, Samantha Mladen, Emily Donovan, Amber Fox, and Kristen O'Loughlin

  Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care

  Casey Zapata, Depts. of Psychology and English, Demetrius Carter, & MaryKate Crawford, and Samantha Mladen, Emily Donovan, Amber Fox, & Kristen O’Loughlin, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Bruce Rybarczyk, Dept. of Psychology

  Background/Aims: Due to limited access to mental health care, many patients present to primary care with mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety. Integrated primary care (IPC), an emerging practice model that integrates behavioral health providers with medical providers in primary care, has been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes. This project aims to characterize patients being seen in safety-net IPC, both demographically and clinically. Methods: The data were collected across three safety-net clinics in the Richmond area. The sample consisted of 96 adult patients: 68 female (71%), 24 male (25%), 1 non binary (1%), and 3 not collected (3%); 54 African-American (56%), 29 White (30%), 1 Asian (1%), 1 Other (1%), and 11 not collected (12%). Measures included a patient-completed checklist of patients’ behavioral health concerns, the PHQ-9 for depression, the GAD-7 for anxiety, and clinician-completed chart review for demographic factors. Results: Of the 72 patients who completed the GAD-7, patients reported 13 (18%) severe symptoms of anxiety, 11 (15%) moderate symptoms, 15 (21%) mild symptoms, and 33 (46%) subclinical symptoms. For the 37 patients who completed the PHQ-9, patients reported 7 (19%) severe depressive symptoms, 10 (27%) moderately severe symptoms, 12 (32%) moderate symptoms, 6 (16%) mild symptoms, and 2 (5%) subclinical symptoms. The six most commonly patient-reported problems were stress (n= 73), anxiety (n= 70), depression (n= 65), sleep (n = 55), grief (n = 53), and irritability (n= 53). When asked to rank their top three concerning problems, the five concerns most commonly ranked as top problems were: : (1) anxiety (n = 29), (2) stress (n = 28), (3) depression (n = 27), (4) sleep (n=16), and (5) weight (n=15). Further, 56 (58%) participants reported both depression and anxiety as among their top three concerns. Discussion: Anxiety and depression were reported by the majority of patients, with 33% experiencing at least moderate anxiety and 78% experiencing at least moderate depression. Additionally, anxiety and depression were cited as the third most commonly reported concerns, respectively, as well as ranked within the top three most concerning problems for most participants. Stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep were included in both the most commonly reported problems and the most common top three concerns of participants, suggesting that these concerns are both pervasive and troublesome for participants. Over time, this project will prioritize increasing sample size and tracking longitudinal trends. The continued study of safety-net IPC may allow for increasing access to behavioral health, identifying common behavioral health concerns in primary care, and meeting unmet patient needs.

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  Motor Evoked Potential Recruitment Curves Indicate Neuroplasticity after Spinal Cord Injury

  Yasmina Zeineddine and Thibault Roumengous

  Motor Evoked Potential Recruitment Curves Indicate Neuroplasticity after Spinal Cord Injury

  Yasmina Zeineddine, Depts. of Biomedical Engineering and Anthropology, with Thibault Roumengous, Graduate Student in Biomedical Engineering, and Dr. Carrie Peterson, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering

  Introduction: Motor evoked potential (MEP) recruitment curves in response to transcranial magnetic stimulation across a range of stimulation intensities can provide insight into the condition of neural pathways to a muscle. Further, corticomotor reorganization associated with recovery of motor function may be reflected in changes in the MEP recruitment curve. At low TMS intensity, the MEP often consists of a single direct wave, whereas at higher stimulus intensities, the MEP amplitude increases due to recruitment of later indirect waves (I-waves). These late I-waves are thought to depend on trans-synaptic activation of corticospinal axons through excitatory interneurons. [1] In impaired patients, MEP recruitment curves can inform the development of individualized rehabilitation treatments, as curve irregularities can reveal specific deficits, and enhance our understanding of the neuroplastic changes that occur after injury. In comparing the biceps brachii recruitment curve of subjects with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) to nonimpaired individuals, we hypothesized that individuals with SCI would have greater biceps excitability, and therefore greater RC slopes, due to the biceps cortical representation growing in response to triceps paralysis [2]. Materials and Methods: Ten nonimpaired (4 female, 6 male) and 5 impaired (3 female, 2 male) subjects consented to participate in the study. Subjects were seated and had their dominant arm positioned at a 90° elbow angle. EMG surface electrodes were placed on the biceps after being cleaned with alcohol wipes. The biceps cortical hotspot was determined as the area over the motor cortex where TMS evoked the largest MEP response. The resting motor threshold (RMT) was the lowest stimulus intensity required to elicit a 50μVpp MEP response in 3/5 trials. TMS was performed with a 126 mm diameter double cone coil and Magstim BiStim2 . MEPs were recorded from the BB and normalized by dividing by Mmax. Recruitment curves were recorded at stimulus intensities ranging from 80%- 160% of subject RMT in 10% increments. Pulse intensities were randomly administered with interstimulus intervals of 10 s. The data was recorded using Spike software and processed in Matlab. MEPs were excluded if they exceeded ±3 standard deviations of the mean response per intensity. Results and Discussion: The recruitment curve slopes for individuals with SCI, on average, were greater relative to the slopes of nonimpaired individuals. This was based on an analysis of MEPs between intensities of 100% and 140% RMT, wherein the slope was on average 5.13 across individuals with SCI, and 1.49 in the nonimpaired population. The greater slope in individuals with SCI suggests enhanced excitability of the biceps, which is consistent with previous studies showing greater cortical representation of non-paralyzed hand muscles relative to paralyzed muscles [2]. Conclusions: Our results indicate that cervical SCI promotes greater excitability in the muscles controlled by nerves rostral to the location of injury, and demonstrate neural plasticity following injury. The steeper slopes in individuals with SCI indicate greater recruitment of later I-waves. Whether increased recruitment of later I-waves is associated with greater cortical map area is unclear and will require further investigation.

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  Nutrigenomics: Using Sulforaphane Consumption as a Mechanism to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease through Epigenetic Regulation

  Alisha Agrawal

  Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Diet composition and reduced expression of the transcription factor Nrf2 are both possible factors contributing to cardiovascular disease. As vitamin supplementation grows in scope and popularity, it is becoming common to replace vegetable consumption with multivitamins. The purpose of this research was to investigate how sulforaphane, an isothiocyanate found in its greatest quantities in broccoli, prevents cardiovascular disease through epigenetic regulation in order to promote the understanding that vitamin supplementation does not adequately replace the health benefits of phytonutrients found in vegetables. In order to investigate sulforaphane’s ability to prevent cardiovascular disease through epigenetic regulation, I studied scholarly journal articles that focused on experiments involving sulforaphane-induced activation of Nrf2 and the effects of Nrf2 activation such as up-regulation of antioxidant genes and phase II enzymes. Additionally, I studied articles examining sulforaphane-induced reductions in blood pressure and elimination of cardiac dysfunctions such as cardiac hypertrophy and decreased fractional shortening with the goal of identifying Nrf2 activation as the underlying mechanism. The results showed that up-regulation of antioxidant genes, signaling of phase II enzymes, lowered blood pressure, and elimination of cardiac dysfunctions were all a result of sulforaphane-induced activation of Nrf2. These results indicate that people who may be at risk for cardiovascular disease could benefit from including broccoli in their diet rather than using vitamin and mineral supplementation to replace vegetables that provide valuable phytonutrients.

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  A Comparative Study of Extreme Religious Nationalist Terrorist Groups in the United States

  Colleen Arthur

  The aim of this paper is to conduct a comparative study of Radical Right Wing terrorism and Radical Islamic terrorism both of which are categorized under the Religious Nationalism/Extremism typology of terrorism. In order to compare and contrast the two fairly, I broke down the ideology, motives, methods, and the demographic profile of members of both Radical Right Wing and Radical Islamic terrorism then provided examples of different groups that fall within those categories in order to effectively illustrate the striking similarities of the two categories that have been addressed and condemned differently by the United States. Then I had analyzed how and why the United States has approached groups that fall under Radical Right Wing terrorism vastly different than groups under Radical Islamic terrorism even though both fall under the same Religious Nationalism/Extremism category of terrorism. This comparative study is also being conducted to examine why the United States did not have the same reaction to Radical Right Wing terrorist groups before the September 11^th attacks as it did to the Radical Islamic groups since Radical Right Wing groups had committed the most violent acts in the United States prior to September 11^th 2001. Lastly, I will also briefly discuss the present day social implications associated with the difference of treatment between the two terrorist groups.

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  Effects of Nostalgia on Responses to Negative Feedback

  Michaela K. Avino, Thomas Cotter, Simron Richard, Athena Cairo, and Jeffrey Green

  Nostalgia is a bittersweet emotion evoked by memories of cherished personal experiences. Though nostalgia is a self-focused emotion, it has many interpersonal effects as well. Feeling nostalgia increases feelings of social connectedness and self esteem, and may protect against negative effects of existential threat (Wildschut et al., 2006). However, less is known about the extent to which nostalgia relates to anger and aggression. We hypothesized that nostalgia would buffer against the effect of negative feedback on feelings of anger and motivation to aggress. Undergraduate students wrote about a nostalgic or objective memory, and then received negative feedback about another personal writing project. Participants reported their feelings of anger, then had the opportunity to punish the individual who gave them negative feedback by administering loud noise blasts in a competitive game. We discuss the results and real-world implications of these findings.

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  Effect of Energy Metabolism on NF-kB activity in Ovarian Cancer

  Simren K. Bagri

  NF-kB is a transcription factor involved in cancer cell growth and survival. The activation of NF-kB can be assessed by monitoring phosphorylation of RelA p65 at Ser-536, which is a surrogate of the NF-kB transcription factor activation. The objective of this study was to determine if the loss of ATP leads to NF-kB deficiency and thus, apoptotic cell death of “bad” cells in ovarian cancer cells. The independent variables were metformin (Met), an anti-diabetic medicine, another compound MinB functionally similar to Met and a glucose transporter inhibitor BAY-876. The dependent variables were the resulting effect of Met and MinB on phosphorylated AMPK at Thr-172 (marker of ATP loss) and RelA p65 at Ser-536 (marker of NF-kB activation). In each experiment, AMPK and RelA phosphorylation were tested by treatment of ovarian cancer cell lines with Met, MinB, BAY-876, Met+BAY-876, MinB+BAY-876. Western blotting was performed to determine the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RelA p65. For two gels, the process was repeated. In each gel, Met or MinB treatment leads to thicker bands of AMPK-p, indicating decrease in cellular ATP levels following treatments. The effect of Met, MinB, or BAY-876 on RelA p65 was limited. However, co-treatment of Met or MinB with BAY-876 caused strong inhibition of NF-kB, as reflected by reduction in RelA p65-p. These results suggested that ATP deficiency together with inhibition of glucose transport cause inactivation of NK-kB. Future research will be conducted to study the effects of these compounds or their combinations on ovarian cancer cell growth and survival against from apoptosis.

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  A Comparison of Two Methods of Quantifying Mating Success in Low Density Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) Populations

  Alexandra Barry, Hannah Byrne, and Derek M. Johnson

  The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a defoliating pest native to Europe and invasive to North America. The gypsy moth is subject to depressed mating success in low density populations, which may restrict spread of the forest pest. Research focusing on gypsy moth density as it relates to mating behavior has often used counts of males caught in pheromone-baited delta traps as a proxy to estimate the probability of female mating success. The purpose of this project was to determine whether pheromone trap counts provide accurate estimates of female mating success probability, by comparing data gathered from pheromone-baited delta traps to data gathered on mating success of tethered females. To determine the relationship between number of males caught in delta traps and the probability of successful mating, male catch counts in traps were compared to mating success of tethered females in a mass male release experiment. The relationship between delta trap catch of males and female mating success was quantified using a Bayesian framework, which explicitly incorporates uncertainties in the model. Vegetative cover in the study plots was reduced to a single measure through principal components analysis and included as an independent factor in the model. The data suggest that delta traps reduce the male’s ability to find a female by 67%; thus, results garnered from delta trap catch counts tend to underestimate the underlying ability of males to locate and mate with females. Thick understory vegetation further reduced the male’s ability to locate a female, and further reduced the effectiveness of delta traps. Future studies that seek to use counts of males in pheromone-baited traps as a proxy for mating success should consider using an adjustment factor to equate the two methods of quantifying reproductive behavior in the gypsy moth.

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  College Student Alcohol Use and Engagement in Prevention Programming

  Alexis H. Branch, Shimona Kumar, and Christina McGrath

  Social problems and adverse consequences have been associated with risky alcohol use (Paschall et al, 2015). Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF) has been utilized to address these problems (White and Hingson, 2014) by comparing students’ alcohol use to campus or national norms (Butler et al, 2009). The current investigation sought to understand differences in alcohol use behaviors in freshmen who did and did not report completion of a personalized feedback intervention (PFI) in a diverse sample of college students from the Spit for Science (S4S) project. S4S is a campus-wide, longitudinal study on the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to mental health and substance use outcomes in college students. Freshmen (N=1,168) completed surveys in the fall and spring; in the spring, whether or not students completed a PFI during their freshman year was assessed. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms and grams of ethanol consumed were calculated for participants who reported completing an online PFI for alcohol use (n=365) and for those who did not (n=803). We hypothesized that (1) PFI freshmen would exhibit greater alcohol consumption and AUD symptoms in the fall (pre-PFI), and (2) students in both groups would exhibit equal rates in the spring (post-PFI). There was sufficient evidence to support the fall hypothesis: students in the prevention group exhibited higher levels of alcohol consumption (t=1.39, p<0.001) and AUD symptoms (t=2.42, p=0.031). The spring hypothesis was not supported: PFI students exhibited higher levels of alcohol consumption (t)=1.4373, p<0.01) and AUD symptoms (t=2.09, p < 0.01). Future research could examine whether the results may vary by ethnicity or other demographic characteristics.

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  How Personal Names Shape the Way Society Sees People as Individuals in the United States.

  Rand Gabriel M. Buenaventura

  In a world where people are disadvantaged by first impressions and implicit bias, names factor a lot into a person’s successes in life. Whether it be first names, last names, the number of middle initials, the gender and racial implications of a person’s name, and societal standards surrounding names and naming systems, there are multiple ways names shape a person’s identity. Thus, it is important to ask how personal names shape the way people are seen as individuals in the United States and contribute to their identity. Names are a trait that people are born with, usually determined before anything is known about that person. Research for this paper involved exploring articles about the various aspects of names, as well as investigating the psychosocial effects they have on people. A thorough understanding of the impact of names was found. It was expected that there would likely be implications surrounding only race and gender signaling names, yet it was discovered that there are much more biases that names can signal based on the contents of that person’s name. From a person’s educational worth to an association with lesser valued societal qualities, names allow people to form assumptions and draw conclusions without actively trying to. Immigrants in the United States have even faced less adversity upon anglicizing their name, simply because it allows them to more easily blend in and assimilate. As a result, bringing together this research allows a more holistic understanding of implicit bias. Broadly, this can further be applied to explaining why certain people have more privilege than others. Just like how teachers can treat certain individuals differently based on their name, affecting how that individual receives education, societal stereotypes can similarly impose different attitudes due to how names are perceived.