2020 Abstracts

Nye, Brandt; Fellows, Anthony (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Chapman, Heather (Weber State University, Psychology)

Child hunger is a prevalent problem America is currently facing — or not facing. According to Merriam Webster, hunger is defined as: "a weakened condition brought about by prolonged lack of food". Naturally, a child whose basic need is going unmet is likely to experience difficulty with other aspects of life: Schooling, recreation, sleep, etc. To make matters worse is the fact that some of these children are starving needlessly, going without food when such resources are available in the very area they live in. Furthermore, Lynn Mclntyre and Jeanne Williams found child hunger to be a "robust predictor of depression and suicide ideation" amongst children as they grow into adolescence and adulthood. Children are of course powerless in this situation, as they depend upon parents for their needs.

Perhaps those equally experiencing the negative effects would be the parents — those who are solely responsible to provide for their children. It's a maternal instinct for a mother to feed ones child. When this instinct is frustrated or damned, a variety of feelings can result in the parent themselves. Feeling such as depression, failure, anger, sadness, hopelessness, and fears become prominent when such an occurrence takes place. If left unresolved, feelings within parents can escalate to: "Uncontrolled weeping, fierce crazy anger, and lashing out even at those who may be of assistance". (Lou-Marie Kruger, Marleen Lourens). Unfortunately, such feelings only tend to worsen the situation as it develops into a vicious cycle, failing to break the routine.

This being the case, we will be conducting a survey on parents to measure the beneficial effects that take place within their mental well-being as a result of being able to access the food pantry at their childrens schools.

Mulliniks, Charlotte; Nate, Haley; Smith Julianne; Gudino-Cuevas , Loraine (Westminster College)
Faculty Advisor: Ellis, Lesa (Westminster College, Neuroscience)

Directed attention is an important process involved in cognitive functioning. Mental fatigue from daily tasks often leaves a persons directed attention depleted. According to Attention Restoration Theory (ART), exposure to natural stimuli can restore directed attention. Although many studies have investigated the ability of natural visual stimuli to restore attention, research exploring the restoration provided by natural auditory stimuli is lacking. With an abundance of sounds found in nature, bird sounds are among the most prevalent. This study aimed to investigate the differences in restoration experienced after listening to sounds from different avian species compared to a control of listening to silence. It was expected that different species would provide varying measurements of attention restoration due to differences in the sounds each species makes. Two species of birds, the common house sparrow (P. domesticus) and the black-billed magpie (P. hudsonia) were selected based on their perceived restoration potential (PRP) score determined by Ratcliffe et al. 2016. All participants first took the sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) to place a demand on attention. Participants then listened to a recording of one of the two species or silence and immediately took the Attention Network Test (ANT) to measure the restorative effects on directed attention. Another group of participants took the ANT to serve as a baseline measure. There was no significant difference of attention interference observed between groups who listened to bird sounds or silence however, the group who only took the ANT exhibited greater interference from distractions that the group who sat in silence. These results indicate that listening to bird sounds may have a positive influence on attention restoration and spending an equal amount of time in silence may have a similar effect.

Harley Cragun, Kacy Craig, Josh Parmenter, Renee Galliher, Ryan Berke (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Berke, Ryan (College of Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department); Galliher, Renee (Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services, Psychology Department)

LGBTQ+ college students are a minority group of people who face the emerging challenges of adulthood and career decision making, as well as the unique challenge of navigating a minority sexual or gender identity. To fill the gaps in literature about the relationship between career development and decision making and identity development, over 400 LGBTQ+ college students of all disciplines from across the United States were surveyed. As part of a larger survey, students provided responses to the following open-ended question — "Please describe any barriers you perceive that might prevent you from achieving your career goals." Engineering has historically been dominated by white, heterosexual males, possibly leading to unique sexual identity and career development experiences of LGBTQ Engineering students. Initial analysis identified 5 main themes of all responses, including health, discrimination, resources, technical skills and emotional ability. Further analysis will be done to compare the reported barriers of Engineering majors to all majors. (We are recruiting for a second round of surveys. If you are an LGBTQ Engineering student, please visit www.berkelab.com/lgbtq.)

Gottschalk, Jake; Miller, Zachary; Liebich, Katrina (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Miller, Zachary (S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, Environment and Society Department)

Salmonid populations are an important cultural, recreational, and economic resource throughout Alaska that are threatened by multiple sources. One often-overlooked source is damage to streambeds from recreation, especially from motorized recreation. OHV (off-highway vehicle) use can increase turbidity, nutrient loads, and erosion in these streams, which is harmful for juvenile salmonids. Stream crossings are common in the Mat-Su borough of Alaska, and enforcement for approved low-impact crossings is almost nonexistent. This study focused on developing a model, based on interviews and survey data, that explained OHV user's motive-driven stream crossings. Preliminary randomized interviews were conducted to focus survey questions, which revealed that approximately 90% of OHV users didn't know about approved crossings. Interview results showed strong motive for crossings that had low environmental impact and even stronger motive for crossings focused on safety. These interviews lead to refinements in the survey instrument, which focused on the importance of specific motives such as safety, environmental impacts, congestion, etc. and support for possible management actions, loosely based on the theory of planned behavior. Reliability analyses were conducted on the factors for the generalized linear model (GLM) to simplify the model and reduce collinearity. The model showed that safety and environmental responses were the most important predictors of crossing best practice behaviors. Signage and other indirect management methods were favored over direct management methods by survey respondents at this site. Signage focused on safety in conjunction with low-impact crossing locations was suggested to management as the best course of action. The results from this study will help inform managers in designing stream crossings and their supporting signage as OHV use continues to increase.

Tapoof, Koralene; Soyer, Mehmet (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Soyer, Mehmet (College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology Department)

With the increased development of natural gas in the United States, the northeastern part of Utah lies an area called the "Energy Hub" of the Uintah Basin. The estimated acreage is about five million acres, which 53 percent is controlled by the federal government. It is rich in tight sands and shale gas and has brought about recent gas exploration and development making this area in the Uintah and Duchesne counties of the Uintah Basin the largest oil and natural gas producing in the state of Utah. The purpose of this research is to examine how residents perceive the impacts of Oil and Gas developments in Ute Tribe Reservation. This proposed research will fill the gap in the literature regarding residents' perceptions on the impacts of hydraulic fracturing in Native Indian Reservation. We also explore the perceptions of Ute Tribe members on social, environmental, and health impacts of Oil and Gas Industry. Participants will be a minimum of 20 individuals who live in Ute Tribe Reservation, Fort Duchesne. The interviews will be in-depth and semi-structured. This study will be qualitative and exploratory. NVIVO 12 Qualitative software will be used to analyze collected data.

Chavez Marin, Yazmin; Ellis, Lesa (Westminster College)
Faculty Advisor: Ellis, Lesa (Westminster College, Neuroscience)

Several schools and workplaces have implemented a "speak-English-only" policy that tends to develop into a hostile environment. At times these policies involve students or workers being disciplined for speaking just a few words in a non-English language while at work or during personal time. In short, these policies tend to create an environment that involves publicly commenting on a person's use of their primary language in a negative way. Keeping in mind that language aids in connecting and solidifying elements of identity and social connections, I ask how bilinguals in these situations view themselves when they are speaking in English, or a non-English language (Spanish-speakers in particular). In this experiment, we analyzed if bilingual (English and Spanish) have an internalize biased depending on what language they are using in academic settings. In this experiment, we will be testing what implicit biases people have when they are presented with words in Spanish or in English through an Implicit Association Test that looks at how participants pair words, positive or negative, with themselves or with others. We expect to find that people tend to respond faster when they pair Spanish words with themselves, and slower when they pair English words with themselves. This research can help expand the knowledge of how bilinguals, or multilinguals interact with their environment, and how language impacts thoughts.

Greaves, Aspen (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Felt, Jon (Family, Home, and Social Sciences; History); Hegstrom, Valerie (Humanities, Global Women's Studies and Spanish/Portuguese); Chase, Zach (Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Anthropology)

While Mongolian women face high rates of domestic abuse and low political empowerment, overall, they are more highly educated and have better health rates than men. Oppression does exist but does not neatly fit in western models of feminist thought; there is a great need to understand the historical roots of this discrepancy. The Mongol Empire is highly susceptible to great-man history, placing all credit and blame on the figure of Genghis Khan and ignoring the contributions of others. Modern historians often read the primary texts through a patriarchal lens in assuming all decisions are made by men. The primary sources support a more feminist approach in emphasizing the importance of individual women, particularly Hö’elün, Börte, and the three regent-empresses. This research looks at the primary sources, most importantly The Secret History of the Mongols and how they have been interpreted in regard to individual women and a more general depiction of women. Further, I helped excavate burials from the same period in the Darkhad region of Mongolia, and so compare the materials in female graves with the historical model in the primary sources. Material culture that is present in the archaeology helps to ground the interpretation of gender roles from the inevitable highly biased sources. Overall, this research helps to understand who a Mongolian woman is expected to be in the Mongol Empire in order to inform humanitarian interventions in the present.

McFarlane, Amanda (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Haug, Jordan (Brigham Young University, Anthropology); Thompson, Greg (Brigham Young University, Anthropology)

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) have been partners for over hundred years, with the Church chartering Cub Scout and Boy Scout troops in each of its American congregations for their boys ages 8-11 and 12-18 respectively. Within the Utah National Parks Council (UNPC) of the BSA, the high concentration of members of the Church has led to the BSA being thought of synonymously with the Church and its involvement. In May of 2018, however, the Church announced that, starting January 1, 2020, they would no longer be chartering troops through the BSA for their male youth, leading to confusion about the role of Scouting in Utah and how it would change or if it would continue. The analysis of this ethnographic data, gathered at BSA events across Utah County and Camp Maple Dell in Payson, seeks to address the ways that Scouting has been influenced by its close relationship with the Church in the UNPC, the benefits and challenges it has presented, and how those that are highly involved in Scouting (employed by the UNPC) have been dealing with the impending transition and their optimism about having a better environment for Scouting without the direct influence of the Church.

Palmer, Ali; Raby, K. Lee (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Raby, Lee (College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Developmental Psychology)

This study explores the relationship between maternal sensitivity and physiological reactivity in children across time. Maternal sensitivity is the appropriate response of a caregiver to their child's needs, while physiological reactivity describes the body's response to stressors. Physiological reactivity in this case is measured by Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of parasympathetic nervous system activity. Previous studies show a relationship between parental sensitivity and RSA during the same procedure; however, this relationship across time has yet to be explored. It was expected that maternal sensitivity would be associated with lower physiological reactivity to stress, or a lower RSA value. This relationship is plausible based on research about sensitive caregiving predicting attachment behavior later on.

Women were recruited during pregnancy for this study beginning in October 2018 through University of Utah associated clinics, flyers, brochures, and social media posts (Lin, et al., 2019). They then have the opportunity to continue through the study with visits at successive time points: a prenatal visit, a birth visit, a visit when the child is 7 months old, and a visit when the child is 18 months old. Data coded for maternal sensitivity was collected at 7 months during the Still Face Paradigm, a commonly used procedure for assessing infant reactivity. RSA data showing physiological reactivity was collected at 18 months during the Strange Situation Procedure, widely accepted as a measure of attachment security in infants.

Establishing the existence of the relationship between these two variables is an important first step toward helping children in less than ideal situations. This could lead to a greater knowledge of how to develop interventions, for example, with children or adolescents struggling with issues related to heightened physiological activity. Understanding these biological patterns could help them handle high levels of physiological reactivity in a productive way.

Alvord, Margaret; Dinehart, Claire; Holdeman, Alexis (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Kamimua, Akiko (College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Sociology)

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the factors that affect levels of patient perspectives of autonomy in clinical decision making among uninsured patients utilizing a free clinic. Patient autonomy in clinical settings is important because it can lead to more successful outcomes as well as an overall increase in patient satisfaction with their health care. Uninsured primary care patients tend to experience barriers to autonomy in clinical decision making due to limited choices of health care facilities and low health literacy. However, patient autonomy among underserved populations is an under-studied topic because ensuring access to care is usually the top priority for the populations. This proposed study will fill the gap and contribute to reducing disparities in health care. Data has been collected from patients of the Maliheh Free Clinic in Salt Lake City using a self-administered survey in fall 2019. Patients who are aged 18 or older and speak English or Spanish are eligible to participate in this study. As of October 29, 2019, 254 patients participated in the survey. Preliminary results suggest that older patients and non-US born patients were more likely to believe that providers should decide (less patient autonomy). Older patients were more likely to believe that they should be informed of potential risks in treatment. These results have potential applications for free-clinics to increase patient satisfaction and informed health care decision making. Informing patients of their right to autonomy can also lead to more trusting physician-patient relationships and therefore better health care.

Hurley, Jazime; Izampuye, Elizabeth; Trinh, Ha (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Abunuwara, Kim (Utah Valley University, integrated Studies); Dunn, Paul (Utah Valley University, Biology); Oliveira, Andre (Utah Valley University, Economics)

Globally, college students have the highest rates of unintended pregnancies. In Vietnam, the social stigma against pregnancy and against sex education is prevalent enough that college students turn to less reliable sources for information. Women often face scrutiny, criticism, and sometimes violence if they try to talk about contraceptives. In the United States, stigmas show in different forms. Male and female college students are informed as to what contraceptives are. But, when it comes to knowing where to access contraceptives and how to use them, resources are scarce. Paper administered surveys were distributed to college students at the University of Vietnam and the University of Utah. Questions were divided to assess the following: 1) Knowledge of basic contraceptive facts, 2) awareness about the significance of contraceptive use, 3) attitude about contraceptive use, 4) demographic information. These questions varied from "yes" and "no" to "agree" and "disagree." Results suggest that students from each university had knowledge about basic contraceptive information, as 95% of students knew at least one contraceptive method. In general, Vietnamese students were more likely to believe that contraceptive methods are more harmful than beneficial to health, use of contraceptives will increase risk of fertility in the future, and discussion about contraceptives with spouse is embarrassing. Utahan students were more likely to believe that only women take responsibility for using contraceptives, contraceptives can protect the health of family and society, and contraceptive pills do not 100% guarantee avoidance of pregnancy. These results suggest the Vietnamese students were warier of contraceptives due to limited knowledge of side effects. Students in Utah were more aware of the benefits of contraceptive use, but only to an extent. Overall, both males and female students need well-rounded education about contraceptives that I hope to implement with future projects.

Brewster, Melissa; Conradt, Elisabeth. (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Conradt, Elisabeth (University of Utah, Psychology)

Stress exposure in the early years of life is a public health concern since this exposure can lead to a variety of illnesses ranging from diabetes to depression. More specifically, previous research has emphasized the importance of understanding the impact of stress exposure on an infant. However, there is limited research linking in utero stress exposure to later infant development, more specifically, on newborn self-regulation and neurobehavior. We examined whether newborn neurobehavior was associated with prenatal maternal psychophysiological signs of stress. Pregnant women (N=162) during their third trimester were invited to the child adaptation and neurodevelopment (CAN) laboratory to acquire hair cortisol concentrations, baseline heart rate (HR), baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and baseline electrodermal activity (EDA) parameters: skin conductance response (SCR) and skin conductance levels (SCL). Subsequent to this visit was the hospital visit. We assessed newborns between twenty-four hours and two months of age using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) which measures the dimensions of attention and arousal. We conducted correlations and ordinary least squares regression analyses. Maternal hair cortisol levels were not significantly associated with newborn attention (r= -.026, p=.77) and arousal (r= -.077, p= .382). However, exploratory analyses demonstrated that hair hygiene may affect these results. Baseline HR was not associated with attention (r= .012, p=.879) and arousal (r= -.002, p=.979). Baseline RSA was also not associated with attention (r= -.106, p=.192) and arousal (r= .071, p= .381). Lastly, baseline SCR and SCL were not associated to newborn attention (r=-.094, p=.247; r=-.013, p=.874) and arousal (r=-.077, p=.342; r=-.12, p=.138), respectively. These results suggest that having naturally high or low psychophysiological measurements has little-to-no impact on infant well-being, as opposed to stress reactivity.

Bradee Goepper (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Lancaster, Alexander (Weber State University, Communications)

This study is a collaboration between Ogden Civic Action Network (CAN) and the Weber State University CCEL Community Research Team, investigating opioid addiction within the Weber State community. Weber Morgan Health Department reports an increased rate of opioid overdoses within Weber County. The purpose of this study is to examine religious beliefs, mental health, and the subgroup of women ages 24-44, in terms of reported opioid use and abuse. According to data from the Weber County Health Department, the specific demographic of women ages 24-44, exhibits a higher rate of opioid abuse when compared to other demographic groups. Current research also indicates that the Utah women's opioid death rate is four points higher than the national average (Weber County Opioid Death Statistics). We can expect that the results from this study will support these previously reported trends.

"Weber County Opioid Death Statistics." LiveStories, https://www.livestories.com/statistics/utah/weber-county-opioids-deaths-mortality.

Marston, Clarissa; Garrett, Patrick I.; Barraza, Allyson; Allen, Nicole ; Hillhouse, Todd M.; Honeycutt, Sarah (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Hillhouse, Todd (Weber State University, Psychology)

Over the last decade, electronic-cigarettes use has substantial increased. E-cigarette usage in high school aged Americans has increased 78% from the year 2017 to 2018, with a total of 20.8% of all teenagers reporting regular usage as of 2018. The adolescent population is particularly attracted to the nicotine-free e-liquids that are currently on the market. While current research has focused on examining the behavioural implications of nicotine vapour inhalation but little has been devoted to evaluating the effects of nicotine-free vapour administration. The present sought to examine how nicotine-free vapour inhalation would impact locomotor behaviour. To accomplish this, mice were placed in a vape apparatus and administered the selected puff (1, 3, 6, or 10 seconds) of unflavoured 50/50 oil blend of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine of vaporised e-liquid every 2 minutes during a 10 or 30-minute session. Following administration, mice were placed in open field arenas to measure locomotor activity as well as record time spent in thigmotaxis, a known measure of anxiety. Vapour administration produced significant sex differences on locomotor activity and thigmotaxis time. Specifically, all puff durations significantly decreased locomotor activity and increased thigmotaxis time in female mice. For male mice, the 6 and 10 sec puff decrease locomotor activity and increase thigmotaxis time. Results of this study indicated that there are dissociable behavioural effects following administration of nicotine-free vapour inhalation in mice that are dependent on sex, puff duration, and administration session length.

Birmingham, Wendy; Graff, Tyler; Fitzgerald, Joseph; Fuller, Shayla; Seipert, Shelby; Ballard, Emily (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Birmingham, Wendy (Brigham young University, Psychology)

Family roles are increasingly shifting, and more married mothers work outside the home. Indeed, only 19% of married couples reported the husband as the sole wage earner (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). Previous research on labor divisions among spouses has examined marital relationship quality in the context of equity theory, which posits husbands and wives are most likely to be satisfied in a marriage where both partners are equally benefited. That is, relationships tend to flourish when both spouses perceive domestic and financial responsibilities are fairly divided, regardless if these responsibilities are evenly split. Under this assumption, dual income households may foster better relationship quality than single income households, as both the husband and wife feel they are contributing equally to the family's economic security. The present study seeks to compare reported relationship quality of wives who are either part of a dual-income household (both husband and wife work) or single-income household (only husband works). 225 female participants were recruited from BYU, the University of Utah, Utah Valley University, and the community via SONA, fliers, social media, and word of mouth. Participants were required to have children living in the home, and the participant's spouse also working outside the home. Analysis is currently being conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

Hamilton, Emily; Voss, Maren Wright; Swenson, Kira; Lichfield, Lana (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Voss, Maren (Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services, Kinesiology and Health Science Department)

We interviewed rural individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) to get a better handle on opioid misuse disorders causes and solutions.
To minimize bias in the conducting of interviews, we followed a community engagement model of training community members to interview participants. Two community members were recruited from the recovery community to receive training as a community scholar. Each community scholar completed CITI training which meets National Institutes of Health standards for the Responsible Conduct of Research for human subjects. Each community scholar completed two additional sessions of training on qualitative data collection and interviewing skills. Interviews were scheduled and participants were provided with an Institutional Review Board-approved informed consent form. Given the sensitive nature of the topic, the consent form stressed the option to use a pseudonym and the opportunity to withdraw participation and interview content at any time. The participant was also informed of community resources if at any time during the interview they should become distressed. The community scholar conducted interviews using semi-structured interview prompts, with the freedom to ask clarifying or exploratory questions at will. A member of the IRB approved research team served as the recorder for each interview to ensure sound quality, ethics and safety.

The interviews collected by community scholars provide insight into the unique elements of dealing with an opioid addiction in rural Utah. Themes identified include the tendency toward isolation, the strength of the addiction and fear of withdrawals, and the utility of the criminal justice system as a pathway to recover. Interviews have been extended to an open forum of community conversations, to discuss difficult subject matter in a constructive way. The goal is to reduce stigma and engage community partners to collaborate on bringing in more available resources to help those who struggle.

Nielsen, Kate (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Thompson, Greg (Brigham Young University, Anthropology); Nuckrolls, Janis (Brigham Young University, Linguistics)

Ecuadorian Quichua-speaking people, also known as Runa, are deeply connected to the rainforest. It is their subsistence, culture, caretaker, and responsibility. The intimacy and depth of their connection with the land is reminiscent of familial ties. The language with which they refer to their environment reflects this familial relationship. In traditional beliefs, all things created by God have some element of life force. The ability to speak, think, and choose is given to rocks, trees, the ground itself. These aspects of nature are bestowed with humanlike personalities and motivations. I propose that Runa personify aspects of nature in order to explain the agency ascribed to them. Runa bestow familial ties, such as spousal ties, upon natural objects or animals/plants to emphasize their personal significance. Runa believe that they came from the land. They believe that when they take care of the land, it takes care of them. By ascribing their land with agency, emotion, and thought, Runa strengthen their ties to the land by adopting it as a member of their family.

Alee Washburn, Allie Peery, Hal Svien, Cameron Alldredge, Gary M. Burlingame (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Burlingame, Gary (Brigham Young University, Psychology)

Aims: There has been an increased interest in shame among psychological researchers lately. Furthermore, there is little agreement among the two most common measures of shame in psychology (Eterović et al. 2018). This systematic review will evaluate various psychometric characteristics of identified shame measures used in psychological research. Methods: A literature search of common databases in psychology (e.g., Ovid, Web of Science) pinpointed ~4,000 articles mentioning shame measures. These will be systematically reviewed to identify all self-report and interview-based measures of shame in psychology. Psychometric properties rated will include state versus trait shame, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability, among others.

Results: Preliminary results are still being reviewed. Newer measures of shame identified have identified factor structures related to their theoretical bases, something not necessarily seen in older measures. Shame measures are commonly separated into state and trait measures, which might not be appropriate to different research questions (Ogles, 2013). These and other considerations will be presented to identify promising measures of shame for future research. Discussion: Discussion of results will be framed in relation to current reviews of shame as a construct, particularly how it is measured (Eterović et al. 2018). It is likely that older measures of shame do not have demonstrable psychometrics (e.g., clear theoretically-linked factor structures), making them unlikely choices for use in psychological research. Further, each measure should be considered in relation to its change sensitivity and the research question. Keywords: measurement, psychometrics, shame