Gender Scholarship @ Radford University Tuesday ~ December 6th ~ 2016 Location: Heth 014 & 043 ~ Time: 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. Psychology 4th Annual Research Symposium Program_Fall-2016
Student-Faculty Gender Research Presentation Abstracts Return to Student - Faculty PresentationsTeams
Oral Session I Presentations ~ 4:00-5:30 ~ Heth 014		Oral Session I  Presentation Abstracts
Gina Borrelli  "Single mother’s involvement: Looking at predictors"  Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jayne Bucy  Images to be Added		The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of parental involvement among single mothers. The mother’s education and number of hours worked per week were looked at as predictors. 218 single mothers of eighth grade students were examined. A multiple regression was performed to measure variance in involvement accounted for by education and number of hours worked. Significant results found that 7.8% of the variance in school involvement can be explained by education and hours worked.
Karen Steffey  "Young mothers: Impact of age on learning opportunities  provided to children"  Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jayne Bucy  Images to be Added		Maternal age impacts learning opportunities provided to children. Data collected from The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study provided national data on children from birth to 8th grade. Maternal age 12 to 45 answers on questionnaires were examined. The information about pre-school activities provided prior to enrolling in school was evaluated (N = 6, 759). Analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) research design was utilized with maternal age (IV) and pre-school academic readiness skills (DV) and socioeconomic status (covariant) as the variables studied. Results indicated differences existed in the number of opportunities provided; however, the differences were not significant when considering SES. Fewer learning readiness opportunities were provided by younger mothers when compared to older mothers; moreover, seventeen percent of the difference was due to SES status.
Session II Poster- Presentations ~ 5:00-6:00 ~ Heth 043		Session II Poster Presentation Abstracts
Hillary Bennington  "Woman professionals in a predominately male field"  Faculty Mentor: Dr. Anja Whittington  Images to be Added		The purpose of this research is to identify inequalities and gender biases that female professionals in the outdoor recreation field suffer. The research included the gender inequalities that females suffer, as well as the way they believe they are perceived by men and the general population. The research was done in various ways. Literary research was conducted, as well as phone interviews with current female professionals. The research was also solidified based on personal observations done by the researcher. The personal observations were done on the Radford University Wilderness Institute. The research concluded that woman are definitely the minority in the outdoor recreation field. However, while being the minority, there are growing numbers of women professionals. It was also determined that the majority of woman in the outdoor recreation field feel as though most males act as though women are weaker and less knowledgeable, and are unaware that they do so.
Session II Poster Presentations ~ 5:00-6:00 ~ Heth 043	Session II Poster Presentation Abstracts
Randi Carter & Danielle Reed  "Exploring the relationship between pessimism and  aggression levels in early adulthood"  Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenessa Steele  Images to be Added		The current study investigated the relationship between personality disposition and aggression. The researchers hypothesized that there will be a positive correlation between pessimistic personality disposition and aggression. The participants were all Radford University undergraduate students currently enrolled in an introductory psychology course. The study was posted online on the SONA website through the Qualtrics program. First the participants took the Hopelessness Scale (Beck & Weissman,1974) survey and then were randomly assigned to a group who watched an aggressive video or a group that didn’t watch the aggressive video. After the video participants were asked to take a second survey, the Buss-Perry aggression scale. The independent variables that the researchers outlined was personality disposition (Hopelessness scale) high-low pessimism and whether or not participants watched the aggressive video while the dependent variable was participants measuring in aggression. Results will be discussed.
Session II Poster Presentations ~ 5:00-6:00 ~ Heth 043	Session II Poster Presentation Abstracts
Rebecca Wiegmann, Julianna Williams, Cassandra Homick  Karina Bevins, Lara Barbir, Celine Fadi, Katherine Easter  Adjusting to college: A correlational study on adjustment  predictors for first-year female college students  Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jeffery Aspelmeier  Images to be Added		The purpose of the study was to provide further validation for the Adolescent Girls’ Resilience Scale (AGRS) through examining convergence with other related measures. The secondary goal was to identify risk factors for adjustment issues in the first semester of college for women aged 17 to 19. (M= 17.96 SD=.33). As part of a larger study, 123 first-year female students attending Radford University were surveyed. The measures used were the AGRS and measures of self-esteem (Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale), symptoms of psychological distress (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised), attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships), and social support (SSQSR). Results indicated that the AGRS positive peer relationships and confidence subscales were strongly positively correlated with self-esteem, network density, and satisfaction (SS), and negatively correlated with attachment anxiety and avoidance and the global symptoms index of the SCL-90-R. The strongest predictors of adjustment as measured by the SCL-90-R were as follows: self-esteem, positive peer relationships, attachment anxiety, and confidence. Social support and avoidance were found to be weaker predictors. The findings supported that the AGRS converges meaningfully with other related measures, and these selected measures showed strong correlational support as predictors for adjustment in first-year college women.
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