STUDENT: Emily Smith

PROJECT ADVISOR: Renae McNair

ABSTRACT

Learning is the foundation of a successful, prosperous society, therefore carrying out the most effective way of teaching is fundamental. This conceptual research study examines the success of first year kindergarten students that were thrown into remote learning due to the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. The purpose of this research is to determine if first year students in remote learning receive better grades depending on if they receive resilience training, if their parent receives training, if both of them complete resilience training together, or if there is no difference in grades based on intervention. Total, there are 1200 participants. The children will be tested using the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28), which is suited for children 5-9 years old. The parents will complete the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). It is hypothesized that the group of parent-child pairs that undergo resilience training together will produce the best grades of all the groups.

Keywords: Resilience, Learning, Remote Learning, Kindergarten

STUDENT: Madison Stewart

PROJECT ADVISOR: Renae McNair

ABSTRACT

Research regarding resilience in survivors of child sexual abuse in both male and females is scarce. Therefore, this study will not only examine resilience in both male and female survivors, but also the victim-offender cycle involving both males and females. Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a traumatic experience that more and more children are unfortunately experiencing. CSA has been linked to certain mental illness like depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), personality disorders, and substance abuse. Sufficient research has also discussed the prevalence of CSA is higher among sexual offenders compared to non-sexual offenders. Resilience allows these survivors to adapt and function well in life and may also explain why some individuals are able to break the victim-offender cycle. In this systematic review, 100 male and female survivors of CSA will be assessed in terms of resilience through the Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), which will also determine whether they are able to break the victim-offender cycle. The research concluded that participants who scored high on the CD-RISC reported an improved capability in forming intimate relationships with others as well as did not succumb to the victim-offender cycle. One theme which occurred across many participants was once they had admitted that the incident had transpired, they overcame their denial and gained a new level of acceptance.

Keywords: resilience, child sexual abuse, victim-offender cycle, male, female

STUDENT: Patrick Thorpe

PROJECT ADVISOR: Renae McNair

ABSTRACT

Workplace stressors are a challenge most workers will encounter in their chosen occupation. The conceptual research explores the relationship between resilience levels and job satisfaction in office workers. The participants of the conceptual research consisted of office workers that hold non-managerial positions at their place of work. Each worker’s resilience level was assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and completed a self-assessment survey of their perceived level of job satisfaction. This self-assessment survey consisted of a Likert scale with five options ranging from very satisfied to very unsatisfied. The findings suggested that there is not a significant association between resilience levels and job satisfaction levels. The findings suggested resilience alone is not an accurate predictor of job satisfaction. Future research on workplace resilience should consider job satisfaction as one of many aspects that make up a productive worker and avoid using resilience levels as a predictor of worker job satisfaction in the hiring process.

STUDENT: Vanessa O’Boyle

PROJECT ADVISOR: Renae McNair

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The major purpose of this research is to see how grief in adolescence affects how we grieve in the future as young adults. The second major purpose is to see how resiliency and the quality of interpersonal relationships play a role in how we grieve.

Hypotheses: First, if an adolescent experiences grief, then the quality of relationships with close friends/family will increase. Second, after the first grieving experience, resiliency will increase with the next experience. Third, if the participant experiences another loss, their ability to find meaning after losing the loved one will increase from the first loss.

Method: In a sample of adolescents, this longitudinal study will measure the ability to find meaning after a loss, resiliency, and the quality of interpersonal relationships. Participants will take the three scales, GMRI, CD-RISC, and QRI, a total of three times over the course of ten years. The number of losses in each participants life will be noted at each of the three meeting points in time.

Results: Based off of past research, it is expected that there would be no significant different in resilience from someone who dealt with past grief now dealing with future grief. It is also expected that the quality of interpersonal relationships will most likely increase with friends and family after a loss. Lastly, it is expected that their ability to find meaning after losing a loved one would depend on the type of loss endured (violent vs. nonviolent).

STUDENT: Christian Cicio

PROJECT ADVISOR: Renae McNair

ABSTRACT

Video games and online addiction are extremely persistent in an individuals life. A considerable amount of the population has at least come into contact with some type of online activity. This study will be conducted to show how video games and online addiction can impact someone’s resilience. This study included 240 participants who were recruited during this experiment and had to complete several questionnaires that included internet addiction, resilience levels, and addictive behavior for online gaming. Hierarchical regression testing, questionnaires, and the Connor Davidson Scale were used to measure all aspects that were involved in this study. Those aspects included internet addiction, online gaming addiction, and resilience. Overall, the higher the participants’ resilience, the lower the level of the participants’ internet addiction. The same was also found in online game addiction.

STUDENT: Jordan Joubert

PROJECT ADVISOR: Renae McNair

ABSTRACT

Relapse in individuals with food-restricting eating disorders, such as Anorexia Nervosa, (AN) is prevalent post-hospitalization, despite intervention methods being implemented. Similarly, many intervention models centering around AN outside of a hospital setting are centered around family-based intervention models, which, while beneficial, still result in a high relapse rate. The goal of this theoretical framework is to hypothesize a conceptual model regarding an adult individual with AN’s resilience. Specially, conceptualizing if the implementation of a resiliency-based intervention centering around the individual overall improve rates of recovery from AN? Young adult participants of both sexes, 18-24, voluntarily recruited via sign up sheets posted in doctor’s and counselor offices, were given the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale and the Body Image Disturbance Scale to measure levels of body image disturbance and resiliency in a pre-test-post test model involving a resiliency based intervention. The expected results are as follows: First, as resiliency levels increase, rate of relapse will decrease. Second, starting levels of resiliency are expected to be low, but with implementation of the workshop, will increase, and further increase after1 year post-workshop, wherein then the levels will remain constant. Further results will be mentioned in the discussion.

STUDENT: Tabitha Boyd

PROJECT ADVISOR: Xialing Lin

ABSTRACT

Online dating is a popular new tool for initiating romantic relationships. The purpose of this paper was to identify factors that occur in online dating to cause deceptions. Deception is a common strategy for securing a first date with someone from an online dating site. This tactic is used since you cannot see the individual in person to see if you could potentially be interested in another individual. Digital communication is a social norm, more and more of our lives are facilitated and documented by the Internet. Online dating allows individuals to create their own profile and communicate with other online daters that share the same interests. Online daters know that it includes privacy concerns, technology usage, and deceptions.

First Place in Category #5 – Social Science

Library Literacy Award for Poster

STUDENT: Erika Wheeler

PROJECT ADVISOR: Laura Nathans

ABSTRACT

This project explored the relationship between loneliness and the use of video chats in emerging adult college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was created that contained questions regarding types of video chats, purposes of video chats, frequencies of video chats, benefits and negatives of video chats, and Likert-scale questions regarding feelings of intimacy and loneliness. Data was collected from students at Penn State Scranton, Penn State Brandywine, and Cedar Crest College between the ages of 18 and 29 who were administered the survey through a link given by professors in classes. Results demonstrated popular uses of Zoom and Facetime, uses for academic and friend contact purposes, benefits of live interaction and being able to see facial expressions, and negatives of technology issues and Zoom fatigue. Correlational analyses revealed that the more purposes video chats are used for, the greater intimacy and connectedness students experienced, as well as less social isolation and greater feelings of normalcy. Students experienced greater benefits and negatives with greater loneliness, which suggests that using video chats makes them aware of the lack of being present with others.