STUDENT: Patrick Dougherty

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

As time has progressed, divorce has become something that has been de-stigmatized. While 50 years ago it was looked down upon, it has become something that is more and more commonplace. What parents looking to get a divorce sometimes fail to realize is that their divorce can have a negative effect on their child’s grades. The main objective of this study is to be able to prove the hypothesis that parental divorce does have a negative effect on their child’s grades. Participants of the study will be between the ages of 14-18, with no gender or racial bias. Participants (n=1000), after consent was given, were given questionnaires that asked their parent’s marital status, and their grades from the past four years. If applicable, participants were asked to state when their parents underwent their divorce. Given the literature studied, and the results of the experiment, it can be concluded that parental divorce does in fact have a negative effect on a child’s grades. The implications of the study is the fact that when parents are considering undergoing a divorce, their child’s grades should be something that is taken into account.

STUDENT: Gabrielle Geldhof

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

Since the beginning of time people have wondered what happens after death. One may get a glimpse into the afterlife by experiencing a near-death experience (NDE). One that has experienced a NDE (or for short a NDEr), has been pronounced dead and is brought back to life with profound stories of experiences they had while dead. From the literature that was gathered, it was concluded that consciousness allows one to experience and process events, thoughts, and actions throughout life. There is little found about experiences that happen to one in the afterlife. This conceptual research is going to be closing the gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between near-death experiences and consciousness. This sample is comprised of n=30 NDErs that are over the age of 18 and of mixed ethnicity and gender. They were each required to provide an Electroencephalography EEG test before the NDE and a detailed account of their NDE. Brain activity plays a key role in the make-up of the conscious mind and will be studied in this research by comparing the tests taken both before and after the NDE. An EEG test will be held before the interview and thematic analysis will be done to compare the themes throughout the NDEs. The data from the thematic analyses will be combined with the EEG tests to see if there is a correlation between consciousness and NDEs. The expected results are that those that experience similar brain activity will experience similar accounts when encountering death.

STUDENT: Edward James Cavalier

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

Obesity is a growing problem throughout the world, especially in the United States. Not only have adults been affected by obesity, but also the adolescence of the United States. Obesity can amass a large amount of problems throughout one’s life such as physical health, mental health, and social health. The main objective for this conceptual research paper is to raise awareness and to examine the correlation of obesity and the decline of mental and social health in adolescence. Upon review of the literature discussing this problem findings show that adolescence who are obese based on the Body Mass Index are more likely to develop physical health problems and also social and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and social barriers than the population who is considered a healthy weight by the Body Mass Index. The sample size that will be used is n = 1,000 subjects who fall under the category of obese. The age group that will be tested are 13-18 years of age, who will be administered a questionnaire to show implications of such effects of being obese and their results will be recorded on a 1-10 likert scale. The expected results would be adolescence who are considered obese by the BMI are more prone to gain social and mental health impasses such as depression and anxiety than those who are considered a healthy weight by the BMI. I hypothesize that individuals who are considered obese will score higher on the questionare than individuals who are not considered obese according to the BMI. The implications of this study is to raise awareness on obesity and to help our youth become healthy individuals.
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First Place in Poster Category – Social Science, Information Literacy Excellence Award Runner-Up

STUDENT: Elizabeth Trojan

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is a widely used measure in forensics to assess individuals’ violence/risk. However, the PCL-R was developed to measure psychopathy, and scores have shown variation with differing evaluators. This conceptual research study was designed to investigate the reliability and validity of the PCL-R when used as a violence/risk assessment for incarcerated offenders. Two hypotheses were formulated based on a review of the literature; the PCL-R is an unreliable measure for the violence/risk assessment of incarcerated offenders, as results vary across forensic evaluators, and the PCL-R is an invalid measure for violence/risk assessment of incarcerated offenders, as it was designed to measure psychopathic tendencies. A sample of 1500 participants (n=1500) was used, with 500 forensic evaluators and a representative sample of 1000 incarcerated offenders across Pennsylvania prisons. Each evaluator conducted violence/risk assessments on four offenders using the PCL-R, providing two scores for each offender for comparison. The expected result for this study is a correlation between variation in forensic evaluators and variation in PCL-R scores of the same offender – showcasing a lack of reliability and validity in the measure. These findings implicate the need for further research into the use of the PCL-R as a violence/risk assessment – possibly the need for revocation of its use in this form.

STUDENT: Shaughn Kennedy

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

Keywords: toxicity, toxic behavior, harassment, online player behavior, online aggression, League of Legends, Riot Games

League of Legends is a popular online video game, and as of 2014 had 67 million active monthly players. A study polling 2,206 participants reported that 75% of participants who played League of Legends experienced some sort of harassment while playing the game (Statista, 2021). Harassment and other negative player behavior via online video games is commonly referred to toxic behavior, or toxicity. This study investigated how frequently toxicity occurs and where it was most likely to appear in League of Legends. This study recruited 450 participants (n = 450) nationally for an at-home online study. Participants were taught how to play League of Legends over an initial one month period, then were to complete the study throughout a six month period. Participants were provided with recording software that automatically recorded and uploaded in-game footage to a secure cloud drive. Participants were randomly assigned to different game modes and played, recorded, and uploaded 10 matches of the game. It is expected that players will experience some form of toxic behavior in at least 20% of all games. As the founding company of League of Legends rarely publicizes data, this makes it difficult to gauge the scope of the problem of toxicity in League of Legends. The results of this study intend to add data to the growing discussion of online video game player behavior and online mental health.

STUDENT: Amanda Herne

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a form of purposeful and non-fatal self-harming behavior. NSSI is seen most often in adolescents and individuals diagnosed with a mental health disorder. While NSSI is often degraded and looked down upon in society, a socially accepted alternative may be tattoos. While it is impossible to suggest all people who have a tattoo have an inclination for NSSI, it is possible to suggest those who are more likely to engage in self-injurious behaviors are likely to get a tattoo as a result. This study would feature participants identifying as any race, ethnicity or gender (n=250) that have either a diagnosed mental health disorder or previous or current history of NSSI in addition to tattoos. The age range focused on participants of 16 years at the minimum to 35 years at the maximum. The age range primarily focuses on participants that are able to get legal tattoos at a tattoo parlor. The participants in the study would then be screened to be considered possible applicants to the research study. The participants then would have received a survey based on their likelihood of engaging in healthy coping behaviors and whether they consider themselves to have gotten a tattoo purposely for the pain aspect and whether they consider that an act of NSSI. Through this study, it is possible to suggest a correlation of tattoos with NSSI.

Second Place in Poster Category – Social Science

STUDENT: Kaylah Simmons

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

This study strives to identify the relationship between teens and the rapid development of nomophobia, the intense fear of being detached from mobile phones. Teens between the ages of 13-18 and granted with parental permission are placed under controlled settings that simulates common every day routines. Participants are observed while accompanied by their phones and while they’re detached from it. Participants report on the Nomophobia Questionnaire before and after each observations. The results indicate participants with stronger levels of nomophobia have a previous history of mental instability and is significantly in relation to depression and anxiety. This study provides insight on mental health and the relationships we have with the advanced technology we are surrounded by to this day.

STUDENT:  Brianna Strein

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have short-term and long-term effects on individuals. Typically, the effects of this neglect, or trauma, are seen through maladaptive behavior. ACEs are measured on a 10-question examination that focuses on trauma one might have experienced. The higher the score, the more likely the individual will have mental health impairments later in life. This study was designed to distinguish the relationship between maladaptive behaviors and serotonin levels in individuals who scored high on the ACEs questionnaire. One hypothesis was formulated based on review of the literature, H1: maladaptive behaviors are influenced by low serotonin levels caused by maltreatment. The literature reviewed articles indicate that maladaptive behaviors are popular coping mechanisms for those with ACEs in general. The sample size of this study is 100 (n= 100). 50 participants are White and Black cisgender female, the other 50 participants are White and Black cisgender male who have known maladaptive behaviors. The age group is adolescents between 10 and 19 years old. Each will be given an ACEs questionnaire to connect scores and behavior. Participants will also be given a blood test by a medical professional to determine serotonin levels, with parental approval. Both results are likely to link to negative behavior. The expected result for this study is a correlation between maladaptive behaviors, low serotonin levels, and high ACE assessment scores. These findings implicate the need for further support and research for those who experienced any type of neglect as a child.

Keywords: Maladaptive behaviors, maltreatment, ACEs, coping, serotonin levels

STUDENT: Dennis Korski

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

Sleep is a much needed attribute to daily life, and has so much to do with cognition and daily wake functioning. In light of this, sleep deprivation can be looked upon as a major problem within how it affects individual restoration of the body’s energy and decrease in cognitive functions (in this case academics). The main focus of this conceptual research paper is to further investigate the correlation between sleep deprivation and academic performance. From reviewing other peer reviewed articles and studies we hypothesize that H1: If lack of sleep affects cognition there will be a decrease overall in academic performance/attention and H2: If sleep deprivation is prevalent there will be a decrease in school activities/memory. The sample is composed from full-time undergraduate students (n=1,300) ages 18-25. These undergraduate students will take questionnaires regarding sleep and how it is affects them at the end of their class every 2 weeks for the collection of data. The expected results from this would be that individuals that get less sleep will be more likely to have a negative impact on their overall academics due to decrease in cognitive ability across the board. The implications of this study are to expand on knowledge of sleep deprivation and explain further on how it majorly impacts cognition and academics.

Additional Information or Comments:
The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between sleep deprivation and how cognition/academic performance is in turn affected.

STUDENT: Jarret Townsend

ADVISOR: Dr. Renae McNair

ABSTRACT:

It has been observed that juvenile delinquents who are incarcerated in the juvenile justice system are highly susceptible to suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and deaths, especially when placed in solitary confinement. In addition, there are several other risk factors that increase the likelihood of suicidal actions and thoughts seen in juvenile delinquents. Therefore, this conceptual research paper will examine the correlation between solitary confinement and suicidal tendencies displayed by juveniles, along with other significant risk factors. A review of the literature suggests that juvenile delinquents locked away in solitary confinement are at a greater risk of acting upon suicidal thoughts compared to the general population and other risk factors, such as sexual abuse, homelessness, and running away, will be accounted for in this study. A sample size of n = 1,200 male and female juvenile delinquents will be collected, with an age range from 10-21 years. Participants will be classified as African American, white, Asian, or other. Individuals would take a screening assessment by the usage of a computer or a paper-pencil format, lasting 30 minutes or less, to identify their risk for committing suicide. The anticipated results are that juveniles placed in solitary confinement are more prone to report feeling suicidal during the screening assessment. Future implications of research encompassing juvenile delinquents and housing conditions in the juvenile justice system would be providing more effective treatment services for incarcerated adolescents instead of taking punitive actions.