oURspace (Univ. of Regina)
Not a member yet
15455 research outputs found
Sort by
Sexual desire in perimenopause: the role of sex hormones and depressive symptoms
No full textA Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology, University of Regina. 99 p.Sexual dysfunction and diminished sexual desire are common complaints among midlife women. These sexual difficulties may relate to the ovarian hormone changes that occur during the menopause transition (i.e., “perimenopause”). Levels of estradiol fluctuate during this period, at times reaching very low levels, which may result in physiological effects that, in turn, impact sexual function and desire. However, the extent to which perimenopausal changes in libido are directly related to hormone shifts remains unclear. Since the menopause transition is also associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms, perimenopausal mood changes may also contribute to perimenopausal changes in libido. This study aimed to examine the relative contributions of within-person changes in weekly depressive mood and ovarian hormone levels on weekly libido. Fifteen perimenopausal women reporting clinically elevated levels of depressive symptoms were recruited. Once a week for eight weeks, they completed a survey assessing depressive mood and sexual desire and provided a urine sample for the measurement of the urinary metabolites of estradiol and progesterone, resulting in a total of 120 hormone-survey pairs. Multilevel modelling examining the within-person effects of hormones and depressive mood on sexual desire revealed that while with-person weekly changes in depressive symptoms significantly impacted sexual desire, weekly changes in ovarian hormones did not. In the future, our team will recruit additional participants to examine these relationships in a larger sample as well as investigate potential moderators in the relationship between hormone changes and sexual desire, such as prior history of sexual dysfunction
Da-Sein
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts, University of Regina. viii, 60 p.DA-SEIN, my MFA Thesis Project, explores the vessel as a conceptual container, which
helps ideas of the self or lived experience become tangible. At the center of the project is my
'lived experience' as a woman, a single mother, a human being, as connected to phenomenology
and feminist research inquiries. The terms ‘lived experience’ and ‘container’ are foundationally
drawn from Ursula Le Guin’s essay “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction.” My MFA project
includes four distinct works, which are exhibited in conversation with each other. The
metaphoric and metamorphic cocoon-like structures in the piece Hüllen [hulls] are the focal
point of the exhibition. They not only intend to hold the protective spaces of the transformative
possibilities of female lives, such as past events or future dreams, but also ambiguously, they
intend to represent roles and responsibilities of holding space. Holding space is a synonym for
caring. The sculptural vessels honor the invisible acts of caring, which sometimes compete with
transformational potentials and fleeting time. This story of existence is supported by these
additional works: ad infinitum; the presence of essence—inversion of space; and [stela].
My key methods include modes of abstraction, materiality, material beauty, blurring
boundaries between the man-made and the nature-made, sloppy craft, as well as the use of the
kiln as a transformative agent. This feminist, practice-based research project was mainly
influenced by the history of ceramics as a cultural inheritance and qualities innate in clay as a
material, as well as ideas of containment as discussed in Le Guin’s essay “The Carrier Bag
Theory of Fiction.”
Keywords: craft, ceramics, clay, ceramic art, container, feminist research, lived experience, Le
Guin, Wildenhain, Rie, feminist research, Existentialism,Studentye
Teaching & Scholarship News Issue 3 Volume 1
No full textIn this edition of Teaching and Scholarship, Laurie Clune shares some EDI centered pedagological practices that can be used in course design and delivery
Real-time Evaluation of an Automated Computer Vision System to Monitor Pain Behaviour in Older Adults
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology, University of Regina. xiv, 182 p.A large body of literature supports the systematic observation of facial expressions as a
tool for assessing pain in both younger and older adults. Such observation is especially
critical for older adults who have limited ability to communicate their pain experience
due to dementia. While frequent monitoring of pain behaviours in dementia is constrained
by resource limitations, computer vision technology has the potential to mitigate these
challenges, especially in long-term care environments where many people with severe
dementia reside. A computerized algorithm designed to assess pain behaviour in older
adults with and without dementia was recently developed and validated against video
recorded images. The algorithm was incorporated within an automated system that
provided alerts when facial pain expressions were detected. This study conducted the first
live, real-time evaluation of the automated pain behaviour detection system with
community-dwelling older adults in a laboratory setting. Testing involved a total of 65
participants completing three safely-administered experimentally-induced pain tasks
using a thermal pain stimulator. A video camera was used to facilitate recording and
automatic processing of facial activity. Pain behaviour detection occurred when systemgenerated
pain intensity scores of the facial expressions displayed by participants
exceeded a predetermined threshold score. When the incidence of facial pain expression
occurred, an electronic notification (e.g., email and a signal light) was generated as
notifications of pain behaviour detection. Participants completed continuous self-report
pain intensity ratings during the thermal pain tasks. Receiver Operating Characteristic
curve analyses were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the system in
identifying pain- and non-pain facial expressions using gold standard manual coding
completed by trained coders. Gender differences were also explored in relation to system
performance. Correlational procedures were used to evaluate the relationship between
pain intensity scores generated by the system, continuous self-report pain ratings,
observational pain coding, and stimulus temperatures. This study supported the potential
viability of the automated pain behaviour detection system in correctly identifying live,
real-time instances of facial pain expressions in older adults. System-generated pain
behaviour scoring achieved a maximal greater correlation with gold standard manual
coding compared to prior testing using video-recordings. Specifically, system
performance improved when more intense facial pain expressiveness was considered
compared to more subtle facial expressions at lower pain intensities. In comparing system
scoring to manual coding, there was not a one-to-one correspondence in coding but a
range of comparative values that varied from participant to participant. Correlational
analyses showed that continuous self-report pain ratings were weakly correlated with
system scoring and manual coding. While average pain scores remained homogenous
across genders, results suggested that the system performed better at identifying pain
expressions for women compared to men. As expected, the pain-related facial movements
of brow lowering and levator contraction were unique predictors of system-generated
scores. Future evaluations of the system involving field trials in long-term care settings
with older clinical populations would further elucidate the performance of the system.
This technology is expected to aid in the assessment of pain in people living with
dementia while addressing resource constraints in long-term care environments and
reduce burden for caregivers.
Keywords: Pain, aging, technology, older adults, computer vision, dementiaStudentye
Canadian Provincial and Territorial Correctional Worker Mental Health and Well-Being Study (CWMH): Navigating Practical and Unanticipated Methodological Challenges
No full textPrevious research assessing correctional worker (CW) mental health has seldom assessed for differences based on jurisdiction or diverse occupational categories. The current study was designed to provide a nuanced quantitative examination of mental health disorder prevalence and related problems among CWs and to qualitatively explore the varying social contexts surrounding CW well-being. We reflect on how we overcame unanticipated challenges and disruptions (e.g., technology, COVID-19 pandemic) throughout the design, launch, and analysis of the survey, and illustrate how our national study, driven by a rigorous methodological approach and collaborative research design, builds on the extant CW mental health and wellness literature.This work was supported by Workplace NL and the Government of Alberta as well as the Canadian Institute of
Health Research (a catalyst grant)
Formula feeding stigma and perceived controllability: how different rationales for formula feeding impact judgements
No full textA Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology, University of Regina. 48 p.Only one study to date has experimentally demonstrated the existence of formula feeding stigma, negative attitudes towards mothers who formula feed rather than breastfeed. That study found evidence for the existence of formula feeding stigma and attributed its cause to perceived intentionality. That is, when researchers exposed participants to an Instagram post, allegedly written by a formula feeding mother, the participants rated the mother more negatively if she had always intended to formula feed than if she had not originally intended to formula feed. In the current study, we utilized a factorial design to explore whether the expressed stigma was truly a function of perceived intentionally or if perceived controllability was the more important factor. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of four social media posts about how a mother came to formula feed. In the posts, the mother formula fed for either a controllable reason (i.e., convenience) or an uncontrollable reason (i.e., surgery) and the decision was either intentional (i.e., she had always planned to formula feed) or unintentional (i.e., she had originally planned to breastfeed). Then they responded to questions measuring stigmatizing beliefs about the mother. Results indicated that when the mother reported formula feeding for a controllable reason she was rated less positively than when the mother reported formula feeding for an uncontrollable reason. As predicted, intentionality did not influence levels of formula feeding stigma. Therefore, when controllability is parsed out from intentionality, controllability is the more important factor in formula feeding stigma
Measuring moral distress and moral injury: A systematic review and content analysis of existing scales
No full textBackground: Moral distress (MD) and moral injury (MI) are related constructs describing the negative conse-
quences of morally challenging stressors. Despite growing support for the clinical relevance of these constructs,
ongoing challenges regarding measurement quality risk limiting research and clinical advances. This study
summarizes the nature, quality, and utility of existing MD and MI scales, and provides recommendations for
future use.
Method: We identified psychometric studies describing the development or validation of MD or MI scales and
extracted information on methodological and psychometric qualities. Content analyses identified specific out-
comes measured by each scale.
Results: We reviewed 77 studies representing 42 unique scales. The quality of psychometric approaches varied
greatly across studies, and most failed to examine convergent and divergent validity. Content analyses indicated
most scales measure exposures to potential moral stressors and outcomes together, with relatively few measuring
only exposures (n = 3) or outcomes (n = 7). Scales using the term MD typically assess general distress. Scales
using the term MI typically assess several specific outcomes.Funding for this study was provided by the Atlas Institute for Vet-
erans and Families
Settler school psychologists readiness to decolonize practice
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education, University of Regina. xi, 271 p.This study presents a modified grounded theory analysis of settler school psychologists’
engagement with the idea of “decolonizing” their professional practice in working with
Indigenous students and their families. Data was gathered through two rounds of
interviews with seven settler school psychologists across Western and Northern Canada
who are active in the profession. A personalized “self-location” situates the researcher as
a settler school psychologist as a means of challenging psychology’s perception of itself
as an “objective” science. Decolonization theory is explored from a variety of
perspectives beginning with the work of Frantz Fanon (1961/2021). A variety of critical
frames, including critical psychology, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and TribalCrit are
used to explore how psychology and education interact in the field of school psychology
and how this impacts Indigenous peoples. Grounded theory approaches were adapted to
incorporate Indigenous research design and ethics, including working with an Elder and a
Community Advisory Committee to ensure Indigenous perspectives remained centred in
the analysis. Participants at various career stages described training programs that
included no Indigenous content and workplaces that emphasized assessment and testing
for programming decisions rather than focusing on a holistic consideration of student
needs. Participants were varied in their understanding not only of Indigenous worldviews
but also the worldviews embedded in dominant psychology. Most participants were
unable to provide a clear statement of what it might mean to decolonize their practice and
most described some type of fear or anxiety as preventing them from doing more to
incorporate Indigenous worldviews in their work. While participants varied in their
reflective examination of their practice there appeared to be little awareness of their own
DECOLONIZING SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
subjective position within the profession. They did not make explicit links between
Indigenous epistemologies and how that might impact pedagogical recommendations.
Participants seemed to simultaneously place themselves outside the problem of
colonization and outside the solution of decolonizing their practice. While participant
reluctance to engage in further decolonization of their work can be explained in terms of
being based in “precontemplation” fears in the trans-theoretical model of change
(Prochaska et al., 2008), they are also symptoms of what Mawhinney (1998) describe as
settler “moves to innocence” as an attempt to avoid responsibility and accountability. A
key implication of this research for the future of school psychology is recognizing the
lack of critical self-reflection among practitioners and helping them increase their
awareness of their subjectivities and biases while overcoming their discomfort with the
process of decolonization.
Key words: school psychology, educational psychology, decolonization, Indigenous
education, Indigenous research, psychology trainingStudentye