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COVID-19-Related Beliefs and Dietary Behaviors of American Undergraduate Students Vary by Race via the Lens of the Health Belief Model
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic caused immense physical disruptions, affecting young adults in the U.S. The Health Belief Model is a social psychological framework that predicts the likelihood of adopting health behavior. The purpose of this research is to investigate COVID-19-related health beliefs and dietary behaviors among undergraduate students during the pandemic. Using convenience sampling, a cross-sectional survey was completed by 304 individuals at a New Jersey state university. Survey data included the frequency of COVID-19 prevention behaviors (e.g., wearing an indoor mask, handwashing), and consumption of fruit and vegetables. The Health Belief Model constructs measured perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy. Frequency distributions, t-tests, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were investigated for racial subgroups (Whites, Blacks, Latinos, and Asians). The mean age of the sample was 21.7, with 27% males, and 46% self-identified as White. Whites adopted fewer COVID-19 prevention behaviors (p \u3c 0.001) than non-Whites. Black students perceived less COVID-19 severity (p \u3c 0.01) and stronger perceived benefits (p \u3c 0.05) than the other subgroups. Latino students perceived greater susceptibility (p \u3c 0.01) and greater barriers than non-Latinos. Asians practiced higher mask wearing frequency (p \u3c 0.05) but less daily fruit intake than their counterparts (p \u3c 0.01). This research highlights the importance of handwashing, wearing indoor masks, and consuming produce among university students. Addressing barriers to health action while promoting the benefits of enacting behaviors to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 is warranted
Shea at NAACI 2025 Montreal 1
No full texthttps://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/iapc_pshea_gallery/1007/thumbnail.jp
A single-blind active-control randomized controlled trial of group-based social competence intervention
No full textThis study evaluated specific effects of a blinded randomized controlled trial of a group-based social skills intervention, Socio-Dramatic Affective-Relational Intervention (SDARI), against an active attention control (AC) intervention. Fifty-five autistic youth (Mage=12.40; SDage=2.92; 73% boys) were randomly allocated to either the SDARI or the AC condition. Both interventions comprised 10 weekly sessions and were tightly matched for structure, participant age, IQ, and gender, such that the specific activities of SDARI were directly examined. Multimethod assessments at pre-, post-treatment, and 10-week follow-up included informant-reported social skills and autism-related behaviors, observer-rated spontaneous peer interaction, peer-rated friendships, and a metric of social information processing (the N170 event-related potential). Parent expectancy effect was also explored by examining perceived conditions by parents/caregivers, who were blinded to the condition assignment. Compared to the AC condition, the SDARI group evinced improvements in the N170 latency, rapid peer-liking, and reciprocal friendships at endpoint and follow-up. While the conditions did not differ on parent-reported social skills or autism-related behaviors, a parental expectancy effect was found where parent-rated social skills improvements were related to parents’ perceived conditions. These results provide support for the efficacy of the specific SDARI activities on several objective, reliable outcomes of social functioning in autistic youth
Individual Noise-Tolerance Profiles and Neural Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Insights into Predicting Speech-in-Noise Performance and Noise-Reduction Outcomes
No full textBackground/Objectives: Individuals with similar hearing sensitivity exhibit varying levels of tolerance to background noise, a trait tied to unique individual characteristics that affect their responsiveness to noise reduction (NR) processing in hearing aids. The present study aimed to capture such individual characteristics by employing electrophysiological measures and subjective noise-tolerance profiles, and both were analyzed in relation to speech-in-noise performance and NR outcomes. Methods: From a sample of 42 participants with normal hearing, the neural signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)—a cortical index comparing the amplitude ratio between auditory evoked responses to target speech onset versus noise onset—was calculated, and individual noise-tolerance profiles were also derived using k-means cluster analysis to classify participants into distinct subgroups. Results: The neural SNR showed significant correlations with speech-in-noise performance and NR outcomes with varying strength. In contrast, noise-tolerance subgroups did not show meaningful group-level differences in either speech-in-noise or NR outcomes. The neural SNR and noise-tolerance profiles were found to be statistically independent. Conclusions: While the neural SNR reliably predicted perceptual performance in background noise and NR outcomes, our noise-tolerance profiles lacked sufficient sensitivity. Still, subjective ratings of individual noise tolerance are clinically accessible, and thus, integrating both physiology and subjective measures in the same cohort is a valuable strategy
Polish adaptation of the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale: Scale development and analysis
No full textPurpose: There is currently no available assessment of self-stigmatization for people who stutter in Polish, and previous research has identified a clear need for such a measure to be implemented in therapy settings. The aim of this study was to adapt the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (4S) to Polish. Method: The study recruited 108 Polish adults who stutter (48.1 % female, 51.9 % male), ranging in age from 18 to 67. Participants were mainly recruited via speech language pathologists (SLPs) and self-help group leaders. Participants completed the Polish translation of the 4S scale, as well as questions on general mental health welfare and life satisfaction, their own speech assessment, perceptions of difficulties associated with stuttering, and perceived level of support. Results: The highest score of the Polish 4S was for stigma awareness. The overall scale and individual subscales were significantly correlated with each other and the scale showed good internal consistency. Mean scores were generally in line with Boyle\u27s (2015) scale evaluation results. Levels of internal consistency were comparable to those in Boyle (2015) and to other translations. The results show that a large proportion of participants were aware of the stigma associated with stuttering (reflected in 67.59 % of participants scoring above the theoretical midpoint on the Stigma Awareness Score) and a substantial proportion of participants applied highly negative stigmatizing attitudes to themselves personally (38.89 % of participants scored above the theoretical midpoint on the Stigma Application Score). Conclusions: The study findings align with previous assessments and adaptations, suggesting the 4S can reliably be used in the Polish context. As the field of speech and language therapy in Poland is increasingly more concerned with the internal feelings and emotions of people who stutter rather than solely focusing on treatment of physical speech disruption, an assessment of self-stigma is an important addition to the speech-language pathologists’ toolkit
Management implications of human livelihood strategies on Madagascar\u27s coastal landscapes
No full textThe unsustainable harvest and consumption of wild animals destabilizes both wildlife populations and the human livelihoods that depend upon them. In coastal landscapes, the overexploitation of terrestrial resources can increase pressures on marine ecosystems, and vice versa. We explore populations\u27 ability to mitigate hunting pressure by bolstering marine livelihood strategies, assessing whether Malagasy people (or aggregated households) (1) transfer harvest pressure and consumption from oceans to forests in times of lower fisheries yields and (2) habitually exploit both marine and terrestrial resources. We also evaluate the diversity of fishers\u27 and hunters\u27 methods used and species targeted, as reliance on a limited range of resources elevates sensitivity to perturbations in resource access and forces people to shift across rather than within livelihood strategies when experiencing scarcity. We present data on annual marine and terrestrial wildlife use in western Madagascar, where cyclic droughts and famines exert pressure on local populations, and people depend on wild food sources from adjacent mangrove and dry forests. In a study village outside Kirindy Mitea National Park, we surveyed and interviewed 369 individuals (N = 89 households) and conducted 18 focus groups over 6 months (September 2018 to March 2019). We found that individual people tended to exclusively hunt or fish, and hunters pursued relatively few species with more specialized methods than fishers did. By distributing resource utilization across ecosystems, families likely increase household resilience. Therefore, conservation and alternative livelihood efforts will benefit from a regional-scale, multi-ecosystem approach
Disentangling the association between cognitive flexibility and anxiety in autistic youth: real-world flexibility versus performance-based task switching
No full textIntroduction: Anxiety symptoms are highly prevalent among autistic youth yet remain under-recognized and undertreated, in part, due to a limited conceptual understanding of autistic cognition. Emerging evidence suggests that autistic differences in cognitive flexibility (CF) may be associated with a greater likelihood of developing and maintaining anxiety symptoms, relative to non-autistic youth. However, further work is needed to elucidate mechanisms of anxiety vulnerability that could inform potential targets for anxiety treatment in autistic youth. The current study aims to examine the associations between CF and anxiety in this population. Given the complexity of CF as a multifaceted construct, we used a multi-method approach to measure CF in order to tease apart its relationship with anxiety symptoms. Specifically, we hypothesized that real-world flexibility difficulties (assessed by survey measures), and poorer task switching performance (assessed by neurocognitive lab measures), would be associated with higher anxiety. Methods: Participants included forty 8–17-year-old autistic children (11 female, 29 male), along with their parents. Anxiety symptoms were measured by parent- and self-report using the Anxiety Scale for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Task switching performance was measured using the Trail Making, Verbal Fluency, and Color-Word Interference tests from the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System, administered to children in a controlled lab setting. Flexibility challenges in real-world settings were assessed by parent- and self-report using the Flexibility Scale and Shift subscale from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF-2; BRIEF-SR). Autistic traits were measured by parent-report using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2). Results: Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that reduced real-world flexibility was a significant predictor of anxiety, according to both parent- and self-report, even after controlling for autistic traits. Poorer task switching performance, however, was not associated with increased anxiety. Discussion: Our findings are consistent with previous literature suggesting that real-world CF challenges are linked to anxiety in autistic youth. The current study also offers preliminary evidence for the distinction between real-world CF and performance-based CF regarding their relationship to anxiety among autistic youth. Findings may help inform targeted assessment and treatment approaches for anxiety in this vulnerable population
Online Racial/Ethnic Discrimination, Suicidal Ideation, and Alcohol Misuse Among Ethnoracially Minoritized College Students: The Roles of Internalized Racism and Ethnic Identity
No full textOver the past decade, mental health problems have disproportionately increased among U.S. ethnoracially minoritized college students, though explanations for this disparity remain understudied. In the present study, we examined the direct and indirect associations between online racial/ethnic discrimination, suicidal ideation (SI), and alcohol misuse. We also investigated whether internalized racism helps explain the association between online racial/ethnic discrimination (i.e., individual or vicarious exposures) and SI and alcohol misuse. Lastly, we examined the moderating role of ethnic identity dimensions (i.e., exploration and commitment) in this indirect association. Participants included 494 ethnoracially minoritized college students ages 18–30 years (M = 19.62, SD = 2.08; 79% female; 60% Latine; 83% U.S.-born) from the U.S. who completed an online survey. Findings revealed that online racial/ethnic discrimination (i.e., individual and vicarious exposures) was directly associated with increased SI and alcohol misuse. The indirect association of online racial/ethnic discrimination (i.e., individual and vicarious) on SI via internalized racism was statistically significant. These indirect associations, however, were not observed with alcohol misuse. Ethnic identity commitment moderated the indirect association of vicarious, though not individual, online racial/ethnic discrimination on SI via internalized racism. These findings underscore the impact of online racial/ethnic discrimination on ethnoracially minoritized college students’ mental health, identify internalized racism as a potential pathway through which this type of discrimination may confer risk for SI, as well as ethnic identity commitment as a potential protective factor that may buffer these harmful effects
Ozma of Oz
No full texthttps://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/iapc_middlegrades_gallery/1008/thumbnail.jp
“R-word” slurs triple on X after Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving post used the word
No full textA joint study from Montclair State University faculty in the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media and the Department of Justice Studies shows a dramatic increase in content containing the slur “retard” on X after Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving Day Truth Social post used the word. Findings showed a 225.7% increase in posts containing the r-word on X with 1,129,438 posts in the studied period. The most viewed, liked, and shared content analyzed enthusiastically endorsed use of the r-word. Results appear consistent with the period after other prominent accounts used the word, but with greater overall volume reflecting the reach of a U.S. President