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Examining the Impact of Social Support, Attachment, and Burden on Treatment Attendance among Family Caregivers for People with Dementia
No full textINTRODUCTION: Over 11 million Americans serve as unpaid caregivers for a family member with dementia, contributing approximately 18 billion hours of unpaid care annually (Alzheimer’s Association, 2023). Caregiver burden is a well-documented consequence of this role, often leading to increased psychological distress. The Resources for Enhancing All Caregivers Health for Veteran Families (REACH VA) program has been shown to reduce caregiver burden, depression, anxiety, and stress (Nichols et al., 2014). However, treatment drop-out remains a significant concern. Social support has been linked to improved treatment adherence, buffering against caregiver burden, and fostering stronger therapeutic alliances (Asadi et al., 2014; Cothran et al., 2022). Additionally, attachment security may moderate these relationships, as individuals with insecure attachment styles often struggle to find support in others (Yang et al., 2024). This study investigated the relationships between perceived social support (PSS), adult attachment security (AAS), caregiver burden (CB), and percentage of treatment completed among family caregivers of people with dementia utilizing REACH VA.
METHOD: Participants (N = 38) were recruited through letters, referrals, and flyers at VA medical centers in NYC and completed validated measures of PSS, AAS, and CB. Treatment completion was calculated as the percentage of attended sessions. Hypotheses were tested using SPSS PROCESS Model 8 (Hayes, 2018).
RESULTS: Results indicated no significant relationships among PSS, AAS, CB, and treatment completion. Furthermore, AAS did not significantly moderate the relationship between PSS and treatment completion. The overall model accounted for 35.6% of variance in treatment attendance, yet yielded small effect sizes.
CONCLUSION: Factors such as the small sample size and bimodal distribution of treatment attendance may have contributed to the lack of statistical significance. Future research should explore alternative operationalizations of treatment attendance and attachment measurement to better capture these complex dynamics
THE PERCEPTIONS OF DIRECTORS AND SUPERVISORS OF GUIDANCE AS IT PERTAINS TO COUNSELORS PREPARING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR THEIR FUTURE CAREERS
No full textEarly career awareness is essential in guiding students to explore their strengths and interests. Counselors serve as vital constituents in helping students foster academic and personal growth, while also providing opportunities to build salient ramps for career exploration. Although professional literature has recognized the vital role school counselors have in promoting college and career readiness, limited research has examined how their efforts are perceived by individuals in supervisory and administrative roles. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of directors and supervisors of guidance on the importance and existence of career development practices. Understanding how high school counselors carry out their duties related to career development helps to assess counseling priorities of career preparation in high schools. To evaluate the perceptions of supervisors of guidance regarding career development practices, the Directors and Supervisors of School Counselors Career Development Survey (DSSCCDS) was distributed to members of the Suffolk Directors of Guidance who represented Nassau and Suffolk County High Schools, located on Long Island in the State of New York (n = 70). The results of this study revealed statistically significant differences in mean scores in all 20 items on the DSSCCDS, as well as across various themes and by participants’ gender, favoring perceptions in the construct of importance with magnitudes of effect in the differences ranging from medium to very large. Various themes considered included: student access, career development, career resources, counselor roles and responsibilities, and leadership
Goodtimer for Good Behavior: A Nonconcurrent Multiple Baseline Examination of a Behavioral Device Intervention to Reduce Child Misbehaviors
Full text linkBehavioral Parent Training (BPT) effectively decreases disruptive behavior in children (Daley et al., 2014). Nonetheless, many parents perceive BPT to be challenging and demanding, leading to reports of high treatment dropout rates (Chacko et al., 2016.) To address this, the present study evaluated the effectiveness of Goodtimer, a behavioral health device utilizing contingency management, an element of BPT, to mitigate child disruptive behaviors. The Goodtimer is designed to make administering a contingency management system easier for parents. Employing a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design, the study assessed six families with children aged 3-9 years. Most parents who used the Goodtimer reported significant reductions in the frequency of disruptive behaviors, as evidenced by a decrease in daily misbehavior scores. However, there was little change in parents’ perceptions of behavior severity or in parental disciplinary practices. Participants commended the device for providing immediate feedback and making behavioral concepts tangible for children, citing its ability to visually represent progress as a motivating factor for their children. Conversely, challenges were noted with the device’s portability and setup complexity, which contributed to participant dropout during both baseline and intervention phases. These results underscore the potential of integrating technology into behavior management strategies, offering a cost-effective, real-time solution for families. Future research should focus on refining the device’s usability, exploring personalized interventions, and understanding the broader family context to maximize its impact on child behavior outcomes
EFFECTS OF SELECTED LANGUAGE-RELATED FACTORS ON READING PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH IN GRADES 4-5: AN HYPOTHESIS-GENERATING, GROWTH MIXTURE MODELING STUDY
Full text linkAs U.S. society becomes increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse, public schools face challenges in developing more effective approaches to reading instruction, especially for students who are learning English as a new language. This dissertation investigated the impact of selected language-related factors on the reading performance and growth trajectories of 370 students in Grades 4 and 5, obtained through six nationally-normed i-Ready reading assessments in a suburban New York State public school district. Controlling for gender, socioeconomic status, and having an individualized education program, this study examined three key factors: English language proficiency, participation in two-way dual language instruction, and primary home language. Employing a multiple rational actor theoretical framework to account for any unobserved heterogeneity, this research utilized a quadratic growth modeling approach implemented through finite mixture modeling and linear mixed-effects regression analysis. The analyses revealed five latent classes with distinct reading performance levels and growth trajectories, emphasizing the risks of traditional single-distribution approaches in reading research. English language proficiency is associated with higher initial reading performance in Grade 4 but generally grows at a similar rate to that of English language learners (ELL). Dual language (DL) instruction influences reading outcomes positively for students in some latent classes, but ELLs in DL instruction experienced mixed results. Primary home language had only statistically weak effects. This study generated 11 hypotheses for further investigation and offers 12 practical recommendations for the participating school district, aiming to enhance educational strategies in reading for linguistically diverse student populations
Anticancer Activity of Pinostilbene in Prostate Cancer
No full textINTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in the U.S. Although current therapies involving androgen receptor pathway inhibitors have improved survival rates, treatment resistance is commonly observed. Therefore, new therapeutic approaches should continue to be investigated. The anticancer activity of resveratrol and its derivatives has been widely demonstrated. However, pinostilbene, a monomethylated resveratrol derivative, is less well studied, and reports on pinostilbene’s anticancer activity in prostate cancer are limited. This study aims to investigate the anticancer activity of pinostilbene on androgen receptor-positive and androgen receptornegative prostate cancer cell lines.
METHOD: We performed cell viability assay on PC3, PC3M, DU145, LNCaP, C4, C4-2, C4-2b, and 22Rv1 cell lines to evaluate pinostilbene’s cytotoxic effects. We found that pinostilbene’s IC50 values for the above cell lines were 14.91, 6.43, 3.6, 22.42, 4.30, 5.74, 4.52, and 26.35 μM, respectively.
CONCLUSION: Our data shows that pinostilbene inhibited the viability of all prostate cancer cell lines tested. However, its anticancer activity is more potent in androgen receptor-negative and more invasive cell lines compared to androgen receptor-positive and their less invasive counterparts
Childhood Trauma and Mental Illness in Adulthood
No full textINTRODUCTION: Childhood trauma is an issue that is very widespread and experienced by people across multiple domains. The various types of childhood trauma contribute different consequences to the development of these individuals. The lingering consequences range in different types of mental illnesses from minor to severe. Continuing research can assist in limiting the amount of trauma a child endures to prevent lingering mental illness in adulthood. The purpose of this study is to contribute to prior research in addition to further observing how childhood trauma impacts the likelihood of developing a mental illness in adulthood. This particular study evaluates mental illness in young adults that have been impacted by past trauma.
METHOD: In a sample of 53 participants, ranging from ages 18-30 years, the Life events checklist (LEC-5), Negative life events Inventory (NLEI), Beck\u27s Depression Inventory (BDI), along with the Impacts of events scale (IES-R) were used to gather data. It was hypothesized that there is a positive relationship between childhood trauma and mental illness in adulthood. The hypothesis was tested by using a series of correlations.
RESULTS: The hypothesis was supported and there was a significant positive correlation between childhood trauma and mental illness in adulthood. The LEC correlated with BDI (r = .312, p = .023) and the IOES (r = .400, p = .003). The NLE correlated with the BDI ( r = .447, p \u3c .001) and the IOES (r = .399, p = .003)
CSA Survivors and Self Harm
No full textINTRODUCTION: Individuals who have experienced some sort of childhood trauma are at a much higher risk for developing a mental health disorder such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, etc. The prevalence of self-harming behaviors in adults with depression was found to be 76.06% (Zhang, 2023). Furthermore, correlations were found between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and Non Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI), and between ACE and suicide attempts among forensic psychiatric patients. Sexual trauma was one of the variables measured under ACE (Laporte, Ozolins, Westling, Westrin, & Wallinius, 2023).
METHOD: The current study aims to find a correlation between childhood sexual abuse and self harm during adulthood. This study uses the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Self Harm Inventory (SHI) in a fully anonymous survey. I hypothesized that higher levels of childhood sexual abuse would correlate with higher levels of self-harm in adulthood.
CONCLUSION: The hypothesis was supported-- increased childhood sexual abuse experiences were associated with higher prevalence of self harm and suicidal behavior in adults. This supports previous findings for forensic patients. Over half of participants reported experiencing sexual abuse that was perpetrated by another minor. Child-on-child sexual abuse is rarely spoken of, and it has been shown to occur as well despite little to no research. Awareness should be brought to the matter
Music Use and Quality of Life
No full textINTRODUCTION: There have been previous studies that look into music engagement and quality of life that support the hypothesis that it leads to a better quality of life. This study aimed to understand the relationship between music engagement in undergraduate students and how it affects their quality of life. This study hypothesized that if a student engages more with music (in music listening or instrument playing), then their cognitive & emotional regulation as well as social connection will be significantly greater than those that engage with music less.
METHOD: A total of 44 students (33 women and 11 men) between the ages of 18-22 (M = 19.43, SD = 1.1) were recruited via social media posts where a link was uploaded to the MUSE questionnaire and demographic information. They completed the Indices of Music engagement and Styles of Music Engagement scales. Gender and age were used to categorize and examine responses.
RESULTS: The hypothesis was partially supported. It was supported as there was evidence to support that more music listening improves cognitive and emotional regulation but there was no evidence to support that instrument playing improves it. An unexpected significance of better engaged production (creating and producing music) was found to increase the more an individual engaged with playing an instrument and music training. My limitations were the participants were a small number of students, with primarily females so the findings cannot be generalized to undergraduate students in the United States
Applications of Artificial Intelligence and the Immunoinformatic Prediction Tools for Some Potential B and T Cell Epitopes within the Matrix and the Small Envelope Proteins of the Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus
No full textThe avian Infectious bronchitis virus (AIBV) is a highly contagious viral infection that poses a serious threat to the poultry industry. It causes several clinical syndromes in the affected chickens, including respiratory diseases, neuropathogenic disorders, reproductive tract malfunctions, and serious production losses. The currently used AIBV vaccines do not provide complete protection against the currently circulating strains of the virus. The major problems of the AIBV live attenuated vaccines are the possibility of reverting to virulence and the possibility of recombination with the field isolates. These scenarios complicated the AIBV infection in chickens. One of the new trends in vaccine design and development is the application of artificial intelligence and immunoinformatic tools to identify the most potential protective epitopes across the structural proteins of the AIBV. The main goal of the current study is to use the most recent AI and bioinformatics tools to map the major B cell epitopes across the AIBV matrix (M) and small envelope (E) proteins. To achieve these goals, we retrieved and aligned the full-length genomes of AIBV representing all the viral genotypes (GI-1 to GIX). We used the most conserved consciences representing the MSA of these AIBV genotypes for the downstream epitope prediction. We then used various bioinformatics tools such as ABCPred, IEDB, Bepipred-2.0, BCPred, AAP, and FBCPred for prediction of B cell epitopes, while T cell epitopes were identified using IEDB’s MHC-I and MHC-II prediction tools. Our results identified the most conserved epitopes based on their antigenicity, non-allergenicity, and non-toxicity. For the E protein, these regions are: (53LFWYTWVVVPGAKGTA68, 24AVYIFVGFVALYLLGR39 and 102PANFQDVQRKLYSSD117). While in the case of the M protein, the top-ranked mapped epitopes are (119NAVGSILLTNGQQCNF134, 87TVFACLSFVGYWIQSI102, and 57WCFWPLNIAVGVISCI72). These identified epitopes across the E and M proteins showed high scores of immunogenicity, non-allergenicity, and non-toxic. These novel epitopes represent a strong basis for the development of some multiepitope-based AIBV vaccines. However, further studies are required to confirm the immunogenicity and efficacy of this potential multiepitope-based vaccine in chickens
Effect of Starvation Response on Production of Outer Membrane Vesicles by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
No full textPseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative, rod shaped, monoflagellated versatile pathogen that can adapt to many different environmental stressors, including nutrient limitation. It grows well at 37°C, and is able to grow at 42°C which is the distinguishing feature from its other species. One of the main mechanisms by which bacteria respond to stress is by producing outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), which play a critical role in virulence and survival. This study investigates the impact of starvation-induced stress on the production of OMVs by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the lab, P. aeruginosa cultures were grown in different nutrient deprivation conditions and quantified the OMVs using BCA Protein Assays and fluorescent quantitation. Then, silver staining was done to detect the proteins and visualize the OMVs separated by electrophoresis. Conditions compared include: TSB and TSB+cysteine, BHI and BHI+Cas9. The results will tell us if there is an increase in ΟMV production in nutrient limited conditions. A proteomic analysis of the OMV contents will tell us if there are any differences in virulence factors present in the OMVs to identify the effects on virulence. Understanding conditions of OMV production will allow us to develop therapeutic approaches that could minimize the virulence of this pathogen