Tag: Health and Social Science

The Relationship Among Parental Stress, Child Well-Being, and Routines During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Presenter: Ciera Sanders – Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Sihong Liu

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Health and Social Science, Poster Presentation

Children are the beacons that will carry their knowledge, ideas, and voices into the future. It is crucial we ensure children are given ample opportunity to develop into healthy adults. Parental stress can negatively impact child well-being. Could the impacts be mitigated by consistent use of family routines? Using data from the RAPID-EC national survey that began in April 2020 and is still ongoing, I compared pre-pandemic ratings of parental stress and child well-being to assessment levels during the pandemic. Then, I examined how parental stress influences child well-being. I completed my analysis by examining the impact family routine has on parental stress and child well-being. I found that parental stress has significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and child well-being was significantly and negatively impacted during the pandemic. Parental stress levels prior to the pandemic were significantly linked to increased levels of behavioral problems from pre-pandemic to during the pandemic. Further analysis determined family routines were not protecting children from the negative impacts of parental stress; however, family routines were significantly associated with lower levels of behavioral problems. Although family routines were not indicated as a source of protection from parental stress, managing family routines, and other tools for stress reduction could promote optimal developmental outcomes among young children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Breathing based meditation to decrease stress and improve symptoms in persons with COPD

Presenter: Autumn Mosley – Communication Disorders and Sciences

Faculty Mentor(s): Dr. Samantha Shune

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Health and Social Science, Poster Presentation

Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), struggle with dyspnea and dysphagia which can increase their stress and anxiety levels having a quality-of-life impact. The aim of this study was to explore the impact that breathwork meditation has on anxiety and perceived stress levels in persons with COPD. It was hypothesized that participation in a Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) meditation program would lower stress and anxiety resulting in a decrease in the severity of symptoms associated with COPD. 9 participants diagnosed with COPD were recruited from across the United States. Participants engaged in a 3-day group SKY meditation program together through zoom. Data were collected from each participant through open-ended zoom interviews where they discussed their experiences during and after the SKY meditation program. Results indicated that participants had decreased severity in their symptoms and in overall stress and anxiety levels. Some participants reported a significant improvement in their quality of life and personal outlook. The SKY program improved stress and anxiety through several avenues. Improved sleep, emotional regulation, and feelings of social connectedness led to improved symptoms. Improved symptoms led to additional improved mental states. SKY intervention served to reverse the feedback loop exacerbating symptoms and negative emotions. Findings hold promise for future research into meditation as a holistic treatment option for this population.

Identifying Areas of Enhanced Flexibility in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein with Computational Methods

Presenter: Sonny Kusaka − Biochemistry

Faculty Mentor(s): Professor Marina Guenza

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Health and Social Science

The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the most well-known and influential viruses of the 21st century. This research utilizes three different computational methods with varying predicted levels of detail both to compare the methods against one another as well as to analyze atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to look for regions of enhanced flexibility. Previously established theoretical models of protein binding indicate a correlation between local flexibility and increased binding capabilities, the likes of which are of interest because they may be of importance for the protein in performing its biological function. As the computational methods increase in predicted accuracy, so too do the level of detail in the dynamics of the spike protein that they model. These results show enhanced flexibility of the spike protein in the functional regions that have been previously described and published in literature, other flexible regions not previously documented in literature that may be of interest, and promising results for the future of coarse-grain analysis of large multi-subunit proteins.

Shia-Catholic Coexistence and Cross-Religious Engagement Among Youth in Southern Lebanon

Presenter: Raimy Khalife-Hamdan − Global Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Stephen Wooten

Session: Virtual) Oral Panel—Health and Social Science

This ethnographic research project on Shia-Catholic coexistence in Southern Lebanon centers on young adults’ voices and actions. Traveling between a militia-filled Muslim village and a Christian village to conduct over thirty-three qualitative interviews over three months, I examine the interreligious relationship in which young adults engage. I advance an understanding that ordinary youth of different social identities have the ability to enact and bolster long-term peacekeeping. In the case of Ghazieh and Maghdouché, the vast majority of young adults re-conceptualize identity and religion to detach from sectarian master narratives, and they instead articulate a narrative underscoring shared fraternal connection with religious neighbors. In the process, many young adults treat temporalities and spaces as inclusive, surpassing the sectarian to become neutral or religiously sublime. I determine a general “common life” or “single life” (‘aysh mushtarak or ‘aysh wahid) marked by friendships, shared spaces, and mutual reliance. Lebanon’s history of sectarian conflict does not impel the youth I interview to reproduce sectarian narratives. This postwar generation—which rejects divisive war-era master narratives that enemize the religious other—craves an alternative Lebanon, one that disintegrates the sectarian sociopolitical structures. Yet considering the crises plaguing Lebanon and the desperation of young adults to flee, I dare to theorize the country’s demise.

Monitoring Infant Neurodevelopment Via the Hammersmith Neurological Exams in Cambodian Infants

Presenter(s): Katherine Dong —Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Dare Baldwin

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Health and Social Science

Thiamine deficiency affects millions of infants growing up in South and Southeast Asia due to heavy cultural reliance on thiamine-poor, polished white rice as a dietary staple. Recent evidence indicates that a thiamine-deficient diet not only endangers infants’ health, but also hinders infants’ neuro-cognitive development. As part of a larger, randomized controlled trial, my thesis investigated possible benefits of maternal thiamine supplementation for protecting breastfed Cambodian infants’ neurological development. Lactating mothers were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (0, 1.2, 2.4, and 10mg daily thiamine supplement) when infants were between 2 and 24 weeks postnatal. Infants’ neurological function was measured at 2, 12, 24, and 52 weeks via the Hammersmith Neurological Examination, a field-standard clinical assessment tool. As expected, infants’ Hammersmith scores improved significantly with age. However, maternal thiamine supplementation dose did not affect infants’ Hammersmith scores. Above all, this research indicates that the basic neurological functions assessed by the Hammersmith in early infancy were relatively unaffected by maternal thiamine supplementation.

Inequities faced by asylum seekers from Guatemala and Mexico under the Trump Administration

Presenter(s): Juanita Dominguez — Global Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Lesley Jo Weaver

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Health and Social Science

For my thesis, I will be looking at inequities faced by asylum seekers under the Trump Administration. I look at immigration policy since the beginning of his administration until the very end of it. The thesis touches on push factors that motivate individuals to leave their home country and immigrate to the United States. Additionally, I look in depth on the way these changes affected mental health on asylum seekers. While there were lots of policy changes during his tenure, asylees were greatly affected by so many legislative and policy changes. Due to the Remain in Mexico Program and and the Zero Tolerance Police children, just as much as adults faced equal mental health challenges and disparities. I highlight inhumane treatment faced by these individuals as well. My overall conclusion is that asylum seekers faced great mental health inequities under the Trump Administration. While the Obama Administration also had a narrow immigration policy, it didn’t come as ill-mannered as the policy under Trump. This research is of great significance because of the nature and seriousness regarding seeking asylum.

ChangeDwell: The Interaction Between Change Blindness and Dwell Time Paradigms

Presenter: Ava Archer − Psychology

Co-Presenter(s): Ethan Scott

Faculty Mentor(s): Dare Baldwin

(Virtual) Oral Panel—Health and Social Science

People witnessing identical streams of information can experience that information very differently. This phenomenon was strikingly documented in a famous psychological experiment: one group of research participants watching a video of a crowded area failed to notice a man in a gorilla suit meander across the room, although another group described the man in the gorilla suit as the most salient aspect of the video. How do we account for such diversity in experience? My research investigates this general question via a new technique: the dwell-time paradigm, in which viewers advance at their own pace through slideshows depicting dynamic events while the time they spend looking (dwelling) at each image is measured. As dwell time is an emerging technique within the field of attentional work, there are many new insights that can be gained from collecting data in this manner. We hypothesize that patterns of dwelling across time will clarify which aspects of events viewers are prioritizing in their processing, and thus we will be able to predict—well in advance— who will subsequently report salient features of interest (such as a man in a gorilla suit). If this is confirmed, these findings will hold considerable real-world significance. Specifically, it will be possible to utilize dwell-time patterns across a range of situations where monitoring the focus and adequacy of people’s attention is crucial.