Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2022, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Children with disruptive behaviors routinely have strained relationships with their parents. Longitudinal research has consistently demonstrated that increased levels of disruptive child behaviors predict increased levels of negative parenting behaviors and decreased levels of positive parenting behaviors. However, there is presently a dearth of research examining whether specific child behaviors are differentially associated with specific parenting behaviors, and whether associations vary in strength due to parent ADHD or depressive symptoms. As part of a previous study, 90 parent couples were randomly assigned to interact with a 9- to 12-year-old confederate child exhibiting either typical or disruptive behaviors. Observers coded specific child and parent behaviors in each interaction, and parents reported their own ADHD and depressive symptoms. Following adaptive child behaviors, the frequency of positive parenting behaviors was significantly greater than the frequency of negative parenting behaviors. Following disruptive child behaviors, the frequency of negative parenting behaviors was significantly greater than the frequency of positive parenting behaviors. Parent unlabeled praise, reflections, and labeled praise were each uniquely predicted by adaptive child behaviors more strongly than disruptive child behaviors. Parent indirect commands, direct commands, and negative talk were each uniquely predicted by disruptive child behaviors more strongly than adaptive child behaviors. Exploratory analyses yielded mixed results, with several relationships being moderated by parent ADHD or depressive symptoms. Results extend findings among parent-child dyads to the triad setting, clarify the degree of specificity with which parent behaviors are linked to child behaviors in the coercive cycle, and indicate areas for future research.

Master of Science, Miami University, 2021, Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health

There are many health benefits to sport participation, however, there is a large chance of experiencing injury while participating in sport. Due to the high likelihood of an athlete experiencing injury, it is necessary for athletes to feel comfortable and confident approaching their coach when injured. It is critical to know which coaching styles allow for open conversation about athletes' health and well-being. For the purposes of this study, coaching styles can be described in two ways: need supportive and controlling. These styles fall under the selfdetermination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2002) that claims individuals have three needs to become fulfilled: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of coaching behaviors on athletes' willingness to self-report injury. The participants of this study were collegiate NCAA Division I athletes (N=190). The results of this study showed that coaching behaviors had a significant influence on their injury reporting behaviors. Athletes who experienced controlling coaching behaviors were more likely to play through pain than athletes who experienced need supportive coaching behaviors.

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2014, Psychology, Clinical

Behaviors exhibited while online differ radically from behaviors exhibited while offline (Suler, 2004a). Research suggests that this difference in behaviors results from online disinhibition (OD) while engaging in computer-mediated communication (Suler, 2004a). An example of the effects of OD can be seen when a person flirts outside of his or her dyadic relationship while online when he or she would not normally in person. Flirting can cause harm to a romantic relationship when it is directed towards someone outside of the romantic relationship (Glass, 2003). Due to the immense use of the internet among college students, and the negative impact that extradyadic flirting can have on a romantic relationship, the first goal of this research was to provide a basis of information on the amount of online flirting, how online flirting occurs, and the impact of online flirting among college-age students. The second goal of this study is to assess participants' perception of how detrimental the impact of online flirting would be on their romantic relationship compared to offline flirting. Malt (2007) found that there is a general view in society that flirting online is less detrimental to a romantic relationship than flirting offline. Given this finding, along with the possibility that participants are aware of OD, I predicted that online flirting would be perceived as less detrimental to a romantic relationship than offline flirting as a result of an informal understanding of OD from personal internet use. The third goal of this study was to understand the perceived impact of public versus private extradyadic online flirting on a romantic relationship. Pittman (1990) found that infidelity that occurs in private has more of a detrimental impact on a romantic relationship than infidelity that occurs in public. Therefore, I predicted that private online flirting, such as through a Facebook message, would be perceived as more detrimental to a relationship than public online fli (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 2024, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

Students faced many challenges during the onset of COVID-19 across the country, including isolation in their learning from not being able to be in the classroom with their peers. Although we are four years post- pandemic, a survey found more than 80% of public schools reported “stunted behavioral and socioemotional development” in their students because of the COVID-19 pandemic (De Leon, 2022). Public school leaders have seen an impact from the pandemic on students' socio-emotional and behavioral development and have seen increased incidents of classroom disruptions from negative behaviors in the classroom (56 percent) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). The purpose of this case study is to see how teachers have implemented SEL post- pandemic and the strategies used to improve behavior in the classroom and reduce office referrals, since COVID-19. There were 17 participants from one urban school district in the Midwest that participated in interviews and 12 of those participants participated in a classroom observation. Hearing the experiences of educators from the last four school years on students' SEL skills, looking at SEL competencies presently being taught in the classroom, along with office referral data from the last four school years provides results that will help guide educators as we move further away from the pandemic.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Biological Sciences

Environmental degradation has led to a number of environmental issues including, but not limited to, habitat loss, plastic pollution, harmful algal blooms, and climate change. While many of those environmental issues are driven by human actions, there are also numerous environmentally positive, or pro-environmental, behaviors that individuals can adopt to help mitigate negative impacts on the environment. Several theories have aimed to uncover what encourages individuals to change their environmental behavior, such as connection to nature and Theory of Planned Behavior, however, the exact influence and interaction of these theoretical factors, as they encourage pro-environmental behavior adoption specifically, is still unclear. Yet, understanding the factors that influence pro-environmental behavior adoption is critical for environmental educators communicating environmental issues and solutions with the intention of raising awareness and changing behaviors. In this research, I explore the factors that influence pro-environmental behavior adoption in the Lake Erie region through examining the environmental identity of the author through autoethnography, the pro-environmental behaviors of individuals that attend environmental education events, and the influence of social circles on environmental mindedness. Using a mixed method approach, I have uncovered how individuals may be influenced by experiences, education, family, and friends. This information can be used to improve environmentally based communication and encourage more individuals to adopt pro-environmental behaviors.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

This study will focus on democratic leadership and strategies used by principals that may have a direct relationship with school culture regarding teacher turnover rate/retention, job satisfaction and school climate/morale. The action research study will take place within a large urban school district located in the Midwestern United States. Throughout my fifteen years in education, leadership approaches within the school community have always been something of great interest to me. I have worked in several buildings where all of the leaders had different approaches as to how a building operated on a daily basis. A leadership style that seemed to progress to the forefront was a democratic approach. The operational definition of democratic leadership for the purpose of this study is distributing responsibility among membership, empowering group members and aiding in the group's decision making process (Gastil, 1994). Although this was a style of leadership that I personally worked under in several buildings, I observed that other buildings experienced higher teacher turnover rate, lower teacher efficacy and job satisfaction when other leadership approaches were used. Teachers are leaving their schools or exiting the field all-together due to disagreements with leaders. Principals are becoming less democratic and more authoritarian. The purpose of the study is to determine if there is a relationship between democratic leadership, teacher turnover rate, school climate/morale and job satisfaction. The district in question does not have a set of leadership standards for their principal. Each principal within the district is on his or her own when it comes to leading their schools. This results in multiple leadership behaviors being used, causing higher teacher turnover rates, low job satisfaction and a less than ideal school morale at a district level. I am proposing that the district searches for a principal that has a specific set of leadership characterist (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2022, Business Administration

The practical sense of business in female entrepreneurship as it relates to the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic creative behaviors of female entrepreneurs working in the United States is the main focus of this study. The field of female entrepreneurship is growing with the participation of women with or without full-time jobs in standard employment, with or without formal business education, and with or without equal access to financial resources compared to their male counterparts. This study aims to capture the definition of success and how female entrepreneurs perceive success. Utilizing convenience sampling, this qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 successful female entrepreneurs in a major Midwest metropolitan area. With dual roles in work and family, the female entrepreneurs engage in a role of chaotic business management and self-branding with a quest for work/life balance. Their pursuit of a lifestyle business brings about a direction of working within an area of great interest, commonly called a passion. This passion allows for exploring what the female entrepreneur enjoys and a quest to produce a profit from that inspiration. Emergent themes resulting from this study are definitions of success, pandemic challenges, entrepreneurial credibility, social networking, business investment, brand management, creativity, innovation, profit design, and authentic leadership. One core result of this qualitative study is a theory called female entrepreneurial design. The female entrepreneur creates an organizational life unique to her personal style and business brand through personal self-care and professional investment.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Health Education

Study One Purpose: Latina women face various health disparities and social determinants of health based off their ethnicity, age, sex, and socioeconomic profile. A sample of Latina women between the ages 40 and 65 years old from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was assessed to measure health status, health care access, and preventive health seeking behaviors (PHSBs). Methods: Secondary data analysis of BRFSS, a system of health-related telephone surveys was conducted with 19 variables. Results: The final sample size was N = 8,621. For questionnaire language 4,714 completed the questionnaire in English and 3,907 in Spanish. Results showed that 74.2% (n = 6,383) rated their health as being good or better. Regarding PHSBs majority of the participants received a mammography exam, a colonoscopy, had a routine check-up and dental visit. As for health care access most reported having health care coverage through an employer or union however, 18.3% (n = 1,569) of participants could not see a doctor because of cost within the past 12 months. Pearson Chi-square revealed statistical associations in reported PHSBs, health status, and health care access factors by demographics and questionnaire language. ANOVA testing revealed statistical significance in total number of PHSBs by demographic characteristics. Those who had reported poor health care access factors had lower mean scores for total PHSBs. Conclusion: Low educational attainment, low income, and lack of insurance are contributing factors for Latinas in receiving the recommended care to enhance their health status and quality of life. Study Two Purpose: Health disparities around sexually transmitted diseases, cervical cancer, and diabetes are prevalent for Latina women. These health disparities can also exist in association with engaging in health risk behaviors. A sample of Latina women between the ages 18 and 40 years old fr (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Psychology

Although a child's early academic abilities have been shown to predict later adult outcomes, the importance of non-academic skills and behaviors cannot be ignored. This study aimed to focused on three such constructs, internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and working memory abilities, in a large, nationally representative dataset, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 2011, which followed children (N = 18,170) longitudinally from kindergarten through fifth grade. Further, this study aimed to determine if disability status (N = 3,160) or English language learner status (n = 470) were predictive of a child's trajectory, and if trajectory membership predicted both academic and non-academic outcomes in fifth grade. Both growth mixture modeling (GMM) and hierarchal linear modeling (HLM) approaches were used to compared modeling approaches and determine if they provide converging evidence. Using GMM, this study replicated the results seen by Nivard and colleagues (2017) regarding externalizing trajectories but found different trajectories of internalizing behaviors. Additionally, exploratory analyses using GMM found six groups of working memory trajectories. Consistent with the hypotheses of this study, disability status was found to significantly predict group trajectories for all three constructs (internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and working memory abilities). However, ELL status only significantly predicted working memory group membership, and this did not appear to be driven by socioeconomic status. Overall, GMM and HLM displayed converging evidence regarding which demographic characteristics are predictive of a child's trajectory throughout elementary school. Also, in line with hypotheses, when compared to internalizing/externalizing behaviors, differences in working memory group membership were associated with larger differences in academic scores, but smaller differences in school belongingness and grit. Ov (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (M.A.), Xavier University, 2020, Psychology

This study examined the relationship between other-oriented perfectionism, when applied to organizations, and self-reported likelihood of engagement in prosocial behaviors, counterproductive work behaviors, and turnover intentions within an organization. It was proposed that there would be a negative relationship between other-oriented perfectionism and likelihood of prosocial behaviors, and a positive relationship between turnover intentions and likelihood of counterproductive work behaviors. A sample of 95 MTurk workers participated in this study. First, participants were given a vignette describing an organization that experienced a loss of reputation. Then the participants were given measures of prosocial behaviors, counterproductive work behaviors, and turnover intentions, and the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Contrary to the hypotheses, results indicated no significant correlation between other-oriented perfectionism and counterproductive work behaviors or turnover intentions. There was a significant positive relationship between other-oriented perfectionism and prosocial behaviors, which was also contrary to hypotheses. Future research should attempt to replicate these findings and focus on more positive aspects of perfectionism.

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Habitual repetitive behaviors have been identified in a variety of pediatric psychopathology (e.g., obsessive compulsive related disorders [OCRDs], body-focused repetitive behaviors [BFRBs], tic disorders [TD], generalized anxiety disorder [GAD], autism spectrum disorders [ASD]), though they may take different forms. These behaviors, many of which share overlapping comorbidity and certain traits (e.g., habit circuitry, functional presentation), are often experienced as compulsive and may be associated with significant distress and impairment. Study One sought to provide a well-defined operationalization of obsessive-compulsive behaviors (OCBs) and to produce a valid screening tool derived from the CBCL for the identification and characterization of OCBs in youth using EFA. The resultant 8-item scale followed a two-factor structure, producing two subscales (i.e., Obsessissive/Ritualized OCBs and Motoric OCBs) and a Total Score. Appropriate measures of reliability and validity were produced to support the strength and utility of the scale. ROC curve and AUC analyses identified the best cut-off score for the identification of clinically meaningful OCBs to be 1.5 on the CBCL-OCB Scale. Study Two utilized scores from the new CBCL-OCB Scale to test whether poorer executive functioning (as measured by subtests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automate Battery CANTAB) was associated with OCB severity. Results suggested a trend for aspects of planning to be associated with OCB severity in youth, but no other notable relationships emerged. Additional work is called for to continue this line of inquiry into the nature of OCBs, through further refinement and validation of the CBCL-OCB Scale and continued exploration into the relationships between OCBs and EF, as well as other measures of neuropsychological functioning in youth.

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2018, Psychology

The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) placed a new emphasis on the clinical presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB). There is little research exploring the relationship between RRB and other patient characteristics in large well-characterized samples. This study used a comprehensive measure of RRB to determine how RRB relate to key demographic and clinical features such as gender, age, IQ, adaptive behavior, and problem behaviors. In addition, it examined the relationship between different RRB measures, and how these RRB measures relate to the severity of social communication (SC) symptoms. Data from the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC) were used to address these research aims. Correlations, ANCOVA, and logistical regressions were conducted using a sample of 2,759 children with ASD. Analyses revealed varying relationships between RRB and gender, IQ, and problem behaviors. Males were more likely to obtain higher scores on subscales measuring stereotypy and restricted interests. Across full-scale, nonverbal, and verbal IQ, individuals with lower IQ scores were more likely to be reported to have higher rates of all RRBS with the exception of ritualistic/sameness behaviors. Most problem behavior subscales were significantly related to all RRB measures except for the ADOS RRB scores. Results from the regression analyses suggest that overall RRB symptom measures differ in their ability to predict SC criteria. Implications for the current literature, understanding and diagnosis of ASD are discussed and directions for future research suggested.

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2018, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology

Financial stressors such as unemployment and unexpected expenses are difficult for the general population, but for adults who experienced an adverse childhood, financial stressors may have a serious negative impact on their motivation, well-being, and interpersonal relationships. In addition, life stress may lead people with adverse childhood experiences to exhibit dysfunctional money behaviors. The primary hypothesis of this study is that adults who had adverse childhood experiences, as measured by the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q), will show a positive association between the severity of their childhood adverse experiences and the extent of dysfunctional money behaviors they report, as measured by the Klontz-Money Behavior Inventory (K-MBI). Out of 187 random participants in this research project, the average number of adverse childhood experiences was 2.11 out of a possible 10. Using the Pearson Correlations, the K-MBI's scales as related to the total number of ACE-Q items statistically varied in significance from the weak to the moderate range. Future researchers in this area are encouraged to stratify those people who had four or more adverse childhood experiences to allow these potentially causal dysfunctional money behaviors to show their dominance. This Dissertation is available in Open Access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu and Proquest database and adds some of the dissertations listed there to PsycINFO.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2018, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Disordered eating behaviors, including binge eating, food restriction, self-induced vomiting, and laxative use are prevalent within undergraduate male and female students. Problematic alcohol use and related issues, including binge drinking and alcohol-related consequences, are also widespread and these two issues are often comorbid. The unique combination of these behaviors, termed alcohol-related compensatory behaviors (ARCB), has recently come to the attention of researchers. ARCB involve compensatory behaviors performed in response to or in preparation for alcohol use in order to counteract calories consumed from alcohol or to increase intoxication. However, research regarding ARCB is sparse. Specifically, there is a lack of knowledge concerning psychological correlates that may help to explain these behaviors and a lack of consensus regarding potential sex differences in ARCB. Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic psychological correlate implicated in a multitude of psychopathology, including disordered eating and alcohol use. Therefore, the present thesis used a cross-sectional design to examine the association between emotion dysregulation and ARCB in a sample of male and female undergraduate students (N = 417). Further, sex differences in ARCB and in the association between emotion dysregulation and ARCB were also examined. While ARCB were positively associated with emotion dysregulation at the bivariate level, emotion dysregulation was not a correlate of ARCB after accounting for alcohol use and problems, disordered eating, and BMI. Finally, there were no sex differences in ARCB and the association between emotion dysregulation and ARCB did not vary among males and females. Findings provide the first study on emotion dysregulation and ARCB, and additional knowledge regarding psychological correlates of ARCB and their temporal relationship to these risky behaviors is needed.

MS, Kent State University, 2016, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Health Sciences

PATEL, KRISHNA D., M.S., December 2016 Nutrition KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION, AND RISK REDUCING BEHAVIORS OF FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH FAMILY HISTORY OF OSTEOPOROSIS (197 pp) Director of Thesis: Eun-Jeong (Angie) Ha, Ph.D. Family history of osteoporosis (FHO) has been recognized as one of the most important risk factors for osteoporosis development (Iqbal, 2000). The amount of bony tissue present at the end of skeletal maturation, known as peak bone mass, has been identified as a crucial component for osteoporosis prevention (Rizzoli, & Bonjour, 1999; Valimaki et al., 1994). The primary objective of this study was to assess knowledge and perception about osteoporosis and risk reducing behaviors of female college students with family history of osteoporosis in comparison with those without FHO. The secondary purpose of this study was to compare modifiable risk factors between the two groups. Inclusion criteria was limited to female college students enrolled at Kent State University in spring 2016 semester ages 18 and older. Family history was determined by self-reported data from participants indicating a FHO or fragility fractures in first- or second-degree relatives. Analysis of the data revealed that 95 students had FHO, making up 16.4% of the sample. Results showed there were significant differences in general knowledge and modifiable risk factors of osteoporosis, and risk perception between female college students with FHO and female college students without FHO (P=0.05). However, no significant differences in perception in risk reducing behaviors and modifiable risk factors were noted between the two groups (P=0.05). Future studies with a more consistent method of recording calcium intake and including calcium/vitamin supplementation questions are needed to reconfirm the findings of this study.

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2014, Communication

Individuals often learn sexual health information from entertainment television shows, but they also may learn and enact risky sexual behaviors seen on television. This experiment tested whether viewers are more likely to engage in sexual behaviors after seeing television characters model these behaviors and sought to determine whether this enactment of behavior is attributed to characters experiencing positive or negative emotional consequences as a result of their sexual behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to view either a television show episode that depicted a positive outcome of a “friends with benefits” relationship or one that depicted a negative outcome of a “friends with benefits” relationship. Males reported being more likely to engage in a “friends with benefits” relationship after viewing this type of relationship depicted on television. Therefore, people may be more likely to enact behaviors after viewing characters engage in them on television regardless of whether the characters experience positive or negative outcomes. Males' intentions to engage in a “friends with benefits” relationship also increased after viewing the negative outcome condition. This finding demonstrates that although the protagonist of a show may experience negative outcomes as a result of her behavior, viewers may interpret this outcome differently or identify more with other characters, which can increase their intentions to engage in the behavior. Therefore, having a character experience negative outcomes as a result of engaging in a behavior will not necessarily decrease viewers' intentions to engage in that behavior.

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2014, Psychology

The CDC estimates that 1 out of 175 to 1 out of 45 children in the United States meet criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which is a life-long neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interaction, language abilities, and overall daily functioning. Newly emerging research indicates that one-third of children with ASD demonstrate challenging, aggressive, and even violent behaviors. Five decades of research have found a complex but definite connection between violent media consumption and increased aggressive behavior. To date, few studies have examined how consumption of violent media may affect children with ASD. The present study used a mixed-method design to identify the immediate effects of violent media on the behaviors of 42 children from two Midwestern schools that exclusively serve children with ASD. Baseline behaviors during a period of free play, measured by trained coders using a structured behavior observation scale, were compared with the children's behaviors while they watched a cartoon with violent themes. Challenging behaviors were also documented outside of the two observation conditions. Attention to the cartoon, previous exposure to the cartoon, and self-reported favorite television programs were also examined. Participants diagnosed with autistic disorder were more likely to exhibit one or more aggressive behaviors than participants with Aspergers disorder or pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified. This is reasonable given that children who meet criteria for autistic disorder tend to be lower functioning and suggests that the structured observation scale was effective in identifying differences in behaviors. No statistically significant differences were found between aggressive behaviors during free play versus cartoon viewing, but only 11 of 42 children were able and willing to actually attend to the cartoon for any period of time. Qualitative analysis indicated that one fourth of the participants demon (open full item for complete abstract)

MA, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Anthropology

KREIERHOFF, JENNIFER LYNN, M.A. MAY 2014 ANTHROPOLOGY KNUCKLE-WALKING SIGNATURES IN HOMINOID SCAPULAE (62 pp.) Directors of Thesis: C. Owen Lovejoy and Richard Meindl This study examines primate knuckle-walking locomotor behaviors and hominoid scapular form by means thirteen direct and photographic measurements from 165 scapulae from subadult and adult specimens of H. sapiens, G. gorilla, and P. troglodytes, and adult specimens of Hylobates. These species exhibit varying locomotor patterns: knuckle-walking, brachiation, and bipedalism. On the basis of multivariate analysis and basic experimental designs I concluded that knuckle-walking had no bearing on the scapular structures observed in this study, and that suspensory behaviors were the driving force for hominoid scapular morphology. Scapular angles proved useful in this study, and based on these findings hominoid suspensory behaviors, in whatever capacity, appeared to be the most influential function on scapular form. The four hominoids could be placed in two separate groups based on scapular shape: G. gorilla and H. sapiens in one, and P. troglodytes and Hylobates in the other. The two groups appeared to have, or have had, similar suspensory behaviors in their lineage. The actual behaviors that cause of the variation remains unknown, and would need to be further explored in future studies.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

Research has established that the way a message is framed (i.e. goal framing) influences its effectiveness for encouraging different types of behaviors. Specifically, research in the area of public health demonstrates that gain-framed and loss-framed messages differentially influence prevention and detection health behaviors (e.g. Rothman, Bartels, Wlaschin, & Salovey, 2006). This distinction between prevention and detection behaviors, as well as an examination of what type of message is most effective at encouraging each, has not been made in area of occupational safety. As such, the current study investigated the effectiveness of gain- and loss-framed messages for the encouragement of prevention and detection safety behaviors. Based on findings regarding the promotion of health behaviors, it was expected that gain-framed messages would be more effective at encouraging prevention safety behaviors and loss-framed messages would be more effective at encouraging detection safety behaviors. This was tested with an experimental design using two samples, including a student sample and a working sample consisting of employees from the manufacturing, construction, and mining industries. While the majority of findings were non-significant, there was some evidence that messages can be used to influence behavioral intentions, attitudes, and perceived efficacy. In addition, results from the working sample indicated that the gain-framed message was more effective at encouraging the detection behaviors, contrary to expectations. Implications and future directions based on these findings are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2005, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Background: Recent studies have found that as many as one in three HIV infected persons may continue to engage in unprotected sex, sexual contact often occurring with seronegative or unknown status partners. While the issue of prevention has received greater attention in developed countries, little is known about the extent to which persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) might continue to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors in sub-Saharan Africa. Objectives: Propose and test a conceptual model explaining sexual-risk behaviors among PLWHA in terms of cognitive and situational factors. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (West Africa). The study sample consisted of HIV-positive men and women at various stages of their illness and currently attending one of the largest outpatient clinics for HIV patients. All the data were collected through face-to-face structured interviews. Results: Three hundred forty-nine (349) valid questionnaires were completed. Fifty percent (50%) of the study sample reported one regular partner; 10% reported casual partners and 7% reported multiple partners. Over one-third of the respondents had engaged in high-risk sexual behaviors during the previous 6 months. As posited, two cognitive factors (an internal and external) emerged from the factor analysis process. Although only a small to moderate variance was explained by the model, most of the hypothesized effects were statistically significant: the internal cognitive and the situational factors were inversely related to sexual risk behaviors; the internal cognitive factor also partially mediated the relationship between situational factor and sexual risk-taking. The external cognitive had no significant effect on the outcome. Different models were found for the men and women. Conclusions: The present study indicates that the behavior of a sizable number of HIV patients may continue to increase the burden of the disease at the population. Because access to care is (open full item for complete abstract)