Sex Differences in Skin Tone Predicting Depressive Symptoms among College Students of Color

Sex Differences in Skin Tone Predicting Depressive Symptoms among College Students of Color Jenifer Rodriguez, Jenna Minter, Depts. of Psychology and Political Science, Eryn DeLaney, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, & Chloe Walker, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Chelsea D. Williams, Dr. Amy Adkins, Dr. Tricia Smith, & Dr. Danielle Dick, Dept. of Psychology Skin tone, or more specifically the meaning and treatment that society attaches to skin tone, has been found to impact individuals’ outcomes, with those with darker skin tones (who experience more colorism) experiencing more negative outcomes (e.g., Norwood, 2014). However, less research has tested whether there are sex differences in these relations. Intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989) suggests that one’s lived experiences result from their holistic experiences of intersecting aspects of themselves (e.g., skin tone and sex). Thus, to address gaps in research, the current study examined sex as a moderating variable in the relation between skin tone and depressive symptoms among 81 college students of color who were part of a larger study on cultural experiences, genetics, and ancestry. We hypothesized that sex would moderate this relation, such that skin tone would predict greater depressive symptoms, and this association would be weaker among males compared to females (Hunter, 2007). A linear regression was conducted to test our hypothesis. Findings indicated that sex moderates the relation between skin tone and depressive symptoms, however, in a direction contrary to our hypothesis. In particular, there was no relation between skin tone and depressive symptoms among females (B = .08, p = .54), however, for males, those with darker skin tones had lower depressive symptoms (B = -.53, p = .02). In conclusion, this study pushes for more research on the sex differences in how skin tone affects mental health among college students.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1332/thumbnail.jp

The Effects of Skin to Skin Contact on Newborns With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

A literature search was conducted on the effects of skin to skin contact on newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). In the United States, research has shown that typically the first intervention for NAS newborns is immediate pharmacological treatment, but new research poses that non-pharmacological interventions such as skin to skin contact, or kangaroo care, benefit the newborn greatly without exposing them to additional opiates or other addictive substances. The literature search implemented on CINAHL and Nursing Reference Center Plus was performed using the following search terms: neonat*, skin to skin*, babywear*, kangaroo car*, neonatal abstinence syndrome*, NAS*, and in utero substance expos*. Articles that did not directly discuss the use of skin to skin contact on newborns with NAS and skin to skin contact not related to newborns with NAS were excluded. The limitations of this review were the many variations of how skin to skin contact is implemented and when. A total of 10 articles met inclusion criteria. The literature indicates that skin to skin contact directly benefits newborns by decreasing their withdrawal symptoms when used as an intervention. Based on these findings there is strong support for the integration of skin to skin contact on newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome as the priority non-pharmacological intervention in practice post-partum. Evidence indicates that the skin to skin intervention should be universally implemented in the NAS newborn plan of care

Vicarious Trauma Exposure and Its Effects on Mental Health among Adolescents and Adults: A Narrative Research Review

Vicarious Trauma Exposure and Its Effects on Mental Health among Adolescents and Adults: A Narrative Research Review Harris Davis, Dept. of Psychology, Angel Whitfield, Sydney Judge, Bailee Beverly, Jenna Minter, Harrison Davis, and Eryn DeLaney and Chloe Walker, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Chelsea Williams, Dept. of Psychology A narrative research review was conducted to examine studies that have tested the relation between vicarious trauma (i.e., witnessing abuse of others; Trautmann, S., Reineboth, M., Trikojat, K., Richter, J., Hagenaars, M. A., Kanske, P., & Schäfer, J. (2018). and mental health in adolescents and young adults. Using psycinfo to find research conducted to date, this review indicated that there are various types of trauma that adolescents might be exposed to (e.g., domestic abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse) and various forms of mental health issues (e.g., post traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety) that might result from such trauma. (Erolin, K. S., Wieling, E., & Parra, R. E. A. (2014)., , Stowkowy, J., Goldstein, B. I., MacQueen, G., Wang, J., Kennedy, S. H., Bray, S., Lebel, C., & Addington, J. (2020). Findings from this review also suggest that there is a relation between varying types of traumatic exposure and several types of depressive symptoms (Monfort, E., Afzali M. H. (2015), Merza, K., Papp, G., & Szabó, I. K. (2015) and that there are more studies on adults than on adolescents. These effects will be discussed. Gaps in the literature will be referenced and potential future research directions will be acknowledged. In conclusion, this narrative research review emphasizes the importance of knowing the effects of vicarious trauma on adolescents and adults for preventative purposes.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1336/thumbnail.jp

Pamphlets for War: The Role of Lord Burghley’s Pamphlet Discourse in Avoiding Civil War

During the sixteenth century, England sat as a conflicted nation among a continent of tumultuous civil wars and reformations. While neighboring countries fought within and among themselves, England somehow managed to avoid a formal civil war. The confounding lack of war in England during the latter half of the sixteenth century could be related to the constant discourse between prominent protestants and catholics. One such prominent protestant was Lord Cecil Burghley, who served as a royal minister and maintained good relations with Queen Elizabeth I. Lord Burghley’s pamphlet, The Execution of Justice in England, and other documents of discourse at the time may contribute to a war of pamphlets based on the rhetoric and relationship Burghley demonstrated. With our research, we hope to discover what within the pamphlets contributed to keeping the religious turbulence within the realms of a war of discourse rather than a full-fledged civil war. Based on preliminary investigation, we have found that the rhetoric of the pamphlets, the sheer amount of discourse and correspondence, and the relationship between the writers and the audiences could have contributed to England’s abstinence from civil war. Observing the discourse within Burghley’s pamphlet and other responding documents, we can gain an understanding of what set England apart from other surrounding countries facing similar religious and political tumult. Our findings may also contribute to a greater conversation surrounding the power of conversation, dialogue, and discourse to either prevent or incite war

Perseverance: The Decision-Making Process of the Emergency Triage Nurse

Nursing Scholarship Symposium Event Posters.https://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/nurs_presentations/1011/thumbnail.jp

Thin Film Cocaine Sensors

Over 7 million Americans suffer from a drug use disorder and up to 60% of individuals treated for addiction will ultimately relapse. We are developing ultra-thin film electrodes on a wearable substrate for a sensor that can detect minute amounts of cocaine in sweat droplets secreted from the skin. This will enable wearable drug monitoring for personalized rehabilitation treatment plans and improve long-term addiction recovery rates. The current research focuses on developing a thin-film sensor that can be applied directly to the skin. First a layer of PVP (poly4-vinylphenol) was prepared and then spun coated onto a piece of glass. This adhesive coated glass acted as a substrate for assembling the sensors. Silver reference electrodes were generated by evaporating silver through a stencil, which contained 1mm by 10mm slits, in a vacuum sealed chamber. The resulting electrodes were tested to verify their conductivity, stability, and reactivity. Upon successfully demonstrating these characteristics, a second stencil was made to evaporate both gold and silver to make a working electrode surface that will react with a cocaine solution, making the first prototype that can successfully detect cocaine

Transitions and choices: Graduate student mentoring for psychology honours students

Peer mentoring programs are typically designed to support students transitioning into university. However, recent work has highlighted the importance of supporting transitions through and out of university. The Australian psychology honours year is a particularly stressful period that involves transitioning through university into the research environment and is soon followed by transitions into the workforce or postgraduate study. The School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales, Australia (UNSW) recently developed a graduate/honours peer mentoring program. Pairs of PhD students mentor small groups of honours students in monthly meetings, discussing various aspects of honours and career options. Most honours students sign up for mentoring and evaluation results show that mentees find the program helpful, most frequently acknowledging that their mentors helped them with general advice and understanding their career options. Peer mentoring can therefore support psychology student transitions through and out of university

The Forum: Spring 2005

Spring 2005 journal of the Honors Program at the University of North Dakota. The issue includes stories, poems, essays and art by undergraduate students.https://commons.und.edu/und-books/1056/thumbnail.jp

Changes in suspected adverse drug reaction reporting via the Yellow Card scheme in Wales following the introduction of a National Reporting Indicator

AIMS: This study aimed to assess the impact of a National Reporting Indicator (NRI) on rates of reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions using the Yellow Card scheme following the introduction of the NRI in Wales (UK) in April 2014. METHODS: Yellow Card reporting data for general practitioners and other reporting groups in Wales and England for the financial years 2014–15 (study period 1) and 2015–16 (study period 2) were obtained from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and compared with those for 2013–14 (pre‐NRI control period). RESULTS: The numbers of Yellow Cards submitted by general practitioners in Wales were 271, 665 and 870 in the control period, study period 1 and study period 2, respectively. This is equivalent to an increase of 145% in study period 1 and 221% in study period 2 compared with the 12‐month control period (2013–14). Corresponding increases in England were 17% and 37%, respectively (P < .001 chi–squared test). The numbers of Yellow Cards submitted by other groups in Wales were 906, 795 and 947 in each of the study periods. CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of the NRI corresponded with a significant increase in the number of Yellow Cards submitted by general practitioners in Wales. General practitioner reporting rates continued to increase year on year through to 2018–19 with the NRI still in place. No concomitant change was found in reporting rates by other groups in the health boards in Wales