Recent Dissertations
Below, you will find information about some of the recent doctoral dissertations, including the author's name, the title of the dissertation, and the faculty advisor.
2021
Adams, Kimberly: "The Experiences of Psychologists Working in Federal Policy Positions"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
El-Oqlah, Emily: "Allah Made Me This Way: Negotiating Identities for Muslim Americans
with Same-Sex Attraction"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Germany, Mae-Lynn : "Disenfranchised Losses: Grief and Growth in Non-Death Loss Events"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Magsam, Erica: "Trainers with Problems of Professional Competence: Relationships with
Trainee Professional Commitment and Self-Efficacy for Addressing Competency Issues"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Moore, Kanesha: "The Association of Gendered Racism and Resilience on Sense of Belonging
and Academic Self-Efficacy in Black Women at Predominantly White Institutions"
Advisor: Dr. Rosie Davis
Rhomberg, Parker: "Improving the Exchange Rate for Student-Athletes: Transferable
Skills, Athletic Identity, and Career Development"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
2020
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Shuman, Whitney: "How Social Norms Moderate the Association Between Gender Role Conflict and Grief Cognitions"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Vanderwerff, Alexandra F.: "The Relationship Between the Impact of Ulcerative Colitis
and Crohn's Disease and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Moderated by Remission
Status, Remission Expectations and Post Traumatic Growth"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Yeoward-Dodson, Jennifer : "Female Athletes' Experience of Body Surveillance, Body
Shame, Depression Symptoms, and Self-Compassion"
Co-Advisors: Dr. Laura Marks and Dr. Suzanne Lease
2019
2018
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
2017
Lee, Brittany: "Exploring the relationship between stereotype threat, racial centrality,
grit, and academic achievement and retention in African American male first generation
college students"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer
Smith, Ben: "Resilience, generalized self-efficacy and mindfulness ad moderators of the relationship between stress and both life satisfaction and depress among college students: An investigation of the residence process"
Zuckerman, Stephanie: "What predicts suicide among psychologists? An examination of vulnerability and protective factors"
2016
2015
Allen, Brienne: "Predictors of types and frequencies of sexual fantasies: Body image
self-consciousness and gender"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Buttacavoli-Smith, Jessica: "The psychological distress experienced in women seeking
educational upward mobility: The role of backlash, self-esteem, and race"
Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo
Cox, Ryan: "Hegemonic masculinity and health outcomes in men: A mediational study
on the influence of masculinity on diet"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Harris, Joel: "The effectiveness of an anti-bullying intervention for elementary school
students"
Advisor: Dr. Chrisann Schiro-Geist
Ingram, Christina: "Work meaning and its buffering effect on the relationship between
perceived stress and health risk factors"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Izmirian, Angela: Sexual satisfaction in Armenian women living in the United States:
Exploring acculturation and gender role ideology and the mediational role of sex guilt"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Jehu, Christine: "The effect of an LGB affirmative sports video on student athlete
knowledge and attitudes toward LGB individuals"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Nicholson, Diane: "Mental Health Trainees' Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence
within Diverse Same-Sex Couples"
Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo
Swanson, Lindsey: "Understanding the influence of the coach and team relationships
on sport motivation in collegiate student-athletes"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Voss, Jami: "Alternative sexual lifestyles: An exploration of client needs, therapist
competencies, and training"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
2014
Adams, Robert William: "Counselor recovery status and substance abuse certification:
A relationship to perceived credibility and counselor preference with hazardous drinkers"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer
Allen, Brienne: "Predictors of types and frequencies of sexual fantasies: Body image
self-consciousness and gender"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Brooksby, Robin: "Social media: A case of publicness"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Constantin, Donnalin: "The moderating impact of giftedness on the relationship between
existential anxiety, authenticity and depression in college students"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Dannison, Heather: "Dichotomous identity negotiation: Straight-ally conservative Christians
in the mid-south"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Gharibian Gharghani, George: "Counselor confirmation bias: Can the Internet serve
as a debiasing tool?"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer
Halawani Montes, Sarah: "The relationship between parenting and depressive symptomology
in young Jordanian adults: Is attachment a mediator variable?"
Advisor: Suzanne Lease
Katz, Aron: "Testing the role of body vigilance as a precipitating factor in the cognitive
behavioral model of medically unexplained illness"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer
Long, Richelle: "The state of aftercare: A critical look at the response to victims
of human sex trafficking in the United States"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Murray, Adrian: "Taking a cue from the heart: A meta-analysis of mindfulness-based
interventions for healthcare providers"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Owens, Archandria: "Life role salience in African American men: The impact of race
related stress, hypermasculinity, and sexual self-concept"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Powell, Kevin: "Stigma against mental illness: The influence of empathy, perspective-taking,
exposure to and familiarity with mental illness"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
2013
Donahue, Stephanie: "Predicting social-emotional and cognitive development at 24 months:
The impact of postnatal maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms, and mother-child
relationships"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Dunnavant, Bridget: "The intersection of aging and spirituality in the psychology
of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women"
Advisors: Dr. Douglas Strohmer and Dr. Lisbeth Berbary
Geiss, Meghan: "Internalized homonegativity as a moderator of the relationship between
partner attributions and psychological abuse among men in same-sex relationships"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Green, Michael: "The effect of college-family conflict on academic variables for college
student-parents"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Hatchett, Eugenia Suzanne: "Protective factors in the relationship between urgency
and bulimic behavior"
Advisor: Dr. Owen Lightsey
Nash, Trisha Marie: "The moderating impact of neuroticism on the relationship between
moral personality characteristics and prosocial behaviors"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Sterba, Aaron Michael: "The relationship of sleep and exercise to salient indicators
of college student emotional well-being"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
2012
Aycock, Rebecca Adele: "The relationship of peer norms, connectedness with GLB community,
minority stress, and condom use self-efficacy with safer sex behaviors in a sample
of men who have sex with men"
Advisor: Dr. Sharon Horne
Baggett, Linda Rae: "Body image, self-esteem, and sexual self-consciousness in men
and women as predicted by experiences of sexual objectification by others"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Fowler, Roneferiti MaIshia: "Exploring the impact of first-generation status and family
cohesion on the career thoughts of college students"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer
Gage, Alida Novarese: "An exploration of the link between masculinity and intimate
partner violence"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease
Mobley, Christiann: "Parenting style and ACT: Connections and relations"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges
Ueng, Huan-Hsiang: "Internalized homophobia, psychological distress, and job satisfaction
among sexual minority males in the workplace"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease