Kristi L. Stringer

Increased Spreading Activation in Depression.

The dopaminergic system is implicated in depressive disorders and research has also shown that dopamine constricts lexical/semantic networks by reducing spreading activation. Hence, depression, which is linked to reductions of dopamine, may be associated with increased spreading activation. However, research has generally found no effects of depression on spreading activation, using semantic priming paradigms. We used a different paradigm to investigate the relationship between depression and spreading activation, one based on word frequencies. Our sample included 97 undergraduates who completed the BDI-II and the Controlled Oral Word Association test as well as the Animal Naming test. The results indicated that the group scoring within the depressed ranged evidenced greater spreading activation as compared to those who scored within the normal range on the BDI-II. The implications of these results as they relate to creativity in depression is discussed.

Stigma as a Barrier to Substance Abuse Treatment Among Those With Unmet Need An Analysis of Parenthood and Marital Status

Substance use (SU) stigma is one factor contributing to unmet need for SU treatment. Additionally, theory suggests that women and single parents who use substances experience enhanced stigma because they do not adhere to normative social expectations. This study examines differences in perceived stigma by gender and parenthood among those with unmet need for SU treatment using the 2003-2010 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (N = 1,474). Results indicate that women are more likely to report stigma as a barrier to treatment compared with men, though the interaction between gender and parenthood is not significant. We find that married parents report the highest level of stigma. We situate our findings in past health-related stigma research. We suggest that these results shed a light on stigma, particularly as it relates to family status, as a contributing factor to differences regarding SU treatment utilization. Finally, we raise a provocative question concerning social status and anticipated stigma.

Social Norms and Stigma Regarding Unintended Pregnancy and Pregnancy Decisions: A Qualitative Study of Young Women in Alabama.

CONTEXT Social norms and stigma may play important roles in reproductive health behavior and decision making among young women in the U.S. South, who disproportionately experience unintended pregnancies. No research has described the presence and manifestations of social norms and stigmas associated with unintended pregnancy and related decision making from the perspective of this population. METHODS Six focus groups and 12 cognitive interviews were conducted between December 2013 and July 2014 with 46 low-income women aged 19-24 living in Birmingham, Alabama; respondents were recruited from two public health department centers and a community college. Semistructured interview guides were used to facilitate discussion about social perceptions of unintended pregnancy and related pregnancy decisions. Sessions were audio-recorded, and transcripts were analyzed using a theme-based approach. RESULTS Participants described community expectations that pregnancy occur in the context of monogamous relationships, in which both partners are mature, educated and financially stable. However, respondents reported that unintended pregnancy outside of these circumstances was common, and that the community expected young women faced with unintended pregnancies to bear and raise their children. Women who chose to do so were viewed more positively than were women who chose abortion or adoption. The community generally considered these alternatives to parenting unacceptable, and participants discussed them in terms of negative labels, social judgment and nondisclosure. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest a need to reduce stigma and create a social environment in which young women are empowered to make the best reproductive decisions for themselves.

Norms and stigma regarding pregnancy decisions during an unintended pregnancy: Development and predictors of scales among young women in the U.S. South

Background Norms and stigma regarding pregnancy decisions (parenting, adoption, and abortion) are salient to maternal well-being, particularly for groups disproportionately affected by unintended pregnancy. However, there are few validated measures of individual-level perceptions of norms and stigma around pregnancy decisions. Additionally, little is known about variation in the content of norms regarding pregnancy decisions, and in stigma related to violations of these norms, across socio-demographic groups. Methods To create measures of perceived norms and stigma around pregnancy decisions, we developed and pre-tested 97 survey items using a mixed methods approach. The resulting survey was administered to 642 young adult women recruited from health department clinics and a public university campus in Birmingham, Alabama. Principal components factor analyses, reliability analyses, independent t-tests, and correlation analyses were conducted to establish the reliability and validity of scales. Additionally, multiple linear regression was used to identify demographic predictors of higher scale scores. Results Factor analyses revealed four subscales for each pregnancy decision: conditional acceptability, anticipated reactions, stereotypes/misperceptions, and attitudes. The total scales and their subscales demonstrated good internal reliability (alpha coefficients 0.72–0.94). The mean scores for each scale were significantly associated with each other, with related measures, and differed by sociodemographic characteristics. Specifically, in adjusted analyses, women in the university setting and White women expressed more negative attitudes and stigma around parenting. Minority women endorsed more negative norms and stigma around adoption. Finally, women from the health department, White women, and religious women expressed more negative norms and stigma around abortion. Conclusion Findings suggest that our multidimensional measures have good psychometric properties in our sample of young women in the U.S. South, and highlight the importance of conceptualizing and measuring norms and stigmas around all pregnancy decisions. These scales may be of use in research on pregnancy decision-making and evaluation of stigma-reduction interventions.

Integrating Computing across the Curriculum: The Impact of Internal Barriers and Training Intensity on Computer Integration in the Elementary School Classroom.

This study examines the relationship between internal barriers, professional development, and computer integration outcomes among a sample of fourth- and fifth-grade teachers in an urban, low-income school district in the Southeastern United States. Specifically, we examine the impact of teachers’ computer attitudes, computer anxiety, and computer training on the quality of computer integration in their classrooms. Using data from the Integrating Computing Across the Curriculum project, we utilize a mixed-methods approach to explore these relationships. Our results indicate that teacher attitudes and participation in an intensive computer-based training have a positive effect on computer integration practices. Findings from this study support providing teachers with more computer-based training which aims to improve the quality of classroom integration. This may lead to improvements in teacher attitudes toward computing and an increase in levels of computer integration in the elementary school classroom.

Differential Lexical and Semantic Spreading Activation in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is known to be associated with disruption in semantic networks. Previous studies examining changes in spreading activation in AD have used a lexical decision task paradigm. We have used a paradigm based on average word frequencies obtained from the words generated on the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) and the Animal Naming (AN) test. The COWAT and AN tests were administered to a group of 25 patients with AD and 20 control participants. We predicted that the patients with AD would have higher average word frequencies on the COWAT and AN tests than the control participants. The results indicated that the AD group generated words with a higher average word frequency on the AN test but a lower average word frequency on the COWAT. The reasons for the discrepancy in average word frequencies on the AN test and COWAT are discussed.

Relying on Injection Drug Users to Access and Adhere to HIV Therapeutics: Bittersweet Lessons Using Respondent- Driven Sampling and a Peer- Driven Intervention

Results are presented of enrolling HIV+ active-injection drug users (IDUs) into a peer-driven intervention (PDI) to improve their adherence to medical care. Using respondent-driven sampling (RDS), which evolved out of the PDI model, the authors recruited and tested 1,097 IDUs, of whom 145 were confirmed to be HIV+. Despite promises of confidentiality, increased social supports, and direct cash rewards for participating, only 78 (54%) of the HIV+ IDUs enrolled in the subsequent adherence study. Correlates of participation as well as interviews with respondents who declined participating are presented. The seemingly negative findings have important implications for future adherence studies. RDS provided a powerful mechanism for recruiting HIV+ IDUs. But selection biases were revealed to favor sicker yet more socially connected respondents, which resulted in more conservative outcomes with regard to social supports and positive health-seeking behaviors. The analysis may help streamline future efforts using the PDI, which harnesses IDUs’ abilities to help one another, by underscoring some of the mechanism’s limitations.

Does Place Matter? The Effects of Concentrated Poverty on the Computer Use of Elementary Students

Abstract For several decades, scholars have investigated technological inequality within American society. These studies have focused on individual-level predictors of computer use such as income, education, and technological skills. Although these individual-level inequities are important contributors of technological inequalities, they neglect the importance of place, including neighborhood-level factors such as median income, racial composition, and educational attainment. The purpose of this study is to address this gap in the current literature by examining neighborhood-level effects of concentrated poverty on the trajectory of computer use (the change in computer use over a one-year period). Data were collected from fourth and fifth grade classrooms from two data points in a public school district in a mid-sized city in the southeastern United States. Results indicate that measures of concentrated poverty have an influence on the trajectory of computer use among elementary students. These findings suggest that social inequalities at the neighborhood level need to be addressed to further eliminate the digital divide in computer use among elementary students.

Exotic dancers in an awkward negotiation: Implications for affect control theory

Abstract We use affect control theory (ACT) to test the veracity of mathematically derived predictions that an exotic dancer will act in ways that are consistent with societal expectations for her “deviant” label. We also explore the strategies that exotic dancers use to maintain the definition of the situation. Our findings indicate that exotic dancers do not define their own identities as predicted. Our data also demonstrate that participants in our study were at least as likely to manage the identities of others as they were their own identities. We conclude our paper by discussing our interpretations of the data and the veracity of ACT.