Social Sciences – Page 29 – UROP Spring Symposium 2021

Social Sciences

Teen Social Media Use & Well-being in Real-Time

Almost all American youth use social media at least daily, usually several times a day (Anderson & Jiang, 2018; Scott et al., 2017; Smith & Anderson, 2018). The almost constant connectivity is often accompanied by fears from parents and clinicians that it is harming these young users, including being responsible for the rising rates in depression, anxiety, and suicide (Keles et al., 2020). Despite the widespread concern, the evidence is far from conclusive. Recent reviews find mixed, often conflicting, and small (at most) associations between screen time and mental health outcomes (Jensen et al., 2019; Odgers & Jensen, 2020; Orben & Przybylski, 2020). What may matter more is social media engagement — the quantity and quality of different types of activities youth engage in while online. Using a 16-week ecological momentary assessment (EMA), we aim to add to and refine this growing and conflicting body of knowledge by exploring how social media engagement relates to teen (ages 13-17) depression and anxiety in real-time, and how these relationships are mediated by negative social comparison, envy, and rumination. The overarching goal of this study is to move beyond measures of screen time and determine when, under what circumstances, and for whom does social media engagement create opportunities for anxiety and depression, amplify the risk for, or neither. We aim to recruit a diverse sample of at least 100 teens from across the U.S. To date, 85 are enrolled and participating. While results are forthcoming, we expect that teens who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), sexual/gender minority youth, and those with preexisting health conditions will engage in social media-related rumination, envy, and/or negative social comparison more often, and in turn, report higher daily rates of anxiety and depression. Findings will inform the design and deployment of future mHealth just-in-time adaptive mental health intervention for the most at-risk youth.

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Teen Social Media Use & Well-being in Real-Time

Almost all American youth use social media at least daily, usually several times a day (Anderson & Jiang, 2018; Scott et al., 2017; Smith & Anderson, 2018). The almost constant connectivity is often accompanied by fears from parents and clinicians that it is harming these young users, including being responsible for the rising rates in depression, anxiety, and suicide (Keles et al., 2020). Despite the widespread concern, the evidence is far from conclusive. Recent reviews find mixed, often conflicting, and small (at most) associations between screen time and mental health outcomes (Jensen et al., 2019; Odgers & Jensen, 2020; Orben & Przybylski, 2020). What may matter more is social media engagement — the quantity and quality of different types of activities youth engage in while online. Using a 16-week ecological momentary assessment (EMA), we aim to add to and refine this growing and conflicting body of knowledge by exploring how social media engagement relates to teen (ages 13-17) depression and anxiety in real-time, and how these relationships are mediated by negative social comparison, envy, and rumination. The overarching goal of this study is to move beyond measures of screen time and determine when, under what circumstances, and for whom does social media engagement create opportunities for anxiety and depression, amplify the risk for, or neither. We aim to recruit a diverse sample of at least 100 teens from across the U.S. To date, 85 are enrolled and participating. While results are forthcoming, we expect that teens who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), sexual/gender minority youth, and those with preexisting health conditions will engage in social media-related rumination, envy, and/or negative social comparison more often, and in turn, report higher daily rates of anxiety and depression. Findings will inform the design and deployment of future mHealth just-in-time adaptive mental health intervention for the most at-risk youth.

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Well-being in Romantic Couples

Emma Elmouchi Pronouns: she/her/hers Research Mentor(s): Amie Gordon, Assistant Professor Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 Session: Session 1 (10am-10:50am) Breakout Room: Room 5 Presenter: 2 Event Link Abstract Authors: Emma Elmouchi Research Method: Survey Research

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Replication of Genetic Influence on Risk Aversion

Humans vary a lot in their willingness to take risks. An individual’s willingness to gamble, use recreational drugs, or engage in risky financial behavior, among other behaviors, are a part of a characteristic that researchers and academics call risk aversion (Linnér et all, 2019). Researchers have begun to understand the contribution of an individual’s genetics in explaining varying levels of risk aversion. In our study we try to replicate and build on the body of research regarding risk aversion and genetics. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal study following American elders and retirees from 1992 to the present, over 20,000 individuals are asked to hypothetically gamble their future income, in exchange for increasing their lifetime income. The income gambling questions allows us to observe how much risk each individual is willing to take. We wanted to replicate the finding of a large 2019 study identifying 124 specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; Linnér et all, 2019). We used polygenic risk scores (PRS) to determine how genetically prone each individual is to risk aversion. We then checked if these individuals displayed risk aversion in the HRS data. By replicating the work of other researchers, academics will have a better idea of how individuals engage in risky decision making and a better understanding of the biological underpinnings of risk aversion. The study will also help researchers in the genoecomics field build credibility.

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Genetic Influences on Self-Construal

Previous literature has established apparent cultural distinctions between more independent, Western cultures and more interdependent, Eastern cultures that contribute to differences between self-construal, or the individual sense of self. In addition to the cultural differences between Western and Eastern countries, researchers have also examined this difference within countries that have high in-group cultural variation, such as China, and found that Northern wheat-growing provinces in China were more independent compared to Southern rice-growing provinces, which were more interdependent. Previous research has also provided evidence of a genetic link with individual levels of independence and interdependence, specifically related to genes involved in the DRD4 (dopamine receptor) sensitivity. Thus, this study aims to examine the levels of independence and interdependence in the context of comparing individuals from Northern wheat-growing provinces and Southern rice-growing provinces in China.

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The influence of COVID-19 related racism on the behaviors amongst Asian Americanss

Since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many instances of anti-asian sentiment (discrimination, hate crimes, etc.) have been experienced by Asians in the United States. Such experiences can influence one’s well being (the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy): a huge and overlooked aspect of health. Due to the novelty of this issue, little is known about the depth of the implications these experiences have on one’s well-being, and their inherently behavior; this study aims at looking at the influence of experiencing or viewing such racial instances on protective behaviors carried out by Asians Americans. Protective behaviors can be operationalized as behaviors that ensure one’s feeling of safety. The study utilized an online survey in a convenience sample. The final study results will provide data to verify hypotheses that if there are positive correlations between experiencing or viewing COVID-19 related discrimination and the likelihood of carrying out protective behaviors. The information will provide insight about racism and its association on protective behaviors. The results can better assist in developing mitigation strategies that are tailored to individual characteristics in hopes of improving one’s overall well-being and ultimately, improving their health.

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Promoting Flu Vaccination among Chinese Americans; Providing Flu Education through Trusted Messengers

Objective: The flu is a severe respiratory disease that can cause severe complications, including hospitalization, and is responsible for 290,000-650,000 [6] global deaths per year. The flu vaccine is safe and the best way to prevent the spread of the virus. However, there remains a lot of hesitancy and misinformation regarding the vaccine and the virus itself especially within the Asian community [2]. This study sought to examine reasons for flu vaccination hesitancy as well as to increase influenza knowledge, specifically among the Chinese American community. Methods: Eastern Michigan University Center for Health Disparities Innovations & Studies held 11 CDC funded mobile flu clinics in Michigan in Fall 2020 and provided vaccinations to 337 individuals; during the clinic, bilingual trusted messengers provided flu education. This project reported the results from pre and post flu vaccination surveys with 11 questions about influenza knowledge and demographic information. The results were based on data from 39 Chinese participants. Statistical analyses were conducted in order to measure the efficacy of the flu informational sessions for overall and Chinese participants. Results: The survey data showed that the main reason why the Chinese sub-population had not gotten vaccinated in the past was due to lack of access to the vaccine. Paired t-tests showed that the flu education resulted in significant improvements in overall participants’ knowledge on various aspects about flu, for example, timing of the flu season, vaccination timeline, ways to prevent flu, and others. Conclusion: This study indicated that education on flu and flu vaccination is necessary in order to promote increased vaccination, specifically among Asian communities. Increased education and vaccination will ultimately slow the spread of the virus and improve health outcomes of underserved communities. However, due to the small sample size of the Chinese participants, further research with a larger sample will provide more information about this specific Asian American population. Future intervention efforts can be focused on addressing flu vaccination hesitancy which will provide additional insights for effective strategies to promote COVID-19 vaccination in this population.

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Financing and Counter-Financing of Violent Non-State Actors Project

There are numerous ways to deter terrorist groups from being active, one of them being obstruction of financing of the terrorist groups. It is a very important method governments and institutions take to stop violence, yet there is only a few organized dataset on the economic counterinsurgent actions taken against terrorist groups. This project collects and organizes data of counterinsurgent actions that hinder financing of the terrorist groups. Through a database Nexis Uni, this project records relevant events through articles from 1990 to 2018. The dataset classifies the counterinsurgent incidents into specific actions, showing clearly the frequency and impact of each type of actions. The dataset aims to cover most terrorist groups in the world and the project is still in the process of collecting data. The project provides analysis on the impact and effectiveness of each action, which will be useful in fighting against terrorist groups. It also gives further insight in how the actions and attitudes towards these violent non-state actors have changed over the last 30 years.

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How do Undergraduate Research Programs Help First-Generation College Students?

The existing literature on first-generation college students (Ives and Castillo, 2020; Antonelli et al., 2020; Keefe et al., 2020) centers primarily on the unique obstacles they face on their path to success upon entering college. Though some authors (e.g., Almeida et al. 2019; Chang et al., 2020) have studied how first-generation students can overcome these barriers, few have mentioned how undergraduate research programs can be an effective method for doing so. Palmer et al. (2015) suggest that students can benefit greatly due to the many mentoring relationships involved in undergraduate research programs. To synthesize these studies and identify these benefits, I conducted a literature search of multiple databases (i.e., PsychInfo; ERIC) to identify articles related to first-generation college students’ participation in undergraduate research programs. In my review of the 31 articles I collected, I found that first-generation college students can utilize undergraduate research programs as a social capital intervention. This intervention allows first-generation college students to gain social capital, which refers to the benefits and resources (i.e., psychological and academic support, increased retention, field socialization, a communication network) received from a social support network (Parnes et al., 2020). These benefits and resources aid students in their college career and are obtained through interactions with faculty and peer mentors in the research setting. I discuss mentoring techniques to facilitate social growth and additional improvements to undergraduate research programs that can further benefit first-generation college students’ transition to higher education.

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Human Rights and Indigenous Rights in Africa

Many indigenous peoples of Africa face violations of their rights to land and other resources. This project works to create a website that documents and archives an array of case studies concerning indigenous peoples from across the continent. Those who have long standing rights to specific land territories and who preserve their own cultural, linguistic, and social practices in the continent are considered to be “indigenous”. The research being done aims to increase public awareness of violations that otherwise can be difficult to locate as indigenous people count for approximately 5% of the global population and their concerns rarely make it into mainstream media. We divide the violations into six categories, covering conservation, agribusiness, infrastructure, refugee crises, mining, and farming conflicts. Cases are built by researching the actors involved and collecting informative sources regarding the violation, and each is paired with accompanying images/maps/and videos. A narrative outlining the violation’s causes and consequences as well as the additional media are uploaded onto the website and neatly organized with tags referencing relevant keywords. In addition, all of the bibliographic sources are archived in Zotero. From here, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are used to broadcast each case. By both building a comprehensive online resource to inform people of these violations, and then using various platforms to extend the audience of the information, it is hoped that attention will be brought to the injustices occurring.

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