Student Research in Psychology

Research Abstracts

• Social Media & Mental Health
  • Presenter: Dhruv Shah
  • Faculty mentor: Dr. Samudra

  Social Media and Mental Health

  This study investigates the relationship between social media use and anxiety levels among university students. Participants were 117 university students who completed an online survey, answering questions about their social media use, social media addiction traits, and mental health. The amount of time spent on social media was not significantly correlated with depression, anxiety, or stress. Some elements related to social media addiction, such as tolerance, mood modification and conflict, were significantly associated with mental health difficulties. These findings suggest that the time spent on social media by itself may not have the clearest association with mental health, however specific factors associated with social media addiction may be more linked with mental health challenges.

• Promoting Campus Fitness Center Use with Matched Buddies & an In-Person Tour
  • Presenters: Alexander Foster, Emily Gangi, Zoya Hayes, Anna Schinsing, Samantha Ward
  • Faculty mentor: Dr. Bator

  Promoting Campus Fitness Center Use with Matched Buddies and an In-Person Tour

  Extensive research has recognized that consistent exercise is key to physical, social, and mental health (Calestine et al., 2017; Ji & Zheng, 2020). However, less research has examined how to successfully encourage exercise, especially among samples who don’t exercise regularly. Researchers have reported that exercise typically decreases among students after high school (Calestine et al., 2017). The current study was designed to examine a strategy that could be easily implemented to encourage fitness center use on a college campus. College student participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: receiving a group tour of the fitness center, being matched with a “fitness buddy” who holds similar exercise interests and taking the fitness center tour together, or being on a waitlist for a future tour. We predicted that participants who received the tour with a potential fitness buddy would have the strongest intentions to use the college fitness center. The results supported this prediction. A one-factor ANOVA revealed a significant effect for tour type (F2,109=3.31, p=.04). A post hoc LSD test was conducted. Participants who went on a tour with a matched fitness buddy reported significantly greater intent to use the fitness center in the upcoming week than those on the tour waitlist (p=.02). We also intend to examine follow-up fitness center records to determine if intentions coincide with actual use. Recreation and athletics administrators are encouraged to apply these research findings to boost student use with their facilities, consequently elevating their physical fitness as well as their social connections and mental well-being.

• Exercise & Mental Health
  

  • Presenter: Jhochelle Clarke
  • Faculty mentor: Dr. Samudra

  Image left: Jhochelle Clarke presents her research

  Exercise and Mental Health

  Exercise has been extensively researched in terms of its benefits for health and well-being. I expanded on this area of work and hypothesized that college students who regularly exercise will have better mental health and sleep quality. A sample of 113 college students completed an online survey asking about mental health, exercise frequency, sleep, and reasons why they exercise. The main findings of this study supported the hypothesis. Frequency of exercise was significantly negatively correlated with anxiety and stress and significantly positively correlated with sleep quality. I also explored whether specific reasons for exercising related to mental health. Exercising to lose weight or meet a certain body standard was positively correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Meanwhile, exercising to build strength or because it feels good was negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Other reasons (e.g., exercising to stay healthy or to reduce stress levels) were not correlated with mental health. Not only did this study further our understanding of how exercise relates to stress, anxiety, and depression, we also found that the reasons why you exercise may also matter for mental health.

• The Impact of the Shine On! Outreach Curriculum on Elementary Students’ Social-Emotional Skills
  • Presenters: Brianna LaTour, Emily Gangi
  • Faculty mentor: Dr. Chatlos

  The Impact of the Shine On! Outreach Curriculum on Elementary Students’ Social-Emotional Skills

  Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs have been shown to help reduce aggressive behavior, increase prosocial behavior, and improve academic engagement in children (Bierman et al., 2010). Recently, SUNY Plattsburgh faculty and students have developed a new SEL curriculum under the Shine On! organization. As a result, several districts in the Clinton-Essex-Franklin counties have begun implementing the Shine On! curriculum. However, to date there has been no research done on the effectiveness of Shine On! outreach. The current study was designed to examine if Shine On! improves SEL skills in children. 3-6th grade elementary student participants in two local P-12 schools were asked to fill out the Delaware Social Emotional Competencies Scale R-2 (DSECS-R2; Bear et al., 2021). We analyzed differences in SEL scores across gender, grade, and race/ethnicity. We also compared our data to the DSECS-R2 standardization sample. Lastly, we predicted that participants who received the Shine On! curriculum would improve in their self management, social awareness, self awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making, or overall social emotional learning skills; post-intervention data will be collected to measure this hypothesis. This research can be important for establishing the effectiveness of the Shine On! outreach curriculum and increasing awareness of its potential to improve children’s SEL skills.

• Total Recall: A Longitudinal Study of Autobiographical Memories of the 2024 Eclipse
  

  • Presenters: Grace Racicot, Hannah Peroza, Christine Parmeter, Dana Delles, Dayton Cubillo-Dreher
  • Faculty mentors: Drs. Mansfield & Braje

  Image left: Dayton Cubillo-Dreher presents her group’s study

  Total Recall: A Longitudinal Study of Autobiographical Memories of the 2024 Eclipse

  The recent total eclipse was an exciting once-in-a-lifetime experience for those lucky enough to witness it. The eclipse has also provided a unique opportunity to explore how we remember such events. Immediately after the eclipse we asked participants to complete an online form, detailing where they were, who they were with, and their observations and feelings. We also asked about factors that might affect their memory of the event, such as how far they travelled, whether it was clear or cloudy, whether the eclipse held any important spiritual meaning to them, and whether they wore eclipse glasses. We will contact these same participants next year to ask the same questions, so that we can explore how their memories of the event have evolved over time. This will allow us to assess the stability and accuracy of their eclipse memories. So far our data consist only of the participants’ responses to our initial questions. But they reveal factors that could influence how well people remember the eclipse. We will find out next year!