Browsing by Author "Decaro, Jason A."
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A Biopsychosocial Investigation of Social Anxiety During Interpersonal Threat(University of Alabama Libraries, 2025) Schmitz, Carson Radha; Cundiff, Jenny M.Despite the prevalence and impact of social anxiety, the mechanisms through which social anxiety symptoms manifest in interpersonally threatening contexts remain underexplored. Prior research has found that in response to social threat, individuals with increased social anxiety symptoms may experience increased self-conscious emotions, have goals to behave and do behave in a warm submissive manner, and experience greater physiological stress response. However, no studies to our knowledge have examined biopsychosocial outcomes of an interpersonally threatening laboratory manipulation in the context of social anxiety symptoms. Participants (n = 177) were randomized to three social threat conditions (Participant Relative Status [high vs. low] X Social Evaluative Threat [high vs. low] X Partner Dominance [high vs. low]) and provided self-reports of trait social anxiety, state affect (anxiety, anger, and self-conscious emotions), and interpersonal goals during the interaction task. Their interpersonal behavior during the interaction was objectively rated and their cardiovascular physiology was recorded. Results indicated increased social anxiety exacerbated effects of social threats on self-conscious emotions, pushed participants to aim to but not achieve warm and submissive behavior, and was associated with more sympathetic activation when participants faced a dominant (vs. submissive) interaction partners. This study highlights the importance of considering social anxiety as both an internal emotional process and an experience influenced by interpersonal context.Item Early Adversity and Cardiovascular Stress Response: Stress Reactivity Or Biological Sensitivity to Context(University of Alabama Libraries, 2023) Wendel, Christopher James; Cundiff, Jenny MThe stress reactivity hypothesis (SRH) posits highly stressful early environments contribute to exaggerated cardiovascular (CV) reactivity and/or slower CV recovery, which in turn contributes to CV disease. These associations are well-supported in the literature; however, a growing number of studies have revealed conflicting associations. These results may be explained by the Biological Sensitivity to Context theory (BSCT), which proposes a U-shaped relationship between stress and support in the early environment and CV reactivity. The three distinct sensitivity patterns in the BSCT have been associated with differing affective and behavioral outcomes and may be similarly associated with differing disease risk. However, few studies have appropriately examined the BSCT in adult samples and few, if any, have examined whether the associations proposed by the BSCT are associated with intermediate markers of disease risk. The current study sought to examine the BSCT using appropriate analyses, determine whether the associations between early environment stress and CV responses were better explained by the BSCT or SRH, and determine whether the associations proposed by the SRH and BSCT are associated with sleep health, a robust predictor of CV disease. Participants were 213 adults who participated in the Pittsburgh Common Cold Study 3. The results of stepwise linear regression and mediation analyses provided little support for the SRH. In contrast, stepwise linear regression analyses revealed the hypothesized U-shaped relationship between care and support in parental bonds and mean arterial pressure (MAP) reactivity. Further, moderation analyses revealed a positive effect of care and support in parental bonds on sleep duration and sleep efficiency for individuals who displayed high MAP reactivity. The sample used in the current study is more gender-balanced, older on average, and has lower income levels than any previous investigation revealing the U-shaped relationship proposed by the BSCT. The results of moderation analyses provide perhaps the first evidence the BSCT sensitivity profiles are associated with differing disease risk. Finally, the current study highlights the need for future studies comparing the associations between early experiences, CV responses and disease risk between multiple empirical frameworks, and supports the use of the BSCT as one such framework.Item Trans and Gender Diverse Health Journeys in Alabama: Identifying Stressors and Resilience Factors Related to Health Care Experiences(University of Alabama Libraries, 2024) Guitar, Amanda; Pritzker, Sonya E.; Lynn, Christopher D.My dissertation explores the lived experiences of trans and gender diverse (TGD) people as they seek health care in Alabama. The provocation for this project arises from the numerous barriers TGD people face when it comes to accessing adequate health care, a problem that is particularly prevalent in the southeastern United States. Through thirty-one months of community-engaged ethnographic work, I explore the complexity of TGD health care in Alabama and the experiences of those seeking gender-affirming care in the state. Additionally, I examine the stressors and resilience factors associated with TGD health care in Alabama to demonstrate how the act of seeking health care can impact the health of TGD people. By taking a community-engaged approach that draws on theories of cultural impacts on health, gender minority stress and resilience, and social safety, my research does three things. First, I worked with community partners to identify topics of interest related to TGD health in Alabama and best practices for conducting research with TGD participants in the state. Second, I explore the barriers and facilitators to health care through the lived experiences of TGD people in Alabama and identify the ways in which these are linked to stressors and resilience factors. Third, I received community feedback on the underlying theoretical models that frame the current study and are utilized throughout TGD health research to improve how the results of this study can better reflect the experiences of the people in this project. Through this community feedback, I generated an expanded model of gender minority stressors and resilience factors that incorporates the experiences of my participants and demonstrates how the cultural context of Alabama impacts TGD health. In this way, my study aims to "queer" existing models of TGD health through the incorporation of local knowledge and lived experiences. This expanded model is primarily focused on including additional resilience/protective factors which was the area where my participants felt the original model was lacking. Through the stories of TGD Alabamians, my dissertation illustrates how TGD health care in Alabama is not simply working or not working, but is a complex mixture, highly dependent on other identity factors. My project contributes to anthropological understandings of gender minority stress as it relates to health care experiences, queer anthropology, and community collaboration to improve TGD health inequities in Alabama.