Section 4 (11:10am-12:30pm)

The Association Between Sports Patriotism and Gender, Race, and Age in America

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Megan Bauerle
Megan Bauerle

Megan is a Freshman prospective Economics major and a varsity athlete for Wesleyan Swimming and Diving.

Abstract: International sports viewership is closely related to feelings of patriotism for countries around the world. Sports patriotism is defined as a feeling of pride in a country resulting from the country’s performance in sports. International research has found that younger age groups reported a higher level of sports patriotism after viewing sports media. However, there is little research on other demographic preferences. Based on sports media representation, both positive and negative associations of females conflict with whether females are more or less likely to have a high level of sports patriotism. Additionally, despite a high level of racial diversity on America’s national level sports teams, there is no substantial literature on the effect of racial groups on sports patriotism in the United States. Data from the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) was used to look at (a) establishing the relationship between sports patriotism and gender; and (b) determining whether the relationship between sports patriotism and gender are associated with race and age. Contradictory to previous literature, older age groups were significantly more likely to show sports patriotism than younger age groups. Gender and race were found to be insignificant in the study. These results suggest that sports media is generally representative of both males and females as well as reaching racial diversity levels, but is doing a better job of promoting nationalist attitudes in older audiences. 

Bauerle-Poster-2

The Association between Education Level and Support for Environmental Policies

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Phearom Duong
Phearom Duong

I am a sophomore majoring in Computer Science with a minor in IDEAS. I am from Siem Reap, Cambodia.

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Abstract: Previous research has been done to look at the association between environmental attitudes and demographic factors. Environmental attitude is defined as the psychological responses to environmental efforts. This project will focus specifically on analyzing whether there is an association between education level and support for environmental policies. Using the data from National Surveys on Energy and Environment, different graphical methods are used to help study and analyze the data from the subsets. Understanding the association between the variables will help to further emphasize the importance of environmental education at various education levels.

RomeDuongPoster

The Association between Religious Participation and Depression and Anxiety

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Connor Shaw
Connor Shaw

I am a sophomore double majoring in Economics and Government with a concentration in Comparative Politics. I am originally from Brunswick, ME, and I enjoy playing soccer, tennis, and board games.

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Abstract:

There is a significant association between religious participation as a treatment for older adults suffering from depression (Cruz et al., 2013). Also, since 1990, religious membership in the United States has decreased by around 15% (Downey, 2017). Meanwhile, depression and anxiety diagnoses have increased substantially during the same time period (Brueck, 2019). Much of the literature has been focused around religious practice as a treatment for individuals diagnosed with depression, and primarily older adults. Little to no work has been done on such practices on a younger populous or on anxiety diagnoses, or as a sort of preventative measure. Is religious membership associated with a lower prevalence of depression? What about anxiety diagnoses? Is the amount of effort or participation in religious activities associated with an even lower prevalence of depression and anxiety?

The goal of this study is to attempt to begin to answer some of these questions, and see if some of the aforementioned associations hold true. These findings suggest that the prevalence of depression and anxiety is significantly negatively associated with religious membership, and is significantly negatively associated depending on how active the individual is in said membership. However, the relationship appears to be much stronger amongst females when moderated for sex. These results could be utilized by pro-religious groups in their argument for the inclusion of religious activities in public schools, however further research is needed to determine whether the results found in this study are significantly different from an association between the prevalence of depression and anxiety and an individuals involvement in non-religious social groups such as clubs, or sports teams.

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The Association Between Parenting Styles and Mental Health

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Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/3695502693

Mahey Gheis
Mahey Gheis

Mahey Gheis is a Junior at Wesleyan University. She is studying Sociology, Government, and Film.

Abstract: The topic of parenting styles, and specifically strictness, has been discussed in countless parenting manuals. It has been a critical aspect of any new parent’s journey. If you raise your child too strictly, you may risk having a child who resents you and thus acts out. Too relaxed, and they might not learn discipline and respect. It is an inherently difficult balance. Add in the potential mental health effects on the child, and the question gets all the more difficult to answer. The aim of this project is to discover how parenting styles may affect the mental health of children. More specifically, this project focuses on parenting strictness in adolescence and how it may affect those adolescents into adulthood. After combining answers to survey questions on parenting styles in order to create a variable for parent strictness, and combining answers on mental health in order to create a variable for depression, statistical tests were run. These showed that there was a significant relationship between parenting strictness and depression. In many studies on this subject, results are grouped by sex. Therefore, the variable of sex was introduced, in order to observe whether it might act as a moderating or confounding variable. In this study, it was found that sex did not act as a moderating or confounding variable. According to the results of this project, parents should aim to be less strict with their children, in order to alleviate potential detrimental effects on their mental health. 

Gheis-Presentation-PDF

The Relationship Between Gender and Global Warming attitudes among Republicans and Democrats

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Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/99716571099

Aashni Parikh
Aashni Parikh

Hi! My name is Aashni Parikh and I am from Mumbai, India. I am a junior majoring in Biology and Environmental Science and minoring in Data Analysis. I love scuba diving, play soccer, and travelling.

Abstract: Global warming is the defining issue of our time and is expected to accelerate over the next few decades. However, despite the staggering scientific research recording the rise in global temperatures, the issue and the role of humans in this issue is frequently contested. There are many factors that could affect one’s opinion on the severity of the climate crisis. This research primarily investigates the association between gender and attitudes towards global warming. It also explores whether political party affiliation affects global warming attitudes, and/or the relationship between gender and global warming attitudes. It was found that females were significantly more likely to believe that global warming is a serious issue compared to males. However, while this relationship was observed within the democratic party, it was not observed within the republican party. Additionally, while democrats were significantly more likely to believe that global warming was a serious issue compared to republicans, political party affiliation did not seem to moderate the relationship between global warming attitudes and gender. Further research could investigate the effect of other demographics, such as race, ethnicity, and religious affiliation on global warming beliefs. This could potentially lead to more targeted climate education, outreach efforts, and empowerment of groups more vulnerable to the climate crisis.

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The Association Between Adolescent-Parent Relationship Quality and Adolescent Prioritization of Sex in Relationships

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Clay Collisson
Clay Collisson

I am a sophomore at Wesleyan University studying biology and government. I aspire to go to medical school to become a pediatrician after graduating from college. I am a part of club soccer, the American Medical Student Association, and I am an Orientation Leader at Wesleyan. I also volunteer at MidState Medical Center in the Emergency Deparment working with staff to provide care to patients. In my free time I love playing the guitar, watching documetaries, and learning languages.

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Abstract: Adolescence is a time of development and identity formation. Adolescents are greatly influenced by their environments, peers, and family members. The adolescent-parent relationship is one of the most influential forces during adolescent development. One of the most significant and most studied outcomes associated with adolescent-parent relationship quality is adolescent sexual behavior. For example, a longitudinal study done using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health showed that adolescent-parent relationship quality is positively correlated with a reduction in risky sexual behavior such as having unprotected sex (Deptula et al., 2010). Though some research has been done into exactly why we see a negative correlation between adolescent-parent relationship quality and risky sexual behavior, it is still unknown. The goals of the present analysis were two-fold: 1) to determine if there is a correlation between adolescent-parent relationship quality and timing of first sexual encounter and 2) to determine if there is an association between adolescent-parent relationship quality and the adolescents’ prioritization of sex in relationships. A sample of 4,094 adolescents from grades 7 – 12 in the United States was taken from wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. In-home questionnaires were used in face-to-face interviews with adolescents and parents separately. Correlation analysis showed that a stronger relationship between adolescent and parent was negatively correlated with adolescent prioritization of sex in romantic relationships (p<2.2e-16, r=-0.14). Further correlation analysis failed to show a strong correlation between adolescent-parent relationship quality and age at first sexual encounter (p=0.081, r=-0.049). This data could help guide parenting education programs and identify a group of adolescents who may be at more risk of engaging in sexual behavior leading to STDs and pregnancy. Furthermore, this data could support further research into the correlation between adolescent-parent relationship quality and adolescent beliefs surrounding a myriad of behaviors such as violence and drug use.

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The Association between Belief in the American Dream and Stance on Capital Punishment

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Emma Pennie
Emma Pennie

Emma is a junior at Wesleyan University, studying economics with a minor in international relations. She took this class to expand her data analysis skills, as she previously only had experience with Stata in an economics context. She is from Old Lyme, Connecticut, and is a captain of the Wesleyan rugby team.

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Abstract: Capital punishment is extremely controversial, with the United States being the only Western country where it is still legal. A major source of criticism is the potential for jury bias in death penalty trials. Past research has shown that extralegal factors, especially symbolic perspectives, play a significant role in the likelihood of a death penalty conviction. One symbolic perspective of interest is a person’s view of the American Dream. In my project I examined the relationship between a person’s opinion of the American Dream and their stance on capital punishment, to determine whether or not it is a potential source of jury bias. Even with multiple controls, a multivariate analysis revealed a statistically significant association.

Pennie-Poster

Stress, Connection, and the American Dream: Exploring the Relationship Between Americans’ Stress Levels, Sense of Connection, and Faith in the American Dream

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Max Feldstein-Nixon
Max Feldstein-Nixon

Hello. I’m a senior at Wesleyan majoring in Government with a minor in CEAS. I’m interested in politics and like to explore the underlying trends that shape current events.

Abstract: This project explores the relationship between Americans’ stress levels and sense of connection in relation to their faith in the American Dream. Since the Great Recession in 2008-09 and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, socioeconomic inequality has surged and more people are reporting higher levels of stress and lower levels of interpersonal connection. What effect has this had on Americans’ belief that everyone has a fair shot at economic advancement – or the American Dream? This project concludes that while belief in the American Dream remains high, people who experience more stress and lower levels of interpersonal connection are less likely to believe in the American Dream.

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