Previous research on WWII veterans in their 70’s and 80’s has shown that positive and negative appraisals of military service mediate between combat exposure and PTSD symptoms in late life. This thesis extends this research in two ways, first by determining how these variables relate to functional health in later...
DNA is often described as the “blueprint for life”. In eukaryotes this information is contained within linear chromosomes of varying size and number. During cell division, the chromosomes must be faithfully segregated into each daughter cell to avoid disease and sustain life. This process is carried out by the kinetochore...
A local effect of endogenous ovarian hormones on the
in vitro responses of the bovine infundibulum to the
neurotransmitters norepinephrine (NE) and acetylcholine
(Ach) was investigated. Prostaglandin F₂α-tham salt was
utilized to induce luteal regression in six heifers
which were necropsied during proestrus. Six heifers were
also necropsied during the...
We examined how the experiences of World War II and Korean War veterans,
including prewar, warzone, and postwar factors, affected PTSD symptoms in later life.
This dissertation consists of two studies. In Study 1, four different hypotheses from a
lifespan approach were examined (King et al., 1996): stress evaporation (only...
The veteran population, about 18.5 million Americans in 2016 (US Census Bureau, 2018), is particularly at risk for mental health problems. As an example, the suicide rate of veterans is about one and a half times higher than the general population (US Department of Veteran Affairs [DVA], 2018b). Another group...
The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the effects of war stressors and psychosocial factors on negative and positive mental health outcomes among Korean Vietnam War veterans. The sample consisted of 367 male veterans who completed a self-reported survey conducted in 2017 (Mage = 72, SD = 2.66, range...
In this study, we explored the relationships among gender, age, daily stressors, positive and negative affect, and neuroticism on cortisol outcomes in older men and women. We were particularly interested in whether variation in positive affect would have an effect on variation in negative affect and if this relationship would...
This study contributes to our understanding of positive adult development by examining resilience processes in adulthood. Resilience is often considered to be an individual-level trait. However, the child development literature has consistently shown that support from parents and caring others is a critical component of resilience. Less is known about...
Studies on the positive effects of stress, called stress-related growth (SRG), are increasing, and there are a variety of contradictory theoretical models and findings in the literature. This dissertation compared several of these models in two studies, using two waves of data from the Davis Longitudinal Study, a study of...
The COVID-19 pandemic was thought to be especially difficult for older adults, with high risks for social isolation due to the lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic. This study sought to understand the extent to which these community-residing older adults were receiving and providing social support. Further, we sought to disentangle...