Translating Evidence-Based Research to Practical Interventions for Students with Autism

Author(s): Amber M Reilly, M.S., Savana M.Y. Bak, Ph.D., LeAnne D. Johnson, Ph.D., & Hamdi Abas

With an increasing prevalence of students with autism (ASD), practitioners must be able to evaluate research on evidence-based practices (EBPs) to guide decision-making on their adoption and implementation of interventions. The current literature review investigated the extent to which researcher-reported variables can assist practitioners in translating research to practice by analyzing EBPs focusing on social communication outcomes.

The recent National Clearinghouse for Autism Evidence and Practice EBP report for individuals with ASD (Steinbrenner et al., 2020) served as the basis for the current review. Specifically for this review, EBPs that showed positive effects on the outcome areas of “social” and “communication” were targeted. Procedures used by Johnson and colleagues (2018) were replicated and extended to examine research practices that impact implementation in natural settings. Concerning participant demographics, although most studies reported age (98%) and sex (88%) of the participants, only 44% provided inclusion criteria, 25% reported race/ethnicity, 7% reported primary language uses, 5% reported family structure, and 2% reported SES of the participants. Moreover, 36% of the studies failed to disclose the interventionists, and of those reported, most interventionists (42%) were researchers. The studies were implemented in a multitude of settings with the majority occurring in schools (58%) and in one-on-one instructional groups (80%). Maintenance, generalization, and social validity measures were reported in 53%, 48%, and 34% of the studies, respectively.

Researchers must report comprehensively, allowing practitioners to glean needed information. Further, researchers should work to conduct studies in more naturalistic contexts and assess the social validity, maintenance, and generalization of outcomes. Practitioners should be aware that EBPs might not work with all learners in all contexts. Therefore, considerations should be made about the generalizability of research contexts to natural settings. With work from researchers and practitioners, students with autism can have better access to EBPs, improving their outcomes.

Parent Child Dyadic Synchrony in Relation to Self-Injurious Behavior in Children with Global Developmental Delay

Author(s): Jaclyn Gunderson, Breanne Byiers, Caroline Roberts, & Frank Symons

Background & Purpose: Dyadic synchrony is broadly conceptualized as mutually responsive social interactions. Research suggests that child and caregiver dyadic synchrony functions to enhance child communication skill development and facilitate behavioral regulation (Harrist & Waugh, 2002). One common behavioral challenge among children with global developmental delay (GDD) is self-injurious behavior (SIB; e.g., head banging). It is not well understood how early parent-child interaction relates to the early expression of SIB. The primary goal of this preliminary study was to directly observe parent-child interaction during play, quantify dyadic synchrony, and test for group membership based dyadic synchrony for dyads with children identified with and without SIB.

Design: Participants included 38 children (82% male) with GDD, aged 1-10 years (M=5.6 years) with (N=28) and without SIB (N=10) recruited through an outpatient hospital based behavioral pediatrics program. Linear regression was used to test if dyadic synchrony significantly predicted the presence of SIB.

Outcomes: After median imputation was completed for a single outlier, significant Group differences were observed in parent child synchrony for children whose parents’ reported instances of SIB vs. no SIB (F(1,36)=5.36,p<.026). The degree of dyadic synchrony during a 5-minute recorded free play session was a significant predictor of caregiver endorsed self-injurious behavior over the past month. The current results highlight the importance of future longitudinal studies to evaluate potential directional cause-effect relationships between SIB and dyadic synchrony.

Caregiver interactions with providers for the treatment of self-injurious behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Author(s): Caroline Roberts, Ashleigh Avina, & Frank Symons

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is a complex problem for all stakeholders. There is evidence of a treatment gap between individuals with IDD who need treatment for SIB and those who receive treatment. The purpose of this exploratory study (n=15) was to begin to understand the treatment gap from the perspective of family caregivers. In semi-structured virtual interviews, family caregivers discussed their experiences of working with providers to treat their child’s or sibling’s self-injury. Through a systematic process of quasi-inductive thematic analysis, researchers transcribed and analyzed the interviews and developed a working model of treatment pathways. Themes include Caregiver Driven, Importance of the Provider-Caregiver Relationship, Beliefs and Perceptions about SIB, Practical Constraints, Knowledge Gaps, and Wait Until Crisis. The findings suggest multiple areas of needed focus in research and practice to improve treatment access and outcomes for families. Future research directions should include provider interviews and focus groups and, ultimately, the development of interventions to promote treatment access based in implementation science.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence in Minnesota

Author(s): Jeannette Sample, MPH, Amy Esler, PhD, Jennifer Hall-Lande, PhD, Libby Hallas, MS, Courtney Higginbotham, MPH, Jenny Poynter, PhD

This poster presents results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Minnesota-Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (MN-ADDM) project. MN-ADDM monitors the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children within portions of Anoka, Hennepin, and Ramsey counties in Minnesota. Early identification can improve outcomes for children with ASD, so understanding pathways to identification, as well as what the broad picture of ASD looks like in Minnesota, are important in informing public health policy in the hopes of better serving children in all Minnesota communities.

Examining The Role of Vision in Upper Limb Movements in Children with Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy

Author(s): Ellie Kohl, Alexandria Richardson, Danielle Wang, Rachel L. Hawe

Hemiparetic cerebral palsy is defined by motor impairments primarily on one side of the body. Children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy may also have altered visual strategies that may compound their motor impairments, as vision is integral to selecting, planning, and executing motor actions. This poster will demonstrate the methodology our lab is developing by combining robotics with gaze tracking to assess the role of vision in upper limb movements. We are first assessing visual search abilities in the absence of limb movements to examine how effectively children can identify specific information in the environment. We are then assessing gaze behavior while children move their hand through a virtual maze to determine visual strategies during motor planning and execution. Lastly, we are evaluating where children direct their visual attention during symmetrical and asymmetrical bilateral reaching tasks. The long term goal of this work is to develop interventions that incorporate visual strategies to improve motor planning and execution in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy.

Shifting tides in Medicaid-funded supports for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities: RISP FY 2018 highlights

Author(s): Jon Neidorf and Sheryl Larson, Ph.D.

The Residential Information Systems Project (RISP) has studied residential settings and deinstitutionalization trends for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for more than 40 years. Of the estimated 7.43 million people with IDD in the US, 18% get publicly funded supports. Most people with IDD live with family members throughout their lives, including 59% of the people getting funded supports. The number of people getting supports increased from 174,823 in 1988 to 949,108 in 2018, and spending increased from $6.3 billion to $51.9 billion. However, expenditures for people with IDD as a proportion of total Medicaid spending declined. Today, more than 200,000 people with IDD are waiting for publicly funded supports. Chances of getting supports vary by state. Adults with IDD in some states are 10 times more likely to get supports than adults in other states. The proportion of service recipients living with family members ranges from less than 10% to 88%. In 1977, more than 80% of people with IDD who did not live with family members lived in institutions. Today, 83% live in settings of six or fewer people. Only 115 of the 376 state-run IDD institutions in operation since 1960 remain open.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted direct support professionals across the United States?

Author(s): Kramme, Julie, Pettingell, Sandra, Hewitt, Amy, Bershadsky, Julie, & Smith, Jerry

In March 2020, many businesses, schools, and organizations supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) closed their doors or changed how they operated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Direct support professionals (DSPs) continued to work but in different ways or different places. DSPs are interdisciplinary professionals who provide complex and essential supports to individuals with IDD, making community inclusion a reality. Many stories emerged of the significant challenges in providing supports safely to individuals with IDD during the pandemic. Staff from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration and the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals knew it was important to hear directly from DSPs and frontline supervisors about their experiences. In response, we developed a series of three surveys that were completed by over 18,000 respondents from across the country. The findings from these surveys provide critical information about DSP experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, DSP experiences are informing effective policy and practice decisions about what is needed. These findings help better prepare for potential future waves of this or other pandemics. Key findings will be presented as well as highlighting responsive outreach activities.

What do older adults with IDD think about retirement?

Author(s): Lynda Lahti Anderson, Sarah Hall, Julie Kramme, Roger Stancliffe

Little research has been done to explore why and how people with intellectual or other developmental disabilities retire and what strategies support socially inclusive retirement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the lived experienced of retired adults with IDD, including their retirement planning, use of supports, social connections, and understanding of retirement. The findings included four overarching themes: retirement decision-making factors, the role of supports, the retirement process, and the impact of retirement on adults with IDD. The participants share factors that delayed their retirement as well as push and pull factors that impacted their decision to retire. The type of support changed as people planned for retirement and created different routines in retirement. The retirement process included how participants made the decision to retire, what the transition process looked like, and how they adjusted to retirement. The impact of retirement included changes in routines, activities, living situations, and their well-being.

Increasing Diversity in a Mentoring Program for Autistic Youth: A Focus Group with the Twin Cities Somali Community

Author(s): Nathasha Chandrasekharan, Lila Khan, Lindsey M. Weiler, Rebekah L. Hudock, Emily Goldberg

The Autism Mentorship Program (AMP) is an intervention program in which autistic youth are paired with supportive, autistic adult mentors in meaningful relationships. Pilot study results of AMP have showed promise in domains such as mentee pride in autistic identity, mentee internalizing and externalizing symptoms, mentor quality of life, and mentor social skills. While initial results of AMP are promising, the study was limited by a small sample, with data for only 14 matched pairs at baseline and 10 matched pairs at post-test. Additionally, the majority of participants identified as Caucasian, including 100% of the mentors. In an effort to increase diversity in AMP participants, a focus group was conducted with key stakeholders of the Somali community in the Twin Cities, designed to gather information regarding the acceptability and potential impact of AMP within their community. Feedback was gathered on the program design, implementation, recruitment process and measures used. Stakeholders provided recommendations on how AMP could be modified or adapted to best serve families from their communities. Common concerns discussed included child's safety, trust and transparency between AMP and the Somali community, and considerations around the matching process, avenues of communication, and guardian involvement.

Differential Impacts of Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy and Botulinum Toxin A on Muscle Physiology in Cerebral Palsy

Author(s): Rachael Bloxsom, Daniel Hoffman, Christiana J. Raymond-Pope, Sarah M. Greising, Tom F. Novacheck, Elizabeth Boyer

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a motor disorder caused by an upper motor lesion characterized by skeletal muscle weakness, tone, spasticity, and contractures, as well as poor motor control, posture, and balance. Tone control treatments target motor or sensory nerves (botulinum toxin, BoNT-A or selective dorsal rhizotomy, SDR), respectively, but structural and functional differences between approaches are not well explored. Information on the impact on skeletal muscle function and quality could provide meaningful clinical information. Intraoperative-acquired biopsied medial gastrocnemius muscle from CP patients treated with SDR, repeated BoNT-A, or no tone management were analyzed for nuclei, collagen abundance, fiber type, cross-sectional area, intramuscular lipid abundance, satellite cells, and capillarity, as well as biochemical abundance of collagen isoforms and total protein. Briefly, only the BoNT-A participant’s muscle had an abundance of centrally located nuclei (52% of fibers), indicative of cycles of muscle degeneration and regeneration, and greater capillarity per fiber (1.26 vs. 0.21 SDR, 0.44 no tone). Contrastingly, the BoNT-A participant’s myofibers had a lower intramuscular lipid content than participants with SDR or no tone. These data suggest current treatments for CP were associated with divergent histological and biochemical properties that should be considered when making clinical decisions regarding treatment.

The Direct Support Workforce and COVID-19: Low Wages and Racial Disparities

Author(s): Pettingell, S., Bershadsky, J., Kramme, J., Hewitt, A., & Smith, J.

There is a critical shortage of direct support pro¬fessionals (DSPs) who support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to live in the community. This shortage has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. DSPs support people in a variety of areas (e.g., employment, daily living, relationships, and health) and their work involves a high level of skill. However, the high-skilled and varied nature of this work is not reflected in DSPs’ wages, which remain low. A high level of responsibility for providing supports to people with significant support needs paired with low wages has likely contributed to the high turnover (42.8%) and vacancy rates (11.2%) of this workforce (NCI, 2020). Using a national sample of the direct support workforce, we examined racial differences in wages, annual household income, and extra hours worked during the pandemic. Significant differences were found for all outcomes. These issues are important as they affect staff well-being and retention which are important regarding services and supports provided to individuals with intellectual disabilities receive. Policy recommendations to address these disparities are provided.

Enhancing Parent Group Facilitators' Reflective Skills via Online Learning

Author(s): Alyssa Meuwissen, Meredith Reese, & Anne Larson

Reflective skills are recognized as essential for professionals who work with children and families facing challenges yet are often not a focus of pre-service training or intensive professional development. This project evaluated the impact of a 4-week interactive online course on the reflective skills of parent group facilitators who work with parents of teens involved in the child welfare system. Eighteen facilitators participated in pre/post surveys and interviews, which included rating scale questions, responses to hypothetical vignettes, and a speech sample on past work with a specific family. Results showed that facilitators self-reported increases in knowledge around reflective practice concepts. When written and interview responses were coded by researchers for reflection, results were mixed in terms of positive impact of the course. Online courses may be useful in teaching basic principles of reflection in relationship-based work, but more work will need to be done to determine if impacts on relationship-based work are feasible.

Educational Disengagement Among Homeless and Unstably Housed Youth

Author(s): Dunia Dadi, Kristine Piescher, & Maura Shramko

A growing number of school-age children lack a stable housing setting, which adversely affects their educational engagement, jeopardizing long-term school success. While multiple studies have cross-sectionally examined school engagement patterns of homeless and unstably housed youth, few studies have established a temporal relationship between timing of homelessness and school disengagement. In this study, we have identified youth experiencing homelessness prior to educational disengagement and assessed differences in two outcomes of educational disengagement (less than 90% attendance during a full-time enrollment record and youth that did not graduate high school) between homeless youth and similarly situated youth who did not experience homelessness. Findings revealed that homeless and unstably housed youth had statistically significant higher rates of low attendance and lower rates of graduates than their peers. Significantly greater proportion of homeless and unstably housed youth experienced both outcomes of educational disengagement (66.1%) than their matched peers (49.3%). Implications of findings suggest more collaboration between housing and education systems to identify disengagement early and support children and family stability.

Encore Presentation: Adolescent Somatic Complaints, Internalizing Symptoms, and Cortisol Output During COVID-19

Author(s): Hope Thilges, Katie Edmonston, Bao Moua, Bonny Donzella, & Megan Gunnar

Understanding potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on overall adolescent health remains critical. We predicted youth with more internalizing/somatic complaints will report being more negatively impacted by COVID-19, and cortisol production will be associated with somatic complaints, moderating the relation between COVID-19 impacts and somatic symptoms. Participants were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic (July 2020-May 2021). 112 adolescents (59F, 12-14yrs., M=13) and 119 parents (110 mothers, 35-64yrs., M=45.30) completed questionnaires. This included the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 Physical Symptoms (PHQ-15), Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8), MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire (HBQ), Covid-19 Adolescent Symptom & Psychological Experience Questionnaire (CASPE;Ladouceur,2020) and some items from the Coronavirus Health Impact Survey (CRISIS;Bromet et al.,2020). PHQ-15 reports represented a trait measure of somatic complaints. Over three days, 77 adolescents collected saliva and reported daily on somatic complaints, representing state somatic problems. Of these youth, those reporting more internalizing problems/somatic complaints also reported being more affected by COVID-19. Higher cortisol across the day was associated with state somatic complaints, but not trait. No evidence of moderation by daily cortisol (i.e.,AUCg) was obtained. Combined, internalizing symptoms, COVID-19 impact, and cortisol over the day explain 31% of the variance in trait somatic complaints and 41% in state somatic complaints.

Burnout in Child Welfare Workers and Future Action

Author(s): Maddie Ebert, Alyssa Meuwissen

The preliminary data regarding child welfare workers and their status of burnout. The data was collected in advance of a pilot study to incorporate reflective practice in the workforce to mitigate secondary traumatic stress and monitor signs and symptoms of burnout. Former research supports the use of reflective practice in the early childhood mental health field to reduce burnout, improve workplace culture, and strengthen relationships with clients and there is limited data regarding the workforce of child welfare workers. The severity of burnout found in the initial data collection shows a great need for a supportive workplace culture and decreased burnout in this field. Reflective practice is now being offered to the child welfare workers of a Minnesota county for 17 months in efforts to support the workers and understand what professional development is useful for promoting the best practices in relationship-based work.

School-Based Mental Health Interventions for Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Systematic Review

Author(s): Mahasweta Bose, Jiwon Kim, Thuy Nguyen

Immigrant and refugee children have a diverse range of needs stemming from the stressors of pre-migration, migration, and post-migration, which negatively impact their well-being and put them at risk for diminished mental health outcomes. Traditional mental health services delivered in clinical settings can impede access and utilization of these services (e.g., high cost, issues with transportation, time restrictions, insurance issues), and can also often be perceived as stigmatizing (Ehntholt et al., 2005). Furthermore, access to quality mental health may also be hindered due to lack of information about available resources, and cultural attitudes and beliefs about mental health. Here, schools are uniquely positioned to address these gaps, establish relationships with immigrant and refugee families, take contextual cultural factors into consideration and provide preventive and targeted services in a more accessible and less-stigmatizing environment (Fazel et al., 2009; Sullivan & Simonson, 2016). A systematic review of the literature on school-based mental health interventions for refugee and immigrant children, yielded 21 studies providing qualitative descriptions of practices that improve their mental health functioning, study quality, and discuss any implementation and methodological limitations that affect the effectiveness of the interventions and/or impede access to the services.

Parenting Stress is Associated with Parent Attitudes Towards Toddlers During COVID-19

Author(s): Tinu Oduloye, Emmy Reilly, Megan Gunnar

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) occurs when a critical portion of muscle is removed or damaged, resulting in permanent disability. Conventional rehabilitation strategies for skeletal muscle injuries are minimally effective for VML, warranting investigation into different rehabilitation approaches and a physiologic rationale for the lack of success. We examined how early rehabilitation using combined electrical stimulation and passive range of motion affect skeletal muscle function and whole-body metabolic function and how restricting physical activity influenced this relationship. We predicted that rehabilitation would improve muscle function and metabolism and that restricting physical activity would further improve muscle function but would negatively influence metabolism. Early rehabilitation resulted in impaired muscle function. Mice receiving rehabilitation displayed a decreased range of motion and maximal isometric torque. However, restricting physical activity rescued the functional deficits that resulted from early rehabilitation partially. Whole-body metabolism was impacted in restricted mice, reflected by a significantly lower metabolic rate and higher RER driven by decreased utilization of lipids as a fuel substrate. Together our data suggest that restricting activity following VML might improve rehabilitation response. However, the whole-body metabolic impacts of inactivity are a consideration.

Uncovering the Underrepresentation of Students of Color & Indigenous Students in Minnesota’s Gifted Education Programs: A Critical Analysis of Gifted Identification Practices

Author(s): Ann Jenkin LaVanway

In Minnesota, most Students of Color and indigenous students are identified as gifted at rates lower than their white peers. Despite the presence of state level legislation and a state level budget for gifted education, school districts across Minnesota fall short in identifying many students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). This mixed methods study was conducted via an online survey and group interviews of members of the Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented and a gifted school located in the Twin Cities metro area. Preliminary findings suggest that parental advocacy plays a meaningful role in gifted identification as well as accessing gifted programming for P-12 students. Available social capital and cultural capital influence the ways in which family members of gifted students navigate the identification process. For many families, this includes knowing who to ask for support, what questions to ask, and pursuing resources outside of the school or district with their own time and money. The lack of transparency regarding gifted identification combined with a lack of teacher training and inadequate policy lead to a murky identification process which negatively impacts BIPOC students and must be scrutinized to make gifted education more accessible.

Exploring Student Challenges with Learning on the Web: Design Implications for iLearn

Author(s): Basel Hussein, Hayden Johnson, Bodong Chen

iLearn is a web-application we are developing to support students in achieving complex learning goals on the web. Frequent changes in personal and professional life in the 21st century have created a context in which students (and knowledge-workers alike) are tasked with achieving increasingly complex learning goals independently – with the web being a primary source of information. Without adequate scaffolding, achieving complex learning goals becomes more difficult, as web-browsers are not designed to promote effective learning. Students need tools to support them in 1) decomposing complex goals into subtasks, 2) helping students monitor their progress and understanding of goal components, and 3) helping students navigate relevant information in web-space as they engage with a goal. We will be presenting preliminary data from our pilot study including student reception to iLearn and feedback that will drive future iterations of the application.

Utilizing Cognitive Interviews to Improve Items for an Instrument to Measure Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching College Algebra at Community Colleges

Author(s): Bismark Akoto, Dexter Lim, Irene Duranczyk, AI@CC 2.0 VMQI Research Group

Cognitive interviews are an important qualitative method used by researchers to discern interviewees' understanding of survey items (Meadows, 2021; Willis, 2005). As part of the Algebra Instruction at Community Colleges: Validating Measures of Quality Instruction (Mesa et al., 2020-2023), an NSF-funded research project, we conducted cognitive interviews to provide feedback for the development of items for an instrument that will measure mathematical knowledge for teaching community college algebra (MKT-CCA). The participants were community college instructors with experience teaching college algebra. The foci of the interviews were to (a) provide a structured and systematic approach for identifying how respondents will interpret items, (b) establish the validity of items, (c) check that the respondents used anticipated knowledge, (d) verify that the individual items are measuring the intended content, and (e) improve the clarity, language and structure of the items. We organized the blueprint by two tasks of teaching (Choosing Problems and Understanding Student Work) and three function types (linear, exponential, rational functions) resulting in six dimensions. In July 2021, 36 (six per dimension) drafted MKT-CCA test items were reviewed by 12 community college instructors with each item being reviewed by two instructors. We present findings and lessons learned from these interviews.

Improving Instruction: Innovative Approaches to Engage English Learners, Parents, and Teachers for Educational Equity

Author(s): Charity Funfe Tatah Mentan, Ph. D; Darrell Peterson, Ph.D

The Improving Instruction project has developed two innovative approaches to engage parents, caregivers, and teachers for educational equity. These two approaches are geared at understanding the individual characteristics and home culture of students by building successful two-way communication between parents/caregivers and teachers, and ensuring teachers have on-demand training on accessible instruction and assessment. First, a multilingual Parent/Educator Toolkit provides materials for building successful communication between parents, teachers, and administrators. Second, online professional development for teachers focuses on understanding each student’s individual needs and how to meet them. Many teachers do not know the English learner population. Our poster will demonstrate how the Toolkit and the content of professional development modules inform each other for educational equity. This process forms the basis for collaborative, team-based educational decision making. Educational teams inclusive of parents can build on the strengths of students and families to scaffold content instruction. Such scaffolding may draw on school and community resources and may include the use of a student’s home language and culture to enhance academic success. Collaborative decision making can also address appropriate individualized supports that are available to students in class and on assessments.

Trauma-Informed Peer Leadership

Author(s): Claire Busse, Dr. Lindsey Weiler

The purpose of the present study was to pilot test a trauma-informed leadership training model for undergraduate peer leaders. Using a non-experimental single group, pre-post design, we investigated whether training on trauma-informed practices targeted specifically to the realities of student leaders in the University of Minnesota Marching Band improved their ability to apply a trauma-informed approach to their leadership. Before attending the workshop, participants completed a baseline survey assessing their knowledge, attitude, and skill levels in relation to trauma-informed leadership. The training was implemented before the Fall 2021 semester, and participants completed the same survey again at the end of the marching season. Findings suggest that participants demonstrated a significant increase in trauma-informed leadership abilities after receiving training. Further, open-ended feedback exposed gratitude for the training, explicit examples of trauma-informed leadership in use between the baseline and post-survey, and a desire for additional training. Practical implications of these findings and possibilities for future implementation are discussed.

Appropriate or harmful?: Teachers' perceptions of appropriateness and prevalence of teacher interactions with students

Author(s): Connor J. Callahan, Yueyao Wang, Jean Klasovsky Sack, Ruixi Yu, and Stacey S. Horn

While peer-to-peer bullying in schools is a well-studied phenomenon (Modecki, et al., 2014), less is known about the ways teachers’ behaviors may be harmful to students. The few studies investigating adult bullying have focused on students’ perspectives (Twemlow et al., 2006). In a study of queer students, 20% reported experiencing bullying from adults where typically nothing was done to address the adults’ behaviors (Horn & Schriber, 2020). Given the disconnect between students’ perceptions and accountability for adults, it is critical to understand teachers’ perceptions about these behaviors.

In the current study, K-12 teachers (N= 422) responded to an online survey that included questions about 26 different behavioral interactions with students, including how often they witnessed other teachers engage in the behaviors and how appropriate they were.

A PCA on judgments of appropriateness identified five factors: serious offense, contextual, school policy, disengage/target, and supportive behaviors. A significant positive correlation was found in the relationship between teachers’ judgments and prevalence, suggesting overall school climate might impact teacher judgment.

This study begins to show how teachers perceive behaviors that could be harmful to students, as well as how the frequency with which teachers witness behaviors may be related to how they are judged.

Centering Wellness and Black Women’s Epistemologies in Higher Education

Author(s): Ebony Adedayo

The purpose of this paper is to examine the resources that Black women PhD students, faculty, and staff draw on in order to navigate institutions of higher learning for our own wellness. The contents of this paper are derived from a research study from the spring of 2021 that utilized action research as a method, and autoethnography as methodology to understand Black women’s experiences and the resources that they were drawing upon. Application of the findings of this research could contribute to the wellness of Black women, with solutions that are accessible and implementable.

Supporting Early Elementary Students' Reading Comprehension Development through the Inference Galaxy

Author(s): Panayiota Kendeou, Kristen L. McMaster & the Inference Galaxy Team** Emily A. Reno, Joseph Burey, Jasmine Kim, Ellen Orcutt, Susan Slater, Rina Harsch, Kyle Stagnaro, HyeJin Hwang, Chen Chen

Reading comprehension is an important, yet difficult skill; only about one-third of U.S. fourth graders reached proficiency in reading in 2019 (NAEP, 2019). To experience success in reading, students must be able to make inferences. Not only is inference-making the cornerstone of reading comprehension, but it is also a general skill that extends beyond reading (Kendeou et al., 2008; Kendeou, 2015; McNamara & Magliano, 2009; Oakhill & Cain, 2012). Inference Galaxy is an research-based suite of online, video-based tools that helps kindergarten through second grade students build their inference-making skills through scaffolding and feedback, with no reading necessary. Inference Galaxy is aligned with the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework and is composed of an in-house measure of inference-making (MIA), a Tier I inference-making instructional tool (ELCII), and a Tier II inference-making targeted intervention tool (TeLCI). Evidence indicates that through TeLCI and ELCII, students improved their inference-making skills. These gains were evident on proximal measures such as MIA and performance throughout ELCII and TeLCI modules, in addition to a distal measure, the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Understanding Spoken Paragraphs subtest.

Head coaches of women's collegiate teams: A comprehensive report on NCAA Division-I institutions, 2021-22

Author(s): Hannah Silva-Breen, Courtney Boucher, & Nicole M LaVoi

The current study is the 10th annual Women in College Coaching Report Card ™ (WCCRC). The WCCRC research series is multifaceted: 1) to document and benchmark the percentage of women coaches of women’s teams in collegiate athletics; 2) to provide evidence that will help retain and increase the percentage of women in the coaching profession; 3) to track the effectiveness of initiatives aimed at reversing the stagnation of the percentage of women in coaching; 4) to bring awareness while providing an evidence-based starting point for a national discussion on this important issue; 5) to extend and complement research on women in sport coaching; and 6) to hold decision makers accountable for who they hire.

"Relations among Teachers’ Self-Monitoring, Teacher-Student Relationships, and Students’ Academic Achievement"

Author(s): Indah Wahyuni, Geoffrey Maruyama

Teachers contribute to students’ development in various ways, including how they structure relationships with their students. When teachers are able to build good relationships with their students, there may be improvement in students’ academic performance (e.g., Archambault et al., 2012). The way that the relationship is built is potentially affected by how teachers monitor their behavior in front of students. This raises the question: is teachers’ self-monitoring related to the quality of teacher-student relationships and students’ academic achievement? The current survey study measures: (1) students’ perception of teachers’ self-monitoring and quality and (2) teachers’ self-report of their self-monitoring and ability to modify teaching styles. Data collection is currently underway. Predicted results are: (1) students will consider teachers with higher self-monitoring scores to be better; (2) high-self-monitoring teachers will establish better teacher-student relationships compared to low-self-monitoring teachers; (3) students will perform better in high-self-monitoring teachers’ classes; (4) teachers with high self-monitoring scores will modify their teaching methods in various situations based on their students’ characteristics, and better understand students’ emotions compared to teachers with lower self-monitoring scores. Implications of the findings will be both theoretical and practical; practically, they may help improve teacher-student relationships and, ultimately, boost students’ academic performance.

Algebra Instruction at Community Colleges 2.0: Validating Measures of Quality Instruction

Author(s): Dexter Lim, Bismark Akoto, Irene Duranczyk, AI@CC 2.0 VMQI Research Group

There are various aspects of instruction in college algebra courses in community colleges. Instructor knowledge plays a big role in structuring instruction for these courses. Working on an NSF-funded research project, Algebra Instruction at Community Colleges: Validating Measures of Quality Instruction [AI@CC 2.0: VMQI] (Mesa et al., 2020-2023), we seek to develop an instrument to assess teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching community college algebra (MKT-CCA) and revise a video coding protocol. This poster presents the research project design, the blueprint for MKT-CCA, our data collection strategies for AI@CC 2.0 that investigates the connection between mathematical knowledge for teaching community college algebra (MKT-CCA) and the quality of instruction in college algebra classrooms. We will highlight some problematic issues we faced while creating the blueprint, and some challenges with writing assessment items in preparation for collecting pilot data which will begin in March 2022. We also seek to gather feedback from our peers on our working blueprint and key concepts when Choosing Problems and Understanding Student Work in linear, exponential, and rational functions in community college Algebra courses.

Translanguaging Pedagogies as Cultural Sustenance: The Relationship Between Student Identity, Translanguaging, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

Author(s): Laurie Hahn Ganser

This research explores sites of possibility that hold potential to decolonize reading instruction and intervention. Using narrative inquiry, the author interviewed two multilingual, transnational adults and centers their stories to explore how translanguaging pedagogies are a necessary site of possibility in the pursuit of culturally sustaining instructional spaces. The author frames current, neocolonial literacy instructional practices through Borderlands theory and looks to translanguaging orientations as a culturally sustaining, decolonizing pedagogical nepantla. As part of their exploration, the author considers the role of Teacher in this instructional shift toward possibility, looking to the historical archetype of Lady Bountiful. By analyzing the intersection of womanness and whiteness embodied by Lady Bountiful (and all who teach in her wake), the author links Anzaldua’s seven stages of conocimiento to the emotional processes white, female teachers experience when shifting from familiar, known pedagogical territory to more fluid, adaptive, decolonizing ones that decenter the role of Teacher and look to students’ cultural and linguistic identities and assets.

Decolonizing Research Methodology

Author(s): Maggie Greenleaf, Sara Axtell

From 1860 to 1978 entire generations of Native American children were removed from their families and placed in government or church-run boarding schools. Through an anonymous survey, boarding school survivors, descendants of boarding school survivors, and foster care survivors or adoptees were able to share their stories of child removal and it’s lasting effects. This is the first broad-based survey that provides boarding school survivors and their descendants the opportunity to document the intergenerational impacts of their experiences. The survey includes both quantitative and qualitative questions regarding the age they were removed from their homes, their memories from that time, and the effects into their adult life. This research has been rooted in a decolonizing research approach that centers Native values such as spirituality, reflection, and community-based interactions. This poster will present a method for thematic analysis of qualitative data within a decolonizing interpretive approach. This is a collaborative effort between Sam Torres at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, Sandy WhiteHawk at the First Nations Reparation Institute, and Maggie Greenleaf, Sara Axtell, Carolyn Liebler, and Chris Mann at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

Evaluation of Preschool Creative Play Program: Assessing Virtual Adaptation

Author(s): Meredith H. T. Reese, Rachel Deng, Alyssa S. Meuwissen

Creative Play is a trauma-informed preschool theatre arts program in which Teaching Artists (TAs) from the Children’s Theatre Company lead 20 to 30 minute sessions with a preschool class. During each session, children engage in imaginative play, naming of emotions, and mindfulness activities. TAs use movement, sensory integration, and incorporate opportunities for children to make decisions, express and share their ideas, and explore a spectrum of emotions to engage and empower children. Creative Play was delivered in a virtual format for the first time in the Spring of 2021. Some sessions were synchronous virtual workshops, which consisted of a TA interacting with a classroom of children over a Zoom video call, and other workshops were pre-recorded videos of the TA presenting the content with opportunities for classroom staff to stop the video and interact with the children. Data was collected through TA interviews and classroom staff surveys to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of Creative Play’s virtual delivery. Findings showed that children engaged in the virtual adaptation to a fairly high degree. The TAs made specific changes to their delivery in response to the virtual format, and generally felt positively about the program’s ability to be effective virtually.

What do teacher know about the Accessibility features for English learners

Author(s): Yi-Chen Wu & Aparna Leena

The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ knowledge about accessibility features for students who are English learners (ELs), including ELs with disabilities before and after accessing some related reading materials. The knowledge includes definition, decision making, as well as evaluating whether the accessibility features were appropriated for individuals. Thirty-five teachers registered for an online course at Marshall University were randomly assigned to an intervention and control group. Both groups were given a survey to assess their prior knowledge of accessibility features. The intervention group accessed an online professional development (PD) module's contents on accessibility features for ELs. After that, both groups took the knowledge survey again to examine the intervention effect. The control group accessed the module content at the end of the study. Results showed there was a significant difference in scores for the intervention group. The module content improved teachers’ knowledge on the decision-making process for accessibility features for ELs. Through this process, teachers will be able to identify the appropriate accessibility features for ELs in order to improve their proficiency in content areas.

"Financial Anxiety during COVID-19: How do Parents with Young Children Cope with the Crisis?"

Author(s): Yiting Li, M.A., Virginia S. Zuiker, Ph.D. AFC, University of Minnesota, and Xiang Zhou, Ph.D., Purdue University

The financial landscape for many American families was altered in March 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic (Canilang et al., 2020). Cantor and Sims (2020) speculated that the economic impact of this pandemic would be felt by every individual in the U.S. and across the globe – but that it would be unequally felt. They speculated that the economic implications of COVID-19 would be felt disproportionally by financially vulnerable and diverse populations. Many investigations have reported that COVID-19 is highly associated with mental health issues (e.g., depression, generalized anxiety), substance use, and suicidal ideation (Czeisler et al., 2020; Holman et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2020). However, a paucity of literature has focused on financial anxiety during COVID-19.

This study examines the financial anxiety of parents with children between the ages of 3 to 8 years old during the COVID-19 global pandemic. More specifically, the authors examined predictors of financial anxiety, including parental-, child-, financial-, COVID-, and general mental health- factors using hierarchical regression with data collected during the pandemic from 376 parents. Results indicated that parental factors, financial adjustment, COVID-19 factors, stimulus checks, and general anxiety contributed significantly to financial anxiety.

Financial counselors and educators need to pay extra attention to how they personalize and/or deliver support to individuals and families, especially during COVID-19. Mothers and fathers have different reactions to financial anxiety, as do clients from and across different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Extension educators and financial professionals might consider developing curricula that address financial adjustment skills to help parents and families who need more help and support with particular focus on gender and race/ethnic topics. In addition, more education and/or workshops are needed specifically around financial adjustment skills to help parents and families who need more help and support.

Investigate and Quantify Cultural Competencies in Curriculum: A Text-as-Data Approach

Author(s): Zixi Chen; Sashank Varma

Advocating for culturally responsive teaching that incorporates students' lived experiences and cultures is more critical than ever. Since Ladson-Billings (1995) and Geneva Gay (2002) called for culturally relevant pedagogy and teaching (CRPT) decades ago, studies have evidenced CRPT promotes students' learning. Nonetheless, CRPT is challenging in practice, and teaching students' knowledge of their own culture is overlooked. (Young, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 2021). To contribute to narrowing the gap, this study 1) investigates how teachers' curriculum is culturally based and 2) examines how the culturally-based content is distributed depending on the local classroom context, including students' racial composition and gender. We employ curriculum text data from K-8 public school classrooms from Minnesota and Georgia and the classroom demographic data. The intended curriculum demonstrates teachers' ability to integrate CRPT into teaching designs to weave into real-world classroom instruction and student learning. The study provides a novel natural language processing approach, such as word embeddings, that is computationally capable of analyzing and quantifying teachers' CRPT knowledge and practice on a large scale. The measurements are advantageous for assessing correlations between students' learning trajectories over time and across situations. Additionally, they aid in identifying teachers' local requirements in CRPT to build focused professional development programs.

How Are Recovery-Supportive Cognitions and Behaviors Associated With Positive and Negative Affect?

Author(s): Amy R. Krentzman, PhD, MSW and Bonnie Horgos, MSW, LGSW

Negative affect is strongly associated with relapse. Few interventions seek to improve mood during recovery, and little is known about the effect of incremental, recovery-supportive cognitions and behaviors (IRSCB), such as wishing others well or writing a gratitude list. In this study, 81 individuals in addiction treatment (52% female, average 39 years old, 26% BIPOC, average 13 years of education) completed surveys for 30 days assessing 16 different past-day IRSCBs and current-moment mood assessed via the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Multi-level models showed significant main effects of 15 IRSCBs on increased positive affect and significant main effects of 14 IRSCBs on decreased negative affect. The IRSCBs with the strongest effect were “I did something enjoyable,” “I felt able to get things done,” “I realized that more good things than bad things were happening,” and “I realized that there is a lot I am grateful or thankful for.” These IRSCBs were associated with a 2-3 point increase in positive affect and a 1-2 point decrease in negative affect. These results suggest that providers should reinforce pleasant activities and gratitude practices and help clients meet short-term goals, and that IRSCBs have significant association with improved mood, which could protect against relapse.

Can Measurement of Recovery Be Supportive of Recovery?

Author(s): Bonnie Horgos, MSW, LGSW, Amy R. Krentzman, PhD, MSW, and Channel Lowery, MSW

Recently, the field has shifted to define addiction recovery not by abstinence but by improvement in well-being. However, there is little research on the impact of measuring well-being. This poster presents a thematic analysis of control-group interviews from a randomized controlled trial of Positive Peer Journaling (PPJ), an intervention designed to increase well-being and reduce relapse in early recovery. The control group (n = 39, 52% female, average 39 years old, 63% with income <$15,000, 26% BIPOC, 43% with a legal issue, and 95% with history of trauma) completed daily questionnaires over 1 month. Questionnaires included the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Commitment to Sobriety Scale, and single-item questions, such as: “In the last 24 hours I did something to help another person in recovery.” Qualitative thematic analyses showed the survey alone created improvement in cognition, affect, and behavior; for example, the questionnaires encouraged participants to reflect on the past 24 hours, experience a deeper sense of gratitude, and reach out to others in recovery. This discovery is critically important; if recovery-oriented survey questions foster improvement in cognition, affect and behavior, they can be leveraged as a scalable intervention to support recovery.

The Mediating Roles of Self-Efficacy and Exercise Avoidance Motivation Between Weight Stigma and Physical Activity

Author(s): Brooke E. Wagner, Chelsey Thul, Nicole Larson, Beth Lewis, and Daheia J. Barr-Anderson

Over 40% of adults have experienced weight stigma. Understanding how those experiences may impact physical activity (PA) through psychosocial factors may help inform PA promotion efforts. This study was designed to (1) determine if PA self-efficacy and exercise avoidance motivation differ based on level of experienced and internalized weight stigma, and (2) examine the mediating roles of PA self-efficacy and exercise avoidance motivation on PA level among adults. Participants (n=214) reported on hours of average weekly PA, PA self-efficacy, exercise avoidance motivation, and experienced and internalized weight stigma. Multiple mediation analyses were used to determine the role of psychosocial factors between weight stigma and PA. Self-efficacy and exercise avoidance motivation differed significantly between levels of weight stigma (p<0.01). Neither experienced nor internalized weight stigma were directly associated with PA levels; however, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between internalized weight stigma and PA (95% CI: -0.54 -, -0.07). Exercise avoidance motivation did not mediate the relationship between weight stigma and PA. These findings suggest that psychosocial factors, such as self-efficacy, that may be impacted by weight stigma could be driving important health outcomes like PA. Additional research is needed to assess other psychosocial variables to better understand their roles in the association.

Secondary Neuromuscular Junction Dysregulation after Traumatic Muscle Injury

Author(s): Daniel B. Hoffman, Jacob R. Sorensen, Benjamin T. Corona, & Sarah M. Greising

Traumatic musculoskeletal injuries often result in chronic functional disabilities, particularly when there is frank loss of muscle mass involved, or volumetric muscle loss (VML). Current treatment strategies for VML injury are typically unsuccessful in producing meaningful improvements in force production and functional outcomes. Recent work using a rat model of VML examined the impact of injury on the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and observed significant increases in denervation and fragmentation of NMJs through 48 days post injury. Importantly, the impacted NMJs were from regions of muscle tissue initially intact after injury, suggesting maladaptive changes seen are secondary to the original insult. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to better understand the cellular and molecular factors associated with secondary denervation and NMJ fragmentation after VML injury. A specific area of interest is the effect of injury on terminal Schwann cells (tSCs), which are known to surround the NMJ and regulate their structure and function. Our early results indicate tSC number per NMJ is significantly increased 48 days post VML injury. Thus, while it appears structurally and functionally that muscle regeneration has plateaued by this point, our results give evidence that the signaling processes for NMJ regeneration and reinnervation are still ongoing.

Perception of affordances for serving in volleyball

Author(s): Danilo Arruda, Rafael Murilho, George Bailey, & Thomas A. Stoffregen

Affordances are opportunities for action that are available to a given individual in a given environment. In volleyball, players modify their serves in response to game situations, such as scoring points by hitting the ball towards an open spot. Our laboratory has shown that youth soccer players accurately perceive their ability to kick a ball through gaps defined by friendly (own team) or unfriendly (opposing team) players. In the present study, we will investigate the ability of youth volleyball players to perceive their own ability to carry out ordinary volleyball serves. In different conditions, players on a regulation volleyball court will report their ability to serve short (i.e., so that the ball would land near the net), and to serve near one sideline. Following perceptual reports, players will perform actual serves, so that we may evaluate the accuracy of perceptual reports. Our findings will contribute to the growing understanding of how affordances are perceived for complex skills such as sports.

“So proud of you”: Gender equality, nationality, and visibility of disability in Olympic and Paralympic media

Author(s): Dunja Antunovic, Lauren Cattapan, Hokeun Choi, Sam Dreher, Lindsey Lehrfeld, Meg Messer

As large international sporting spectacles, the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games reach billions of viewers worldwide. Women receive equitable coverage during the Olympics when broadcasters emphasize the accomplishments of athletes from the “home” country. Athletes with disabilities gain visibility during the Paralympics, but are accompanied by misconceptions about performance and the general stigma placed on people with disabilities. Exclusionary patterns prevail as broadcasters perpetuate stereotypes and differences. As digital platforms proliferate, the question becomes whether broadcasters will continue to focus on a select few sports or use their digital platforms as an opportunity to tell stories about athletes who have historically been marginalized in sport.

This study examines the agenda diversity on broadcasters’ social media platforms. We have collected data on the 2022 Beijing Games to determine how gender equality and the visibility of disability differs depending on the national context. Preliminary analysis suggests that the Australian broadcaster posts about a wide array of sports and athletes from various nations, while the U.S. broadcaster promotes primarily Team USA athletes. Women are celebrated when they win medals, while athletes with disabilities are ignored until the Paralympics. Implications for disparities in elite sport and athlete well-being are discussed.

Increasing Motivation for Physical Activity among Individuals with Severe Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities

Author(s): Emma Heverly, Dr. Daheia J Barr-Anderson, Brooke Wagner

Individuals with severe intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) face one of the worst outcomes for physical activity among the general population, at the intersection of cognitive and physical difficulties in participating in physical activities. Motivation for this physical activity is also often found to be more difficult to self initiate or be intrinsically motivated. The study aims to discover themes in the barriers and difficulties as well as strategies occupational therapists use to increase motivation for and time spent physically active for individuals with severe intellectual or developmental disabilities. Semi structured interviews (n=6) were conducted with licensed occupational therapists with a history of working with individuals with IDD and then qualitatively analyzed and coded for themes and commonalities. Results are currently being analyzed but will be available for the poster session. The themes discovered can be used to bring greater awareness and solutions to barriers in physical activity for these individuals, as well as increase direction for research in this field of study within the severe category of IDD.

Active head and body tilt in a virtual driving game

Author(s): Eugenia Garza, Danilo Arruda, George Bailey, Tongyu Nie, & Thomas A. Stoffregen

Cybersickness (i.e., motion sickness experienced in the context of virtual reality) remains widespread, especially among users of head-mounted virtual reality systems. Many studies have implicated the user’s control of their own body as being relevant to the risk of cybersickness. This, in turn, has led to the development of graphical techniques that are designed to stabilize bodily control. However, surprisingly little is known about actual bodily control among users. In this study, our goal was to learn about actual tilt of the head and body among drivers of a virtual automobile presented through a head-mounted display. Participants (18 women and 18 men) drove a virtual race car for up to 15 minutes. Half of participants drove around a simple oval track, while half drove a winding track, with many curves. During virtual driving, we monitored movement of the head and torso, using a magnetic tracking system. After virtual driving, participants reported their cybersickness status. Our analysis of postural data will examine possible differences in tilt between the two tracks, between the sexes, and between participants with versus without cybersickness. Our results will contribute to the growing understanding of how subtle aspects of bodily movement are related to the risk of cybersickness.

Perception of Higher-Order Affordances for Kicking in Soccer

Author(s): George S. Bailey, Alper Peker, Veysel Boge, Jeffrey B. Wagman, Thomas A. Stoffregen

We investigated perception of higher-order interpersonal affordances for kicking that emerged from lower-order personal and interpersonal affordances in the context of soccer. Youth soccer players reported the minimum gap width between two confederates through which they could kick a ball. In Experiment 1, we co-varied the egocentric distance of gaps from participants, and the nominal role of the confederates, either as teammates or opponents. In Experiment 2, we additionally varied the direction in which the confederates were facing, either together (i.e., into the gap) or away (i.e., away from the gap). Perceived minimum kickable gap width was larger for farther egocentric distances, when confederates were identified as opponents rather than as teammates, and (in Experiment 2) when confederates faced toward, rather than away from the gap. In both experiments, these main effects were subsumed in statistically significant interactions. We argue that these interactions reveal perception of higher-order interpersonal affordances for kicking that emerged from the simultaneous influence of lower-order affordances. The results are compatible with the hypothesis that these higher-order affordances were perceived, as such, and were not inferred from independent perception of underlying, lower-order affordances.

Restorative Circles for Intimate Partner Violence

Author(s): Jacob Otis, Emily Gaarder, and Scott Vollum

We report on a multi-method evaluation of a restorative justice circle program for domestic violence in Duluth, MN. Methods include pre- and post-program questionnaires with responsible persons that measure empathy, externalization of blame/victim-blaming, control, gender role expectations, and other belief systems associated with domestic violence. We also interviewed responsible persons pre- and post-circle, as well as victim/survivors, and circle members. Across the board, we see positive changes from pre- to post-program. Empathy and social support scores increased, while externalization of blame, victim blaming, distortion of consequences, moral justification, control, and traditional gender role endorsement declined. Qualitative interviews revealed complementary results, but also showed differences between the responsible person’s perceptions of change and the experiences of their direct victim/survivors. Results highlighted important practice considerations for addressing intimate partner violence within a restorative justice paradigm. We discuss implications for restorative justice in program screening, invitational inclusion of victim/survivors, impacts of this program on quality of life across the relationship lifespan, and impacts on community wellbeing.

Characterizing ankle position sense in healthy aging

Author(s): Jacquelyn Sertic, Jürgen Konczak

Intact ankle proprioception is crucial to maintain balance during stance and gait. At present, empirical data that characterize ankle proprioception in older adulthood are sparse and incomplete. The goal of this study was to objectively and precisely characterize ankle position sense, a modality of proprioception, in a healthy aging population. We used the Ankle Proprioceptive Acuity System (APAS) to quantify ankle position sense acuity. A total of N=65 participants between the ages of 50-79 years were recruited. Participants place their unloaded foot on the APAS platform and were rotated to a reference (fixed at either 15 or 25° of plantarflexion) and a comparison position. Subsequently, participants verbally indicated which position they perceived as more plantarflexed. Ankle position sense acuity was quantified as the just-noticeable-difference (JND) threshold that corresponded to the 75% correct response rate and the interval of uncertainty (IU). Median JND was computed as 1.64° and median IU was 1.04. We found no evidence that these two measures changed across the age range. No significant sex differences were found. These data can be used as a normative data to compare the position sense of older adults with suspected proprioceptive impairment and to monitor therapeutic success of interventions targeting proprioception.

The Sustainability of Self-Directed Supports Across the Lifespan

Author(s): Jennifer Hall-Lande, PhD, Sarah Hall, PhD, Libby Hallas, MS, Sandra Pettingell, PhD, Alan Kulchinsky, BA, Shane Winkler, MPH

Self-directed supports is a program in which people with disabilities and their families directly manage their supports. They select their own supports within established guidelines. The goal of self-direction is to allow people with disabilities to choose where they live, who they hire as support staff, and overall aspects of everyday life. The purpose of this study was to examine how families plan to sustain self-direction when the natural support (e.g., parent, guardian, sibling, other relative, or an ally) is no longer able provide support for the self-directed process.

People in New York State who used self-directed supports and their natural supports completed a survey about their experiences with self-direction. The survey used a multi-method approach to collect both broad quantitative trends in self-directed supports and in-depth qualitative responses to reflect individual experiences and contexts.

Results of this study include statistical descriptions of the participants as well as their experiences and perspectives of self-directed supports. The themes from the open-ended questions are presented to give context and meaning to the numbers. Three overarching themes, with sub-themes, will be presented: plans for sustaining self-direction, concerns about the sustainability of self-direction, and what did and did not work to sustain self-direction.

Vibro-tactile Stimulation as a Non-invasive Treatment for Cervical Dystonia: Initial Proof-of-Concept Data

Author(s): Jiapeng Xu, Jinseok Oh, Arash Mahnan, Stephanie Standal, Parisa Salehi, Jürgen Konczak

Cervical Dystonia (CD) is a form of focal dystonia associated with involuntary cervical muscle contractions that lead to sustained or intermittent abnormal head movements or postures, which severely affect a CD patient’s daily life. Current treatment opportunities for CD are limited and consist mainly of injections of Botulinum toxin in the dystonic muscles or deep brain stimulation. This study proposes the superficial, vibro-tactile stimulation (VTS) of the cervical muscles as a method to provide temporary symptom relief for people with CD. Fifteen people with CD have been recruited and participated in the study. Given the different clinical manifestations of CD (e.g., torticollis, retrocollis), combinations of most often affected cervical muscles were targeted and stimulated. Improvement of the abnormal head postures and pain around neck and shoulder, less effort for voluntarily controlling the head were found for some participants. The initial proof-of-concept data demonstrate that cervical muscle VTS can potentially serve as a form of non-invasive neuromodulation in CD and may indirectly relieve the symptoms caused by CD.

Development of Finger Position Sense in Typically Developing Children from Childhood to Adolescence

Author(s): Jinseok Oh, Arash Mahnan, Jessica Holst-Wolf, Jiapeng Xu, Hannah Block, Jürgen Konczak

Finger position sense is critical for fine motor control, yet its developmental time course is unknown. This study examined its development in 143 typically developing children (8-17 years old) and a group of 14 healthy adults (20-35 years old). Participants viewed a display on a computer tablet placed above their hand and judged the perceived position of their unseen index finger relative to two areas shown on the display screen (right or left) following a two-alternative forced-choice method. Based on the resulting psychometric acuity function, the difference between the point-of-subjective-equality and the veridical finger position (ΔPSE) as a measure of position sense bias and the uncertainty area (UA) as a measure of precision were derived. The main results are: First, children under twelve exhibited a significantly greater UA than adults while no age-related differences in ΔPSE were found. On average, eight-year-old children performed similarly to adults. Second, the findings indicate that the typical development of finger position sense from late childhood to adulthood is characterized as an age-dependent increase in proprioceptive precision and not as the change in bias.

Understanding Australian local sports clubs’ integrity systems

Author(s): Catherine Ordway, University of Canberra, Adam Masters, Australian National University, Bram Constandt, Ghent University, Joung Hwa Son, University of Minnesota, Alice(Jingyi) Kang, University of Minnesota, and Lisa A. Kihl University of Minnesota

The persistence of integrity breaches (e.g., sexual harassment, on field violence, cyber bullying) within local Australian sport clubs is a challenge for sport officials that requires the implementation of an integrity system. A local sport integrity system consists of individuals, institutions, policies, practices, and agencies that contribute to safeguarding and promoting the integrity of an organization (Huberts & Six, 2012). Using Kihl’s (2019) national sport integrity framework, the purpose of this exploratory research was to identify the components and processes of local Australian clubs’ sports integrity systems. An exploratory multi-case design (Yin, 2014) was used to examine ACT Coalition of Major Participation Sports clubs' integrity systems representing nine sports. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted and secondary data via club websites, policies, and strategic plans were collected. The thematic and grounded theory analysis showed the main components of the ethics infrastructure were compliance (e.g., monitoring and investigations) and values based (e.g., code of ethics, encouraged dialogue, leadership) management tools. External accountability mechanisms included both the state and national governing bodies. Mapping local club sport integrity systems addresses an important theoretical gap in the sport management and ethics literature by exploring how local clubs safeguard integrity in their sport.

Efficacy of a Fitbit-Based Physical Activity Intervention on Preventing Perinatal Depression among Low Income Women

Author(s): Beth Lewis & Katie Schuver

Approximately 38% of women who are low income experience perinatal depression and access to prevention and treatment is particularly low among this population. Research indicates that exercise is efficacious for preventing depression among adults; however, little is known regarding its efficacy for preventing depression among perinatal women. This study examined the efficacy of a Fitbit-based physical activity (PA) intervention on preventing perinatal depression among low income women. Women who were less than 20 weeks pregnant (n=111) and considered low income were randomly assigned to a 6-month home-based physical activity program or a wait-list control. Results indicated that participants randomly assigned to the intervention condition exhibited more minutes of very active PA minutes per day when compared to the control at 36 weeks gestation, f(1,80)=5.55, p < .05. Regarding depressive symptoms, there was no effect of the intervention on depressive symptoms. Based on the standard cut-point of 10, 11% of participants exhibited elevated depressive symptoms at 36 weeks gestation and 22% at three months. Overall, our findings suggest that PA may not prevent depressive symptoms among low-income women. Additional research is needed that adequately increases PA in order to determine the effect of exercise on perinatal depression.

Head or Heart? Envisioning Whole Community Accountability for Whole Child development

Author(s): Mengchen Su

Building on the premise that both cognitive and noncognitive development are important for children’s lifelong success (National Research Council, 2012), schools should be held accountable for whole child development. Under the test-driven educational accountability policies under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era, there has been a long-standing debate about school effectiveness. School accountability is often limited and potentially biased as conventionally measured by standardized test scores. With the passage of the Every Student Success Act (ESSA), educational leaders demand "Whole Child" approaches for schools that promote academic achievement, well-being, and life-long growth. While a growing body of literature suggests the benefits of a positive environment, how schools, families, and community may synergistically support a student-centered, whole community model is still lacking. In light of these concerns, the quantitative study examines how multilayered protective factors (from family, school, and neighborhood) predict student academic, emotional, and physical well-being using the data of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health).

A global assessment of professional sports organizations’ corporate social performance: A Delphi study

Author(s): Dr. Lisa Kihl, Dr. Geraldine Zeimers, Dr. Cleo Schyvinck, Michael Jonas, Marie de Cock, and Matthew Hlina

The development of international and national corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards, frameworks, and guidelines (e.g., ISO 26000) are driving corporate social performance (CSP) (Pope et al., 2018). While there are standards that evaluate the CSP of organizations broadly, no basis to measure the quality of professional sport specific CSP exists.

Professional sports' CSR activities are globally important, thus, it is important to develop external and internal performance measures. The purpose of this study is to draw from expert opinions to determine the external and internal dimensions and indicators to assess global professional sports organizations' CSP.

The study used a Delphi technique (Linstone & Turoff, 2011). Over a series of rounds, a global panel of CSR academic (15) and professional (15) experts were asked questions about what internal and external dimensions and indicators measure CSP of professional sports organizations. Data collection and analysis are ongoing. The main contributions of this research are generating a global professional sport CSP measure that reveals different perspectives of CSR performance (i.e. sport-specific versus existing indicators; internal versus external; indicators versus perceptions), and examining one of the main paradoxes around CSR practice and theory. The presentation will identify opportunities for future research and practical implications.

YogaMoves: Developing a Yoga-Based Intervention in Sedentary African-American Women

Author(s): Michael Urvig, Amanda L. Folk, Amanda L. Frayeh, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Mark Pereira, Gail Parker, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson

African-American women are disproportionately affected by sedentary lifestyles. Yoga has the potential to decrease sedentary behavior, however it has not been explored as an intervention in this population. YogaMoves is a two-phase study to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and safety of a hatha and restorative yoga-based intervention among sedentary African-American women.

Methods: Phase I involved conducting focus groups with 16 sedentary, African-American women to improve and refine proposed intervention strategies. Phase II focuses on intervention implementation.

Results: Focus group results were used to refine strategies to enhance feasibility and acceptability for the intervention. Most participants (n=12) reported the desire for Black/African-American female instructors with a diverse range of body types and skin tones. Nine women favored music during class to be centered in African-American roots (i.e., jazz, RnB). Use of Sanskrit (n=12) and chanting (n=7) was indicated as acceptable, provided Sanskrit is used in conjunction with English terms and the practice of chanting is explained. A hybrid (i.e., in-person and remote via Zoom) modality was preferred by most participants.

Discussion: Creating a culturally appropriate intervention is critical when targeting diverse communities. With the focus group results, there are multiple strategies that can be used to create a culturally appropriate intervention.

Motion Sickness Etiology: Theories and Current Understanding

Author(s): Murad Aslam

Motion Sickness is an illness caused by either real or perceived motion, and the illness is characterized by symptoms such as nausea, pallor, gastrointestinal discomfort, and dizziness. Three main theories have been identified as the cause of Motion Sickness. The Sensory Conflict Theory (Reason, 1978) suggests that motion sickness is caused by conflicting inputs from visual and vestibular afferents that do not conform to previously established expectations produce Motion Sickness. The Postural Instability Theory (Riccio & Stoffregen, 1991) suggests that the lack of control strategies in novel situations involving changes in the dynamics of the environment system leads to postural instability, which in turn leads to Motion Sickness. Finally, the Eye Movement Theory (Ebenholtz et al. 1994), Motion Sickness is caused by reflexive eye movements, such as the OKN, that stimulate the Vagus Nerve, which then causes the symptoms associated with Motion Sickness.

Effects of Breathwork During a Posture-Based Yoga Session on Psychological Resources and Emotional Experience

Author(s): Orianna Olson, Beth Lewis

Yoga research has been on the rise over the past few decades, revealing both mental and physical benefits to participation. However, to date, very little attention has been placed on understanding the influence of Hatha yoga’s individual components (postures, breathwork, and meditation) on positive outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impact of guided breathwork during a standard posture-based yoga class on the affective state and psychological resources of healthy adults who were new to yoga. Forty participants were randomly assigned to complete a 60-minute beginner level Hatha yoga class that either did or did not include guided breathwork. Questionnaires were completed directly before and after the yoga class. Data collection was underway at the time of writing this abstract. Preliminary results will be available at the presentation.

Robot-aided Assessment of Ankle Joint Position Sense and Motion Sense

Author(s): Qiyin Huang, Bin Zhong, Naveen Elangovan, Mingming Zhang, Jϋrgen Konczak

Proprioception is the sense of our body position and movement in space. Numerous neurological and orthopedic conditions impair ankle proprioception resulting in gait and balance deficits. This can lead to an increased risk of falls. Yet, current clinical practice lacks accurate and reliable methods to assess proprioceptive function. To address this gap, we developed a robotic ankle device that provides accurate, objective and reliable measures of human ankle position and motion sense. Twenty healthy young adults participated in the study. The robot passively moved a participant’s ankle to two distinct plantarflexed positions or at two distinct velocities during testing. Subsequently, participants were asked to indicate which of the two positions or movements was perceived further or faster. Measures of proprioceptive bias and precision as two components of proprioceptive acuity were obtained. We present data of all participants and the test-retest reliability in a subset of five participants. In conclusion, this robotic system allows for simple and reliable assessment of both ankle position sense and movement sense acuity making it suitable to comprehensively identify proprioceptive abnormalities in clinical populations.

Physical activity and social media use during emerging adulthood: Do exercise-related goals and desires to “stay fit and exercise” matter?

Author(s): Stephanie M. Grace, MS (presenting author), Samantha Hahn, PhD, Amanda L. Folk, MS, Nancy E. Sherwood, PhD, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, PhD, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD

Social media (SM) is a source of physical activity (PA) information. Relationships between SM use and PA among young people have been investigated, yet no work has examined associations between SM use and PA-related goals (i.e., exercising to lose/maintain weight; exercising to increase muscle size/tone) and attitudes (i.e., caring less about fitness/exercise vs caring very much).

This study examined whether SM use is (1) associated with PA, (2) associated with PA-related goals, and (3) whether PA-related attitudes affect the latter relationship. Emerging adults from EAT 2010-2018 (N=1428, age=22±2yrs) were dichotomized as caring less (CL) or caring very much (CVM) about staying fit/exercising. Associations between SM use with PA and PA-related goals were assessed with stratified linear and logistic regression models.

CL (n=1062) reported less PA compared to CVM (n=495) at 6.6±5.7 vs 8.9±6.4hrs/week, respectively (p<.0001). Both reported 1.9±1.5hrs/day of SM use. No significant associations between SM and PA or PA-related goals resulted. CL were more likely to exercise to increase muscle size/tone, whereas CVM were more likely to exercise to lose/maintain weight. Findings indicated that emerging adults’ SM use does not differ by PA-related goals. Investigation into associations between PA participation and SM use specific to PA-related topics warrants examination.

Effects of A Tai Chi App on Mental Health among Breast Cancer Survivors

Author(s): Suryeon Ryu, Yingying Chen, and Zan Gao

Purpose: To our best knowledge, few studies have integrated Tai Chi (TC) and social media apps to facilitate the disease prevention and management in breast cancer survivors (BCS). In response, this study investigated the effects of a mobile TC app and Facebook (FB) program on stress and quality of life (QoL) among BCS.

Methods: This study was a remote, 12-week 2-arm parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants were randomly assigned into either the intervention condition (practicing TC app exercise three times a day, at least five days/week and receiving FB health tips) or the comparison condition (receiving FB health tips). The final sample comprised 35 female BCS (𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 56.17). The Perceived Stress Scale was used to measure stress and the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System wa

Results: There were no significant time×group interaction effects for stress and mental health (Wilk’s lambda =0.96, F (2, 32) = 0.74, p = 0.48, 𝜂2 = 0.04) and physical health (Wilk’s lambda =1.00, F (1,33) = 0.14, p = 0.71, 𝜂2 = 0.00). However, a significant time effect was observed for mental health, F (1,33) = 5.51, p = 0.02, 𝜂2 = 0.14; and physical health, F (1,33) = 5.59, p < 0.05, 𝜂2 = 0.14; but not for stress, F (1,33) = 1.70, p = 0.20, 𝜂2 = 0.05. Specifically, participants’ physical health (1.57 vs. 1.42) and mental health (1.80 vs. 1.63) significantly improved over time across both groups. Also, a group effect for mental health approached the significant level, F (1,33) = 4.06, p = 0.05, 𝜂2 = 0.11. In detail, the intervention participants had significantly better mental health at post-test (1.43 vs. 1.90) compared to the comparison participants (p < 0.05, 95%CI: -0.91 to -0.40).

Conclusion: The study findings suggested that the implementation of Tai Chi app combined FB health tips program had positive effects on BCS’s mental health. Also, offering health education program could be beneficial to BCS’s physical health as well. The present findings are meaningful given that physical activity plays an important role in promoting health and reducing cancer-related death and breast cancer events (e.g., recurrence, new breast cancer primaries) in BCS.

Individual’s Affective Responses to High Intensity Interval Training Relative to Moderate Intensity Continuous Training

Author(s): Tyler Dregney, Dr. Beth Lewis

Although physical activity among adults is associated with several health benefits, the majority of adults do not meet physical activity recommendations. Examining if the type of physical activity has an impact on an individual’s affective and psychological responses is vital in potentially increasing the physical activity rates among young adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the affective responses among participants who completed a high intensity interval training (HIIT) class or a moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) class. Participants (n=41) were randomized to participate in either HIIT or MICT. There was no effect of group assignment on enjoyment, self-efficacy for physical activity, tranquility, positive engagement, or revitalization. There was an effect of group assignment on physical exhaustion and mid-class affect. HIIT resulted in more physical exhaustion and displeasurable affect during physical activity than MICT. However, group assignment did not impact participant’s enjoyment or post-class affect. These findings suggest that although HIIT requires more exertion and intensity relative to MICT, the affect and enjoyment experienced as a result of physical activity does not differ. Further research is needed to determine how affect before, during, and after a session of physical activity predicts future engagement in physical activity.

"Proprioceptive training is effective in improving movement and motor dysfunction: A Systematic Review"

Author(s): Viola Winter, Qiyin Huang, Jacquelyn Sertic, Jürgen Konczak

Background. Proprioception is the sense of body position and motion. Research shows that proprioception is important for movement, and that improving proprioceptive function transfers to motor tasks that were not trained. The close relationship of proprioceptive and motor learning underlines the importance of 1) Identifying meaningful forms of proprioceptive training; 2) Documenting proprioceptive and motor gains; and 3) Identifying populations most responsive to such interventions.

Methods. A systematic search of the literature was performed using the databases of Medline (Ovid), CINAHL, PsychInfo (Ovid) and Scopus.

Results. Of 3,700 initial articles, we identified 70 articles that met all inclusion criteria. A spectrum of interventions, such as active movement and balance training, is currently used as proprioceptive training. Proprioceptive training led to comparable proprioceptive and motor improvements across neurological, orthopedic and non-clinical study populations.

Conclusions. There is now convincing empirical evidence that approaches such as active movement and balance interventions can induce large gains in both proprioceptive and motor function. Further, there is evidence that interventions aimed at improving proprioceptive function do not only improve proprioception but also motor function in a wide variety of populations. More research is needed to identify how long proprioceptive and motor improvements are retained after training.