Research and Insights

Nov. 18-21
Seattle

Exploring the Dark Side: Health Implications of Mindfulness Apps for Emerging Adults

In the wake of Covid-19, more people than ever are seeking affordable and accessible solutions to manage their mental wellbeing. The popularity of mobile health (mHealth) technology such as mobile applications (apps), specifically mindfulness apps (MAs), is higher than ever before. These types of apps allow users to engage in mindful practices such as meditation and deep breathing. Despite their popularity, few studies have examined the true impact of these apps on unsupervised users. The purpose of this study is to examine the health-inhibiting and health-promoting effects of MAs on a population vulnerable to mental health impacts, emerging adults (aged 18-29). In this qualitative study, we conducted semi-structed, in-depth interviews with emerging adults (n = 22) who had experienced both positive and adverse effects as a result of their MA use. We used a modification of the critical incident technique (CIT) that asked emerging adults to describe in detail specific critical health incidents related to their experiences using these apps.

Author
Greenberry Taylor, Flagler College, UFCJC Ph.D. 2020

Co-Author(s)
Carma Bylund, University of Florida
Bhakti Sharma, UFCJC
Joanna Krajewski, Flagler College
Amanda L. Kastrinos, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Jordan M. Alpert, UFCJC
Ana Puig, University of Florida
Carla L. Fisher, UFCJC

 

Caring for a parent with a blood cancer: The impact of sibling communication challenges on outcomes

Rates of cancer in the U.S. have continued to increase, and informal caregiving is often needed at some point in the illness trajectory. Adult children frequently take on the responsibilities of caregiving for a parent during this challenging time, yet little research has been done to examine sibling communication challenges within the context of cancer care and its impacts. As sibling relational dynamics can ultimately impact the family system as a whole, it is essential to gain a better understanding of sibling challenges to improve overall support and care. The aims of this study were to identify communication challenges among adult siblings in caring for a parent, step-parent, or parent-in-law with blood cancer and to better understand the impacts on caregiver burden, social support, openness, and quality of clinical communication. In connection with the theme for this year’s conference, this new contribution to the field may ultimately help to transform the way we think about and support families within the context of caregiving related to cancer and improve communication strategies.

Author
Chelsea Hampton, UFCJC

Co-Author(s)
Diliara Bagautdinova, UFCJC
Gemme Campbell-Salome, Geisinger

Kevin Wright, George Mason University
Carla L. Fisher, UFCJC
Carma Bylund, University of Florida

 

Exploring the familial experience of uncertainty: Recognizing communicative strategies and motivations in familial uncertainty management

 Guided by uncertainty management theory, this study builds on conceptualizations of uncertainty management as involving familial processes of co-management through communication as well as an individual cognitive and affective processes. An iterative qualitative analysis of 42 dyadic, family interviews (N= 84) revealed (a) communication strategies used in familial uncertainty management in the context of hereditary cancer and (b) the communicative creation, recreation, and negotiation of values in uncertainty management. The findings advance the study of communication by elucidating mechanisms of collective uncertainty management and demonstrating connections among familial uncertainty management, family systems, and relational dialectics in prioritizing goals.

Author
Gemme Campbell-Salome, Geisinger

Co-Author
Joshua B. Barbour, University of Texas, Austin

 

Communicatively constructing resilience in the experience of hereditary cancer: Investigating tensions among resilience processes

Individuals with hereditary cancer conditions such as Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer syndrome (HBOC), Lynch syndrome (LS), and Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) face high lifetime risks of developing cancer. Additionally, they manage the possibility of sharing these risks with blood relatives and passing on their genetic condition to children. To live with these hereditary cancer conditions is to live with lifetime, chronic uncertainty about if/when cancer will present, how to manage cancer risks, and how to communicate about the familial condition. In the context of hereditary cancer risks, family communication can serve as both a source of stress and a strategy to manage stress.

Author
Gemme Campbell-Salome, Geisinger

Co-Authors
Skye Chernichky-Karcher, Bloomsburg University
Marleah Dean, University of South Florida

 

Developing a culturally grounded virtual health assistant to increase CRC screening among Bangladeshi immigrants in the United States

The purpose of this formative study is to explore Bangladeshi American immigrant communities’ accommodative needs and tailor a mobile health (mHealth) intervention to deliver culturally tailored communication about colorectal cancer (CRC) and screening options. Using cultural grounding as the theoretical framework, we interview key-informants to explore this under-researched group and explore the CRC and CRC-screening related unique cultural aspects about (i) informational needs, (ii) technology acceptance of mHealth as a delivery method of information, and (iii) specific customization needs.

Presenter
Aantaki Raisa, UFCJC

Co-Presenters
Kazi Priyanka Silmi, San Diego State University/University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program
Janice L. Krieger, UFCJC

 

Women’s hearts, men’s rights: Reinforcing patriarchy in heart disease online

 Heart Disease is the number one killer of women in the United States each year, yet it is still viewed as a male-only disease. Understandings of heart disease have been influenced by the historical practice of studying diseases in male-only populations and assuming women experience symptoms and respond to treatments in the same way as men. Because women have been denied participation in the public sphere of heart disease women often turn to alternative spaces, such as online communities, to find health information. This study looked at two archived discussions focused on women’s heart health. One archived discussion was from a women-focused subReddit community and the other from a men-focused subReddit community. Performing a feminist critical discourse analysis revealed how these two discussion threads reinforced patriarchal understandings of heart disease which has impacts for potentially making change moving forward in how women’s heart health is discussed.

Author
Hayley Markovich, UFCJC

 

The Organizational Control and Organizational Identification of App-Based Gig Workers During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study is to advance organizational communication research by examining gig worker relationships with parent organizations utilizing the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent influx of demand for app-based gig workers. The onset of Covid-19, a novel coronavirus that predominantly spreads through respiratory droplets between people in close proximity, has created an unprecedented surge in demand for app-based gig workers, with 40% of Americans using gig services (e.g., home food delivery) since the onset of the pandemic. App-based gig workers are independent contractors who answer requests for service primarily, or exclusively, through smartphone application. This study utilizes organizational control, specifically Tomkins and Cheney’s double interact of control framework to examine communication patterns between gig workers and their at-will employers prior to and during the pandemic, as well as organizational identification amidst a rapidly changing work atmosphere with a focus on employee-employer value congruence. This study employs qualitative interviews in order to examine the aforementioned concepts. The researchers have completed semi-structured in-depth interviews over the phone with 18 self-identified app-based gig workers. Participants were employed at gig organizations such as Shipt, DoorDash, Uber, and Lyft. Preliminary coding has begun on this project with 90 minutes of sixteen hours (902 minutes) of interview transcription completed, utilizing Saldaña’s first, second, and third cycle coding methodology. This research contributes theoretical implications to the emerging organizational norm of casual employment through app-based gig work and helps to better conceptualize the multifaceted role technology plays between gig worker and employer and how control and identification influences their relationship. Practically, this study provides insight as to how employers may seek to strengthen and engage app-based gig work employees through congruent values and flexible pathways to successful algorithmic management.

Author
Renee Mitson, UFCJC

Co-Authors
Eugene Lee, University of Southern California
Jonathan Anderson, University of Minnesota

 

Is This Us? Perceived Realism and Learning Outcomes of Entertainment Media Portrayals of Transracial Adoption

As the number of transracial adoptions has risen in the United States, the representation of families formed through transracial adoption in television series and movies has also increased. Despite its growing prevalence and inherent value as part of the entertainment media landscape, little is understood about the ways viewers perceive the realism of these portrayals and what they learn from viewing. Therefore, 36 interviews were conducted (20 with transracially adoptive parents and 16 with parents who had not transracially adopted) to discover the perceptions of realism and learning outcomes of three entertainment media portrayals of transracial adoption (from This Is Us, Little Fires Everywhere, and Instant Family). While parents who had adopted transracially were generally more inclined to deem the clips as realistic than their non-transracially-adoptive counterparts were, the two groups reported similar individual elements of realism/unrealism. In line with social cognitive theory, several learning outcomes were reported by both groups of parents in addition to anticipated positive and negative effects of these portrayals on viewers. The third person effect was also evident as parents who had transracially adopted reported few negative outcomes of viewing the clips for themselves, but reported a plethora of potential negative outcomes for viewers who had not transracially adopted. Study results extend the applicability of perceived realism to the portrayal of transracially adoptive families and also highlight the nuances of social cognitive theory among parents of both adopted and biological children.

Author
Chelsea Moss, UFCJC

Co-Author
Franklin Waddell, UFCJC

 

The Family Court System’s Impact on Family Dynamics in Parental Alienation Cases

Parental alienation is a controversial topic in the mental health and legal professions, as well as the family court system. Often cited in high conflict divorce cases, parental alienation (PA) involves one parent (i.e., allied parent, alienating parent) manipulating their child(ren) to reject a relationship with the other parent (i.e., targeted parent, alienated parent). Research has identified specific behaviors that both alienating parents and children employ to distance and reject the other parent. In families with underage children, the family court system plays a major role in custody and child residence post-divorce. Research indicates that this system, meant to help children, often fails to identify PA due to a lack of awareness and knowledge, leaving children void of a relationship with one parent.

Author
Michaela Devyn Mullis, UFCJC

Teaching with our Pets: Renewing Nonverbal Communication Pedagogy

This panel is designed to have a conversation about activities done in our Nonverbal Communication courses where our pets serve as our “teaching assistants.” With the pandemic, we’re often at home with our pets letting them share our screens. The instructors in this panel will discuss particular activities where we explain how our pets are helpful in teaching elements of nonverbal communication. We invite our audience members to contribute, as well, to how their pets play a role in their classrooms.

Presenter
Diana Karol Nagy, University of Florida

 

Determinants of Alliance Formation and Dissolution Among International Health Organizations

Guided by Institutional Theory, this study examines the structural patterns of interorganizational collaboration networks in the global public health domain. Longitudinal network data were collected from 174 international non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations whose mission and main activities revolved around HIV/AIDS and other related health issues such as substance abuse, alcohol, and smoking. This study used the Separable Temporal ERGMs to investigate how organizational attributes and sector-level attributes influence tie formation and tie dissolution processes. The results revealed the important role homophily plays, which was attributed to geolocation and issue alignment. Furthermore, the results showed IGOs’ role in driving these global partnerships. Implications on how to sustain the global health alliance are provided.

Author
Rong Wang, University of Kentucky

Co-Author
Jieun Shin, UFCJC

 

What predicts a person will engage in social media activism? Understanding the impacts of social media uses, news consumption, and fear of isolation on individuals’ tendency to engage in social media activism

The current study aims at gaining a deeper understanding of roles that social media uses, news consumption and spiral of silence play in predicting individuals’ likelihood to engage in social media activism regarding a specific immigration issue of refugees or asylum-seekers in the United States. We tested several models to predict how social media use, traditional news consumption, and fear of isolation can predict people’s willingness to speak out (WTSO) or their willingness to self-censor (WTSC), followed by one’s tendency to engage in social media activism. We conducted a survey of 298 individuals. A hierarchical regression analysis (controlling for education level) found that individuals’ social media uses, news consumption, and congruence of their opinion with the news/social media have a significant influence on people’s WTSO or WTSC, followed by their tendency to engage in social media activism regarding the topic. Although the framework of spiral of silence theory is somewhat applicable in predicting one’s tendency to speak up in general, predictability for one’s likelihood to engage in social media activism about immigration was found to be insignificant.

Author
Rachel Son, UFCJC

Co-Author
Moon J. Lee, Syracuse University

 

Perceived Credibility of an AI Instructor in Online Education: The Role of Social Presence and Voice Features

Technological advancements made AI instructors, or more broadly machine teachers, a lived reality. However, little is known about how students will perceive credibility of an AI instructor that provides educational content. Thus, the present study examines the effects of voice and expertise of an AI instructor on perceived credibility of an AI instructor by conducting an online experiment with a 2 (voice: machinelike vs. humanlike) x 2 (expertise: novice vs. expert) between-subjects design. Findings indicate that students perceive greater credibility of an AI instructor with a humanlike voice than with a machinelike voice. The study also finds that social presence mediates the relationship between the voice of an AI instructor and the perceived credibility of the AI instructor. Finally, the credibility of an AI instructor positively influences students’ intentions to enroll in future AI instructor-based online courses. These findings imply the importance of developing AI instructors that are perceived as credible, as this will influence where students will enroll in an AI instructor-based online course.

Author
Jihyun Kim, University of Central Florida

Co-Authors
Kelly R. Merrill Jr., Ohio State University
Kun Xu, UFCJC
Stephanie Kelly, North Carolina A&T State University