Researching Sexual Activity and Mood in Young Adults

 Farwah Kaynat, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Psychology with a minor in Business

 

As we get older, sexual relationships become more prevalent amongst young adults. With age comes desire and needs that tend to increase after puberty. As a society, we do not really touch upon the topic of sexuality because it is considered taboo. However, it is important to address sexual concerns, especially at the age where young teenagers are just beginning to develop and do not have much knowledge. They begin to get involved in intimate relationships, and develop impulses to adjust to their sexual activity in order to satisfy physical and emotional needs.

Previous studies conducted by researchers have shown that sexual activity can have both positive and negative effects on mood. The area of the study I researched assessed if there was any correlation between sexual activity and its effect on an individual’s mood. From the studies I read, the effects are both positive and negative to an extent.

A study by Nobre showed that sadness has a negative effect on arousal. If one or both partners experience sadness or some sort of negative emotion, it will affect arousal and create conflicting thoughts. A study by Proulx also showed that mood conflicts with sexual fantasies. However, on the flip side, if the partners are in a happy mood and have a mutual understanding, they will have a pleasing experience. A study by Regan showed that an individual’s initial emotional response is different compared to when performing sexual activities and after climax. For example, the partners may be nervous about how one another may feel before any kind of activity; however, emotions may change afterwards depending on how the experience was.

If I continued this research, I would have created open-ended questionnaires and yes/no surveys, and distributed them amongst individuals from the ages of 14 to 23. I would have studied how they perform in school and in their work lives, along with how a lack of, or a healthy amount of sexual activity effects their mood and mental health.

Pediatric Research Leads to Interest in Pursuing OT

 Michelle Puma, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Psychology 

When I first started thinking of my capstone research, I thought I had it figured out. In my sophomore year, I was interested in physical therapy as a career and had planned ahead to do research related to that field. In the fall of 2019 I was lucky enough to have a mentor guide me in researching the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor on spinal cord injured mice. By the spring of 2020 most labs were closed in-person due to the pandemic, but I continued on with my research. I presented at the Undergraduate Conference and thought the hard part was over; I just needed to write my research paper.

Time passed, and I was in my senior year preparing to write my paper when unfortunately, my mentor was not available to help. This was a major setback considering I had completed most of the work. However, Cheryl helped me create a different capstone proposal that related to my passion of working with children with disabilities.

My idea for career paths has shifted since taking several elective classes for my Disability Studies minor. Understanding the bio-psycho social aspect of having a disability and the contextual factors that hinder the activities that are meaningful to someone with a disability has led to my interest in pursuing occupational therapy.

Cheryl connected me with Dr. Amanda Rotondo who had previous research in pediatrics. Dr. Rotondo was so helpful and accommodating. So much so, that writing a new topic didn’t seem as stressful anymore. I was able to work with her on the effect of disruption in continuation of PT/OT providers for children with disabilities.

After conducting this research, I gained a deeper understanding of the two professions, and understand how personal and environmental factors are considered when a person with a disability regresses in particular skills.

Effects of Online Learning for Students During COVID

 Madison Baialardo, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Mathematics and minor in Education

Becoming an educator is something I have dreamed of since I was in grade school. Due to the pandemic being an educator has become a challenging job. With students learning remotely it has been very hard for teachers to keep them engaged. As a future educator, I  can only imagine how hard it has been to keep students focused while they are at home.

There are pros and cons to remote learning that are different for each age group. Remote learning may be more of a challenge for elementary school students, but older students  may find the flexibility, time management, recording, technology, and money are all a huge part  of online learning.

I’m a very outgoing person and I did not realize that some students like online learning better. Some students do not like to interact and do group work, therefore being remote is a positive lens for these students. However, being remote is also hurting the mentality of students. Depression has increased among students since remote learning has begun.

As a college student, I felt that the flexibility, time management, and money saving aspect were  huge assets to online learning. Being remote allowed me to study longer and work more. I did not have to drive to campus, which saved time. I also managed my time better with assignments and saved money by not needing to pay for parking or gas. These pros were very helpful to many college students all across the country.

Although I feel that remote learning was a huge advantage for myself, I now realize that other students struggled. I was also able  to observe classes online so I was able to see the teacher's perspective as well. I can see many blank screens and the same students participating which I feel hurts the class. I asked the teacher what she thought of the blank screens and she replied, “I have no idea if they are paying attention. But I will continue to try to pull everyone in.”

Online Research During COVID

Martina Youssef, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Psychology and minor in Biology 

For my capstone project, I chose to write my research paper about how COVID-19 sheltering in place affected infant sleep. As part of the Psychology Child Development lab since the Fall of 2020, I thought I would be working with cute babies and learn about their communication and development. However, remote learning lasted longer than we all expected and I actually ended up never meeting those cute babies due to COVID restrictions. I was disappointed at first, but that did not stop me from benefitting from a great research experience.

It was challenging to work in a child development lab without being in contact with any children since parents were frightened to participate in any activities that might infect their child with the virus. That was completely understandable, so we made compromises in order to keep the projects and lab running. For example, instead of advertising my project’s survey in social events to parents, we made multiple virtual flyers and sent them out to local libraries, churches, friends of families, etc. We worked with a lower sample than usual, but it was enough to investigate all the options on how and why infant sleep changed during the pandemic.

I learned a lot through this journey, not just about child development, but also about teamwork, creativity, different approaches to analyzing data, and taking responsibility for assigned tasks. Furthermore, I learned how to receive and give better constructive criticism, especially with scientific papers. I was introduced to so many new approaches to testing an idea and analyzing the data for it. My project team went from creating a simple survey to coming to the conclusion that infants were also impacted by the pandemic just as much as adults. Different ways of analyzing that data helped us make a difference in the child development world by leading future research to further investigate the long-term developmental impact on those infants.

Anxiety and Fears of Going to The Dentist

Silvy Mansor, Verrazzano Class of 2021, completed major in Psychology 

In the process of developing and completing my project, I learned that people can be afraid of going to the dentist for a multitude of reasons. It is important for the dentist and the staff members to know how to response to all the patient’s concerns in order to assure them that they will be safe and comfortable. Staff should be educated about x-ray radiation, sterilization and disinfecting procedures, and how to be able to comfort a nervous patient.

There are many ways of treating dental fear, such as hypnosis and desensitization methods, as well as clear communication between the patient and dental staff members regarding the patient’s treatment.

If I continued to pursue this research, I would conduct a questionnaire to give out to patients in a dental office that may indicate types of anxiety towards going to the dentist. The purpose of the continued research is to indicate what the reasons are, why they experience the anxiety and how  they can resolve these anxieties. An experiment could also be conducted by having multiple groups of people for different types of treatments. The results could show which treatment is the most effective in how to resolve and help with dental phobia.