Posted on May 8, 2025 by Amanda Cerreto
From uncovering patterns in public health to analyzing the social forces that shape our communities, students across HCAP are diving deep into data and scientific inquiry to better understand the world around us.
This year’s student research presentations highlighted not only the rigor of their academic training but also their commitment to tackling complex, real-world questions. Their work reflects the growing role of interdisciplinary research in solving today’s most pressing challenges.
Sociology and Demography
The Department of Sociology and Demography had 21 presenters total. While they did not hold awards this year, each student had fantastic and thorough research and lively conversations with peers and faculty.
Juan Aguirre: “The Effects of Additional Resources on Perceptions of General Self-Efficacy”
Shujie Han: “Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health, and Buddhism in Thailand: Testing the Stress-buffering Hypothesis”
Jianfeng He (w/ Dr. Zhiyong Lin): “Social Isolation and Mortality among Middle-aged and Older Adults in China: An Examination of Gender and Rural-Urban Disparities”
Amanda Hogan: “I Thought We Were Meeting About Safety So Why are We Drinking Bourbon? Understanding Drinking Culture in the Service Industry”
Adrian Meza Holguin: “Assessment of State-Level Disability Prevalence in Mexico 2014-2023 and Disability Population Projections 2025-2050”
Antonio Jimenez: “From Subversion to Mainstream: The Shifting Power of Drag”
Sarah Jumper: “Culture’s Effect on Human Development”
Anamika Kumar: “Neighborhood Walkability and Cardiovascular Health in Texas”
David Lansang: “Exploring Group Dynamics within Anime Communities”
Caleb Leong: “Association Between Maternal Depression and Low Birth Weight in the U.S. by Race and Ethnicity”
Rebecca Luttinen: “Socioeconomic Vulnerability and Nonmarital Fertility at the County Level – Assessing the Mediating Role of Midlife Mortality”
Arianna Morales-Garza: “To the Sex Talk! The First One We’ve Ever Had! [A Qualitative Study of the School-Based Sexual Education Experiences Received within Different Generations of Society]”
Nhan Nguyen (w/ Dr. Ginny Garcia-Alexander): “How Religious Struggles May be Linked to Loneliness via Social Support in the United States: Testing the Moderating Effect of Race/Ethnicity”
Humyra Jabin Rama (w/ Dr. Raymond Swisher): “Variation in Women’s Physical Health across Parental Stages”
Raygen Richey (w/ Drs. Terrence Hill, Liying Luo, Ginny Garcia-Alexander, and Liwen Zeng): “Is America White Enough for You? An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis of Great Replacement and Immigration Concerns Among White Americans”
Jessy Rugeyo: “Does Natural Hazard Susceptibility Exacerbate Mortality? Investigating Social Vulnerability and Health Outcomes in U.S. Counties”
Lima Saha (w/ Dr. Fernando Riosmena): “Exploring the Relationship between Multimorbidity and Childbirth Parity among Women in the USA”
Drew Schaefer: “Reversals in Subnational Working Age Life Expectancy”
Jacob Souch (w/ Drew Schafer, Dr. Adolph J. Delgado, and Dr. Lynne S. Cossman): “Abortion Across the Line: Investigations of State-Level Policy Environments and Their Effects on Patient Distributions”
Zi Wan: “Round-the-Clock Shifts: How U.S. Workers’ Hours Changed Between 2006 and 2022”
Roshanak Zargar (w/ Dr. Kara Joyner, Wendy Manning, and Krista Westrick-Payne): “Cohort Variation in the Mental Health of Sexual Diverse Populations: Evidence from BRFSS”
Public Health
The Public Health Research Showcase had a strong turnout, with such thorough research that second and third places were tied.
1st place Poster:
Allison H. Wright et al: The Association Between Blast Exposure and Vestibular Symptom Improvement in Post-9/11 Veterans with Vestibular Symptoms: A Retrospective Cohort Study
2nd place Poster (Tie):
Sofia Smeigh et al.: Exploring the Migration Intentions of Aspiring African Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic review of Brain Drain Dynamics
Joy Demesi et al.: Revolutionizing Healthcare in Nigeria for the Aging Population
Servando Barajas et al.: Healthcare Transition Disparities Among Typically Developing, Autistic, and Special Healthcare Needs Adolescents in the U.S.: Insights from the National Survey of Children's Health
3rd place Poster (Tie):
Gregory Orewa et al.: Brain Drain in African Healthcare: A Systematic Review and Policy Implications
Gregory Orewa et al.: Privatizing Care: The Impact of Private Equity's Influence on U.S. Nursing Homes
Caleb Leong et al.: Association Between Maternal Depression and Low Birth Weight in the US by Race and Ethnicity
Giliane Muyna et al.: Geospatial Variation in Particulate Matter, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Life Expectancy in Texas
Psychology
The Department of Psychology Research Symposium had a strong turnout, highlighting the impactful research taking place in the department and the central role students hold in those efforts.
Graduate Student Awards
First Place: Isabella Swafford – Change My View: Unpacking the Complex Emotional, Cognitive, and Analytic Processes Underlying Persuasion (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Vivian Ta-Johnson)
Second Place: Stephanie Daau – The Indirect Influence of Cognitive Flexibility on Quality of Life through Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Sandra B. Morissette)
Third Place: Stephanie Mills – Social Media Fever: An Examination of Mediating and Moderating Links Between Social Media Use and Demoralization (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. David Pillow)
Undergraduate Student Awards
First Place: Marcelo Coronel and Riley Lucas – Perceptions about Women’s Leadership Effectiveness and Styles by Race and Ethnicity of the Woman Rated (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Mike Baumann)
Second Place: Ariana Sabal – Children Taking Care of Children: Perceptions of Supervisory Neglect and Anticipatory Reporting Behaviors (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Monica Lawson)
Third Place (three-way tie between):
Alfonso Carballo – Police Use of Analytical Language Predicts Perceptions of Procedural Justice in Police-Civilian Interactions (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Vivian Ta-Johnson)
Jasmine Mondragon – Comparing Hispanic and White TNB Individuals on Depression Levels Moderated by Gender Rejection (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Shelby Scott)
Alicia D. Torres – Using Illusions of Auditory Motion to Locate and Interact with Moving Sounds (Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Edward J. Golob)
— Amanda Cerreto
