2007 Student Grant Competition Winners

Stephenie Chaudoir

HIV/AIDS Disclosure and Outcomes

Stephenie Chaudoir, University of Connecticut

"The current research will test a theoretical model of HIV/AIDS disclosure that simultaneously examines multiple factors hypothesized to predict and inhibit disclosure that are conceptually related to either the discloser or the disclosure recipient. The model will also examine how disclosure affects well-being by assessing the relationships between disclosure events and post-disclosure psychological and HIV/AIDS-relevant behavioral outcomes. The proposed study will employ a disclosure recipient-specific, longitudinal design in order to assess how these disclosure processes vary across disclosure recipients and time for people living with HIV/AIDS. The APS student research grant has helped tremendously in covering the cost of participant recruitment and compensation."
April Clift

Emotion-Modulated Startle in Major and Minor Depression: The Role of Mood Severity in Emotion Reactivity

April Clift, University of South Florida

"The startle response is a defensive reflex to an aversive stimulus that is generally quantified in humans by the magnitude of the eye blink response. Emotion modulation of startle refers to the magnitude of the startle reflex varying as a function of the affective foreground. To clarify whether deficits in emotion-modulated startle are a biomarker of syndromal MDD, we will examine startle during affective picture-viewing among individuals with syndromal MDD, subsyndromal MDD, and among asymptomatic individuals. This project is designed to examine whether blunted startle modulation represents a risk factor for more severe depressive episodes and whether deficits in startle modulation represent a vulnerability to repeated episodes of depression."
Elizabeth Rahn

Cannabinoid Suppression of the Development of Chemotherapeutic Neuropathy

Elizabeth Rahn, University of Georgia

"The purpose of this study is to determine if chronic cannabinoid administration can inhibit or lessen the severity of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain is a syndrome commonly experienced by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapeutic treatment. Our previous research has demonstrated that acute cannabinoid administration attenuates this neuropathy. The current study will examine chronic administration of a cannabinoid and opioid agonist, a commonly administered analgesic for patients experiencing this form of pain."
Jessica Salvatore

A Self-Regulatory Approach to Conformity and Dissent

Jessica Salvatore,Princeton University

"The self-concept appears to play a crucial role in regulating social behavior. This research assesses whether regulatory capacity moderates that relationship. Specifically, we use an attitude-change paradigm to examine whether people who see themselves as independent actually behave independently when their capacity to self-regulate is impaired. We tendto observe ironic conformity under these circumstances. The goal of ongoing research is to investigate the mechanisms underlying this effect."