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OPUS: Open Ulethbridge Scholarship

Open ULeth Scholarship (OPUS) is the University of Lethbridge's open access research repository. It contains a collection of materials related to research and teaching produced by the academic community.

Self-archiving your research in OPUS is one way to meet Open Access policies of granting agencies. It is important to retain your final, post-peer-reviewed drafts for submission to OPUS, as this is often the only version publishers will allow to be archived. Click here for information on the U of L Open Access Policy.

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    "Be a Dreamer": the role of emotions and resources in sustaining progressive youth activism in Alberta
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Sociology, 2026) Dobbie, Megan; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Lenon, Suzanne
    The fight for progressive social change in Alberta at this historical moment is happening in a highly polarized political climate in which far-right ideologies are ascendent. In the face of this, youth activists aged 18 to 35 are committed to fighting against oppressive systems of power based in the ultra-conservatism of the province in an effort to enact progressive change. Using qualitative interviews and discourse analysis, this thesis seeks to address the following question: What sustains youth activism in Alberta? This thesis answers this question by focusing on two key elements of sustainment. First, it examines the role of emotions in moving activists towards action and helping sustain their efforts. While sadness signals an awareness of injustice, anger transforms this awareness into action. Hope provides sustainment through its future-oriented optimism while empathy and love connect activists to those who are suffering— sustaining, and driving transformative action. Second, it examines the role of resource availability and distribution in sustaining activism. Resource availability is determined not only by what resources are needed for subsistence, but also how resources are produced and distributed within unequal systems of power. As such, this thesis considers not only material resources but also how sustainability is a social process that depends on solidarity and mutual care. By highlighting the emotional and material conditions that sustain youth activism, this study demonstrates how progressive activism is cultivated and sustained within an intensifying conservative landscape.
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    Investigating the magnitude and extent of recreational trail effects on plant communities in Waterton Lakes National Park
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciences, 2026) Davis, Heather; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; McCune, Jenny
    Protected area managers are faced with the challenge of balancing environmental protection and recreation in a context of increasing wildfire frequency and severity. However, few studies have assessed how trail use levels, vegetation type, wildfire, and the interactions between them impact nearby plant communities. I assessed 70 trailside transects adjacent to low, medium, and high use trails and 14 off-trail transects in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada. I measured plant species richness and community composition at 0m, 2m, 5m, 10m and 15m from the trail edge, and tested for differences in these metrics based on distance from the trail, trail use level, vegetation type, burn status, and interactions between these factors. To calculate the total area of influence, I multiplied the extent of significant trail effects by the total trail length with the associated characteristics. As expected, species richness was elevated near trail edges compared to the 15m quadrat. However, species richness was highest along low and medium use trails relative to high use trails and off-trail. The occurrence of exotic species near trails was elevated post-fire, but only in coniferous forests. Additionally, the abundance of exotic species was higher 15m from trail edges in burned sites than unburned sites. Trails affect up to 3.1km2 (0.61%) of vegetation in Waterton, and up to 4.5km2 (0.89%) if informal routes have similar effects. The magnitude and extent of trail effects on plant communities depend on the complex interactions between trail use levels, vegetation type, and recent wildfire. While the total area affected is relatively small, it may increase as visitation increases and recreationalists continue to explore informal routes; therefore, this study serves as a baseline for ongoing changes caused by trails.
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    Parent-other and parent-child ratings agreement on ADHD and co-occuring emotional and behavior symptoms among children with ADHD in the MADDY study
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2026) Roy, Anupam; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Health Sciences; Leung, Brenda
    Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition commonly diagnosed in childhood. Multi-informant (parents, teachers, and children) reporting of symptoms is a standard practice in pediatric behavior research. However, informant discrepancies are frequently observed and may influence screening accuracy. The objective of this study was to examine the level of parent-other adult (teacher, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or neighbor who knew the child’s behavior well) and parent-child agreement for ADHD core symptoms and co-occurring emotional and behavior symptoms in children with ADHD and whether the agreement differs by child sex. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the MADDY study was conducted to assess the level of parent-other adult and parent-child ratings agreement. Parent-other adult agreement was assessed across CASI-5 domains, including inattention, hyperactivity, social and academic impairment, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), and anger related behavior. Parent-child agreement was assessed across PROMIS domains, including anger, anxiety, depression, peer relations, and sleep. Agreement at all domains were analyzed using data of two timepoints: baseline and week 8. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants. Informant agreement was assessed using concordance correlation coefficients (CCCs), with confidence intervals estimated via bootstrapping. Bland-Altman plots were used to visually assess systematic bias, identify patterns of disagreement, and evaluate the limits of agreement across raters. Stratified analyses by child sex were conducted to explore sex-based differences in informant agreement. Results: A total of 126 children were enrolled in the RCT (mean age = 9.8 years; 73% boys), with analytic sample sizes for this study varying by domain due to data availability. Most families (57.6%) reported annual household incomes > $80,000, and 61.1% parents held a university degree or higher. Parent-other adult agreement on CASI 5 domains was poor at baseline (CCC = 0.12 - 0.43) and week 8 (CCC = 0.34 - 0.53), with agreement for inattention significantly improved at week 8 (diff CCC = -0.27 (95% CI: -0.44 to -0.09)). Parent-child agreement across PROMIS domains was also poor at baseline (CCC = 0.07 - 0.39) and week 8 (CCC = 0.09 - 0.26). Parents tended to report higher symptom severity than other adults across most CASI-5 domains at both time points, and greater anger severity than their children at both time points as well as lower sleep disturbance at week 8. Sex-specific differences in agreement were observed, with higher parent-other adult agreement for inattention among girls at week 8 (diff CCC = -0.33 (95% CI: -0.58 to -0.04)) and higher parent-child agreement for peer relations among boys at baseline (diff CCC = 0.46 (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.81)). Conclusions: Overall low level of parent-other adult and parent-child ratings agreement underscores the differences in informant perspectives. It also reflects variations in contextual demands, informants’ knowledge and expectations, the nature of their relationships with the child, and subjective interpretations of behavioral and emotional symptoms. Children’s sex may play a role in symptom recognition and reporting patterns, and further studies stratified by sex is warranted. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of incorporating sex-sensitive framework and multi-informant assessment approaches to improve the precision of screening in research context.
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    The voice inside your head and self: a systematic review of relationships between self-directed speech and self-processes
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2026) Sterling, Cassidy; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education; Brenner, Charlotte; Morin, Alain
    Self-talk plays a central role in a variety of self-related processes such as reflection, evaluation, and regulation. Self-talk is a well-established aspect of human cognition, though its relationships with broader self-processes such as self-consciousness, rumination, mindfulness, self-concept clarity, and self-esteem remain fragmented. The present study aimed to synthesize existing empirical findings to clarify how individual differences in self-talk relate to self-processes. Guided by PRISMA-informed systematic review procedures, this narrative review examined studies published between 2000 and 2025 that reported correlations between validated self-talk self-report measures and self-process self-report measures. Eligible studies included both published and unpublished works and were grouped according to the specific self-talk subtypes and the self-process constructs examined. Relationships across studies showed a consistent pattern suggesting that the function and tone of self-talk were more predictive of outcomes than its overall frequency. Evaluative and critical forms of self-talk were more strongly associated with maladaptive self-processes such as higher rumination, lower self-esteem, reduced self-concept clarity, and lower mindful acceptance. In contrast, positive or reinforcing self-talk was generally, though less robustly, linked to more adaptive outcomes. Notably, mindful acceptance appeared to mitigate the negative impacts of harmful self-talk when compared to mindful awareness alone. These findings support theoretical models that place self-talk as a central mechanism of self-construction and self-processing. Clinically, the results highlight the importance of targeting evaluative and critical self-talk using cognitive-behavioural models, fostering acceptance-based approaches in therapeutic interventions, and tailoring interventions to the client’s level of self-talk. Future research should focus on longitudinal and experimental designs, greater conceptual consistency, and broader cultural representation.
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    Investigating neural synchrony in intimate couples and roommates using electroencephalography during naturalistic emotional stimuli
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Neuroscience, 2026) Allahdad, Niayesh; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Ekstrand, Chelsea
    Prior research has suggested that romantic couples exhibit greater inter-brain synchrony than other dyads; however, these findings may be confounded by differences in shared experience. This thesis examined how relationship type, relationship satisfaction, emotional similarity, and social proximity contribute to neural synchrony during naturalistic emotional processing. To address this, the present study compared romantic couples and roommate dyads using electroencephalography (EEG) and phase lag index (PLI) analysis while participants viewed emotionally evocative stimuli with positive, negative, and neutral valence. Results provided limited support for the relationship-type differences in neural synchrony. Although some effects suggested greater synchrony in couples, particularly in frontal regions during emotionally arousing conditions, these effects were not robust and did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Relationship satisfaction and emotional similarity were also not consistently associated with neural synchrony. In contrast, relationship duration was positively correlated with neural synchrony in both couples and roommates, with significant associations observed in the theta band that survived correction for multiple comparisons. These findings suggest that neural synchrony during naturalistic experiences may be better explained by shared experience and social proximity rather than relationship category alone. The results highlight the importance of considering interaction history and familiarity when interpreting inter-brain synchrony and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the mechanisms underlying neural alignment in social contexts.