The research projects of more than three dozen psychology students were on display in the University Union Redwood Room today as part of the 2009 Annual Research Conference.

Studies from undergraduate and graduate students focused on a wide-range of topics, varying from eating disorders and violent dating attitudes to the effects of divorce on children and ethical behavior of police and military personnel.

“I am extremely biased as a faculty member to say that our students do great research,” said Phillip Akutsu, assistant professor of psychology at Sacramento State. “This great research, however, has also been recognized on national and international levels.”

Included in the group of researchers were the recipients of the 2009 B.F. Skinner Foundation Scholarship for Graduate Student Research in California, the 2009 Research Poster of the Year Award by the American Psychological Association and the 2009 Western Psychological Association for Multivariate Award for Outstanding Student Research.

Lisa De La Rue, graduate student of psychology, was the recipient of the Multivariate Award for her project titled “Structural Equation Modeling of College Student Achievement Motivation.” She said the study revealed that students who have strong self-efficacy values and feel they have control of their success will have greater success in college.

“I chose this topic because of the research techniques,” De La Rue said. “I wanted to learn about more advanced techniques that I have used in the past.”

De La Rue conducted another study that was presented at the conference, titled “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interventions for Youth in Mental Health Treatment Programs.” The study revealed that behaviors such as substance abuse and running away increased the chances of youth completing mental health interventions.

“When the research of students is internationally accepted, they can’t always stand proud by their work and answer questions. This conference gives them the opportunity to do so,” Akutsu said. “The students compete for awards against more than 100 students, students from Harvard and highlight accredited schools. The achievements of our Sac State students are great, and they should be recognized.”

First-year graduate student Pegah Naemi attended the conference to gain experience for her psychology research.

“It’s really nice to see what my peers are doing, and how greatly their researched progressed,” Naemi said. “They are doing fantastic work.”

Other studies included Jeffrey Moulton’s research about personal wellbeing, based on the “Love of Life” scale.

“Individuals with greater life satisfaction, positive affect and optimism tend to experience greater love of life,” his study ready.

According to his research, high levels of self acceptance and extraversion lead to an increased love of life. Greater negativity, perceived stress, neuroticism and less self-esteem result in a lesser love of life.

“This here is the excellent part of university system,” psychology department chair Bruce Behrman said about the conference. “The talent of the students and their research is what is important, not the budget.”

Brittany Bottini can be reached at [email protected].