Date of Award

1-1-2011

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology

Program

Educational Psychology and Methodology

Content Description

1 online resource (xii, 120 pages) : PDF file, illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Joan Newman

Committee Members

Bruce Saddler, Zheng Yan

Keywords

adults, attention, CPT, impulsivity, PCBs, Polychlorinated biphenyls, Attention, Impulse, Mohawk youth

Subject Categories

Education | Psychology | Public Health

Abstract

Past animal and human studies have shown that exposure to PCBs can result in a wide range of negative toxic effects. However, only a few studies have investigated the relationship between PCB exposure and attention and impulsivity. The present study examined the relationship between current body burden levels of PCBs and attention and impulsivity in young adults ages 17 to 21 from the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne. The community is concerned because PCBs from industrial effluent have contaminated the local ecology and entered the Mohawk's food chain. Attention and impulsivity were measured by errors of omission and errors of commission respectively of the Conner's Continuous Performance Test. The PCB measure was the sum of those PCB congeners detected in 50% of the participants. After adjusting for possible confounding variables, the results from the regression revealed no relationship between PCBs and attention and impulsivity. This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS-ESO4913-10; ES10904-06), and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD- 1P20MD003373-01). The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center on Minority Health and Heath Disparities, or the National Institutes of Health.

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