Seniors’ research on risk behaviors grabs top award

Vedeline Torreon, a graduating neuroscience major, and Tatevik Zakaryan, a graduating psychology major, conducted a study this year that showed a link between environmental factors and binge drinking among college women. The students, in collaboration with their professor, Shelly S. McCoy, studied data which was previously collected at another university, to examine predictors of the behavior.

The team submitted their work to the Western Psychological Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas and presented their research during the Psi Chi Poster Session on May 1. The research was recognized by Psi Chi, the National Honor Society of Psychology, and the team was awarded the prestigious Psi Chi Research Award. 

“This is the first time in La Sierra University Psi Chi chapter history that our students have won this award, so it is very exciting,” McCoy said. Torreon is president of La Sierra University’s Psi Chi chapter, and Zakaryan is vice president.

“Being able to participate in the WPA’s conference was in itself a victory,” commented Zakaryan in an email. “Though nerves tried to get the best of me, the sheer joy and awe of being part of such an amazing conference filled with ambitious students and professionals quickly overshadowed my nerves. Grateful is what I am. Grateful to God, to Dr. McCoy for encouraging, guiding, and supporting us throughout this process, and our entire psychology department for believing in us and [providing] us with the opportunity to attend.”

The students are part of McCoy’s Emerging Adult Risk Behavior lab established this year in La Sierra’s Department of Psychology, which also houses the neuroscience program. They used data from a study at the University of California, Riverside derived from an online survey of 309 college women, and last September began discussing research questions, forming hypotheses, analyzing data and working on the convention submission.

The key finding of the study is that college women’s binge drinking behavior has more to do with the college environment and peer influences than with poor decision-making skills, Torreon and Zakaryan said.  

“For college students, one of the more prevalent forms of risk behaviors engaged in during this period is heavy episodic drinking, which has been linked with serious risk outcomes including physical, emotional, and academic consequences,” said McCoy.

Stated Zakaryan, “This study suggests that when it comes to efforts to reduce binge drinking among college women, it may be most effective to target environmental factors. For example, teaching college students how to navigate risk-conducive situations when their peers are around may help instill self-awareness and foster greater resistance to negative peer influences.” 

“The reason why I chose to be a part of this project is because I am fascinated with our ability to make decisions based on not only our own judgment, but based on others’ expectations and decisions,” she said. “Studying binge drinking especially among college students is alarming, yet it provides a world of possibilities which we ourselves may be unaware of. I want to dig deeper not only into our moral[s] as young individuals but also our habits, desires, and the driving forces behind our decisions.”

Zakaryan , who aims to pursue a Ph.D. in adolescent psychology at Loma Linda University, is working on a next project in McCoy’s lab, and with her professor is planning to submit the research for next year’s WPA convention. In the mean time, she is charting a career path in service to others and society.

“Upon receiving my Doctorate in Psychology, and with God’s guiding hand, I hope to work at juvenile detention centers,” said Zakaryan. “I strive to be of help to young individuals who may have lost all hope and desire for a bright future. Ultimately I want to encourage those young individuals to believe in themselves, and hopefully one day change the negative stigma that society has toward them.”