FYCS at the 20th F3S Annual Conference of the Social Sciences

A student presents a research poster at the 2026 Conference of the Social Sciences. — Presenting posters at the F3S conference.

On April 18th, 2026, the Florida Society of the Social Sciences (F3S) hosted their 20th Annual Conference of the Social Sciences (CSS). F3S invites researchers in the social sciences to share and discuss their research with other social scientists. Researchers from the UF/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences presented research across various family, youth, and community-oriented topics.

The 20th Annual F3S Conference of the Social Sciences focused on the theme of Social Structure and Social Pathways: Power and Possibilities. Social science researchers met at the Reitz Union to discuss their ongoing investigations in topics such as crime and deviance, health and wellness, gender and sexuality, and inequality and satisfaction.

FYCS at F3S: Conference Presentations and Posters

Presentations at the conference from FYCS included:

Gahyun Park, Xiaoya Zhang, Jeneé Duncan, and Catalina Lopez-Quintero— Latent Profiles of Childhood Maltreatment and Their Associations with Adolescent Anxiety and Depression.
Tayana Malewschick, Kate Fogarty— The Impact of Negative Life-Events and Emotional Strain on Vaping Among Florida Adolescents
Jenna Carrig, Eden Temesgen, Shaun Khurana— How Religious Exemptions to Nondiscrimination Laws Shape Child-Placing Organizations: Evidence from Florida and Texas
Dairys Montes de Oca, Kimberly Wiley— Game-Based Training for FANO Volunteers: Safer Food and Less Waste
Chance Dyer, Shaun Khurana— From Calling to Quitting: A Study of Intention to Quit Among Preservice Teachers

Posters included:

Carley Lutzow; Catherine Campbell; Jeanette Andrade; David Diehl; Melissa Vilaro— Key Nutrition Behavior Determinants of Collegiate Female Cross-Country Athletes, University of Florida

Awards

Outstanding Paper- First Place

Gahyun (Grace) Park presented Latent Profiles of Childhood Maltreatment and Their Associations with Adolescent Anxiety and Depression. Since 2016, there’s been a steady increase in adolescent anxiety and depression. Individuals who have experienced adversity, such as childhood maltreatment (CM), are often vulnerable for developing these mental health problems. Grace’s research highlights the positive association between CM and later mental health problems. Her research also underscores that individuals experience maltreatment in distinct patterns or “profiles.”

In her study, Grace found that adolescents in the High CM with Abuse-Dominant profile demonstrated higher anxiety and depression compared to those in the Low CM with Neglect-Dominant profile. These findings suggest that different types of CM may impact development in varying ways. This research has important implications for clinicians, social workers, and policymakers aiming to understand how patterns of CM deferentially impact mental health and create more targeted maltreatment interventions.

Outstanding Presentation Award- First Place

Tayana Maslewschik presented The Impact of Negative Life-Events and Emotional Strain on Vaping Among Florida Adolescents. This research is guided by General Strain Theory that outlines a process with exposure to stressful life circumstances leading to delinquency as a problematic behavior. This research applied Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST) in a novel way to understanding problematic behavior of vape use among adolescents in Florida in 2024, as reported by over 18,000 high school students who completed the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS).

Findings supported application of GST to understanding the etiology of teen vaping, as a negative life event of exposure to violence at home was significantly associated with having vaped in the past 30 days. The violence and vaping association was mediated by teens’ depression, an indicator of emotional strain in GST. Preliminary evidence for social support from parents and teachers moderated the effect of violence exposure in relation to vaping. Thus, social support, a characteristic feature of GST proposed as having a reductive effect on problem behavior, evidenced as a protective factor against vaping for teens exposed to violence.

Runner-Up Poster Award

Carley Lutzow presented Key Nutrition Behavior Determinants of of Collegiate Female Cross-Country Athletes. Lutzow, a recent doctoral graduate in Youth Development and Family Sciences, earned second place for her poster presentation. Her research investigates health outcomes in female athletes, identifying key factors that impact nutrition behaviors among them. She explores how psychological, social, and environmental factors affect the way female athletes approach food preparation and consumption. Her research on female athletes, a population often underrepresented in research on athletes, intends to inform the development of interventions to address their unique needs.