Booth Id:
BMED017
Category:
Biomedical and Health Sciences
Year:
2019
Finalist Names:
Charles , Joyabhishek (School: Americus Sumter High School)
Abstract:
Every day, students in high school and college must endure various causes of stress, ranging from completing rigorous assignments to fulfilling their extracurricular commitments. Using information obtained from scientific articles pertaining to the correlation between "interpersonal hugs" and a happier outlook on life, I hypothesized that a "mini-hug", a firm grip on a smaller body part such as an arm, would promote the same beneficial effects as a full-scale hug. I designed an apparatus that allows for a cuff placed on the forearm to be electrically inflated using an air pump motor to where the pressure of the cuff resembles someone holding the forearm. To conduct my experiment, I first gathered a sample of 20 high school male students, between the ages of 14-18. Then, I provided them with a survey that asks them to indicate their current stress level on a scale of 1-10 and recorded their blood pressure value. Next, I randomly assigned 10 students to an experimental group and the others to a control group. For the experimental group, I administered the mini-hug on the participant for 10 minutes. The control group only breathed deeply for 10 minutes without the mini-hug. Finally, I provided the participant with another survey that asks the participant to record his current stress level and recorded his final blood pressure. If the stress levels and blood pressure showed a greater average decrease than those of the control group, then the mini-hug can be shown as effective in reducing the markers of stress. If proven effective, the mini-hug has the potential to easily help those in stressful situations to cope with their stressors and produce a more efficient workforce and student population.