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Obstetric Violence And Postpartum Adjustment: Exploration Of Risk And Resilience Factors, Hope O'Neill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obstetric violence includes acts of abuse, coercion, or disrespect that occur during the labor process. The present study explores how obstetric violence impacts a person’s postpartum psychosocial adjustment. This study used a subset of data (N = 339) from a larger online study, which attempted to explore multiple facets of a person’s postpartum health. The psychological constructs examined are postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety. Additional constructs assessed were protective and risk factors: self-compassion and medical mistrust. Self-compassion and medical mistrust were examined by using moderation models. Additional analyses were completed using simple regression models to explore whether obstetric violence predicts …

A Pandemic’S Potential To Haunt: A Longitudinal Look At The Professional Wellbeing Of Tn’S Infant And Early Childhood Mental Health (Iecmh) Workforce, Robyn A. Dolson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) providers engage in uniquely relational work with high-risk families that expose them to the full advantages (i.e., compassion satisfaction [CS]) and disadvantages (e.g., burn-out [BO]) of a helper role. Though the pandemic seemed poised to escalate disadvantage, most early pandemic studies found high CS alongside elevated BO. Unfortunately, as COVID-19 has continued, CS has declined while BO has increased. Given the delayed COVID-19 impact on children, these changes may be particularly acute for IECMH providers. Using a longitudinal cohort of 27 IECMH providers, this study aimed to describe and quantify changes in professional …

Strong As A Mother: The Resilience Of Women Who Have Previously Experienced Infertility, Madison Hinkle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infertility impacts numerous individuals during their reproductive journey. Yet, there is little research and information available that examines if having a history of infertility goes on to have further implications after an individual conceives and gives birth. Thus, the current study aimed to examine if infertility impacts the postpartum period, and if there were any particular risk or resiliency factors that contributed to this relationship. In this study, women aged 18 to 50, who had given birth within the last 12 months, participated in an online survey that assessed a variety of physical and mental health constructs. Overall, results largely …

Gratitude And Sleep Quality In Primary Care: Mediating Effects Of Health Self-Efficacy, Health Behaviors, And Psychopathology, Heather R. Altier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sleep disturbances are prevalent among primary care patients, and psychological dysfunction, including stress, anxiety, and depression, are robust contributors to poor sleep health. Yet, the presence of potential protective characteristics, such as health self-efficacy and engaging in adaptive health behaviors, may mitigate such outcomes. Gratitude (i.e., recognition and appreciation of experiences, relationships, and surroundings), a positive psychological cognitive-emotional characteristic, may serve as a catalyst of these beneficial downstream effects, given its association with improved health functioning and sleep. In a sample of primary care patients (N = 869) from 50 urban and 30 rural practices in Germany, health self-efficacy …

Sexual Trauma, Health, And The Moderating Effect Of Psychological Flexibility And Inflexibility, Gabrielle A. Caselman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual trauma is linked to adverse health outcomes (e.g., D’Andre et al., 2011). Given the negative sequelae of sexual trauma, exploration of factors that influence the relation between sexual trauma and health outcomes is crucial. Current literature suggests that psychological flexibility and inflexibility may be factors in promotion of individuals’ health or pathology (e.g., Gloster et al., 2017). The current study sought to explore the variability in psychological flexibility and inflexibility among participants and the potential moderating effects of psychological flexibility and inflexibility on the relation between sexual trauma and both mental and physical health outcomes.

Moderation analyses failed to …

Behavioral Indicators Of Reflective Functioning In Mother-Child Dyadic Interactions, Rachel Clingensmith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Positive parenting practices and secure attachments are consistently linked to healthy child outcomes (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991; Waters et al., 2000). Research on cognitive processes that scaffold parental behaviors which contribute to secure attachment is an essential contribution to the literature, particularly given the potential for early intervention with at-risk families. Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) is a construct of increasing interest which has been linked to secure attachments and positive child outcomes, with one commonly used self-report measure of PRF being the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ; Camoirano, 2017; Clingensmith, 2021; Luyten et al., 2017). As such, the purpose of …

The Reinforcement Enhancing Effects Of Delta-9-Tetrahyrdrocannabinol (Thc) In Male And Female Rats, Kynah Walston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis is widely consumed by humans for pharmacological effects that are mediated by THC, though there is little evidence that THC is a primary reinforcer in non-human animal models. We hypothesized that THC may have potent reinforcement enhancing effects, comparable to other drugs (e.g., nicotine and caffeine) which are also widely consumed by humans, but difficult to establish as primary reinforcers in non-humans. In three experiments with male and female rats saccharin (SACC) or a visual stimulus (VS) served as reinforcers for operant behavior. We explored several pharmacological parameters of THC on responding for SACC or VS, including THC dose, …

Preference For Abstinence-Based Recovery And Public Stigma Toward Substance Use Disorders, Diamond Meadows

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study drew from the publicly available Amerispeak survey (n = 6,515) and examined public stigma towards different substances, the relationship between preferences for abstinence-based recovery and stigma toward each substance, and whether perceived dangerousness of substances moderates the relationship between preferences for abstinence-based recovery and public stigma. The results indicate that the general public has greater stigmatizing attitudes towards methamphetamine use disorder than cocaine use disorder, opioid use disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Furthermore, a preference for abstinence-based recovery was associated with greater stigmatizing attitudes toward all SUDs. The perceived dangerousness of a substance did not moderate the …

Approaching Trans Healthcare Competency: The Implementation Of Trans Health Education For Medical Providers In Appalachia, Rebecca Altschuler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Barriers to competent and safe healthcare disproportionately impact people who are marginalized because of their race, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status. It is well documented that transgender patients in particular experience barriers to both accessing care and receiving high quality, non-discriminatory care (Hatzenbuehler & Pachankis, 2016; James et al., 2016; Rahman et al., 2019; Safer et al., 2016). This lack of access to culturally competent healthcare services contributes to health disparities that disproportionately impact the trans community. Literature on barriers to competent care for trans patients indicates that providers experience discomfort related to their ability to provide competent care (Safer …

Dyadic And Ecological Associations With Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv): Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling To Differentiate Ipv From Community Crime, Rachel Carpenter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) has largely focused on individual and dyadic-level risk factors, but recently studies have explored how the surrounding environment is associated with IPV/IPSV. Studies that have explored community-level variables typically only use IPV/IPSV samples and do not first compare indicators of IPV/IPSV to those of general crime in those same communities. To address these gaps, this study was conducted in two parts. Data were retrieved from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Reporting System, County Health Rankings and Roadmaps System, the US Census Bureau, and other sources. Study 1 first …