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Latino Definitions Of Success: A Cultural Model Of Intercultural Competence, Lucas Torres

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The present study sought to examine Latino intercultural competence via two separate methodologies. Phase 1 entailed discovering and generating themes regarding the features of intercultural competence based on semistructured interviews of 15 Latino adults. Phase 2 included conducting a cultural consensus analysis from the quantitative responses of 46 Latino adults to determine the cultural model of intercultural competence. The major results indicated that the participants, despite variations in socioeconomic and generational statuses, shared a common knowledge base regarding the competencies needed for Latinos to successfully navigate different cultures. Overall, the cultural model of Latino intercultural competence includes a set of …

Psychological Impact Of Negotiating Two Cultures: Latino Coping And Self-Esteem, Lucas Torres, David Rollock

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Among 96 Latino adults, active coping accounted for variance in global self-esteem beyond that of biculturalism and sociodemographic indicators. The findings highlight the importance of accounting for the way Latino adults approach negotiating multiple cultural contexts. Extending acculturation research to integrate competence-based formulations provides comprehensive information regarding cultural adaptation.

Entre una muestra de 96 adultos Latinos, el afrontamiento activo dio cuenta de la varianza en autoestima global más allá de los indicadores de biculturalismo y sociodemográficos. Los hallazgos destacan la importancia de buscar una explicación a la forma en que los adultos Latinos enfocan la negociación de múltiples contextos culturales. …

Modulation Of Long-Term Memory By Arousal In Alexithymia: The Role Of Interpretation, Kristy A. Nielson, Mitchell A. Meltzer

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Moderate physiological or emotional arousal induced after learning modulates memory consolidation, helping to distinguish important memories from trivial ones. Yet, the contribution of subjective awareness or interpretation of arousal to this effect is uncertain. Alexithymia, which is an inability to describe or identify one’s emotional and arousal states even though physiological responses to arousal are intact, provides a tool to evaluate the role of arousal interpretation. Participants scoring high and low on alexithymia (N = 30 each) learned a list of 30 words, followed by immediate recall. Participants then saw either an arousing (oral surgery) or neutral video (tooth …

Semantic Memory Activation In Individuals At Risk For Developing Alzheimer Disease, Michael Seidenberg, Leslie Guidotti, Kristy A. Nielson, John L. Woodard, Sally Durgerian, Piero Antuono, Q. Zhang, Stephen M. Rao

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: To determine whether whole-brain, event-related fMRI can distinguish healthy older adults with known Alzheimer disease (AD) risk factors (family history, APOE ε4) from controls using a semantic memory task involving discrimination of famous from unfamiliar names.

Methods: Sixty-nine cognitively asymptomatic adults were divided into 3 groups (n = 23 each) based on AD risk: 1) no family history, no ε4 allele (control [CON]); 2) family history, no ε4 allele (FH); and 3) family history and ε4 allele (FH+ε4). Separate hemodynamic response functions were extracted for famous and unfamiliar names using deconvolution analysis (correct trials only).

Results: Cognitively intact older …

Enhanced Post-Learning Memory Consolidation Is Influenced By Arousal Predisposition And Emotion Regulation But Not By Stimulus Valence Or Arousal, Kristy A. Nielson, William Lorber

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Emotionally arousing stimuli are more memorable than neutral ones and arousal induced after learning enhances later retrieval. However, there is as yet little study of how stimulus qualities might interact with induced arousal and how individual differences might influence the modulation of memory. Thus, the present study examined the effect of arousal induced after learning on memory for words that varied in both arousal and valence quality, as well as the influence of three individual differences factors that are known to influence arousal response: emotional suppression, emotional reappraisal, and arousal predisposition. Seventy-six adults (57 female) viewed and rated 60 words …

Semantic Memory Activation In Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, John L. Woodard, Michael Seidenberg, Kristy A. Nielson, Piero Antuono, Leslie Guidotti, Sally Durgerian, Qi Zhang, Melissa A. Lancaster, Nathan Hantke, Alissa Butts, Stephen M. Rao

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Cognitively intact older individuals at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease frequently show increased functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain activation presumably associated with compensatory recruitment, whereas mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients tend not to show increased activation presumably due to reduced neural reserve. Previous studies, however, have typically used episodic memory activation tasks, placing MCI participants at a performance disadvantage relative to healthy elders. In this event-related fMRI study, we employed a low effort, high accuracy semantic memory task to determine if increased activation of memory circuits is preserved in amnestic MCI when task performance is controlled. Fifty-seven participants, aged …

Acute Stress Modulates Risk Taking In Financial Decision Making, Anthony J. Porcelli, Mauricio R. Delgado

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

People’s decisions are often susceptible to various demands exerted by the environment, leading to stressful conditions. Although a goal for researchers is to elucidate stress-coping mechanisms to facilitate decision-making processes, it is important to first understand the interaction between the state created by a stressful environment and how decisions are performed in such environments. The objective of this experiment was to probe the impact of exposure to acute stress on financial decision making and examine the particular influence of stress on decisions with a positive or negative valence. Participants’ choices exhibited a stronger reflection effect when participants were under stress …

Gender Specific Disruptions In Emotion Processing In Younger Adults With Depression, Sara L. Wright, Scott Aaron Langenecker, Patricia J. Deldin, Lisa J. Rapport, Kristy A. Nielson, Allison M. Kade, Lawrence S. Own, Huda Akil, Elizabeth A. Young, Jon-Kar Zubieta

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Background: One of the principal theories regarding the biological basis of major depressive disorder (MDD) implicates a dysregulation of emotion-processing circuitry. Gender differences in how emotions are processed and relative experience with emotion processing might help to explain some of the disparities in the prevalence of MDD between women and men. This study sought to explore how gender and depression status relate to emotion processing. Methods: This study employed a 2 (MDD status) × 2 (gender) factorial design to explore differences in classifications of posed facial emotional expressions (N=151). Results: For errors, there was an …

Semantic Knowledge For Famous Names In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Michael Seidenberg, Leslie Guidotti, Kristy A. Nielson, John L. Woodard, Sally Durgerian, Qi Zhang, Amelia Gander, Piero Antuono, Stephen M. Rao

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Person identification represents a unique category of semantic knowledge that is commonly impaired in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but has received relatively little investigation in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The current study examined the retrieval of semantic knowledge for famous names from three time epochs (recent, remote, and enduring) in two participant groups: 23 amnestic MCI (aMCI) patients and 23 healthy elderly controls. The aMCI group was less accurate and produced less semantic knowledge than controls for famous names. Names from the enduring period were recognized faster than both recent and remote names in both groups, and remote names …

Attributions To Discrimination And Depression Among Latino/As: The Mediating Role Of Competence, Lucas Torres

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Methodological Background Of Decision Rules And Feedback Tools For Outcomes Management In Psychotherapy, Wolfgang Lutz, Niklaus Stulz, Zoran Martinovich, Scott Leon, Stephen M. Saunders

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Systems to provide feedback regarding treatment progress have been recognized as a promising method for the early identification of patients at risk for treatment failure in outpatient psychotherapy. The feedback systems presented in this article rely on decision rules to contrast the actual treatment progress of an individual patient and his or her expected treatment response (ETR). Approaches to predict the ETR on the basis of patient intake characteristics and previous treatment progress can be classified into two broad classes: Rationally derived decision rules rely on the judgments of experts, who determine the amount of progress that a patient has …

Laying The Foundation For Progress Research In Family, Couple, And Individual Therapy: The Development And Psychometric Features Of The Initial Systemic Therapy Inventory Of Change, William M. Pinsof, Richard E. Zinbarg, Jay L. Lebow, Lynne M. Knobloch-Fedders, C. Emily Durbin, Anthony L. Chambers, Tara A. Latta, Eli Karam, Jacob Z. Goldsmith, Greg Friedman

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

This article details the development and methodological characteristics of the Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change (STIC), the first measurement system designed to assess change in family, couple, and individual therapy from a multisystemic and multidimensional perspective. The article focuses specifically on the developmental process that resulted in the five valid and reliable scales that comprise the core measure of the system, the INITIAL STIC, which is administered to clients just before beginning therapy. The scales focus on five systemic domains: individual adult, family of origin, couple, family, and individual child. This article describes the five system scales, the results of …

Anticipatory Smiling: Linking Early Affective Communication And Social Outcome, Meaghan Venezia Parlade, Daniel S. Messinger, Christine E.F. Delgado, Marygrace Yale Kaiser, Amy V. Van Hecke, Peter C. Mundy

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

In anticipatory smiles, infants appear to communicate pre-existing positive affect by smiling at an object and then turning the smile toward an adult. We report two studies in which the precursors, development, and consequences of anticipatory smiling were investigated. Study 1 revealed a positive correlation between infant smiling at 6 months and the level of anticipatory smiling at 8 and 10 months during joint attention episodes, as well as a positive correlation between anticipatory smiling and parent-rated social expressivity scores at 30 months. Study 2 confirmed a developmental increase in the number of infants using anticipatory smiles between 9 and …

The Primary Prevention Of Sexual Violence Against Adolescents In Racine County And The Community Readiness Model, Theresa A. Dewalt

Dissertations (1934 -)

Sexual violence affects tens of thousands of people annually in the United States. The majority of sexual assault victims are under the age of 18. Victims of sexual violence often experience severe, long-lasting ramifications, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, interpersonal problems, suicidal ideation, self-harm behaviors, and eating disorders. As a result of these effects, it is imperative that communities provide effective primary prevention of sexual violence programs. However, it is challenging to effectively implement sexual violence primary prevention strategies for a variety of reasons. One challenge is because it is difficult to construct a prevention program that changes the …

Pretreatment Client Characteristics And Treatment Retention In An Intensive Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Program, Shauna Elizabeth Fuller

Dissertations (1934 -)

The effectiveness and efficacy of substance abuse treatment is well established. At the same time, clients often prematurely drop out of substance abuse treatment, negatively impacting their chances of achieving favorable outcomes. Investigating variables associated with treatment retention has become increasingly important considering one of the most robust findings in substance abuse treatment outcome research is the positive relationship between the amount of time spent in treatment and post-treatment outcomes (e.g., decreased drug/alcohol use, decreased criminal activity, improved social functioning). This study examined the relationship between pre-treatment client characteristics and treatment drop-out among 273 adults who were admitted to intensive …

Client Characteristics And Treatment Retention In An Outpatient Drug-Free Chemical Dependency Program, Jessica A. Thull

Dissertations (1934 -)

Substance abuse and dependence have detrimental effects at both micro and macro societal levels. Even so, these disorders appear to be amenable to treatment and persons who receive treatment for such problems generally achieve positive outcomes. However, reported substance abuse treatment dropout rates have varied greatly and no consistent "treatment dropout" profile has been detected. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of clients entering an intensive outpatient chemical dependency treatment program and to examine how these variables differed between clients who were retained in treatment to completion and clients who dropped out of treatment prematurely. Additionally, it explored whether …

Depression Among The Oneida: Case Studies Of The Interface Between Modern And Traditional, Mark R. Powless

Dissertations (1934 -)

Depression, defined by a EuroAmerican biomedical diagnostic criterion, using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition, Text Revision is prevalent among First Nations peoples. However, some studies suggest that the term depression may hold little heuristic value outside of its EuroAmerican conceptualization. This study utilized qualitative methods to understand how depressive symptoms are conceptualized and experienced by traditional Oneida people. A vignette was presented and in-depth interviews of seven traditional healers, culture and Oneida language experts were conducted to: (1) gain a basic understanding of traditional views of mental health, (2) acquire multiple conceptualizations of someone who presents …

Effects Of Individual Secularity, Institutional Secularity And Campus Activity Involvement On College Student Suicidal Ideation And Attempts, Christopher Daood

Dissertations (1934 -)

Using undergraduate data from a recent study on the Nature of College Student Suicidality, this paper explored the impact of campus activity involvement, individual secularity and institutional secularity as risk and/or protective factors for college student suicidal ideation and attempts. Results revealed that students who participated in at least one campus activity and students who affiliate with a Christian faith were less likely to seriously consider suicide in the last twelve months. Gender differences were found in the relationship between institutional secularity and serious consideration of suicide, with non-secular institutions serving as a protective factor for women, but not men. …

Processing The Therapeutic Relationship, Clara E. Hill, Sarah Knox

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

The authors propose that if therapists and clients process their therapeutic relationship (i.e., directly address in the here and now feelings about each other and about the inevitable problems that emerge in the therapy relationship), feelings will be expressed and accepted, problems will be resolved, the relationship will be enhanced, and clients will transfer their learning to other relationships outside of therapy. The authors review theories supporting the idea of processing the therapeutic relationship, discuss the relevant empirical literature in this area, and provide their conceptualization of the construct of processing the therapeutic relationship based on the theory and empirical …