Digital Commons Network^™

Depression And Suicide Behavior Among College Students: Understanding The Moderator Effects Of Self-Esteem And Suicide Resilience, Canzi Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As suicide-related incidents on college campuses increase and receive intense media coverage and a growing percentage of college students experience suicide ideation and attempts, there is a desperate need for a more profound understanding of suicidality and its risk and protective factors among college populations. Recent years there has been a growing interest in the buffering effect of resilience on suicidality (Johnson, Wood, Gooding, Taylor, & Tarrier, 2011). This study adds to the suicide literature by exploring the relationship among depression, self-esteem, suicide resilience, and suicidality. Undergraduate students from a large university in the Western United States were asked to …

Longitudinal Interplay Of Dating Anxiety And Romantic Cognitions And Behaviors From Adolescence To Young Adulthood, Jessica K. Winkles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dating is normative in adolescence and young adulthood, but can be disrupted and distressing to individuals experiencing dating anxiety. Cognitive-behavioral theories suggest dating anxiety impacts romantic cognitions and behaviors, and romantic cognitions and behaviors impact dating anxiety. Thus far, investigators have been unable to explore the interplay between dating anxiety and romantic cognitions and behaviors because studies are limited by cross-sectional designs. The present study examined longitudinal associations between two types of dating anxiety (dating interactions and active intentions for dating) and romantic appeal, jealousy, and compliance during conflict. Two hundred adolescents participated in the study, which began in the …

Applying A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding And Evaluating The Effects Of Family Treatment Among Sexually Abusive Youth, Jamie R. Yoder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Families are frequently identified as a risk for supporting and perpetuating sexually abusive behavior among youth. Traditionally, the field has focused on deficits of families rather than considering them as a resource to promote change. Although emerging literature strongly argues the need to target families in the healing process, treatment initiatives rarely follow suite, and research has failed to comprehensively document the effectiveness of family-inclusive treatment. Knowing there are several gaps in literature, the current study was conducted to investigate the process of engagement in treatment, understand the nuances of family treatment, and to uncover positive outcomes associated with family …

The Relationships Between Executive Function And Positive Reappraisal Abilities In Adulthood, Yen-Chen Chang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Positive reappraisal, a type of emotion regulation that involves cognitively reframing negative information in a positive light, has been shown to promote resilience in stressed individuals (i.e., it decreases depression and enhances well-being). The ability to use positive reappraisal (PRA) varies widely across individuals, raising the question of which cognitive functions might support this ability. Only a few studies have investigated this question, and they have not yet examined the relationships between PRA and executive functions that involve emotional materials ("valence-specific executive functions;" EF). The first part of the present study examined the relationships between PRA and two types of …

Analysis Of The Scale Of Parenting And Life Functioning Using The Rasch Measurement Model, Laricia Longworth-Reed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine dimensionality, reliability, invariance, targeting, scale use and functioning of items across subgroups for a sample of 278 on the Scale of Parenting and Life Functioning (SPLF). Analysis was conducted using a Rasch partial credit model. Overall, the SPLF showed good overall fit to the model. Unidimensionality of the scale was supported in the analysis, with over 60% of the raw variance explained by the measure. Item fit also provided evidence that the items fit the model. Scale categories displayed clear monotonicity. No differential item functioning was found for mother's age, race/ethnicity, …

Ptsd, Depression, And Substance Abuse Symptoms In Women Exposed To Intimate Partner Abuse, Claire L. Hebenstreit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study explores relationships among several established correlates of trauma in women exposed to intimate partner abuse (IPA), including PTSD, depression, and dissociation symptoms as well as alcohol use as well as other trauma-related variables, such as social support and violence exposure. Two analysis methods were utilized: variable-oriented methods, which examine relationships between variables, and person-oriented analysis methods, which examine groupings of participants within a larger sample (N = 233). Results of the variable-oriented analyses indicated positive links among depression, PTSD, dissociation, and alcohol use in women exposed to IPA, as well as positive links between the aforementioned …

Attentional Processes Associated With Victimization History And Posttraumatic Symptomatology In Women Exposed To Intimate Partner Violence, Ryan B. Matlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) puts women at risk for severe and chronic physical and mental health consequences, including elevations in IPV-related psychopathology and increased risk for future victimization. Previous research has examined attention as one of the key information processing mechanisms associated with elevated psychopathology and risk for victimization; however, the nature of attentional processing in response to IPV-related information in women exposed to IPV is poorly understood. Therefore, the current study aimed to further understanding of associations between attentional processing, IPV exposure, and related distress using measures of eye movement and subjective interpretations of IPV-related information. A …

Mental Health Literacy Of Latina Women In The United States For Their School-Aged Children, Annarheen S. Pineda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite known mental health (MH) disparities faced by Latino children relative to children from other minority groups of similar socioeconomic status (SES), little is known about how Latina mothers make MH decisions for their children. The present study examined links between Latina mothers' mental health literacy (MHL), including the recognition of and response to child psychiatric symptoms, and maternal acculturation factors as well as interpersonal violence (IPV) related symptomatology. Participants were 80 Latina mothers from Denver, Colorado and Modesto, California with at least one child between the ages of 8-12 years. Mothers were presented vignettes depicting child internalizing and externalizing …

Examining The Alliance-Outcome Relationship: Reverse Causation, Third Variables, And Treatment Phase Artifacts, John Paul M. Reyes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Psychotherapy research reveals consistent associations between therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes in the youth and adult literatures. Despite these consistent findings, prospective associations are not sufficient to support the claim that the alliance is a change mechanism in psychotherapy. The current study examined the direction of effect of the alliance-outcome relationship, the contribution of early symptom change in treatment to the development of therapeutic alliance, and the potential for pretreatment interpersonal functioning characteristics to be third variables that account for the association between alliance and outcome. Participants were adolescents with depression and a history of interpersonal trauma that presented to …

Effects Of Societal Norm Manipulation And Presentation Order On Perceived Relationship Satisfaction, Tina Rene Negley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While many studies have examined the effects of persuasion on attitudes, few studies have focused on using norms to change perceived satisfaction. This study addressed the need for literature assessing the effects of societal norms on perceived relationship satisfaction. Participants in this study were randomly provided with one of two surveys: one with a set of normative statements regarding an "average couple" that were over-exaggerated, the other with understated norms. Analyses looked to identify whether individuals presented with the high norms were more likely to rate their relationship satisfaction lower, after controlling for demographic and personality characteristics. Hierarchical regression revealed …

Comparing Integrative Complexity Of Holocaust Rescuers And Perpetrators, Fernando Alberto Ospina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To contribute to the social psychological literature on Holocaust rescue, this thesis seeks to explore possible connections between open-mindedness and rescuing during the Holocaust, a previously unexplored intersection in the social science literature. Open-mindedness is the ability and/or willingness to adopt alternative points of view (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), while rescuing entails helping others in high-risk circumstances without expectation of reward or compensation.

While most of the scientific study of psychology has focused on how human beings are flawed and damaged. People are seen as sick or damaged and the scientific study of psychology tends toward trying to alleviate these …

The Influence Of Gender And Alcohol Use On Depressive Symptoms Among Men And Women, Elizabeth Anne Peters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the extent to which gender influences self-reported prototypical and masculine-specific symptoms of depression in men and women and whether or not alcohol mediates this relationship. Secondly, this study evaluated the effectiveness of the Denver Comprehensive Depression Inventory (DCDI), in measuring prototypical and masculine-specific depressive symptoms in clinical and non-clinical samples of men and women.

This paper summarizes the literature on gender differences in depression and the assessment of depression and gender, and outlines the current research on masculine-specific depression. It is argued that current assessment instruments identify prototypical symptoms of depression, as outlined in the DSM-IV-TR, but …

Longitudinal Effects Of Improving Inter-Parental Relationships In Low-Income Couples: Child Outcomes, Erica Grace Moran Etter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poverty and economic hardship create tremendous stress for families, and subsequently are risk factors for child psychopathology. The Fatherhood, Relationship, and Marriage Education (FRAME) program is a 14-hour psychoeducation intervention developed specifically to strengthen the ability of low-income mothers and fathers to reduce conflict, cope with stress, and co-parent effectively, hopefully helping to create more stable and secure environments for children. The FRAME study is a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a couples-based intervention in a sample of 301 ethnically diverse low-income cohabiting mothers and fathers who are parenting at least one child together. Couples were randomly assigned …

Relationship Adjustment In African American/White Interracial Couples, Elizabeth Rose Muino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interracial intimate partnerships are at greater risk for relationship dissolution (i.e., divorce or permanent separation in cohabitating couples) than their endogamous counterparts (Bratter & King, 2008). However, a disparity in dissolution rates exists between African American male/White female pairings and African American female/White male pairings. This study sought to elucidate psychological variables that may be related to this sizable discrepancy. It was hypothesized that differences between these pairings exist with regard to color-blindness, empathy, sexism, and relationship adjustment. It was further hypothesized that color-blindness, empathy, and sexism, as controlled for by gender and race, would predict relationship adjustment.

Participants included …

Attrition In A Telephonic Intervention Program For Depressed, Low-Income Patients In A Primary Care Setting, Benjamin C. Salazar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Telemental health interventions are currently being implemented in primary care settings in order to reduce the cost of providing treatment and increase access to services of underserved groups. Studies of the efficacy of telemental health interventions have generally demonstrated high rates of attrition. Eysenbach (2005) suggested that the reality of high attrition rates in telemental health studies prompts further investigation into the factors related to attrition. Such research should focus on identifying the characteristics of clients who drop out of treatment and at what points such clients are likely to drop out. The purpose of this study was to identify …

Korean American Adolescents' And Their Parents' Attitudes And Expectations Toward Group Counseling, Myoung Ah Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the relationships between three important cultural factors—acculturation, self-disclosure, and gender— and Korean American adolescents’ attitudes and expectations about group counseling. In addition, the relationships between two of these factors−acculturation and self-disclosure, and Korean parents’ expectations and attitudes about group counseling as a potential treatment modality for their adolescents were examined. Ninety-three Korean high school students who attended 9 private afterschool programs provided by the Korean Institute of Southern California (KISC) in the Los Angeles area and their 93 corresponding Korean parents participated in the present study. For the student sample, the …

Establishing A Normative Profile On The Mmpi-2 For Missionary Candidates, Jonathan Dimos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined MMPI-2 data of 377 missionary candidates who presented for psychological assessment at Missionary Care Services. The purpose of the study was to establish a normative profile for missionary candidates to enhance interpretive validity and reduce missionary attrition. Mean T scores were established for the missionary candidate sample on the F, L, and K validity scales and the ten Clinical Scales. Analyses were conducted to compare the mean T scores of the missionary candidate sample to the mean T scores of the nonclinical normative population of persons taking the MMPI-2 for employment purposes. For both males and …

Group Treatment For Adult Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Relationship Between Social Bonds And Symptom Severity, Robin E. Lange

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the session-to-session change in symptom severity and social bonding ability in the participants of groups for survivors of sexual trauma. The concept of social bonding ability was addressed by examining the participants’ beliefs about the availability of social support, their beliefs about themselves, and their beliefs about their relationships with their group leaders. Group leader ratings of the level of process focus of their group were also measured. Twenty women between the ages of 19 and 55 receiving group treatment at three community agencies in Colorado were included in the study. Groups included in the study were …

Student School Engagement As A Potential Predictor Of High School Completion, Jennifer Albanes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a dropout epidemic in the United States. In the US, 25% of high school students do not graduate on time. For Latinos, the number is worse, with only 64% graduating from high school. Current research is clear that 9th grade is a critical year for keeping students in school. Students that earn all their credits for their core classes in 9th grade are more likely to graduate than students who fail one or more class during their freshman year. Prior to this study, engagement has been connected to dropout in the literature, but with differing ideas of how …

The Impact Of Shared Musical Identity, Shared Family Identity, And Accommodation On Satisfaction In Parent/Young Adult Relationships, Ryan C. Hancock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the potential influence of shared musical identities of young adult children and their parents in relation to communicative and relational aspects of family, in order to determine whether musical tastes of individuals impact family relationships. In this research study, 196 college students reported on their perceptions of shared musical identity with their parents, shared family identity, parental accommodative communication behaviors, and family satisfaction. Results indicated that shared musical identity positively predicted perceptions of shared family identity, parental accommodative behaviors, including general accommodation, overaccommodation, topic management, and family satisfaction. Furthermore, shared musical identity and shared family identity positively …

Relationship Between Employee Involvement Management Practices And Burnout Among Military Mental Health Providers, Raymond-Steven Almora Fernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study will investigate the relationship between Employee Involvement Management Practices, Burnout, and work-related consequences of Burnout. The sample for this study was drawn from a population of Military Mental Health Providers in the United States Navy. Based on research information about work stress, direct service work, and the costs of interpersonal work, there is a strong potential for Burnout to occur among individuals working in such a setting.

Burnout has been shown to lead to negative organizational consequences such as increased employee turnover, reduced organizational commitment, reduced job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and cynicism, all of which can result in …

Trauma In Transportation: Factors Contributing To Positive And Negative Outcomes Of Involvement In Trauma For Railroad Workers, Jill Veronica Pinarowicz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored several predictors of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) in a sample of 136 train employees. The first objective was to examine the influence of number of work related traumas, number of life traumas, age, personality characteristic extroversion, personality characteristic openness, social support, positive cognitive coping, and negative cognitive coping in the prediction of PTSD. The second objective was to assess the influence of number of work related traumas, number of life traumas, age, personality characteristic extroversion, personality characteristic openness, social support, positive cognitive coping, and negative cognitive coping prediction of PTG.

Freight …

Thank You, Dear: Examining The Association Between Gratitude And Relationship Well-Being, Erica Pearse Ragan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study replicated and extended existing research on gratitude by examining the ways in which gratitude is related to both individual and relationship well-being. A total of 387 participants completed the pre assessment and were randomized into the study, with 251 participants completing the full study (i.e., pre, post, and follow-up assessments). Participants were randomly assigned to list relationship-focused gratitudes, amusing events, or general events that happened during their day for 14 days. The differential impact of the three interventions on both individual and relationship variables was investigated. The relationship-focused and general events conditions experienced decreased negative affect from …

Cognitive Reappraisal Ability As A Protective Factor: Resilience To Stress Across Time And Context, Allison S. Troy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emotion regulation is crucially involved in individuals' psychological health. For example, the frequent use of cognitive reappraisal, or changing the way one thinks about an emotional event, is positively associated with psychological health. Recent cross-sectional findings have shown that the ability to use cognitive reappraisal (cognitive reappraisal ability; CRA) is associated with lower depression in the context of high stress. However, two important questions about CRA remain unexamined: 1) Does CRA predict long-term adjustment to stress? 2) Do the protective effects of CRA depend upon the type of stress encountered? To examine these questions, a community sample of men and …

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle? An Examination Of Factors Influencing Environmental Behavior In Denver, Colorado, Dan J. Kasper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Non-recycling and non-composting of municipal solid waste have important natural resource management implications, in that they both reduce energy, water, and raw natural resource use. Responsible waste management also likely has positive climate impacts by virtue of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling and composting are pro-environmental behaviors that have been shown to be influenced by numerous socio-demographic and psychological factors. This study analyzes the correlation of a number of variables with frequency of recycling and composting in select census tracts in Denver, CO, USA, with the goals of informing waste management policy and contributing to the overall pro-environmental behavior literature. …

Bully/Victim Power Inventory: Measuring The Power Imbalance In The Bully/Victim Relationship, Marybeth Plonkey-Lehto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The empirical study of the power imbalance in the bully/victim relationship has impeded research synthesis, and the need for a quantitative measure of this key component has been well established in the literature. Lack of differentiation between victimization with and without power imbalance has been cited as a possible cause for imprecise measurement. Increased precision in bully victimization measurement is needed to accurately inform research investigating psychosocial health, treatment and positive outcomes, in addition to prevention and intervention programs. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was the initial development and validation of the Bully/Victim Power Inventory aimed at differentiating perceived …

Latino Family Involvement: An Exploratory Study Of Latina Mother-Daughter Relationships And Their Effects On Educational Attainment And Resiliency, Maria Ana Rodriguez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Latino family involvement is an important issue in the field of education. Effective strategies to promote family involvement in the Latino community are vital for the educational attainment of Latino students and emotional wellbeing of Latino families. This study used focus groups, in-depth interviews, and observations to examine Latino family involvement and the relationships and communication patterns between Latina mothers and daughters. The Latina mother-daughter relationship was studied in an effort to gain a better understanding of how this relationship affects a Latina daughter's educational attainment and sense of resiliency. Results indicated that a positive relationship between a Latina mother …

Responses To Domestic Violence Public Service Ads: Memory, Attitudes, Affect, And Individual Differences, Courtney Elizabeth Welton-Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public service ads (PSAs) are an increasingly visible part of efforts to decrease the occurrence and consequences of domestic violence. Like other advertising, domestic violence PSAs are designed to grab attention, influence attitudes, and enhance memory for ad content. Over the years, images in domestic violence PSAs have changed substantially; agencies have started using pictures that generate emotions - either vivid negative images (bruised faces or body parts), or positive images (smiling faces) that contrast with the negative text. It is not clear, however, how different types of ad images influence memory for the message and attitudes about domestic violence, …

The Relationship Between Middle School Students' Perceptions Of Physical Activity, Student Engagement, And Academic Achievement, Jeremy D. Moretti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Physical activity is important, and many adolescents are not meeting the recommendation that youth participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week (CDC, 2011). Physical inactivity among middle school students is on the rise and may be a contributing factor to a decline in academic performance. Prior research has focused primarily on bodily health; however, growing evidence supports the benefits of physical activity for academic achievement (Chomitz et al., 2009). This study examined the relationship between middle school students' perceptions of physical activity and student engagement they relate to academic achievement among 179 middle …

The Creation Of Art Books With Adolescents Diagnosed With An Eating Disorder: Effectiveness, Self-Esteem, And Related Factors, Eileen Chaves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This pilot study undertook a mixed methods exploration of the interaction of art therapy and self-esteem in an adolescent eating disorder population. Using therapeutic art books in a group format, adolescents created art about their feelings, their eating disorder, or whatever else they deemed important. This art technique is relatively new and novel as an art therapy intervention. Therefore, this study aimed to look at the technique's effectiveness at decreasing participants' negative mood states and investigated the technique's ability to affect participants' perceptions of their self-esteem. Measures of global self-esteem and art therapy related self-esteem were measured using the Rosenberg …