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The State Of Mental Health In The Mountain West, 2023, Ayda Atici, Freddy Nie, Jesse M. Fager-Larsen, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet examines the state of mental health for both youth and adults and availability of mental health care in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The data are retrieved from Mental Health America’s (MHA) 2023 report, The State of Mental Health in America.

Identifying Trauma Related Predictors Of Dissociation In Maltreated Youth, Amanda L. Mraz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Maltreated youth who experience traumatic dissociation are at an increased risk for various psychopathological difficulties. Much is still unknown about the machinations behind experiences of dissociation post-trauma. This study aimed to identify variables that place maltreated youth at risk for experiencing traumatic dissociation (e.g., dissociative amnesia, absorption and imaginative involvement, passive influence, depersonalization and derealization, and total adolescent dissociative experiences symptoms (A-DES)). Investigatory variables included demographic (e.g., age, gender, and racial identity), cognitive (e.g., resiliency and posttraumatic cognitions), and psychological (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD) and anxiety) factors. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was utilized to observe the …

The Psychopathology Circumplex+: A Novel Conceptualization Of Psychopathology And Associated Measure, Edward A. Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Fearless Dominance (FD) and Impulsive Antisociality (IA) are two personality traits often used in the study of psychopathic personality. FD is characterized by a lack of empathy, resilience to stress, and social potency, while IA is marked by impulsivity, selfishness, and manipulativeness. The current trio of studies sought to expand the use of FD and IA to assess psychopathology more generally. Study 1 consisted of a meta-analysis of all the relationships between FD/IA and various forms of psychopathology. Results affirmed that FD and IA each correlate with a variety of different psychological disorders, each to varying degrees of magnitude, but …

Identifying Clinical Profiles In A Community Sample Of Youth With Selective Mutism, Melanie Rede

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Selective mutism (SM) refers to a consistent failure to speak in social situations that have an expectation for speaking, despite fluent speech in other situations (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Recent researchers describe SM as a heterogeneous disorder not always characterized by anxiety (Driessen et al., 2020). Specifically, some have argued that SM may be better explained as a neurodevelopmental rather than an anxiety disorder (Kearney & Rede, 2021). The aim of the present study was to find unique classes for anxiety, oppositional, and communication difficulties among youth with SM. Participants included 129 caregivers of youth with SM aged 6–14 years …

Examination Of Performance Validity And The Relationship To Cognition And Symptoms In Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Erick A. Rogers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Approximately one-in-five individuals with psychotic disorders (i.e., schizophrenia spectrum disorders [SSD]) fail performance validity indicators (PVIs) during neurocognitive testing. Ensuring the validity of neurocognitive test results is necessary if the test scores are to be of use for diagnostic consideration, intervention selection and planning, predicting outcomes, and following changes in cognition over time in response to intervention, spontaneous recovery, or disease progression. PVIs are designed to require only a minimum level of engagement with the evaluation, which means nearly everyone is expected to “pass,” even those with moderate to severe brain damage. Traditional interpretations of PVI failure suggest a noncredible …

Measurement Invariance Of Impact In Bilingual And Monolingual High School Athletes, Hana Cecilia Kuwabara

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Given the reported negative consequences of sport related concussion (SRC), establishing the validity of concussion management tools is essential if they are used to determine the severity of concussion, track recovery or decline, implement effective interventions, and assist in return-to-play decision making. Previous research has found cognitive and symptoms differences on ImPACT, the most widely used SRC assessment measure, between monolingual and bilingual student athletes. Before further investigation of these differences can occur, measurement invariance of ImPACT must be established to ensure that differences are not attributable to measurement error. The current study has two aims: 1) to replicate a …

The Relationship Between Psychopathy And Sexism Across Self-Report, Vignette, And Novel Dialogue Tree Tasks, Arianne Fisher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Psychopathy is a personality construct consisting of a number of traits often associated with what many consider to be the “dark side” of personality. Multiple models and associated measurement tools have been created in an attempt to conceptualize psychopathy, but the field has not reached a consensus in its definition of this construct at this time. Across models, psychopathy is associated with a number of negative attitudes and behaviors, including various forms of prejudice. The relationship between psychopathy and one form of prejudice has not been examined, constituting a serious gap in the literature. This form of prejudice is ambivalent …

Examining The Factor Structures Of The Erq-Ca, Rcads, And Rsca To Identify Unique Predictors Of Ptsd Symptom Clusters In Maltreated Youth, Amanda N. Howard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Youth who have experienced maltreatment have a higher risk of developing posttraumatic disorder (PTSD), which is associated with poorer mental and behavioral health outcomes including emotion dysregulation, anxiety, depression, and lower resiliency. At present, the literature largely focuses on youth who have experienced general trauma or PTSD symptoms, while maltreated youth are vastly understudied. The present investigation was the first study to date to examine the factor structures of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA), the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS), and the Resiliency Scale for Children and Adolescents (RSCA) in a sample of maltreated …

Clinical Utility Of The Substance Use Items Of The Sport Interference Checklist In Collegiate Athletes, Igor Kowal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Collegiate sports are growing in popularity (National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2022) and pressure to perform (van Raalte & Posteher, 2019); leading to difficulties in collegiate athletes’ mental health (Rice et al., 2016), particularly in regard to increased substance use (Wilson et al., 2021). Current literature demonstrates that existing substance use assessments are most likely not answered truthfully by athletes (van den Berg et al., 2018), are not applicable to real-world contexts, can be intrusive, and are expensive to administer. In the current study, psychometric properties of items from a self-report measure of substance use interference with sport training and competition …

Initial Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of The Mental Health Optimization Checklist (Mhoc), Raymond E. López

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: The Mental Health Optimization Checklist (MHOC) is a proposed measure which utilizes the theory of optimization science to improve mental health outcomes. Psychopathology is typically viewed dichotomously (i.e., does or does not have a disorder) or through cut-off criterion (i.e., 4 out of 5 symptoms, total scores), whereas optimization views psychopathology on a continuum on which patients can optimize factors impacting their mental health. Optimization theory is important for reducing stigma around mental health treatment and the MHOC offers itself as an informative psycho-diagnostic tool.

Methods: An undergraduate student sample (n = 682) completed the MHOC and the Symptom …

Cultural Mechanism Of Mothers' Perceptions Of Youth Psychopathology, Yen-Ling Chen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cross-cultural research systematically identifies variations in cultural practices, meanings, and responses across different cultural groups. For example, psychiatric symptoms vary in their salience and degree to which they are reported across cultures. Cultural differences in causal attributions likely lead to differences in an individual’s help-seeking intention. However, there are limitations in previous cross-cultural studies about perceptions of psychopathology, including not measuring impairment level and parental distress, as well as the problematic use of categorical variables as predictors. To overcome limitations in previous work, the current project examined the cultural mechanism of mothers’ perceptions of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology in youth. …

Diabetes Related Distress And Co-Occurrence With Depressive Symptoms In Urban Low-Income African American And Hispanic/Latinx Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Laurie Ruggiero, Sarah Williams Leng, Mary De Groot, Ben S. Gerber, Rosalba Hernandez, Lauretta Quinn

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Introduction. Burden of diabetes in the U.S. is greater in racial-ethnic minority populations than non-Hispanic Whites. Depression and diabetes-related distress (DRD) are recognized as relatively common and important psychosocial areas to address in people living with diabetes. Limited research in the U.S. has focused on DRD in racial-ethnic minority populations. The purpose of this study is to describe patterns of DRD and co-occurrence with depressive symptoms in urban low-income African American and Hispanic/Latinx adults with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).

Method. We examined the baseline data collected for a randomized clinical trial (RCT) studying the impact of a culturally tailored …

Pandemic Upon Pandemic: Middle-Aged And Older Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With Hiv Coping And Thriving During The Peak Of Covid-19, Sherry Bell, Brandon Ranuschio, John M. Waldron, Lianne Barnes, Nadia Sheik-Yosef, Esmeralda Villalobos, Janelle Wackens, Renato M. Liboro

Psychology Faculty Research

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020, not only did it abruptly impede the progress that was being made toward achieving global targets to end the HIV pandemic, but it also created significant impacts on the physical and mental health of middle-aged and older men who have sex with men living with HIV. Utilizing a qualitative, community-based participatory research approach, we conducted semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 16 ethnoracially diverse, middle-aged and older men who have sex with men living with HIV residing in Southern Nevada, to examine the different ways the COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted their physical and mental …

Payments Data In Gambling Research, Kasra Ghaharian, Mana Azizsoltani

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

A considerable body of gambling-related research has leveraged gamblers' behavioral tracking data to address a broad set of research questions. These data have typically comprised of gamblers' betting-related behaviors including, for example, the frequency and volume of betting. The analysis of gamblers' payment-related behavioral data is far less common, but provides a fruitful avenue gambling-related research.

In this presentation we discuss a selection of potential research opportunities that payments transaction data presents. We supplement this discussion with specific analyses that have been performed by our research group. We also discuss knowledge gaps and areas for future research.

Evaluation Of The Dsm-5 Internet Gaming Disorder Measures: A Cosmin Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Vivien Wen Li Anthony, Devin Mills Ph.D, Lia Nower

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Due to the rising concern of problem video gaming, the DSM-5 has suggested including Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as a possible new behavioral addiction and proposed nine criteria to assess IGD. In response, a number of measurement instruments have been developed based on the DSM-5 IGD criteria. This presentation will discuss results from a systematic review that evaluated psychometric properties of these measures. Systematic search identified 22 measures. Meta-analysis revealed that 3.1% of the general population and 6.4% of video gamers had IGD. The estimated prevalence rates largely varied across different measures. Although many measures demonstrated satisfactory structural and construct …

Financially Focused Self-Concept And Disordered Gambling Severity Are Bidirectionally Related Over Time, Nassim Tabri, Michael Wohl

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract:

Financially focused self-concept refers to overvaluing the importance of financial success for self-definition and self-worth (e.g., “My value as a person depends upon the amount of money I have”). Theory suggests financially focused self-concept plays a pernicious role in the etiology and maintenance of disordered gambling. Providing support for this supposition, recent research has demonstrated as positive association between financially focused self-concept and disordered gambling symptomatology—an association that is independent of known etiological and maintenance factors. Critically, the extant research on link between financially focused self-concept and disordered gambling has been cross-sectional, which limits the ability to draw causal …

Mapping The Conceptualization Of Gender In Gambling Literature, Abu Saleh Mohammad Sowad

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

This study maps the existing conceptualization of gender in peer-reviewed gambling scholarship to locate areas of future inquiry for a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between gender and gambling. In this study, we located the literature relevant to the conceptualization of gender in gambling published between 2000-2020 by searching eight academic databases using Boolean operators and various key search terms, yielding 31,533 results. After a thorough screening based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and excluding duplicates, we located 2,532 journal publications that addressed gender and gambling. Among them, 53.4% used gender as a descriptive demographic variable, 44.3% explored the comparative analysis between …

Problem Gambling In Chile: A Comparison Between Pre And Post Pandemic Behavior 2018-2022, Juan Oyanedel Dr., Mariela Huenchumilla Ms

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The COVID-19 Pandemic involved several behavioral changes in the world’s population. Extended periods of isolation were one of its most defining features of it. These changes affected people's relationship with gambling, both in terms of access and socialization processes associated with it. Asocial gambling is one of the features of problematic gambling, and it was particularly fit to grow in the framework of long periods of isolation.

The article reports the differences in the prevalence of problem gambling in the general Chilean population as well as the changes in the characteristics of gamblers between 2018 and 2022. The study uses …

Criminological Evaluation Of The Impact Of Pathological Ludomania To Gambling Among Nigerian Youths, George Nzeadi Duru Mr., Larry Okechukwu Awo Mr.

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to evaluate the effects of pathological ludomania to gambling on Nigerian youth. The study looked at how get-rich-quick mentality, access to gaming, and poverty can lead to gambling ludomania in young people. The Social Learning and Differential Association Theories were debated and chosen as the theoretical framework for the study. A questionnaire created to represent the study's research topics was utilized to collect the study's data. A structured questionnaire was sent to two hundred (200) respondents, who were chosen using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The data were analyzed using simple percentage, descriptive, and chi-square statistical …

Sports Wagering In The United States: What We Do And Don't Know, Joshua B. Grubbs, Shane W. Kraus

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract

In the wake of the Murphy vs. NCAA decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, over 30 states now permit sports betting and a majority of Americans now have access to this activity. Even so, much remains unknown about the effects of widespread access to sports betting in the U.S. The present work reports interim results of multi-year data collection efforts in the U.S. In April of 2022, a U.S. nationally representative sample of 2,806 Americans and an additional sample of 1,553 sports wagering people were recruited by YouGov opinion polling, with follow up data collected in …

Does Gambling-Focused Treatment Affect Mental Health And Quality Of Life? A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Shelby King, David P. Forman, Meredith K. Ginley, Samuel C. Peter, Nicholas W. Mcafee, James Whelan Ph.D, Rory A. Pfund

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract: Cognitive-behavioral (CB) techniques have received substantial empirical support for reducing gambling disorder symptoms and behavior. What has not been established is whether gambling-focused treatment reduces psychological problems and improves quality of life. Individuals experiencing gambling-related harms report that sustained recovery involves changing both gambling behaviors and psychological problems and building a meaningful life. The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effect of CB techniques targeting gambling harms on nontargeted outcomes such as psychological problems and quality of life.

Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic article search was conducted to locate published studies of randomized controlled trials of …

Examining The Interaction Between Financial Gambling Motives And Socioeconomic Status In Predicting Gambling In A U.S. Nationally Representative Sample, Christopher G. Floyd, Shane W. Kraus, Joshua B. Grubbs

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Presentation Abstract:

There is still much unknown about the socioeconomic (SES) roots of Problem Gambling (PG), especially given recent evidence that SES should be understood both in objective and subjective terms. Further, the motivation to gambler for financial gain has been identified as a key factor in the transition from recreational gambling to problem gambling. A such, there is a need for research seeking to understand how SES and perceived financial deprivation influence the relationship between motivations for gambling—particularly financial motives—and outcomes of gambling. Using a weighted, nationally representative sample of adults in the U.S. (N = 2,806), as …

Exploring Psychological Characteristic Of Problem Financial Trading: The Effect Of Self-Control And Dispositional Greed, Uibin Lee Ma, Devin Mills Ph.D, Lauren Lewis Ma

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract

While an increasing body of literature has noted the preponderance of gambling within various financial markets, limited research has been done on the psychological characteristics of traders, such as levels of self-control (i.e., ability to regulate behaviors and emotions) and dispositional greed (i.e., a strong desire to acquire more). Such characteristics may place traders at a disproportionate risk for trading financial assets more problematically. The proposed study explores the association between self-control and problem financial trading and the role of dispositional greed in mediating their association. Participants who identified as having engaged in financial trading during the past year …

Does Twitter User Activity Promote Gambling-Related Content?, Marcos Lerma, Rory A. Pfund Ph.D, Adrianna J. Valencia, E. Halle Smith, James Whelan Ph.D

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Social media has provided gambling operators with access to millions of individuals and novel ways to promote gambling. Research has suggested that exposure to gambling advertisements on social media platforms is associated with increased gambling in individuals at-risk for problem gambling. These findings bring into question whether social media platforms are sensitive to differences in user account activity (e.g., tweets, likes, accounts visited) when displaying advertisements and gambling-related content.

To assess for these differences, four Twitter accounts were created and assigned to send out tweets containing pro-wagering versus safe-wagering-related messages. Additionally, one of each account was assigned to interact with …

Dispositional Greed, Dark Trait, And Problem Gambling, Peter Egbe, Uibinq Lee Ma, Devin Mills Ph.D

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract

Dispositional Greed refers to a person's innate traits and capacity for greed. Researchers can separate the influence of personality from that of the environment on greedy behavior using the Dispositional Greed Scale. Prior research has not yet explored dispositional greed in relation to problem gambling, and whether it is predictive of problem gambling above and beyond the dark traits (i.e., psychopathy [callousness and cynicism], Machiavellianism [strategic exploitation and deception], and narcissism [inflated sense of one’s own importance]). Thus, the present study aims at investigating dispositional greed with the scope of the dark traits to yield an application that sufficiently …

Predicting Psychotherapy Session Attendance Among Individuals Experiencing Gambling-Related Harms, Hannah G. Mitchell, Meredith K. Ginley, James Whelan Ph.D, Rory A. Pfund Ph.D

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Almost 2 in 5 individuals experiencing gambling-related harms will initiate treatment and then prematurely discontinue. However, studies have proven unsuccessful in identifying a consistent set of variables that predict discontinuation. The absence of consistent findings may be attributed to 1) disparate definitions of discontinuation and 2) the focus on demographic variables rather than personal history variables that might impact the receipt of treatment. The present study intends to improve upon existing research by focusing on treatment participation (i.e., number of sessions attended) rather than discontinuation and examining a broader set of variables that are specific to an individual’s gambling and …

Symptom Clusters In Individuals Seeking Treatment For Gambling Disorder, Blaine Stiglets

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) presents the criteria for Gambling Disorder (GD) as a unidimensional construct where each additional symptom corresponds to increased severity. Research has found that many individuals experience addiction symptoms in specific symptom clusters, with membership to one profile of symptoms or other better-representing disorder severity than raw symptom counts. This study sought to explore if similar patterns of symptom clusters exist among adults seeking treatment for gambling harms. The sample included 487 adults (M_age= 44.95) who completed the DSM-5 criteria for GD at intake. Latent …

Transdiagnostic Prevention And Intervention Efforts Are Needed To Address Executive Dysfunction, Maria E. Meinerding Ms, Margaret L. Paul Bs, Trinity N. Zweifel, Michael L. Mathews, Jeremiah Weinstock Phd, Rory A. Pfund Phd

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract: Executive functioning (EF) is a multi-faceted construct important to activities of daily living, emotion regulation, and higher-order thinking and is often impaired in individuals with gambling disorder and/or alcohol use disorders. Deficits in EF are associated with poor treatment engagement, psychiatric comorbidities, and relapse. The present study examined EF in college students (N = 832) aged 18-24 (M= 19.23, SD=1.37, 76.5% Women) in relation to gambling and hazardous drinking. The Barkley’s Deficits in Executive Functioning was used to assess for global EF and 5 facets of EF: Time Management, Organization/Problem Solving, Self-Restraint, Self-Motivation, and Emotion-Regulation. Bivariate correlation …

Measurement Models Matter: How Retrospective Calendar Versus Global Reports Yield Different Estimates Of Treatment Outcome, Margaret L. Paul Bs, Maria E. Meinerding Ms, Jeremiah Weinstock Phd, Meredith K. Ginley, James P. Whelan Phd, Rory A. Pfund

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract: Retrospective reports are less accurate than objective measures of behavior and must be interpreted with consideration of the amount of distortion and error introduced by this methodology. The Gambling-Timeline Followback (G-TLFB) method is the gold standard retrospective assessment tool that is designed to minimize such error by asking for a specific recall of precise gambling behavior day-by-day using recall aids as compared to a global summation over time (e.g., how many gambling days in last month, how much money gambled in the last month). It remains an empirical question whether this difference in measurement format, G-TLFB versus global reports, …

Differences In Positive Play Among Specific Sports Wagering Behaviors, Alexander Connolly, Shane W. Kraus, Joshua Grubbs

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Presentation Abstract:

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Murphy vs. NCAA, a majority of states have legalized and launched sports gambling. With the increased prevalence of sports wagering, there are many concerns about possible increases in problem gambling and the effects of specific wagering behaviors (e.g., in-game bets vs. pre-game bets; money-line wagers vs. parlay cards) on problem gambling outcomes. More generally, while the literature surrounding sports gambling is increasing, little is known about specific wagering practices. Similarly, little is known about how responsible gaming practices (i.e., as measured by the Positive Play Scale) might be related to specific …