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Development And Initial Validation Of The Triarchic Model Scales, Jordan A. Organ

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

The term “psychopath” is a word used often, particularly on tv shows, courtroom dramas like Law and Order, and even in everyday language to describe the people we know who may be deviant, cold, and lacking remorse. Although these descriptors may be accurate, they don’t adequately encapsulate the construct of psychopathy entirely. The picture of individuals with actual psychopathy is much more complex, and our field’s history of attempts to parse out psychopathic traits is equally as convoluted, which has led to differences in conceptualization and measurement. Despite the attention paid to the psychopathy construct, a full conceptualization of …

Linguistic Impact On The Use Of The Reliable Digit Span For Performance Validity In A Sample Of English-Spanish Bilingual Adults, Amy Polinsky

Student Theses

Performance validity tests (PVTs) are used alongside neuropsychological assessments to help detect suspect effort. One of the most widely used PVTs, the Reliable Digit Span (RDS), and its latest version, the RDS-revised (RDS-R), have been widely accepted as valid and reliable within the general population. However, as the United States becomes increasingly globalized, questions arise regarding the validity of language-based tests such as the RDS and RDS-R amongst English-Spanish bilingual populations. This study used a within-subject design with 28 bilingual undergraduate students, testing them on the Digit Span (the test that RDS results are based on) in both English and …

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 …

The Development Of The Experiential Impact Of Mental Fatigue Scale, Olivia H. Richards

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Measures of mental fatigue often do not consider daily life experiences, and existing measures fail to distinguish among various, potentially dissociable, ways that mental fatigue manifests. The present studies assessed the validity of the newly created Experiential Impact of Mental Fatigue Scale (EIMFS). Participants (Study 1, n = 365; Study 2, n = 243) responded to 85 items that address the various forms of mental fatigue across different situational contexts. The final scale, analysed through both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, included 22 items that loaded differentially on four factors which I term: emotional consequences, daily life impact, cognitive difficulties, …

Determining The Utilization Of Trial-Based Functional Analyses In A Clinical Setting, Cayla Thomas

Thesis Projects

The functional analysis (FA) methodology is the gold standard of functional assessments to inform function-based interventions in applied behavior analysis. Behavior analysts report underuse of the FA methodology in clinical practice due to lack of time and resources and safety concerns. The trial-based FA (TBFA) is a brief form of the FA that is conducted in the natural environment and to date has mainly been conducted in classrooms. When compared with a standard FA, TBFAs take less consecutive time to complete, there are fewer instances of maladaptive behavior, data collection is simpler, and data analysis requires less expertise. The current …

An Investigation Of The Best Practices For Assessing And Intervening With Autism In The Education System, Madison B. Huffstutter

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Videoconference Administration Of The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, Zachary T. Stine

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Neuropsychological assessments rely on standardization, reliability, validity, and normative data to increase the accuracy of clinicians’ interpretations (Lezak et al., 2012). One particular assessment that focuses on examining comprehensive executive functioning is the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Delis et al., 2001). Videoconference is gaining in use to provide services within multiple healthcare domains to increase access to care and convenience, potentially reduce costs, and sustain patient satisfaction (Brearly et al., 2017). The literature has shown support for the growing field of telehealth neuropsychology (Brearly et al., 2017); however, many neuropsychological assessments, such as the D-KEFS, have not been normed …

On The Importance Of True Peer Norms In The Assessment Of English Learners: A Validation Study Of The Ortiz Picture Vocabulary Acquisition Test, Jane Yan Ting Wong

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional efforts in aiding English learners (ELs) to achieve better test performance such as modifications to the testing process or the use of native language or nonverbal tests are problematic and disregard the unique language developmental experiences of ELs (Ortiz & Wong, 2022). The Ortiz Picture Vocabulary Acquisition Test (Ortiz PVAT; Ortiz, 2018), an assessment of English receptive vocabulary, incorporates ELs’ proportion of lifetime exposure to English (LEE) in test norms to allow for true peer comparison, thus ensuring test fairness in measurement and score interpretation. The current study aimed to add to the existing validity evidence for the test …

Evaluating The Impact Of Examiner Variability On The Verbal Comprehension Index Of The Wisc-V, Brooke A. Butcher

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to: a) explore rater variability on the VCI, b) explore rater tendencies, and c) compare rater tendencies between graduate students and licensed and/or certified school psychologists. Considering the results of prior literature that has investigated scoring errors and inter-rater agreement on the WISC, it was hypothesized that examiners would be significantly different from one another (overall and between groups) in terms of their tendencies towards severity/leniency on the Vocabulary and Similarities subtests. Raters (N = 10) were comprised of two groups: a) graduate students in training to become school psychologists (n = 5) …

Assessment Of Founders In Venture Capital Investment Decisions, Gregory Gerald Hennessy

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This manuscript documents a research project that employs grounded theory to determine what criteria contemporary investors in early-stage startups use to assess founders. One of the first questions posed by entrepreneurship researchers - even before entrepreneurship had formalized as a field - was, what criteria do investors consider when making investments in startups? Initially, the central concern was whether it was the founder(s) or the business model, often characterized as the “jockey” or the “horse.” From the start, it was generally accepted that the founder was the primary consideration, especially in early-stage ventures. Nonetheless, while business model considerations were parsed …

Risk Factors Of Cyberbullying Victimization: The Impact Of Developmental Trauma, Yuliya Mykytyn

Dissertations

Trauma has been considered as one of the significant causes of psychological distress, especially if the traumatic event occurred in the childhood. At the same time, due to wide popularity of social media as a source of communication, cyberbullying emerged as a new way to harass someone, with specific focus on adults and young adults. The area of focus of this research project is to investigate whether experienced trauma, specifically developmental trauma might serve as a risk factor for cyberbullying victimization. Additional focus was on the differences in traumatic experiences and their impact for people with diverse cultural and ethnic …

Evaluating The Scl-90-R For Use In Collegiate Athletes, Elena Gavrilova

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study examines psychometric properties of the Symptom Checklist 90 – Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1994) in collegiate athletes. The SCL-90-R is one of the most widely utilized measures of broad psychiatric distress. Current literature, however, suggests its factor structure varies across populations (Ardakani et al., 2016; Bakhshaie et al., 2011; Olsen et al., 2004; Ronan et al., 2000; Sereda & Dembitskyi, 2016; Smits et al., 2014; Urbán et al., 2016). Although the SCL-90-R has been previously utilized in studies involving athletes, the psychometric properties of this scale have yet to be investigated in this population. This study examined the …

Development Of A Measure Of Physical Distancing: The O'Sickey Distancing Test, Anthony J. O'Sickey

Psychology ETDs

Introduction: Covid-19 has swept the globe and has disproportionately affected the United States with over 600,000 deaths in just over one year. The Centers for Disease Control recommendations for reducing the spread of Covid-19 have focused on physical distancing (PD), the practice of maintaining a distance greater than 6 feet from individuals not in the same household. When employed, this health behavior has been found to reduce the incidence of Covid-19. A review of the measurement literature evaluating PD indicates that PD has been measured at the community level via GPS, using proxy measures of the behavior, or as a …

Rapid Response Behavior Before And During The Pandemic, Katarina E. Schaefer

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Different levels of examinee motivation pose a validity threat to the interpretation of test scores. This problem is heightened in low-stakes, remote testing environments. Though some ways exist to gauge average motivation throughout testing, less ways exist to gauge motivation fluctuations throughout a single test. One of those ways is through response times. Specifically, rapid response behavior occurs when examinees quickly answer an item without reading or engaging with the item. At James Madison University (JMU), students participating in campus-wide Assessment Days typically experienced an in-person, proctored Assessment Day. However, that changed during the pandemic. During the pandemic, examinees participated …

Providing Effective Assessment Feedback To Patients: Lessons Learned From Feedback After A Severe Injury, Kelsie Mcquinn

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper seeks to articulate lessons learned from feedback received after a severe injury in order to help guide neuropsychologists provide effective feedback to patients. Given that there is no agreed upon conceptual framework for providing neuropsychological assessment feedback, parallels are drawn from what works in clinical psychology – the working alliance. I use personal examples to highlight how the working alliance, as well as other psychological principles, can help inform neuropsychologists provide the most effective feedback to patients.

Development Of A New Measure Of Political Ideology, Vanessa M. Sinclair

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Ideology is central to political psychology, but despite recent renewed interest in studying political ideology, its measurement is inconsistent. Ideology scales are numerous and heterogeneous in content. Further, there is disagreement on whether ideology is unidimensional multi-dimensional, and what the nature of these dimensions are. These inconsistencies limit the generalizability of conclusions made about ideology as it relates to political views and behaviour. There is a clear need for a conceptual model that is grounded in theory, and for a well-validated scale that organizes and quantifies ideology. Chapter 1 reviews the state of ideology measurement and identifies plausible dimensions supported …

Measuring Irrational Beliefs Among Youth: Development Of The Children’S Irrational Response Checklist, Alexa K. Pata

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) are evidenced-based approaches that have been identified as effective for the treatment of psychological disorders among youth (Bernard & Terjesen, 2020). However, although beliefs and cognitions have been shown to be predictive of emotional and behavioral problems in children (Mogoaşe, Podină, et al., 2013), and modifications in cognitions have been shown to be vital for treatment (David et al., 2017), the research and psychometric properties surrounding measures designed to specifically assess irrational beliefs, self-statements, or automatic thoughts in youth are lacking due to theoretical and practical limitations (Terjesen et al., …

Understanding Language Use Patterns Of People With Chronic Pain: A Novel Assessment Approach, Jodie Maccarrone

Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated that 35% of Americans or 116 million people report experiencing chronic pain daily (Nahin, 2015). Due to the unique and individualized nature of chronic pain, successful treatment of this condition is difficult to achieve. The heterogeneity and complexity in presentation may help explain why, as all methods of treatment have fallen short of providing consistent and reliable outcomes (Finnerup et al., 2015; Lumley & Schubiner, 2019), resulting in unsuccessful treatment approaches that can lead to compounding negative consequences such as hyperalgesia (Garland et al., 2013) and even death (Scholl, Seth, Kariisa, Wilson, & Baldwin, 2019). As such, …

A Comparison Of Teleneuropsychological And Traditional Neuropsychological Battery Factor Structures, Alison Datoc

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the factor structures of a traditional neuropsychological battery, administered in-person, and a teleneuropsychological battery, administered remotely. Participants were divided into two groups dependent on test condition (i.e., in- person or remote). Individuals in the in-person test condition group (n = 100) were selected from a sample of individuals who were assessed in-person in a previous archival study, and individuals in the remote testing condition group (n = 100) were assessed via teleneuropsychology in their home environment.

Two Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method were conducted on the T-scores and scaled scores of each …

Memory For Emotional Expressions In Adults With Acquired Brain Injuries, Lauren Jeanne Radigan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Memory for emotions expressed by others forms the continuity that characterizes unique and intimate relationships. Successful memory for facial expressions requires the ability to remember the identity of the face (who showed the emotion) as well as the emotion (which emotion they showed). People with acquired brain injuries (ABI) frequently have problems with social cognition, which involves understanding cues that communicate emotional and interpersonal information. ABI is commonly associated with trouble perceiving emotional expressions and recognizing the identity of faces; however, research on memory for emotions after ABI is sparse. This study examined cognitive and emotional characteristics that contribute …

Assessment Of Adolescent Anxiety, Anna E. Martinez-Snyder

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent of any group of disorders among adolescents. Further, the prevalence of anxiety disorders has been shown to increase from adolescence to young adulthood, underscoring the importance of researching adolescent anxiety. Screening for anxiety in adolescents is necessary to identify and treat these disorders, which requires measures with good psychometric properties. One aim of the present study was to examine and compare the psychometric properties of the separation anxiety, social anxiety, panic, and generalized anxiety scales of the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS), and the Youth Anxiety …

Utilizing The Radsm Process: Developing An Unobtrusive Measure Of Cohesion, Zachary Lee Rahner

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, verbal indicators produced following the RADSM process were used to code transcript data collected from 62 three-person teams playing a cooperative bridge crew simulator. A training dataset, consisting of 88 mission transcripts, and a testing dataset, consisting of 39 mission transcripts, were created from the data. Multilevel modeling was employed to develop a linear-regression algorithm to predict/measure team task and social cohesion. The findings revealed that task cohesion perceptions are linked to the proportion of speech dedicated to information requests and instructions, whereas social cohesion perceptions are associated with the proportion of speech dedicated to amusing and …

The Utility Of The Test Of Everyday Attention For Children (Tea-Ch) For Attention-Related Referrals, Ewelina Lakomy

Dissertations

The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) is a commonly used, UK-normed test to assess diverse attentional capacities in children and adolescents. Currently, there is insufficient evidence for the diagnostic utility of the TEA-Ch with ADHD in a U.S. population. The focus in this study was to investigate the relationship between the TEA-Ch scores test authors found to be most sensitive to ADHD in UK samples as well as the relationship of TEA-Ch scores to other measures typically used in the diagnosis of ADHD, including rating scales. Archival and prospective analyses of 121 subjects with mixed-clinical/ADHD diagnoses (ages 6–16; …

A Re-Examination Of The Motivations For Using Substances Questionnaire: Motives For Alcohol And Simultaneous Alcohol And Marijuana Use, Taylor Altenberger

Dissertations

The growing body of research examining simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use suggests motivations for alcohol-only, marijuana-only, and SAM use, especially among college-aged people, warrant further examination to ultimately tailor interventions to not only specific substances but also the underlying motivations for using those substances. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to test the measurement invariance of a novel broadband motives measure, the Motivations for Using Substances Questionnaire (MUSQ), across alcohol-only, marijuana-only, and SAM users and further test motivations’ relationships to use-related problems. However, due to insufficient sample sizes of marijuana-only users (n = 175), the MUSQ …

Validating An Observational Coding System For The Dominance Behavioural System (Dbs) In Childhood, Jennifer Mullen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The dominance behavioural system (DBS) is a biologically based system that underpins individual differences in motivation for dominance and power. However, little is known about the DBS in childhood. In a pilot study aimed at developing a behavioural coding system for dominance, a key facet of the DBS, we collected and coded observational data from 58 children, assessed at ages 3 and 5-6. Between these ages, dominance was moderately stable, to a degree comparable to other early child temperament traits. Consistent with study hypotheses, boys were more dominant than girls, and dominance was negatively associated with children’s behavioural inhibition, effortful …

A Systematic Review Of The Literature On The Assessments Used For Social Communication In The Diagnosis Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rachel E. Kim

Masters Theses

This review of the literature aims to analyze the current assessments available for clinicians, parents, and other professionals to use during the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that specifically addresses social communication. Although ASD can be diagnosed as early as the age of 2, children are often not diagnosed until the age of 4-5 years old. Especially for children who would be diagnosed with ASD and require Level 2 and/or Level 3 supports, early diagnosis can lead to early intervention which can help to provide the necessary support for both the child and family. Early intervention can help to …

Criterion Validity Of The Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method In A Criminal Justice Sample, Sarah M. Monaghan

Student Theses

The purpose of the current study was to determine the clinical utility of the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method (OSU-TBI-ID) in a criminal justice sample, by evaluating the criterion-related validity of this instrument. It was hypothesized that this tool could differentiate between incarcerated individuals with or without a history of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on measures evaluating important TBI-related sequalae. The sample consisted of 95 incarcerated men detained at a private correctional facility in a Mid-Atlantic state. Measures used in this study to evaluate executive functioning difficulties, psychiatric difficulties, substance use problems, institutional misconduct and recidivism were …

Using A Dual-Factor Model To Understand The Mental Health Of Students With School Refusal Behavior, Zachary D. Maupin

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Students with school refusal behavior (SRB) often present complex cases that include variations of internalizing (anxiety and depression) and externalizing (opposition and defiance) mental health struggles. Historically, incongruent classification methods and terminology have hindered the progress of effectively or consistently assessing SRB. Consequently, practitioners face several obstacles in the process of identifying and understanding these students. Despite guidance from past literature, several questions about how SRB interacts with students' mental health are left unanswered. The present study used data from over 100,000 student responses on the California Healthy Kids Survey-Secondary Core Module. A review of attendance questions from this survey …

Examining The Effects Of State Anger On Self-Reported Psychopathic Trait Inventories, Olivia C. Preston

Dissertations

Research indicates that experiencing anger is linked to social undesirability and temporarily induces a host of significant changes within an individual, such as hostile attribution bias, lower trust, increased impulsivity, poorer decision-making, and preferential recall. Such changes theoretically may inflate psychopathy scores due to a greater ability or willingness to endorse attitudes, behaviors, cognitions, and emotions that are regarded as reflective of psychopathic traits and may potentially introduce random error variance into measurement. Such distortion due to mood may bear important implications for applied settings where one individual’s scores are measured at a single time point, rather than research where …

Assessment Of Psychological Functioning In Retired Firefighters, Jordana Simone Pepper

Theses and Dissertations

The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in clinical attention directed to mental health problems in firefighters. The basis for heightened activity in this area is the convergence of evidence indicating that firefighters demonstrate significantly high levels of psychological disorders such as depression and PTSD (Henderson et al., 2016). A previously unexplored risk factor for psychopathology in firefighters is active retirement. Retirement can lead to a decline in psychological functioning, as well as a decline in a person’s self-concept clarity through group loss (Slotter, Winter & Soto, 2015). This loss has the potential to cause, or enhance, feelings of …