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Neural And Behavioral Associations Of Drinking And Empathic Processing, Charles Samuel Henry Robinson

Psychology ETDs

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a major health problem, yet most individuals with AUD do not perceive a need for formal treatment and do not receive treatment. The lack of treatment seeking among individuals with AUD may suggest a lack of self-awareness and insight into the seriousness of AUD related problems. Moreover, individuals who have lost or are at risk of losing major relationships are especially likely to perceive the need for help. Thus, it may be the case that awareness of the influence of one’s drinking on social relationships and the feelings of others (i.e., empathy) could improve treatment …

Alterations In Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Alcohol Use Severity And Impulsivity In A Community Sample, Elena R. Stein

Psychology ETDs

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is characterized by neurocognitive and behavioral impairments including the multidimensional construct of impulsivity. Increased impulsivity is both a risk factor for, and a consequence of problematic alcohol use. Individuals with AUD exhibit alterations in neural circuitry when compared to those who do not have AUD. These circuit-level changes in AUD may underlie the difficulties that these individuals experience with heightened impulsivity. The present study uses data-driven resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) methodology to examine the differences in intrinsic functional networks between individuals with AUD and those who are social drinkers (SD). Participants in this secondary data …

Analysis Of Covariance With Heterogeneity Of Regression And A Random Covariate, Christopher J. Mclouth

Psychology ETDs

The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) is a statistical technique originally developed by Fisher (1932) to increase the precision of the estimate of a treatment effect in experimental data. It is used when researchers have both qualitative and quantitative predictors of a continuous outcome. ANCOVA’s most basic assumptions are similar to those of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and other related linear models, but also include an additional assumption regarding the regression line relating the outcome and the covariate. This assumption, referred to as homogeneity of regression, requires that the within-group regression slopes be the same for all groups. Typically, one also …

Maternal Sexuality During Lactation: The Influence Of Breastfeeding Recency And Relationship Quality, Melissa A. Eaton

Psychology ETDs

Introduction. During lactation, breastfeeders report reduced sexual desire and sexual activity (Von Sydow, 1999). Yet research has not examined the direct impact of suckling on sexuality during lactation. This study looked at breastfeeders, immediately following breastfeeding and several hours later, to determine if the recency of infant suckling influences maternal sexuality. Sexual motivations were also compared between breastfeeders and other mothers. Methods. Mothers of infants between 2 and 7 months of age participated in the repeated measures study online. Participants were randomly assigned to the order of their sessions and participated 20 minutes after breastfeeding or 120 minutes after …

Exploring Clinically Useful Definitions Of Treatment Success For Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder, Megan Kirouac

Psychology ETDs

Given the widespread costs associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD; World Health Organization, 2011), it is unsurprising that many treatments exist for AUD. Moreover, many treatments have been rigorously studied via experimental research designs. In such research, treatment success has been defined predominantly as abstinence from alcohol or, more recently, no heavy drinking days. Consumption-based definitions of treatment success, rather than alternative non-consumption based definitions, have dominated in the field for at least two reasons. First, there are multiple measures of similar non-consumption constructs (e.g., quality of life, psychosocial functioning), and very little research has been conducted to direct researchers …

The Effects Of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure On The Resting State Functional Brain Connectivity In A Sample Of Individuals With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Carlos I. Rodriguez

Psychology ETDs

It is well established that alcohol exposure during prenatal development can lead to a heterogeneous and wide ranging set of morphological and neurobehavioral deficits that are collectively known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs). Previous neuroimaging research conducted on individuals with FASD has primarily employed graph-theoretical based analysis methods on functional imaging data to elucidate the impact of prenatal alcohol on brain connectivity. This study applied a widely used computational algorithm, group independent components analysis (gICA), to extract coherent sets of voxels that were correlated with one another as a measure of functional network connectivity (FNC) in a sample of …

Women's Response Performance In Sexually Risky Situations: Associations With Sexual Victimization History, Alcohol Use, Psychopathology, And Sexual Attitudes, Kristen N. Vitek

Psychology ETDs

This study evaluated the effects of sexual victimization history, alcohol use, psychopathology, and sexual attitudes on the effectiveness of women’s response performance in hypothetical social situations depicting risk for sexual victimization. Two hundred and fifty undergraduate women first listened to audiotaped descriptions of the hypothetical social situations. They then were given a response to each situation deemed in prior work by experts in the sexual victimization field to be effective at reducing victimization risk and asked to provide each response verbally while they were being videotaped. Participants then completed measures assessing prior victimization history, alcohol use, psychopathology, and sexual attitudes. …

Ethnic And Racial Group Differences In Attitudes Towards Undocumented Latino Immigrants, Juan M. Pena

Psychology ETDs

Tensions towards Latino immigrants in the United States have been a growing concern. As the largest ethnic/racial and immigrant group, Latinos/Hispanics often experience discrimination from majority groups. Perceived discrimination has been linked to worse mental and health outcomes among ethnic minority groups. Measures of implicit and explicit attitudes have been used to identify positive and negative attitudes towards Latinos. Intercultural sensitivity, the ability to understand and appreciate different cultures, is theorized to be linked to implicit and explicit attitudes towards undocumented Latino immigrants. Two-hundred eighty-eight college students, 18 years of age or older (M = 21, SD = 5) completed …

Implicit And Explicit Attitudes Toward Physical Appearance Among Recurrent And Non-Binge Eating College Women, Mindy L. Mcentee

Psychology ETDs

Research has found that among individuals who binge eat, overvaluation of body weight/shape and internalization of a thin ideal are associated with higher levels of distress and functional impairment. These findings suggest implicit attitudes and beliefs may play an important role in understanding the complex relations between one’s cognitions and subsequent eating behavior; however, much of the research on binge eating has relied on explicit self-report measures which may not accurately reflect the way individuals automatically process body weight/shape information or the meaning one has associated with these characteristics. The present study sought to address this gap in the literature …

Neurobehavioral Signatures In Children-Victim Of Bullying, Isabel Solis

Psychology ETDs

Experiencing bullying victimization can lead to detrimental damage to a child’s life potential, reduced long-term contributions to society, and in severe cases, to suicide or desperate acts of defensive aggression, such as school shootings. The current study aimed to examine risk factors that may increase the vulnerability of a child to become a target of bullying victimization and the related consequences of victimization, using rigorous neuropsychological and EEG measures. The end-goal is to translate these findings into a program of preventive intervention increasing the child’s resilience and improving social culture among youth in the academic environment. We propose a two-component …

Drinking Norms And College Student Alcohol Outcomes: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Kylee Hagler

Psychology ETDs

Despite efforts to reduce problematic alcohol use on college campuses, students continue to drink heavily and experience alcohol-related consequences (e.g., Hingson, Zha, & Smyth, 2017.) Descriptive/injunctive norms positively relate to college students’ own alcohol use. Despite substantial research, there have been few efforts to statistically synthesize these data. The present study was a correlation-based, random-effects meta-analysis. Articles published on drinking norms and alcohol outcomes published in English-language peer-reviewed journals between 2003 and 2015 were identified, coded, and subjected to meta-analytic integration. There was an overall medium, positive association found between descriptive norms and college student alcohol behaviors (rw = 0.36). …

Religiosity/Spirituality And Cancer Risk Assessment For Hereditary Breast And Ovarian Cancer: Latina And Non-Latina Women In New Mexico, Belinda Vicuna Tellez

Psychology ETDs

Introduction: Although cancer risk assessment for high-risk individuals and families can offer life-saving information and options for cancer risk management, Latinas have historically underutilized cancer prevention services. Much needed is a better understanding of what encourages and discourages engagement in cancer risk assessment services among Latino populations. Religiosity/spirituality is potentially relevant to such engagement given religion has often been a central coping resource for Latina cancer survivors.

Aim: This study explored the potential impact of religiosity/spirituality and psychological processes on how Latinas and non-Latinas approach decisions regarding preventative health behaviors.

Methods: As a small subset of a larger research project, …

American Indian Student Motivation At A Tribal College, Rebecca L. Izzo

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between motivational characteristics of American Indian college students attending a tribal college. The Inventory of School Motivation (ISM) was utilized to identify motivational constructs. The literature in general continues to portray American Indian students as the lowest academically achieving subgroup as well as having a lack of persistence and high dropout rate in higher education. This study identified areas that support motivation to attend college, which then can be shared with the tribal college to develop programs and innovations to recruit and sustain American Indian students in education, as well as …

Psychological Factors And The Relation Between Neighborhood Conditions And Latino Health: A Mixed Methods Study, Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa

Psychology ETDs

Latinos, the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the US, face multiple health inequities including higher rates morbidity and mortality. Despite the importance of context and the wide range of stressors faced by this population, the majority of the literature on Latino and immigrant health concentrates on issues related to cultural adaptation processes. Using a socialdeterminants of health framework, the present convergent mixed methods study investigated the relation between neighborhood conditions and Latino health with a psychological lens. A total of 361 Latino residents of Bernalillo County, the largest county in Albuquerque, New Mexico, were recruited to complete a series of …

Evaluation Of A Rolling Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention Group In A Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Setting: Short-Term Effectiveness And Processes Of Change, Corey Roos

Psychology ETDs

Background: Relapse following treatment is common among individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) and effective treatments that support long-term recovery are needed. Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP; Bowen, Chawla, & Marlatt, 2011) is a promising intervention, yet there is a lack of evidence on how MBRP can be effectively disseminated and adapted for different real-world treatment settings. MBRP has most commonly been delivered as a closed-cohort group among individuals receiving aftercare treatment. It is unclear whether MBRP can be effectively delivered as a rolling admission group and among individuals at earlier stages in the recovery process. Additionally, there is a need …

Development Of The Pain Response Style Inventory: A New Measure For Examining Ambivalence Toward Engaging In Behavioral Treatments For Chronic Pain, Robert Bailey

Psychology ETDs

Over the previous half-century, the framework for chronic pain management has expanded beyond the biomedical perspective to include psychosocial treatments that fall under the cognitive-behavioral tradition. Chronic pain patients, however, tend to endorse the biomedical model, perceiving pain as a problem that requires medical interventions. Enhancing motivation to engage in cognitive-behavioral treatment has therefore been a major theoretical focus in the research literature, much of which has been informed by Motivational Interviewing (MI) and the Transtheoretical Model. At present, however, there is a paucity of empirical evidence supporting motivational enhancement in this context. Furthermore, the research literature has largely overlooked …

Evaluating Differences In Drink Refusal Training And Posttreatment Outcomes In Women In Individual Alcohol Treatment, Rosa Munoz

Psychology ETDs

This study sought to establish the topography of drink refusal behaviors clients engage in while undergoing manual-guided Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). Prior research has demonstrated that clients who receive specific skills training on how to assertively refuse drinks are less likely to relapse. Behavioral coding has been used previously to explore in-session behaviors by both client and therapist. Using this methodology, a coding manual (Drink Refusal and Motivation-Alcohol; DRAM-A) was developed for the present study. We sought to explore the relationship between differential types of drink refusal behaviors uttered by clients receiving treatment for AUD …

Emotion And Metacognitive Monitoring: The Role Of Emotion In The Development Of Learning Beliefs, Robert Craig Hoy

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Educators have daily experience with how students' emotional states influence their behaviors and levels of motivation. What is more poorly understood and even counterintuitive in effect is the subtler role of emotion in the role of metacognitive monitoring in the form of learning belief development. The research driving current understanding in this area is limited and fragmented across disciplines. The purpose of the current quantitative, cross-sectional study was to contribute to our understanding of the role that emotion plays in metacognitive monitoring. The study used self-report measures given before and after a video-based learning task. Metrics included measures of emotional …

Neurocognitive Markers Of Cognitive Control In Schizophrenia And Functional Outcomes, Sephira Ryman

Psychology ETDs

Impaired cognitive function results in decreased objective quality of life and community functioning in schizophrenia, resulting in the largest indirect costs from the disease. Disrupted proactive cognitive control, a form of early selection and active goal maintenance, is hypothesized to underlie the broad cognitive deficits observed in patients with schizophrenia. The current study utilized novel electrophysiological (EEG) analytic approach to examine proactive and reactive cognitive control deficits in schizophrenia patients. Behavioral results highlight that patients exhibited a general reduction in reaction time across two multisensory cognitive control tasks, with selective deficits on proactive conditions relative to reactive conditions. The relative …

Gray Matter Correlates Of Emotional Intelligence In Incarcerated Males, Devin Marie Ulrich

Psychology ETDs

Emotional intelligence (EI) is form of social intelligence that is important for navigating one’s social environment. Deficits in these abilities have been associated negative psychological outcomes such as anxiety, substance use, and aggression. Here, we extend current literature that suggests that EI is correlated with gray matter volume (GMV) in limbic regions (e.g. insula ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and cerebellum) in healthy samples, by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to assess the relationship between GMV and EI. In study 1, emotional intelligence was positively correlated with GMV in the cerebellum and anterior cingulate cortex in a sample of incarcerated adult …

Does The Relationship Matter?: Empathy, Hostility, And Drinking Outcomes In The Combine Study, Anthony J. O'Sickey

Psychology ETDs

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a pervasive problem in the United States, costing approximately 250 billion dollars in 2010. Several decades of rigorous scientific approaches to treatment have yielded several effective treatments for AUD, however, the human and economic cost continues to rise. Recently, Moyers and colleagues reported that higher than average therapist empathy within-subjects was significantly associated with reductions in drinking following treatment. The finding of a within-subjects effect indicates that either a client or therapist characteristic may be responsible for the variability in empathy within client therapist dyads. There is evidence to suggest that client levels of hostility …

The Role Of Descriptive Social Norms In Opioid And Other Substance Use Among College Students, Karlyn A. Edwards

Psychology ETDs

Recreational opioid use among college students has increased steadily over the past decade, and has been shown to be influenced by social pressures. Social norm informed interventions have been used to help correct student misperceptions of peer substance use and curb personal substance use, however most of this research has been centered on alcohol use. This study examined the role of descriptive social norms of two peer reference groups (close friend and acquaintance) at two time periods (30 days and 12 months) in a number of different substances, including opioids, alcohol, marijuana, stimulants, sedatives, and psychedelics in a diverse sample …

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (Tdcs) Improves Performance On Spelling And Word Detection Tasks, J. Kevin Wilson

Psychology ETDs

Deficits in written language involving spelling can have negative effects on a person’s education and occupation. Conventional spelling therapy is a time consuming and cost-prohibitive option, if even available, highlighting the need for improved methods for remediation. One possible way to address this need may be through the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). This study sought to examine the effects of tDCS on performance during spelling, word detection, and facial recognition tasks. Active or sham tDCS was randomly assigned to typically functioning adults. The anode electrode was placed over Broca’s area (F7 in the 10/20 EEG system) and …

The Effect Of Sublingual Testosterone On Ischemic Pain Sensitivity, Chance Strenth

Psychology ETDs

Sex differences in pain have been reported for over a half-century with males having higher pain tolerance and lower pain sensitivity than females. Testosterone, a male hormone, is associated with pain perception in humans. However, as of yet no study has directly manipulated a participants’ testosterone to test for causal relationship between testosterone and pain. A double-blind fully-crossed study was conducted using sublingual administration of 0.5 mg testosterone. Twenty female participants completed two 5-hour sessions over a 3-day period. Participants completed an ischemic pain task, behavioral tasks and self-report measures at baseline and at post-administration to explore the effects of …

Fresa Style In Mexico: Sociolinguistic Stereotypes And The Variability Of Social Meanings, Rebeca Martinez Gomez

Linguistics ETDs

This dissertation examines the flexibility in the social meanings of sociolinguistic stereotypes and how linguistic and non-linguistic information affect these meanings. The investigation consists of four empirical studies surrounding the case of fresas in Mexico –members of the upper class that are perceived as using a unique linguistic style.

Study 1 investigates the linguistic and non-linguistic characteristics associated with the fresa stereotype. Through a qualitative analysis of 64 webpages and 3 performances of the style, it is shown that fresasare perceived as the counterpart of another construct, nacos,and that their linguistic style is linked to English due to …

Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Impairs Performance In An Object-Place-Paired-Associate Task, Lilliana May Sanchez

Psychology ETDs

Memory impairments, including spatial and object processing, are often observed in individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Much attention has been directed towards the hippocampus, which displays significant alterations after moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). In the present study, we tested a moderate PAE rat model in an object-place-paired-associate (OPPA) task, previously shown to require hippocampal processing. The OPPA task was composed of training rats to discriminate between an identical pair of objects presented in 180° opposite arms of a radial arm maze. Animals were given a total of 10 trials per day over 14 consecutive days of training and …

Associations Among Desirability Of First Sexual Experience, Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors And Attitudes, And Substance Use In Justice-Involved Male Adolescents, Ryan S. Ross

Psychology ETDs

Justice-involved adolescents are particularly vulnerable to engaging in risky sex and developing substance use disorders. Given these negative sequelae, identifying risk factors that place these adolescents at increased risk and potentially influence changes over time is important. Data from 347 justice-involved male adolescents was used for the current study. Participants completed baseline assessments of adverse childhood experiences, impulsivity, sociosexuality, substance use histories, and sexual histories, as well as 3, 6, 9, and 12-month assessments of sexual risk taking and alcohol/marijuana problems.

Structural equational modeling (SEM) was used to examine the influence of impulsivity, adverse childhood experiences, and desirability of first …