Digital Commons Network^™

Autonomic And Behavioral Reactivity To An Acute Laboratory Stressor, Jeremy C. Peres

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Stress has been widely shown to directly influence people’s emotional and behavioral processing as well as their underlying biological systems. This project examined physiological and behavioral responses as indicators of stress and coping in the context of a psychosocial stressor in a controlled laboratory setting. We examined the association between indicators of behavioral coping and underlying physiological reactivity within participants while experiencing stress. Participants included 68 emerging adults. Physiological measures include autonomic biomarkers (e.g., heart-rate, skin conductance) at rest and during the stressor while behavioral indicators that were coded include acute verbal and non-verbal actions exhibited by participants during the …

The Influences Of Caregiver-Child Interactions And Temperament On Cortisol Concentrations Of Toddlers In Full-Day Childcare, Helen Morris Lane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the influences of caregiver-child interaction and temperament on cortisol concentrations of toddlers in full-day childcare. Sensitive and responsive caregiving is critical to the quality of children's early experiences. Caregivers who are attuned to unique needs of young children can support and guide child growth and development. In the context of relationships the child grows, develops, and learns to biologically respond to events in his or her world that he or she may perceive as threatening, with the production of cortisol. Studies show that regulation of cortisol release later in life may be …

Ecological Momentary Assessment And Time-Varying Factors Associated With Eating And Physical Activity, Amy Jeffers

Theses and Dissertations

The obesity epidemic is a significant problem in the United States. It is well established that lifestyle factors, such as unhealthy eating and physical inactivity, are key contributors. These causes are generally voluntary activities and it is important to examine health decision-making with respect to these behaviors. The current study examined time-varying factors of stress and mood and their relationship with healthy eating and physical activity in a sample of undergrads (N = 26). Ecological momentary assessment via one's cell phone was used to collect multiple measurements over six days. Positive mood was found to follow physical activity episodes for …

Negative Event Appraisals, Cognitive Processing, And Adjustment, Kristen E. Riley

Master's Theses

Appraisals of stressful events are linked to their adjustment to those stressful events. Appraisals can include perceptions of an event as threatening, uncontrollable, controllable, central, or challenging (Peacock & Wong, 1990). Many studies have examined effects of these appraisals on adjustment and cognitive processing (Aldwin, 2007; Lazarus, 1993; Tan, Jensen, Thornby, & Anderson, 2005), and a few have suggested that cognitive processing mediates relationships between appraisals and adjustment (Peacock & Wong, 1996). We tested cognitive processing in mediation models between appraisals and adjustment, and compared to active coping, in the context of ongoing stressors. Active coping appears to be particularly …

The Intersection Between Home And School: Developing A Scale To Measure Parental Perceptions Of Childhood School Stress, Teresa Marie Henke

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Parents in the home and educators in the schools are key adults in the most important contexts in the daily lives of school-age children. In the demanding, achievement, and accountability oriented culture of today, it is expected that children experience normal everyday stressors as they move between these two environments. The impact of stress related to daily hassles has been reported to have both cognitive and physical effects on the present and future well-being of children. This study represented an attempt to advance the understanding of childhood stress in the intersection between school and home by investigating the perceptions …

Mindfulness And Self-Compassion: Exploring Pathways To Adolescent Emotional Well-Being, Karen Leslie Bluth

Doctoral Dissertations

Adolescents today are confronted with the compounded stressors of life in our high-pressured society and the cognitive, physiological, and emotional changes that are characteristic of this stage of development. As a result, they often struggle with self-doubt, leading to depression, anxiety, and maladaptive trajectories. Mindfulness, or paying attention in the moment in an intentional and purposeful way, has been reported to have positive effects on emotional well-being in adults, and shows promise for similar results in recent research with children and adolescents.

Moreover, the mechanisms through which being mindful achieves positive outcomes has only recently been explored, and has not …

The Organization Of Self-Knowledge And Race: Does Self-Concept Structure Impact The Responses Of Black Individuals To Stereotype Threat?, Aisha Denise Baker

Dissertations

Stereotype threat is defined as “the concern or worry that a person can feel when he or she is at risk of confirming or being seen to confirm a negative stereotype about his or her group” (Steele & Davies, 2003, p. 311). Stereotype threat has been examined in a variety of stereotyped groups, but the primary focus of this research has been Black individuals because they often encounter negative stereotypes about their race in the course of their daily lives. Some researchers have suggested that stereotype threat may partially explain the achievement gap between Black and White individuals (Steele & …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Effect Of At Birth Adoptions On Anxiety, Stress Hormones And Adolescent Alcohol Intake: A Nonhuman Primate Model, Whitney Faith Maxwell

Theses and Dissertations

Adopted individuals have an increased risk for a variety of psychopathological disorders. Studies of the effects adoption in humans are difficult to perform because of the difficulty separating genetic risk and treatment effects. This is a developmental study investigating the effects of at birth adoption using a nonhuman primate model. Three experimental paradigms were used to assess maternal treatment, stress-related behavior, and physiology late in infancy and again later in life. Rhesus monkeys were reared for their first six months of life by either their biological mother or an unrelated, lactating adult female. Adoptions occurred immediately following birth. At six …

Understanding The Relationship Between Perceived Levels Of Stress, Mindfulness, And Meditation Practices, Michael Gallagher

Master's Theses

Mindfulness meditation has become increasing popular in the Western world the last few decades. Although the research in the area of mindfulness is just beginning, many studies report positive benefits to individuals who learn this type of meditation. This study compares the perceived stress levels of college students who report common characteristics of individuals who practice mindfulness meditation against college students who do not report those common characteristics of mindfulness. The student’s level of mindfulness was measured using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire while the Measurement of Stressful Life Events was used to determine the student’s perceived stress levels to …

Interpretive Bias In The Context Of Life Stress And Depression: An Examination Of Stress Generation And Diathesis-Stress Models, Pamela M. Seeds

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: Researchers have recently demonstrated interest in interpretive bias, the tendency to interpret ambiguous information more negatively and/or less positively. The extent to which interpretive biases influence the occurrence of life stressors and potentially compound the negative effects of life stress in the development of depression is presently unknown. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate interpretive bias for ambiguous social information within the context of stress and depression. This study examined interpretive bias in the context of two theoretically and empirically supported models of depression – stress generation and diathesis-stress – to determine the mechanism through which …

Physiological Politics: Stress And Dominance Responses To Political News, Erin Strauts

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Social Status On Social Defeat-Induced Neural Activation In The Dorsal Raphe Nucleus, Danielle M. Gerhard, Kathleen E. Morrison, Matthew A. Cooper

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of The Relationships Between Autonomous Motivation And Situational Constraints With Job Attitudes, Intention To Leave, And General Stress: A Job Demands-Resources Approach, Kalifa Oliver

All Dissertations

The Job Demands- Resources (JD-R) model suggests that working conditions can be distinguished using two broad categories: job demands and job resources. This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal effects of perceived situational constraints (seen as a demand) and autonomous motivation (seen as a resource) on job attitudes, intention to leave, and general stress using an applied work setting. Data were collected by administrators at a midsized university campus over two time periods, separated by one year. Staff members were asked to complete an online survey that included a modified version of Ryan and Connell's (1989) Self-Regulation Scale for employees …

Dispositional Mindfulness And Cardiovascular Functioning Under Stress: Predictions Of Social Evaluative Stress Reactivity And Recovery, Melissa P. Holt

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness – a receptive attentiveness to present experience – has been shown to promote more adaptive emotion regulation (Brown et al. 2008). Additionally, dispositional mindfulness has been shown to predict reduced cortisol response to social stressors (Brown et al, in press) and mindfulness training has been shown to promote more adaptive cardiac functioning at rest (Ditto et al., 2006; Tang et al., 2009; Telles et al., 2005; Zeidan et al., 2010) and in response to social stressors (Kemeny et al., 2012). To better understand the regulatory potential of a mindful disposition on cardiovascular functioning in healthy adult participants (N = …

Coping Experiences Of 911 Communication Workers, Sarah G. Horsford

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research explored coping experiences among emergency communications personnel. Ten individuals from a communication centre of a policing unit in Ontario participated in semi-structured interviews. Seven themes emerged to form the content analysis including Meaning-Focused Coping, Emotion-Focused Coping, Problem-Focused Coping, Reappraisal, Comm Centre Culture, Occupational Dimensions and Organizational Structure. Themes were compared to workplace stress, coping and burnout literature in addition to literature regarding organizational interventions and emergency responders. Implications were presented for counselors working with communications personnel and emergency responders.

The Association Of Cognitive Function With Autonomic-Cardiovascular Reactivity To And Recovery From Stress, Sanjay Mehta

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The contribution of stress in the development of chronic and terminal disease has garnered significant interest in contemporary research. The current study aims to look at how performance in domains of cognitive function may affect autonomic-cardiovascular reactivity and recovery to psychologically stressful tasks as such reactions, over time, may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease.

The current study analyzed data from 209 healthy middle-age adults. This included four neuropsychological tests utilized here to represent abilities in four different cognitive domains: response inhibition, mental flexibility, verbal memory, and nonverbal memory. The participants were also introduced to three psychologically stressful tasks …

The Effect Of Mainstream Media On Body Image And Stress Reactivity In Latina Females, Madison L. Noble

Pitzer Senior Theses

The role of mainstream media in women’s views of female beauty and body image has been well documented. However, few published studies have observed ethnic differences in physiological stress reactivity that may occur from pressures to comply with a particular image of beauty. This study examined whether the exposure to the mainstream ideal body image would negatively affect Latina women’s physiological and psychological functioning, and how their responses differed in comparison to their White counterparts. Participants included college-aged female students from Pitzer College who self-identified as Latina or Caucasian. Participants completed questionnaires assessing, body esteem (MSBRQ-AS; SATAQ; CDFRS), ethnic identity …

Comparing Types Of Adaptive Automation Within A Multi-Tasking Environment, Grant S. Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the many years of research examining the various effects of automation on operator performance, stress, workload, etc., the focus has traditionally been on the level of automation, and the invocation methods used to alter it. The goal of the current study is to instead examine the utilization of various types of automation with the goal of better meeting the operator’s cognitive needs, thus improving their performance, workload, and stress. The task, control of a simulated unmanned robotic system, is designed to specifically stress the operator’s visual perception capabilities to a greater degree. Two types of automation are implemented to …

Bibliotherapy's Effect On Anxiety In Children With Cancer , Nicole Schneider

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

No abstract provided.

Gender Differences In Depressive Symptoms: The Interaction Of Cognitive Avoidance Coping And Specific Stressor Domains During Freshmen Adaptation To College, Daniel Dickson

Master's Theses

The first year of college can be a stressful experience that can lead to depressive symptoms in emerging adults. Due to the significant impairments that are associated with depressive symptoms across the lifespan, it is important to understand the elements of the first-year college experience that contribute to depressive affect. The goals of the current prospective study are to examine sex differences in the relationship between life stressors (i.e., social and achievement stressors) and cognitive avoidance coping in the development of depressive symptoms in first-year college students. The findings suggest that although cognitive avoidance is predictive of more depression, there …

Examining Gender And Socio-Economic Status On The Emotional Intelligence Of Early Adolescents, Alicea J. Davis

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine emotional intelligence and its impact on the maturational process of male and female early-adolescent youth. Demographic variables, such gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and educational status were, valued against emotionality factors such as intrapersonal stress, interpersonal stress, adaptability, general mood, and overall emotional intelligence (EQ). The study utilized a non-experimental, correlational design examining archival data. The participants consisted of approximately, early adolescent fifth-grade students aged 10-13 years. The participants were administered the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (BarOn EQ-I:YV) and a demographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the population sample. A Pearson …

Predictors Of Vicarious Trauma And Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Correctional Officers, Bertee Thomas Jr

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The correctional setting is often dangerous and unpredictable. Correctional officers have the unique and often dangerous charge of overseeing a very volatile population. The job of a correctional officer can be very stressful and often contributes to emotional, physiological, and psychological distress. Correctional officers may be exposed to violence either directly or indirectly. One of the psychological reactions most commonly associated with violence is the development of trauma. This type of traumatic response may be triggered by direct or indirect exposure to traumatic stimuli. The focus of this study was to identify variables associated with secondary traumatic responses among correctional …

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 …

Protective-Restoring To Maintain Self Integrity : A Grounded Theory Of The Human Experience Of Dog Relinquishment, Mary Ellen Elizabeth Edwards

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Dog relinquishment or ‘getting rid of the dog’ is common practice in Australia and other countries where dogs are kept as pets. Each year thousands of dogs are relinquished for a variety of reasons. While losing a pet through death can be as devastating for some people as the death of a loved human, little is known about the human impact of losing a dog through relinquishment. This qualitative study sought to explore the experience of dog relinquishment from the perspectives of a Western Australian sample of 21 relinquishers, 10 adults who had experienced dog relinquishment in childhood and 15 …