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Evaluating Recommendations Versus Utilization Of Essential Components Of A Functional Analysis Procedure, Alissa Conway

Dissertations

Functional behavior assessment (FBA) has been identified as an essential process for behavior analytic practitioners to identify the variables maintaining challenging behaviors (BACB Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (PECC), 3.01ab, 2014). FBAs include a range of strategies, including indirect measures (e.g., interviews and questionnaires) and direct measures of behavior (descriptive and experimental strategies). Functional analysis (FA) is typically considered the most sophisticated of the options subsumed under FBAs in that it involves both direct measures of behavior and experimental manipulation of hypothesized controlling variables to identify controlling variables for challenging behaviors. The results of FAs allow practitioners …

Yatros.Thesis.2018.Docx, Nicolette Yatros

Nicolette Yatros

Assessment And Treatment Of Behavior Maintained By Automatic Reinforcement, Nicolette Yatros

Thesis Projects

Two to four subjects diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or related disabilities will undergo a functional analysis to ensure hand-clapping is maintained by automatic reinforcement. A secondary analysis (sensory analysis) will be conducted to assess different stimuli that are sensory-stimulating. Finally, a function-based noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) procedure using sensory stimuli will be applied to reduce the target behavior, and the schedule of reinforcement will be thinned. We expect a decrease in hand-clapping when the function-based treatment is implemented. This research will further elucidate how NCR can impact behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement.

Adding Acceptance And Commitment Therapy To Exposure And Response Prevention For Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Michael P. Twohig, Jonathan S. Abramowitz, Brooke M. Smith, Laura E. Fabricant, Ryan J. Jacoby, Kate L. Morrison, Ellen J. Bluett, Lillian Reuman, Shannon M. Blakey, Thomas Ledermann

Psychology Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to test whether treatment acceptability, exposure engagement, and completion rates could be increased by integrating acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with traditional exposure and response prevention (ERP). 58 adults (68% female) diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; M age = 27, 80% white) engaged in a multisite randomized controlled trial of 16 individual twice-weekly sessions of either ERP or ACT + ERP. Assessors unaware of treatment condition administered assessments of OCD, depression, psychological flexibility, and obsessional beliefs at pretreatment, posttreatment, and six-month follow-up. Treatment acceptability, credibility/expectancy, and exposure engagement were also assessed. Exposure engagement was …

A Program Evaluation On The Effectiveness Of Chronic Pain Management In A Rural Community, Sylvia D. Ramirez

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Chronic pain is a well-known, significant problem in the United States, affecting approximately 55% of adults in Western countries. Opioid use to manage chronic pain impacts individual’s social, psychological, and physiological health. The shortcomings of monotherapy, such as opioid use, have been led to extensive research to develop and assess the outcome of multi-disciplinary evidence-based programs. Rather than eliminating pain, interventions focus on pain management and improving quality of life, independence, and mobility. This quasiexperimental study examined the effectiveness of the Persistent Pain Program (PPP), an 8-week Cognitive Behavioral Treatment program and movement therapy intervention for patients living in a …

Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Interventions And The Soul: Moral And Ethical Considerations, Bruce Vermeer

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

Utilizing A School-Based Treatment To Address Socially Anxious Elementary School Students, Mckell Nelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Despite the availability of promising clinic-based programs, youth exhibiting socially anxious behaviors rarely receive the treatment they may need. Those that do get treatment, often do so in the school setting. Thus, the demand for effective interventions to address those needs in the school-setting is growing. The present study investigated the effects of a modified CBT intervention, delivered in the school setting, on positive peer interactions and self-rating social anxiety. Results showed that the treatment package provided an increase in positive peer interactions across all four participants, as well as a decrease in self-rated anxiety behaviors.

Meditation May Diminish The Symptoms Of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (Pots), Allyson Killen

Psychology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Various forms of meditation have been integrated into treatment options because of the derived benefits. Transcendental Meditation (TM) has been shown to decrease heartrate, blood pressure, and stress symptoms (Seaward, 2018). Additionally, Mindfulness Meditation (MM) has been shown to decrease anxiety and has been used in different treatments for chronic disorders (Buchholz, 2015). To my knowledge, no previous research has looked at the beneficial effects of meditation as a treatment option for POTS. POTS is a dysautonomic disorder characterized by an increase in HR by greater than 30 bpm and an intolerance of orthostatic fluctuations. Since this significantly affects physiological …

Dissociative Identity Disorder: An In-Depth Look, Brittany Horchner

The Kabod

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a mental health disorder where there are two or more distinct people within one individual. These distinct people or personalities are also called alters. An alter is a fully distinct person, that carries on a whole different personality than the original person. That means that if a person has two distinct people within them one could be very smart and introverted, but the other one may not have as high of IQ and might be extraverted. The personalities of each alter are different and very distinct from one another. The alternative personality or personalities would also …

An Analysis Of Youtube Content On African American Parenting In The Face Of Community Violence, La-Rhonda Harmon

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This qualitative study analyzed YouTube video content on the discussion about African American parenting in the face of community violence. The study investigated if conversations about African American parenting changed after the killing of Trayvon Martin, which occurred on February 26, 2012. Ten videos recorded before Trayvon Martin’s death and 20 after were selected and analyzed. Transcripts were coded for emerging themes using grounded-theory research design. Several themes emerged in the videos recorded before and after Martin’s death. Themes related to African American beliefs about parenting and acculturation emerged from the videos recorded before Martin’s death. Themes related to African …

The Efficacy Of Neurofeedback In The Treatment Of Autism., Rosemary Akhavan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Autism is a disorder that impairs the development of a person's ability to interact with other people and to relate productively with the outside world. There are many types of interventions being used to treat autism, but there are no cures or definitive treatments for this disorder. A biological theoretical foundation was the basis of this study, as recent neuroimaging techniques have demonstrated that autism is a neurological disorder that reveals distinct abnormalities in the brain. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of neurofeedback (NFB) in the treatment of autism. NFB has shown promise of improving …

Treating Public Speaking Anxiety: A Comparison Of Exposure And Video Self-Modeling, Emily Marie Bartholomay, Daniel Houlihan

Psychology Department Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of video self-modeling (VSM) and exposure therapy in treating public speaking anxiety (PSA) in a college student. The study employed a single-subject A-B design with parametric variations. Two phases were utilized in this study: baseline (exposure therapy) and intervention (video self-modeling) with a one-month follow-up. Generalization probes were also employed to assess whether or not decreases in PSA would generalize to other settings. Results of this study indicate a significant decrease in self-report public speaking anxiety from both pre- to post-treatment as well as from baseline to exposure sessions. …