Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage On Brain Functional Connectivity And Structural Properties In Trauma-Exposed Adults, Elisabeth Kathleen Webb

Theses and Dissertations

Though there has been substantial progress towards understanding brain-behavior relationships and characterizing the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders, research has not translated as expected into novel prevention and treatment of mental health conditions. One limitation may be the emphasis on individual-level variables (e.g., income) and omission of relevant area-level factors (e.g., neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage). Recently, attention has been directed towards identifying the biological mechanisms by which neighborhoods impact mental health. The chronic stress associated with living in a disadvantaged neighborhood promotes a cascade of maladaptive events, which in turn impact brain structure and functioning. The processes affected by chronic neighborhood stressors …

The Afro-Brazilian Martial Art Of Capoeira: Cultural Healing And Identity, Lauren Hsiao-Ling Mascari

Theses and Dissertations

By the year 2050, racial and ethnic minorities are projected to become the rising majority accounting for more than 50% of the population in the United States, however minorities are consistently at greater risk for poorer health outcomes and at higher risk for trauma-related symptoms than their White counterparts. Although some individuals seek and access traditional mental health services, more than half of the individuals who have diagnosable conditions never obtain formal treatment. Within the past two decades, the American Psychological Association delineated Multicultural Guidelines that describe the need for interventions to not only adapt to culture, but to be …

The Role Of Alcohol Use, Drinking Context, And Alcohol Expectancies In Sexual Assault Perpetration Among College Men, Joseph D. Censor

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault is a major public health and criminal justice problem in our society. The high prevalence rate of sexual assault victimization and perpetration among college students is even more disturbing. Additionally, the prevalence of alcohol use among college students is higher than in the general population, and alcohol use is associated with more than half of sexual assaults. The goal of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of the role of various alcohol related factors in sexual assault perpetration among college men. Specifically, this study assessed the association of perpetration with general problematic alcohol use, general …

Characterizing Sex Differences In Functional Connectivity Changes Across The Alzheimer’S Disease Clinical Continuum, Jenna K. Blujus

Theses and Dissertations

Treatments that are currently available for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are largely ineffective, likely because they are delivered following diagnosis, when significant neurodegeneration has already occurred and cannot be reversed (Waite, 2015). Another key element that may contribute to therapeutic failure is the “one-treatment-fits-all” approach, which inherently considers AD as a homogenous state, ignoring the significant interindividual variability that is observed in risk profiles (Reitz, 2016). Characterizing the influence of factors that contribute to the observed heterogeneity in AD, such as biological sex, on pathological brain changes may reveal more individualized biomarkers to aid early detection efforts and more effective treatment …

Resting State Functional Connectivity In The Default Mode Network: Relationships Between Cannabis Use, Gender, And Cognition In Adolescents And Young Adults, Megan Ritchay

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance in the United States, and nearly 1 in 4 young adults are current cannabis users. The psychoactive component of cannabis, THC, is active at cannabinoid receptors, type 1, or CB1 receptors. CB1 receptors play a critical role in neural development, and chronic cannabis use causes desensitization and downregulation of these receptors. Chronic cannabis use is associated with changes in resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) in the default mode network (DMN) in adolescents and young adults, although results are somewhat inconsistent across studies, likely due to differing methodologies. Additionally, cannabis effects appear …

Effects Of A Novel, Non-Toxic Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor On Hippocampal Memory Formation, Histone Acetylation, And Bdnf Gene Expression In Male Mice, Sarah Brianna Beamish

Theses and Dissertations

Memory dysfunction is a common symptom of aging, neuropsychiatric disorders, and neurodegenerative disorders, yet truly effective treatments for memory loss do not exist. De novo gene transcription is a molecular requirement for long-term memory formation. The transcription of genes related to synaptic plasticity and learning are regulated in part by histone acetylation, an epigenetic mechanism that regulates chromatin accessibility. Pharmacological compounds that maintain histone acetylation, called histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), enhance memory by preventing deacetylation of core histone proteins, which initiates binding of transcriptional machinery to open chromatin. Therefore, HDACi are potentially promising therapeutics that could be used to prevent …

Examining Black Americans’ Attitude Towards Mental Health Treatment, Alannia Mosley

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EXAMINING BLACK AMERICANS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT

By

Alannia Mosley-Jenneford

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2021 Under the Supervision of Marty Sapp, Ph.D.

The purpose of this study was to expand on the current literature on help-seeking attitudes among Black Americans. There is little research exploring the variables associated with Black American’s help-seeking attitudes. However, research has documented the underutilization of service among Black Americans. Literature suggests Black Americans do not seek services until symptoms become persistent and interfere with daily functioning. Evidence supports the relationship between help-seeking attitudes and racial mistrust, racial identity and help-seeking attitudes, and racial …

Neural Substrates Of Fear Generalization And Its Associations With Anxiety And Intolerance Of Uncertainty, Ashley Ann Huggins

Theses and Dissertations

Fear generalization - the tendency to interpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening due to perceptual similarity to a learned threat – is an adaptive process. Overgeneralization, however, is maladaptive and has been implicated in a number of anxiety disorders. Neuroimaging research has indicated several regions sensitive to effects of generalization, including regions involved in fear excitation (e.g., amygdala, insula) and inhibition (e.g., ventromedial prefrontal cortex). Research has suggested several other small brain regions may play an important role in this process (e.g., hippocampal subfields, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis [BNST], habenula), but, to date, these regions have not been examined …

Behavioral And Neural Correlates Of Episodic Memory Regulation, Mrinmayi Kulkarni

Theses and Dissertations

Episodic memory retrieval, while critical for daily living, needs to be regulated to maintain goal-directed behavior. Past work has shown that episodic memory regulation engages brain regions involved in cognitive control, such as the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. These regions interact with the medial temporal lobe structures to control retrieval processes. In the current study, I paired eye-tracking, a sensitive index of memory, with fMRI in a novel paradigm to address several open questions in the field of episodic memory regulation. Participants initially encoded three celebrity faces and three tools with multiple indoor and outdoor scenes. In a subsequent …

The Influence Of Relationship History On Sexual Consent: A Comparison Of Idealized And Actual Sexual Experiences, Cari Beth Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The study assessed how sexual consent varied from imaginary ideal scenarios and actual sexual experience while taking into consideration gender and relationship status. Methods: College students completed an online survey in which they were randomized to one of two imaginary scenarios in which they were about to have sex in an ideal setting with either their most recent sexual partner or a new sexual partner. Participants were asked what external consent behavior they would use to indicate their consent and to rank which consent behaviors they considered the most important for indicating their consent. They were also asked to …

The Role Of Emotionally-Supportive Teacher Beliefs And Behavior In Student Aggression, Bridget Garrity Brinckman

Theses and Dissertations

Overt aggression is a pervasive problem in schools. In 2017 alone, the US Department of Education reported over 360,000 aggressive incidents. According to the General Aggression Model, emotion regulation plays a key role in aggression. Teachers play a role in student regulation through their supportive (e.g., expressive-encouragement) and unsupportive (e.g., punitive) responses to students. This study examined the role of the classroom teacher in student aggression. Teacher emotion-focused beliefs about both the reasons for aggression and the effectiveness of emotionally-supportive responses to aggression, were explored. Teacher likelihood of mental health referral for anger and fighting (i.e., an emotion and behavior …

Mental Health Stigma And Its Impact On Experiences Of Decent Work For Veterans, Matthew James Kessler

Theses and Dissertations

Veterans comprise roughly 8.3% of the U.S. adult population and 6.4% of the civilian labor force. Veterans tend to experience rates of both unemployment and underemployment at rates similar to their civilian peers. The duration of enlistment for military members has increased over the last four decades. Although longer enlistments may indicate better retention efforts and the ability to sustain individual careers in the military, this also increases potential rates for combat exposure and psychological distress. Additionally, military members tend to assume strong military identities through their time in the service.

Veterans often struggle with reintegrating into civilian life after …

Beyond Depraved: Villainy And Self-Deception In Kant's Taxonomy Of Evil, Kevin Alexander Korczyk

Theses and Dissertations

Kant’s account of evil has often been criticized for being overly restrictive in that it seems unable to account for profoundly immoral acts such as those committed by the Nazis. In response, most defenders of Kant have attempted to gerrymander his original categories of evil such that they become expansive enough to account for these cases. In this paper, I argue that such defenses fail because they rule out the possibility of immoral acts committed intentionally and in full knowledge of their immorality. However, I also show that there is room in Kant’s ethics for an additional category of evil …

Behavioral, Physiological, And Molecular Characterization Of Long-Term Administration Of A Novel Estrogen Receptor Beta Agonist In A Mouse Model Of Menopause, Aaron William Fleischer

Theses and Dissertations

The menopausal loss of circulating hormones, including estrogens, is associated with negative symptoms, such as hot flashes, anxiety and depression, cognitive decline, and weight gain. Although estrogenic hormone therapies (HT) prevent many of the negative symptoms related to the menopausal transition, these same therapies are associated with increased health risks, such as the development of breast and ovarian cancers, which is mediated by the activation of the a (ERa), but not b (ERb), estrogen receptor isoform. Furthermore, ERb agonism has previously been shown to reduce preclinical indices of hot flashes, memory decline, anxiety, and depression. As most ERb agonists are …

Transition From Collegiate Track & Field: An Examination Of Values And Commitment, Michael Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This study provides a glimpse into psychological factors some of the 100,000 student-athletes who leave collegiate sport each year may face and adds to current understandings of ways to best serve collegiate student-athletes prior to their departure from collegiate sport. Drawing from the theories of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and The Minnesota Theory of Work Adjustment, the study utilizes a population of former NCAA Division 1, 2, 3 and NAIA student-athletes to offer an in-depth look at the transition away from collegiate track and field. Mediation analysis was utilized to explore the interplay between commitment to values driven behavior, psychological …

Assessing Sleep Hygiene Awareness Among Emerging Adults Utilizing A Brief Vignette, Jessica Troy Hinojosa

Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adults may have misconceptions about how sleep hygiene behaviors affect sleep quality, suggesting they may not be aware of what is considered unhealthy sleep hygiene. Vignettes provide a unique approach to understanding sleep hygiene awareness in emerging adults, as no known studies have used this approach. The current study aimed to assess the utility of a vignette to identify emerging adults’ awareness of negative sleep hygiene behaviors. A community sample of emerging adults completed an online survey including a demographics questionnaire, the Sleep Health Index® (SHI), the Sleep Hygiene Questionnaire (SHQ), and a vignette measure of sleep hygiene awareness. …

Functional Responding To Appetitive Faces Among Cannabis-Using Adolescents And Young Adults, Ryan Michael Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis use is associated with attenuated reward signaling, yet few studies have examined this relationship when viewing rewarding appetitive faces while undergoing functional neuroimaging. Furthermore, few neuroimaging analyses have examined the moderating role of gender on task-based fMRI outcomes. This study explored functional BOLD response elicited by appetitive faces while engaged in an affective go/no-go task, and specifically investigated the differences between cannabis-using and control groups, whether gender moderate findings, and brain-behavior associations. Participants (ages 16-26 years) were scanned after at least 3-weeks of monitored abstinence (cannabis-using group = 35; control group = 33). The findings demonstrated aberrant activation in …

Neural Correlates Underlying The Interactions Between Anxiety And Cannabis Use In Predicting Motor Response Inhibition, Richard Ward

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to effectively withhold an inappropriate response is a critical feature of cognitive control. Prior research indicates alterations in neural processes required for motor response inhibition in anxious individuals, including those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and those who engage in regular cannabis use. However, thus far most research has examined how anxiety-related symptoms and cannabis use influence response inhibition in isolation of one another. The current study examined the interactions between anxious symptomology and recent cannabis use in a sample that recently experienced a traumatic event using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the completion of a Stop-Signal …

Impacts Of Parental Pain Dismissal In Emerging Adulthood, Sophia Zwick

Theses and Dissertations

The experience of chronic pain and pain dismissal is common in children/adolescents. Parental pain dismissal is of particular interest in this study due to the complexity of the family unit. Substantial research has been conducted to determine the negative impacts on emerging adults (e.g., drug misuse and rates of anxiety and depression). However, no research has explored the lasting impacts that these experiences facilitate into emerging adulthood. The purpose of the current study was to better understand the long-term impacts of parental pain dismissal into emerging adulthood. Participants in the current study were emerging adults that completed an online survey …

Identification And Response To Parent Distress By Medical Providers In The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Kathryn Anne Balistreri

Theses and Dissertations

During hospitalization in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), approximately 25-60% of parents experience clinical levels of distress (i.e., traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression). Despite this, PICU providers rarely refer parents to formal psychological services, and parents describe room for improvement in provider response to their emotional needs. Difficulty identify and/or responding to distress in parents may contribute to these deficiencies. The present study aimed to evaluate how medical providers identify and respond to parent distress in the PICU. Thirty-seven medical providers (78% female; 73% White) from the Children’s Wisconsin PICU completed a semi-structured interview. Providers perceived supporting distressed parents …

Suicide Attempt Types In College Students, Haley Pierson

Theses and Dissertations

Although suicide is now being the second leading cause of death in college and university students, there continues to be a lack of research examining the three types of suicide attempts (i.e., aborted, interrupted, and actual). Interrupted suicide attempts have been found to be predictive of death by suicide, and aborted suicide attempts have been found to be highly associated with an actual suicide attempt (Barber, Marzuk, Leon, & Portera, 1998; Steer, Beck, Garrison, & Lester, 1988). Research continues to suggest a lifetime number of suicide attempts is regarded as one of the strongest predictors of future suicide (Suominen et …

Decent Work As A Moderator For Survivors Of Traumatic Life Events, Matthew Carbonelli

Theses and Dissertations

The Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) is a vocational psychology theory that aims to explore the pathways and outcomes that may hinder or improve the likelihood of obtaining decent work by including contextual factors such as marginalization and economic constraints. Vocational psychology primarily focuses on individual characterological elements of obtaining work; however, limited evidence exists exploring how traumatic symptoms or exposure may affect one’s abilities to find work. This study seeks to utilize PWT to understand better how the relationship between trauma exposure and job satisfaction and personal wellbeing is moderated by decent work. Sampling consisted of 61.3% female (n …