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Black Racial Identity And Externalizing Symptoms: The Regulatory Role Of Dyadic Relationships, Sultan A. Hubbard

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored caregiver impact on Black racial identity (BRI) and externalizing through the integration of BRI, racial socialization (RS), and social support theoretical frameworks. The study used 85 Black undergraduates (Mean age =19.3, SD=3.43) who rated three caregivers, respectively. Restricted maximum likelihood estimation was conducted to estimate variance components. BRI, RS, internalizing, and externalizing variables reflected significant trait effects and dyadic effects. However, racial centrality and public regard did not reflect significant dyadic effects. Participant burden due to randomization of caregivers and items likely suppressed dyadic effects. Moreover, caregivers who evoked private regard were perceived as having high cultural …

Motivated Attention To Social And Nonsocial Reward Images: Examining Relations With Externalizing Risk In Children, Adaeze C. Egwuatu

Doctoral Dissertations

Children that exhibit issues with externalizing behaviors often experience maladaptive outcomes in later life. Externalizing problems during middle childhood (e.g., 6-10 years old) are linked to issues with emotion regulation, which are, in turn, caused by disrupted attention and emotion reactivity to reward. Externalizing problems during this period have also been linked diminished processing of social reward stimuli, suggesting externalizing risk in children may be reflected in contrasting patterns in processing of non-social and social rewards. However, research comparing how differences in affective processing of specific reward content (i.e. social versus non-social) patterns relate to externalizing behavior within normative development …

Racial Bias In The Association Of Externalizing Symptoms With Black And White Children: The Development And Application Of An Implicit Association Test, Maura Francis

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that school and mental health professionals more strongly associate externalizing behaviors with Black children compared to White children. To test this hypothesis, we developed an implicit association test to determine if there was a difference in the reaction times in classifying symptoms as externalizing when the symptoms were paired with the word “Black Child” as opposed to paired with the word “White Child”. In a sample of 54 school and mental health professionals, we found clear evidence in support of our hypothesis. The existence of this implicit bias may explain …

Understanding The Impact Of Collective Efficacy And Race/Ethnicity On Child Internalizing And Externalizing Symptomatology, Demy Alfonso

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Neighborhood collective efficacy has emerged as an important predictor of mental health problems, specifically internalizing and externalizing behaviors, among adolescents. Existing research has shown that the association between collective efficacy and mental health problems may differ according to the child’s racial or ethnic background. The present study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the direct associations between collective efficacy at age 9 and internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 15, while controlling for several demographic variables. Subsequently, a multigroup SEM approach was utilized to explore whether associations between neighborhood collective efficacy at age 9 and externalizing and internalizing symptoms …

The General Psychopathology Factor (P) From Adolescence To Adulthood: Disentangling The Developmental Trajectories Of P Using A Multi-Method Approach, Alexandria M. Choate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Considerable attention is directed towards studying co-occurring psychopathology through the lens of a general factor (p-factor). However, the developmental trajectories and stability of the p-factor have yet to be fully understood. Study 1 first examined the explanatory power of dynamic mutualism theory — an alternative framework positing the p-factor to be a product of lower-level symptom interactions rather than the inherent cause of them. Predictions of dynamic mutualism were tested using three distinct statistical approaches including: longitudinal bifactor models, random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs), and network models. Next, given prior suggestions that borderline personality disorder (BPD) could be a marker …

Children’S Perspectives On The Social Exclusion Of Peers With Behavioural Difficulties, Kayla Edwards

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Children who display externalizing behaviours are more likely than their peers to experience social exclusion. To better examine this topic, the perspectives of peers were investigated. Thirty-six participants were interviewed from a school in Southwestern Ontario. Participants were asked why they believe children with behavioural difficulties may be socially excluded by peers. Unique statements were extracted from the transcribed data. Participants were invited back to sort the statements into meaningful categories. Sorted data were analyzed using multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis. A five-cluster solution was selected as the best conceptual and statistical fit for the data. The clusters in this …

Genomic Contributors To Individual Differences In Reward-Related Neural Activity, Lindsay Jane Michalski

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aberrant reward-related behavior, including impulsive and risk-taking behaviors, is a common feature of externalizing psychopathology (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and substance-use disorders). Through imaging studies, these behaviors have been linked to dysregulated reactivity within a diffuse reward-related corticostriatal neural network, including the striatum, frontal regions (namely orbital, ventromedial, and dorsolateral cortices), the insula, and the hippocampus. Because variability in risk-taking behavior and related psychopathology is moderately-to-largely heritable (i.e., with estimates ranging from 40 – 80%), a genetically-informed approach is well-positioned to provide valuable insight into the etiology of reward-related neural and behavioral phenotypes that characterize externalizing …

Child And Adolescent Sleep Disturbances And Psychopathology In A Mental Health Clinic Sample, Aviva Blacher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sleep disturbances in children and adolescents (hereafter children) are associated with significant short-term and long-term impairments including more severe psychopathology, reduced cognitive functioning, and poorer general health. We know that children being treated in specialty mental health services are more likely to have sleep disturbances than community samples. We also know that relationships exist between sleep and psychopathology in children with specific disorders (e.g. ADHD, depression, etc.). However, few studies have investigated the relationship between sleep and psychopathology in a broad sample of children seen at mental health agencies. Both child factors and family factors may influence both sleep and …

Associations Between Community Violence Exposure, Emotional Desensitization, And Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms: The Influence Of Route Of Exposure And Interpersonal Proximity To The Victims Of Violence, Megan M. Zeringue

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The current study examines associations between community violence exposure (CVE) and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The emotional desensitization hypothesis states that moderate levels of CVE will be associated with increased internalizing symptoms, whereas high levels of CVE will be associated with decreases in internalizing distress. The current study extends prior research by examining whether patterns of emotional desensitization differ based on the route of exposure – either being personally victimized or witnessing community violence. Further, associations examined the influence of interpersonal proximity to the victims of violence – that is, whether individuals are victims themselves (most proximal), witness violence against …

The Role Of Temperamental Fear And Parenting Quality On Emerging Internalizing And Externalizing Problems During Early Childhood, Tejal Patel

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Temperamental characteristics may distinguish which children are at greater risk for later psychopathology. In addition, parenting quality may interact with the association between temperament and behavior problems to increase or decrease externalizing or internalizing behaviors in children. This study examined whether mothers’ parenting quality moderated the associations between children’s temperamental fear and children’s behavior problems. The sample consisted of 143 low-income mother-child dyads who participated in various interactional tasks designed to measure mothers’ parenting and children’s temperamental fear. While children’s fearless and fearful temperament were not significantly associated with externalizing and internalizing behaviors, respectively, some significant associations emerged. Positive and …

Attachment And Internalizing And Externalizing Problems In Adolescence: Exploring The Mediating Role Of Physiological Self-Regulation Capacity, Michelle A. Kuhn

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Internalizing and externalizing problems impact functioning and health in adolescence. Therefore, understanding risk and protective factors related to these behaviors is of practical interest. The proposed study examined the relationship between parent-adolescent attachment security, self-regulation capacity, and internalizing and externalizing problems. Previous studies have supported prospective links between parent-child attachment security and self-regulation capacities. Similarly, self-regulation is as a protective factor from internalizing and externalizing problems. This study proposed a mediation model combining these findings. It was hypothesized that youth with stronger parent-adolescent attachment security would demonstrate fewer internalizing and externalizing problems, and that this relationship would be mediated by …

Maternal Borderline Personality Disorder And Negative Talk, And Young Children’S Behavioral Symptoms, Katherine Anne Halas

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Adolescent Residential Mobility: Behavioral Outcomes And The Moderating Role Of The Mother-Adolescent Relationship, Sloane B. Glover

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Prior research has noted unfavorable associations between residential mobility (RM) and youth outcomes. However, little work has considered the mother-adolescent relationship as a moderator of the suggested associations. The purpose of the current study was to examine the internalizing, externalizing, and delinquent behaviors of adolescents (M_age=15.6, SD=0.77) following a move in comparison to adolescents who did not move. Frequency of moves was considered and adolescents were identified as either stable (0 moves), low mobility (1-2 moves), or high mobility (>2 moves) within a 6 year period. Mother-adolescent closeness and parental monitoring were examined as potential …

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent-Restructured Form (Mmpi-A-Rf) With Juvenile Drug Court Adjudicated Outpatient Adolescents, Mary Caitlin Fertitta

Theses and Dissertations

Many psychological disorders have their beginnings or foundations during the critical developmental period of adolescence. Substance use is particularly problematic at this time because of its risk for continuation into adulthood and because of the many problems associated with it, such as delinquency, family conflict, and poor emotional adjustment. Accurate assessment of emotional and behavioral disturbances in adolescents is important for directing treatment and intervention. This study aimed to contribute reference data for this specific population to the growing body of research with the newly published Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent-Restructured Form (MMPI-A­RF). The central purposes of this study were to …

The Structure Of Psychopathology And Its Relationship To Personality And Eeg, Vincent Rozalski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The factor structure of psychopathology has been debated in the literature, with studies showing support for several models, including one-, two-, and three-factor solutions. The factor structures often vary as a function of what symptoms and diagnoses are included, and when a wide array of diagnoses are present, a three-factor solution is often found. Personality has been shown to be related to psychopathology and its higher order structures, but there is little research regarding neurobiological associations that take into account the factor structure of psychopathology along with personality. This dissertation examined the factor structure of a wide range of psychopathology, …

Psychiatric Symptom Severity Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-Analysis, Benjamin Douglas Eschler

Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the average effect size of internalizing and externalizing symptoms after pediatric traumatic brain injury across a range of severity (mild, moderate, and severe). Two-meta-regressions were also conducted to determine the role of age at injury at time since injury on these effect sizes.Participants and Methods: 9725 titles and abstracts were collected from PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science. Of these, 63 full-text articles were examined for inclusion criteria to determine eligibility for the study. To be included, the studies needed to be published prior to March 2017 in English, needed to have a …

Psychiatric Symptom Severity Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-Analysis, Benjamin Douglas Eschler

Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the average effect size of internalizing and externalizing symptoms after pediatric traumatic brain injury across a range of severity (mild, moderate, and severe). Two-meta-regressions were also conducted to determine the role of age at injury at time since injury on these effect sizes.Participants and Methods: 9725 titles and abstracts were collected from PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science. Of these, 63 full-text articles were examined for inclusion criteria to determine eligibility for the study. To be included, the studies needed to be published prior to March 2017 in English, needed to have a …

Neurogenetics Of The Externalizing Spectrum, Caitlin E. Carey

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Externalizing spectrum disorders, which include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, alcohol and substance use disorders, and antisocial personality disorder, are characterized by behavioral disinhibition and are thought to be manifestations of a common heritable liability factor throughout the lifespan. However, relatively little is known about their underlying etiology. Here, I probe genetic and neural risk mechanisms for externalizing psychopathology in three complementary studies. First, I report an indirect association between genetic risk for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and problem drinking in young adulthood, mediated by heightened reward-related neural activity within the ventral striatum, among 404 college students. I …

Nonresident Paternal Factors And The Psychosocial Adjustment Of Black Adolescents From Single-Mother Households, Erica Elizabeth Coates

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of nonresidential, Black fathers in the psychosocial adjustment of Black adolescents from single-mother households. Participants included 107 noncohabiting Black parental dyads with children between the ages of 12 and 18 years. Participants completed measures of positive parenting, parent-child relationship quality, depressive symptoms, coparenting relationship quality, and adolescents’ emotional and behavioral functioning. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions found that father factors contributed unique variance to adolescent outcomes when using father-reported and combined father- and mother-reported adolescent functioning. Coparenting relationship quality mediated the relationship between father-child relationship quality and adolescent behavioral problems when using mother-reported and combined …

Quality Of Life And Burden In Caregivers Of Youth With Severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Monica S. Wu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous disorder associated with functional impairment and deleterious effects at the family level. Caregivers are often enmeshed in the disorder, coping with the child’s OCD-related distress and engaging in accommodating behaviors. Given the developmental level of these youth and the impactful nature of OCD, caregivers may experience considerable burden and decreased quality of life (QoL). However, extant literature on these constructs is largely limited to caregivers of patients with chronic illnesses, and the few existing studies examining OCD samples are limited to adult patients. As such, this study sought to examine burden and QoL …

Impact Of Visitation With Incarcerated Fathers On Behavioral Adjustment Among Children In The Foster Care System, Lauren Ashley Hindt

Master's Theses

This study sought to examine whether in-person visitation with incarcerated fathers related to less behavioral problems among children in foster care. The sample consisted of 282 youth (M = 10.18, SD = 2.36 years). Data were collected from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling revealed paternal incarceration was associated with increased externalizing slope trajectories (ß1515 = .18, p = .025), but not internalizing. African American youth had lower externalizing slope trajectories compared to the remainder of the sample (ß20 = -.14, p = .032). The association between paternal incarceration and externalizing was attenuated …

The Relationship Between Self-Regulation And Stress, Sleep, And Behavioral Health, Clayton I. Brock

CMC Senior Theses

The goal of this research was to investigate multiple aspects of self-regulation and their relationship to stress, sleep, and behavioral health. Participants (N=89, 55 females, 29 males, and 5 did not list their sex) were recruited from a high-risk Midwest high school. Participants reported their own self-regulatory ability, sleep, stress, and behavioral problems. Nail samples were also collected from a subset of the participants to assay for cortisol and DHEA. Several measures of self-regulation were found to correlate with sleep quality, behavioral problems, and perceived stress. The natural log of the ratio of cortisol to DHEA was positively correlated with …

Mental Health Of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Heterosexual, And Questioning Youth In Rural, Micropolitian, And Metropolitan Regions In Minnesota: Assessing Internalizing And Externalizing Self-Report Behaviors, Jessica Louann Jorgenson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Individuals identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning or unsure are often at greater risk of developing psychopathology. Minnesota youth, grades 9 and 11, completed the Minnesota Student Survey in 2013. Data were analyzed to ascertain differences within the aforementioned sexual minority groups as well as comparisons to heterosexual youth on questions adapted from the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Short Screener (GAIN-SS). The GAIN-SS consists of self-reported items regarding internalizing and externalizing behaviors. In the present study, bisexual youth reported the most externalizing behaviors and the fewest internalizing behaviors. Heterosexual youth reported the fewest externalizing behaviors, but the most …

Half The Art Of Living: The Influence Of Religion On The Relation Between Interparental Conflict And Childhood Internalizing And Externalizing Behaviors, Alexandra Michelle Wills

Theses and Dissertations

Children are increasingly being raised in environments that threaten healthy development, but there are children who develop well in spite of these threats, and there are factors within children's lives that can ameliorate the negative influence of these threats some of the time (Condly, 2006; Masten, 2001; Werner, 1993). Interparental conflict is one factor that can contribute to threatening healthy development and, indeed, has been linked with a variety of negative outcomes for children, including internalizing and externalizing behaviors (Gonzales, Pitts, Hill, & Roosa, 2000; Ingoldsby, Shaw, Owens, & Winslow, 1999; Rhoades, 2008). Religion has been studied as a contributing …

Fetal Testosterone: Developmental Effects On Externalizing Behavior, Troy A. Webber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fetal testosterone (FT) exposure influences sexual differentiation and may promote well-established sex differences in externalizing (EXT) behavior. Although puberty may be a critical period for these effects, it is unknown how FT exposure influences EXT as a function of pubertal development. We used a longitudinal, multi-sample design to test the relationships between two proxy indices of FT exposure and EXT as a function of age and pubertal development (approximately ages 6, 9, 11, 14, and 16). Twin data were used to approximate FT exposure (TT-FT) because testosterone is thought to cross the intrauterine membrane and cause variability in co-twin gonadal …

The Effects Of Familial Relationships And Sibling Sex Composition On Behavioral Adjustment In Middle Childhood, Elyse I. Pierce

Departmental Honors Projects

Differences in familial relationship qualities have been linked to children's adjustment during middle childhood (Bank, Burraston, & Snyder, 2004). Children with familial relationships characterized by positivity typically have fewer behavior problems than children with more negative familial relationships. However, less is known about how the parent-child and sibling relationships influence children's adjustment concurrently. In the present study, parent-child and sibling interactions were rated on positivity and negativity. Parental ratings of children's adjustment and relationship qualities were also examined. The presence of negativity in the parent-child and sibling relationships predicted poorer adjustment. Sibling negativity predicted additional variance above and beyond parental …

Gender Differences In Risk Factors And Mechanisms For Adolescent Offending, Emma Venell Espel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From 1985 to 2009, the juvenile justice system processed 86% more offending cases for females, with only a 17% rise in male cases (Puzzanchera et al., 2012), highlighting the urgent need for understanding of gender differences in etiological factors of offending. Specifically, there is an essential need to understand mechanisms of the relationship between risk factors and offending behavior. The current work combines two studies with a gender-sensitive approach and an aim to investigate gender differences in a subset of modifiable mechanisms, such as anxiety and impulse control, which link interpersonal risk and offending. The first study tests gender differences …

Exposure To Community Violence And The Trajectory Of Internalizing And Externalizing Problems In A Sample Of Low-Income Urban Youth, Jeremy Jay Taylor

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Intro: The transition from childhood to adolescence is a period of increased risk for psychological problems (e.g. Keiley, & Martin, 2002). Exposure to community violence, may impact the degree to which psychological problems emerge during adolescence (Grant et al., 2004). Previous research also indicates that low-income urban youth are disproportionately exposed to severe community violence, leaving them at higher risk to experience psychopathology (Grant et al., 2004). However, recent longitudinal research suggests that this elevated risk may decline throughout the adolescent years (Murphy et al., 2000) especially for internalizing problems (J. Twenge & S. Nolen-Hoeksema, 2002). The current research hypothesizes …

Parents' Marital Discord Moderating The Genetic And Environmental Influences On Externalizing Problems, Amber Marie Jarnecke

Open Access Theses

Jarnecke, Amber M. M.S., Purdue University, December 2013. Parents' Marital Discord Moderating the Genetic and Environmental Influences on Externalizing Problems. Major Professor: Susan C. South.

Parental marital discord is related to children's externalizing problems at various ages. However, little is known about the mechanisms that explain these associations. The current study assesses the impact of parental marital discord on the etiology of

offspring externalizing problems at different ages. Specifically, biometric moderation models were used to test the hypothesis that parental marital discord moderates genetic and environmental influences on offspring externalizing problems at age 11 and age

17. Results suggest that …

Moderators Of The Efficacy Of Child Obesity Prevention: Exploration Of A, Sabrina Karczewski

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

School-based child obesity intervention literature demonstrates variable body mass index (BMI) related outcomes, but studies do not typically explore the effect of interventions on psychological outcomes nor do they examine the interactions between participation in the intervention and individual participant characteristics. In this study, the effects of a universal school-based obesity prevention were examined on the outcomes of BMI, internalizing, and externalizing outcomes. Potential moderators of the relationship between participation in the intervention and outcomes included ethnicity, baseline weight class, baseline internalizing symptoms, and baseline externalizing symptoms. Results confirm differential benefits of the intervention based on a variety of baseline …