Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Embodied Metaphor In The Relationship Between Vestibular Dysfunction, Anxiety And The Self, Kaitlyn Abrams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is considerable evidence that vestibular dysfunction and anxiety are correlated. Clinical and philosophical arguments suggest that a loss of sense of self, experienced through symptoms like derealization and depersonalization, might contribute to this relationship. The present study used a mixed methods approach, including Systematic Metaphor Analysis, to analyze written short answer and quantitative survey data from one hundred and thirteen participants with vestibular disorders. The Systematic Metaphor Analysis revealed several primary metaphor concepts which elucidated the connections between concrete experience and abstract concepts in vestibular dysfunction. These included metaphors of Agency, Stability, Orientation, Self-Object, and Figure-Ground. Primary metaphors for …

Using The Coaching Approach Behavior And Leading By Modeling (Calm) Program To Examine Attachment And Parental Behaviors In Childhood Anxiety, Seana Bandi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is one of the most common disorders in children that can often lead to detrimental outcomes. Empirically-supported risk factors for child anxiety include the child’s temperament and behavioral inhibition, insecure attachment, parental over-controlling behaviors, parental anxiety, and the impact of adverse life events on the child. Targeting these risk factors early on has the ability to lead to a decrease in anxiety symptoms later in adolescence and adulthood.

Evidence suggests behavioral, therapeutic interventions are effective for treating anxiety and other mood disorders for middle childhood and adolescents. Recent research has begun to focus on developmentally-appropriate adaptations for younger children …

The Association Between Depression, Anxiety And Clinical Outcomes For Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Elham Heidari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To evaluate the impact of depression and/or anxiety on clinical outcomes of diabetes, including glycosylated hemoglobin (HgA1c), blood glucose, blood pressure, total cholesterol, weight and LDL among patients with incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Method: A retrospective cohort study utilizing electronic medical record (EMR) data from a primary care physician (PCP) group practice was conducted to identify patients newly diagnosed with T2DM with at least 6 months pre-diagnosis and 12 months post-diagnosis of EMR data using International Classification of Disease 9th edition Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) coding. The presence of comorbid depression and anxiety was identified to identify four …

Characterization Of G-Protein Coupled Receptors In Pain, Depression And Anxiety, Neil Lax

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chronic pain and major depressive disorder are widespread conditions in the world. Interestingly, these conditions often occur comorbidly, with each individual disease amplifying the symptoms of the other. A significant amount of preclinical research in pain and depression focuses on G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), implying that GPCRs may be useful in treating this comorbidity. Our efforts have sought to characterize several poorly understood GPCRs, including the serotonin receptor subtypes 2C and 7 (5-HT2CR and 5-HT7R) and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5), along with more well-known GPCRs such as the mu opioid receptor (MOR), and the role that they play in …

The Effect Of Melatonin Upon Post-Acute Withdrawal Among Males In A Residential Treatment Program (M-Paws): A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial, Corry D. Bondi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study goal was to assess melatonin as an adjuvant treatment along with current pharmaco- and behavioral therapy for 28 days on weekly self-reported severity of anxiety, depression, stress, and sleep complaints as well as how sleep is affecting daily life in a sample of males in recovery from chemical dependency at a single, residential treatment site, Salvation Army Harbor Light Center in Pittsburgh, PA. This study was a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial of 28 days. Participants were randomized to melatonin (5 mg) or placebo and instructed to administer the intervention nightly at bedtime. Primary self-reported outcome …

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Marshall Mcluhan And Communication Ethics: The Taming Of Americanitis, Julie A. Cramer Hunsberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1880 neurologist George Miller Beard identified the diagnosis of neurasthenia. Popularly referred to as Americanitis, Beard treated an increasing number of people for symptoms of anxiety, malaise and gastric discomfort. Per Beard, the illness resulted from the rapidly changing mechanical landscape of modernity. Similarly, contemporary Media Ecology literature suggests that Americanitis continues amidst our current digital moment. Manifest as narcissistically anxious nervous exhaustion, digital Americanitis results due to technological encouragement of existential and communicative closure, thereby negatively implicating the human condition, human communication and communication ethics practices. As such, this project considers Marshall McLuhan’s Media Ecology to examine the …

Teachers' Ability To Identify Anxiety In The Classroom And Generate Related Interventions, Susan Jane Oliverio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The negative impact of test anxiety has been well documented in the literature with empirical studies demonstrating the existence of a negative relationship between test anxiety and academic performance (Schwarzer, 1990; Seipp, 1991). In 1967, test anxiety was determined to be a problem for 10% of school aged children (Klondas). A decade later, studies suggested this rate was closer to 25 or 30% (Nottelmann & Hill, 1977). In a study of a Pittsburgh area school district, Beidel (1991) found clinically significant Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) scores in 34% of students in a suburban school district that is predominantly …

Self-Report Anxiety And Depression Ratings Among Adolescents With An Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparison Of Individuals With And Without A History Of Sexual Offending, Stephanie N Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following study seeks to determine if there are differences in anxiety and/or depression symptoms between adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have been adjudicated for a sexual offense compared to adolescents with an ASD who are not adjudicated. The scores of 26 adolescent offenders diagnosed with an ASD were compared to the scores of 14 non-offending adolescents with an ASD on the following measures: The Behavioral Assessment System for Children- Second Edition (BASC-2) depression and anxiety subscales, and the Beck's Depression Inventory- Second Edition (BDI-II). An examination of whether broad band (BASC-2) vs. narrow band (BDI-II) measures …

Attachment And Anxiety In Aggressive Children And Adolescents, Erinn Obeldobel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is rising concern among the general public regarding childhood aggression and its impact on society. This study sought to further the understanding of childhood aggression by examining the variables of anxiety and current attachment in an aggressive population of youth. There is a substantial body of research that relates poor attachment to aggressive-related behaviors (e.g., Allen, Hauser, Borman-Spurrell, 1996; Gacono & Meloy, 1994; Meesters & Muris, 2002; NICHD-ECCRN, 2006; Simons, Paternite, & Shore, 2001). In comparison to the research on the relationship between attachment and aggression in children and adolescents, the relationship between anxiety and aggression is more contradictory …

An Examination Of State And Trait Anxiety Levels Among College Students Based On The Students' Alcohol Usage, Richard Kovalesky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines anxiety and level of alcohol consumption among college freshman and sophomore student's to determine if state and trait anxiety are significant factors in high risk alcohol consumption or binge drinking. The State Trait Personality Inventory (STPI) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) were administered to gather data on anxiety and alcohol consumption level. The investigation seeks to identify specific personality factors in college students' that impact high risk alcohol consumption and binge drinking in the undergraduate population. Specifically, state and trait anxiety are examined to determine their effect upon college freshmen and sophomores drinking practices. …

Anxiety In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Examination Of Reporting Trends Among Children, Parents, And Teachers, Cathryn A. Lehman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in reciprocal social skills, abnormal language development, and/or a restricted repertoire of behaviors and interests. Among individuals with ASDs, up to 84 percent are thought to have comorbid anxiety diagnoses, which can result in decreased social, emotional, behavioral, academic, and/or adaptive functioning. While differential diagnosis is necessary in order to create symptom-specific treatment protocols to address anxious symptoms, diagnostic decisions can be difficult for clinicians to make due to the common reliance on self-, parent- and teacher-report measures for collecting data. Based on theory, problems arise because deficits in the individual with …

An Examination Of Racial Differences In Anxiety Disorder Symptom Structure And Trajectories Among Pre-Adolescent Female Youth, Cynthia Altman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the experience of anxiety among children and adolescents is well documented in the literature, relatively little empirical study has focused on this topic. Existing research is essentially void of studies into gender-specific aspects of anxiety development and maintenance or race-based differences in anxiety symptomatology. The current study sought to fill this gap by examining racial differences in anxiety disorder symptom structure and trajectories among pre-adolescent female youth. Symptom structure was examined among a sample of 570 girls (252 European American, 318 African American) who completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) at nine years of age …

A Comparison Of Anxiety Levels Among Women In Mixed Gender Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities And Women-Only Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities, Veronica I. Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether women who participate in a mixed gender residential substance abuse treatment facility experience more general anxiety during treatment than do women in a women-only setting and whether there a difference in the general anxiety levels of women in a women-only substance abuse treatment facility whether children are present or not. The voluntary participants of the study included 64 women who were selected from 4 residential treatment settings, 2 mixed gendered and 2 women-only, 1 with women and children. The women were asked to complete the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) that …

An Examination Of The Changes In Depression, Anxiety And Quality Of Life Among Patients Who Undergo Gastric Bypass Surgery, Thomas Petrone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the changes in depression, anxiety and quality of life of patients who underwent gastric by-pass surgery. The purpose of this study was to assess the mental health status of 30 patients by comparing the pre and post-operative mental health evaluative data that had been collected at the pre-surgery evaluation and again at the two, four and six-month follow-up appointments. The data included scores from Beck Depression Inventories (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventories (BAI) and Rand 36-Item Quality of Life Health Surveys (SF-36). Surgical intervention treatments of obesity are increasing. Evaluation of the pre-operative and post-operative psychological status of …