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2008

Psychiatry and Psychology

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Elucidating The Role Of The Α7 Nicotinic Receptor In The Etiology Of Schizophrenia., Michelle Johnson Chandley Dec 2008

Elucidating The Role Of The Α7 Nicotinic Receptor In The Etiology Of Schizophrenia., Michelle Johnson Chandley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The α7 subunit of the nicotinic receptor, a ligand gated ion channel with an affinity for nicotine, has long been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia due to the extremely high rate of smoking within the patient population. However, the exact role of the receptor has never fully been determined. In the following studies, various functions the receptor may assume in disease state are evaluated. There is a strong relationship between the immune system and schizophrenia, with the α7 subunit possibly serving as the link between the two. One of the following studies looks at the possibility of the receptor …


Predictors Of Depressive Symptoms And Obesity In African American Women Transitioning From Welfare To Work, Mayola Rowser Dec 2008

Predictors Of Depressive Symptoms And Obesity In African American Women Transitioning From Welfare To Work, Mayola Rowser

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Depression and obesity are significant public health problems that adversely affect the health and quality of life of women in the United States, particularly female African American welfare recipients transitioning to work. African American women are twice as likely to experience depressive symptoms as women of other races. Fifty percent of African American women are obese. The prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms and obesity is higher among African American women who receive welfare benefits. These health conditions jeopardize their health status, ability to work, and chances to become self-sufficient. To ensure the successful transition of recipients to work, health …


Nonlinearity And Gestalt Therapy : Back To The Beginning, Darryl G. Kim Dec 2008

Nonlinearity And Gestalt Therapy : Back To The Beginning, Darryl G. Kim

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Gestalt methods are explored in the context of the nonlinear view. The original Lewinian equations are updated to the current notions of nonlinear dynamics and current Gestalt Therapy theory. Ordinary differential equations and nonlinear processes are applied some of the key features of Gestalt Theory. Theoretical positions are explored and therapeutic impact considered.


Psychological Distress And Change In A Pediatric Obesity Population, Amy Rebecca Beck Dec 2008

Psychological Distress And Change In A Pediatric Obesity Population, Amy Rebecca Beck

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Pediatric overweight and obesity is a growing national epidemic with 15 percent of children ages 6-19 considered obese and at least 22 percent considered overweight. While there is considerable research pointing to contributing factors of obesity, there is a paucity of research which elucidates what contributes to successful intervention. Considering that by the year 2050, nearly 50 million Americans may be obese, understanding the factors delineating success of weight loss and prevention is a necessity. The purpose of this study was to utilize archival data from the LLU Growing Fit Program to evaluate the levels of psychological distress experienced by …


The Effectiveness Of Treatment In An Inpatient And Outpatient Psychiatric Facility, Timothy Quan Tran Sep 2008

The Effectiveness Of Treatment In An Inpatient And Outpatient Psychiatric Facility, Timothy Quan Tran

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The present study is aimed at examining treatment outcome in a large psychiatric facility that provides both inpatient and outpatient services to a broad range of patients. Not only will patient outcomes be assessed at a facility-wide level, but patient outcomes on the various units/programs in the facility will also be assessed and compared. It is expected that, facility wide, patients will show significant improvement on the outcome measure from admission to discharge, but that patient outcomes will differ across the various units/programs in the facility. In sum, the results of the paired-sample t-test and effect size obtained in this …


Study Of Executive Functioning Training In Adolescents Diagnosed With Autism, Jessica Postil Sep 2008

Study Of Executive Functioning Training In Adolescents Diagnosed With Autism, Jessica Postil

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study investigated the effectiveness of a manualized executive functioning training program used with adolescents diagnosed with autism. Three male adolescents were trained on executive function activities using a combination of Applied Behavioral Analysis and executive functioning activities. Training programs were administered individually, lasting for 2 hours per day for 20 days. Participants were tested 1 month before training, 1 week before treatment, immediately after training and at a one-month follow-up. Significant improvements were seen in performance on executive functioning tasks that required motor speed, verbal fluency, monitoring, predicting, planning and organization skills. Significant changes in the participant’s adaptive behavior …


Healing Young People Thru Empowerment (H.Y.P.E.): A Hip-Hop Therapy Program For Black Adolescent Males, Adia B. Mcclellan Sep 2008

Healing Young People Thru Empowerment (H.Y.P.E.): A Hip-Hop Therapy Program For Black Adolescent Males, Adia B. Mcclellan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Treating Black adolescent males with disruptive behavior disorders can be challenging for psychologists and other mental health professionals The negative perception of this group within society, as well as the absence of clinical training exploring issues pertinent to Black adolescent males, among other things, may hinder a professional’s ability to effectively work with this population. This doctoral project discussed the research in several areas currently pertinent to Black adolescent males, as well as factors that have historically been oppressive to Black Americans. It then describes several DSM-IV-TR diagnoses and legal classifications associated with Disruptive Behavior Disorders. In addition, research analyzing …


An Epidemiological Study Of Maternal Depression: Findings From The National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development Study Of Early Child Care And Youth Development., Liang Wang Aug 2008

An Epidemiological Study Of Maternal Depression: Findings From The National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development Study Of Early Child Care And Youth Development., Liang Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined maternal depression status from month 1 to 36 after birth using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Maternal depression was assessed with the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The prevalence of maternal depression was highest at 1 month, decreased at 6 months, and then kept fairly stable to 36 months. The prevalence was higher in blacks than other races, in 18-24 than 25-46 years old, and in single mothers than non-single mothers. Mothers with better physical health, social support, or employed had a lower prevalence than their counterparts. Mothers in …


Child Sexual Trauma: Testing The Robustness Of Browne & Finkelhor's Theory, Jose Mauricio Ramirez Jun 2008

Child Sexual Trauma: Testing The Robustness Of Browne & Finkelhor's Theory, Jose Mauricio Ramirez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Trauma has received great attention in the last three decades and a major societal issue today is child sexual abuse. Twelve percent of victims of maltreatment every year are victims of child sexual abuse (CSA). Several studies have suggested that the prevalence of CSA in women is in the range of 6% to 62% depending on how the data was collected (e.g., interviews, surveys) and the nature of the population sampled (e.g., general population, clinical population). Because of CSA, victims are impacted by the experience and encounter a change in the way they perceive the world on both the way …


The Psychophysiology Of Information Processing Differences In Eating Disorders, Kathryn Grace Truitt Jun 2008

The Psychophysiology Of Information Processing Differences In Eating Disorders, Kathryn Grace Truitt

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Maladaptive or dysfunctional cognitive factors are believed to be significant contributors to pathology in eating disorders. The emotional Stroop task was used to examine [the] these dysfunctional cognitive factors. A sample of 31 women (14 nonclinical controls, 13 BN, 4 AN) participated in this investigation, after exclusion for ocular and movement artifacts and equipment problems the remaining sample contained 4 women diagnosed with BN, 4 women diagnosed with AN, and 9 matched non-clinical control subjects. Participants completed an Emotional Stroop task comprised of 8 blocks of words. On each trial, a word was presented in one of four colors (black, …


Values, Ethnicity, And Ses : The Case Of Latino And Anglo American Women, Claudia Venessa Argueta Jun 2008

Values, Ethnicity, And Ses : The Case Of Latino And Anglo American Women, Claudia Venessa Argueta

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Past research on values has typically employed a quantitative and top-down approach in determining the universality of values across gender, religion and nation categories (Schwartz & Huismans, 1995; Schwartz & Bardi, 2001). However, studies have often failed to identify specific values that are related to particular ethnic and socioeconomic communities within a culturally diverse society (Lee, Whitehead & Balchin, 2000; McCulloguh, Wilson, Teasdale, Kolpakch, & Skelly, 1993). The aim of this study was to use a bottom up, qualitative approach to identify core values among Latino and Anglo women in Southern California. The research was guided by a model for …


A Comparison Of Big Five And Narrow Personality Traits In Relation To Academic Performance, Laura Lee Wright May 2008

A Comparison Of Big Five And Narrow Personality Traits In Relation To Academic Performance, Laura Lee Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study investigated the relationship between the Big Five personality traits (Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness), as well as the relationship of more narrow personality traits, with academic performance. The issue of whether personality measures that have been contextualized to either school or work better predict academic performance than generalized measures is also addressed through the use of multiple personality instruments. Results from a correlation analysis indicated that Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability were all significantly positively related to academic performance, in this case, college course grade, while Extraversion was significantly negatively related. The same correlation …


Predictors Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms Among African American Hiv-Positive Women, Nina Katherine Sublette May 2008

Predictors Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms Among African American Hiv-Positive Women, Nina Katherine Sublette

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

This descriptive correlation study had four purposes: describe depressive and anxiety symptom levels in pregnant and non-pregnant African American (AA) HIV-positive women, examine the association between underlying vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms in HIV-positive AA women, determine the association between underlying vulnerabilities and anxiety symptoms in AA HIV-positive women, and determine the predictors of depressive and anxiety symptoms among African American HIV-positive women. A convenience sample of 80 African American HIV-positive women was recruited from university-based obstetrics/-gynecology and infectious disease practices in a large metropolitan city in the Mid-South. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale …


Memory For Emotional Images : Recognition And Temporal Contexts, George E. Devore Mar 2008

Memory For Emotional Images : Recognition And Temporal Contexts, George E. Devore

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Negative emotional stimuli are usually better remembered than neutral emotional stimuli. Previous examination of binding theory found no differences in recall for homogeneous lists of taboo and neutral words. The current study expands on binding theory using negative and neutral visual stimuli in homogeneous lists. A rapid serial visual presentation paradigm and recognition and temporal memory item-discrimination tasks were used. Binding theory predicts no differences between negative and neutral images for recognition and temporal memory. Results were consistent with the assumptions of binding theory and no significant differences were found. This result suggests that binding theory generalizes for visual stimuli …


Mental Health And Business Professionals’ Employment-Related Perceptions Of Individuals With Psychological Disorders, Kevan Mock Jan 2008

Mental Health And Business Professionals’ Employment-Related Perceptions Of Individuals With Psychological Disorders, Kevan Mock

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Mental health and business professionals’ employment-related perceptions of 6 psychological disorders (i.e. alcoholism, insomnia, major depression, social phobia, post- traumatic stress disorder, obesity) were examined. The 33 professionals (n = 18 mental health; n = 15 business) evaluated each disorder on 18 employment-related dimensions (e.g. employability, productivity, trainability). Specifically, they evaluated the perceived likelihood of each of the 18 employment-related dimensions being associated with each of the 6 psychological disorders (1 = not likely; 5 = highly likely). Perceptions of the 33 mental health and business professionals were compared with the perceptions of college students (n = 106) obtained in …


The Phenomenon Of Amoralism: An Investigation Of The Cognitive And Emotive Roots, Andrei G. Zavaliy Jan 2008

The Phenomenon Of Amoralism: An Investigation Of The Cognitive And Emotive Roots, Andrei G. Zavaliy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

An amoralist is defined as a person who rejects the claims of moral reasons to special authority, and systematically acts without regard to the generally accepted moral standards. A psychopath can be seen as a paradigm case of an extreme amoralist, although the less severe cases of selective amoralists are considered. The research into the typical behavioral pattern, motivational structure, and the value system of psychopaths can shed light on at least three aspects related to the analysis of the moral agency. First, it can help elucidating the emotive and cognitive conditions necessary for moral performance. Secondly, it can provide …


Nicotine Facilitates Trace Fear Conditioning In Normal And Fasd Rats Tested As Adolescents, Mary Elizabeth Levillain Jan 2008

Nicotine Facilitates Trace Fear Conditioning In Normal And Fasd Rats Tested As Adolescents, Mary Elizabeth Levillain

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Situational And Dispositional Influences On Cardiovascular Reactivity To Daily Academic Stressors, Kristen Marie Conley Jan 2008

Situational And Dispositional Influences On Cardiovascular Reactivity To Daily Academic Stressors, Kristen Marie Conley

WWU Graduate School Collection

Stress has many physical effects on the body, including producing elevations in heart rate and blood pressure. This study investigated associations between daily academic stressors and cardiovascular activity. Because individual differences may influence physical reactions to academic stressors, differences in threat/challenge appraisal, test anxiety, and behavioral inhibition were considered as potential moderators of the relationship between academic stressors and cardiovascular activity. Forty-five undergraduate student participants (10 men, 35 women, M age = 20.58) wore an ambulatory blood pressure monitor for four consecutive days, and completed a series of individual difference assessments. Acute and anticipatory academic stressors were associated with cardiovascular …


Investigation Of Social Connectedness In A College Population And Its Relationship To Perceived Stress And Health Symptoms, Sanya Sholetta Whittaker Jan 2008

Investigation Of Social Connectedness In A College Population And Its Relationship To Perceived Stress And Health Symptoms, Sanya Sholetta Whittaker

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated factors related to social connectedness and social support in a college population. Participants in the study were 486 volunteer students at the University of North Florida. All data were collected through a world wide web surveying program that allowed each participant to complete surveys on computers from any location. The surveys administered were the Social Connectedness Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Perceived Stress Scale 10, the Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ15), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale- Revised (CESD-R) along with a demographics questionnaire. Results show that participants in …


Gender And Apologies: Exploring Offended Females' Perceptions Of Apologies From Males And Females, Stacey Bennet Jan 2008

Gender And Apologies: Exploring Offended Females' Perceptions Of Apologies From Males And Females, Stacey Bennet

Theses : Honours

The construct of apology has recently received more attention by researchers (Allan, 2007) and several factors that may influence apologetic responses have been identified. The gender of an offender is one such factor. A review was undertaken to examine the literature pertaining to the influence of the gender of an offender on apologies. As a result of the review, several themes were identified. These included gender differences and similarities in the frequency of apologies, the quantity and complexity of components, and the actual content of those components. Furthermore, contextual factors that may play a role in the influence of gender …


Escalation Of Wheel Running: An Animal Model Of Non-Drug Addiction, Ali Gheidi Jan 2008

Escalation Of Wheel Running: An Animal Model Of Non-Drug Addiction, Ali Gheidi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Animal studies using the self-administration paradigm suggest that duration of drug access (Ahmed, 2005) and individual phenotype (Piazza, Deminiere, Le Moal and Simon, 1989) are important factors in the development of drug addiction. Wheel running in rats has been proposed as a model to study non-drug addictions (Eikelboom & Lattanzio, 2003). When first given ad lib wheel access, young male rats initially run at low levels (about 1000 wheel turns per night) and gradually increase this distance to high levels (about 5000 wheel turns per night) (Afonso and Eikelboom, 2003). Like with self-administration, duration of wheel access has been found …


List Composition Effects For Masked Semantic Primes: Evidence Inconsistent With Activation Accounts, Jennifer C. Major Jan 2008

List Composition Effects For Masked Semantic Primes: Evidence Inconsistent With Activation Accounts, Jennifer C. Major

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Priming is the benefit that an event receives when its processing has been preceded by the processing of a related or identical event. Context effects on priming are evident when priming changes as a function of some feature of experimental trials. The most commonly explored context effect is that of relatedness proportion (RP), where it has often been shown that the magnitude of priming (semantic or repetition) is directly related to the proportion of related trials: Increasing the related trials results in greater priming. Although previously thought to depend on strategic processing, recent evidence of context effects from designs using …