Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Secret Ingredient For Improving Infant/Child Mental Health: Teaching Parents To Play, Geraldine Healy Marini

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Disorders in mental health are the highest of all disorders and results in the most common form of disability. Since 2011, mental health disorders have increased at alarming rates. It is estimated that 9.5 to 14.2% of children between the ages of 0 to 5 years have and emotional or behavioral problem. The mental health of parents or caregivers can affect and impact the development of young children (Nelson & Mann, 2011, Zero to Three, 2004).

The over arching goal of this research is to explore issues of mental health within parent-child interactions. Coaching parents during the co-occupation of play …

Parent And Adolescent Attachment And Adolescent Shame And Hope With Psychological Control As A Mediator, Natasha K. Bell

Student Works

The purpose of this study was to determine if parent adolescent attachment is correlated with adolescent hope and shame two years later with parent psychological control in the year in between as a mediator. Data at wave four, five, and six for 308 families from the Flourishing Families Project were used. In previous studies attachment has been shown to be important in adolescent development. This study found that the adolescent's perception of the relationship is negatively correlated with shame and positively correlated with hope in the adolescent. Additionally the adolescent's perception of their relationship with both mother and father was …

Parent And Adolescent Attachment And Adolescent Shame And Hope With Psychological Control As A Mediator, Natasha K. Bell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if parent adolescent attachment is correlated with adolescent hope and shame two years later with parent psychological control in the year in between as a mediator. Data at wave four, five, and six for 308 families from the Flourishing Families Project were used. In previous studies attachment has been shown to be important in adolescent development. This study found that the adolescent's perception of the relationship is negatively correlated with shame and positively correlated with hope in the adolescent. Additionally the adolescent's perception of their relationship with both mother and father was …

An Empirical Investigation Of The Role Of Camaraderie, Cause, Competency, And Participation Motives In The Development Of Attachment To A Charity Sport Event, Kevin Filo, Daniel Funk, Danny O'Brien

Danny O'Brien

This paper examines the factors that contribute to the meaning participants hold for charity sport events. Specifically, the paper investigates the role of three value-laden constructs; along with participation motives, to understand participant attachment to a charity sport event. An online questionnaire was given to participants in the Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG Challenge (n 5 568) following the event. Data analysis revealed two recreational event motives, three motives for charitable giving, and three value-laden constructs contribute to attachment to the charity sport event. In addition, the results revealed the value-laden constructs make a stronger contribution to event attachment than the …

Adult Attachment And Relationship Satisfaction Among Men Who Experienced Childhood Abuse, Selisha Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Experiences of childhood physical and sexual abuse among men have not been sufficiently studied because many men are not forthcoming about experiences of abuse. This abuse is linked to aggressive behaviors, difficulty developing and maintaining close relationships, and various psychological disorders. Current research has not fully examined relationships between childhood abuse, adult attachment, and levels of relationship satisfaction among men. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to evaluate the relationship between adult attachment as measured by the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and relationship satisfaction as measured by the Couples Satisfaction Index among men abused during childhood. Bowlby's theory of …

Attachment, Anxiety, And Depression: A Study Of Women In Residential Treatment With Their Children At The Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center (Sbarc) (1995-2010), Gary Miles Forrest

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

The Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center (SBARC) in Pembroke Pines, Florida is a residential center where women live with their children while receiving treatment for a variety of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues and while participating in mandatory parenting classes. Unlike most women's residential treatment centers, which address only the woman and her problems, SBARC treats the mother-infant/child dyad. I designed and created a database to examine the data previously available only in the paper client records of over 800 women who received treatment at SBARC from 1995 through 2010 in a previous project. This nonexperimental, retrospective explanatory …

A Narrative Study Of Emotions Associated With Negative Childhood Experiences Reported In The Adult Attachment Interview, Lynne Hartman

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Attachment patterns, which tend to be stable over time, are passed from one generation to the next. Secure attachment has been linked to adaptive social functioning and has been identified as a protective factor against mental illness. The parents’ state of mind with regard to attachment—as measured with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) (Main, Goldwyn, & Hesse, 2002)—predicts the attachment classification for the infant in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Earned-secure individuals have overcome negative childhood experiences to achieve a secure state of mind in adulthood. Earned security, like continuous security, strongly predicts infant security …

The Impact Of Technology On Adolescent Identity Development, Christina Frederick, Amy Bradshaw Hoppock, Devin Liskey, Daniel Brown

Publications

This paper explores how technology use in adolescence facilitates adult identity achievement and presents evidence that technological objects, such as smartphones have become adolescent transitional objects. Early and late adolescents were surveyed about technology use and feelings associated with technology. Among older adolescents, anxiety level was related to smart phone use, such that higher anxiety was associated with greater smart phone use. The feelings and behaviors associated with use of the preferred device are consistent with feelings and behaviors associated with use of a transitional object. In contrast, younger adolescents did not appear to use technology as a transitional object. …

The Importance Of Access To Benefits Under The Family Medical Leave Act For Low-Income Families For Bonding And Attachment Facilitation With A Fragile Infant And The Role Of The Social Worker, Theresa Stewart Moran

21st Century Social Justice

Lack of universal family leave discriminates against low-income families with infants who require care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Birth complications tend to occur more frequently in families living with low socioeconomic status, placing a disproportionate burden on an already vulnerable population. Parents in this group tend to be employed in jobs that do not include the benefit of parental leave. Considering that attachment relationships form as the result of bonding transactions during a critical time in development, limiting contact curtails secure attachment. This, combined with other risk factors, increase the odds of lifelong negative outcomes. Family leave policy …

Partner Attachment And The Parental Alliance, Ashley B. Bell

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated that cooperation and support between parents, called the parental alliance, is an important predictor of parent and child well-being. Consequently, it is important to understand what factors promote the formation of a strong parental alliance. Because of research on the impact of attachment security on individuals' abilities to depend and rely on others and to appropriately manage conflict, partner attachment is a potential predictor of the parental alliance, with insecure attachment negatively weakening the parental alliance. This study analyzed data from 321 couples to examine the relationship between partner attachment and the parental alliance. Using the …

Testing A Model Of Maladaptive Perfectionism And Depression Symptoms: The Roles Of Emotional Disclosure, Emotion Regulation Strategies, Adult Attachment, And Shame, Angela M. Garrison

Dissertations

Previous research has supported a link between maladaptive perfectionism and higher levels of depression symptoms. However, researchers have not yet investigated the ways in which emotion regulation processes may mediate this relationship. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to evaluate emotional disclosure, emotional avoidance, and rumination as mediators of the relation between maladaptive perfectionism and depression symptoms. Additionally, this study also investigated the role that insecure attachment orientations play in the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and use of particular emotion regulation strategies. Further, the role of shame in the emotion regulation processes of individuals with higher levels of …

Attachment Style And Its Role In Perceived Team-Efficacy And Individual Self-Efficacy In Sports, Meghan Kupiec

Honors Theses

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between athletes’ attachment styles and their team- and self-efficacy after wins or losses in sporting contests. The study followed up on a theory proposed by Sam Carr (2012), which posits that attachment style plays an important role in athletic competition and can act as a buffer to negative outcomes in sport. In order to test this idea, a research study was conducted surveying Union College Varsity athletes during both the fall and winter sporting seasons. Across the course of the participants’ athletic seasons, four surveys were distributed. The first …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Adult Attachment Style And Patterns Of Facebook Use And Facebook Behavior, Elizabeth Nailling

Honors Theses

Previous research suggests that various personality traits predict how individuals behave and portray themselves through internet-mediated communication and social media. In the current research, I examine the relationship between adult attachment style and the characteristics of Facebook use (e.g., frequency of "friending," "liking," and commenting). A pilot study conducted with Union College undergraduates who completed questionnaires measuring attachment style and Facebook use showed that higher attachment anxiety was associated with higher frequency and intensity of Facebook use as well as higher attention and reassurance-seeking Facebook behaviors, whereas higher attachment avoidance predicted less frequency and intensity of Facebook use as well …

Attachment Style And Perceived Social Support As Predictors Of Biopsychosocial Adjustment To Cancer, Ayşe Gül Yilmaz Özpolat, Tuğba Ayaz, Özlem Konağ, Asi̇ye Özkan

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Social support is associated with a decrease in psychological symptoms and a better quality of life in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of attachment dimensions on social and psychological adjustment to cancer and to explore the social and psychological adjustments, and medical adherence, among patients. Materials and methods: The study was conducted with 68 cancer patients, between 18 and 74 years of age. The measures taken were the Demographic Information Form, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), and Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS-SR). Results: The results …

Factors And Convergent Validity Of The Pet Attachment And Life Impact Scale (Pals), Lisa Demarni Cromer, M. Rose Barlow

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Human-animal interaction (HAI) provides benefits for humans. Emotional attachment to pets is a possible mechanism for benefits but there is no standard operationalization for “attachment to pets.” The study presented here (N = 651) uses a pet attachment measure based on qualitative research about benefits of pets. This measure, the Pet Attachment and Life Impact Scale (PALS), has four factors that measure Love, Regulation, Personal Growth, and Negative Impacts. We present exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis of the instrument. We then examine convergent validity with four a priori derived measures of pet attachment (Anthropomorphism Scale, CENSHARE PAS, …

Parenting And Attachment Among Low-Income African-American And Caucasian Preschoolers, Casey A. Dexter, Kristyn Wong, Ann M. Stacks, Marjorie Beeghly, Douglas Barnett

Psychology Faculty Research Publications

Despite a plethora of research on parenting and infant attachment, much less is known about the contributions of parenting to preschool attachment, particularly within different racial groups. This study seeks to build on the extant literature by evaluating whether similar associations between parenting and attachment can be observed in African American and Caucasian families, and whether race moderates them. Seventy-four primary caregivers and their preschool children (51% African American, 49% Caucasian, 46% male) from similar urban, low income backgrounds participated in two visits four weeks apart when children were between four and five years of age. Attachment was scored from …

The Relationship Between Romantic Relationship Initiation Processes Of Single Lds Emerging Adults And Change In Attachment Working Models With Implications For Practice, Matthew Lloyd Call

Theses and Dissertations

Relationship initiation is an integral part of romantic relationship development and a key developmental task of emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2004). In addition, relationship initiation practices (such as dating) have the capacity to impact the fluctuating levels of attachment insecurity (whether anxiety or avoidance) that an individual experiences over the course of emerging adulthood (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). In the present study, I utilized latent growth curve modeling to examine whether certain dating variables (first dates, second or more dates, relationship breakups, dateless weeks) compiled over a 32 week dating history, as well as age and gender could predict change in …

Dispositional Mediators Of Burnout Syndrome In A Sample Of Direct Care Staff Employed At Group Homes In A Midwestern State, Cristovao Bartolo Carreira

Wayne State University Dissertations

The current research examined the dispositional characteristics that mediated burnout syndrome in a sample of direct care workers who were employed in group homes for the mentally ill in a Midwestern state. Specifically, the indirect effects that the direct care staff's attachment systems and problem solving ability were examined as they applied to their potential burnout status. Attachment theory, a contemporary psychodynamic theory of personality, was used to provide a context for the study. The researcher studied the interactions between construct subcomponents to address a criticism in the literature stating that only total scores were used to study burnout and …

Role Of Lactic Acid Bacteria As A Bio-Sanitizer To Prevent Attachment Of Listeria Monocytogenes On Deli Slicer Contact Surfaces, And The Influence Of Listeria Innocua On The Attachment Of L. Monocytogenes On Selected Materials Located In The Food-Processing Environment, Jean Baptiste Ndahetuye

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Listeria monocytogenes an important foodborne pathogen that continues to be a serious problem for the food industry. This pathogen contaminates food primarily during post-harvest in the food-processing environment. Its ecology in the food-processing environment is not well understood but previous research has demonstrated the ability of L. monocytogenes to survive on food contact surfaces after cleaning and disinfection. The current study explored the attachment of three lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, Lactobacillus animalis , Lb. amylovorus and Pediococcus acidilactici , their combination in a cocktail, and their influence to prevent the attachment of L. monocytogenes at room temperature by examining …

A Brief Content Analysis Of Attachment And Sexual Relationships In Sex Therapy And Research Journals, Kathryn Zambrano Devis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A surge of scholarly publications on attachment within couple relationships prompted this content analysis of attachment articles published in six sex therapy and sex research journals. This study investigates the extent to which these journals attend to attachment in the context of adult sexual relationships. The researcher found 2257 articles published within these journals; 64 of which attend to attachment and 9 of which attend to attachment and sex. Implications for couples therapy in the field of sex therapy and future directions are discussed.

Pregnancy Loss And Distress Among U.S. Women, Karina M. Shreffler, Arthur L. Greil, Julia Mcquillan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although pregnancy loss—especially miscarriage— is a relatively common experience among reproductive-aged women, much of our understanding about the experience has come from small clinic-based or other nonrepresentative samples. We compared fertility-specific distress among a national sample of 1,284 women who have ever experienced a stillbirth or miscarriage. We found that commitment/attachment to pregnancy that ended in loss as well as current childbearing contexts and attitudes were associated with distress following pregnancy loss. Practitioners working with women or couples who have experienced pregnancy loss should be aware of the importance of characteristics associated with higher distress, such as whether the pregnancy …

The Relationship Between Attachment Style And Attitudinal Orientation Toward Dreams, Gabrielle Contelmo

Honors Theses

Attachment research has explored many of the ways that personality styles – in the context of close interpersonal relationships – affect other psychological processes, but only recently have researchers attempted to discover whether there is a relationship between attachment and dreams. Previous studies have shown that the dreams of both anxious and avoidant individuals contain emotional and attachment-related concerns. This study explores the connection between attachment and attitudinal orientation toward dreams. Presumably, the emotional nature of dreams would lead people high in attachment anxiety to place more importance on their dreams, while people high in attachment avoidance would disengage from …

Dysfunctional Attitudes And Low Self-Esteem Mediate The Effect Of Attachment Anxiety Priming On Depression, Cassandra C. Devito

Honors Theses

Previous studies regarding the relationship between attachment anxiety and depression and the mediating roles of dysfunctional attitudes and self-esteem have been correlational in nature. The current study used an experimental design to look at these relationships. Attachment style was determined using a shortened version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, and then either secure attachment, anxious attachment, or a control of grocery shopping was primed by instructing participants to write about one of the three scenarios. Dysfunctional attitudes were assessed, followed by state self-esteem and then state depression. Multiple regression analyses revealed that trait attachment anxiety and the anxiety …

Mother-Infant Synchrony During Infant Feeding, Barbara Reyna

Theses and Dissertations

MOTHER-INFANT SYNCHRONY DURING INFANT FEEDING By Barbara A. Reyna, PhD A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010. Major Director: Rita H. Pickler, PhD Endowed Nursing Alumni Professor Department of Family and Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing Synchrony between a mother and her infant is fundamental to their developing relationship. Feeding is an essential activity that provides an opportunity for interaction between a mother and her infant and may lead to synchronous interaction. The purpose this study was to develop and test a …

Attachment: The Antidote To Trauma, Joshua Straub

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trauma and loss in life are inevitable. And all too often the traumatic experience itself can be enough to paralyze the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of any given person. Unable to interpret the traumatic experience, many instead are left defined by it. Helping clients discern the objective experience and their subjective reactions to it will help free them from the emotions and beliefs that subsequently control their lives. Based on the most relevant attachment theory research and clinical techniques, this workshop teaches the attentional strategies necessary to helping clients overcome trauma.

Bulimia And Binge-Eating-Disorder And Their Relationship To Family Characteristics, Attachment, Depression, And Self-Esteem, Barbara Brennan Ferguson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Daily Experiences Of Emotions And Social Contexts Of Securely And Insecurely Attached Young Adults, Julia C. Torquati, Marcela Raffaelli

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examined daily emotions and social contexts of young adults who differed in global attachment style (secure vs. insecure). Sixty-nine college students (41% male, 59% female) completed self-report measures of attachment and provided timesampling data on moods, companionship, and activities using the experience sampling method. Secure (n = 41) and insecure (n = 28) young adults spent a similar proportion of time with familiar intimates and alone. Secure individuals reported significantly more positive affect, higher levels of energy, and more connection than insecure individuals when they were alone and higher levels of energy and connection in the context …

Attachment And Depression Differentially Influence Nicotine Dependence Among Male And Female Undergraduates: A Preliminary Study, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Lee M. Cohen, Jessica W. Cook

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The authors surveyed a convenience sample of 208 undergraduate students who reported that they smoked cigarettes. The primary hypothesis they tested was whether gender predicted nicotine dependence. They further tested whether depression and attachment would mediate or moderate this relationship. Hierarchical regression analyses with social desirability and smoking stage of change entered as covariates indicated that women exhibited greater nicotine dependence than men did (p < .01). Lower attachment scores fully mediated this relationship, whereas elevated depression scores moderated the relationship. These findings suggest that depression and the inability to bond with peers may promote nicotine dependence among young female students.

Psychological Reactance As A Personality Characteristic: Relationships To Attachment And Autonomy, Maurine Traville Hargrove Ladner

Doctoral Dissertations

Psychological reactance is a construct that motivates people to restore lost or threatened freedoms (Brehm, 1966). Research is beginning to show that psychological reactance may be related to family of origin dynamics. Autonomy is developed through a secure attachment. Dowd (1993) stated that autonomy is fostered by an optimal level of reactance, and one's personal identity is dependent on the development of a flexible autonomy. This study explored the relationship between psychological reactance and attachment. Additionally, research has suggested that level of reactance may be related to level of autonomy. This relationship was empirically explored. Participants were assessed using the …

Public Health Nurse Interventions For Women In Dependency Drug Court, Ann Somervell

Master's Projects

There are an increasing number of children placed into foster care due to abuse and neglect. Parents of these children often have difficult drug abuse problems leading to the removal of their children. The cost of caring for these children is staggering reaching billions dollars. One program in Santa Clara County that has been created to assist parents is dependency drug court. This court utilizes many disciplines including nursing in its efforts to stabilize and reunify the children. Previous research has shown that home visitations by the public health nurse using interventions based on support of the family has aided …