Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Contribution Of Attachment Styles And Reassurance Seeking To Daily Mood And Relationship Quality In Romantic Couples, Lyndsay E. Evraire

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Excessive reassurance seeking (ERS), defined as the stable tendency to excessively and persistently seek assurances from others, has recently emerged as a possible risk factor for interpersonal distress and depression. An important limitation in the ERS literature concerns the mechanism(s) by which individuals engage in ERS. The current daily diary study was among the first to examine the daily relationships among ERS, mood, and relationship quality in romantic couples, and explore how these associations were moderated by individual and partner attachment styles. Method: A sample of 110 heterosexual couples completed measures of attachment, ERS, symptoms of depression, and relationship quality. …

Self-Referential Processing: An Investigation Of The Mediating Role Of Alpha Power, Tanaz Javan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The EEG correlates of valenced self- and other-referential processing (SRP-ORP) are relatively little understood. This study examined the immediate effects of mindfulness meditation (MM) and EEG alpha neurofeedback (NFB) on resting state EEG alpha amplitudes and alpha event related (de-)synchronization (ERD/S) during an experimental implicit and explicit SRP-ORP task. Undergraduate students (n = 93) were randomized to a single session of MM, NFB alpha synchronization training (“alpha-up”), NFB alpha desynchronization training (“alpha-down”), or sham (placebo control) NFB before completing the Visual-Verbal Self-Other Referential Processing Task (VV-SORP-T). A reduction in resting-state alpha power over posterior cortex was observed across groups relative …

Mediators Of Change In The Stigmatization Of Depression Among Caucasian And Asian Populations, Francois B. Botha

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Public stigma negatively impacts public health by discouraging people with depression from seeking help. In North America, Asians reliably report higher levels of stigma and lower levels of help-seeking than do Caucasians. The reasons for this discrepancy and possible methods of reducing this have, however, rarely been explored. In Study 1, undergraduate students (n = 573) completed several questionnaires related to public stigma, values and ideological beliefs, attitudes and beliefs regarding people with depression and perceived norms. At least one week afterward, participants completed the second part of Study 1, where they were presented with contrived articles highlighting a …

Multi-Sector Service Use By Children In Contact With Ontario Mental Health Agencies, Christian M. Hahn

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Children and youth frequently receive services for mental health issues from multiple service sectors but little is known about the rates of multi-sector involvement over time. Thus, the prevalence of multi-sector service use for children in contact with Ontario mental health agencies, and the influence of demographic, familial, and need variables on child multi-sector involvement, were examined. Secondary data analyses were performed on chart reviews of clients (N=355; 67% boys; ages 4 to 13) from six mental health agencies. Approximately two-thirds of clients had multi-sector involvement. In cross-sectional analyses, risk factors predicted increased likelihood of multi-sector involvement, whereas protective factors …

The Integration And Evaluation Of Humor And Positive Psychology Approaches To Well-Being, Nadia Maiolino

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The research domains of humor and positive psychology promote strategies that can enhance well-being. However, these lines of investigation have proceeded in relative isolation. Therefore, this thesis considered how positive psychology constructs, namely, gratitude and savoring, share features with the humor styles. Study 1 mapped out the inter-relationships among these strategies, as differentially used by individuals. Findings indicated that these strategies share meaningful relationships, and that humor and positive psychology have unique roles within the context of well-being. The humor styles also moderated relationships gratitude shared with well-being. Study 2 extended this work by manipulating use of positive psychology and …

Cognitive Predictors And Behavioural Mediators Of Vulnerability-Specific Stress Generation In Depressed Adults, Katerina Rnic

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This longitudinal study investigated the prospective relation of core beliefs and maladaptive behaviours with stress generation. A sample of 151 depressed females completed a battery of questionnaires to assess the presence of early maladaptive schemas, excessive reassurance seeking (ERS), avoidance, depression and anxiety. Approximately three months later, participants were administered the Beck Depression Inventory-II, a diagnostic interview, and a semi-structured contextual interview that assessed the number and severity of life events experienced since Baseline. ERS mediated the association between a Subjugation schema and dependent interpersonal stress, and behavioural-nonsocial avoidance mediated the relation of an Abandonment schema and dependent interpersonal stress. …

Risk Behaviours And Service Use Intensity In Child Mental Health Care, Hayley A. Mangotich

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Objective

Little is known regarding factors that predict Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) use. The current study examined risk behaviours (e.g., danger to self, danger to others) among children with mental health issues as predictors of service use intensity (i.e., total visits) over 1 year, and across time (i.e., number of visits per two-month period).

Methods

Secondary data analyses of CAMHS chart review data spanning a 5-year period at 6

children’s mental health agencies across Ontario from youth between the ages of 4 and 11 (N = 356) were conducted. Child risk behaviours were measured using the …

Adventure Based Counselling: Promoting Positive Interpersonal Behaviour In Mentally Ill Offenders, Taylor C. Salisbury

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of an adventure-based counselling (ABC) program on interpersonal behaviour within a forensic psychiatric population. Very little research has examined the effectiveness of an adventure-therapy approach with this population, and to our knowledge, an ABC program has never been attempted, much less examined for efficacy. Participants in this study were offenders at the Southwest Center for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas, Ontario who were designated not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. Offenders took part in a 12-session ABC program which addressed interpersonal skills through various challenge …

The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation And Executive Functioning After Sleep Restriction In Healthy Preschool Children, Jessica R. Danilewitz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Executive functions are a set of higher level cognitive processes that are necessary for the self-regulation of behavior and emotion, which allow individuals to engage in planned, goal-oriented behavior, and guide attention. Emotion Regulation (ER) is the ability to control emotional arousal and adapt to the demands of the daily environment. Sleep has been demonstrated to be important for daily functioning in children, adolescents and adults. However, the impact of emotion regulation on the relationship between sleep and executive functioning (EF) in healthy preschool children has not yet been tested. This study investigated the relationship between ER, EF, and negative …

The 4d-Model Of Trauma-Related Dissociation: Validating A Novel Theoretical Framework Through An Attachment-Oriented Approach, Matthew F D Brown

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A recent framework known as the 4D-Model of Trauma-related Dissociation (Frewen & Lanius, 2014) differentiates between symptoms of clinically significant distress based on whether the symptoms do or do not intrinsically exemplify trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC). Undergraduate students (n = 342) participated in an online survey and completed several measures assessing childhood experiences and psychological symptoms. Female PTSD patients (n = 25) completed similar measures before entering treatment. Within the student sample, NWC symptoms were endorsed as occurring more frequently than TRASC symptoms. On average, symptoms of NWC were more strongly intercorrelated than symptoms of TRASC. …

The 4d-Model Of Trauma-Related Dissociation: An Empirical Test Of A Novel Theoretical Framework, Matthew F D Brown

Undergraduate Honors Posters

A recent framework known as the 4D-model of Trauma-related Dissociation (Frewen & Lanius, 2014) differentiates between symptoms of clinically significant distress based on whether the symptoms do or do not intrinsically exemplify trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC). Undergraduate students (n = 342) participated in an online survey and completed several measures assessing childhood experiences and psychological symptoms. Female PTSD patients (n = 25) completed similar measures before entering treatment. Within the student sample, NWC symptoms were endorsed as occurring more frequently than TRASC symptoms. Any two symptoms of NWC were not intercorrelated stronger than any two symptoms of TRASC; …

Towards An Improved Understanding Of The Heterogeneity Of Violence: A Test Of The Clinical Utility Of The Reactive-Instrumental Distinction Among Adult Male Inmates, Jennifer L. Tapscott

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: Interpersonal violence exacts a high cost on society, both in terms of its impact on victims and its associated financial burden. To better understand the heterogeneity of violence, forensic researchers often distinguish between reactive violence, which occurs in response to provocation, and instrumental violence, which is goal-oriented. Although these subtypes of aggression have been associated with unique psychosocial vulnerabilities in samples of children or community adults, the current study examined whether this pattern of divergence generalized to an adult correctional sample. Method: Participants were 151 adult male federal inmates. Inmates completed self-report measures of childhood maltreatment, social-cognitive processing, and …

Secondary Traumatic Stress And Alexithymia In High-Risk Professionals, Matthew R. J. Vandermeer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the role that cognitive deficits in emotional processing (i.e., alexithymia) play in the development of traumatic responses, such as secondary traumatic stress (STS), following work with clients who have experienced trauma. Using a prospective cohort of novice counselling psychology and pre-service education students, participants were measured for traits of alexithymia and STS before and after their first practicum placements. Elevated rates of STS consistent with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder were identified in participants following initial practicum placement. Correlation analyses demonstrated that alexithymia and alexithymia symptom clusters were significantly, and robustly, associated with STS and STS …

Does Participation In An Inpatient Psychiatric Adventure-Based Counseling (Abc) Program Improve Client Outcome On Intrapersonal Criminogenic Risk Factors?, Jeremy M. Reinblatt

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Rehabilitation within forensic psychiatric offenders has traditionally focused on the reduction of symptomatology. An emerging idea, however, is to additionally target their criminogenic risk factors, such as depression and self-esteem. Adventure-Based Counseling, a type of Wilderness Therapy, has been shown to be efficacious in treating certain non-forensic populations. The current study is an attempt to merge these two different lines of research and evaluate this type of counseling in a forensic psychiatric population. The current study will look at the effectiveness of the Adventure-Based Counseling program on a number of intrapersonal criminogenic risk factors in a sample of forensic psychiatric …

Early-Emerging Behavioral Inhibition: Contextual And Sex Differences In Linkages With Anxiety Vulnerability, Meagan E. Scott

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current study was designed to examine behavioral inhibition (BI) as a risk factor for anxiety disorders and to investigate whether contextual and sex differences moderate the association between BI and anxiety risk. Childhood BI was assessed in a sample of 409 3-year-old children (200 boys, Mage = 3.43, SD = .30) using standardized laboratory observations. Parental history of anxiety was assessed using semi-structured clinical interviews. In multivariate models, childhood BI was associated with a maternal history of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Gender was found to moderate the association between BI and maternal history of SAD, as boys’, but …

Independent Component Analysis Of Self-Referential Processing In Women With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Elizabeth Thornley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition than can develop after exposure, or repeated exposure, to a traumatic event. Recent changes to the diagnostic criteria for PTSD reflect a new emphasis on the dysregulation of emotions related to self-appraisal and self-referential processing (SRP). SRP concerns stimuli that are experienced as strongly related to one’s own person and can be measured using valenced stimuli that relate to the participant’s concept of self. These paradigms are referred to as self- referential processing tasks. The current study used data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the activation of brain areas related …

Humour Styles And Negative Intimate Relationship Events, Chong Liang

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research has shown that humour is associated with satisfaction and conflict management in dyadic relationships, such as friendships and romantic relationships. However, humour is not inherently positive or negative in itself. The function of humour depends on the style through which it is expressed. Adaptive uses of humour, especially affiliative humour, are positively correlated with relationship satisfaction and conflict management. Maladaptive uses of humour, particularly aggressive humour, have the opposite effect. The current study examined daily changes in humour use, relationship satisfaction, and conflict over a period of ten days in participants who were in a dating relationship. As hypothesized, …

Adventure-Based Counselling: Promoting Positive Interpersonal Behaviour In Mentally Ill Offenders, Taylor Salisbury

Undergraduate Honors Posters

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an adventure-based counselling (ABC) program on the interpersonal behaviour of forensic psychiatric inpatients. To our knowledge, no research had examined the use of an adventure-therapy approach with this population despite the promising literature on ABC with other samples. Participants were mentally ill offenders at the Southwest Center for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas, Ontario. Seventeen participants took part in a 12-session ABC program which addressed interpersonal skills through group challenge activities. Measures of interpersonal behaviour were assessed using both self-report questionnaires and file review. Results showed hypothesized …

Does Participation In An Inpatient Psychiatric Adventure-Based Counseling (Abc) Program Improve Client Outcome On Intrapersonal Criminogenic Risk Factors?, Jeremy M. Reinblatt

Undergraduate Honors Posters

Rehabilitation within forensic psychiatric offenders has traditionally focused on the reduction of symptomatology. An emerging idea, however, is to additionally target their criminogenic risk factors, such as depression and self-esteem. Adventure-Based Counseling, a type of Wilderness Therapy, has been shown to be efficacious in treating certain non-forensic populations. The current study is an attempt to merge these two different lines of research and evaluate this type of counseling in a forensic psychiatric population. The current study will look at the effectiveness of the Adventure-Based Counseling program on a number of intrapersonal criminogenic risk factors in a sample of forensic psychiatric …

Executive Dysfunction: A Contributor To Subtypes Of Violence Or General Criminality?, Megan B. Hancock

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: The adverse consequences of violence on society are tremendous. Several factors have been identified as potential contributors to violent crime, including deficits in executive functioning. Executive functioning is a term used to a describe number of higher-order cognitive abilities (e.g., working memory, inhibition) that are thought to be essential for appropriate, socially desirable behavior. The extent to which executive functions influence the occurrence of general criminality versus specific subtypes of crime is largely unknown. Of particular interest is the ability of executive functioning to distinguish between reactive and instrumental subtypes of violence. Whereas reactive violence is committed with the …

A Behavioural Genetics Analysis Of Altruism And Its Relation To The Dark Triad, Maddy Mikulis

Undergraduate Honors Posters

The current study was the first to report a behavioural genetics analysis of altruism and its relationship with the dark triad traits of personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy). 228 adult twins completed questionnaires of the dark triad and altruism. A significant correlation between altruism and narcissism was revealed. Altruism was found to be influenced in part by genetic factors as well as non-shared environmental factors. Implications and limitations are discussed.