Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Clinical Psychology

Master's Theses

Theses/Dissertations

2015

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Child Routines And Self-Regulation As Mediators Of Parenting Practices And Externalizing Problems In Preschoolers, Lovina R. Bater Dec 2015

Child Routines And Self-Regulation As Mediators Of Parenting Practices And Externalizing Problems In Preschoolers, Lovina R. Bater

Master's Theses

Studies clearly indicate that parenting practices relate to child externalizing behaviors, although the mechanisms underlying this relation are less well understood. Researchers suggest that daily routines are one way through which parenting practices relate to externalizing behaviors, allowing children to regulate their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors accordingly, potentially promoting development of appropriate self-regulatory behaviors. Self-regulation is also a possible route through which child routines inversely relate to externalizing behaviors. These relationships have been tested in school-age and older children, yet self-regulatory abilities are known to develop during the preschool period. This study examined child routines and self-regulation as serial mediators …

Go to article

Development And Validation Of A Survey Of Knowledge Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Laura Katherine Hansen Dec 2015

Development And Validation Of A Survey Of Knowledge Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Laura Katherine Hansen

Master's Theses

As autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more commonly diagnosed, having knowledge of the disorder becomes increasingly important for educators, parents, and the general public. Previous research regarding knowledge of ASD, focused mainly on knowledge possessed by those in the educational field, has found that individuals may perceive themselves as possessing average knowledge regarding ASD but have low actual knowledge (as defined by the researchers) regarding specific aspects of the disorder (Williams et al., 2011). Studies support the notion that there is a general lack of knowledge of different aspects of ASD among teachers; however, there has been little research regarding …

Go to article

Examining The Association Between Psychotropic Medication And Suicidal Desire And Risk, Brittney L. Assavedo Dec 2015

Examining The Association Between Psychotropic Medication And Suicidal Desire And Risk, Brittney L. Assavedo

Master's Theses

The primary aim of this study was to examine the relationship between components of suicidal desire and psychotropic medication. Specifically, the usage of psychotropic medication, the usage of specific classes of psychotropic medications and the amount of psychotropic medication utilized and differences in feelings of perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness and overall suicide risk were examined. The present study utilized pre-collected data consisting of 225 patients with substance use disorder undergoing residential treatment for substance dependence. It was posited that individuals utilizing psychotropic medications would exhibit higher mean levels of thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and suicide risk relative to individuals not …

Go to article

Lack Of Forgiveness Of Parents And Intimate Partner Violence, Hannah Doucette Aug 2015

Lack Of Forgiveness Of Parents And Intimate Partner Violence, Hannah Doucette

Master's Theses

This study examined whether there was an association between lack of forgiveness for adverse events/circumstances perpetrated by parents and intimate partner violence (IPV) in emerging adulthood. Participants were 208 (85.6% female) 18- and 19-year-old undergraduate students. Participants were asked to describe events/circumstances in which they felt hurt by their parents when they were growing up. They then answered questions related to the most hurtful event including items pertaining to forgiveness. Participants also answered questions about the perpetration and victimization of IPV in the past year. The forgiveness-IPV relation was observed primarily for physical injury. Findings indicated that revenge seeking and …

Go to article

Physical Disability And Suicidal Desire: An Examination Of The Constructs Of The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory Of Suicide, Lauren Rachel Khazem May 2015

Physical Disability And Suicidal Desire: An Examination Of The Constructs Of The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory Of Suicide, Lauren Rachel Khazem

Master's Theses

The primary aims of this study were to examine constructs of the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS) in an understudied population. Differences in levels of IPTS variables and suicidal ideation between university students with and without physical disabilities were examined. Participants were 184 students from two Southern universities who provided answers to online-based self-report questionnaires. It was hypothesized that students with physical disabilities would endorse higher levels of all IPTS constructs relative to students without physical disabilities. It was further hypothesized that disability status would exhibit an indirect effect on suicidal ideation through perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Results indicated …

Go to article

College Students’ Alcohol Use And Related Problems: What Makes Religiousness A Protective Factor?, Corey Todd Brawner May 2015

College Students’ Alcohol Use And Related Problems: What Makes Religiousness A Protective Factor?, Corey Todd Brawner

Master's Theses

Excessive alcohol use has been recognized as a critical health hazard for college students, particularly for members of social fraternities and sororities. Religiousness and Spirituality (R/S) has received substantial support as a protective factor for alcohol use across many populations. The current study utilized a series of hierarchical regression models to delineate the protective influences of six R/S dimensions on alcohol consumption, harmful drinking patterns, and alcohol-related problems, as well as their moderating effect on the association between Greek membership and alcohol outcomes in a sample of 709 undergraduates from one Christian-affiliated institution and one public university. Public religious participation …

Go to article

Clarifying The Association Between The Subtypes Of Narcissism And Suicide Risk, Stephanie Michelle Pennings May 2015

Clarifying The Association Between The Subtypes Of Narcissism And Suicide Risk, Stephanie Michelle Pennings

Master's Theses

Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between narcissism and suicidality. Ambiguous results yielded by past studies may be attributed to the two distinct forms of narcissism (i.e., grandiose and vulnerable). The current study aimed to examine the association between the components of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior (IPTS; Joiner, 2005; i.e., thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and the acquired capability for suicide) and the two subtypes of narcissism. The potential explanatory effect of emotion dysregulation, a construct linked to the development of suicide risk, on the relationship between the forms of narcissism and the components of suicide risk …

Go to article

Personality, Character Strengths, Empathy, Familiarity And The Stigmatization Of Mental Illness, Jessica Shanna James May 2015

Personality, Character Strengths, Empathy, Familiarity And The Stigmatization Of Mental Illness, Jessica Shanna James

Master's Theses

The stigma associated with mental illness is pervasive and detrimental. The aim of the current study was to assess individual characteristics that may be positively and negatively associated with the stigmatization of mental illness. Two-hundred fifty-nine undergraduate students from the University of Southern Mississippi completed measures of the Big Five personality traits (i.e., Agreeableness, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience), Dark Triad personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy), selected character strengths (i.e., Open-mindedness, Perspective, Bravery, Integrity, Kindness, Social Intelligence, Fairness, Forgiveness and Mercy, and Hope), Empathy, and Familiarity with mental illness. Participants also completed measures of stigmatizing attitudes …

Go to article

Humor Types: Replication Using Latent Profile Analysis And Associations With Maladaptive Personality Traits, Joseph Robert Finn May 2015

Humor Types: Replication Using Latent Profile Analysis And Associations With Maladaptive Personality Traits, Joseph Robert Finn

Master's Theses

Martin’s (2003) Humor Styles Questionnaire measures four distinct styles of humor usage. However, examining these humor styles individually fails to account for the combination with which they are used as well as how these combinations may affect the relationship between humor and personality. The present study examined relationships of the humor styles, both individually and in combination, with a broad array of maladaptive personality traits. The incremental validity of accounting for the combinations with which the humor styles are used was examined through the use of hierarchical multiple regressions. Results demonstrated that the humor styles, both individually and in combination, …

Go to article

Development Of The Personal And Professional Self-Care Scale, Katherine Elizabeth Dorociak Jan 2015

Development Of The Personal And Professional Self-Care Scale, Katherine Elizabeth Dorociak

Master's Theses

In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on the importance of self- care for psychologists and other mental health professionals. However, the research on self-care is limited because of the lack of an empirically based, psychometrically sound measure of this construct. Thus, the purpose of this project was to develop a measure of personal and professional self-care. The preliminary phase involved the development of a self-care definition and a two-factor framework that divided self-care into personal and professional activities. Based on this definition and framework, self-care items were generated for expert evaluation. After incorporating the expert feedback, 52 …

Go to article

The Impacts Of Family Environment And Stress Reactivity On Daily Mood For Low-Income Latino Adolescents, Stephanie K. Brewer Jan 2015

The Impacts Of Family Environment And Stress Reactivity On Daily Mood For Low-Income Latino Adolescents, Stephanie K. Brewer

Master's Theses

Low-income Latino adolescents are at an increased risk for developing psychopathology, as the chronic stressors faced by those who grow up in poverty have an adverse cumulative effect, and the relationship between exposure to poverty and negative mental health outcomes is intensified for ethnic minority youth. One of the most impactful ways in which poverty causes deteriorations in adolescent mental health is through heightened levels of parent-child conflict. Another harmful result of the multiple stressors faced by poor youth is the dysregulation of the stress reactivity system. For Latino adolescents, problems with mood are a particular concern, as Latino adolescents …

Go to article

Latino Youth With Spina Bifida: Psychosocial Functioning, Family Functioning, And Acculturation, Jaclyn M. Lennon Jan 2015

Latino Youth With Spina Bifida: Psychosocial Functioning, Family Functioning, And Acculturation, Jaclyn M. Lennon

Master's Theses

Objective: Research on Latino youth with spina bifida (SB) is sparse. However, SB rates are highest in this ethnic group, and typically-developing (TD) Latino youth are at risk for poor psychosocial functioning. The aims of this study were to examine: (1) differences in psychosocial and family functioning between Latino and non-Latino Caucasian youth with SB; (2) family functioning as a predictor of youth psychosocial functioning as moderated by ethnicity; (3) the impact of acculturation on youth psychosocial and family functioning in Latino youth with SB. Methods: Participants were recruited as part of a larger, longitudinal study (Devine et al., 2012). …

Go to article

Positive Peer Pressure Among Black American Youth And The Roles Of Ethnic Identity And Gender, Dakari Quimby Jan 2015

Positive Peer Pressure Among Black American Youth And The Roles Of Ethnic Identity And Gender, Dakari Quimby

Master's Theses

Peer pressure is a phenomenon that affects many youth due to the importance of peer relations during adolescence (Brinthaupt, 2002). Consequences associated with negative peer pressure have been well documented, but the extant literature on positive peer pressure is sparse though it may be an untapped source of positive development (Padilla-Walker & Bean, 2009). The current study examined whether positive peer association, a form of peer pressure involving the indirect modeling of behaviors, can have a role in promoting healthy youth development longitudinally among African American adolescents living in low-income, urban, high violence neighborhoods. A sample of 316 African American …

Go to article