Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Influence Of Father And Mother Involvement On Adolescent Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms, Chelsie D. Temmen

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although much research has highlighted the importance of parents to adolescent well-being, very little work has focused on father involvement. Pleck’s model of father involvement introduces a framework to examine fathers’ influences on development. This study investigated Pleck’s model of father involvement and its relevance to describing mother involvement, examined the relations between mother and father involvement and adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and explored the moderating role of adolescent gender on the relationships between mother and father involvement and adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Data came from 52 intact heterosexual families where the mother, father, and adolescent child (ages …

The Role Of Visual And Verbal Processes In False Memory Susceptibility On The Misinformation Effect, John E. Kiat

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate links between susceptibility to misinformation on the misinformation effect paradigm and individual differences in visual and verbal source monitoring ability. Results from four studies are reported. The first three studies assess links between individual differences in perceptual misinformation endorsement levels and visualization (Word-As-Picture) as well as verbalization (Picture-As-Word) errors on the memory test of a source monitoring task in which a set of objects were initially presented either as pictures or words during study. In Study 1, this picture-word source monitoring task and a misinformation effect paradigm, with a True/False test format, …

A Multifactorial Model Of Threat Assessment Activity Applied To Educational Settings, Maria Rosa Viñas-Racionero

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study proposed a multifactorial model of threat assessment activity(MFTA) in order to assess the effectiveness of threat management interventions for preventing problematic physical approach and violence in institutes of higher education (Scalora & Bulling, 2007; Scalora, Zimmerman, & Wells, 2008; Scalora, Plank, & Scheoneman, 2009). In order to answer this overarching goal, the current study analyzed a sample of 332 cases reported to a Police Department of a Midwestern University between 2006 and 2016. The MFTA model was statistically tested via a structural equation model. Overall, the results of this study suggested that the MFTA model provided …

How Can Teens Be Reasonable? Reasonable Expectations Of Privacy In The Digital Age, Lori A. Hoetger

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Fourth Amendment only protects against government intrusions into spaces or information that receive a reasonable expectation of privacy—a subjective expectation of privacy that society is willing to recognize as reasonable (Katz v. United States, 1967). Judges are tasked with determining when a reasonable expectation of privacy exists. But as evidenced by justices’ confusion at oral arguments in recent Supreme Court cases, judges do not always fully grasp new technology. The current dissertation aims to guide courts attempting to navigate the new terrain of expectations of privacy in wired communications.

Scholars have expressed concern over the impact the ubiquity …

Cross-Cutting Mechanisms That Contribute To Developing Anxiety-Related Alcohol Use Problems Among College Students, Vincenzo Roma

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Drinking behaviors among college students have become problematic as evidenced by 20% of students who endorse five or more problems associated with alcohol use. Alcohol use problems are associated with numerous anxiety problems and can begin as early as young adolescence. The period for risk of developing emotional problems peaks during the transition to college. Despite the relationship between anxiety and alcohol use problems, little is known about the cross-cutting mechanisms that explain their relationship and comorbidity. Researchers have proposed affective (i.e. anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance) and alcohol-specific motivations (i.e. expectancies, valuations, peer influence, and drinking motives) as vulnerabilities …

Ptsd And Dysfunctional Parenting: Emotional And Biological Mechanisms, Molly Franz

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Women are disproportionately at risk for developing PTSD following exposure to trauma. Among its many harmful effects, PTSD is associated with a range of negative family outcomes, including impairments in parenting behaviors. Despite the prevalence of PTSD and its impact on parenting, little is known about the mechanisms responsible for this association. The present project addressed this gap by examining the impact of PTSD on dysfunctional parenting behaviors in a lab setting. Based on prior theory and empirical evidence, I expected that a diagnosis of PTSD would be associated with more dysfunctional parenting (i.e., harsh/overreactive and lax/permissive behaviors) during routine …

The Wounded Warrior: Resilience Factors Minimizing Suicide Risk In Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Christina Hein

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Veterans experience high rates of both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal behaviors when compared to the general public. Moreover, PTSD is a significant predictor of suicidal behavior among clinical and non-clinical adult populations. Joiner’s Interpersonal-Psychological Theory (IPT) of suicide (Joiner et al., 2005) identifies three etiological factors that greatly increase risk of suicide, with PTSD potentially increasing risk of suicide by exacerbating these three components of IPT. Conversely, prior work has also identified resilience factors that may serve to buffer against the risk of suicide, particularly by counteracting the three components of IPT. These resilience factors fall into primary …

The Development Of Case Conceptualization Ability In Clinical Psychology Graduate Students, Grant Shulman

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Case conceptualization is a core clinical skill across various schools of psychotherapy. Yet, surprisingly little research has examined how student therapists develop their case formulation abilities. The present study examined 110 conceptualizations written by 27 therapists throughout their graduate training. The majority of conceptualizations were collected during a student’s second or third year of clinical training. Conceptualization quality was measured with the Case Formulation Content Coding Method, and examined five primary aspects: Complexity, Precision of Language, Coherence, Multiculturalism, and Overall Quality. Additionally, the types of hypothesized mechanisms were recorded. Hierarchical linear modeling examined the contributions of time in training, previous …

Aging And Biases In Spatial Memory: A Dynamic Field Approach, Gregory J. Degirolamo

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Spatial cognition encompasses a wide variety of abilities and requires the interaction of several regions of the brain, including the hippocampus, striatum, and pre-frontal cortex (PFC). (Packard & McGaugh, 1996; Reuter-Lorenz et al., 2000). Given that these areas atrophy in later adulthood (Golomb et al., 1993; Raz et al., 2003; Aizenstein et al., 2006), it raises the question of how spatial cognition changes with age. It has been found that increased task complexity leads to an age-related decline in performance (Nagel et al., 2009). Other factors that lead to a decline in memory performance in older adults include whether the …

Predictors Of Return To Work After Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Evaluation For Prolonged Post-Concussion Symptoms, Michelle C. Capozzoli

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) comprise the majority of TBI’s sustained. For most individuals with mTBI, post-injury sequelae resolve within approximately three months after injury, yet a minority experience prolonged post-concussion symptoms (PCS) associated with poor long-term functioning, including inability to return to work (RTW). Research on RTW following mTBI has found moderate support for pre-injury and post-injury factors on employment outcomes, while injury factors have largely demonstrated a weak relationship. However, critical factors that may predict long-term outcome in mTBI are often not included in these studies, such as pre-morbid psychopathology, prior TBI, occupational decision-making latitude, litigation-seeking, and insurance …