Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Housing Insecurity Among Black Women Surviving Intimate Partner Violence During The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Intersectional Qualitative Approach, Tiara C. Willie, Sabriya L. Linton, Shannon Whittaker, Karlye A. Phillips, Deja Knight, Mya C. Gray, Gretta Gardner, Nicole Overstreet

Psychology

Background: Housing instability is highly prevalent among intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors, and the coupling consequences of structural racism, sexism, classism, and the COVID-19 pandemic, may create more barriers to safe and adequate housing, specifically for Black women IPV survivors. In particular, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic had the potential to amplify disadvantages for Black women IPV survivors, yet very little research has acknowledged it. Therefore, the current study sought to assess the experiences of housing insecurity among Black women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) while navigating racism, sexism, and classism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: From January to …

Spirituality In Clinical Practice: Integrating Who We Are With What We Do, Lorraine Mangione, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Inspired by the recent emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in professional psychology and in society in general, we were interested in how personal religious and spirituality identities, practices, and traditions inform professionals in their work as clinicians and clinical supervisors and trainers to integrate who they are with what they do. The spiritual and religious intersectionality of professionals was explored by inviting 12 diverse professionals representing several different spiritual and religious traditions to reflect on their identities and the integration that they do to provide evidence-based professional services. Additionally, we asked them to consider best practices in …

A Case Study In Leveraging Strategic Partnerships Through Trust-Based Philanthropy, Nora L. Jones, Andrew Epstein, Megan Bair-Merritt, Stacy Drucy, Lindsay Farrington, Anabel Fernández, Julia M. Fleckman, Samantha Francois, Hannah Gilbert, Carey Howard, Anita Morris, Joanna Elkes Pierce

Psychology

This practice note highlights a case study of leveraging strategic partnerships through trust-based philanthropy, a set of practices rooted in values, relationship building, mutual learning, and equity. It describes the motivations, planning, and execution of a symposium organized by, and held for, a Foundation and four of its grantees. The symposium led to the development of sustained pathways between and among the partners, resulting in productive collaborations and shared projects. This case study is shared to illustrate the argument that it is the responsibility of funders, and certainly in their self-interest, to eliminate competition between organizations to whom they provide …

A Clinical Trial Of The Examen And Mindfulness Within A Secular Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program, Christopher M. Buenrostro, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

The Examen is a 500-year-old Jesuit introspective prayer and reflection. Recent research has indicated that it has utility in psychotherapy. This study implemented the Examen as a secular cognitive–behavioral tool in the first longitudinal clinical trial of the intervention with an addiction treatment population, comparing it directly to a treatment-as-usual mindfulness intervention. The study found that Examen and mindfulness are equivalent in outcomes on depression, anxiety, stress, and substance craving. Further research should continue to investigate the Examen as an alternative to mindfulness for religious and secular populations and the factors responsible for the success of these practices.

Improvements In Depressive Symptoms Following A Brief Relationship Intervention, Erica A. Mitchell, Patricia N.E. Roberson, Michaela Dipillo, James V. Cordova, Kristina Coop Gordon

Psychology

In the United States, 21 million adults are diagnosed with depression. Couple therapy effectively treats depression, however, couples encounter access barriers. The Relationship Checkup is an assessment and feedback intervention delivered in participants' homes. The current study examines changes in relationship satisfaction and depressive symptoms, and moderators and mechanisms of change in a community sample (N = 85 couples). Changes in depressive symptoms and satisfaction, and the association between changes in satisfaction and depressive symptoms were examined with multilevel modeling. Depressive symptoms (Cohen's d = 0.36) and satisfaction (d = 1.43) improved from baseline to 1-month follow-up, with greater declines …

Mi Casa Sin Mí Parada No Es Casa: Conceptualizations Of Functioning And Functional Impairment In Rural Chiapas, Mexico, Sarah Joy Hartman, Néstor Noyola, Viena Murillo, Fátima Rodríguez Cuevas, Esteban V. Cardemil

Psychology

In mental healthcare, functional impairment is an essential element in diagnosing and monitoring the severity of mental disorders. However, current clinical practices do not account for how context and culture might shape conceptions of functional impairment, given the demonstrated influence of cultural context on mental health, particularly in Mexico. We interviewed 16 members of a rural community in Chiapas, Mexico to understand how they understood functioning and how functioning is impacted by distress. We analyzed the data using thematic analysis with a critical lens. With regards to conceptions of functioning, participants described that to function was to work (nuestra vida …

Potential Benefits Of The Jesuit Examen For Psychological Health And Well Being: A Pilot Study, Carolina Rader, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

The Jesuit Examen is a form of prayerful reflection on daily experiences that was introduced five centuries ago by St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (better known as the Jesuits). The Examen may be utilized by diverse populations when adapted and secularized, which can be completed by substituting the language of God in the original Examen for more inclusive terms such as “love.” Although five centuries old, the 10–15-min daily reflective practice has not been subject to empirical research. Furthermore, research has not explored the effects of the Examen on psychological health and well-being in a …

The Effects Of Centering Prayer On Well-Being In A Sample Of Undergraduate Students: A Pilot Study, Alejandro Eros, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Contemplative practices have likely been used for self-awareness, concentration, creativity, and well-being since the dawn of time. While practices such as yoga and Buddhist meditation have been extensively studied in recent decades, Christian contemplative practices have received less attention in empirical research. This study aims to investigate the effects of centering prayer, a Christian contemplative practice, on mental health and well-being. The research focuses on college students enrolled in a religious studies course that incorporates centering prayer into the curriculum. It is a pilot study because it is the first to explore centering prayer in an undergraduate setting. Using a …

The Relationship Between Dimensions Of Emerging Adulthood And Behavioral Problems Among Chinese Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role Of Physical Activity And Self-Control, Jin Kuang, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, Erle Chen, Zsolt Demetrovics, Fabian Herold, Rebecca Y.M. Cheung, Daniel L. Hall, Michaela Markwart, Markus Gerber, Sebastian Ludyga, Arthur F. Kramer, Liye Zou

Psychology

Emerging adulthood (EA) is a critical stage of life to develop and sustain a healthy lifestyle, which is also a time of vulnerability to poor physical and mental health outcomes. In this study, we conducted a path analysis (N = 1326) to examine associations among four dimensions of EA, levels of regular physical activity (PA), self-control, MPA tendency and irrational procrastination. Results found: 1) higher levels of PA predicted both MPA tendency (β = −0.08, 95% CI: −0.11 to −0.06, p < 0.001) and irrational procrastination (β = −0.01, 95% CI: −0.17 to −0.008, p < 0.01) indirectly via self-control; 2) Instability (β = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.18, p < 0.01) and Responsibility (β = −0.06, 95% CI: −0.10 to −0.08, p = 0.03) exerted direct effects on irrational procrastination and Instability also indirectly predicted irrational procrastination via MPA tendency (β = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.05, p < 0.01). These findings proved that perceived features of EA are linked to behavioral problems and supported that regular PA plays a crucial role to protect mental health. © 2023, Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.

The Power Of Our Imaginations Combined: Collaborative Imagination’S Role In Facilitating Social Connection, Sarah Smith

Psychology

Imagined events and scenarios can influence our perceptions, cognitions, and emotions. It has been found that our imaginations are abundant with social scenarios and can affect how we think of our relationships with others, but can imagining an event together further impact our connection with others? And does the vividness of that imagined event correspond to social connection? In this study, we recruited 126 participants and separated them into pairs of which were then randomly assigned into one of three conditions. Collaborative imagination was found to increase social connection more so than individually imagining a shared social scenario. The vividness …

Do “Groove” Inducing Sounds Need To Be Perceived As Music For Individuals To Show Movement?, Edward Smith

Psychology

Since rhythm can be found anywhere in the world, generated by humans, animals, and machines, a question arises about what makes us move to music. If an individual knows that the sounds they hear are music, do they move differently than if they do not think that the sounds are music? To address this, we designed an experiment with two between-subjects conditions in which all participants will be administered the same musical stimulus. One group of participants will be told that the stimulus is music, whereas the other group will be told that the stimulus is merely ambient sound that …

Neuronal Glutamate Transporters Mediate Stereotypic Reward-Based Behaviors, Jaci Yong

Psychology

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by obsessions (uncontrollable and recurring thoughts), and compulsions (behaviors that one has the urge to repeat several times). One of the genes carrying non-functional mutations in OCD is Slc1a1, the gene that encodes the neuronal glutamate transporter EAAC1. However, we still have an incomplete understanding of how EAAC1 contributes to the onset of compulsivity in OCD-like behaviors. EAAC1 is abundantly expressed in the striatum, the input nucleus of the basal ganglia implicated with compulsivity and reward. Here, we use a series of behavioral assays to determine whether and how reward-based …

Medical Assistance In Dying (Maid): Ethical Considerations For Psychologists, Gerald P. Koocher, G. Andrew H. Benjamin, Jonathan Bolton, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Significant ethical challenges arise when mental health practitioners care for patients who seek to accelerate their own dying for rational medically valid reasons. Current and proposed laws provide for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in several U.S. jurisdictions, all of Canada, and several other nations. Differing provisions of these laws complicate their utility for some patients who seek aid in dying. Some extant laws include roles that mental health professionals might play in assessing patients’ competence or capacity to consent, mental illness, or other cognitive and behavioral factors. Practitioners who choose to accept roles in the MAiD process must consider …

Lgbtq-Parent Families: Diversity, Intersectionality, And Social Context, Abbie E. Goldberg

Psychology

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and trans (LGBTQ) parents become parents in a variety of ways, including via reproductive technologies, through foster care and adoption, and in the context of different-gender relationships. This review addresses research developments over the past 5–6 years, revealing that LGBTQ people continue to face barriers in becoming parents, especially those who are trans, of color, and have limited financial means. Bisexual and trans parents are increasingly centered in research, and have unique experiences of parenthood related to navigating (in)visibility and stigma in various contexts. Recent work has documented the impacts of sociopolitical events (e.g., COVID-19, the …

What Is Catholic Psychotherapy And How Should It Move Forward?, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Catholic psychotherapy is a critically important specialization that under-scores the need for culturally competent best practices. It integrates state-of-the-art psychotherapeutic professional services with the rich religious, spiritual, and cultural contributions and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. Since the Church is the single largest religious denomination in the world and represents about a quarter of the United States population, there is ample need for Catholic-informed and engaged psychotherapists with expertise in working thoughtfully and sensitively with Catholic clients, including laypersons and clerics, and with Church institutions such as schools, hospitals, and charitable groups. While the Catholic Psychotherapy Association has been …

Human Interaction With The Divine, The Sacred, And The Deceased: Topics That Warrant Increased Attention By Psychologists, Thomas G. Plante, Gary E. Schwartz, Julie J. Exline, Crystal L. Park, Raymond F. Paloutzian, Rüdiger J. Seitz, Hans-Ferdinand Angel

Psychology

Humans have likely been attempting to communicate with entities believed to exist, such as the divine, sacred beings, and deceased people, since the dawn of time. Across cultures and countries, many believe that interaction with the immaterial world is not only possible but a frequent experience. Most religious traditions across the globe focus many rituals and activities around prayer to an entity deemed divine or sacred. Additionally, many people–religious, agnostic, and atheists alike–report communication with their departed loved ones. During highly stressful times associated with natural disasters, war, pandemics, and other threats to human life, the frequency and intensity of …

Shifting Students Toward Testing: Impact Of Instruction And Context On Self-Regulated Learning, Patricia M. Simone, Lisa C. Whitfield, Matthew C. Bell, Pooja Kher, Taylor Tamashiro

Psychology

Much of the learning that college students engage in today occurs in unsupervised settings, making effective self-regulated learning techniques of particular importance. We examined the impact of task difficulty and supervision on whether participants would follow written instructions to use repeated testing over restudying. In Study 1, we found that when supervised, instructions to test resulted in changes in the self-regulated learning behaviors such that participants tested more often than they studied, relative to participants who were unsupervised during learning. This was true regardless of the task difficulty. In Study 2, we showed that failure to shift study strategies in …

Editorial: Positive Youth Development, Mental Health, And Psychological Well-Being In Diverse Youth, Nora Wiium, Laura Ferrer-Wreder, Jennifer E. Lansford, Lene Arnett Jensen

Psychology

This is an editorial commentary on the Research Topic entitled: Editorial: Positive youth development, mental health, and psychological well-being in diverse youth. One impetus behind this Research Topic was to examine the ways in which positive development intersects with problematic aspects of development and behavior, with an emphasis on connections to indicators of mental health problems. The second impetus was to take an international approach, including youth from diverse countries and settings who were studied using a variety of etic and emic methods that correspondingly consider cross-culturally common features and features that vary across cultures.

Eugenics, Prejudice, And Human Development Revisited: The Role Of Structural Racism, Nancy Budwig, Hojin Han, Raquel Jorge Fernandes, Jimin Lee, Si Wang, Benjamin Wolff

Psychology

This manuscript stems from discussion in a graduate seminar on developmental theories taught by the first author and held at Clark University in the fall of 2022. While the first author drafted the text and played a central role in outlining the argument, all participants critically discussed and evaluated the ideas presented, analyzed primary materials in the archive, and played a central role in editing the manuscript. The student authors are listed in alphabetical order.

The available download on this page is the author manuscript accepted for publication. This version has undergone full peer review but has not been through …

Brief Relationship Support As A Selective Suicide Prevention Intervention: Piloting The Relationship Checkup In Veteran Couples With Relationship And Mental Health Concerns, Dev Crasta, Jennifer S. Funderburk, Tatiana D. Gray, James Cordova, Peter Britton

Psychology

Introduction: Close relationship problems play a key role in many contemporary theories of suicide. However, the potential of relationship support in suicide prevention is understudied. This study explores the feasibility, safety, acceptability, and promise of utilizing the 3-session Relationship Checkup (RC) in veterans with mental health and romantic relationship concerns. Methods: We conducted a single-arm pilot of telehealth RC in veterans with a positive mental health screen and their romantic partners. Couples completed baseline and post-treatment assessments of study outcomes. Results: Feasibility analyses showed we were able to recruit an elevated-risk sample (30% history of attempts or interrupted attempts), take …

Principles For Managing Burnout Among Catholic Church Professionals, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

While a large body of research literature has explored the assessment, treatment, and prevention of worker burnout, much less research has focused on the unique issues associated with burnout in religious organizations, especially within the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic Church employees, whether clerics or laypersons, are embedded within a 2,000-year-old global hierarchical structure and organization that is unique in that it includes clerics with vows of chastity, obedience, and often poverty as well as ongoing crises related to clerical sexual abuse scandals, significant financial stressors, and a faith tradition that often overvalues sacrifice and suffering. The purpose of this brief …

Building Resilience, Julie Jasewicz

Psychology

Amongst those most negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other harmful events we find many examples of individuals who are able to “bounce back” from their adversities more easily than others. This reflects the concept of resilience—the process of positively adapting and evolving during and after experiencing adversity thereby becoming less vulnerable to future adversity. Due to a need to build resilience among college students, and without clear guidance as to how to do that, the present study investigated the effects of a resilience intervention. 232 college student participants were assigned to either an experimental group, who received the …

Religion Has A Public Relations Problem: Integrating Evidence-Based Thinking Into Clinical Practice, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Religion and religious institutions receive a great deal of negative, rather than positive, attention and press. This creates an impression, for the casual observer, that religion and associated institutions are a plight on the planet. It is critically important for evidence-based research and best practices in clinical services to be well known and utilized within professional psychotherapy practice. Clinicians must be mindful of the many advantages of religious engagement for physical, mental, and community health and wellness. Psychologists, and other mental health professionals, tend to be secular and nonreligious and receive little, if any, training on religious diversity that may …

Five Spiritually Based Tools For Clinical Practice During Challenging, Stressful, And Apocalyptic Times, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Stress in America and across the globe is high with so many ongoing societal problems. The COVID-19 global pandemic along with accelerating climate change, increasing economic instability and inequality, divisive politics and an increase in authoritarianism, racism, and discrimination against those who are oppressed and marginalized are just a few current examples. Evidence suggests that mental health problems and demand for services have exploded as well. Psychotherapists who are well versed in spiritual and religious integration in their clinical work can help. While therapists cannot solve the country’s and world’s numerous problems, they can help their clientele better cope and …

Construal Level Moderates A Local Dominance Effect Of Appearance Comparisons In Undergraduate Women, Kathryn Bruchmann, Maggie L. Osa, Kahana Wong, Lindsay Baerg

Psychology

Body image concerns are pervasive within university environments. In this study, we suggest that high rates of body image concerns among undergraduate women may be due, in part, to a local dominance effect of appearance comparisons. That is, undergraduate women may increasingly make upward social comparisons with a predominantly thin and fit student population, rather than downward or lateral social comparisons with the size-diverse global population. The present research tested for and found evidence of this local dominance effect in Study 1 (N = 50), and tested a construal level manipulation as a moderating factor in Study 2 ( …

Social Comparison Information Influences Intentions To Reduce Single-Use Plastic Water Bottle Consumption, Kathryn Bruchmann, Sarah M. Chue, Keelin Dillon, Jaime K. Lucas, Kayla Neumann, Charlotte Parque

Psychology

Single-use plastic consumption is at an all-time high and threatens environmental and human health. College campuses in particular serve as a hub for single-use plastics due to their convenience for students on the go. The present research tests whether social comparison information can influence self-perceptions of single-use plastic consumption and motivate behavior change within the college campus environment. In a controlled experiment, we measured college students' existing plastic water bottle usage and gave them false feedback about their behaviors and relative standing to their classmates: participants in comparison conditions learned they were either above or below average in their plastic …

Using The Examen, A Jesuit Prayer, In Spiritually Integrated And Secular Psychotherapy, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

The Examen is a 500-year-old end of day prayer developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (better known as the Jesuits). Like many other religious or spiritual practices, such as mindfulness and yoga, the Examen is suitable as either a spiritually focused or secular intervention strategy to assist people within clinical psychotherapy practice and elsewhere. Adapting the Examen as a cognitive behavioral psychotherapy intervention is easy to do and may add another important tool to the toolbox of practicing clinicians interested in thoughtfully integrating spiritually based approaches in their clinical work with religiously as well …

Four Positive Lessons Learned During The 2020–2021 Covid-19 Global Pandemic: Implications For Spirituality In Clinical Practice, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

While the COVID-19 global pandemic has wrecked havoc for over a year in ways that we have not seen in our lifetimes, many important positive lessons have been learned during these tumultuous and what has felt like apocalyptic times. Upon close reflection, four critical and positive lessons were learned by this author that have implications for how we productively move forward in our efforts to provide spiritually and religiously informed psychotherapy services both now and in the future. These important lessons include the benefits of telehealth and “telespirit” services as well as highlighting the advantages of reflection, discernment, and resetting …

Understanding Black Experiences And Access Barriers In The Expressive Arts Activities And Therapies, Jadea Harris, Ana K. Marcelo

Psychology

Black individuals in America experience racism, discrimination, and microaggressions that can affect their mental and physical health. (Alvarez, Liang, & Neville, 2016). Unfortunately, Black individuals typically do not seek out mental health treatment because of mistrust, stigma, misdiagnosis, and lack of culturally sensitive approaches to treatment (NAMI, 2002). One way to encourage Black individuals to seek mental health support and to provide more support could be through expressive arts. Expressive outlets may act as a protective barrier against adverse experiences and serve as an opportunity to bring healing amongst uncomfortable feelings of racial trauma and more. Historical and empirical evidence …

The Validity Of The Test Of Memory Malingering (Tomm) With Deaf Individuals., Cathy J Chovaz, V Lynn Ashton Rennison, Dominica O Chorostecki

Psychology

OBJECTIVE: Administration of performance validity tests (PVT) during neuropsychological assessments is standard practice, with the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) being a commonly used measure. The TOMM has been well validated in hearing populations with various medical and psychiatric backgrounds. A major gap in the literature is the use of the TOMM amongst culturally Deaf individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their first and preferred language. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of the TOMM with this population to determine if there may be differences related to the use of semantic knowledge and recall …