Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Opioid Use And Borderline Personality Disorder Features: Implications For Postpartum Maternal Self-Efficacy, Andrea Gorrondona

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study sought to understand and explore the experiences of pregnant individuals who use opioids as previous research has mainly focused on identifying potential negative implications (Ryan, Marsh, Testa, & Louderman, 2006; Choi & Ryan, 2007; Grella, Needell, Shi, & Hser, 2009; de Bernabe et al., 2004). The initial sample included 178 total participants recruited from a high-risk pregnancy clinic during their pregnancy. Borderline features, approximation of borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis (determined using a cutoff score of self-reported features, Kurt & Morey, 2001), opioid use status in pregnancy, and postpartum opioid use status were evaluated as potential predictors …

The Role Of Trait Mindfulness, Perceived Stress, And Impulsivity In Understanding The Relationship Between Stress Mindset And Psychological Intimate Partner Aggression, Sarah Joyanna Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

Perpetration of psychological intimate partner aggression is a pervasive health issue and has been estimated to occur in 60 to 90 percent of relationships. Effects of intimate partner violence on its victims has been demonstrated to have lasting physical and mental health issues. Psychological intimate partner aggression has been demonstrated to have particularly harmful effects, above and beyond those identified in physical intimate partner aggression. Psychological intimate partner aggression has been demonstrated to be impacted by impulsivity, stress-mindset, perceived stress, and mindfulness. The present study proposed to examine a path analysis model of the relation between stress-mindset and psychological intimate …

Coping Styles As Potential Mediators In The Relationships Between Morally Injurious Events, Moral Injury, And Meaning-Making, Marjorie A. Perkins

Doctoral Dissertations

Exposure to morally injurious events has consistently been correlated with negative mental health outcomes for military servicemembers and veterans (Bryan et al., 2014; Currier et al., 2015a; Currier et al., 2015b; Currier et al., 2017; Dennis et al., 2017; Jordan et al., 2017; Maguen et al., 2009, 2010; Maguen, Vogt et al., 2011; Nash et al., 2013). However, some servicemembers and veterans may experience a deeper sense of understanding of the event and/or growth after a potentially morally injurious experience through a process called meaning-making (Park, 2013). The present study seeks to examine the relationship between individual coping styles and …

The Role Of Intimate Partnership Among Older Adults On Pain Severity And The Engagement In Preventative Health Behaviors, Lauren Fox

Doctoral Dissertations

Bodily pain is a frequently disabling condition among older adults, which has broad biopsychosocial implications on health and wellbeing. As adults age, diminishing support systems can result in poor health outcomes and the presence of an intimate partner relationship can positively impact physical health, including influencing pain severity. The number of adults in the United States over 65 is expected to double by 2030, meaning that a significant portion of the population will be entering a stage of increased healthcare utilization. Therefore, behaviors which improve physical health will only become increasingly important over time. While previous research has pointed to …

Questing And Defense Against Death Anxiety, Connor Logan Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

In his seminal work The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker suggested that the primary motivation behind human behavior is a fear of dying. This claim has been operationalized into an empirically based theory entitled Terror Management Theory (TMT). TMT outlines how self-esteem and cultural worldviews play an important role in how humans manage death anxiety. One especially important cultural worldview is religion. TMT research suggests that religious beliefs help provide protection again death anxiety. Religious orientation research outlines three orientations to religion: extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest. In the present study, I investigate whether a quest-like state of mind may help …

The Relationship Education Workshop And Its Impact On Learned Healthy Relationship Outcomes And Self-Compassion In The Emerging Adulthood Population, Ashley N. Russell

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study examined the effectiveness of the Relationship Education workshop (Davila, 2020) on several outcome measures for its target population, emerging adults. The Relationship Education workshop is comprised of two consecutive three hour sessions which take place a week apart. Participants were recruited from a southeastern state university campus. Participants were given a thorough and group-discussion based didactic focusing on the relationship competency skills of insight, mutuality, and emotion regulation with other core focuses, including relational decision making and adaptive relationship beliefs. Participants who completed the Relationship Education workshop were hypothesized to show improvement in these target domains as …

The Role Of Meaning-Making In Posttraumatic Growth Among Eritrean Refugees With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Yacob Tewolde Tekie

Doctoral Dissertations

The study examined the moderating role of meaning made, meaning making and social support on the relationship between negative life events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression as well as the facilitating role of these moderating variables for posttraumatic growth(PTG). Eritrean refugees (N = 135) who were residing in Europe were recruited. The results showed that post-migration living difficulties significantly related with negative outcomes. In addition, the results showed that social support moderated the relationship between the number of traumatic life events and anxiety symptoms. However, meaning made and social support were not significant moderators on the …

Violent Media Exposure And Bullying Behaviors: The Moderating Roles Of Parental Monitoring, Emotion Regulation, And Gender, Brianna Elizabeth Pollock

Doctoral Dissertations

The influence of violent media exposure on the development of aggression has received increased attention in recent years. Research supports a relationship between exposure to violent media and aggressive behavior. Few studies have examined the relationship between exposure to violent media and a specific form of aggressive behavior, bullying. The current study aimed to expand on previous research by examining the relationship between the violent media exposure and self-, peer-, and teacher-reported bullying behavior using a longitudinal design with 457 3rd and 4th grade elementary students. Another aim of the current study was to examine the extent to which gender, …

Sex, Love, And Mindfulness: Examining The Longitudinal Effects Of Mindfulness On Young Adult Dating Relationship Outcomes, Alexander Malik Khaddouma

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study examined the role of mindfulness in the relational outcomes of dating couples in order to: 1) investigate whether previously documented associations between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction extend to behavioral indicators of relationship stability cross-sectionally and longitudinally, 2) determine whether the role of mindfulness in relational outcomes differs for male and female partners, and 3) examine how male and female partners’ levels of mindfulness contribute to their own and their partners’ relational outcomes in the context of their dyadic relationship. Fourhundred and sixty-eight participants and 168 of their current dating partners (n = 655) completed baseline measures …

Executive Functioning Abilities And Social Competence In Undergraduates, Megan Carl

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite separate literatures linking attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and executive functions to social competence, no study has examined the simultaneous relationship of these two processes in adults. Beauchamp and Anderson (2010) propose the Socio-Cognitive Integration of Abilities (SOCIAL) model a biopsychosocial model as an explanation for the development of social competence. Given the patterns of social and neurological development in ADHD, it may be consistent with the SOCIAL model. Subcomponents of Beauchamp and Anderson’s (2010) SOCIAL model were utilized to examine the extent to which attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom severity moderated the relationship between executive function (EF) and social competence …

Structurally Rich Movement: Measuring Movement For Empirical Psychology And Examining The Dynamic Complexity Of Affect Regulation In Behavior, Michael Timothy Finn

Doctoral Dissertations

Movement not only permeates human life, but structures dimensions of experience. Phenomenological theory points to the dynamic congruency of movement and emotion, via the body schema, as shaping affectivity. For psychology, this calls for an understanding of behavior beyond being discrete events, but also manifesting kinetic melodies. Yet there is a gap in existing methodology for empirically studying the three-dimensional characteristics of human movement continuously across segments of the body. A potential line of research in this area, implicit affect regulation capacities, was described to inform the selection of instrumentation, measurement, and calculations of dynamic structure that would, theoretically, best …

Breakups And Betrayals In Emerging Adulthood: A Developmental Perspective Of Relationship Dissolution And Infidelity, Jerika C. Norona

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation includes two studies that focus on romantic experiences in emerging adulthood (ages 18-25), romantic dissolution (Study 1) and extradyadic intimacy (Study 2), and their relationship with developmental and individual factors. Each study uses two unique community samples of emerging adults who have attended college as well as those who have not attended college in the past. Importantly, both studies examine romantic dissolution and extradyadic intimacy from a developmental perspective, taking into account the salient developmental tasks of independence and interdependence faced by young people. Additionally, individual factors, including perceptions of emerging adulthood (Study 1), attachment style (Study 2), …

Can Text Analysis Of Tat Protocols Differentiate Patients Operating At Neurotic, Borderline, And Psychotic Levels Of Personality Organization?, Paul H. Tullis

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined whether computerized text analysis of Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) protocols could differentiate patients operating at neurotic, borderline, and psychotic levels of personality organization (LPO). From a large University psychological clinic archival database, I identified fifty-­‐two (N = 52) patients whose files: a) contained verbatim TAT responses; and b) included diagnosis indicative of neurotic, borderline, or psychotic LPO. Verbatim TAT transcriptions were input and analyzed using Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) software. I hypothesized that 1) The use of cognitive words would be more common among the TAT protocols of the neurotic patients than among the protocols of …

Hostility After Social Rejection And Borderline Features: The Influence Of Rejection Sensitivity In Parents And Their Young Adult Offspring, Jennifer Marie Strimpfel

Doctoral Dissertations

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe psychological disorder marked by emotional dysregulation, unstable relationships, impulsivity, and anger/hostility. Rejection sensitivity is a schema that affects how a person perceives and responds to potential social rejection. Highly rejection sensitive individuals tend to respond to perceived rejection with hostility. Individuals with BPD are more rejection sensitive than healthy comparisons, and both BPD and the schema of rejection sensitivity are thought to develop in the context of early invalidating and rejecting environments. Additionally, parental borderline features and BPD diagnosis are predictive of borderline symptoms in their offspring. We measured rejection sensitivity, borderline features, …

Efficacy Of Short-Term Emotional Regulation Training On Interference During Cognitive Tasks, Kerry Margaret Cannity

Doctoral Dissertations

The experience of emotion and attempts to regulate it are universal human phenomena. Emotion regulation is used to alter the affective intensity or tone, behaviors, and consequences associated with an emotional experience. This study examined how two common emotional regulation strategies (mindfulness and distraction) affect attentional performance following a negative mood induction via film. While previous literature has compared emotional regulation strategies’ effects on a variety of outcomes, the efficacy of these strategies to reduce cognitive interference caused by negative mood has not been examined. Both mindfulness and distraction are hypothesized to occur through the Attention Deployment mechanism of the …

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Power Processes And Intimate Partner Violence In Dating College Students, Heather Christine Zapor

Doctoral Dissertations

Power and the abuse of such power is an important mechanism through which intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs and a major tenant of many theories that purport to explain IPV. While some research has examined the links between aspects of relational power and IPV, the examination of power processes has been limited to mostly self-report measures. The current study assesses power processes through observational interactions of direct communication between (n = 150) college student dating partners. In general, the hypotheses that observed power processes would be related to IPV over time were only partially supported, suggesting that although relationships between …

Treatment Preferences And Outcome In A Randomized Controlled Trial For Depression Comparing Supportive-Expressive Therapy To Medication And Pill Placebo, Sophia Elsie Winter

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research regarding the relationship between patient treatment preferences on outcome has been equivocal, with some studies finding a significant relationship between preference match and outcome, and others finding no such evidence. This study examines the effect of patient treatment preference match on outcome using data from a previously published randomized controlled trial comparing supportive-expressive therapy (SET), to antidepressant medication plus clinical management, and to pill-placebo plus clinical management. The original study included 156 participants receiving treatment at the Center for Psychotherapy research at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. This study is the first to examine the relationship …

Relationship Qualities: Investigating The Nature Of Self-Identified Couple Strengths And Language Use During A Strengths Interview, Katie Cassandra Wischkaemper

Doctoral Dissertations

Research and practice in couple therapy has been influenced by positive psychology, and other factors, to create a nuanced viewed of relationship health. Relationship strengths are thought to be informative of overall relationship health, possibly even more so than relationship concerns (Gable, Gonzaga, & Strachman, 2006; Sullivan, Pasch, Johnson, & Bradbury, 2010). The present project explored the association between self-identified relationship strengths and couple satisfaction. Then, the study examined the association between self and partner pronoun use and level of couple satisfaction during an interview about relationship strengths.

Aim 1 replicated Gray and colleagues’ (under review) project which examined the …

The Perpetration Of Adulthood Animal Abuse And Intimate Partner Violence In Men And Women Arrested For Domestic Violence, Jeniimarie Febres

Doctoral Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs at devastatingly high rates in the United States. The current interventions for perpetrators of IPV are limited in their effectiveness. Research regarding characteristics of perpetrators of IPV may provide needed insights about their aggression in order to inform more effective treatments. This cross-sectional study employed the newly developed Interactions with Animals Scale, an original measure of a form of aggression that lacks comprehensive examination despite its demonstrated association with IPV, adulthood animal abuse (AAA). The prevalence, frequency, initiation, motivation, type of animal victimized, and recency of AAA was obtained from a sample of men ( …

Mindfulness-Based Therapy And Behavioral Activation: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Depressed College Students, Crystal Constance Mcindoo

Doctoral Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is found in about 20% of university students, with increasing incidence in the past two decades (American College Health Association, 2010). Depressed college students report significant academic problems, including lower grade point average, inability to concentrate, absenteeism, lower academic productivity, and interpersonal problems. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Behavioral Activation (BA) are two interventions that have significant potential in meeting demands of college counseling clinics insofar as treating depressed college students. This study utilized a randomized controlled design (n = 50) to examine the efficacy of four-sessions of abbreviated MBSR and BA relative to a …

Three Rs: Relationship Orientation, Relational Interdependent Self-Construal, And Relationship Maintenance Strategies, Maria Moana Rowley

Doctoral Dissertations

The polyamory literature has evolved over the years, but very little of the literature is made up of quantitative studies. An even smaller proportion of those are comparative studies, in which researchers investigate the differences and similarities between polyamorous and non-polyamorous relationships. Whereas there is no research on relational interdependent self-construal (RISC) in the polyamorous community, the values expressed by the community are congruent with high RISC traits in the literature. Markus & Kitayama (1991) state that individuals high in interdependent self-construal have a high need for and appreciation of relationships (Cross & Morris, 2003). The desire for multiple close …

Assessment And Investigation Of Electronic Aggression In The Romantic Relationships Of Emerging Adults, Teresa Michelle Preddy

Doctoral Dissertations

The current studies develop a psychometric scale capable of measuring electronic aggression and perpetration within emerging adult romantic couples: the Partner Electronic Aggression Questionnaire (PEAQ). The scale is based in the body of literature examining aggression within social relationships, particularly aggression and intimate partner violence (IPV) occurring within established romantic relationships. Moreover, the scale was designed with the rationale that developing a psychometrically sound measure of electronic aggression will allow researchers to examine how electronic aggression may be related to IPV and psychosocial functioning for both victims and perpetrators. The present studies suggested that the PEAQ is an internally consistent …

Bidirectional Associations Between Parenting Behavior And Child Callous-Unemotional Traits: Do Delinquent Peer Affiliations And/Or Parental Psychopathology Moderate These Links?, Amber Rochelle Wimsatt

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study examined bidirectional associations between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and parenting dimensions and evaluated whether these associations changed as children aged. Furthermore, this study extended the literature by examining whether these relations were moderated by delinquent peer affiliation and/or parental depression. Proposed relations were examined using a longitudinal sample of 120 aggressive boys (59.6%) and girls (40.4%) who were in the 4^th grade (M = 10.56 years, SD = .56) at baseline and were followed over four years. A series of generalized estimating equation [GEE] models revealed reciprocal relations between CU traits and corporal punishment. Consistent with …

Assessing Motives For Consensual Sex: Development Of The Sexual Motives Questionnaire, Vanessa Tirone

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study describes the development and preliminary validation of the Sexual Motives Questionnaire (SMQ), a measure of motives for consensual sex. The measure is informed two dispositional theories, functional theory and self-construal theories, which suggest that individuals are motivated to engage in behavior due to approach/avoidance and independent/interdependent tendencies, respectively. Items were also selected to reflect sexual scripts and fear of sexual and physical violence. A total of 81 items was administered to 920 undergraduates. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted utilizing the 821 participants with complete data. The final sample was predominately heterosexual (96%) and Caucasian (83%) with a …

Using Mindful Self-Compassion To Improve Self-Criticism, Self-Soothing, Cravings, And Relapse In Substance Abusers In An Intensive Outpatient Program, Sarah Elizabeth Gilbert

Doctoral Dissertations

Applying mindfulness techniques to the treatment of substance use disorders is relatively new; however, initial studies show promising results (e.g. Bowen et al., 2009; Witkiewitz & Bowen, 2010). Similarly, treatment-seeking substance users may find benefits in treatments that increase levels of self-compassion, a construct that uses mindfulness and allows awareness of personal faults (e.g. relapses) without becoming paralyzed by shame. Instead, individuals who are compassionate toward their failures are more likely to take healthy steps to address them (Leary, Tate, Adams, Allen, & Hancock, 2007). This study added a brief self-compassion group treatment to an existing Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) …

Dissociation And Sexual Trauma: The Moderating Role Of Somatization, Amineh Abbas

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined various types of trauma, with an emphasis on sexual trauma across the lifespan, in a clinical sample of male and female adult outpatients assessed for trauma, somatization, and dissociation. Two hundred forty-five adult outpatients at the University of Tennessee Psychological Clinic were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the Traumatic Experiences Checklist (TEC), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), as part of the routine intake procedure. Of those individuals, 200 patients completed the questionnaires correctly and were included in the final study sample. The experience of sexual trauma indeed accounted for additional variance in somatization scores over and above …

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines three distinct, yet interrelated, projects aimed at understanding the role of technology in relation to emerging adulthood developmental tasks: individuation & identity development. The first paper provides a context for understanding the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, and the role that technology may serve in relation to those developmental tasks. This brief review of the literature on emerging adulthood developmental tasks provides a solid theoretical background and history for the theoretical premises proposed for the respective studies included in this dissertation. The second project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the task of identity …

Exploring Coping Mediators Between Heterosexist Oppression And Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms Among Gay, Lesbian, And Bisexual Persons, Kyle M. Bandermann

Doctoral Dissertations

Recently, scholars have begun to advocate that categories of traumatic events be expanded to include experiences that do not meet the traditional diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as oppression. Our study builds on this work by examining experiences with two kinds of heterosexist oppression, one that meets the traditional diagnostic criteria for PTSD (i.e., sexual orientation-based hate crime victimization) and one that does not (i.e., heterosexist discrimination), as predictors of PTSD symptoms in a sample of 427 gay, lesbian and bisexual persons who responded to an online survey. In addition, we examined the mediating roles of coping …

The Temporal Association Between Alcohol, Negative Affect, And Dating Violence, Ryan Christopher Shorey

Doctoral Dissertations

Dating violence is a serious problem, with psychological aggression being the most common topography of aggression. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of research on temporal risk factors for psychological aggression perpetration and victimization. Thus, the proposed study examined whether alcohol and negative affect increased the odds of psychological aggression perpetration and victimization, and whether these two risk factors interacted to temporally predict aggression. That is, consistent with the Attention-Allocation Model (AAM), it was hypothesized that at high levels of negative affect, acute alcohol consumption would increase the odds of aggression. However, at low levels of negative affect, acute alcohol consumption …

The Effects Of Social Support On At-Risk Youth, Christi Lanet Culpepper

Doctoral Dissertations

Social support is conceptualized as a protective factor that buffers against distress and dysfunction. Social support can be beneficial to all individuals and is usually available through a support system consisting of family and friends. Unfortunately, there are populations that lack effective support systems and consequently do not receive social support. One such population is at-risk youth. In this project, I examined the effects of social support, within the context of participation in youth programs, on the academic, emotional, and behavioral functioning of at-risk youth. Twenty-three adolescents participating in three youth programs were assessed at three time points: the beginning …