Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Peers For Young Adults On Anxiety And Quality Of Life For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alysha Cecile Dagg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social skills deficits as well as comorbid anxiety are two characteristics commonly experienced by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Level 1 (ASD-1; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These characteristics are also both contributors to a lower quality of life for young adults (Smith et al., 2019). The current study aimed to identify how the quality of life and anxiety are affected by social skills intervention, specifically the PEERS® for Young Adults program (Laugeson, 2017). PEERS® for Young Adults is an evidence-based social skills intervention intended to support individuals with ASD-1 (Laugeson, 2017). Prior research has demonstrated its success in both …

If It Walks Like A Duck…Is It A Duck?: A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Differences Between Machiavellian And Non-Machiavellian Substance Users, Daniel Pillersdorf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Machiavellianism is a set of personality traits characterized by a cold and callous nature, a belief in engaging in manipulative tactics for personal gain, a cynical and distrusting view of others, and pragmatically moral stance. Behaviors and views of individuals with elevated Machiavellian traits can be seen to have a marked similarity with several behaviours and views of individuals with substance use issues, making it difficult to differentiate between them. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study sought to determine what distinguishes individuals who are high in Machiavellianism from those who are low in Machiavellianism but appear high in this set …

Analyzing Emerging Adulthood Narratives And The Role Of Anxiety In Developmental Functioning, Daryl Parungao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adulthood is a developmental period characterized by the themes of identity exploration, instability, feeling in-between, being self-focused, and exploring possibilities (Arnett, 2006). Emerging adults are at higher risk for anxiety as they navigate novel developmental experiences and responsibilities (Kranszler et al., 2019). This study explores whether these themes map on to the experiences of modern-day emerging adults, and whether developmental functioning corresponds to anxiety. College students completed standard questionnaires and provided free-text responses about adjusting to adulthood. Identity exploration and instability were perceived as the most positive and negative aspects of aging, respectively, though response-type varied by participant demographics. …

Investigating The Shared And Unique Mechanisms Of The Development Of Comorbid Eating Disorder-Anxiety Symptoms During Adolescence., Leigh Cara Brosof

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Eating disorders are associated with significant morbidity, psychiatric comorbidity, and impairment. Despite the detrimental outcomes associated with eating disorders, effective treatments for eating disorders are lacking. One factor that has impeded the identification of targets for intervention in eating disorders is the high comorbidity rate with other psychiatric disorders. Comorbidity models can inform treatments by showing which mechanisms are shared in comorbidity and which mechanisms are unique to specific disorders. Anxiety disorders are the most frequently co-occurring disorders with eating disorders, as 85% of individuals with eating disorders have a comorbid anxiety disorder. One mechanistic process in both anxiety …

Coping During Covid: Child Technology Use And Coping During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Anissa Barnes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many children spend a significant amount of time using technology throughout the day. This was particularly true during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many activities that had initially been conducted in-person had to transition to an online modality. Some technology use could be seen as beneficial, whereas others could be seen as harmful. The present study used baseline data from a longitudinal study examining the effects of COVID-19 on child mental health to explore how technology had been used during the pandemic, as well as the perceived benefits and problems associated with its use. In total, 190 families (190 caregivers and …

Development Of A New Measure To Assess For Poverty-Based Stress: The Poverty-Based Stressor Scale (Pbss), Brianna N. Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poverty, typically measured by economic well-being or depravation, is the result of systemic flaws built into the structure of society that adversely impact multiple dimensions of health and well-being. The specific stressors that disproportionately impact low-income individuals are called poverty-based stressors, and they encompass multiple categories of risk including physical, psychosocial, and financial risks. Currently, there is not an adequate measure of poverty-based stressors for low-income adults in the United States (U.S.), which restricts our ability to accurately determine the effects of poverty on important health-related outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of …

Social Media Use And Loneliness During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Katelyn Hughes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social media has played a prominent role in society as a safe way of communicating and connecting with friends, family, and others during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. This study examined the general use of social media over the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and correlations with levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and stress in comparison to how people felt about their social media use before the pandemic. This study collected self-reported introspection on social media use during the pandemic and before the pandemic from Georgia Southern University students to compare if there are less feelings of …

The Role Of Embodied Metaphor In The Relationship Between Vestibular Dysfunction, Anxiety And The Self, Kaitlyn Abrams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is considerable evidence that vestibular dysfunction and anxiety are correlated. Clinical and philosophical arguments suggest that a loss of sense of self, experienced through symptoms like derealization and depersonalization, might contribute to this relationship. The present study used a mixed methods approach, including Systematic Metaphor Analysis, to analyze written short answer and quantitative survey data from one hundred and thirteen participants with vestibular disorders. The Systematic Metaphor Analysis revealed several primary metaphor concepts which elucidated the connections between concrete experience and abstract concepts in vestibular dysfunction. These included metaphors of Agency, Stability, Orientation, Self-Object, and Figure-Ground. Primary metaphors for …

The Role Of Anxiety Sensitivity In The Etiology Of Anxiety And Cognitive Symptoms Of Eating Disorders, Rachel Small-Crevier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined common genetic and environmental contributions to the etiology of anxiety sensitivity, cognitive symptoms of eating disorders, and anxiety severity in a community sample of adolescents. I leveraged data from the Twins Early Development Study, a longitudinal epidemiological study of mono- and dizygotic twins born in England and Wales between 1994 and 1996. At age 16, families of twins (n=5,111) were assessed for anxiety sensitivity, cognitive symptoms of eating disorders (i.e., felt fat, fear of gaining weight, weight- and shape-influences thoughts about self), and anxiety severity. Strong phenotypic correlations among the four cognitive symptoms of eating disorder …

Rejection Sensitivity, Relationship Quality, And Adjustment In Late-Adolescent Romantic Relationships And Friendships, Laura A. Foster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rejection sensitive (RS) individuals are at greater risk for emotional maladjustment across the lifespan, with consistent links identified with depression and social anxiety. Yet little is known about interpersonal factors that may affect this association for late adolescents, especially with their romantic partners and close friends. The present study examined relationship qualities of support and negative interactions with romantic partners and friends as moderators of the link between RS and internalizing symptoms. Given the differences between male and female social relationships and experiences, these associations were expected to be further moderated by gender, with RS females in poorer quality relationships …

Exploring Online Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Study For First-Year College Students, Leandrian J. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American first-year college students are faced with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, which can have a negative impact on their academic performance. Research shows that students who suffer from mental illness, such as anxiety and depression, fear their condition will be perceived negatively by their peers and professors. The literature also suggests that U.S. colleges and universities can be more proactive in offering students resources for their mental health concerns to decrease anxiety and depression. It appears that absent or limited mental health resources have failed to address rising cases of student mental illness, and more specifically, …

Teachers’ Stress, Anxiety, And Depression: What Are Special Education Teachers Experiencing?, James H. Potter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that people in the teaching profession have high levels of stress and often report increased levels of symptoms of anxiety and depression. Students’ academic progress may have adverse effects when their teachers have high-stress levels or report mental distress. Those who teach special education often face high levels of stress. However, there is little research considering special education teachers’ job-related health. This study collected data on 598 general and special education teachers in the United States. This study compared the endorsements of both stress and psychopathology between special education and general education teachers. This research found that …

Twentieth Century Pandemic Narratives And Mental Health Discourse, Kristy R. Barraza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper utilizes René Girard’s theories concerning plague literature to examine twentieth century pandemic novels’ engagement with mental health discourses surrounding anxiety and melancholia. Girard argues that plague literature consists of four main elements: contamination, dissipation of differences, doubles, and sacrifice; he also argues that the plague represents violence. In 1918, a plague of influenza killed more people in the United States than all the wars from the twentieth century combined. William Maxwell’s They Came Like Swallows and Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider depict the trauma caused by the 1918 pandemic; Maxwell shows how the 1918 influenza disrupted …

Moderate Effects Of Anxiety And Physical Activities On The Relationship Between Body Image And Covid-19 Fear, Yutong Guo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Improving psychological well-being has been a hot topic in counseling psychology research. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s lifestyle has been changed that caused series mental health problems. Using a sample of 576 participants from different universities. This study examined whether Covid-19 correlated with Body image a) whether anxiety moderated this relationship. b) whether physical activities moderated this relationship. c) how does different kind of body image avoidance being influenced. Pearson’s correlation test and linear regression analyses were conducted. The result indicated that COVID-19 fear has significantly positive relationship with body image. physical activities level has significantly increase the relationship …

Fatalism As A Cultural Influence On Correlates Of Anxiety And Worry In Latino/A Adolescents., Judy Mier-Chairez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evidence that Latino/as in the United States experience lower rates of anxiety disorders as compared to the non-Latino/a White population has not yet led to the identification of the sources of these differences. Higher rates of anxiety disorders among more acculturated Latino/a individuals compared to those lower in acculturation suggest there are influential cultural variables relevant to anxiety, specifically that there is a loss of a protective Latino/a cultural factor in the acculturation process. Fatalism, an often-cited Latino/a cultural characteristic, emerges as an intriguing candidate for exploration in relation to anxiety due to the shared elements of future orientation and …

Exploring The Relationships Of Social Media Usage And Symptoms Of Anxiety And Depression In Adolescents, Morgan Culpepper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social media is a popular form of communication and entertainment among youth. Inconsistencies are present in the literature on the potential effects it can have on mental health. Depression and anxiety disorders are common among all age groups in the US, and this study aimed to determine the relationship social media has on symptoms of anxiety and depression. The Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS) and the GAD-7 were used to measure symptoms of anxiety, as well as the CES-D scale to evaluate depressive symptoms in adolescents. The number of social networking sites and number of hours spent on social …

F#@&!: Profanity As A Means Of Emotional Regulation, Nicholas Gregorich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Profanity is a commonplace occurrence in everyday conversation and society as whole. Previous studies have analyzed the reasons people use profanity as well as the function of profanity in various stressful situations, such as pain. Emotional regulation is a series of strategies people use to control and modify their emotions. One frequent target emotion to be regulated is anxiety, a state of fear which may elicit avoidance behaviors and defense reactions. However, no previous research has exclusively looked at profanity as a potential emotional regulation strategy. This study determined whether or not profanity was a useful emotional regulation strategy for …

An Investigation Of Anxiety- And Depression-Like Behavior After Head Trauma In Mice, Sean K. Payne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every year around 2 million people in the United States (US) suffer a traumatic brain injury. Those people are often at a higher risk of post-TBI psychiatric illness, like anxiety and depression. Animal models of TBI are a useful way to measure such psychiatric illnesses in a pre-clinical setting. There were two purposes of this study: the first being to test the modified Marmarou TBI model, and second to investigate anxiety- and depression-like symptoms in C57Bl6/J mice following a TBI. The modified Marmarou model used different weights (95g, 30g, & sham) to see how severity affected the manifestation of anxiety-like …

Using The Coaching Approach Behavior And Leading By Modeling (Calm) Program To Examine Attachment And Parental Behaviors In Childhood Anxiety, Seana Bandi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is one of the most common disorders in children that can often lead to detrimental outcomes. Empirically-supported risk factors for child anxiety include the child’s temperament and behavioral inhibition, insecure attachment, parental over-controlling behaviors, parental anxiety, and the impact of adverse life events on the child. Targeting these risk factors early on has the ability to lead to a decrease in anxiety symptoms later in adolescence and adulthood.

Evidence suggests behavioral, therapeutic interventions are effective for treating anxiety and other mood disorders for middle childhood and adolescents. Recent research has begun to focus on developmentally-appropriate adaptations for younger children …

Exploring Individual And Dyadic Associations Of Dispositional Mindfulness As An Ameliorative Factor Of Anxiety And Roommate Satisfaction Among Undergraduate Roommates., Kala Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many young adults, the college experience is stressful and the adjustment to college life can present many unique challenges. Up to one-half of undergraduates report anxiety, with prevalence rates that appear to be on the rise. Social transitions, such as living with a roommate, can also present challenges. The current study explored dispositional mindfulness, a capacity for attending to present-moment experiences, as a potential ameliorative factor of anxiety and roommate satisfaction. Dyadic associations of dispositional mindfulness were also explored among roommate dyads. Fifty undergraduate roommate dyads (N=100) provided self-report measures of demographics, dispositional mindfulness, anxiety, and three facets of …

Investigating Predictive Relationships Between Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students' Sense Of Classroom Community, Perceived Learning, And Perceived Anxiety., Emily B. Schantz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health is an all-encompassing term that focuses on a person’s ability to achieve work-life balance inclusive of positive mental health and mental ill-health. Current trends suggest an overall increase in mental ill-health for undergraduate and graduate students. McMillan and Chavis’ sense of community theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. This study aimed to examine whether speech-language pathology graduate students’ sense of classroom community and perceived learning predict anxiety levels while controlling for demographic variables. Three-hundred-sixteen master’s level speech-language pathology students completed an online survey containing the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire, Perceived Learning Scale, and Classroom Community Scale. …

Social Support Satisfaction As A Protective Factor For Postpartum Maternal Distress, Amy-Lynn Elisabeth Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social support has been identified as a protective factor for postpartum maternal distress, a prevalent women's health issue, and most research focuses on the amount of support women receive. However, research in this area has failed to explore whether increasing satisfaction with social support may be a worthwhile approach to alleviating postpartum maternal distress, beyond increasing amounts. There is also little known regarding specific aspects of support, like satisfaction with emotional and instrumental support, that might lead to differences in postpartum distress outcomes. In this prospective, longitudinal study, we hypothesized that greater social support satisfaction will be associated with less …

Anxiety, A Growing Social Problem: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Adela Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders as a stand-alone diagnosis are not recognized as a treatable mental health issue within the social services mental health realm. There are mixed results regarding if anxiety disorders are linked to suicide ideation and suicide attempts. The aim of this systematic review was to discover if there is a link between anxiety disorders and suicide ideation and suicide attempts within the current literature. All anxiety disorders were looked at, except for selective mutism and separation anxiety disorder due to these both typically only affecting those in very young childhood. The rest of the anxiety disorders affect those from …

An Exploratory Study Of Session Limited Models Of Therapy Outcomes In An Employee Assistance Program, Ivy C. Donaldson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have grown increasingly popular over recent years. The prevalence of organizations utilizing and investing in EAP services for their employees has grown; however, companies that purchase EAPs are not well-informed as to which session-models are most effective for various diagnoses. The current study is the first to explore treatment outcomes of session-limited models (measured by Therapist Perception of Change, TPC) for diagnoses (anxiety and depression) in an EAP delivery system. Outcomes were measured by TPC ratings including: a) Regressed, b) remained at Baseline, c) Improved, and d) issue was Resolved. Analyses (Chi-Square and =t-test) were used …

Self-Forgiveness In Japanese Adolescents., Tetsuo "Ted" Sato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The literature of forgiveness has been proliferated the last two decades (Davis et al., 2015b), but it has primarily focused on forgiveness of others and the research of self-forgiveness has just increased in recent years (Worthington & Langberg, 2012). Woodyatt and Wenzel (2013a) proposed a process-oriented approach of self-forgiveness while considering three possible responses to the self (i.e., genuine self-forgiveness, pseudo self-forgiveness, and self-punitiveness) after interpersonally offending others. Self-forgiveness among children and adolescents and in Japanese culture was discussed. The association of self-forgiveness to depressive and anxiety symptoms, and culturally and developmentally unique factors (i.e., fear of negative evaluation and …

The Relationship Between Hospitalizations And Anxiety And Depression Symptoms In Patients With Cystic Fibrosis, Ronni T. Barker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2015, the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation collaborated with the European CF Society to develop new guidelines to screen for depression and anxiety in people with CF. The guidelines were based on a study that assessed over 6,000 patients and 4,000 caregivers among 45 centers in the United States and eight European countries. Research has proven that depression and anxiety have a negative impact on CF and overall health. 186 adolescents within the CF clinic at Children’s Health Center voluntarily completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7). These screenings were completed between February 2016-March 2017 and …

The Effect Of Anxiety And Depression On College Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring Social Support As A Moderator, Katherine H. Bisson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore how social support is related to the overall well-being of college students. Literature suggests social support buffers a negative effect of distress on academic performance. This study attempts to provide practical information for a program called Student Opportunities, Advocacy, and Resources (SOAR) at Abilene Christian University (ACU), which assists students and connects them to resources available to support their path to success. A multiple linear regression was conducted to examine the association between anxiety, depression, social support, and academic performance using a sample of 93 students enrolled in this program in Fall …

Symptoms Of Anxiety And Depression And Suicidal Behavior In College Students: Conditional Indirect Effects Of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury And Self-Compassion, Andrea R. Kaniuka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young adults of college age are at particular risk for psychopathology, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and consequent suicidal behavior, perhaps in a continuum of increasing severity. However, not all persons who experience psychopathological symptoms, or who self-harm, go on to engage in suicidal behavior, perhaps due to protective factors such as self-compassion that buffer this progression. We examined the mediating effect of NSSI on the relation between anxiety/depressive symptoms and suicide risk, and the moderating role of self-compassion on these linkages. Our collegiate sample (N=338) completed: Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Self-Harm Inventory, Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, and the Self-Compassion Scale. …

Biased Attentional Processing For Negative Emotion And Youth Internalizing Psychopathology: The Role Of Attentional Control Deficits, Lauren Darlene Gulley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biased attention for salient negative emotional stimuli is a proposed cognitive mechanism of internalizing disorders, namely depression and anxiety. Previous studies have demonstrated biases in bottom-up, stimulus-driven attentional systems, as well as top-down, goal-oriented attentional systems, in the context of negative emotion. However, the underlying cognitive mechanisms that drive these biases, such as attentional control deficits, are not well understood. Furthermore, given the high degree of conceptual and empirical overlap between depression and anxiety, it is unclear how biased attention might relate to constructs common across both disorders, such as general distress, versus what is specific to each disorder. The …

Examining Anxiety Schemas Through The Context Of A Stress-Intrapersonal Model, Kayla M. Leleux-Labarge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Explicating vulnerability factors to anxiety difficulties is important as the National Comorbidity Study (NCS) lists anxiety as the most common and costly class of mental health disorders in the United States. Maladaptive schemas, as theorized by Young (1990), perpetuate anxiety pathology by hindering the individual’s ability to alter behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and overall approach to adverse events. Previous research indicates that intrapersonal resources can stymie the development of psychopathological features, even in the context of adverse life events (Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Song, 2013). The main purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship among adverse life events …