Psychology Commons^™

Differences In Body Image: Comparing Asian American Ethnic Groups And White Americans, Alefiyah Z. Pishori

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Racial/Ethnic Differences In Possible Selves Of Diverse Adolescents: Implications For Higher Education And Mental Health, Viana Y. Turcios-Cotto

Master's Theses

There are striking disparities in the academic achievement of American youth, with Latino and Black adolescents attaining higher education at vastly lower rates than White adolescents. Though numerous reasons exist for these educational disparities this study examines possible selves as they may relate to educational achievement among Latinos. Specifically, this study investigates: a) racial/ethnic differences in the content and themes of expected possible selves held by young adolescents; b) within group differences among Latino students and their expected possible selves; c) racial/ethnic differences in the relation between higher education possible selves and current mental health adjustment. Written responses reflecting types …

The Impact Of Breast Cancer Screening On Sleep, Affect, And Immune Functioning, Caitlin Burbridge

Master's Theses

Despite great strides that have been made over the past several decades in terms of diagnosis and treatment, breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American women and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality for women in the United States. Although the benefits of early detection of breast cancer have been clearly established, the advantages of screening must also be weighed against a potential corresponding negative psychological impact of screening procedures. The purpose of the present study was to further investigate the impact of breast cancer screening on previously unstudied or understudied aspects of psychological and physiological …

Predictors Of Recidivism In Adolescent Offenders, Sara Kathryn Lawing

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent offenders commit a significant number of physical and sexual assaults every year. A critical task for researchers and clinicians is to understand the distinct pathways that lead to these serious types of offending. The current study attempts to test the importance of these different pathways by comparing violent, violent sex, non-violent sex, and non-violent offenders based on SAVRY risk items, reoffending, and effects of treatment. A sample of 517 adolescents on probation was assessed for several risk factors (i.e., anger management, ADHD, low empathy/remorse) by probation officers. Recidivism over 12 months was assessed from official records. Results indicated that …

Assessing Parental Involvement In Type 1 Diabetes Management During Adolescence, Elizabeth M. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common pediatric chronic illnesses. Adolescents are at risk for poorer glycemic control; however, youth whose parents remain involved in diabetes care are in better control. The current study examined parental involvement (PI) using a multi-method, multi-source approach in a sample of 255 youth (Age M = 12.83). The Diabetes Family Responsibility Questionnaire, Parental Monitoring of Diabetes Care Scale, and 24-Hour Diabetes Interview assessed two types of PI, parental responsibility and parental monitoring. Global and specific assessment served to cross-corroborate indicators of PI related to HbA1c. Higher levels of monitoring related to lower …

A Self-Regulation Model Of Depression: Content Of Cognitive Representations And Prediction Of Treatment Seeking, Catherine Leite

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Leventhal's self-regulation model (SRM) was applied as a conceptual framework from which to examine individuals' cognitive representations of depressive symptoms. This thesis explored the nature of these representations, as well as factors that may impact on these representations and, in turn, influence coping strategies and professional help seeking. In particular, Study 1 examined the effect of symptom severity and the label used to identify the symptoms on the cognitive representations of depressive symptoms and coping, whereas Study 2 examined the effect of symptom duration in this regard. This thesis also considered the extent to which the various SRM domains are …

A Theater-Based Approach To Primary Prevention Of Sexual Behavior For Early Adolescents, Lisa D. Lieberman, Cydelle Berlin, Lori-Ann Palen, Olivia Silber Ashley

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Early adolescence is a crucial period for preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. This study evaluated STAR LO, a theater-based intervention designed to affect antecedents of sexual activity among urban early adolescents (N = 1,143). Public elementary/middle schools received the intervention or served as a wait-listed comparison group in a quasi-experimental study. Students completed pretest and posttest questionnaires. Multivariate regression models were used to examine treatment effects. Comparison students showed significantly greater increases in sexual intentions and decreases in pro-abstinence attitudes and intended age of first sex than treatment group adolescents. Comparison girls showed significantly greater increases in …

Flexibility In Parent-Child Interactions: The Application Of Dynamic Systems Methodology To Dyadic Processes In Children With Behaviour Problems, Vivien Lee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Dynamic systems theory (DST) can provide a comprehensive account for how parent-child interactions evolve over time to produce stable patterns of interacting and can result in seemingly divergent trajectories. Recent methodological advances using state space grids (SSGs) have provided a graphical means to examine real-time dyadic processes, as well as measures of dyadic flexibility, or the ability to adapt emotional and behavioural responding in response to contextual demands. Higher levels of dyadic flexibility have been associated with improvements in child behaviour problems after treatment (Granic et al., 2007), while its converse, rigidity, has been associated with increases in behaviour …

Avoidance And Depression: Evidence For Reinforcement As A Mediating Factor, John Paul Carvalho

Doctoral Dissertations

Behavioral Activation theory (Martell, Addis, & Jacobson, 2001) posits that a pattern of excessive use of avoidant coping strategies removes an individual from environmental sources of reward and reinforcement and subsequently leads to the development (or maintenance) of depressive symptoms. This investigation examined this theory by establishing measures of environmental reward as mediators between avoidance and depression, while further demonstrating that there is a strong connection between avoidance and depression independent of anxiety. Reward was measured by both self-report questionnaire (Reward Probability Inventory; Carvalho et al., under review) and daily activity diary ratings (Hopko, Bell, Armento, Hunt, & Lejuez, 2003), …

Risk Factors For Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy, Julianne Christina Hellmuth

Doctoral Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been shown to be highly prevalent during pregnancy, particularly for couples of low socioeconomic status. IPV poses an especially serious problem for pregnant women as it puts both mother and unborn child at risk for severe physical harm, including death. This investigation of potential risk factors for IPV during pregnancy examines alcohol use, stress, suspicion of infidelity, jealousy, and relationship discord from both a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. The overarching theoretical frameork for this study is based on Leonard's conceptual model of substance use and intimate partner violence in combination with evolutionary theory as discussed …

The Practice Effect: The Relationships Among The Frequency Of Early Formal Mindfulness Practice, Mindfulness Skills, Worry, And Quality Of Life In An Acceptance-Based Behavior Therapy For Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Lucas Paul Kawika Morgan

Graduate Masters Theses

Mindfulness- and acceptance-based treatments are currently being used to treat a variety of medical and mental health difficulties. Most of these treatments teach formal mindfulness practices which aim at developing mindfulness skills. However, little is known about the relationships among amount of formal mindfulness practice, changes in mindfulness skills, and changes in outcome variables. An acceptance-based behavior therapy (ABBT) has been shown to be particularly effective in the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD; Roemer & Orsillo, 2007; Roemer, Orsillo, & Salters-Pednault, 2008). This study explored the relationships among formal mindfulness practice, skills, and outcomes in the context of an …

The Social Negotiation Of Ambiguous In-Between Stigmatized Identities: Investigating Identity Processes In Multiracial And Bisexual People, Vali Dagmar Kahn

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

To date, most bisexual and multiracial identity models in psychology capture a largely internal developmental process (Collins, 2000; Kich, 1992; Weinberg, Williams & Pryor, 1994). However, individuals learn to manage their socially stigmatized identities in social interactions (Goffman, 1963). While the demands to socially negotiate stigmatized identity affect all minority peoples, individuals with in-between ambiguous stigmatized identities, such as multiracial and bisexual people, must negotiate also being situated at the margins of their own reference groups (e.g. heterosexual and gay/lesbian). Using a comparative grounded theory approach, this study explored the question: How do experiences of socially negotiating an in-between ambiguous …

Examining The Effect Of Medical Risk, Parental Stress, And Self-Efficacy On Parent Behaviors And The Home Environment Of Premature Children, Kathryn Woods

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between medical risk and parenting stress and the extent to which parental self-efficacy moderates the relationship between medical risk, parenting stress, specific parenting behaviors (i.e., parental responsivity, acceptance of child, parental involvement) and the home environment (i.e., organization of environment, learning materials, variety in experience, and IT-HOME total score) of premature children. Participants included 72 parent-child dyads with premature children between the ages of 7 and 35 months corrected age. Measures included parent reports of medical risk, stress, self-efficacy, and the IT-HOME. Results show that medical risk was not significantly …

Women's Cognitive Appraisals Of Their Birth Experience As Predictive And Maintaining Factors Of Postpartum Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Severity, Lauren Carr Spooner

Dissertations

Empirical support has accumulated for evidence of posttraumatic stress symptoms following approximately 30% of childbirth experiences (Olde, van der Hart, Kleber, & van Son, 2006). Researchers have suggested that there is a complex relationship among predisposing, precipitating, and maintaining factors that impact postpartum PTSD (Slade, 2006). Anxiety, perception of support, and negative cognitions are such factors that have been shown to significantly correlate with PTSD symptoms (Foa & Rothbaum, 1998; Olde et al., 2006; Soet, Brack, & Dilorio, 2003), but have not been studied together in relation to PTSD associated with traumatic birth. The current study controlled for trait anxiety …

Trajectories Of Psychological Distress Among Low-Income, Female Survivors Of Hurricane Katrina, Sarah Ryan Lowe

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate trajectories of psychological distress among low-income women, primarily unmarried and African American, who survived Hurricane Katrina (N = 386). Data were collected in the year prior to the hurricane, as well as approximately one and three years thereafter. Using Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA), we detected six distinct trajectory groups. Over half of participants fit into a trajectory consistent with resilience; that is, they maintained low levels of psychological distress over the course of the study, but experienced an elevation in symptoms at the first pre-disaster time point, followed by a return …

The Relation Between Children's Perceived Containment And Parental Antisocial Behavior, Joye L. Henrie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have invoked a variety of theories when discussing the relation between children's orientation to authority and the development of antiSocial behavior (ASB). Here, the focus is children's sense of containment. Previous studies revealed an association between perceived containment and child externalizing behaviors. In this study, the degree to which a child's sense of containment is related to parents' level of ASB was examined. One hundred sixty aggressive children and their parents participated. I hypothesized that ineffective discipline would moderate the relation between parent ASB and child perceived containment. I expected to find an inverse relation between parents' level of …

Effect Of Maternal Borderline Personality Disorder On Romantic Attachment In Adolescence, Christopher Daniel Watkins

Masters Theses

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe and chronic disorder that has been described as a disorder of attachment. The present study examined the effect of maternal BPD and borderline personality features on the romantic attachment styles of mothers with BPD and their 14-17 year old offspring. In a low socioeconomic status (SES) sample of n=28 adolescents whose mothers have BPD and n=28 normative comparisons, groups were compared on maternal and adolescent self-reported romantic attachment styles. Across the sample as a whole, the relationship between borderline features and romantic attachment styles were assessed. Also, the relationship between maternal …

Relationship Of Age Of Onset And Other Dimensions Of Trauma To Dissociation In An Adult Clinical Population, Amineh Abbas

Masters Theses

This study examined four dimensions of trauma and how they affected levels of dissociation in male and female adult outpatients. These dimensions are age of onset, multiple trauma, chronicity, and recency. Two hundred forty-five adult outpatients at the University of Tennessee Psychological Clinic were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and the Traumatic Experiences Checklist (TEC) as part of the routine intake procedure. Of those individuals, 177 patients reported trauma and were included in the final study sample. All four dimensions of trauma were found to be significantly correlated with dissociation. In addition, multiple trauma was found to be the …

Neuropsychological, Psychosocial, And Mood Outcomes Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Julia L. Evans

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adolescents and adults can result in cognitive, emotional, behavioral and neurological deficits that can persist more than a year after an injury. The aim of the current preliminary study was to use a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment to determine the nature of cognitive impairments and their relationship with specific psychosocial factors, including coping skills and perceived quality of life, following mild TBI (mTBI). Neuropsychological tests administered measured intelligence, pre-morbid intelligence, executive functioning, verbal memory, complex visual construction and non-verbal memory, sustained attention distractibility, and vigilance, verbal learning and memory, fine motor speed, and novel problem solving …

Rejection Sensitivity And Early Relationships: Explaining Differential Outcomes In Early Dating, Heather Holly

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Disclosure And Health: Enhancing The Benefits Of Trauma Writing Through Response Training, Andrea Konig

Theses and Dissertations

Writing about a personal traumatic event has been found to have psychological and physical health benefits. Focusing on traumatic memories in writing may be a form of exposure. In imagery exposure and trauma writing, greater physiological reactivity was predictive of better outcomes. Given the importance of physiological output in emotional processing, response training was developed and found to be effective in increasing appropriate physiological reactivity in imagery exposure. If response training amplifies physiological reactivity and the benefits of writing, the hypothesis that writing is a form of exposure would be strengthened, and training may be a valuable tool to improve …

Efficacy Of A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment For Insomnia Among Afghanistan And Iraq (Oef/Oif) Veterans With Ptsd, Margolies Skye Ochsner

Theses and Dissertations

Sleep disturbances are a core and salient feature of PTSD and can maintain or exacerbate associated symptoms. Recent research demonstrates that cognitive-behavioral sleep-focused interventions improve sleep disturbances as well as PTSD symptoms. The present study is a randomized controlled trial comparing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to a waitlist control group. Conducted at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the study: 1) compared subjective outcome measures of sleep amongst veterans assigned to either a treatment group (CBT-I) or a waitlist control group; (2) examined the influence of the intervention on measures of PTSD, general mood and daytime functioning, comparing veterans …

Sex Talk: Factors That Influence Parent-Child Communication About Sex, Tiffany Abrego

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Between 50 and 70% of young people are first sexually active between the ages of 15 and 17, and almost 90% by age 18. This early sexual debut puts adolescents at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy if they are uneducated about safe sex. For this reason, it is important to determine the variables that contribute to early sexual debut. One factor that researchers have explored is the communication between parents and their children concerning sex. Researchers have found that the communication about sex is influenced by parents’ own beliefs, experiences, and comfort level discussing sexual topics. …

#Trending Now: Why Black Folk Need To Be In Psychotherapy, Samantha Lynn Gray

Black Issues Conference

Despite evidence that mental health problems (ranging from very mild to severe) affect all people, the rates of minorities engaged in personal psychotherapy have remained low throughout the past few decades. Historically, minorities have tended to devalue the importance of mental health, and stigmatize therapeutic interventions. This session will focus on why we need to shed the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and detail where we’ve been, where we are, and where we need to head in term of opening ourselves to self-exploration within the realm of psychotherapy. Also learn about how our physical health is intertwined with our mental …

The Attachment And Clinical Issues Questionnaire (Aciq) : Scale Development, Marc A. Lindberg Ph.D., Stuart W. Thomas

Psychology Faculty Research

In line with dynamic systems and dialectical theories of development, it was theorized that a psychopathology such as an addiction could have several causes (equifinality) and that more specific diagnoses and treatments of the most salient clinical issuesfor individuals coming from different developmental paths could increase the success rates of most therapies. Further, the issues from a developmental dynamic systems perspective should include not only individual clinical issues, but also relational, familial, peer, and organizational functioning. The Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ) was developed as a research and clinical instrument relevant to these concerns. The 29 scales were based …

Pathological Personality Traits Among Patients With Absent, Current, And Remitted Substance Use Disorders, Christopher J. Hopwood, Leslie C. Morey, Andrew E. Skodol, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Emily B. Ansell, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John C. Markowitz, Anthony Pinto, Shirley Yen, M. Tracie Shea, John G. Gunderson, Mary C. Zanarini, Robert L. Stout

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Personality traits may provide underlying risk factors for and/or sequelae to substance use disorders (SUDs). In this study Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP) traits were compared in a clinical sample (N=704, age 18–45) with current, past, or no historical alcohol or non-alcohol substance use disorders (AUD and NASUD) as assessed by DSM-IV semi-structured interview. Results corroborated previous research in showing associations of negative temperament and disinhibition to SUD, highlighting the importance of these traits for indicating substance use proclivity or the chronic effects of substance use. Certain traits (manipulativeness, self-harm, disinhibition, and impulsivity for AUD, and disinhibition and …

Self-Harm Subscale Of The Schedule Of Nonadaptive And Adaptive Personality (Snap): Predicting Suicide Attempts Over 8 Years Of Follow-Up, Shirley Yen, M. Tracie Shea, Zach Walsh, Maria O. Edelen, Christopher J. Hopwood, John C. Markowitz, Emily B. Ansell, Leslie C. Morey, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, Mary C. Zanarini, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Objective: We examined the predictive power of the self-harm subscale of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP) to identify suicide attempters in the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders (CLPS).

Method: The SNAP, a self-report personality inventory, was administered to 733 CLPS participants at baseline, of whom 701 (96%) had at least 6 months of follow-up data. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to examine the SNAP–self-harm subscale (SNAP- SH) in predicting the 129 suicide attempters over 8 years of follow-up. Possible moderators of prediction were examined, including borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), and substance …

Public Perception Study 2011: Mental Illness, Drug And Alcohol Abuse, Oscar T. Mcknight

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This study examined the public perception of mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse. Field-interviews with participants occurred "on the street" with no difficulty. Participants offered ten general recommendations to professionals developing programs for mental illness, drug or alcohol abuse. The public stressed the professional responsibilities of physicians, pharmacists, counselors and teachers to prevent drug abuse.

Moving To The Other Side Of The Desk: An Examination Of The Practice Of Including Peer Support Specialists As Treatment Providers Within The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Paradigm, Chelsea Cawood

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is the primary empirically supported treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder. This multi-modal treatment consists of individual therapy, group skills training, the availability of 24-hour phone coaching, and weekly consultation meetings for therapists. A recent trend in Michigan Community Mental Health has been to add an additional component to traditional DBT, the inclusion of peer-provided services. In this role, graduates of DBT programs become members of the DBT team and may function to provide services at a variety of levels. Currently, no research exists examining this potential new treatment modality. The purpose of the current qualitative and descriptive …

The Development Of The Common Factor Therapist Competence Scale For Youth Psychotherapy, Ruth Brown

Theses and Dissertations

In order to continue to improve the effectiveness of psychotherapy, researchers must identify key change processes. Unfortunately, there are disparate views in the field about the relative importance and potency of specific techniques versus relationship factors. Few measures have been developed to examine the relative contribution of these factors, particularly for child-focused treatment. The Common-Factor Therapist Competence Scale for Youth Psychotherapy (COMP-CF) was developed to address this deficit. For this study, 142 video-taped sessions of child CBT for anxiety were observed and rated by independent coders using the COMP-CF. The measure demonstrated good reliability and internal consistency. Significant between-therapist and …