Psychology Commons^™

Functional Cynicism, Michelle Fried

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trait cynicism, or “cynical hostility” as measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory’s Cook-Medley Scale, is defined and studied as characteristics associated with psychopathology, interpersonal conflict, and negative health outcomes including heart disease and cognitive decline. Likewise, “organizational cynicism” is operationalized in industrial/organizational psychology for the purpose of describing and identifying an undesirable employee type in the workplace. This research proposes an alternative assessment. It reconnects cynicism with its roots in ancient philosophy by asking if cynical attitudes, despite their negative valence ascribed in the modern literature and conventional opinion, may serve a practical purpose. This study of Functional Cynicism …

Indirect Aggression And Victimization: Investigating Instrument Psychometrics, Gender Differences, And Its Relationship To Social Information Processing, Taylor Steeves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study of indirect bullying behaviors, relational aggression and social aggression, has been of theoretical importance and interest to researchers and psychologists within the last few decades. In this investigation, using a convenience sample of 451 late adolescents attending a private university in the mid-Atlantic U.S., I examined the factor structure of two measures of indirect bullying, the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale – Victim (YASB-V) and the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale – Perpetrator (YASB-P). Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), I found that the YASB-V comprised a four-factor model, differing from the model that had been identified in the …

The Psychopathology Circumplex+: A Novel Conceptualization Of Psychopathology And Associated Measure, Edward A. Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Fearless Dominance (FD) and Impulsive Antisociality (IA) are two personality traits often used in the study of psychopathic personality. FD is characterized by a lack of empathy, resilience to stress, and social potency, while IA is marked by impulsivity, selfishness, and manipulativeness. The current trio of studies sought to expand the use of FD and IA to assess psychopathology more generally. Study 1 consisted of a meta-analysis of all the relationships between FD/IA and various forms of psychopathology. Results affirmed that FD and IA each correlate with a variety of different psychological disorders, each to varying degrees of magnitude, but …

Measurement Invariance Of Impact In Bilingual And Monolingual High School Athletes, Hana Cecilia Kuwabara

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Given the reported negative consequences of sport related concussion (SRC), establishing the validity of concussion management tools is essential if they are used to determine the severity of concussion, track recovery or decline, implement effective interventions, and assist in return-to-play decision making. Previous research has found cognitive and symptoms differences on ImPACT, the most widely used SRC assessment measure, between monolingual and bilingual student athletes. Before further investigation of these differences can occur, measurement invariance of ImPACT must be established to ensure that differences are not attributable to measurement error. The current study has two aims: 1) to replicate a …

Using A Single Measure To Assess Adherence And Differentiation In Family Therapy For Adolescent Externalizing Problems, Stephanie Violante

Theses and Dissertations

Family therapy is considered a well-established treatment approach for adolescent externalizing problems; however, research examining its effectiveness when delivered in routine practice settings has produced mixed results. The accurate interpretation of these inconsistent results requires an understanding of what therapeutic techniques were delivered, including those that were prescribed (i.e., adherence) and those that were non-prescribed (i.e., differentiation), suggesting the need for a measure that can concurrently assess treatment adherence and differentiation. The current study examined the extent to which an observational measure of an array of therapeutic techniques for youth emotional and behavioral problems (the Therapy Process Observational Coding System …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Best In Class Adherence And Competence Scale, Katrina A. Markowicz

Theses and Dissertations

It is critical to utilize treatment integrity instruments to support the evaluation of evidence-based programs in early classroom contexts. However, in the early childhood field, guidelines for collecting treatment integrity data are underdeveloped. Consequently, most treatment integrity instruments employed in the field solely assess adherence, vary in design features and have little psychometric evidence supporting their use. As such, this represents a gap in the field that might slow efforts to implement evidence-based programs. The current study examines the score reliability and validity of an observational treatment integrity instrument (The BEST in CLASS Adherence and Competence Scale [BiCACS]; Sutherland et …

The Development And Validation Of The Supportive Other Experiences Questionnaire: Integrating The Perspectives Of The Social Support Provider After Traumatic Injury, Katherine Ann Van Stolk-Cooke

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Social support is considered to be a protective factor against the development of PTSD after trauma. However, examinations of the social support-PTSD relationship have relied primarily on the self-reports of trauma-exposed individuals to the exclusion of their support providers. A new measure, the Supportive Other Experiences Questionnaire (SOEQ) was developed based on social support theory, prior research and psychometrics in order to capture important components of social support from the perspective of the support provider. Concerned Significant Others (CSOs) recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform who served as support providers to a traumatically injured romantic partner were recruited to …

Validity And Diagnostic Accuracy Of An Adhd Symptom Rating Scale For Identifying Adults With Adhd, Stacy Jean Graves

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Specific rating scales of ADHD symptomatology are often included in neuropsychological assessments evaluating adults diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS-IV) is a widely used symptom rating scale that includes four questionnaires: self-report current, self-report childhood, other-report current, and other-report childhood. In addition to ADHD symptoms, each of the forms include items that assess functional impact and developmental history of symptomatology. While similar symptom rating scales have been found to have high validity and diagnostic utility in children, it is unclear the extent to which the BAARS-IV shares substantial common variance with other …

Assessment Instruments And Basic Personality Underpinnings Of Hypersexuality, Stephanie L. Montgomery-Graham

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite rejection of the Hypersexual Disorder (HD) diagnosis from DSM-5, individuals continue to present clinically with feelings of out-of-control sexual behaviour, clinicians continue to treat “sexual addiction,” and researchers continue to study HD-type symptomology. To further investigation of the HD construct, Levaque and colleagues (2016) used common HD assessment measures and found that between 16.7% and 37.8% of young adult males met clinically significant scores for HD. Phase one of this dissertation replicated the surprising finding in a North American community sample and furthered the research by testing the assessment tool used in DSM-5 HD field trials, and the first …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of Computerized Attention Measures In Young Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Sara Katharine Pardej

Theses and Dissertations

Children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) often demonstrate difficulties with attention and executive functioning that can be evident even starting at a young age. Despite this consistent finding in the literature, there has been no research to determine which measures of attention are most suitable for use with children with NF1. Recently, there have been several computerized measures of attention and executive abilities that have become available to researchers and clinicians. This study explored the National Institute of Health Toolbox Flanker, Dimensional Change Card Sort, and List Sort Working Memory; Cogstate Identification; and Conners Kiddie Continuous Performance Test, second edition …

Measurement Of Defusion: Further Validation Of The Drexel Defusion Scale, Christopher A. Briggs

Dissertations

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) seeks to develop psychological flexibility through the engagement of the six interrelated processes. Four processes employ mindfulness and acceptance strategies and consist of acceptance, defusion, present moment awareness, and the contextualized self. Two other processes, values and committed action, are grouped with present moment awareness and the contextualized self and are termed behavior change strategies. One issue encountered by contemporary behavioral approaches in general, and ACT in particular, is the measurement of the proposed processes. Measurement is complicated by the functional nature of some of the repertoires described making the development of instruments for assessment …

Improving The Sensitivity Of The Vrin-R Scale On The Mmpi-A-Rf, Stefan E. Latulip

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

When respondents to self-report measures fail to answer in accordance with item content it distorts the accuracy of obtained test scores, degrading the ability of clinicians to use results to make accurate diagnoses and recommendations. The Variable Response Inconsistency (VRIN) scale was created for the MMPI-2 and was later revised as the VRIN-r scale for the MMPI-2-RF and MMPI-A-RF in order to detect and invalidate protocols over saturated with random responding. Analyses conducted by Pitta (2016) revealed that the VRIN-r scale for the MMPI-A-RF was not ideally sensitive to the detection of random responding in protocols. This study explored adding …

Shwartz, Morris, And Penna, 2019. Psychometric Properties Of The Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination.Pdf, Susan Shwartz

Susan Shwartz

Explicit, Implicit, And Behavioral Stigmatization Of Mental Illness, Jessica S. James

Dissertations

Mental health concern is a public health concern that continues to be stigmatized. While the dual process model has been applied to other areas of social cognition (e.g., racism), this framework has not previously been frequently used to examine the stigmatization of mental illness. The current study sought to examine the stigmatization of mental illness within a dual process model to determine the relationship between explicit and implicit stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors. A total of 104 undergraduate students from the University of Southern Mississippi participated in this study. Participants completed multiple implicit and explicit measures of stigmatizing attitudes and behavioral …

Development And Validation Of The Exercise Appearance Motivations Scale, Leah S. Boepple

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exercise rooted in changing one’s appearance is associated with increased disordered eating and body image pathology. There are a limited number of scales assessing appearance-based exercise, and those that do are methodologically flawed. The aim of the current work was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of appearance-based exercise (Exercise Appearance Motivations Scale (EAMS)). Female undergraduate students (N = 650) completed an online survey designed to assess the EAMS’ psychometric properties. Factor analysis and hierarchical regressions were used for measure development and validation. Five factors of the EAMS were identified through factor analysis: muscularity, appearance, societal pressures, shape/weight, and avoidance/shame. …

Psychometric Properties Of A Modified Moral Injury Questionnaire In A Military Population, Abby L. Braitman, Allison R. Battles, Michelle L. Kelley, Hannah C. Hamrick, Robert J. Cramer, Sarah Ehlke, Adrian J. Bravo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Moral injury (MI) results from perpetration of or exposure to distressing events, known as morally injurious events (MIEs), that challenge moral beliefs and values. Due to the type of involvement in recent military conflicts, many veterans report MIEs that may cause dissonance and, in turn, MI. Although 2 existing measures assess MIEs, neither currently assesses the defining characteristics of MI (i.e., guilt, shame, difficulty forgiving self and others, and withdrawal). The present study reports the initial psychometric test of a modified version (Robbins, Kelley, Hamrick, Bravo, & White, 2017) of the Moral Injury Questionnaire—Military version (MIQ-M; Currier, Holland, Drescher, & …

Defining Dimensions In Schizotypy: Factor Structure Replication And External Validation Of The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire – Brief Revised Updated (Spq-Bru)., Elaina Montague

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Background: Schizotypy is a construct that captures quantitative dimensions of the psychosis continuum from clinical to non-clinical expressions. The purpose of this study was to determine the factor structure and criterion validity of a newly revised self-report measure, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire–Brief Revised Updated (SPQ-BRU; Davidson, Hoffman, & Spaulding, 2016) for predicting later cognitive-perceptual experiences in college undergraduates.

Method: The data analytic sample was comprised of 2,474 undergraduate students (female = 71.9%) attending a university in the Midwest. First, we aimed to identify a model of best fit by comparing latent measurement models of schizotypy using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). …

Development And Validation Of A Survey Of Knowledge Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Laura Katherine Hansen

Master's Theses

As autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more commonly diagnosed, having knowledge of the disorder becomes increasingly important for educators, parents, and the general public. Previous research regarding knowledge of ASD, focused mainly on knowledge possessed by those in the educational field, has found that individuals may perceive themselves as possessing average knowledge regarding ASD but have low actual knowledge (as defined by the researchers) regarding specific aspects of the disorder (Williams et al., 2011). Studies support the notion that there is a general lack of knowledge of different aspects of ASD among teachers; however, there has been little research regarding …

Invariant Two Component Structure Of The Rbans, Elisabeth M. Vogt

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS: Randolph, 1998, 2012) is a brief neurocognitive instrument used to evaluate cognitive functioning in clinical settings. While this test is used regularly, investigation of the factor structure has resulted in inconsistent findings across samples. It was hypothesized that inconsistent RBANS dimensional structures are the result of methodological differences and not solely due to unique sample characteristics. The present study utilized empirically supported extraction criteria (Parallel Analysis; Minimum Average Partial Procedure) and uniformly investigated five samples. RBANS data from four samples were previously published (Carlozzi, Horner, Yang, & Tilley, 2008; Duff, …

Institutional Aggression: Psychometric Development Of A Predictive Risk Assessment Screening Tool, Lauren Spotts M.S.

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Aggression among those with mental illnesses has been extensively reviewed. Research has shown that aggression within an institutional or hospital setting, that is presently termed “Institutional Aggression,” threatens the ability to provide a safe and therapeutic environment for both patients and staff. Although earlier measures have been designed to address this construct, the present study examines Institutional Aggression based on the parameters of the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS; Yudofsky, Silver, Jackson, Endicott, & Williams, 1986). The purpose of the current study was to determine the predictive relationship between clinical and sociodemographic factors and the rate of Institutional Aggression with the …

Inventory Of Cognitive Distortions: Validation Of A Measure Of Cognitive Distortions Using A Community Sample, Michael B. Roberts

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate further the psychometric properties of a self-report inventory of cognitive distortions using a nonclinical, community sample. A group of 474 individuals were contacted via the social networking site, Facebook, and through a college list-serve and were asked to complete multiple measures and also to send the link to other individuals, thus utilizing a snowball sample. The measures used included the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and a brief questionnaire to collect demographic information on each participant. Results revealed positive psychometric properties for …

12-Item Depression, Anxiety, And Stress Scales (Dass-12): Associations With Self-Report Measures, A Semi-Strcutured Interview, And Behavioral Tasks, Eu Gene Chin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To date, only one study has examined the psychometric properties of the 12-item depression, anxiety, and stress scales (DASS). Moreover, all psychometric studies conducted with the DASS-21 have focused narrowly on associations with semi-structured interviews and other relevant self-report measures. In order to address these limitations, I proposed to diversify the ways in which we examine the DASS instrument (for both the 12- and 21-item versions). First, I examined the extent to which the DASS instrument is able to predict responses to behavioral tasks and whether the DASS was able to produce hypothesized convergent and divergent relationships with relevant self-report …

Positive Youth Development In Tanzanian Youth: Utility Of The Developmental Assets Approach, Christopher Fox Drescher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers and practitioners are increasingly interested in positive youth development (PYD), an approach that emphasizes the competencies, strengths, and responsibilities of youth from all backgrounds. This paradigm may be especially useful in research with international youth given the paucity of research on international populations and the stigma surrounding research that focuses on deficits and problem behaviors. I explore youth's developmental strengths using one PYD measure, the Developmental Assets Profile (DAP), within a diverse, national sample of Tanzanian youth. The DAP Total score, Internal and External Assets, and Context Areas all displayed acceptable internal consistencies (.94 ≥ &agr; ≥ .74). Internal …

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Validity Of Time-Based Measures Of Sustained Attention For Children, Michael R. Kulfan

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study is a preliminary investigation of the validity of using time-based measures to quantify sustained attention in children ages 6-12. Problems with sustained attention negatively affect childhood learning and development. The prevalence of disorders known to impact sustained attention performance continue to rise in the United States. Currently, commercially available, objective measures of sustained attention use normative comparisons that provide limited information about the effect such problems have on child performance in natural settings. We reviewed test data from 290 charts of children ages 6-12 referred for neuropsychological evaluation. The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) is an …

Examining The Role Of Ethnicity In The Nature And Assessment Of Body Image In Men, Jason Matthew Lavender

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although body image research has historically focused on dissatisfaction among women, studies within the past decade have begun to focus on body dissatisfaction among men, revealing important gender differences in the nature, conceptualization, and assessment of this construct. Despite recent advances in the research literature in this area, few studies have examined ethnic differences in male body image, and no information is available on the psychometric properties of many of the most widely used body image measures for samples of ethnic minority men. The purpose of the present research was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Drive for Muscularity …

The Multidimensional Measure Of Internalized Hiv Stigma In English And Spanish: Measurement Invariance And Other Psychometric Properties, Elsa Martin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Efforts to increase the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) as well as prevention efforts have recently focused on HIV-related stigma. Sayles et al. (2008) developed the Multidimensional Measure or Internalized HIV Stigma (MMIHS), a measure of HIV-related stigma that is sensitive to minorities, women, and people with limited income. This study evaluated the four-factor structure presented by Sayles et al. (2008) on data collected from 269 HIV–positive individuals, and also validated a Spanish translation of the measure using a measurement invariance method. In addition to stigma, this study also collected information regarding depressive symptoms, HIV …