Psychology Commons^™

Illness Stigma, Social Connectedness, And Health In People Living With Chronic Illness: A Structural Equation Model, Abigail Brooke Crawford

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The complexity of chronic or unexplained conditions may lead to potential stigma for those suffering long-term symptoms as they do not follow the expected pattern of recovery following diagnosis and treatment. Experiencing such illness-related stigma has potential for leading to a belongingness identity of detachment with implications for health across physical, social, and psychological dimensions. This study aimed to examine the relationship between stigma, social connection, mental health, physical health, and social functioning in a group of 231 participants with ongoing symptoms of chronic illness through structural equation modeling. The fit indices all suggest that the model reasonably fits the …

Physiological Responses Regarding Stress And Trauma: The Freeze Response, Emma Arie Von Holten

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fight-or-flight is a commonly known response to threatening situations, but the freeze response is another defensive mechanism that might arise in such situations. There is also evidence that exposure to trauma can impact physiological reactions when defensive mechanisms are not required, such as freezing in response to non-threatening situations. The current study aimed to replicate and expand upon a limited number of previous studies on the human freeze response by implementing measurements of postural sway, heart rate, and infrared thermography while valenced images were shown to participants. Ninety-two participants were recruited from the University of North Florida and participants were …

Community Approaches To Veterans And Active-Duty Service Member Suicide Prevention Through Public Health Outreach: A Commentary, Joe Bohn, Tommy Childers, Christopher Baglivo

Florida Public Health Review

We discuss insights on a West Central Florida community-based Veterans suicide prevention effort- a series of Veterans coffee socials. Noted as a public health crisis which has been well documented, the article provides an overview of the importance of public health approaches and academic public health engagement at a local level to addressing suicide prevention at community levels. An active-duty service member’s perspective is provided that points to common pain points that that extend to the Veterans community with reintegration challenges. A community-based participatory research methodology has been applied which stressed the importance of community partners (e.g., public, private and …

The Gender Freedom Model: A Framework For Helping Transgender, Non-Binary, And Gender Questioning Clients Transition With More Ease, Rae Mcdaniel, Laurel Meng

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Transgender/non-binary experiences and identities are often represented in academic literature through narratives of distress and are often pathologized through a medical lens. This holds implications for the field of psychotherapy, as interventions aimed to support transgender/nonbinary individuals often focus solely on risk mitigation. This article presents a therapeutic framework that rests on three pillars—Play, Pleasure, and Possibility—as the focal points for reimagining work with transgender/non-binary clients. This model aims to help this population explore gender transition with more ease through building practical skills, cultivating personal and collective pride, and centering pleasure equity.

Thriving During Covid-19: Predictors Of Psychological Well-Being And Ways Of Coping, Lauren Boyd, C. Dominik Guess, Teresa Tuason

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

COVID-19 has led to global dramatic shifts in daily life. Following the biopsychosocial model of health, the goal of the current study was to predict people’s psychological well-being (PWB) during the initial lockdown phase of the pandemic and to investigate which coping strategies were most common among people with low and high PWB. Participants were 938 volunteers in the United States who responded to an online survey during pre-peak of the lockdown in April 2020. The main findings were that all three groups of variables—biological, psychological, and socio-economic—significantly contributed to PWB, explaining 53% variance. Social loneliness and sense of agency …

The Influence Of Cyber-Sexual Assault On The Mental Health Outcomes Of Survivors, Kelley R. Holladay, W. Bryce Hagedorn, David Boote

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Researchers examined data collected from the only national sample of cyber-sexual assault (CBSA) survivors (N = 97; 3.75\% response rate to the online survey) using three valid instruments that measure symptomology of sexual assault. We found that participants scored high across each of the inventories, indicating CBSA survivors respond in ways that are similar to sexual assault survivors concerning emotional dysregulation, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptomology, particularly if they had a history of sexual assault. Implications for counselors are reviewed, and clinical recommendations are offered.

The Impact Of Relationship Wellness Checkups With Gay Male Couples, Mary Minten, Cass Dykeman

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Relationship health impacts many other health outcomes, including physical and mental wellbeing and the health of children in the family system (Goeke-Morey, Cummings, & Papp, 2007; Jaremka, Glaser, Malarkey, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2013; Jaremka, Lindgren, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2013; Pihet, Bodenmann, Cina, Widmer, & Shantinath, 2007; Rappaport, 2013; Robles, Slatcher, Trombello, & McGinn, 2014). Despite the importance of relationship health, couples do not regularly seek support for maintaining their connection (Eubanks-Fleming & Cordova, 2012). Early intervention programs that provide support are a growing public health initiative (Cowan & Cowan, 2014). One brief early intervention program, the Marriage Checkup (MC), positively impacts …

"Being Motivated To Protect": The Influence Of Sexual Communal Motivations On Sexual Risk Taking, Robert V. Phillips, Sadana S. Mukundan, Luke J. Lovelady, Elizabeth R. Brown, Elissa M. Barr

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

College-aged students are a high-risk population for unplanned pregnancy with 40% of women between the ages of 18-20 experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. This can cause physical, mental, and emotional stress resulting in withdrawal from college for the student. Communal motivation (being oriented towards other’s needs) positively predicts condom use. WISE interventions, a simple yet impactful type of interventions targeted towards addressing a problem, have been shown to be successful. Participants completed a sexual risk behavior measure, sexual risk-taking measure and communal motivations (CM) measure following a sexual health video, and reflection activity were participants either applied the sexual health information …

Development And Validation Of A Mindful Food Parenting Instrument To Assess The Relationship Between Parent Food Practices And Children’S Dietary Outcomes, Su-Nui Escobar

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

American children’s diets are commonly recorded as deficient in nutrient rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Such diets often exceed amounts of unhealthy items such as added sugars and sweetened beverages. In addition, 23% of children are considered overweight or obese. Mindfulness techniques in parents have been correlated with improved dietary outcomes in children and a healthier family eating environment.

The primary aim of this study was to develop and validate an instrument that reflects the theoretical framework drawn from current models of mindful eating, mindful parenting and mindful food parenting. The instrument is a practical tool …

Military Veteran Students Transition To Academic Life With Ptsd, Trauma, And Potential For Freezing Response., Alicia Marie Erchul

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study is the first known research to investigate the association of the freezing response with PTSD and traumatic stress in the military veteran student population. Current understanding of the freezing response are primarily based in comparative psychology, with some studies extending to human participants (Azevedo et al., 2005; Facchinetti et al., 2006; Hagenaars et al., 2012; Volchan et al., 2017). Models generally agree that the freezing response consists of reduced body sway with decreased heart rate (Porges, 2003, 2007; Hagenaars et al., 2014).

Thirty-eight military veteran students (n=38; 18 female; 20 male) with ages ranged from 19 to …

An Examination Of Social Connectedness On Ptsd And Freezing In A Student Military Population, Jessica Marie Ledwith

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the impact of social connectedness (SC) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a military college population, and their relation to physiological measures such as body sway, heart rate (HR), and heat rate variability (HRV). According to previous research, people with PTSD are more likely to exhibit a freezing response to affective images. In the present study, we explore the potential freezing response for military personnel at the levels of PTSD symptom groups and social connectedness. We also investigate the possible buffering effect social connectedness has on the outcome of PTSD and freezing. There was a total of …

Fight, Flight, Or Freezing? Investigating The Immobility Response In Military Veterans, Paige Elizabeth King

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When the body is faced with threat to life or limb, the autonomic nervous system works to overcome the danger – by either fight, flight, or freezing. While immobility may not appear to be the most logical solution, theories exist that it allows for judgement of the situation and preparation for action. This study investigated the stress response that military veterans, with or without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), demonstrate when shown unpleasant images. Researchers wanted to determine the extent to which veterans would show freezing or immobile responses when under an unpleasant image condition. It was hypothesized that veterans who …

Risk Domains And Adolescent Depression, Nathan Kawczynski

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence and young adulthood are the periods of development associated with the highest amount of risk-taking. One theory, the Dual-Systems model, suggests that this could be due to an imbalance in the maturation of two brain systems: reward appraisal, which matures first, and cognitive control, which matures later. This imbalance may be the cause of adolescents’ tendency to favor immediate rewards, disregarding consequences. Depressed adolescents, however, behave differently. While it is not exactly clear whether they take more risks or fewer risks, depressed adolescents display different interactions and decision making with their peers than non-depressed adolescents. This study attempted to …

Neuropsychological, Cognitive And Physiological Implications Of Barefoot Running On Working Memory, Shelley Ann Floyd

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of barefoot versus shod running on working memory. I recruited exercise science students from the University of North Florida who exercised recreationally. Participants ran both barefoot and shod while hitting targets (poker chips) on a running track and without targets. I measured working memory using backward digit recall and also recorded participants’ heart rate, speed, and target accuracy. The main finding from this study was that working memory performance increased in the barefoot condition when participants hit targets (poker chips). This result supports the idea that additional attention is …

Hospital Loneliness And The Patient-Physician Relationship: A Preliminary Analysis Of Associations With Recovery In Bone Marrow Transplant Patients, Lindsay E. Balfour

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine general loneliness, hospital loneliness, and the patient-physician relationship in regards to their associations with Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) recovery outcome variables (days until engraftment and quality of life). Fifteen (66.7% female, 33.3% male; 93.3% white, 6.7% Black/African American; average age 61.73) individuals who had an allogeneic or autologous BMT at The Mayo Clinic of Jacksonville completed the FACT-BMT, UCLA-Loneliness Scale Version 3, the CARE Measure, and provided disease and treatment information at the 6 month posttransplant date (+/- 30 days). Patients recovering from BMT indicated significantly higher scores of hospital loneliness …

Investigation Of Social Connectedness In A College Population And Its Relationship To Perceived Stress And Health Symptoms, Sanya Sholetta Whittaker

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated factors related to social connectedness and social support in a college population. Participants in the study were 486 volunteer students at the University of North Florida. All data were collected through a world wide web surveying program that allowed each participant to complete surveys on computers from any location. The surveys administered were the Social Connectedness Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Perceived Stress Scale 10, the Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ15), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale- Revised (CESD-R) along with a demographics questionnaire. Results show that participants in …

Sex Differences In Mortality Statistics In Relation To Employment Status And Marital Status, Moseley Green Ruark

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Male mortality rates exceeded female rates in every death type and the sex differential increased from 1970 to 1980 in every death type except homicides. The findings in this study suggest that marital and employment factors contribute to sex differences in mortality for suicidal and accidental deaths. Being employed was associated with fewer suicidal and accidental deaths for females than for males. Being married was associated with fewer suicidal and accidental deaths for males, while marital status had no relationship to suicidal and accidental deaths for females. Due to these relationships it might be inferred that the expanding sex differential …