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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Explaining The Longitudinal Association Between Puberty And Depression: Sex Differences In The Mediating Effects Of Peer Stress, Colleen Conley, Karen Rudolph, Fred Bryant Dec 2015

Explaining The Longitudinal Association Between Puberty And Depression: Sex Differences In The Mediating Effects Of Peer Stress, Colleen Conley, Karen Rudolph, Fred Bryant

Colleen S. Conley

This research investigated whether exposure to peer stress serves as one pathway through which pubertal development contributes to depression over time, differentially for girls and boys. Youth (N = 149; 9.6–14.8 years) and their caregivers provided information at two waves, 1 year apart, on puberty (Wave 1), peer stress (occurring between Waves 1 and 2), and depression (Waves 1 and 2). Structural equation modeling analyses examined sex differences in the extent to which peer stress mediated the impact of pubertal status and timing on subsequent depression (i.e., tests of moderated mediation). Significant sex-moderated mediation was found for both pubertal status …


Explaining The Longitudinal Association Between Puberty And Depression: Sex Differences In The Mediating Effects Of Peer Stress, Colleen Conley, Karen Rudolph, Fred Bryant Dec 2015

Explaining The Longitudinal Association Between Puberty And Depression: Sex Differences In The Mediating Effects Of Peer Stress, Colleen Conley, Karen Rudolph, Fred Bryant

Fred B. Bryant

This research investigated whether exposure to peer stress serves as one pathway through which pubertal development contributes to depression over time, differentially for girls and boys. Youth (N = 149; 9.6–14.8 years) and their caregivers provided information at two waves, 1 year apart, on puberty (Wave 1), peer stress (occurring between Waves 1 and 2), and depression (Waves 1 and 2). Structural equation modeling analyses examined sex differences in the extent to which peer stress mediated the impact of pubertal status and timing on subsequent depression (i.e., tests of moderated mediation). Significant sex-moderated mediation was found for both pubertal status …


The Use Of Peer Mentoring To Decrease Stress In Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Elise G. Head Dec 2015

The Use Of Peer Mentoring To Decrease Stress In Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Elise G. Head

Doctoral Projects

Nurse anesthesia programs throughout the nation are extremely competitive with strict admissions criteria and demanding curriculum. Students enrolled in these programs, termed Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs), experience high average daily stress levels throughout their enrollment in a nurse anesthesia program (NAP). This quantitative study examined whether there is a decrease in SRNA average daily perceived stress when peer mentoring is employed. Inclusion criterion was all SRNAs enrolled in a single 3 year, post-baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) NAP at a comprehensive Carnegie research university with Southern Regional Education Board-Level 1 designation. Fifty-six SRNAs were surveyed using a modified …


Utilization Of A Focus Group To Evaluate The Perceived Stress Levels And Coping Mechanisms Of Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Cillora Hicks Dec 2015

Utilization Of A Focus Group To Evaluate The Perceived Stress Levels And Coping Mechanisms Of Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Cillora Hicks

Doctoral Projects

Each year, thousands of Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs) matriculate into a nurse anesthesia educational program, confronted with unforeseen challenges and stressors. Although a certain amount of stress is essential to stimulate learning, excessive stress can have dire consequences in delaying a students’ academic and clinical progression. The purpose of this Capstone Project was to explore and describe the perceptions of 12 SRNAs relevant to their stress levels and coping behaviors in the management of academic and personal stress. The clinical research questions guiding the study examined the stress levels and coping behaviors of the SRNAs as measured by the …


Social Motivation Is Associated With Elevated Salivary Cortisol In Boys With An Asd, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Linda Agnew, Nicholas Andronicos Nov 2015

Social Motivation Is Associated With Elevated Salivary Cortisol In Boys With An Asd, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Linda Agnew, Nicholas Andronicos

Vicki Bitsika

Because social communication difficulties and stress are common in children with an ASD, and because it has been hypothesised that the two are related, the association between these two variables was investigated in a sample of 90 boys with an ASD and who were aged between 6 years and 12 years of age. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) was completed by the parents of these boys about their sons, plus salivary cortisol samples were collected from the boys. Results indicated that only one aspect of the boys' SRS was significantly correlated with cortisol—Social Motivation (SM). Factor analyses revealed two discrete …


An Animal Model Of Flashbulb Memory: Insights Into The Time-Dependent Mechanisms Of Memory Enhancement, Laura Ashley Bullard Nov 2015

An Animal Model Of Flashbulb Memory: Insights Into The Time-Dependent Mechanisms Of Memory Enhancement, Laura Ashley Bullard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The vivid memory of an emotional event, as well as memory for incidental details associated with the arousing event, has been referred to collectively as a “flashbulb memory”. An important aspect of flashbulb memory in people is that an emotional event enhances memory of contextual details, such as the weather, or clothes one was wearing at the time of the event. Therefore, an emotional event not only produces a detailed memory of the event, itself, but also enhances memory for contextual details that would otherwise not be remembered. The first goal of this work is to describe the development of …


Which Aspects Of Sensory Features Are Associated With Elevated Cortisol Concentrations In Boys With An Autism Spectrum Disorder?, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Nicholas Andronicos, Linda Agnew, Richard Mills Oct 2015

Which Aspects Of Sensory Features Are Associated With Elevated Cortisol Concentrations In Boys With An Autism Spectrum Disorder?, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Nicholas Andronicos, Linda Agnew, Richard Mills

Vicki Bitsika

Difficulties in Sensory Features (SF) have been included in the most recent diagnostic processes for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and are more common in children with an ASD than their non-ASD peers. In addition, these difficulties with SF have been suggested as causing elevated stress and concentrations of salivary cortisol in young people with an ASD. However, previous studies have not examined the specific aspects of SF that are associated with elevated cortisol and that was the focus of this study with 135 boys with an ASD aged 6–18 years. The boys’ mothers assessed their sons’ SF with the Sensory …


A Neurobiological Pathway That Mediates Stress-Induced Drug Use, Oliver Vranjkovic Oct 2015

A Neurobiological Pathway That Mediates Stress-Induced Drug Use, Oliver Vranjkovic

Dissertations (1934 -)

Cocaine addiction represents a tremendous health and financial burden on our society and the high rate of relapse to cocaine use in abstinent addicts represents a major barrier to effective therapy. Thus, understanding the factors that contribute to relapse and the underlying neurobiological processes is important for guiding the development of treatment for addiction. Stressful life events often trigger drug use in recovering addicts. The contribution of stress to drug use is problematic due to the unpredictable and often uncontrollable nature of stress. A growing literature indicates that norepinephrine and corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in the brain play key roles …


Effects Of Early-Adolescent, Mid-Adolescent, Or Adult Stress On Morphine Conditioned Place Preference, Chloe Shields Jun 2015

Effects Of Early-Adolescent, Mid-Adolescent, Or Adult Stress On Morphine Conditioned Place Preference, Chloe Shields

Senior Theses

In light of previous work demonstrating that stress can increase subjective drug reward in adult rats, the present study investigated the influence of stress on morphine conditioned place preference (CPP) in early-adolescent, mid-adolescent, and adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Subjects in each age group were assigned to either a no stress condition or a stress condition in which they were exposed to an unpredictable eight-day schedule of elevated platform and synthetic fox odor stressors. Place conditioning then evaluated subjective morphine reward in all animals. Using a biased procedure, subjects were assigned to receive morphine on the initially non-preferred side of the …


The Effect Of Education On Compassion Fatigue As Experienced By Staff Nurses, Kathryn L. Zehr Apr 2015

The Effect Of Education On Compassion Fatigue As Experienced By Staff Nurses, Kathryn L. Zehr

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Historically, nursing has been perceived as a highly rewarding profession. Yet, due to the increasing complexity of today’s healthcare, nurses are faced with greater challenges in their work environments. Registered nurses who work in tertiary care settings are exposed to disturbing patient situations including trauma, death, abuse, or chronic disease. Joinson (1992) described this experience as compassion fatigue and symptoms include headaches, short attention span, or fatigue. A review of literature has identified that nurses should be educated about risk factors and coping strategies to combat compassion fatigue. Guided by the Model for Evidence-Based Practice Change and Jean Watson’s Theory …


The Impact Of Baby Sign Training On Stress Levels Of Daycare Providers, Grisel Julieta Rodriguez Jan 2015

The Impact Of Baby Sign Training On Stress Levels Of Daycare Providers, Grisel Julieta Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Proponents of baby sign claim improvements in child-caregiver interactions and reductions in parental stress as benefits of implementing baby sign. Due to research contradicting the claims, and to the rise in daycare attendance, the current study investigated the effects of a baby sign workshop on the stress perception of daycare providers. A pre-test post-test between groups design with 20 participants was conducted using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS10) and a workshop-specific descriptive survey as measures. The difference between the post-test stress levels of experimental and control groups approached significance, as did the differences between pre-test and post-test results for the …


The Correlation Among Personality Characteristics, Stress, And Coping Of Caregivers Of Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Natasha O'Connor Jan 2015

The Correlation Among Personality Characteristics, Stress, And Coping Of Caregivers Of Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Natasha O'Connor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little research on the coping strategies of direct support professional caregivers working with the intellectually disabled (ID) and developmentally disabled (DD). The study was guided by Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theory of the transactional model of stress and coping. The purpose of this study was to assess whether there is a correlation among the independent variables of coping and personality characteristics with stress as the dependent variable. A convenience sample of 69 professional caregivers was used. Data were collected using the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, NEO-FFI-3, and a demographic questionnaire. A correlational analysis was conducted …


The Effects Of Stress And Burden On Caregivers Of Individuals With A Chronic Illness, Betty Wilborn-Lee Jan 2015

The Effects Of Stress And Burden On Caregivers Of Individuals With A Chronic Illness, Betty Wilborn-Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Informal caregivers have played a significant social and economic role in the care and treatment of individuals diagnosed with chronic illness. However, caregiving can have harmful effects on a caregiver's physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. Using caregiver stress theory as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this archival research was to determine the predictive relationship of stress in relation to caregiver quality of life for 309 selected cases. Correlational and hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The independent variables examined were environment and context, stressors related to …


Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3Β: An Investigation Of The Novel Serine 389 Phosphorylation Site, Brendan Deegan Hare Jan 2015

Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3Β: An Investigation Of The Novel Serine 389 Phosphorylation Site, Brendan Deegan Hare

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Stress associated psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder affect a large proportion of the population. Reductions in the complexity of neuronal morphology and reduced neurogenesis are commonly observed outcomes following stress exposure in rodent models and may represent a mechanism for the reduced brain volume in stress sensitive regions such as the hippocampus observed in individuals diagnosed with stress associated disorders. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-B may play a role in the neurodegenerative phenotype observed following stress exposure. GSK3B is atypical in that it is inhibited by phosphorylation. This inhibitory phosphorylation …


Burnout-Depression Overlap: A Review, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent Jan 2015

Burnout-Depression Overlap: A Review, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Whether burnout is a form of depression or a distinct phenomenon is an object of controversy. The aim of the present article was to provide an up-to-date review of the literature dedicated to the question of burnoutdepression overlap. A systematic literature search was carried out in PubMed, PsycINFO, and IngentaConnect. A total of 92 studies were identified as informing the issue of burnoutdepression overlap. The current state of the art suggests that the distinction between burnout and depression is conceptually fragile. It is notably unclear how the state of burnout (i.e., the end stage …