Psychology Commons^™

Impaired Discourse Content In Aphasia Is Associated With Frontal White Matter Damage, Junhua Ding, Erica L. Middleton, Daniel Mirman

Moss-Magee Rehabilitation Papers

Aphasia is a common consequence of stroke with severe impacts on employability, social interactions and quality of life. Producing discourse-relevant information in a real-world setting is the most important aspect of recovery because it is critical to successful communication. This study sought to identify the lesion correlates of impaired production of relevant information in spoken discourse in a large, unselected sample of participants with post-stroke aphasia. Spoken discourse (n = 80) and structural brain scans (n = 66) from participants with aphasia following left hemisphere stroke were analysed. Each participant provided 10 samples of spoken discourse elicited in three different …

Charting And Checking For Suicidality In A Family Medicine Residency Clinic, Bridget Murphy, Stacy Ogbeide

Journal of Human Services Scholarship and Interprofessional Collaboration

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and many individuals who die by suicide are likely to have seen a primary care physician (PCP) within the month of their death. Thus, the goal of this quality improvement (QI) project was to examine suicidality documentation practices of interprofessional clinicians within a Family Medicine residency clinic, thus providing rationale for continued research and a template for other clinics to emulate. The QI project used the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle to survey 28 Family Medicine residents, faculty, and trainees for the Plan stage of the cycle in 2022 and assessed their …

"You Get What You Need When You Need It": A Mixed Methods Examination Of The Feasibility And Acceptability Of A Tailored Digital Tool To Promote Physical Activity Among Women In Midlife., Danielle Arigo, Jonathan Mathias Lassiter, Kiri Baga, Daija A Jackson, Andrea Lobo, Timothy C Guetterman

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

During midlife (ages 40-60), women experience myriad changes that elevate their risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), including decreased physical activity (PA). Women cite lack of social support for PA and lack of active peers who can serve as role models as key barriers. Digital tools such as web applications can provide exposure to these social inputs; they are also accessible in daily life and require modest time investment. However, as few tools have been designed to meet the unique needs of women in midlife with CVD risk, our research team previously built a web application that is tailored for this …

The Case For Patient-Reported Pleasure, Preston Long, Tanja Stamm

Patient Experience Journal

Pleasure is a cornerstone of human behavior. Its lack of consideration in the medical sciences has been to the detriment of all patients. The process of including pleasure as a medical outcome has multiple beginnings. A health-related pleasure scale must be developed for clinical purposes and original research must be conducted to establish the added value of measuring pleasure. Treatment comparisons, prediction models for recovery, side-effect investigations, and more may benefit from the collection of patient-reported pleasure. Furthermore, simply inquiring about a patient’s pleasure may serve as a positive intervention by giving them permission to discuss more than the illness …

Examining The Evidence Base For Burnout, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Burnout has elicited growing interest among occupational health specialists in recent decades. Since 2019, the World Health Organization has characterized burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic, unmanageable workplace stress. Accordingly, three symptoms define the entity: (i) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; (ii) increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism towards one’s job; and (iii) a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. We call into question the definition of burnout embodied in the Maslach Burnout Inventory and incorporated into the ICD-11. We draw stakeholders’ attention to the fact that burnout’s symptoms and etiology …

Trauma-Informed Youth Sport: Identifying Program Characteristics And Challenges To Advance Practice, Kayla Hussey, Lindsey C. Blom, Zenzi Huysmans, Dana Voelker, Matt Moore, Thalia M. Mulvihill

Journal of Youth Development

This purpose of this qualitative study was to explore shared characteristics and local challenges of trauma-informed youth sport program design and implementation through the voices of ten program facilitators (e.g., director, trainer; 8 women, 2 men; average age of 36.2 years, SD = 6.03) across four U.S. regions. Within a postpositivist approach and through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews (average length of 53 minutes), shared characteristics identified by facilitators included promoting a safe and supportive environment, cultivating healthy relationships among adults and peers, and intentional psychological and social skill-building (e.g., attentional cues). Facilitators also explained the importance of understanding the …

The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History And Perceptions Regarding Their Child’S Healthcare And Utilization Of Healthcare Services, Krishna Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

TITLE: The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History and Perceptions Regarding Their Child’s Healthcare and Utilization of Healthcare Services

Adverse child events (ACEs) have been associated with a number of physical and mental health problems and have also been linked to increased health care utilization. While parents who have an ACE history may tend to seek healthcare services for themselves, limited studies have examined the impact of their trauma history on seeking healthcare services for their child. Healthcare utilization may also depend on the parents’ level of health anxiety, as well as their anxiety about their child’s health status. This …

Sun Protection Behaviors And Skin Cancer Risk Among Children Of Color, Williana Magloire

Theses and Dissertations

Sun protection is beneficial for children of color as it decreases the risk for sunburns, hyperpigmentation, and most importantly, skin cancer. Invasive melanoma is commonly seen in children of color due to inadequate sun protection. Parental and caregiver modeling of sun protection behaviors may decrease the likelihood of skin cancer among children of color. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP, 2011) has suggested that pediatricians adopt the role of informing parents about the benefits of using sun protection products for their young children. They recommended that providers discuss sun protection behaviors with both the parent/child beginning at the age of …

Examining The Evidence Base For Burnout, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Burnout has elicited growing interest among occupational health specialists in recent decades. Since 2019, the World Health Organization has characterized burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic, unmanageable workplace stress. According to the ICD-11, three symptoms define the entity: feelings of exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, and a sense of ineffectiveness at work, all of which correspond to the structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The ICD-11 includes burnout among the factors that influence health status. This paper calls into question that conceptualization based on a number of lines of evidence. The evidence includes the following: burnout was …

Motivational Interviewing May Resolve Vaccine Hesitancy, Scott L. Baughan

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A clinical decision report using:

Gagneur A, Lemaître T, Gosselin V, et al. A postpartum vaccination promotion intervention using motivational interviewing techniques improves short-term vaccine coverage: PromoVac study. BMC public health. 2018;18(1):811. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5724-y

for a juvenile patient with a caregiver who is skeptical about the safety of routine vaccinations.

A Preliminary Timeline Of The Midbrain Development In The Monodelphis Domestica Animal Model, Ismael Perez, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Colloquium

Introduction: The Brazilian short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis Domestica) is an understudied animal model compared to the Mus musculus that has been identified as a perfect candidate to study neurodevelopment (Baggott, L. & Moore, H., 1990). What makes the Monodelphis Domestica a perfect specimen for neurodevelopment is that the embryo develops outside the pouch of the mother providing easy noninvasive access to track changes across different developmental stages (Mate et al., 1994).

Objective: The objective of the study is to compare the area and volume in the development of the Monodelphis’s midbrain across three different developmental stages. Our research is beneficial because …

Psychotropics Prescription In Primary Care, Ruthzaine Lopez Bolano

Research Colloquium

Background: The study aimed to measure the prevalence of psychotropic prescriptions in primary care at four UTRGV clinical sites. Based on the results, this paper serves to inform and educate primary care providers of their current practices and treatment options when diagnosing mental health disorders and prescribing psychotropics.

Methods: This study used EMR data from January to March 2021 in four primary care clinics affiliated with the UT Health RGV system. Primary care patients from January to March 2021 and who were diagnosed with mood disorders (including Depression, Anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder) were included in this quality improvement study.

Results: …

Sex Differences In Stress Reactivity, Brain Morphology, And Oxytocin In The Hypothalamus Of The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum (Monodelphis Domestica), Esperanza I. Zacarias, Daniela Rodriguez, Alexandra Chalons, Sasawan Heingraj, Nicole Altamirano, Joseph Rafac, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Colloquium

Understanding the effects of stress on behavior and cognition is important due to its impact on mental health and wellbeing (Schneiderman et al. 2005). Translational animal research can contribute to the development of new treatments that can improve therapeutic outcomes and our understanding of the neurobiology of stress. In the present study, we complement behavioral stress reactivity with immunohistochemical localization of oxytocin in the hypothalamus, a neuropeptide that regulates stress (Neumann & Slattery, 2016). Oxytocin has potential therapeutic use for mental health disorders (Neumann & Slattery, 2016), and the effects of oxytocin seem to be sexually dimorphic (Love, 2018). Using …

Making Decisions "In The Dark": Learning Through Uncertainty In Clinical Practice During Covid-19, Urvashi Vaid, Henriette Lundgren, Karen E. Watkins, Deborah Ziring, Grace A. Alcid, Victoria J. Marsick, Dimitrios Papanagnou

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore how decision making and informal and incidental learning (IIL) emerged in the clinical learning environment (CLE) during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors' specific interest was to better understand the IIL that took place among frontline physicians who had to navigate a CLE replete with uncertainty and complexity with the future goal of creating experiences for medical students that would simulate IIL and use uncertainty as a catalyst for learning.

METHOD: Using a modified constructivist, grounded theory approach, we describe physicians' IIL while working during times of heightened uncertainty. …

Outbreak Communication: Exploring The Relationships Between Health Information Seeking Behaviors, Vested Interests, And Covid-19 Knowledge In U.S. Midwest Populations, Alicia Mason, Josh Compton, Elizabeth Spencer, Kaitlin Barnett

Faculty Submissions

On February 15, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director, General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated at a Munich Security Conference, “We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic,” (Zarocostas, 2020, p. 676). The term ‘infodemic’ refers to the onslaught of both accurate and inaccurate health information surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of an ‘infodemic’ was quickly integrated into mass media, popular culture (i.e., documentaries, podcasts), and eventually scholarly literature. In response to COVID-19, health communication scholars have centered on understanding specific messaging strategies such as the use of fear appeals (Stolow et al., 2020), nature of advertising …

Building Resilience To Treat Trauma And Improve Social Participation With Youth In Foster Care, Rachel Greene, Keisa Boykin, Dana Madalon

Fall 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Childhood trauma is classified by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that caused the trauma. An ACE is a traumatic event that an individual has observed from birth to 18 years old (Atchison & Suarez, 2021). ACEs include but are not limited to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, and neglect. ACEs also include household dysfunctions such as domestic violence, divorce, incarceration of family, substance abuse, food scarcity, poverty, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Building resilience promotes healthy coping skills, the ability to trust and engage with support systems, and the prevention of retraumatization (Bethell et al., 2017). Trauma and resiliency are invertedly related, …

Do Group Medical Visits With A Focus On Mind And Body Help Patients With Chronic Pain And Symptoms Of Depression?, Research Dissemination Committee, Maine, Usa

REACH: Research Evidence-to-Action for Community Health

Health centers can use the results when considering how to help patients with chronic pain and depression reduce their use of pain medicines.

Centros De Inclusión Social Bajo Gestión Asociada Y La Salud Mental De Las Personas En Situación De Calle, Kien Phan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación se enfoca en analizar las acciones del gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (CABA) para abordar la salud mental de las personas en situación de calle en 2023. Se examina el estado actual de esta población, identificando factores clave y evaluando las medidas gubernamentales. El marco teórico aborda determinantes sociales y derechos humanos, subrayando la importancia de cambios legislativos para abordar la falta de vivienda. La metodología combina análisis de datos gubernamentales, estudios previos y entrevistas con profesionales de Centros de Inclusión Social. Las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, como Cáritas y la Asociación Civil Isauro …

Nightmares And Self-Injury Among High-Risk Adolescents: Examining The Role Of Emotion Regulation, Kinjal K. Patel

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) are a public health concern among youth. SITB rates rise drastically during adolescence -- a critical and sensitive developmental period characterized by dramatic changes in biological and social systems. Prior research has identified distal risk factors which tell us who is at risk for SITBs. Emerging research suggests proximal risk factors may be useful to identify when an individual may be at risk for SITBs. One promising proximal risk factor for SITBs is sleep problems. Although the relation between sleep problems and SITBs has been widely documented, little is known about the short-term, proximal links …

The Prevalence Of Burnout In Saudi Arabia Dental Hygienists, Nouf Hamad Aldayel

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the prevalence of burnout in Saudi Arabian dental hygienists and identify risk factors associated with burnout. Methods: A descriptive survey design using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) assessed burnout among a convenience sample of n=123 Saudi dental hygienists. The survey was disseminated electronically to 1,000 Saudi Arabian dental hygienists. The CBI measures three subscales: personal, work-related, and client/patient-related burnout on a five-point Likert-type scale. The survey also included six demographic questions, two Likert-type, one “yes/no,” and one openended question, related to burnout. Descriptive statistics, one-way between subject’s ANOVA, independent samples …

The Impact Of Mandatory Substance Abuse Counselor Reporting Requirements On Child Maltreatment Reporting Outcomes, Bilgé Özgé Yilmaz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study sought to examine how state-level mandatory reporting policies are associated with child maltreatment reporting through analysis of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN, 2021). This study aimed: 1) to examine how the implementation of substance abuse counselor reporting requirements is associated with the reporting process, including the disposition of reports and the presence of substance abuse; and 2) to examine differences in the above outcomes based on associations between non-specific reporting requirements and specific requirements that mention substance use counselors. A quasi-experimental approach with repeated cross-sectional data was utilized, as it is a …

Incremental Validity Of The Mmpi-A-Rf And Maci In A Clinical Outpatient Setting, Madison Smart-Mccarthy

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

With the persistent rise of depression and suicide in adolescents, it is imperative that clinicians select empirically supported measures that accurately assess these conditions (Van Orman, 2022; Sellbom & Suhr, 2020). One empirical method used to evaluate measures is incremental validity. Incremental validity examines the level of improvement in predicting a phenomenon when adding a test or procedure to a combination of other instruments (APA, 2020). Experts regard the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—Adolescent Version—Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF; Archer et al., 2016) and the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI; Millon et al., 1993) as psychometrically sound measures often used in clinical practice. …

Mind, Body And Race: A Look Into How Implicit Biases Influence The Perception Of Emotion, Faiza Ahmad, Adam Anderson, James Dalton Rounds, Christina Chick, Alize Hill

Research Symposium

Background: Most research examining the effects of implicit race-based biases in emotion perception has focused on the perception of Black faces as being angry. Limited work has been done examining the perception of “approach” emotions such as fear. Furthermore, most studies have predominantly used White subjects. Our study examined the role of implicit racial biases in shaping the perception of both anger and fear in White, Black and Asian participants.

Methods: 78 participants completed a Go/NoGo task in which they were asked to categorize different race faces as portraying either anger or fear. Participants would be asked to press the …

From Bench To Bedside: Bridging The Gap Between Animal Behavior Research And The Study Of Human Personality And Psychopathology, William Reckley, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

Background: Most psychopathology focuses on the current mental picture of an individual with some including relations to the past experience. One problem with the biomedical studies of psychopathologies is the difficulty in using animals to describe and model these mental states in humans. This difficult task has been confounded by the inability to classify animals in a way that will provide general models that will allow better translation to hypotheses in humans. Therefore, the present investigation explores statistical/research strategies to organize variables using lab animals to facilitate the translation of this information to humans.

Methods: Factor analysis/PCA was used to …

A Neurodevelopmental Perspective To Improve Innovation In Preventive Treatment Of Substance Use Disorders, Ismael Perez, John Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

Background: Midbrain dopaminergic neurons have been associated with substance use disorders (Blaess & Ang, 2015). Understanding their neurodevelopment during early stages of life is fundamental for innovating preventive care treatments. The animal model Monodelphis domestica has been proposed as an excellent candidate to study neurodevelopmental changes due to the ease of access to see changes in their embryonic development (Mate et al., 1994). The purpose of our study is to inform how brain cells, including and especially dopaminergic neurons, mature by quantifying their number during early development. Additionally, the study aims to compare different midbrain areas and track neurodevelopmental changes …

Residential Treatment Of Substance Use Disorder And Related Comorbidities In Older Adults, Dale J. Dyben

Research Symposium

Purpose: Substance Use Disorders (SUD) are a leading contributor to health problems and premature mortality in the United States. Stigma and misconceptions about persons with SUD contribute to negative outcomes. The misconception that older adults do not suffer from severe SUD has contributed to a paucity of treatment options that meet the unique needs this population.

Description: The Center for Older Adult Recovery (COAR) at Hanley Center in West Palm Beach, Florida provides a model for residential treatment of older 65 and older with severe SUD and related medical and mental health comorbidities. Older adults who meet DSM-V diagnostic …

The Impact Of Social Isolation On The Neural Pathways Of Dopamine Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area (Vta) And The Nucelus Accumbens (Nac): Implications For The Treatment Of Depression, Anxiety, And Drug Addiction., Cristian M. Botello, Sasawan Heingraj, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

As the literature on the Monodelphis domestica continues to grow, it is important to contribute to the knowledge base regarding neural pathways and their role in social behavior in this species. Previous studies have provided evidence that increased activity in ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons were associated with more social activity in mice. It is also known that in traditional rodent models, the Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) is implicated in interaction reward processes like motivation; however, more research is needed to elucidate the role of the NAcc in social behavior of the M. domestica. The present study was designed …

Mixed Method Approach Towards The Life Of University Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Raihan Khan, Andrew White, Tony Jehi

Department of Health Sciences - Faculty Scholarship

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the higher education system. This mixed-methods study aimed to assess COVID-19 fear, anxiety, and stress among Shenandoah Valley college students.

Methods

An online survey was fielded and completed by n=680 students. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 students.

Results

The mean participant age was 22.14±5.48 years, and primarily White (81.9%), women (80.4%), and undergraduate (78.0%) students. Approximately 41% were enrolled in health-related majors (41.4%). Women students had significantly higher anxiety, depression, and fear of contracting COVID-19 than men. Undergraduate students had significantly higher depression than graduate students. Qualitative analysis revealed several major themes: …

One Size Doesn’T Fit All: Attitudes Towards Work Modify The Relation Between Parental Leave Length And Postpartum Depression, Christine Y. Chang, Sabrina R. Liu, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental leave length and maternal depressive symptoms at six- and twelve-months postpartum and whether this relation was influenced by women’s attitudes towards leave, whether leave was paid or unpaid, and the reason they returned to work. The sample included 115 working women recruited during pregnancy as part of a larger longitudinal study. Analyses revealed that maternal attitudes toward leave influenced the association between leave length and depressive symptoms. Specifically, longer leaves were associated with increased depressive symptoms for women who missed their previous activities at work. Furthermore, women who missed work …

Self Determination Theory And Health Behavior Interventions, Anna T. Simpson

The Cardinal Edge

Physical and mental health contribute to a person’s overall sense of well-being. People generally want to live happy and healthy lives, so they make decisions that will increase their well-being. Many factors contribute to our health, but health behavior is something we can modify. Health behavior interventions aim to promote healthy choices and a sense of well-being in patients. Interventions have a theoretical basis that influences the design of the intervention. Public health interventions have used self-determination theory (SDT) and its components to guide interventions that promote health behavior change in various populations. This paper will seek to understand the …