Psychology Commons^™

Examination Of Performance Validity And The Relationship To Cognition And Symptoms In Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Erick A. Rogers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Approximately one-in-five individuals with psychotic disorders (i.e., schizophrenia spectrum disorders [SSD]) fail performance validity indicators (PVIs) during neurocognitive testing. Ensuring the validity of neurocognitive test results is necessary if the test scores are to be of use for diagnostic consideration, intervention selection and planning, predicting outcomes, and following changes in cognition over time in response to intervention, spontaneous recovery, or disease progression. PVIs are designed to require only a minimum level of engagement with the evaluation, which means nearly everyone is expected to “pass,” even those with moderate to severe brain damage. Traditional interpretations of PVI failure suggest a noncredible …

An Examination Of The Association Of Religiosity, Purity Culture, And Religious Trauma With Symptoms Of Depression And Anxiety, Kaelyn R. Griffin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While no consistent definition yet exists for religious trauma, religious abuse is typically defined as a misuse of authority by a spiritual leader to coerce, control, or exploit those under their leadership, which may in turn lead to the experience of religious trauma. Numerous studies suggest that experiencing abuse within a religious environment is a both global phenomenon and common experience. The impact of religious abuse has recently gained greater media attention, specifically related to the social and psychological impact of leaving high-cost religious groups (i.e., those with rigid rules or groups from which departure leads to isolation and rejection …

Functional Capacity Profiles In Bipolar Disorder And Schizophrenia, Ashley Sara Emami

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Serious mental illnesses (SMIs) often have an onset early in life and go on to produce disability and functional impairment, which require ongoing supportive services and loss of productivity. Bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ) are two of the most common SMIs. BD and SZ differ in their pattern of neurocognitive performance, which suggests differences in the severity of functional impairment between the illness groups. Within these psychiatric illness groups, subgroups may also be identified using cluster analysis. Evidence points to heterogeneity in functional outcomes in BD and SZ, yet very little research has assessed for subgroups based on functional …

Memory And Stereotypes For Lesbian/Gay Characters, Amber Rose Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Stereotype-consistency bias refers to the idea that people tend to remember stereotypical information about others better than non-stereotypical information (Fyock & Stangor, 1994). Limited research has examined how people may use stereotype-consistency bias when recalling information about LGBT characters in narratives (Bellezza & Bower, 1981; Clark & Woll, 1981; McGann & Goodwin, 2007; Snyder & Uranowitz, 1978). This line of research suggests that, instead of genuinely remembering stereotypical information better, participants tended to guess stereotypical answers to questions they do not know. In contrast to those studies, the experiment I conducted for this thesis suggests that heterosexual young adults tend …

Examination Of Factors Reported By Athletes To Interfere With Their Lives Outside Of Sports, Jesse Scott

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The original Sport Interference Checklist (SIC) is a mental-health screening instrument designed to assess the extent to which mental health factors interfere with athletes’ performance during sport training or competition. In addition, the SIC appraises whether athletes are interested in pursuing psychological treatment for the aforementioned factors. Although validated, the SIC does not assess how the aforementioned factors affect athletes’ performance outside of sports. Doing so would permit professionals to examine the influence of these factors across sport training, sport competition, and life outside of sports.

The purpose of this study was to determine the psychometric properties and clinical utility …

Depressive Symptoms As A Moderator Of Diurnal Trends In Reward Seeking, Erick Albert William Rogers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Anhedonia, a cardinal symptom of a major depressive episode, is the decreased motivation to seek rewards. Individuals with depressive symptoms tend to report reduced positive affect, a distal measure of reward motivation, and engage in less reward-motivated behavior (i.e., reward seeking). However, diurnal rhythms may also influence reward-seeking. Both self-reported positive affect and behavioral measures of reward-seeking increase from the morning to the afternoon and then decreased in the evening. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether reward-seeking varied across time of day and whether anhedonia moderated variation. Overall, reward-seeking did not vary across time of day. …

Visual Attention And Emotion Regulation In Schizophrenia, Bern Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Emotion regulation and emotion processing deficits cut across the varying symptom presentations of schizophrenia. Emotion processing deficits are inadequately treated by pharmacologic interventions and are related to real-world functional impact and disability. This study investigated behavioral and psychophysiological responses to a series of emotion regulation tasks while concurrently collecting eye tracking data as an index of visual attention. A brief neurocognitive assessment was also completed in order to examine potential cognitive determinants of emotion. Participants completed tasks designed to assess cognitive change and directed attention strategies for down-regulation of unpleasant and pleasant emotion. For each of our two unpleasant emotion …

Animal Assisted Therapy And Support Animals, What Mental Health Professionals Know And Understand, Alexandro H. Velez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Animal-assisted therapy can greatly benefit mental health professionals with clients in and out of the school settings in many ways. It is believed mental health professionals are successfully implementing Animal Assisted Therapy, even though some are not. Mental health professionals who are not using Animal Assisted Therapy are not doing so as the result of various variables, such as lack of information, knowledge, training, certification and policies, which prevents them from using Animals Assisted Therapy with clients and the community. It is also believed some mental health professionals are using animals as part of therapeutic interventions without proper training. The …

Examination Of A Screening Tool For Athletes’ Mental Health And Its Direct Implications To Sport Training And Competition, Jesse Scott

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Sport Interference Checklist (SIC) is a psychometrically validated instrument designed to assess how often cognitive and behavioral factors interfere with athletes performance during training and/or competition as well as the extent to which athletes are interested in pursuing sport psychology to address these problems. The success of this scale inspired an interest in developing new items that assess the influence of specific mental health concerns on sport performance using the SIC format. The Sport Interference Checklist’s Sport Specific Screen for Mental Health (SIC-SSSMH) was empirically developed using 259 athletes to assist in the identification of mental health problems explicitly …

Parents' Perceptions Of Smartphone Use And Parenting Practices, David Jackson Johnson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study is a qualitative examination aiming to gain insight into parents’ perceptions of their smartphone use and the effects it may be having on their children as well as parenting practices. Participants (N=12) were smartphone using parents that consisted mostly of young college-educated females. Thematic analysis of individual interviews resulted in five primary themes: (1) Disengagement, (2) Concern for Future, (3) Change in Social Norms, (4) Boundaries, and (5) Cognitive Dissonance. These findings indicate significant effects parental smartphone use is having in the lives of study participants. These thematic findings call for additional research examining the impact parental …

Attitudes, Attachment Styles, And Gender: Implications On Perceptions Of Infidelity, Christian M. Stewart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the impact infidelity has on individuals, couples, families, and societies has increasingly become a topic of interest over the last few decades. In recent years, scholars have sought to increase understanding of infidelity through investigating the relationship between infidelity and attachment theory. This research study examines the impact attitudes about infidelity, attachment styles, and gender have on the way in which individuals perceive infidelity. Data was gathered from 310 participants recruited from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and social media. Participants were 18 years of age and older and were, at the time of the study, either in …

Sex Worker And Proud: A Phenomenological Study Of Consensual Sex Workers' Lives, Michael Gerald Curtis Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ten consensual sex workers who were currently working in Nevada were qualitatively interviewed in an effort to explore their perceptions of the adult industry. Interviews specifically focused on their experience disclosing their profession to others and the potential effects that it has on their personal relationships, and access to effective treatment. The Moustakas method of phenomenological inquiry was used to analyze data from ten participants who self-identified as direct sex workers. Seven essential themes emerged from this analysis: (1) the adult industry provides professional and personal agency, (2) the industry is often transient, (3) disclosure is an impactful and ongoing …

The Development Of Sexual Attitudes In The Family Of Origin And Sexual Satisfaction Later In Life, Bryant Christlieb

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to determine if variance for individuals’ sexual satisfaction as well as attitudes toward sexual instrumentality, sexual permissiveness, sexual communion and attitudes could be predicted by family sexual communication during adolescence as well as various demographic factors such as age, years together, gender, race, income level, religion, religiosity and sexual orientation. This was done by recruiting 250 people via Mechanical Turk (www.mturk.com) and through undergraduate courses at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The researcher used an enter-method multiple regression model and Kendall’s Tau for non-parametric data. The results of this study show that sexual satisfaction …

Functional Capacity In Schizophrenia: Relationship Among Effort, Reinforcement Learning And Self-Beliefs, Sally J. Vogel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Individuals with schizophrenia exhibit a wide range of complex neurocognitive, psychiatric and behavioral impairments. Recent research suggests that this complex array of symptoms can be at least partially accounted for by dysfunction in more basic mechanisms, such as the ability to learn from positive and negative reinforcement, or the ability to exert adequate effort when completing simple tasks. Evidence also suggests that deficits in these basic mechanisms may contribute to more complex symptoms, such as functional impairment. Also, the relationship between neurocognitive deficits and functional impairment has been found to be mediated by defeatist performance beliefs. However, studies have not …

Examining The Role Of Supportive Others In Substance Abuse Treatment And Child Welfare, Jessica Marie Urgelles

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Child neglect is a prevalent problem and often co-occurs with parental substance abuse. Mothers are most often the perpetrators of child neglect. The currently available treatment programs appear to be failing to meet the needs of these mothers. Most mothers are not completing treatment, putting them at risk of losing custody of their children. The literature suggests that women may have different risk factors associated with their substance use, as compared to men. Social networks appear to play a particularly important role in the maintenance of women’s substance abuse problems. The role of social networks may be distinct for different …

An Efficient Standardized Method Of Maintaining Quality Assurance In Therapeutic Treatment Record Keeping, Kelsey Michael Bradshaw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Quality assurance (QA) within the field of mental health is the practice of monitoring and reviewing services to ensure adherence to specified standards of care. Agents within State governments and various organizations influence record keeping procedures through ethical guidelines and law. For instance, client records must be maintained for all clients receiving mental health services, including informed consent, releases of information, treatment plans, and progress notes. Accurate and timely record keeping procedures assure quality mental health services. However, professionals sometimes err in the maintenance of client records, which can have a negative impact on services, clients, and practitioners. To assist …

Impaired Theory Of Mind In Psychotic And Affective Disorders, Erik Nelson Ringdahl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Psychotic symptoms in bipolar I disorder during mood episodes has been associated with several negative outcomes raising the question as to whether psychosis is a risk factor for a more severe form of this chronic and debilitating condition. However, relatively little research has been directed at understanding the relationships among social cognitive functioning in bipolar I disorder with and without a history of psychosis. Impaired social cognition has been identified as a putative endophenotypic markers in schizophrenia and the evidence is mounting as to whether similar impairments also exist in bipolar I disorder. Given the plethora of research supporting the …

What Works In Suicide Bereavement: What Helps And What Hurts?, Quintin Hunt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Suicide is one of the most painful grief experiences that any family may experience. The suicide bereavement literature, though small, is replete with research that shows family and systemic impacts of suicide. The literature also includes constant calls for family- and systemic-based intervention as every part of society is impacted. Research in the field of marriage and family therapy, however, has ignored suicide and suicide bereavement almost entirely. The purpose of this qualitative study is to develop a more thorough understand of the grief that survivors of suicide experience and to systemically understand what helps and hurts the grieving process. …

Examining The Inner Experience Of Three Individuals With Major Depressive Disorder And Three Individuals With Bipolar Disorder, Janell Marie Mihelic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) provide a description of expected experiences of individuals diagnosed with those disorders (e.g., sadness, expansive mood, difficulty concentrating). However, much remains unknown about the inner experience of individuals with these disorders which may prove crucial in understanding and treating these disorders. The present study examined the inner experience of three individuals with MDD and three individuals with BD using the Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) method (Hurlburt 1990, 1993, 2011). Results were not suggestive of any clear, consistent patterns of inner experience either within the MDD or BD groups …

Couples' Process Of Healing From Infidelity While In Therapy, Jordan Mark Staples

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Infidelity is one of the most common presenting problems for couples and marriage therapists. It is widely acknowledged to be a destructive phenomenon for a couple's relationship and is one of the most difficult presenting problems to treat. Treatment models for infidelity vary and have little empirical testing. The purpose of the proposed study was to investigate the client's perspective of the process for healing from infidelity. Additionally, the proposed study looked to qualitatively assess and amalgamate participants' experience of the healing process for infidelity. Themes and relationships among these themes were identified using open, axial, and selective coding processes. …

Csa Survivors: What Heals And What Hurts In A Couple Relationship, Laura S. Smedley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant trauma that affects a person's self-concept and the ability to form healthy intimate relationships later in adulthood. Approximately 20% of adults who experience childhood sexual abuse go on to evidence serious psychopathology in adulthood (Harway & Faulk, 2005). Besides individual disturbances, CSA survivors struggle with many relational difficulties. These difficulties are usually most pronounced among their intimate partners (Reid, et al., 1995). According to attachment theory, attachment injuries are best healed in the context of a healthy, intimate relationship (Kochka & Carolan, 2002) (MacIntosh & Johnson, 2008). Conversely, the couple relationship may be …

The Influence Of Ethnic Identity And Family Support On Posttraumatic Symptoms In Maltreated Youth, Harpreet Kaur

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Maltreated children are at greater risk of developing PTSD than nonmaltreated children (Ackerman et al., 1998; Epstein et al., 1997; Famularo et al., 1996; Kilpatrick et al., 2003; Widom, 1999). This study sought to assess the role of ethnicity, ethnic identity, and family support on the effects of maltreatment and trauma in adolescents. Participants (n=145) included adolescents from Child Haven, a Department of Family Services (DFS)-related site in Las Vegas, and youths in foster care assessed at the offices of Dr. Stephanie Holland. The first hypothesis was that non-Caucasian youth would have higher levels of PTSD-related symptoms than Caucasian youth. …

A Brief Content Analysis Of Attachment And Sexual Relationships In Sex Therapy And Research Journals, Kathryn Zambrano Devis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A surge of scholarly publications on attachment within couple relationships prompted this content analysis of attachment articles published in six sex therapy and sex research journals. This study investigates the extent to which these journals attend to attachment in the context of adult sexual relationships. The researcher found 2257 articles published within these journals; 64 of which attend to attachment and 9 of which attend to attachment and sex. Implications for couples therapy in the field of sex therapy and future directions are discussed.

The Development And Evaluation Of A Safety Skill Intervention For Child Victims Of Neglect, Heather H. Hill

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Child neglect is the least studied, yet most frequently indicated, type of child maltreatment. Still, there are few assessment and treatment methods specifically designed for victims of child neglect. Unintentional injuries have long remained the leading cause of death for children in the United States after the first year of life, and research suggests the majority of these child fatalities are actually the result of child neglect. Homes of neglectful families are often inundated with safety hazards but child-focused home safety skill interventions have yet to be developed. Thus, the present study focused on the development and initial evaluation of …

Playing With Fire Or Arson? Identifying Predictors Of Juvenile Firesetting Behavior, Mary Ellen Britt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Firesetting is a complex behavior that spans a wide range of developmental stages in childhood and adolescence and involves varying motivations and intents. A better understanding of this destructive behavior is critical to developing strategies to control its devastating effects. The purpose of this research project was to identify potential predictors of juvenile firesetting behavior by studying youth who were enrolled in a regional firesetting intervention program. Data collected from firesetting assessment instruments completed by parents or guardians of program participants were examined. In the analyses, special emphasis was placed on evaluating associations between juvenile firesetting behavior and the socioeconomic …

The Relationship Of Child Maltreatment Potential And Mothers’ Satisfaction With Their Neglected Children, Kelsey M. Bradshaw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Parental satisfaction refers to the extent to which parents are satisfied with their children in relation to parent-child interactions and child behavior. The relationship between parental satisfaction and child behavior problems has been demonstrated extensively in the literature. Children who exhibit increased behavior problems appear to be at increased risk of parental aggression. Maltreating parents evidence greater levels of parental dissatisfaction as compared to caregivers of children who are not maltreated. Thus, low parental satisfaction is a suspected risk-factor for child maltreatment. Previous studies have shown that parental substance abuse is also strongly related to occurrence of child maltreatment. This …

Therapist-Initiated Addiction Assessment Procedures Of Marriage And Family Therapists In The Southwest United States, Emire Olmeztoprak

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the addiction assessment procedures of marriage and family therapists. Addiction prevalence rates are growing therefore it is likely that marriage and family therapists will have clients affected by addiction. Undetected addictions can impede treatment and/or prevent the therapist from making appropriate treatment related decisions. Marriage and family therapists in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico were invited to complete a web-based survey containing a series of questions about their assessment procedures for addiction as well as a series of demographics questions. The data from the completed surveys was collected and analyzed. The data …

Experienced Clinician’S Understanding And Approach To Treatment With Male Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse, Blendine Perreire Hawkins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The number of males abused sexually as children are significant and while the awareness of the needs of this population has increased, the process in treatment has not been sufficiently examined. The purpose of this study was to explore experienced clinicians' approach and understanding within treatment with adult male survivors of child sexual abuse. A qualitative research design was utilized, using purposeful expert sampling procedures. In this study, data was collected from phone interviews with five participants who were identified as highly experienced clinicians in the area of male survivors of child sexual abuse treatment. Using qualitative methods within phenomenological …