Psychology Commons^™

The Moderating Role Of Developmental Assets On Relations Between Child Maltreatment, Trauma, And Dating Violence, Stephanie A. Hitti

Theses and Dissertations

Teenage dating violence (TDV) is prevalent and associated with an array of psychosocial and health problems. Thus, numerous studies have focused on the identification of risk and protective factors for TDV. Child maltreatment has been consistently identified as a risk factor for TDV victimization and perpetration. However, potential underlying mechanisms that may partially explain the relations between child maltreatment and TDV victimization and perpetration are not well understood. The present study explored indirect relations between child maltreatment and TDV victimization and perpetration via trauma symptoms, and examined whether internal and external developmental assets moderated relations between (a) child maltreatment and …

Effects Of Violent And Nonviolent Life Stressors Among Urban Early Adolescents: Testing Competing Models Of Comorbid Distress And Externalizing Symptoms, Erin Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The strong association between stressful life events and the wide-ranging spectrum of psychopathology has led some to advocate for the reconceptualization of traumatic stress. There has been a longstanding debate on whether these symptoms are best represented by using dimensional versus categorical approaches. Moreover, further understanding of the risk factors associated with various dimensions or patterns of comorbid emotional and behavioral problems could inform future research and intervention efforts. The current study tested competing variable- and person-centered approaches and examined how stressful life events are associated with different patterns of distress and externalizing symptoms among a predominantly African American and …

A Longitudinal Investigation Of Interpersonal Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, And Cannabis Use Phenotypes Among College Students, Terrell A. Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

College students have an increased risk for cannabis use, trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cannabis use disorder (CUD) and PTSD comorbidity is high, and given the negative consequences of the comorbidity (e.g., poor academic outcomes), there is a need to understand comorbid CUD-PTSD etiology. Two primary etiologic models exist: self-medication (i.e., PTSD à CUD) and high-risk (i.e., CUD à PTSD) hypotheses. This study 1) examined the prevalence and predictors of cannabis use and interpersonal trauma (IPT) exposure; 2) investigated the relationship between cannabis use and IPT; and 3) examined cannabis use, IPT, and PTSD through mediational self-medication and …

Using Latent Semantic Analysis To Evaluate The Coherence Of Traumatic Event Narratives, Gabriella C. Scalzo

Theses and Dissertations

While a growing evidence base suggests that expressive writing about a traumatic event may be an effective intervention which results in a variety of health benefits, there are still multiple competing theories that seek to explain expressive writing’s mechanism(s) of action. Two of the theories with stronger evidence bases are exposure theory and cognitive processing theory. The state of this field is complicated by methodological limitations; operationalizing and measuring the relative constructs of trauma narratives, such as coherence, traditionally requires time- and labor-intensive methods such as using a narrative coding scheme. This study used a computer-based methodology, latent semantic analysis …

Competing Strength-Based Models Of Trauma And Suicidality In A High-Risk Primary Care Sample, Samantha Mladen

Theses and Dissertations

There is limited research on the relationship between trauma exposure, depression, and suicidality, particularly in high-risk primary care samples. The present study aims to: 1) characterize the prevalence of suicidality, depression, and trauma exposure in this sample; 2)develop and test models of the relationships between suicidality, depression, and trauma exposure in this sample; 3) augment the selected model with key protective factors, including social support and religiosity; and 4) further elaborate the nature of religiosity as a potential protective factor using the subscales of the Attitudes toward God scale, Anger toward God and Comfort with God.

Patients (n …

The Relation Between Peer Victimization And Changes In Trauma Symptoms In Adolescents, Anh-Thuy H. Le

Theses and Dissertations

Peer victimization has been shown to negatively impact youth functioning and may be especially damaging during adolescence, given the increased importance of peers. However, there is a dearth of longitudinal research examining trauma symptomatology as an outcome of peer victimization with low-income, ethnic minority adolescents. The present study investigated this relation in a predominantly African American sample of 684 students assessed at five time points between the fall of their sixth grade and seventh grade school years. Growth mixture models grouped participants with similar victimization trajectories, and latent growth models related growth trajectories of physical and relational victimization to changes …

Heart Rate Variability As A Moderator Of Trauma Writing Outcomes, Alison Eonta

Theses and Dissertations

Writing about personal traumatic experiences is associated with beneficial effects on physical and psychological symptoms compared with writing about emotionally neutral events. However, not everyone benefits from trauma writing to the same extent. The present study hypothesized that the effectiveness of trauma writing may be moderated by emotion regulation, as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Research also shows that greater physiological reactivity is predictive of better trauma writing outcomes. Given the importance of physiological output in emotional processing, response training was developed and found to increase appropriate physiological reactivity. Because higher RSA is thought to indicate a more flexible …

Disclosure And Health: Enhancing The Benefits Of Trauma Writing Through Response Training, Andrea Konig

Theses and Dissertations

Writing about a personal traumatic event has been found to have psychological and physical health benefits. Focusing on traumatic memories in writing may be a form of exposure. In imagery exposure and trauma writing, greater physiological reactivity was predictive of better outcomes. Given the importance of physiological output in emotional processing, response training was developed and found to be effective in increasing appropriate physiological reactivity in imagery exposure. If response training amplifies physiological reactivity and the benefits of writing, the hypothesis that writing is a form of exposure would be strengthened, and training may be a valuable tool to improve …

Expressive Writing As A Therapeutic Process For Drug Dependent Women, Meshberg Cohen Sarah

Theses and Dissertations

Women with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) have high rates of trauma and PTSD, which is linked to greater physical and mental health problems and poorer SUD treatment outcomes. While research affirms trauma should be addressed during SUD treatment, the majority of addiction programs do not offer such services. One promising intervention is Pennebaker’s expressive writing paradigm, which includes disclosure of traumatic/stressful experiences through 20-minute writing sessions over 3-5 consecutive days. While expressive writing has been linked to improvements in mental and physical health, the intervention has not been studied in persons with SUDs. The present study was a randomized clinical …

Reflecting The Past And Shaping The Future: A Study Of Adolescent Schemas And Exposure To Community Violence, Monique Vulin Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to community violence is a pervasive problem among urban youth and has been associated with both internalizing and externalizing disorders. The mechanisms through which exposure to community violence impacts adolescent adjustment are unclear. A change in adolescent schemas has been proposed as a mechanism through which the impact occurs. The goals of this study were to develop a measure of relevant adolescent schemas and examine their relation to exposure to community violence. A sample of 320 5th and 8th graders were assessed and confirmatory factor analyses of the measure supported a three factor model, including self-schemas, world schemas and …