Psychology Commons^™

Frozen By Worry And Fatigue? A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Freezing Of Gait, Sarah M. Ghose

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a mixed methods emergent, phenomenological approach to (1) understanding the lived experience of freezing of gait for individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and (2) determining the role of anxiety and sleep in freezing of gait outcomes. Participants included 13 adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (N=14 for qualitative data, N=13 for quantitative data; 23.1% female-identifying, 76.9% male-identifying) who were predominantly white (92.3%) with an average age of 69 years (SD = 6.73 years). Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, self-report measures, actigraphic sleep data, and salivary alpha amylase biomarker collection. Results are organized into …

Evaluating The Role Of Interoceptive Awareness In Insomnia And Across The Sleep Health Spectrum, Lara Lobrutto

Theses and Dissertations

Interoceptive awareness, characterized by a non-judgmental and trusting attitude towards body sensations, is an understudied construct that is implicated in sleep and health outcomes. Interoceptive awareness is cultivated via contemplative and mindfulness-based practices. Given that it may be utilized to reduce pre-sleep arousal, which is a key mechanism in insomnia, interoceptive awareness is posited to be a protective factor for sleep health. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate university students (N = 420) in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States to assess the association between interoceptive awareness and sleep outcomes. Participants received a survey link and completed …

Sleep And Health Behaviors In A Safety-Net Primary Care Setting, Sahar Sabet

Theses and Dissertations

Nearly half of all premature deaths in the United States are attributable to preventable and modifiable health risk behaviors. For decades, the leading behavioral health contributors to morbidity and mortality are tobacco use, physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption. Medication adherence is a relatively less studied yet critical interrelated health behavior that is tied to health and treatment outcomes. Sleep, an important pillar of health, is a daily and modifiable behavior that shows promise as a health behavior facilitator. Better understanding the dynamics of these modifiable health behaviors is essential for the improvement of health promotion, particularly among underserved populations (e.g., …

The Lived Experience Of Postpartum Sleep For Black And White Women, Ashley R. Macpherson

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological research approach (van Manen, 1990), and intersectional feminist lens (Collins, 2000; Crenshaw ,1989; hooks, 2000), to uncover the lived experience of sleep in the postpartum period. Participants were 10 mothers who were less than 12 months postpartum. Data collection consisted of in-depth interviews. Data analysis procedures followed recommendations by van Manen (1990, 1997). In order to increase the trustworthiness and rigor of the study, the researcher engaged in reflexive journaling, member checking, and peer debriefing. The results were organized into six themes; 1) the importance of the sleep environment, 2) anxiety and hypervigilance, …

Recovery Sleepers: A Pilot Study Of A Sleep Health Intervention For College Students In Recovery From Substance Use Disorder, Morgan P. Reid

Theses and Dissertations

There is an increasing number of students in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) on college campuses, and collegiate recovery programs have been designed to support students’ recovery and global health needs. However, little research has focused on interventions that can promote health outcomes within this population. Chronic substance misuse can have lingering, negative effects on sleep even after sustained remission; thus, the present paper describes a pilot study of Recovery Sleepers, a sleep health promotion intervention rooted in self-determination theory for college students in recovery from SUD. Study aims were to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of the …

Functional Limitations And Well-Being Throughout The Adult Lifespan: The Moderating Role Of Sleep, Claire M. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Functional limitations represent individuals’ difficulty with completing essential activities of daily living, such as sitting, stooping, and walking. Though functional limitations have been linked to lower well-being outcomes, less is known about potential protective factors for well-being in the experience of functional limitations. The present study used archival data from the MIDUS Refresher study to evaluate how sleep and salient aspects of identity may alter the association between the experience of functional limitations and well-being. In particular, this study had two central aims: to examine the associations between functional limitations, life satisfaction, and affect and detect how aspects of identity …

Loneliness And Sleep: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Sarah C. Griffin, Allison B. Williams, Scott G. Ravyts, Samantha N. Mladen, Bruce D. Rybarczyk

Psychology Publications

Despite the mounting evidence linking loneliness with health, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain obscure. This systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between loneliness and one potential mechanism—sleep—identified 27 relevant articles. Loneliness correlated with self-reported sleep disturbance (r = .28, 95% confidence interval (.24, .33)) but not duration, across a diverse set of samples and measures. There was no evidence supporting age or gender as moderators or suggesting publication bias. The longitudinal relationship between loneliness and sleep remains unclear. Loneliness is related to sleep disturbance, but research is necessary to determine directionality, examine the influence of other factors, …

Bidirectional Associations Between Passive And Active Technology Use And Sleep: A Longitudinal Examination In Young Adolescents With And Without Adhd, Elizaveta Bourchtein

Theses and Dissertations

Many adolescents do not receive recommended amounts of sleep, and prevalence rates of sleep problems are particularly high among adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One factor that may contribute to these sleep difficulties is technology use, and there is some evidence that the association between technology use and sleep may be bi-directional. Further, type of technology use (i.e., passive versus active) may be differentially associated with sleep. To date, most studies have evaluated these associations cross-sectionally and relied upon global and subjective ratings of technology use and sleep, which masks important day-to-day variability. The present study evaluated bi-directional associations between …

Caffeine Use And Associations With Sleep In Adolescents With And Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd), Caroline N. Cusick

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to compare caffeine consumption in the morning, afternoon, and evening in adolescents with and without Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and examine associations with sleep functioning. Participants were 302 adolescents (ages 12-14) with (n=140) and without (n=162) ADHD. Adolescents wore actigraph watches to assess total sleep time and wake after sleep onset and reported on their sleep-wake problems and the number of caffeinated beverages consumed per day in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Parents reported on adolescents’ difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep. Chi-square analyses, odds ratios, and path analyses were conducted. Analyses controlled for sex, …

Credit The Parents? The Impact Of Racial Socialization On African American Students’ Stress-Related Coping And College Adjustment, Briana Bouldin

Theses and Dissertations

Many new stressors emerge in college and have a significant impact on college adjustment. However, little is known about common stressors, their causes, and impact on college adjustment for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This project investigated the extent to which different college stressors impact sleep-related college adjustment, and whether racial socialization and emotion regulation strategies serve as coping strategies that moderate this relationship for HBCU students. The theoretical framework for the study was an adapted version of the Integrative Conceptual Model of Adaptive Socialization (ICMAS; Dunbar et al., 2017). Data were collected via an online survey …

The Association Between Discrimination And Sleep Is Exacerbated In Individuals With Comorbid Chronic Health Conditions, Sarah M. Ghose, Natalie D. Dautovich, Joseph M. Dzierzewski, Sahar M. Sabet, Janna L. Imel, Dana R. Schreiber, Ashley R. Macpherson, Morgan P. Reid

Graduate Research Posters

Introduction: The consequences of recurrent, stressful daily experiences for sleep health appear intensified in individuals with pre-existing health conditions. Although discrimination has been associated with sleep outcomes, the role of comorbid chronic health conditions (CCHCs), and impact of perceived discrimination, remains unclear. The present study investigated (1) the associations between daily discrimination and sleep and (2) moderating roles of CCHCs and daily life interference and hardship.

Methods: The current study utilized archival data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study II. Participants, 174 adults (51% female, M_age=57 yrs., SD=11.5 yrs.), completed 7 days of actigraphy, …

Examining Sleep And Family Functioning In Pediatric Craniopharyngioma Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, Nour Al Ghriwati

Theses and Dissertations

Craniopharyngiomas are among the most common brain tumors in children and are associated with greater rates of sleep problems compared to other pediatric cancers. However, research examining sleep among youth with craniopharyngioma has been limited by a reliance on retrospective reports or sleep studies. Families also play a crucial role in children’s adjustment following a pediatric cancer diagnosis, yet remarkably little is known about transactional associations between family functioning and sleep in pediatric cancer. This study examined cross-sectional and daily associations among family functioning, affect, and sleep difficulties for youth with pediatric craniopharyngioma using retrospective reports and ecological momentary assessment …

Loneliness And Sleep Disturbance In Older Americans, Sarah C. Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

Loneliness is a risk factor for premature mortality but the mechanics of this relationship remain obscure. A potential mechanism is sleep disturbance. The present study aimed to examine the association between loneliness and sleep disturbance, evaluate loneliness as a risk factor for sleep disturbance and vice-versa, model effects between loneliness and sleep disturbance over time, and evaluate a mediation model of loneliness, sleep disturbance, and health. Data came from the 2006-2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally-representative study of older Americans; participants > 65 were included (n=11,400). Analyses included (i) linear regressions accounting for complex sampling and (ii) …

Bed And Breakfast: The Role Of Sleep And Affect In Breakfast Intake, Ashley R. Macpherson

Theses and Dissertations

Breakfast intake is associated with numerous positive physical and mental health outcomes, yet breakfast skipping remains common in adults. Chronotype and sleep show potential as predictors of breakfast intake; however the existing literature has methodological limitations and fails to examine how psychological mechanisms might explain the relation between sleep and breakfast. The current investigation explored the association of means and variability of sleep behaviors (bedtime, midsleep, sleep duration) as predictors of breakfast intake frequency and high-protein breakfast intake frequency. Additionally, the role of positive and negative affect as mediators in the sleep—breakfast association was examined. Hierarchical regressions and PROCESS parallel …

Sleep And Pain In Older Adults: The Role Of Negative And Positive Affect, Scott Ravyts

Theses and Dissertations

Poor sleep is known to contribute to increased levels of pain. Preliminary findings suggest that negative and positive affect may mediate this relationship. Given that older adults are prone to both sleep disturbance and pain, the main objectives of the present study were to: 1) examine the relationship between sleep and pain in a non-clinical pain sample of community-dwelling older adults and 2) to examine whether negative and positive affect mediate the relationship between sleep and pain. Baseline measures from 82 older adults participating in the Active Adult Mentoring Project (AAMP) were used for secondary data analysis. A daily sleep …

Pathways Linking Sleep Timing To Obesity In Midlife Women, Dana R. Schreiber

Theses and Dissertations

Midlife women are vulnerable to developing obesity. Both sleep timing and negative emotion are risk factors, yet limited research has explored their role on weight outcomes in this population. The current investigation explored the association of sleep timing (i.e., mean sleep time, sleep time variability) and obesity (i.e., BMI, waist circumference) in midlife women, considering emotional pathways (i.e., depressive symptoms, anger) that might mediate this association. PROCESS parallel mediation models assessed direct and indirect pathways. In follow-up analyses, sleep duration was explored as an indirect pathway linking sleep timing to obesity. Results demonstrated that sleep timing does not directly predict …

The Effects Of Part-Time Work On Sleep Quality In College Students, Katherine A. Beachy, Candace Moore, Magda M. Smith

Undergraduate Research Posters

Part time work can negatively affect sleeping patterns, resulting in poorer academic performance and a diminished sense of overall well-being. 521 undergraduate students working at least 20 hours per week were surveyed and self-reported post-work experiences and sleep quality. Results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that a block of four post-work experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control over leisure time) were predictive of self-reported sleep quality. Completion of more mastery experiences and greater control over choosing post-work activities were both statistically significant predictors of higher sleep quality (Sonnentag, Binnewies, & Mojza, 2008).

Mindfulness, Health, Well-Being, And Patient Care Of Oncologists, Amanda Kracen

Theses and Dissertations

Demands on physicians in the workplace are growing, as are the occupational and psychosocial stressors they encounter. However, there is scant research regarding physicians, their patient care, and strategies that enhance their well-being. Mindfulness, the ability to be present in the moment, is increasingly being encouraged among healthcare workers for personal benefits and possible positive effects for patients. Thus, the present study examined (a) the health, well-being, and patient care practices of oncologists, (b) the relationship between oncologists’ mindfulness and health indicators (general health and sleep problems) with three outcomes (satisfaction with life [SWL], job satisfaction, and suboptimal patient care), …