Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Using Clinical Support Tools To Prevent Treatment Failure, Tiffany K. Washington

Theses and Dissertations

To date, outcome research suggests that providing clinicians with patient progress feedback and problem-solving tools is effective in improving therapeutic outcome for clients who are predicted to have a negative treatment outcome. To expand upon this body of research, the current study examined the efficacy of using these problem-solving tools (Clinical Support Tools; CST) to reduce the risk of treatment failure and enhance positive outcome with 118 clients who were not identified as at -risk for a negative outcome. Results of this study indicated that the intervention failed to lower the rate of becoming an at-risk case or to enhance …

Bullying Trends And Reporting Preferences Among An Urban, Suburban, And Rural School, Noemi E. Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

Every student has the right to a safe learning environment, yet so many students have been targets of or witnesses of bullying incidents. In spite of school administration efforts to create effective reporting systems and to implement anti-bullying programs, many students remain silent victims. The present study analyzes data collected from a School Safety Survey through SchoolTipline. This data was used to determine the bullying trends, reporting trends, and reporting preferences of 562 7th and 8th grade students at an urban, suburban, and rural school. The results of this study indicate that bullying continues to be a prevalent issue that …

Quantitative Template For Subtyping Primary Progressive Aphasia, Marsel Mesulam, Christina Wieneke, Emily Rogalski, Derin J. Cobia, Cynthia Thompson, Sandra Weintraub

Faculty Publications

Objective—To provide a quantitative algorithm for classifying primary progressive aphasia (PPA) into agrammatic (PPA-G), semantic (PPA-S) and logopenic (PPA-L) variants, each of which is known to have a different probability of association with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).

Design—Prospectively and consecutively enrolled 16 PPA patients tested with neuropsychological instruments and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Setting—University medical center. Participants—PPA patients recruited nationally in the USA as part of a longitudinal study.

Results—A two-dimensional template, reflecting performance on tests of syntax (Northwestern Anagram Test) and lexical semantics (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test), classified all 16 patients in concordance with a …

Provide Visual Structure For Students With Asd, Tina Taylor

Faculty Publications

World renowned animal scientist and autism self-advocate Temple Grandin said, "People on the autism/Asperger spectrum have uneven skills. They are often good at one type of learning and bad at another. Educators need to work on building up the area of strength." She explains that three cognitive areas of strength are those who are visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, and word thinkers. Visual thinkers are more inclined to think in pictures rather than words. They may excel in graphic design, industrial design, animation, geometry, or trigonometry. Pattern thinkers have abstract visual thoughts where they can see patterns and relationships between numbers. …

Dkefs Performance As A Measure Of Executive Dysfunction In Adult Adhd, Thad Q. Lloyd

Theses and Dissertations

The evidence suggesting Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has neurodevelopmental roots with specific impairment in executive functioning continues to grow. However, no known study to date has explored the relationship between adult males with a diagnosis of ADHD and performance on a measure of executive functioning, the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS). The current investigation attempted to explore (1) whether adult males with ADHD show an overall pattern of executive dysfunction as measured by the DKEFS, (2) potential group differences on both level-of-performance and process-oriented measure scores, and (3) the clinical utility of the DKEFS in diagnosing ADHD in adult males. A …

Throwing The Baby Out With The Bathwater: When Can We Trust Self Report With The Smi Inpatient Population?, Jeffrey A. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Reliability of self-report outcome assessment is often called into question with the severely mentally ill population. In the context of inpatient care, demand characteristics may further complicate self-report measures. Although clinician-completed outcome measures, such as the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-Expanded Version (BPRS-E), have become industry standard with this population, self-report assessment may be useful under certain conditions. This study sought to explore the relationship between a clinician-completed, the BPRS-E, and a self-completed measure, the SOQ, within the SMI inpatient population. A total of 357 adult participants with a minimum of three assessment iterations were analyzed. The results of the analysis …

Cognitive Impact Of Genetic Variation Of The Serotonin Transporter In Primates Is Associated With Differences In Brain Morphology Rather Than Serotonin Neurotransmission, Hank P. Jedema, Peter J. Gianaros, Phillip J. Greer, Dustin D. Kerr, Shijing Liu, James Dee Higley, Stephen J. Suomi, Adam S. Olsen, Jessica N. Porter, Brian J. Lopresti, Ahmad R. Hariri, Charles W. Bradberry

Faculty Publications

A powerful convergence of genetics, neuroimaging and epidemiological research has identified biological pathways mediating individual differences in complex behavioral processes and related risk for disease. Orthologous genetic variation in non-human primates represents a unique opportunity to characterize the detailed molecular and cellular mechanisms which bias behaviorally- and clinically-relevant brain function. We report that a rhesus macaque orthologue of a common polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene (rh5-HTTLPR) has strikingly similar effects on behavior and brain morphology to those in humans. Specifically, the rh5- HTTLPR Short allele broadly impacts cognitive choice behavior and brain morphology without observably affecting 5-HT transporter or …

Sudden Gains In Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy For Eating Disorders, Adriane Ito De Queiroz Cavallini

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined whether or not the temporal pattern of symptom change defined as sudden gains is applicable to and has significant ramifications for understanding recovery from eating disorders. Sudden gains were defined as stable and clinically significant changes that take place between two sessions of treatment. Data for the current study were drawn from an efficacy study of CBT for eating disorders which included session-by-session measures of eating disorder symptomatology. Predictors of sudden gains were measured by an observer coded scale that included ratings of therapist use interventions, client change in behaviors and beliefs, client engagement, and homework …

The Group Selection Questionnaire: Discriminant Outcomes And Effectiveness, Jeffrey Lee Elder

Theses and Dissertations

The Group Selection Questionnaire (GSQ; Cox et al., 2004) is a measure that has been developed to facilitate clinical decisions about a client's readiness for group psychotherapy. The GSQ has demonstrated an ability to predict which clients will experience a reduction in distress through the use of group psychotherapy. This dissertation examines the Group Selection Questionnaire's ability to measure client characteristics that predict the client's ability to benefit from receiving group psychotherapy compared to the ability to benefit from receiving another form of treatment, such as individual or a combination of individual and group psychotherapy, as measured by improved scores …

Effects Of Teaching Emotions To Students With High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders Through Picture Books, Jennifer M. Fletcher

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle with identifying others' emotions, which impacts their ability to successfully interact in social situations. Because of the increasing number of children identified with ASD, effective techniques are needed to help children identify emotions in others. The use of technology is being researched as a way to help children with emotion identification. However, technology is not always available for teachers to use in classrooms, whereas picture books are much easier to access and have been successfully used to improve students' social skills. Picture books are naturally used in classroom, home, and therapy settings. This …

Difference In Scores Between Teacher Certification Program Students With And Without Paraprofessional Experience, Sarah Caroline Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

Demand for highly effective, qualified teachers grew as legislation such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) raised the requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals. One suggestion for meeting this demand for teachers who can bring about the required classroom outcomes is to encourage paraprofessionals to become certified teachers—with the expectation that paraprofessionals' prior experience in the school environment will make them likely to excel as teachers. This study examined whether Brigham Young University Special Education teacher candidates with paraprofessional experience differed from candidates without paraprofessional experience in terms of performance scores during a …

Improving Undergraduate Education In Psychology Using An End-Of-Major Standardized Assessment And A Teaching Resources Wiki, David L. Mason

Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, appeals for improving the teaching of psychology at the post-secondary level have focused on increasing teacher training and motivation. However, wide-scale success may be limited because both approaches involve significant demands on teachers' time. I describe two recommendations that may improve teaching while requiring minimal time investment from individual teachers. The first is the development of an end-of-major assessment taken by undergraduate psychology majors that would provide valuable feedback to teachers on which areas of the curriculum need improvement. The second recommendation is to create a new database of research on teaching and learning that focuses on streamlining relevant …

Evaluation Of Psychological Recovery In Patients With Major Medical Illnesses, Kelly Marie James

Theses and Dissertations

The OQ-45.2 (Outcome Questionnaire-45.2) is a measure of psychological distress that examines patients' emotional states and level of functioning in society. This measure was administered at admission and discharge to inpatients at a level II trauma center with in- and outpatient populations in addition to the BBHI-2 (Brief Battery for Health Improvement-2) and FIM (Functional Independence Measure). Results suggested that patients demonstrated psychological improvements from admission to discharge. In addition, the OQ-45.2 was found to correlate with nearly all subtests of the BBHI-2. Finally, diagnosis, length of stay, and number of psychotherapy sessions were not predictive of improvements on the …

Social Relationships And Mortality Risk: A Meta-Analytic Review, Timothy B. Smith, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, J. Bradley Layton

Faculty Publications

Background: The quality and quantity of individuals' social relationships has been linked not only to mental health but also to both morbidity and mortality. Objectives: This meta-analytic review was conducted to determine the extent to which social relationships influence risk for mortality, which aspects of social relationships are most highly predictive, and which factors may moderate the risk. Data Extraction: Data were extracted on several participant characteristics, including cause of mortality, initial health status, and pre-existing health conditions, as well as on study characteristics, including length of follow-up and type of assessment of social relationships. Results: Across 148 studies (308,849 …

Change Trajectories And Early Warning System To Identify Youth At Risk For Negative Psychotherapy Outcome, Philip Legrand Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

The field of mental health treatment is making efforts to better serve all psychotherapy clients, but especially the 5–10% of clients who deteriorate in treatment (Lambert & Ogles, 2004) and the 30–60% who drop out prematurely (Pekarik & Stephenson, 1988). These efforts involve collaboration between research and practice. Both research and practice have been treatment focused for much of their history, primarily examining treatment efficacy or effectiveness, and never quite settling on the generalizability or applicability of specific treatments. The patient-focused research paradigm has shifted the focus from treatment outcomes on the group level to outcomes on the individual client …

Kindergarten And First Grade Teachers' Perceptions Of Bystander Bullying: Resolution Strategies In Selected Picture Books, Mary Lane Newman

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research suggests that most incidents of bullying occur in school settings. However, teachers are not always aware of bullying incidences and often do not intervene. As bullying has negative long-term consequences for the bully, victim, and bystander, it is important to identify effective ways to reduce this problem. Responding to incidents of bullying at school, bibliotherapy is a cost effective way to support students and teach coping strategies. Numerous bully-themed books model a variety of strategies to deter bullying. Because of their busy schedule and limited opportunities to review books, teachers may need assistance in identifying books that promote …

Social Validity Of A Behavioral Support Model, Nancy Yanette Miramontes

Theses and Dissertations

As more schools turn to School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) for help with academic and problem behaviors in their schools, the need to adequately evaluate these programs on a socially relevant level increases. The present study employs social validation measures to evaluate Utah's Academic, Behavioral & Coaching Initiative (ABC-UBI), a Positive Behavior Support (PBS) initiative, on socially relevant issues. Participants from across the state of Utah who were active consumers of ABC-UBI's program, were polled for their opinion on the acceptability of the treatment goals, procedures and outcomes of the program. The results outlined several areas of much needed improvement …

Adolescents' Perceptions Of Bullying Involving Male Relational Aggression: Implications For Prevention And Intervention, Brian C. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Recent bullying research contradicts the stereotypes that only females use relational bullying and confirms that males use this type of bullying equally or more than females. No existing research could be found which examined differences in how each gender interprets relational bullying. Using a survey adapted from research on the rape myth and four video clips, researchers sought to examine gendered difference in the perception of relational bullying by males among adolescents. Two video clips depict scenes of cross-gender bullying and two clips depict scenes of male to male bullying. In total, 314 students in grades 8-12 participated in the …

Parent Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Interventions For Sleep Problems In Children With Autism, Sarah Lynn Lemmons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to learn what interventions have been effective in alleviating sleep problems among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) according to parent report. This study also investigated resources from which parents received information regarding possible interventions and to what degree these resources were helpful. The participants in this study were 48 parents and caregivers of children with ASD from both the United States and Canada. Background information was attained from participants regarding themselves and their child with ASD. Participants then answered likert-type and open-ended questions regarding their child's sleep problem(s) and the resources they have …

Positive Versus Negative Neuroimaging In Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Outcome: A Meta-Analysis, Thomas Jeffrey Farrer

Theses and Dissertations

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) can be broken into two categories; complicated and uncomplicated. These categories are based on structural imaging scans during the assessment of the injury. If abnormalities appear in the scan, we refer to it as complicated. The present research aims at determining whether there are differences in the neuropsychological deficits in the presences of positive neuroimaging as opposed to negative neuroimaging. This was accomplished with meta-analytic techniques. It was found that neuroimaging does not predict neuropsychological functioning in the chronic state of mTBI.

Parents' Perceptions Of Bullying Prevalence, Type, And Intervention Efforts In Utah Schools, Brittney Roberts Warburton

Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is a pervasive and disruptive issue in the schools (Stockdale, Hanguduambo, Duys, Larson, & Sarvela, 2002). It has been shown to have serious negative consequences for students who are frequently targeted, including lower academic achievement, lower self-esteem, and more interpersonal problems in adulthood compared to their non-targeted peers (Eisenberg & Aalsma, 2005; Olweus & Limber, 1999; Rigby, 2003; Smokowski & Kopasz, 2005; Yoneyama & Rigby, 2006). However, when parents are engaged as active members of the school community, significant benefits accrue for children, educators, and parents. Such benefits include improved grades and test scores for students, greater job satisfaction …

The Roles Of Shame And Guilt In Hypersexual Behavior, Randy Gilliland

Theses and Dissertations

Studies among people struggling with hypersexual behavior commonly report that shame needs to be addressed when treating this population. These studies theoretically distinguish that it is shame and not guilt that exacerbates hypersexual behavior, yet no study to date has demonstrated this difference empirically. This observation led to the current investigation in which a sample (N = 177) of people seeking treatment for pornography use anonymously filledout measures of hypersexuality, shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, and motivation to change unwanted behavior. A hypothetical path model of the constructs was analyzed yielding significant positive relationships between shame-proneness and hypersexuality as well as guiltproneness and …

Levinas, Meaning, And Philosophy Of Social Science: From Ethical Metaphysics To Ontology And Epistemology, Samuel David Downs

Theses and Dissertations

The current approach to science for mainstream psychology relies on the philosophical foundation of positivism that cannot account for meaning as humans experience it. Phenomenology provides an alternative scientific approach in which meaning is constituted by acting toward objects in the world that is more consistent with how humans experience meaning. Immanuel Levinas argues that the phenomenological approach, while more consistent with human experience, does not provide a grounding for meaning. Rather, Levinas argues that meaning is grounded in the ethical encounter with the Other, or other person, such that meaning is given by the Other in rupture. For Levinas, …

Praise Notes: A Gender Study, Jennifer Berger

Theses and Dissertations

Praise has been found to be an effective promoter of positive school and classroom environments and is used commonly by school adults to promote positive behavior among students. Praise can be given using many different methods; the method studied in this research project was praise notes. As part of a school-wide Positive Behavior Support program, faculty and staff from an elementary school were encouraged to write praise notes to students, identifying targeted positive behaviors. Over a 2-year time period, 2,839 notes were collected, examined for the content of the praise, and further examined according to recipient's gender. This study of …

Does Electroacupuncture Affect Ethanol Modulation Of Mesolimbic Neurons?, Jung Jae Park

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to investigate the mechanism of action of acupuncture on a critical neural substrate involved in alcoholism. Specifically, this study evaluated the effects of stimulation of the acupuncture Shenmen (HT7) point on inhibitory GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a midbrain structure implicated in drug and alcohol abuse, and ethanol self-administration. In addition, the role of opioid receptors (ORs) in ethanol and acupuncture effects was explored. Using electrophysiological methods in mature rats, we evaluated the effects of HT7 stimulation and opioid antagonists on the VTA GABA neuron firing rate. With behavioral paradigms, we …

Gender Differences And Similarities In Perceptions And Experiences Of Secondary Public School Safety, Bryan K. Young

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a description of male and female secondary students' experiences of safety in public schools. Gender differences in reported victimization and perceptions of school safety have been noted. The National Center for Educational Statistics ([NCES], 2006) reported that boys were the victims of violent acts in the schools more often than girls. Many studies have reported different results relating to how safe students perceive their schools to be (Addington et al., 2002; Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1997). This study considered gender differences and similarities in students' perceptions of school safety. The study utilized a qualitative research …

Parent Adolescent Attachment As A Mediator Of Relations Between Parenting And Adolescent Social Behavior And Well Being In China, Mengfei Cai

Theses and Dissertations

Attachment is an important aspect of parent-adolescent relationships, and thus it may play a key role in predicting adolescents' behavioral outcomes and well-being. This study examined how parenting dimensions (authoritative, psychological control, and over-protecting) relate to youth outcomes (self-esteem, autonomy, and friend attachment) by way of parent-adolescent attachment, among Chinese families. The sample included 298 Chinese adolescents ages 15-18 years (M age = 16.36, SD =.678 ; 60% female). A series of structural equation models was estimated to examine the hypothesis that authoritative parenting, psychological control, and over-protecting would predict adolescent outcomes as mediated by attachment. The best fitting model …

Factors Contributing To Premature Maternal Rejection And Its Effects On Offspring, Ashley Mariah Sproul Bassett

Theses and Dissertations

Typically, rhesus mothers begin rejecting their infants' attempts to nurse when the infants are approximately three months of age in order to begin the process of weaning. A small subgroup of mothers begin rejecting their infants earlier, at one or two months of age, typically before infants seek and maintain independence from their mother. The effects of this early maternal rejection on the development of infants and some potential factors that contribute to premature maternal rejection were explored in this study. Infants who were rejected early were hypothesized to subsequently spend less time in positive contact with their mother, have …

Classifying Symptom Change In Eating Disorders: Clinical Significance Metrics For The Change In Eating Disorder Symptoms Scale, Anthony D. Hwang

Theses and Dissertations

Despite well-established diagnostic measures and measures of specific dimensions of eating disorder symptomatology, little work has been done to develop a brief, comprehensive, and valid measure for assessing change in eating disorder symptoms. Further, empirically-supported change indices to assess treatment progression and outcome have not yet been developed. The Change in Eating Disorder Symptoms Scale (CHEDS) is a new comprehensive measure designed to assess progress and change during treatment in persons with diagnoses on the eating disorder spectrum. Previous studies have demonstrated the subscale structure, reliability, and validity of the CHEDS. This study determined clinically significant change criteria for the …

Comparison Of Adoptive Vs. Biological Mother-Infant Relationships In Nonhuman Primates, Rachel Ann Bogh

Theses and Dissertations

Studies suggest that adoptees are at risk for a number of psychopathological behaviors. To understand the etiology of this risk, 150 socially housed rhesus macaques were studied, including 107 infants reared with their biological mothers and 43 infants reared with unrelated adoptive mothers. Mother-infant behaviors were recorded across the first 6 months of life. Analyses were performed using a hierarchical linear mixed model. All reported results were tested at p<0.05. Adopted infants were observed on average to approach and leave their mothers more frequently, explore the environment and locomote longer, exhibit more anxiety-like behavior, spend less time being held to their mother's breast, and were rejected by their mothers more when compared to nonadopted infants, indicating they are more likely responsible for maintaining the relationship. They also direct and receive more noncontact aggression on average to other social group members, and showed evidence of higher anxiety exhibiting high levels of anxiety-like self-directed behavior when compared to nonadopted infants. Also, results indicate that adopted infants have significantly lower levels of the CSF serotonin metabolites 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid when compared to nonadopted infants.