Psychology Commons^™

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 …

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 …

The Effects Of Music Therapy On Elderly Adults With Dementia, Jeante J. Jackson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As people age, the brain is more susceptible to changes that diminish cognitive function. In recent years neuroscience has found convergent evidence between music therapy and brain architecture, as it has shown the generation of new connections in the brain or a reorganization and possible strengthening of existing connections already in the brain. However, the literature regarding music training’s effects on executive control, selective attention, and speech processing is lacking particularly when it comes to older populations.

This study investigated Verbal Working Memory, Visuospatial Attention and Task Initiation, and Auditory Selective Attention in a 91-year-old adult (B.P.) diagnosed with dementia. …

The Lived Experience Of Using Opiates Among Young Adults, Catherine Mbewe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research study is to explore the lived experience of using opiates, as described by young adults aged 18 to 25 years. Over the last 2 decades, opioid use disorders (OUDs) and opiate overdose deaths have increased dramatically in the United States. What used to be a problem primarily contained to minority groups in poor inner-city areas is now increasingly common in all races, genders, ages, and classes. There has also been an alarming increase in opiate use—including fentanyl, both legal and illegal—among young adults. While much of the literature has been focused on the opiate use …

Validation Of The Occupational Depression Inventory In Brazil: A Study Of 1,612 Civil Servants, Renzo Bianchi, Danísio Calixto Cavalcante, Cristina Queirós, Blezi Daiana Menezes Santos, Jay Verkuilen, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Objective: The Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI) assesses work-attributed depressive symptoms. The ODI has demonstrated robust psychometric and structural properties. To date, the instrument has been validated in English, French, and Spanish. This study examined the psychometric and structural properties of the ODI's Brazilian-Portuguese version.

Methods: The study involved 1612 civil servants employed in Brazil (MAGE = 44, SDAGE = 9; 60% female). The study was conducted online across all Brazilian states.

Results: Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) bifactor analysis indicated that the ODI meets the requirements for essential unidimensionality. The general factor accounted for 91% of the common variance extracted. …

The Pandemic Anxiety Inventory: A Validation Study, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Tasmyn Prytherch, Mark Cropley, Renzo Bianchi

Publications and Research

The Pandemic Anxiety Inventory (PAI) assesses anxiety symptoms individuals attribute to the presence of a pandemic. We conducted this study of 379 British adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the PAI exhibited excellent reliability and solid criterion validity. Pandemic anxiety was associated with reduced social support, anticipated life changes, financial strain, job loss, economic insecurity, and the hospitalization or death of a close friend or relative. Using correlational and bifactor analyses, we found that the PAI demonstrated solid convergent and discriminant validity. The findings suggest that the PAI can be used in research and clinical practice.

The Pandemic Anxiety Inventory: A Validation Study, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Tasmyn Prytherch, Mark Cropley, Renzo Bianchi

Publications and Research

The Pandemic Anxiety Inventory (PAI) assesses anxiety symptoms individuals attribute to the presence of a pandemic. We conducted this study of 379 British adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the PAI exhibited excellent reliability and solid criterion validity. Pandemic anxiety was associated with reduced social support, anticipated life changes, financial strain, job loss, economic insecurity, and the hospitalization or death of a close friend or relative. Using correlational and bifactor analyses, we found that the PAI demonstrated solid convergent and discriminant validity. The findings suggest that the PAI can be used in research and clinical practice.

The Makings Of Creativity And Empathy: Maps Of Maternal Representations, Anielle M. Fredman

Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

The Makings of Creativity and Empathy: Maps of Maternal Representations

by

Anielle M. Fredman

Advisor: Sasha Rudenstine, Ph.D.

The present study investigates the relationship between maternal fantasy of the child and their relationship, and children’s unconscious processes. In addition, the study aims to ascertain the link between maternal representations and aspects of the child’s intrapsychic world, including ego functioning, object relations, and processes of separation-individuation.

Maternal fantasy was measured in an original way with a tripartite typology of Positive, Mixed-Complex, and Contradictory Representations, applied to the Parent Development Interview-Revised Short (Slade et al., 2004), adapted from the Working Model …

Toward A New Approach To Job-Related Distress: A Three-Sample Study Of The Occupational Depression Inventory, Renzo Bianchi, James Sowden, Jay Verkuilen, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

The Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI) was recently developed to assess depressive symptoms that individuals specifically attribute to their work. One purpose of the ODI is to respond to limitations of current assessments of job-related distress, most notably, assessments relying on the burnout construct. In this study, we conducted a thorough examination of the psychometric and structural properties of the ODI using exploratory structural equation modelling bifactor analysis and Mokken scale analysis. The study involved three samples of employed individuals, recruited in France (N = 3454), Switzerland (N = 1971), and Australia (N = 1485). Results were consistent across the three …

Occupational Depression In Italy: Associations With Health, Economic, And Work-Life Characteristics, Renzo Bianchi, Caterina Fiorilli, Giacomo Angelini, Nicoletta Dozio, Carlo Palazzi, Gloria Palazzi, Benedetto Vitiello, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Background: The Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI) reflects a new approach to job-related distress centered on work-attributed depressive symptoms. The instrument was developed with reference to the characterization of major depression found in the DSM-5. The ODI has been validated in English, French, and Spanish. This study (a) investigated the psychometric and structural properties of the ODI’s Italian version and (b) inquired into the nomological network of occupational depression. Methods: A convenience sample of 963 employed individuals was recruited in Italy (69.9% female; mean age = 40.433). We notably relied on exploratory structural equation modeling bifactor analysis, common-practice …

An Updated Look At Mental Health Services In American Public And Private Prisons, Lieren E. Tyira

Student Theses

People residing in American prisons have the legal right to mental health care while incarcerated (Justia, 2021). This is important, as the prevalence of mental disorders is high in this population (Prins, 2014), and incarceration is a psychologically damaging experience, which hinders a person’s success at rehabilitation. Numerous of issues related to the mental health services (MHSs) in both public and private prison facilities have been reported in recent years, which warrants systematic exploration. The little existing research comparing the presence of MHSs in these facilities has produced mixed results, it uses out-of-date datasets, and none has explored MHSs in …

Distress In The Workplace: Characterizing The Relationship Of Burnout Measures To The Occupational Depression Inventory, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Renzo Bianchi

Publications and Research

Burnout has been found to problematically overlap with depression. However, the generalizability of this finding remains disputed. This study examined burnout–depression overlap using the recently developed Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI) and two burnout measures, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). The study involved two teacher samples employed in France (N = 1,450) and New Zealand (N = 492). We found the correlations of the ODI with (a) the MBI’s emotional exhaustion (EE) subscale and (b) the CBI to reach .80. An explanation of these high correlations based on content overlap in fatigue-related items was ruled …

Contrafreeloading In Kea (Nestor Notabilis) In Comparison To Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Gabriella E. Smith, Amalia P. M. Bastos, Martin Chodorow, Alex H. Taylor, Irene M. Pepperberg

Publications and Research

Contrafreeloading—working to access food that could be freely obtained—is rarely exhibited and poorly understood. Based on data from Grey parrots ( Psittacus erithacus ), researchers proposed a correlation between contrafreeloading and play: that contrafreeloading is more likely when subjects view the task as play. We tested that hypothesis by subjecting a relatively more playful parrot species, the kea ( Nestor notabilis ), to the same experimental tasks. Experiment 1 presented eight kea with container pairs holding more- or less-preferred free or enclosed food items, and examined three types of contrafreeloading: calculated (working to access preferred food over less-preferred, freely available …

Burned-Out With Burnout? Insights From Historical Analysis, Renzo Bianchi, Katarzyna Wac, James Francis Sowden, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Fierce debates surround the conceptualization and measurement of job-related distress in occupational health science. The use of burnout as an index of job-related distress, though commonplace, has increasingly been called into question. In this paper, we first highlight foundational problems that undermine the burnout construct and its legacy measure, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Next, we report on advances in research on job-related distress that depart from the use of the burnout construct. Tracing the genesis of the burnout construct, we observe that (a) burnout’s definition was preestablished rather than derived from a rigorous research process and (b) the MBI …

The Impossible Situation? Impasse As Psychotherapeutic Paralysis, Possibility, And Progress, Leo Cancelmo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Psychotherapeutic impasse has long been understood in the clinical literature as treatment stagnation and even failure, both from one-person and two-person psychodynamic perspectives. However, there is a dearth of empirical research that delves deeper to understand this complex and rich phenomenon. Using semi-structured interviews with nine psychodynamic therapists speaking about individual adult patients, this study examined experiences of impasse to better understand treatments that become embroiled in a kind of paralysis. Qualitative analyses revealed dyads where patients were conceptualized as struggling chronically with negative feelings about themselves and others, and who experienced traumatic personal histories. Impasse in and of itself …

A Survey Study Of Speech-Language Therapists’ Experiences With Teletherapy At The Onset Of The Covid-19 Crisis, Jason A. Rosas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study aimed to understand how delivering pediatric treatment services via ‘teletherapy’ affected speech-language therapists (SLTs) during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in 2020. SLTs reported on their experiences with the change from in-person to remote service delivery via two national surveys distributed at the start of the pandemic between April 2020 and July 2020. To explain SLTs’ survey responses, this dissertation introduced the Professional Adaptation Model (PA Model). The PA Model facilitated evaluation of the SLTs’ professional environment and the psychological constructs of their professional identity believed to influence the transition to speech-language teletherapy. Specifically, …

The Differential Effects Of Acoustic Discriminations On Operant Learning Performance And Neurogenesis In Male And Female Zebra Finches, Kristena L. Newman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Adult neurogenesis, the creation of new neurons, occurs throughout the lifespan in most organisms. However, though neuronal proliferation occurs daily, most of these neurons do not survive to become incorporated into preexisting neural circuitry and become fully functioning neurons. In the mammalian brain, adult neurogenesis occurs within the hippocampus, a brain region known to be important in learning and memory. In rats, successful acquisition of certain learning tasks increased new neuron numbers when the learning was sufficiently challenging (Curlik and Shors, 2011). It has also been demonstrated that a spatial discrimination task requires new neurons when the discrimination is more …

Neuroanatomy In Mild Cognitive Impairment: Relationship To Functional Skills, Treatment Expectancy, And Comorbid Depression, Sara Rushia

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a neurocognitive disorder defined by cognitive decline in older adults. Although MCI has been studied for decades, there remain important areas to be explored in order to adequately characterize aspects of this disorder that provide information valuable for possible interventions and disease progression to dementia, including a better understanding of the neuroanatomical variables relevant to this disorder. Such neuroanatomical variables include cortical thickness, hippocampal volume, and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). This dissertation consists of three separate studies aimed at addressing gaps in the literature on MCI in relation to brain morphometrics and under-studied characteristics involved …

Recognizing And Disrupting Stigma In Implementation Of Hiv Prevention And Care: A Call To Research And Action, Sarit A. Golub, Rachel A. Fikslin

Publications and Research

Introduction: There is robust evidence that stigma negatively impacts both people living with HIV and those who might benefit from HIV prevention interventions. Within healthcare settings, research on HIV stigma has focused on intra-personal processes (i.e. knowledge or internalization of community-level stigma that might limit clients’ engagement in care) or inter-personal processes (i.e. stigmatized interactions with service providers). Intersectional approaches to stigma call us to examine the ways that intersecting systems of power and oppression produce stigma not only at the individual and interpersonal levels, but also within healthcare service delivery systems. This commentary argues for the importance of analysing …

Developing Standards For Cultural Competency Training For Health Care Providers To Care For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, And Asexual Persons: Consensus Recommendations From A National Panel, Mandi L. Pratt-Chapman, Kristen Eckstrand, Amorie Robinson, Lauren B. Beach, Charles Kamen, Alex S. Keuroghlian, Scott Cook, Asa Radix, Markus P. Bidell, Daniel Bruner, Liz Margolies

Publications and Research

Purpose: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and/or asexual and other sexual and gender diverse persons (LGBTQIA + or SGD persons) experience barriers to equitable health care. The purpose of this article is to describe a collaborative process that resulted in core cultural competency recommendations addressing training for those who provide health care and/or social services to LGBTQIA + patients.

Methods: In 2018 and 2019, Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in Washing- ton, DC, and the National LGBT Cancer Network purposively selected leaders of community clinics and community-based organizations, cultural competency trainers, and clinicians and researchers with …

Investigating The Covid-19 Pandemic In Your Community, Tanzina Ahmed

Open Educational Resources

In this writing assignment, students will conduct research on statistics about COVID-19 in New York City and their embedded communities using free online databases from the New York City Department of Health (NYC DOH). For questions 1, 2, 3, and 4, students will conduct research on COVID-19 statistics within NYC and their specific neighborhood/community in New York City. In questions 5 and 6, students will analyze the data you have gathered while using your own knowledge of your community. A full set of instructions for accessing NYC DOH databases and a complete rubric for grading the assignment is included.

Is The Phq-9 A Unidimensional Measure Of Depression? A 58,272-Participant Study, Renzo Bianchi, Jay Verkuilen, Sharon Toker, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Markus Gerber, Elmar Brähler, Kurt Kroenke

Publications and Research

The PHQ-9 has become a measure of reference in depression research and clinical practice. However, the issue of the PHQ-9’s unidimensionality has not been fully elucidated, and the usability of the PHQ-9’s total score requires clarification. In this study, we examined the dimensionality, scalability, and monotonicity properties of the PHQ-9 as well as the scale’s total-score reliability. We did so based on exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) bifactor analysis and Mokken scale analysis (MSA). We relied on a total of 58,272 participants (63% female; Mage = 43, SDage = 13) from 29 samples involving seven different countries (e.g., Germany, the …

Exploring Social Identity Threat And Safety Cues For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual, And Queer Cisgender Women In Ob/Gyn Care, Rachel Fikslin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual and queer (LGBPQ) cisgender women (CW) experience a number of health inequities compared to heterosexual cisgender women related to sexual and reproductive health. Heterosexist health care cultures may signal social identity threat for LGBPQ-CW that may undermine their health care engagement and outcomes. In three online studies, I examined the effects of two heterosexist cultures (i.e., gender essentialism and pronatalism) as well as two potentially identity-safe alternatives (i.e., gender diversity and reproductive/sexual autonomy) on the identity threat and health care engagement experiences of LGBPQ-CW in OB/GYN care.

In Study 1 (n = 213), I used …

Effects Of Chronic Stress On Safety Processing And Physiology In The Medial Prefrontal-Amygdala-Basal Forebrain Circuit, Itamar S. Grunfeld

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Chronic stress increases generalization of fear to non-threatening cues, a key symptom in numerous psychiatric mood disorders. However, the mechanisms through which stress impacts safety learning remain poorly understood. To probe the relationship between stress and safety learning, this dissertation employed multiple behaviors, in conjunction with in-vivo multisite physiology during explicit safety and fear discrimination learning. In Chapter 1, I outline the role of chronic stress in driving neurological adaptations that result in generalized fear and highlight how this occurs because of impaired safety cue encoding. In Chapter 2, I show that chronic stress in the form of social defeat …

Neurocardiovascular Instability (Ncvi) Risk As A Predictor Of Cognitive Function In The Long Life Family Study, Rebecca Abraham

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In aging populations, the abnormal neural control of the cardiovascular system has been examined within the construct of neurocardiovascular instability (NCVI). The main research aim addressed whether baseline features of NCVI could predict cognitive function (i.e., decline) at follow-up within long-lived families. Across 941 subjects, baseline NCVI risk was indexed by two features: (1) self-reported syncopal or fall events and (2) average seated BP. The Low NCVI risk group included those who were normotensive (e.g., within normal BP range) and reported no NCVI features (n=379). The Moderate NCVI risk group included those who elicited pre-hypertensive (elevated BP) or hypertensive (high …

The Significance Of Sonic Branding To Strategically Stimulate Consumer Behavior: Content Analysis Of Four Interviews From Jeanna Isham’S “Sound In Marketing” Podcast, Ina Beilina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Purpose:
Sonic branding is not just about composing jingles like McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It.” Sonic branding is an industry that strategically designs a cohesive auditory component of a brand’s corporate identity. This paper examines the psychological impact of music and sound on consumer behavior reviewing studies from the past 40 years and investigates the significance of stimulating auditory perception by infusing sound in consumer experience in the modern 2020s.

Design/methodology/approach:
Qualitative content analysis of audio media was used to test two hypotheses. Four archival oral interview recordings from Jeanna Isham’s podcast “Sound in Marketing” featuring the sonic branding experts …

Parenthood Orientation Among Young Women: Is It Associated With Pregnancy Intention And Unprotected Intercourse?, Nakeisha Blades

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored relationships between parenthood orientation, pregnancy intention, and unprotected intercourse. Nulligravid, sexually active women aged 18-29 (N = 252) were surveyed on these topics in May 2019. There were significant differences in parenthood orientation by past and current pregnancy intention. Higher scores on parenthood orientation were associated with increased odds of past unprotected intercourse and expecting future unprotected intercourse. Only education and contraceptive self-efficacy retained significance in adjusted models. Study results are consistent with prior work on parenthood orientation and pregnancy intention and point to other factors as stronger correlates of contraceptive use.

Occupational Depression In A Spanish-Speaking Sample: Associations With Cognitive Performance And Work-Life Characteristics, Bianchi Renzo, Guadalupe Manzano García, Maria Pilar Montanes, Emily A. Schonfeld, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

This 386-participant study investigated the structural and psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI). Exploratory structural equation modeling bifactor analysis revealed that the ODI meets the requirements for essential unidimensionality. Measurement invariance held across our sample and the English- and French-speaking samples used in the ODI’s initial validation study. Mokken scale analysis indicated that (a) the scalability of the instrument was strong, (b) no violations of monotonicity or local independence were present, and (c) invariant item ordering was sufficiently accurate. The ODI’s reliability was optimal. The ODI exhibited both convergent validity and discriminant validity vis-à-vis …

Medical Norm Of Psychiatric Misdiagnoses In Rare Disease Patients, Rachel Han

Publications and Research

Spring 2022 ENG 120 Student Final Research Paper on the medical norm of psychiatric misdiagnosis throughout the diagnostic journeys of rare disease patients. The idea of a norm was taken from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Tedx Talk "The Danger of a Single Story". Paper discusses prevalence, harmful effects, and origin of this medical norm. Includes discussion of statistical data quoted relating to prevalence of rare diseases as well as anecdotal evidence of the severe ramifications of this norm. Discussion of how medically unexplained symptoms such as mysterious chronic pain often lead to the phenomenon of the psychogenic inference. Origins of this …

Reducing Fear Overgeneralization With Safety Learning: Attention Bias As A Moderator, Boyang Fan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health condition and affect one out of nine individuals around the world. Fear generalization is a neurocognitive mechanism thought to maintain and exacerbate anxiety, and thus is an important target of therapeutic interventions. Yet, intervention research and practice place relatively little emphasis on its importance. Given that a significant proportion of individuals do not respond to extant treatments of anxiety disorders, a strengthened focus on fear generalization may inform the development and personalization of new treatment approaches. Recent notions have linked fear generalization to failures in distinguishing between signals that predict the occurrence …