Psychology Commons^™

Emotion Recognition In Individuals With Moderate To Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, Megan Jones

Honors Theses

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant problem in the United States. TBI often results in behavioral and psychosocial deficits. While an overall impairment in emotion recognition has been observed, some research suggests that negative emotions (anger, sadness, fear) in particular, are more difficult to recognize after sustaining a TBI. Along with impairments in emotion recognition, individuals with TBI are likely to have cognitive deficits due to increased anxiety after sustaining a TBI. The purpose of these studies was to gain a better understanding of emotion recognition after an individual has sustained a TBI. The aim of study one was …

Image Acquisition And Quality Assurance In The Boston Adolescent Neuroimaging Of Depression And Anxiety Study, Viviana Siless, N. A. Hubbard, Robert Jones, Jonathan Wang, Nicole Lo, Clemens C. C. Bauer, Mathias Goncalves, Isabelle Frosch, Daniel Norton, Genesis Vergara, Kristina Conroy, Flavia Vaz De Souza, Isabelle M. Rosso, Aleena Hay Wickham, Elizabeth Ann Cosby, Megan Pinaire, Dina Hirshfeld-Becker, Diego A. Pizzagalli, Aude Henin, Stefan G. Hofmann, Randy P. Auerbach, Satrajit Ghosh, John Gabrieli, Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, Anastasia Yendiki

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The Connectomes Related to Human Diseases (CRHD) initiative was developed with the Human Connectome Project (HCP) to provide high-resolution, open-access, multi-modal MRI data to better understand the neural correlates of human disease. Here, we present an introduction to a CRHD project, the Boston Adolescent Neuroimaging of Depression and Anxiety (BANDA) study, which is collecting multimodal neuroimaging, clinical, and neuropsychological data from 225 adolescents (ages 14–17), 150 of whom are expected to have a diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety. Our transdiagnostic recruitment approach samples the full spectrum of depressed/anxious symptoms and their comorbidity, consistent with NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC). We …

The Protective Influence Of Self-Compassion Against Internalized Racism Among African Americans, Alexandra Emery

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Racist experiences and internalized racism may lead to poorer mental health outcomes for African Americans born and socialized in the United States (Graham, West, Martinez & Roemer, 2016; Mouzon & McLean, 2017). Self-compassion has been shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes, but limited research exists with respect to African Americans specifically (Lockard, Hayes, Neff and Locke, 2014). The present study explored whether self-compassion could serve as a protective factor between the relations of internalized racism and racist experiences, and the negative mental health outcomes of anxiety, depression, and stress among (N = 230) African American adults. To …

Examining The Coping Resources Of Polyvictimized Youth And Young Adults, Zachary Robert Myers

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Bullying represents a significant concern for many youth and young adults in the United States and abroad. However, the growth of technology has allowed for new platforms in which perpetrators can engage in bullying behaviors, such as text and video messaging, social media applications, and online gaming. In addition, research has suggested that the majority of cyberbullied individuals experience co-occurring in-person victimization as well. These trends are concerning, given that findings within both the traditional and cyberbullying literatures place victimized youth at-risk for a host of social and emotional concerns. However, research has yet to fully explore the unique experiences …

Gray Space And Green Space Proximity Associated With Higher Anxiety In Youth With Autism, Lincoln R. Lawson, Brian Barger, Scott Ogletree, Julia C. Torquati, Steven Rosenberg, Cassandra Johnson Gaither, Jodie Marie Bartz, Andrew Gardner, Eric Moody, Anne R. Schutte

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study used ZIP code level data on children's health (National Survey of Children's Health, 2012) and land cover (National Land Cover Database, 2011) from across the United States to investigate connections between proximity to green space (tree canopy), gray space (impervious surfaces), and expression of a critical co-morbid condition, anxiety, in three groups of youth: children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n=1501), non-ASD children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN, n=15,776), and typically developing children (n=53,650). Both impervious surface coverage and tree canopy coverage increased the risk of severe anxiety in youth with autism, but not CSHCN or typical …

Anxiety And Depression During Childhood And Adolescence: Testing Theoretical Models Of Continuity And Discontinuity, Joseph R. Cohen, Arthur R. Andrews, Megan M. Davis, Karen D. Rudolph

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study sought to clarify the trajectory (i.e., continuous vs. discontinuous) and expression (i.e., homotypic vs. heterotypic) of anxiety and depressive symptoms across childhood and adolescence. We utilized a state-of-the-science analytic approach to simultaneously test theoretical models that describe the development of internalizing symptoms in youth. In a sample of 636 children (53% female; M age = 7.04; SD age = 0.35) self-report measures of anxiety and depression were completed annually by youth through their freshman year of high school. For both anxiety and depression, a piecewise growth curve model provided the best fit for the data, with symptoms …

The Social Interaction Phobia Scale: Continued Support For The Psychometric Validity Of The Sips Using Clinical And Non-Clinical Samples, Alison R. Menatti, Justin W. Weeks, R. Nicholas Carleton, Amanda S. Morrison, Richard G. Heimberg, Debra A. Hope, Carlos Blanco, Franklin R. Schneier, Michael R. Liebowitz

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study sought to extend findings supporting the psychometric validity of a promising measure of social anxiety (SA) symptoms, the Social Interaction Phobia Scale (SIPS; Carleton et al., 2009). Analyses were conducted using three samples: social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients, and healthy controls. SIPS scores of SAD patients demonstrated internal consistency and construct validity, and the previously demonstrated three-factor structure of the SIPS was replicated. Further, the SIPS total score uniquely predicted SA symptoms, and SIPS scores were significantly higher for SAD patients than GAD patients or controls. Two cutoff scores that discriminated SAD …

Evaluation Of The Psychometric Properties Of Two Short Forms Of The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale And The Social Phobia Scale, Allura L. Le Blanc, Laura C. Bruce, Richard G. Heimberg, Debra A. Hope, Carlos Blanco, Franklin R. Schneier, Michael R. Liebowitz

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale are widely used measures of social anxiety. Using data from individuals with social anxiety disorder (n = 435) and nonanxious controls (n = 86), we assessed the psychometric properties of two independently developed short forms of these scales. Indices of convergent and discriminant validity, diagnostic specificity, sensitivity to treatment, and readability were examined. Comparisons of the two sets of short forms to each other and the original long forms were conducted. Both sets of scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency in the patient sample, showed expected patterns of correlation with measures of …

The Uncertainty Paradox: Perceived Threat Moderates The Impact Of Uncertainty On Political Tolerance, Ingrid J. Haas, William A. Cunningham

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

People respond to dissimilar political beliefs in a variety of ways, ranging from openness and acceptance to closed-mindedness and intolerance. While there is reason to believe that uncertainty may influence political tolerance, the direction of this influence remains unclear. We propose that threat moderates the effect of uncertainty on tolerance; when safe, uncertainty leads to greater tolerance, yet when threatened, uncertainty leads to reduced tolerance. Using independent manipulations of threat and uncertainty, we provide support for this hypothesis. This research demonstrates that, although feelings of threat and uncertainty can be independent, it is also important to understand their interaction.

Social Affiliation: A Model Of Anxious Avoidance In Women, Milena Stoyanova

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is substantial evidence demonstrating that women experience greater anxiety and fear compared to men. However, our understanding of specific factors accounting for women’s greater vulnerability remains rather limited. Taylor and colleagues (2000) proposed that women may have a different biobehavioral response to stress, which has evolved to protect and nurture offspring. The tend-and-befriend model provides new opportunities to explore underlying processes that may contribute to women’s greater anxiety and fear.

The present study examined women’s stress response combined with the absence of positive social contact as it relates to the presentation of fear and anxiety. One hundred and seven …

A Longitudinal Investigation Of Peer Victimization, Self-Esteem, Depression, And Anxiety Among Adolescents: A Test Of Cognitive Diathesis-Stress Theory, Cixin Wang

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examined the relationship between two types of peer victimization(overt and relational victimization), depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and selfesteem over three time points. Participants were 1171 fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth graders (623 females) recruited from four elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools in the Midwest. Students’ self-report on peer victimization, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and self-esteem was collected. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine the relationship among those variables. The results showed that self-esteem mediated the relationship between two types of peer victimization and depressive symptoms. Self-esteem was found to mediate the relationship …

Subjective Anxiety And Behavioral Avoidance: Gender, Gender Role, And Perceived Confirmability Of Self-Report, Carmen P. Mclean, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Commonly reported gender effects for differential vulnerability for anxiety may relate to gender socialization processes. The present study examined the relationship between gender role and fear under experimental conditions designed to elicit accurate fear reporting. Undergraduate students (N = 119) completed several self-report measures and a behavioral avoidance task (BAT) with a tarantula while wearing a heart rate monitor. Gender roles were operationalized as instrumentality and expressiveness, as measured by the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1975). As expected, women reported greater subjective anxiety and were more avoidant of the tarantula than men. Regardless of gender, low …

The Role Of The Peer Group In Adolescence: Effects On Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms, Glen J. Veed

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

An adolescent’s peer group has been theorized to influence the development of psychopathology. However, little research has examined the adolescent peer group using information obtained directly from peers in a longitudinal framework. Research has also been limited on peer group influence on the development of internalizing disorders. The study used Social Network Analysis to examine self-reported anxiety, depression, aggression, and delinquency in the fall and spring of one school year for students in a rural high school. In addition to examining the effect of the peer group on individual reports of psychopathology, the strength of this relation was compared to …

Chronic Worry As Avoidance Of Arousal, Louis B. Laguna, Lindsay S. Ham, Debra A. Hope, Christopher Bell

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Previous research suggests that worry is primarily a verbal-linguistic activity that may serve as a method of cognitive avoidance of fearful imagery. The purpose of the present study was to examine cognitive avoidance in high worriers (N = 22) and low worriers (N = 24) using psychophysiological measures and a modified dichotic listening task. The task involved presenting neutral words into an unattending ear while worry or neutral scenarios were presented into the attending ear. Participants were given a surprise word recognition test of the words presented to provide evidence of cognitive avoidance beyond self-report. Contrary to the …

Alcohol And Anxiety: Subtle And Obvious Attributes Of Abuse In Adults With Social Anxiety Disorder And Panic Disorder, Lindsay S. Ham, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Previous research has found a relation between social anxiety disorder and alcoholism, but recent work found no differences in drinking levels among socially anxious individuals, dysthymics, and normal controls. Using a more sophisticated measure of substance abuse may further explicate the relation between social anxiety and drinking. We examined aspects of substance abuse in treatment-seeking individuals with social anxiety disorder or panic disorder (psychiatric control group) as well as nondisordered individuals (normal control group). We used the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory–3 because it includes both face valid and subtle items to control for social desirability. Contrary to the hypotheses, …

Alcohol Expectancies And Drinking Behavior In Adults With Social Anxiety Disorder And Dysthymia, Lindsay S. Ham, Debra A. Hope, Cameron S. White, P. Clayton Rivers

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Previous research has found a positive relationship between social anxiety disorder and alcoholism, and that certain alcohol outcome expectancies are related to drinking behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among drinking behaviors and alcohol expectancies in treatment-seeking individuals diagnosed with social anxiety disorder or dysthymia, as well as normal controls. No significant differences were found across the 3 groups in alcohol consumption. As expected, socially anxious participants had higher social assertiveness expectancies than both participants with dysthymia and normal controls. Participants with social anxiety disorder had greater tension reduction and global positive change expectancies than …