Psychology Commons^™

Binge Eating Disorder Mediates Links Between Symptoms Of Depression And Anxiety And Caloric Intake In Obese Women, Roseann E. Peterson, Shawn J. Latendresse, Lindsay T. Bartholome, Cortney S. Warren, Nancy C. Raymond

Psychology Faculty Research

Despite considerable comorbidity between mood disorders, binge eating disorder (BED), and obesity, the underlying mechanisms remain unresolved. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine models by which internalizing behaviors of depression and anxiety influence food intake in overweight/obese women. Thirty-two women (15 BED, 17 controls) participated in a laboratory eating-episode and completed questionnaires assessing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Path analysis was used to test mediation and moderation models to determine the mechanisms by which internalizing symptoms influenced kilocalorie (kcal) intake. The BED group endorsed significantly more symptoms of depression (10.1 versus 4.8, P=0.005 ) and anxiety (8.5 …

The Effect Of Spiritualism On The Cognitive Functions On Learning And Memory, Carla Antonieta Farcello

McNair Poster Presentations

Last summer I conducted a pilot study which researched whether better working memory would be documented among an experimental group (individuals who report being spiritual) as compared to the control group (individuals who report being non-spiritual).Total scores showed a significantly higher sense of spiritualism among the spiritual participants vs. the non spiritual participants (p < .001) along with a significant improvement in working memory for spiritual participants vs. non spiritual participants (p = .027). The results of this study documented significantly better performance on a task measuring emotional learning and memory among individuals who reported being spiritual as opposed to individuals who reported being non-spiritual. These findings build on prior studies suggesting the effect of positive emotions on broadening cognitive processes (Strauss & Allen, 2003).

My current study is building on what my prior findings have suggested and studies the effect of spiritualism on the cognitive functions of learning and memory. In addition to the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) used in the pilot study, I am including the Spirituality Index …

Evaluating The Convergent Validity Of The Measure Of Emotional Connotations, Daniel N. Erosa

McNair Poster Presentations

The Measure of Emotional Connotations (MEC; Barchard, Kirsch, Anderson, Grob, & Anderson, 2012) is a new test that has been developed to measure the ability to perceive the emotional connotations of written language. To examine its convergent validity, the MEC will be correlated with the two emotion perception tasks on the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT; Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, & Sitarenious, 2003). These MSCEIT tasks are valid tests of emotion perception; thus, strong correlations would provide support for the MEC as a valid test of emotion perception.

Creating New Stories, Creating New Lives: Applying Narrative Therapy To Survivors Of Human Sex Trafficking, Paige Espinosa

McNair Poster Presentations

The effects of trauma experienced by survivors of sexual human trafficking has been an under-researched topic in the psycho­logical community. This study will review the current literature on the psychological and emotional implications associated with human sex trafficking, and analyze the components of narrative therapy and its previous application in treating domestic abuse trauma. This paper will explore the viability of narrative therapy as a method to treat the complicated traumas and stress developed as a victim of sexual trafficking. The ultimate goal of this literature analysis is to propose a study that utilizes narrative therapy as an approach that …

The Influence Of Social Contagion And Technology On Epidemic Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Paul M. Kirsch

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the deliberate damaging of one’s body without the intention of suicide (Nock & Favazza, 2009). NSSI can cause serious medical consequences and is associated with psychological impairment or distress in day-to-day functioning. When this type of pathological behavior occurs in inpatient settings, the behavior has been known to spread from patient to patient (Taiminen, Kallio-Soukainen, Nokso-Koivisto, Kaljonen, & Helenius, 1998). Recent internet-based research has shown that online forums have become a place for people to find social connections based on pathology (Whitlock, Powers, & Eckenrode, 2006). Christakis and Fowler (2009) showed that thoughts, actions, and feelings …

Health Effects Associated With Foreclosure: A Secondary Analysis Of Hospital Discharge Data, Nancy N. Menzel, Sheniz Moonie, Melva Thompson-Robinson

Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the health effects of high home foreclosure rates in an area of the United States of America and the utility of hospital discharge data for this purpose.

Methods: We analyzed hospital discharge data from three postal zip codes using the principal diagnosis for 25 Diagnostic Related Groups associated with stress. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize hospital discharge rates for each condition by year and zip code. To test for differences across time, the Cochran-Armitage trend test was performed.

Results: Most conditions did not demonstrate a statistical change between 2005 and …

Psychological Culture: Ambivalence And Resistance To Social Change, Alexander Etkind

Russian Culture

"National character," "modal personality," "collective unconscious," "ethnic mentality," "cultural identity" -- these and similar notions are designed to capture psychological traits that distinguish one social group from another. Attempts to isolate such hypothetical qualities are not different in principle from efforts to describe religious, legal, or other social patterns found among people who have lived together for a length of time, except that psychological constructs tend to focus on subjective characteristics and are somewhat harder to identify. For the first time, the link between culture and psychology came under close scrutiny in the nineteen century. German linguists Steinthal and Lazarus …

Health Effects Associated With Foreclosure: A Secondary Analysis Of Hospital Discharge Data, Nancy N. Menzel, Sheniz Moonie, Melva V. Thompson-Robinson

Public Health Faculty Publications

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to assess the health effects of high home foreclosure rates in an area of the United States of America and the utility of hospital discharge data for this purpose. Methods.We analyzed hospital discharge data from three postal zip codes using the principal diagnosis for 25 Diagnostic Related Groups associated with stress. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize hospital discharge rates for each condition by year and zip code. To test for differences across time, the Cochran-Armitage trend test was performed. Results. Most conditions did not demonstrate a statistical change between 2005 and 2008. …

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Look Into The Cause, Gender Differences, And Treatment, Barbara Wallen

McNair Poster Presentations

Posttraumatic stress disorder, better known as PTSD came to light during the Vietnam Era. Throughout history, this stress disorder has been called various things in the 150 years since it was first recognized. However, each new word had several characteristics in common, such as re-experiencing, numbing and physiological arousal.

The process of Darwinian “natural selection” corroborated the evolution of people with highly developed stress responses. Those pre-historic people with the most useful “fight or flight” reflexes became our ancestors. An example of this is that during the 19^th Century, PTSD was called “Railway Spine” and was associated with what …

She’S A Survivor: Post-Operative Counseling And Its Importance To The Recovery Of A Woman Victimized By Female Genital Mutilation, Jacent Wamala

McNair Poster Presentations

The prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation and the difficulty in preventing its practice call for a fresh way of resolving the problem. As the availability of medical professionals equipped with the ability to correct clitoral mutilation grows, there is also an increasing need for professionals that can help the victims after the reconstructive surgery. Post-operative therapy for victims that have opted to receive reconstructive surgery is necessary in order to fully recover. Furthermore, more research in this area is needed to support the findings of this review and will fill the physical and emotional gap exhibited in prior studies related …

Problem Gambling And Treatment In Nevada, Bo Bernhard, Sarah St. John

Social Health of Nevada Reports

For many years, it was moral experts, rather than medical and academic ones, who told us who gambled “too much.” Speaking from pulpits rather than podiums, church leaders informed us that gambling was uniquely subversive of the American way of life, for its something-for-nothing promise threatened to undermine the popular ethic of honest toil and gradual accumulation of goods. Samuel Hopkins, in an 1835 sermon on “The Evils of Gambling,” captured this sensibility: “Let the gambler know that he is watched, and marked; and that . . . he is loathed. Let the man who dares to furnish a resort …