Psychology Commons^™

Identifying Trauma Related Predictors Of Dissociation In Maltreated Youth, Amanda L. Mraz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Maltreated youth who experience traumatic dissociation are at an increased risk for various psychopathological difficulties. Much is still unknown about the machinations behind experiences of dissociation post-trauma. This study aimed to identify variables that place maltreated youth at risk for experiencing traumatic dissociation (e.g., dissociative amnesia, absorption and imaginative involvement, passive influence, depersonalization and derealization, and total adolescent dissociative experiences symptoms (A-DES)). Investigatory variables included demographic (e.g., age, gender, and racial identity), cognitive (e.g., resiliency and posttraumatic cognitions), and psychological (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD) and anxiety) factors. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was utilized to observe the …

Examining The Factor Structures Of The Erq-Ca, Rcads, And Rsca To Identify Unique Predictors Of Ptsd Symptom Clusters In Maltreated Youth, Amanda N. Howard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Youth who have experienced maltreatment have a higher risk of developing posttraumatic disorder (PTSD), which is associated with poorer mental and behavioral health outcomes including emotion dysregulation, anxiety, depression, and lower resiliency. At present, the literature largely focuses on youth who have experienced general trauma or PTSD symptoms, while maltreated youth are vastly understudied. The present investigation was the first study to date to examine the factor structures of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA), the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS), and the Resiliency Scale for Children and Adolescents (RSCA) in a sample of maltreated …

The Aftermath Of Sexual Assault: Creating The "I Am More Than My Experience" Workbook, Isabella Chung

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

The following thesis includes a literature review of the immediate and long-term effects of sexual assault on victims in regards to their physical, mental, and emotional health and romantic relationships, followed by a proposed workbook for sexual assault victims/survivors. Being that typical responses immediately after an assault are fear, disbelief, and activation of the sympathetic nervous system, it is to no surprise that long term issues of depression, anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) often arise as well. Thus, a workbook was created with the intention of educating readers about sexual assault and helping victims/survivors to heal from the trauma …

Examining Resilience In Relation To Ptsd Symptomatology In Maltreated Youth, Timothy Day

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Resilience following exposure to adverse life situations is an ongoing process that reduces the impact of traumatic experiences and opens potential for posttraumatic growth (Fincham, Altes, Stein, & Seedat, 2009; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). The relationship between resilience and risk for PTSD in maltreated youth, however, remains unclear. This study sought to explore this relationship by examining a sense of mastery, a sense of relation to others, and emotional reactivity in youth endorsing a history of maltreatment related trauma. Participants were recruited from a Las Vegas Department of Family Services affiliated clinic and were administered the Children’s PTSD Inventory …

Quality Of Life In Youth With Bipolar Disorder And Trauma, Irma De Santiago, Andrew J. Freeman

McNair Poster Presentations

Background:Epidemiological work suggests that youth with histories of trauma or bipolar disorder have lower quality of life (QoL) than generally healthy youth without a history of bipolar disorder or trauma.

Aim: To evaluate whether trauma and bipolar disorder have a negative effect in youth seeking services for emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Method & Sample: Participants were 596 youths and caregiver dyads from an urban community mental health center and an academic medical center in Cleveland, OH. Diagnoses were based on semi-structured interviews of the parent and youth. The KINDL-R measured Total, Emotional, Self-esteem, Family, Friend, School, and Physical QoL. …

Exploring The Inner Experience Of Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Stacy Reger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Military veterans have returned from combat changed by exposure to trauma for as long as history has been recorded. The field of psychology contains a vast literature describing and attempting to understand Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its detrimental effects on the lives of individuals with the disorder. Despite the volume of study dedicated to PTSD in the literature, in-depth accounts of the lived experience of individuals with PTSD are rare. The current study utilized Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES), a method based on apprehending high-fidelity accounts of momentary inner experience, to explore the inner experience of eight Operation Iraqi Freedom …

An Empirically-Supported Model Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Maltreated Youth, Adrianna Wechsler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Posttraumatic stress disorder in maltreated youth is a young and burgeoning field. Lemos-Miller and Kearney (2006) were among the first to propose and test a theoretically and empirically-based model of PTSD in maltreated youth. The present study replicated and evaluated the Lemos-Miller and Kearney model within a larger and more diverse sample of maltreated adolescents. First, the Lemos-Miller and Kearney model was tested via structural equation modeling (SEM). Second, the model was evaluated across age, gender, and ethnicity. Third, trauma history, family environment (i.e., cohesion and conflict), dissociation, and trauma-related cognitions were evaluated as potential mediating variables within the model. …

Csa Survivors: What Heals And What Hurts In A Couple Relationship, Laura S. Smedley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant trauma that affects a person's self-concept and the ability to form healthy intimate relationships later in adulthood. Approximately 20% of adults who experience childhood sexual abuse go on to evidence serious psychopathology in adulthood (Harway & Faulk, 2005). Besides individual disturbances, CSA survivors struggle with many relational difficulties. These difficulties are usually most pronounced among their intimate partners (Reid, et al., 1995). According to attachment theory, attachment injuries are best healed in the context of a healthy, intimate relationship (Kochka & Carolan, 2002) (MacIntosh & Johnson, 2008). Conversely, the couple relationship may be …