Psychology Commons^™

Hiv And Early Life Stress On Neuroimaging And Risky Behavior, Paola Garcia Egan

Dissertations

This study examined the interactive effects of early life stress (ELS) and HIV on brain morphometry, diffusion-basis-spectrum-imaging (DBSI), risky decision-making, and sex-risk behavior. 122 people with HIV (PWH) and 113 people without HIV (PWoH), free of major psychiatric illness and neurological confounds, were stratified into high (≥ 3 events) vs. low (< 3 events) ELS [PWoH/low ELS (n = 57), PWoH/high ELS (n =56), PWH/low ELS (n = 43), PWH/high ELS (n = 79)] and underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging, DBSI, neuropsychological, and risky-behavior assessment; all PWH were virologically controlled. Compared to PWoH, PWH had smaller orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), parietal lobes, insula, caudate and anterior cingulate. No ELS effects were detected in volumetric measures. Significant interactions were found between HIV serostatus and ELS on the OFC and on cellularity of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus after multiple comparisons adjustment. Specifically, PWH/high ELS exhibited significantly smaller OFC and PWoH/high ELS show significantly larger OFC than the other groups. PWoH/high ELS exhibited higher DBSI cellularity (neuroinflammation proxy) of the inferior-occipital-fasciculus compared to PWoH/high ELS. Regardless of HIV status, executive function moderated the relationship between the OFC and sex-risk behavior such that individuals within the sample who performed above average on a measure of executive function and had a larger OFC reported fewer sex partners in past six months than individuals with smaller volumes. No interaction was found between HIV serostatus and ELS on risky behavior measures. Clustering analyses defined ELS subgroups in PWH that were determined by demographic characteristics, duration of infection, recent CD4+ T-cell count, nadir CD4+ T-cell count and high/low ELS.Even in PWH that are virologically controlled, without major current psychiatric comorbidities, there is evidence of a synergistic impact of ELS and HIV on OFC volumes. Higher volumes in the OFC were detrimental when associated with lower executive function scores or advantageous when associated with higher executive function. Findings suggest that ELS is associated with different brain signatures among PWoH and virally suppressed PWH. However, ELS was not directly associated with risky behaviors, and subgroups in PWH were characterized by demographic variables, past substance use and HIV clinical variables.

Correlates Of Psychological Well-Being In Older Adults With Treatment-Resistant Depression, Selmi Kallmi

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that are associated with psychological well-being in older adults with late-life depression and determine if social participation moderates and/or mediates these relationships. This dissertation study utilized secondary pre-treatment data collected from the “Optimum: Optimizing Depression Treatment in Older Adults” study (Cristancho et al. (2019). Community dwelling older adults (N = 369) were included if they currently met criteria for MDD, had failed at least two prior trials of MDD medication treatment, and were able to visit the study site to participate in cognitive and physical functioning assessments. Hierarchical multiple regressions …

Cortisol Administration Normalizes Aberrant Functional Connectivity In Women With Depression, Adam C. Runyan

Dissertations

Previous resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) research has identified aberrant connectivity in several large brain networks in depression, including the default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), and salience networks (SN). Connectivity of these networks is also related to depressive symptom severity and is affected by cortisol levels. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effects of acute cortisol administration on rsFC of DMN, FPN, and SN in individuals varying in depression history and severity. We collected resting-state fMRI scans for 74 women with and without a history of depressive disorder after administration of cortisol and placebo using a …

Rethinking Binge Eating Disorder: Is Resource Depletion The Missing Link?, Laura Fewell

Dissertations

Binge eating disorder (BED), the most prevalent of the eating disorders, is associated with significant mental health impairments, high healthcare costs and utilization, and increased mortality. Yet little is known about the mechanisms involved in binge eating, and existing BED theories are incomplete. Scholars have recently suggested that resource depletion, or the state of reduced self-regulation abilities, may apply to BED, but no identified studies have experimentally examined this relationship. The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of resource depletion in binge eating behaviors. Ego anxiety, discomfort anxiety, and dietary restraint were also examined as potential …

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Anger, And Substance Use As Risk Factors For Trauma Revictimization, Hannah E. Walker

Dissertations

Maltreatment survivors are at an increased risk for adult revictimization. Yet, existing work has specifically focused on sexual revictimization, and it is unclear what factors increase one’s risk for revictimization more broadly. Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), anger, and substance use have been identified as potential risk factors for sexual revictimization. Still, the role of these variables is ambiguous in the broader revictimization framework. There is also a lack of understanding regarding the roles of the DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters and revictimization. This study aims to: 1) examine the links between maltreatment and revictimization and three factors (i.e., …

What’S Religion Got To Do With It?: Differing Religiosity Domains’ Association With College Students’ Sexual Consent During First-Time Intercourse, Kaylee Richmond

Dissertations

Within the U.S., 36% of women and 17% of men report experiencing sexual assault (Smith et al., 2017). The absence of sexual consent is often regarded as a defining component of sexual assault (Beres, 2014); thus, a potential area to examine to decrease rates of perpetration and victimization. To date, there has been a lack of research on contextual factors that are likely related to sexual consent, with a general focus on external consent (i.e., verbal/behavioral indicators; Muehlenhard et al., 2016). The present study examined the role of a contextual factor, religiosity, on sexual consent processes during the context of …

Race, Masculinity, And Personality Development: Understanding The Black Male Experience In America, Veronica High

Dissertations

Although men from all racial backgrounds have several poor health outcomes, most of the research suggests that Black men have even worse health outcomes compared to White men (Bowman, 1989; Watkins & Neighbors, 2007; Williams, 2003). The majority of published research on masculinity, however, has primarily focused on samples of White men. The issue of how racism intersects with masculinity and its impact on Black men remains understudied and is a current area of focus in the field. The present study examined relationships between Black men on the cultural measures of masculinity and self-esteem, Dark Triad (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism), …

Trauma And Alcohol/Substance Use: The Role Of Self-Regulation Flexibility, Saankari Anusha Challa

Dissertations

Despite a high comorbidity rate between trauma/PTSD and problematic alcohol/substance use, there is only a small body of work investigating moderators and mediators in this relationship. Few studies have examined the role of self-regulation, composed of coping and emotion regulation, in the context of PTSD and problematic substance use. Prior work has generally measured self-regulation categorically, with strategies labeled as maladaptive or adaptive, and therefore failing to account for the adaptiveness of the strategy in particular contexts. The present study is the only one to date to examine self-regulation flexibility in the relationship between posttraumatic symptoms (PTSS) and problematic alcohol/substance …

Sexual Minority Thriving: Bouncing Beyond Adversity, Debra Crawford

Dissertations

Sexual minority individuals continue to face prejudice and discrimination due to their sexual minority identity. However, despite these negative experiences, many sexual minority individuals display resilience and thrive. Most of the literature on sexual minorities focuses on negative aspects of identifying as a sexual minority, rather than the positive qualities that these individuals possess that allow them to persevere. In a sample of 303 sexual minorities, this dissertation contained two studies. Study one investigated if posttraumatic growth mediated the relationship between resilience and thriving and if identity pride and existential anxiety moderated the relationship between resilience and thriving in a …

Heart Rate Variability Following Treatment For Ptsd: Testing The Polyvagal Theory, Brittany F. Goodman

Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been linked to lower heart rate variability (HRV), including measures of vagal tone. Treatments targeting the autonomic nervous system (ANS) have demonstrated efficacy in improving vagal tone, but it is less clear whether similar effects can also be achieved with cognitive therapies. The polyvagal theory has suggested that symptoms of social dysfunction are linked to vagal tone through a phylogenetically organized response to stress. HRV was collected during rest, reactivity (exposure to personalized trauma scripts), and recovery using a scripted imagery paradigm in female PTSD positive physical and sexual assault survivors (N = 41) …

Engaging Experts: Overcoming Trust In Risky Environments, Cynthia Goodwin-Sak

Dissertations

In business-to-business sales environments, sellers may choose to bring their go-to expert to a customer meeting, even when there is an expert available who may be more skilled in the product being discussed. The purpose of this study is to identify if an intervention of data, trust transference, ingroup identity, or a combination, influence the choice of expert a salesperson engages for a customer meeting. We tested this question through a series of vignettes and hierarchical linear modeling. The sample came from a US-based technology company, and salespeople in the United States.

We found that trust transference influenced both choice …

Rural Pregnant Women’S Experiences With Substance Use Disorder: A Qualitative Study, Cami Weber

Dissertations

Rural pregnant women with substance use disorder (SUD) are an understudied vulnerable population that often experiences poor pregnancy outcomes (Higgins et al., 2019; Jumah, 2016; Kramlich et al., 2018; Shaw et al., 2015). Despite the high prevalence and high burden associated with SUD, rural women are less likely than non-pregnant women to seek addiction treatment and complete an outpatient treatment program during pregnancy (Shaw et al., 2015). This study aimed to give voice to rural Missouri women with SUD. The research questions explored the life experiences and motivations for seeking treatment using a qualitative, descriptive research design with grounded theory …