Psychology Commons^™

Trait Impulsivity And Acute Alcohol Responses As Markers Of Binge Drinking In Young Adults, Holley Jamison

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Impulsivity, tolerance to alcohol-induced motor impairment, and high sensitivity to alcohol-induced disinhibition each have empirical support as markers of alcohol-related problems. However, research on alcohol response and personality-based markers of risk have remained largely independent lines of research. This dissertation examined how individual differences in these well-established markers may interact to additively contribute to heavy drinking.

Participants were 96 young adults (21-33 years old). with no history of AUD. They self-reported their drinking habits over the prior 90 days, and behavioral tasks measuring disinhibition and motor impairment were administered on two separate days following two alcohol doses (active [0.65 g/kg] …

Early Maturing Out Of Problematic Alcohol Use, Sarah J. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Most research suggests that alcohol use peaks in the college years then declines into the mid-thirties (Jochman & Fromme, 2010). However, there is evidence that some individuals mature out earlier: downward trends for some individuals begin in college, with as many as one third of students decreasing their drinking (Baer et al., 2001). It is crucial to identify factors that differentiate those who decrease their drinking early from those who persist in high levels of consumption; doing so would clarify risk for college-related alcohol problems and perhaps subsequent alcohol use disorder, and aid in earlier targeted prevention and intervention. This …

Self-Monitoring And The Dsm-5 Section Iii Alternative Model Of Personality Disorder, Gillian Mccabe

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The Alternative Model of Personality Disorder (AMPD) was introduced in Section III (“Emerging Measures and Models”) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to address many of the challenges inherent to the categorical system of personality disorder diagnosis. According to the AMPD, personality disorders can be identified by the extent to which impairment in personality functioning (i.e., Criterion A) and pathological personality traits (Criterion B) are present. Researchers have divided over the distinction between Criterion A and Criterion B, with one side favoring the current AMPD conceptualization of personality traits and functioning as independent constructs and the …

The Utility Of The Unified Protocol In Treating Borderline Personality Disorder, Martina Fruhbauerova

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by maladaptive levels across three personality domains: Neuroticism, (low) Agreeableness, and (low) Conscientiousness. The Unified Protocol (UP) is a transdiagnostic treatment that targets neuroticism and has demonstrated promising effects with BPD. However, not all individuals with BPD respond to UP treatment. The aim of the current study was to explore the extent to which the UP is an efficacious treatment for BPD symptoms. This study represents a secondary analysis of a clinical trial in which the UP was the study treatment; data from the full sample and a subset of nine participants who likely …

Intentional Personality Change: Toward The Prevention Of Problem Drinking, Elizabeth N. Riley

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Personality stability across the lifespan has been well documented, but within that overall stability there is also evidence of meaningful change. There is both theoretical and empirical evidence to suggest that personality change can occur at the volition of the individual, through behavioral processes. The current study tested whether an emotion modulation intervention that promoted behavior change could be applied to reduce a related, high-risk personality trait (negative urgency) and a high-risk behavior (heavy alcohol consumption) using a three-week long, mixed laboratory design. Participants (n=23) were a sample of heavy drinking but otherwise healthy volunteers who were randomly assigned to …

Structure And Demographic Correlates Of Individual Trait Responses To Emotions, Anita Adams

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

From a functionalist perspective, emotions inform people of their needs and influence responses to the environment. Responses to emotion encompass more than emotion regulation strategies. Individual differences emerge from the consistent way that people cope with their emotions, called trait responses to emotion (TRE). We hypothesized approach/avoidance and control/dyscontrol would characterize the dimensional structure of TRE and that dimensions would correlate with age, gender, and early life experiences. The present study developed a multidimensional model to explore TRE from a TurkPrime sample (N = 284). Participants completed a web-based battery of surveys with demographic, early life experience, and TRE questionnaires. …

Maladaptive Personality Traits And Health Behaviors, Health Perceptions, And Inflammatory Biomarkers In Older Adults, Joshua R. Oltmanns

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Traits from dimensional models of normal-range personality have been shown to predict physical health outcomes including health behaviors, health perceptions, disease, and mortality. Maladaptive traits of personality disorders may predict even more variance in physical health indicators. Dimensional models of maladaptive personality traits are replacing categorical models of personality disorder, and the five-factor model of personality disorder (FFMPD) has been shown to be a useful dimensional model of maladaptive traits. However, there has been little work investigating the criterion validity of the FFMPD for predicting physical health indicators. The present study examines FFMPD scales in the prediction of health behaviors, …

Developing A Comprehensive Model Of Personality, Beliefs, And Religiosity To Explain Underage Drinking In College Students, Hayley A. Cole

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Researchers have demonstrated that college students with strong religious beliefs unsupported by religious behaviors report greater involvement in underage drinking, drug use, and risky sex than students with concordant high or concordant low religious beliefs and behaviors. Recent research also suggests personality traits, belief systems, and environments may be influencing this group’s risky behaviors; however, further research is needed to identify factors contributing to these students’ life choices (including the decision to not support their religious beliefs with specific religious behaviors). This study reports on tests of a psychosocial mediational model, connecting personality traits, religious beliefs, religious behaviors, and underage …

Bipolarity And The Five Factor Model Of Personality Disorder, Cristina Crego

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The predominant model of general personality structure is arguably the Five Factor Model (FFM), consisting of the five broad domains of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The FFM of personality disorder (FFMPD) has proposed maladaptive variants at both poles of the FFM. The purpose of the current study was to identify a subset of FFMPD scales, utilizing factor analysis, that illustrate, and provide a potential measure of, the bipolarity present in the FFMPD. All of the FFMPD scales were administered to 443 community participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Bipolarity was evident in a series of factor analyses of …

Effects Of Social Interaction On Morphine Conditioned Place Preference In Adolescent Male Rats, Virginia G. Weiss

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The fact that adolescents commonly initiate drug use in social settings is well established. Both clinical and preclinical research has investigated how social interaction is altered by a variety of drugs of abuse. What is less understood is how the rewarding value of drugs of abuse is affected by the presence of social peers. This dissertation aimed to investigate the interaction of morphine and social play on conditioned place preference (CPP) in adolescent male Sprague Dawley rats, using both behavioral and immunohistochemistry (IHC) methods. Rats were exposed to morphine (0, 1, or 3 mg/kg; s.c.), social interaction, or a combination …

Understanding Alcohol Use Trajectories From Adolescence To Young Adulthood: A Bioecological Approach, Jacqueline A. Bonsu

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The current study sought to better understand how alcohol use patterns develop over the transition to young adulthood by taking a bioecological approach in examining the joint influence of contextual and individual factors on drinking behaviors. Using a longitudinal design to include many factors that likely play key roles in this highly sensitive developmental period (e.g., peer norms, social activities, personality traits, access and exposure to substances), both mean levels of these variables and their change over time were considered in relation to alcohol use trajectories (AUTs). Participants were 525 students ages 18 to 25 recruited from the introductory psychology …

Distinguishing Among Within-Person Variability: Affective Intra-Individual Variability, Affective Psychological Flexibility, And Health In A National Us Sample, Jaime Hardy

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Affective intra-individual variability (IIV) and affective psychological flexibility (PF) are both types of within-person variability. Affective IIV is defined as the range of emotions experienced by an individual assessed at multiple time points. PF is defined as the ability to vary one’s responses in a contextually dependent manner in order to appropriately meet situational demands. Currently, there are no comparisons between affective IIV and PF demonstrating how these constructs might be uniquely different from each other. The current study proposed to examine affective IIV and PF in order to establish discriminant and convergent validity, and stability data for each construct. …

The Ffoci, And Other Measures And Models Of Ocpd, Cristina M. Pinsker

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The Five Factor Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (FFOCI) was developed in part to facilitate a shift from the categorical classification of personality disorder to a dimensional model; more specifically, the five-factor model. Questions though have been raised as to whether obsessive-compulsive personality disorder can be understood as a maladaptive variant of FFM conscientiousness. The purpose of the present study was to provide a further validation of the FFOCI, as well as to compare and contrast alternative measures and models of OCPD. A total of 380 participants, including 146 oversampled for OCPD traits, were recruited from introductory psychology courses at the University …

Eating Disorder Onset In Young Girls: A Longitudinal Trajectory Analysis, Carolyn M. Pearson

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

To investigate whether there are different patterns of development for binge eating and purging behavior among pre-adolescent and early adolescent girls, I conducted trajectory analyses of those behaviors in 938 girls across eight waves of data from the spring of 5^th grade (the last year of elementary school) through the spring of 9^th grade (the first year of high school). Analyses revealed four separate developmental trajectories for binge eating behavior (labeled none, increasing, decreasing, and high steady) and three separate developmental trajectories for purging behavior (labeled none, dabble, and increasing). Fifth grade scores on risk factors that were …