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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Virtual Reality Supplement To The Peers Social Skills Intervention For Adolescents With Asd, Kevin Ambrose Sep 2022

Virtual Reality Supplement To The Peers Social Skills Intervention For Adolescents With Asd, Kevin Ambrose

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to replicate findings of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relation Skills (PEERS) parent-assisted social skills training program for a diverse group of adolescents with historical autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses in an urban locality. Additionally, this study sought to pilot a 3D multi-user virtual environment for adolescent participants and an online learning community for parent coaches; both hypothesized to reinforce the social skills curriculum. A randomized controlled trial of PEERS was completed with 12 adolescents diagnosed with ASD with some participation from their caregivers. Results show that participants who received the …


A Pilot Feasibility Trial Of Mindfulness And Modification Therapy For Males Who Use Aggression, Jenny Mitchell Sep 2022

A Pilot Feasibility Trial Of Mindfulness And Modification Therapy For Males Who Use Aggression, Jenny Mitchell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Physical aggression incurs substantial harm to victims and witnesses, particularly when it occurs within close relationships such as family, friendships, or intimate partnerships. Men who use aggression against partners and other adults frequently experience high levels of psychopathology, including depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, anxious/insecure attachment, paranoia, bipolar disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, personality disorders, and substance abuse, which contribute to use of aggressive behaviors. However, existing treatments for aggression often do not address these symptoms. It is important that treatments for aggression are grounded in theoretical literature and backed by empirical support in order to increase treatment engagement and effectiveness. Treatments …


Teaching Siblings To Encourage And Praise Play: Supporting Interactions When One Sibling Has Autism, Holly R. Weisberg Sep 2022

Teaching Siblings To Encourage And Praise Play: Supporting Interactions When One Sibling Has Autism, Holly R. Weisberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sibling relationships may be strained when one sibling is typically developing (TD) and one has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). TD siblings have been taught to encourage play in their siblings with ASD but there is limited literature examining the impact of intervention on the quality of the siblings’ relationships. In this study, we taught four TD siblings to encourage and praise play skills in their siblings with ASD as well as self-monitor those play skills. We measured changes in social-communicative behaviors during siblings’ interactions. All TD siblings learned the targeted play skills and increased social-communicative behaviors. Only …


Calm-Mo: An Integrative Tool For Psychological Mindfulness, Charles L. Miller Aug 2022

Calm-Mo: An Integrative Tool For Psychological Mindfulness, Charles L. Miller

Dissertations, 2020-current

Henriques has developed a “Unified Theory” that consists of eight key ideas he argues can effectively frame both the science of psychology and the practice of psychotherapy. CALM-MO, the eighth of these ideas, offers an integrative, principled approach to psychological mindfulness. CALM-MO is an acronym that encapsulates the process of cultivating a “calm” meta-cognitive observer that embodies the attitudes of curiosity, acceptance, loving compassion, and motivation toward valued states of being. Henriques posits that the idea consolidates key elements from across the various schools of thought to bring together essential therapeutic principles geared toward seeking and maintaining well-being. As such, …


The Perceived Self-Efficacy Of School Counselors To Provide Interventions And Support To Students Using Substances And The Potential For Collaboration With School Psychologists, Monica Holtz Aug 2022

The Perceived Self-Efficacy Of School Counselors To Provide Interventions And Support To Students Using Substances And The Potential For Collaboration With School Psychologists, Monica Holtz

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Substance use has the potential to impact a student’s academic success; however, school counselors are in a position to intervene and provide support to these students to potentially mitigate the impact of the students’ use. Research shows that school-based interventions are effective in reducing substance use, but school counselors may not feel clinically prepared to provide these services. A random sample of school counselors in the state of Virginia practicing at the middle and high school level completed a survey regarding their feelings and perceptions of substance use intervention and support, including their self-efficacy to provide services, level of training, …


The Impact Of An Online Self-Compassion Intervention On Thwarted Belongingness And Perceived Burdensomeness, Genevieve M. Bianchini Jul 2022

The Impact Of An Online Self-Compassion Intervention On Thwarted Belongingness And Perceived Burdensomeness, Genevieve M. Bianchini

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Interventions that target thwarted belongingness (TB) and perceived burdensomeness (PB) may reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviours (Joiner, 2005). Self-compassion describes being open and kind towards oneself (Neff, 2003a) and is negatively associated with TB, PB, and suicidality. The current research examined the impact of a brief, virtual, self-compassion intervention on TB and PB in a young adult sample. Study 1 included an open trial to examine initial effectiveness and acceptability of the intervention. Self-compassion significantly increased over time; however, there were no changes in TB or PB. Study 2 included a randomized controlled trial comparing two control conditions to the …


Examining The Social Validity Of Parent Training: Post-Participation Parent Perceptions And Reflections Of Group Triple P, Nycole C. Kauk Jul 2022

Examining The Social Validity Of Parent Training: Post-Participation Parent Perceptions And Reflections Of Group Triple P, Nycole C. Kauk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Child behavior problems are highly prevalent and impactful on the child and their family system, bringing both short-term and long-term consequences (Sanders, 2012). Many risk factors for child behavior problems are modifiable via the use of Behavioral Family Interventions, such as behavioral parent training programs (Kazdin, 1991). Behavioral Family Interventions (BFI) modify factors within the family system to minimize modifiable risk factors and engineer protective factors to produce behavior change (Kazdin, 1991). While several manualized behavioral parenting interventions exist, the Triple P parenting program is one of the most researched and effective programs used internationally, particularly the Level 4 package; …


The Integration Of Positive Psychology And Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports To Improve Minoritized Students' Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Outcomes, Jasmine L. Gray Jun 2022

The Integration Of Positive Psychology And Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports To Improve Minoritized Students' Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Outcomes, Jasmine L. Gray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a culturally adapted 9-session group positive psychology intervention with and without an added peer reporting intervention on student levels of social, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Many studies have evaluated either school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) or positive psychology interventions (PPIs) in isolation, but very few studies have examined the extent to which combining these interventions and approaches may promote complete mental health. The Well-Being Promotion Program is a multitarget positive psychology intervention that has been evaluated in both elementary and middle school populations (Roth et al., 2017; Lenz et al., …


The Effects Of Cannabidiol Isolate On Menstrual-Related Symptoms, Morgan L. Ferretti May 2022

The Effects Of Cannabidiol Isolate On Menstrual-Related Symptoms, Morgan L. Ferretti

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The current study aimed to examine the potential effects of CBD isolate for alleviating menstrual-related symptoms (MRS). Participants (N = 33, MAGE = 20.50, MBMI = 23.02)were assigned randomly to two open-label dosing groups (160mg, n = 17; 320mg, n = 16) and completed monthly surveys for four months that included MRS-related measures. We examined differences in MRS and related outcomes between baseline and three months of CBD administration. Results revealed reductions in MRS, irritability, anxiety, global impression, stress, and subjective severity scores with a small effect when comparing baseline to all three months of CBD administration. …


Effectiveness Of Affective Based Intervention Depending On Personal Relevance To A Conspiracy Belief, Mallory Macdonald May 2022

Effectiveness Of Affective Based Intervention Depending On Personal Relevance To A Conspiracy Belief, Mallory Macdonald

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the increase in conspiracy theory beliefs, there is a need for intervention techniques. Do some intervention techniques work better when taking into account the personal relevance a person has towards a topic? One hundred and sixty undergraduate students first read an article that introduced the conspiracy theory and established personal relevance. To manipulate personal relevance, participants were told that a new vaccine mandate would be put into place either July 2023 or July 2031. Then, they considered an article that worked to intervene the conspiracy belief. Participants either read an article that was focused on affective or cognitive intervention …


Decreasing Physical Inactivity Among Adolescents, Anthony W. Ware Jan 2022

Decreasing Physical Inactivity Among Adolescents, Anthony W. Ware

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAdolescents in the United States have become complacent about being involved in an adequate amount of physical activity and consuming a healthy diet. This has led to adolescents having health issues such as overweight status and obesity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made recommendations for adolescents to maintain an adequate level of physical activity and to consume a healthy diet. In this study I hypothesized that students who were surveyed in the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey who practiced both physical activity and healthy diet recommendations together would have a lower …


Investigating The Effectiveness Of The Positive Reinforcement Components Of Tootling, Kennedi J. Alstead Jan 2022

Investigating The Effectiveness Of The Positive Reinforcement Components Of Tootling, Kennedi J. Alstead

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Disruptive behavior in the classroom can have a negative impact on students’ academic and social outcomes. Additionally, teachers have expressed difficulty with implementing class-wide behavioral interventions that address this problem. Tootling is a class-wide, positive behavioral intervention that has been shown to increase prosocial behavior and academic engagement, as well as decreasing disruptive behavior in the classroom. Tootling is derived from another form of positive peer reporting and is considered the opposite of tattling. In tootling, students report on their peers’ prosocial behaviors. This intervention has multiple components that assist in its effectiveness. Specifically, there are three components with aspects …


Using Scorecards To Improve The Performance Of Behavior Technicians In An Autism Treatment Clinic, Carly M. Ruether Jan 2022

Using Scorecards To Improve The Performance Of Behavior Technicians In An Autism Treatment Clinic, Carly M. Ruether

MSU Graduate Theses

Staff performance is important to the success of businesses and employers often use different methods to increase staff performance and motivate their staff. Performance scorecards, goal setting, and feedback are some methods of increasing staff performance. The goal of the current study was to partially replicate and extend Griffin et al.’s (2019) study utilizing performance scorecards to increase targeted behaviors of employees. In the current study, pre-intervention survey results were used to inform the choice of intervention based on deficiencies. Based on the results of the pre-intervention questionnaire, it was concluded that “task clarification and prompting” and “performance consequences, effort, …


How Animal-Assisted Therapy Is Understood And Perceived By Health Care Providers And The General Public In Canada, Healey M. Gardiner Jan 2022

How Animal-Assisted Therapy Is Understood And Perceived By Health Care Providers And The General Public In Canada, Healey M. Gardiner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The incorporation of dogs to assist humans with various activities has been documented for centuries. When a dog is included in treatment to meet an individual’s therapeutic goal it is known as Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT). Little is known about how AAT is understood and perceived among healthcare professional and public populations in Canada. Although AAT has increased in popularly, limited research exists regarding its efficacy. Further, variation exists in the understanding and perceptions of AAT among the general pubic and healthcare professionals, possibly due to a lack of awareness of existing operational definitions and distinctions between classifications of “assistance animals.” …


Embodied And Empowered: Evidence For Ashtanga Yoga As A Novel Intervention For Women With Disordered Eating, Nicole A. Dignard Jan 2022

Embodied And Empowered: Evidence For Ashtanga Yoga As A Novel Intervention For Women With Disordered Eating, Nicole A. Dignard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Eating disorders are a set of polysymptomatic disorders defined by characteristic disturbances in weight/shape, eating, and their control (Cooper, 2017). Drawing on existing models of objectification, embodiment, and positive body image, Ashtanga yoga was expected to be a beneficial intervention for those with eating disorders. These theoretical frameworks suggest that Ashtanga yoga may promote well-being by supporting improvements in embodiment and disrupt pathways postulated to promote pathology, such as self-objectification and body dissatisfaction. Participants were invited to participate in an 8-week Ashtanga yoga intervention of twice weekly 75-minute classes at a local community centre. Participants in two studies completed specialized …


The Use Of An Evidenced Based Mobile App For Ptsd Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Stair Coach, Jason Brooks Jan 2022

The Use Of An Evidenced Based Mobile App For Ptsd Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Stair Coach, Jason Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many individuals experience traumatic events within their lifetime and between 7 and 9% will be diagnosed with PTSD (Kilpatrick et al., 2013; National Center for PTSD, 2018); however, many will not receive treatment due to a variety of barriers, including stigma, limited mental health literacy, high cost, lack of transportation, and other factors (Blais et al., 2014; Chikovani et al., 2015; Hom et al., 2017; Gavrilovic Kantor et al., 2017; Kulesza et al., 2015). Mobile apps may offer a way to overcome some these barriers (Kantor et al., 2017). Prior research demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of mobile apps for …