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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Frozen By Worry And Fatigue? A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Freezing Of Gait, Sarah M. Ghose
Frozen By Worry And Fatigue? A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Freezing Of Gait, Sarah M. Ghose
Theses and Dissertations
This study utilized a mixed methods emergent, phenomenological approach to (1) understanding the lived experience of freezing of gait for individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and (2) determining the role of anxiety and sleep in freezing of gait outcomes. Participants included 13 adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (N=14 for qualitative data, N=13 for quantitative data; 23.1% female-identifying, 76.9% male-identifying) who were predominantly white (92.3%) with an average age of 69 years (SD = 6.73 years). Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, self-report measures, actigraphic sleep data, and salivary alpha amylase biomarker collection. Results are organized into …
Challenges Among Latine Daca Recipients And Anxiety: A Systematic Meta-Analytic Review, Isis A. Garcia-Rodriguez
Challenges Among Latine Daca Recipients And Anxiety: A Systematic Meta-Analytic Review, Isis A. Garcia-Rodriguez
Theses and Dissertations
Immigrant-origin Latine young adults (ILYAs) face a challenge that is specific to their developmental period. As ILYAs transition from high school to beyond (e.g., workforce, college, etc.), they begin to grapple with participating in normative experiences for all young adults in the U.S. (e.g., obtaining a driver’s license, getting their first job at 16). The lives of ILYA, particularly those who are DACAmented or DACA eligible, are characterized by the legal and social contradiction that arises from growing up in the U.S. yet facing barriers to full participation in U.S. society. The nonexistent synthesis of the exponentially growing literature in …
The Harm In Seeking Care: Assessing The Relationship Between Healthcare Discrimination And Healthcare Avoidance Behaviors In The Past Year And Since The Start Of The Coronavirus Pandemic In A Transgender And Gender Independent Sample, Kyle L. Mason
Theses and Dissertations
Background: Gender minorities encounter a myriad of barriers to accessing general and gender affirming healthcare. Financial disparities impacting affordability of healthcare costs and insurance-based denials for gender-affirming care are among prominent barriers discussed. Considerations of the prevalence of stigma, discrimination, and erasure of gender minority identities must not be neglected when seeking to understand healthcare accessibility and utilization in this population. Previous researchers have examined gender minority patients’ experiences of discrimination in healthcare settings and delaying care due to fear of discrimination. There is a dearth of knowledge about the relationship between lifetime exposure to varied forms of healthcare discrimination …
Comorbidity In Context: Identifying Patterns Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms In African American Early Adolescents, Kathryn Behrhorst
Comorbidity In Context: Identifying Patterns Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms In African American Early Adolescents, Kathryn Behrhorst
Theses and Dissertations
Depression and anxiety during adolescence includes symptoms of irritability, sleeplessness, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, worry, avoidance, and/or restlessness. Anxiety and depressive symptoms are often comorbid and are associated with impairments across academic, social, and emotional areas of functioning. No studies to date have examined patterns of depressive and anxiety symptoms together for African American adolescents using person-centered analyses. The current study examined patterns of symptoms and domains of anxiety and depression during early adolescence using latent profile analyses (LPA). A sample of 196 African American early adolescents in grades six through eight (Mage = 12.6; 50% female) were …
Sticking To The Recipe: How Do Adherence And Differentiation To A Cbt Protocol Affect Client Outcomes In Youths With Anxiety?, Ruben G. Martinez
Sticking To The Recipe: How Do Adherence And Differentiation To A Cbt Protocol Affect Client Outcomes In Youths With Anxiety?, Ruben G. Martinez
Theses and Dissertations
Objective: Understanding the pathways through which treatments work to change symptom and diagnostic outcomes is important to the development and delivery of evidence-based treatments. This study assessed the extent to which adherence (therapist’s delivery of prescribed therapeutic interventions) and differentiation (therapist’s delivery of non-prescribed therapeutic interventions) to Coping Cat, a CBT program, affected client symptom and diagnostic outcomes. Method: The Therapy Process Observational Coding System for Child Psychotherapy – Revised Strategies Scale (McLeod et al., 2015) was used to characterize therapeutic interventions delivered within and outside of the Coping Cat program with youths aged 7-15 receiving treatment in one efficacy …
Longitudinal Bidirectional Relations Between Subtypes Of Anxiety And Callous-Unemotional Traits In Early- To Mid-Adolescence, Stephanie A. Hitti
Longitudinal Bidirectional Relations Between Subtypes Of Anxiety And Callous-Unemotional Traits In Early- To Mid-Adolescence, Stephanie A. Hitti
Theses and Dissertations
Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits are characterized by limited empathy, lack of guilt or remorse, and callous use of others. They are a risk factor for adult psychopathy, especially when comorbid with conduct problems. Thus, efforts to identify risk factors and consequences of CU traits have been prominent. One construct that may act as both a risk factor for and consequence of CU traits among youth is anxiety. While the most consistent finding is in this literature is a negative relation between CU traits and anxiety, findings have been mixed. The present study examined bidirectional relations between three subtypes of anxiety (i.e. …
Synchrony And Concordance: A Multilevel Analysis Of The Effects Of Individual Differences During A Co2 Challenge, Rachel E. Wallace
Synchrony And Concordance: A Multilevel Analysis Of The Effects Of Individual Differences During A Co2 Challenge, Rachel E. Wallace
Theses and Dissertations
Emotion theories posit that emotion systems (e.g., behavior, self-report, physiology) should be related when an emotion is being elicited because this serves an adaptive purpose and allows the individual to respond appropriately to the present situation. Oftentimes, this coherent relationship is not found, and research has hypothesized that the type of analyses used and lack of examination of individual differences could be affecting this relationship. Most studies examine the relationship between emotion systems between-subjects when within-subjects analyses may be more appropriate. The present study examined the relationship between self-reported distress (SUDS) and heart rate, and whether trait differences of anxiety …
Adherence To And Competence In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Youth Anxiety: Psychometric Evaluation, Cassidy C. Arnold
Adherence To And Competence In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Youth Anxiety: Psychometric Evaluation, Cassidy C. Arnold
Theses and Dissertations
Treatment integrity—the extent to which a treatment is delivered as it was intended—has long been recognized as critically important in treatment evaluation research, but has garnered increased attention in recent years within the context of dissemination and implementation science. However, the field’s development has been hindered by inadequate measurement tools. This project is focused on developing and evaluating the psychometric strength of two measures of treatment integrity. To evaluate the psychometric strength of the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Youth Anxiety Therapist Adherence Scale (CBAY-A)and the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Youth Anxiety Therapist Competence Scale (CBAY-C), 954 psychotherapy sessions from two treatment evaluation …
Therapist Adherence To Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Anxious Youth Across A Case, Julia R. Cox
Therapist Adherence To Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Anxious Youth Across A Case, Julia R. Cox
Theses and Dissertations
The field has developed many evidence-based treatments (EBTs); the integrity of EBTs being delivered, however, has been studied less than rigorously. Because many treatment manuals are developed to be delivered session-by-session, one way to assess treatment adherence, specifically, is across the course of the case: do therapists deliver treatment components in the order prescribed? The goals of this study were to characterize how therapists deviate from prescribed order and how adherence to order relates to child characteristics. Therapy process data were collected from a subsample of children (N = 33, aged 7-15) that received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to address …
Using Structural Equation Modeling To Understand The Role Of The Family In Pediatric Asthma Contexts, Nour Al Ghriwati
Using Structural Equation Modeling To Understand The Role Of The Family In Pediatric Asthma Contexts, Nour Al Ghriwati
Theses and Dissertations
Family factors have long been associated with the psychosocial adjustment of children with chronic illnesses, such as asthma (Minuchin, 1975; Rapee, 1997). Research indicates that negative family factors may also contribute to child disease severity, via bio-behavioral mechanisms of effect (Wood et al., 2006); however, these pathways have yet to be examined with a comprehensive focus on more positive family factors. This study sought to examine whether factors such as family cohesion, problem solving abilities, and communication influence asthma symptom severity in children via their effects on child depression and anxiety symptoms. Using structural equation modeling, we identified significant indirect …
A Longitudinal Study Of The Bidirectional Relations Between Internalizing Symptoms And Peer Victimization In Urban Adolescents, Tess Drazdowski
A Longitudinal Study Of The Bidirectional Relations Between Internalizing Symptoms And Peer Victimization In Urban Adolescents, Tess Drazdowski
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional relations between anxious and depressive symptoms and two forms of peer victimization (i.e., overt and relational) within a sample of 358 predominantly African-American adolescents living in low-income urban areas across four years. Longitudinal path analyses tested progressively complex models for each type of victimization. For both overt and relational victimization the autoregressive model where only previous levels of each construct predicted future levels of the construct was the most parsimonious explanation. The best fitting model for both types of peer victimization suggested that internalizing symptoms helped to further explain future …
Follow-Up Evaluation Of Treatment For Anxiety And Depression Provided In A University-Based Primary Care Clinic, Renée M. Grinnell
Follow-Up Evaluation Of Treatment For Anxiety And Depression Provided In A University-Based Primary Care Clinic, Renée M. Grinnell
Theses and Dissertations
Although integrated primary care psychology services are becoming increasingly common, the literature lacks adequate research support for the longitudinal durability of treatment effects following the conclusion of brief primary care interventions. This study served as a follow-up program evaluation of psychological services for depression and anxiety provided at the Medical College of Virginia’s Ambulatory Care Center in Richmond, Virginia. Data were collected on 47 adult primary care patients who received treatment for depression and/or anxiety between six and 18 months prior to the follow-up telephone call. Data were collected on the trajectory of depression scores throughout and following treatment, treatment …
Evaluation Of Psychological Services For Anxiety And Depression Provided In A University-Based Primary Care Clinic, Elizabeth J. Sadock
Evaluation Of Psychological Services For Anxiety And Depression Provided In A University-Based Primary Care Clinic, Elizabeth J. Sadock
Theses and Dissertations
Primary care clinics are increasingly integrating psychological services into their service programs, however few studies have used a comparison group to demonstrate the effectiveness of these services. This study evaluated the psychological services provided at the Ambulatory Care Clinic (ACC) at the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCUHS) by comparing changes in 147 patients’ PHQ-9 depression scores and GAD-7 anxiety scores over time to the scores of 139 patients at the Hayes E. Willis Health Center, a comparison clinic with demographically similar patients but no integrated psychological services. Assessment data were collected from participants in the ACC at VCUHS during …
Visual Attention Bias And Body Dissatisfaction In Eating Disorders, Janet Lydecker
Visual Attention Bias And Body Dissatisfaction In Eating Disorders, Janet Lydecker
Theses and Dissertations
Eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, have profound negative effects on the quality of life of both affected individuals and their families. Behavioral approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are commonly used for the treatment of these disorders. CBT teaches skills to restructure maladaptive thought patterns as a method of altering feelings and behaviors. However, even after CBT, 50-70% of women with bulimia and 67-87% of women with anorexia report continued eating disordered thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Measuring underlying cognitive processes such as orienting, maintaining, and executive attention in individuals with eating disorder symptomatology might be an important …
Does Mindfulness Reduce Negativity Bias? A Potential Mechanism For Reduced Emotional Distress, Laura Kiken
Does Mindfulness Reduce Negativity Bias? A Potential Mechanism For Reduced Emotional Distress, Laura Kiken
Theses and Dissertations
The present research examined if mindfulness reduced negativity bias on measures of attitude formation and cognitive style, as a potential explanation for the beneficial effects of mindfulness on emotional disturbance. Two studies were conducted. Study One was correlational and found that trait mindfulness inversely correlated with measures of negative cognitive style, and that the latter partially mediated an inverse association between mindfulness and predisposition to depression and anxiety. Further, correlations between mindfulness and both positive attitude formation and optimism hinted at a potential positivity bias. Study Two extended these findings using a randomized experimental design comparing a mindfulness induction to …
Psychological Symptoms, Marital Quality, And Environmental Stress In Newly-Married Couples, Constance B. Sharp
Psychological Symptoms, Marital Quality, And Environmental Stress In Newly-Married Couples, Constance B. Sharp
Theses and Dissertations
Cross-sectional relationships between psychological symptoms, marital quality, and stress experienced over the past week were explored using data from 310 newly married couples. Couples were recruited through newspaper ads and paid to participate. Couples were eligible if they had been married for less than six months and were not receiving therapy when they contacted the researcher. The Global Severity Index (GSI) of the Brief Symptom Inventory measured psychological symptoms. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) measured marital quality, and scaled ratings of 11 types of stressors experienced over the previous week measured stress. Husband and wife measures were taken of each …
Panic Disorder, Trait Anxiety, And Risk Drinking In Pregnant And Non-Pregnant Women, Sarah Meshberg-Cohen
Panic Disorder, Trait Anxiety, And Risk Drinking In Pregnant And Non-Pregnant Women, Sarah Meshberg-Cohen
Theses and Dissertations
Anxiety disorders, including Panic Disorder, and alcohol problems co-occur at greater rates than chance in the general population. It has also been suggested that alcohol is used to cope with anxiety symptoms, such as trait anxiety. While pregnancy may be a protective period against Panic Disorder and panic symptoms, trait anxiety remains relatively stable during pregnancy. The purpose of the present study was to examine differences in rates of current Panic Disorder, panic attacks, and trait anxiety in pregnant and non-pregnant women receiving care at an urban OB/GYN clinic. The study also examined correlates and differences in alcohol use and …
Supportive And Unsupportive Responses From Parents As Moderators Of The Relationship Between Stressful Events And Negative Outcomes In Adolescents, Karen A. Muehl
Theses and Dissertations
The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between stressful events in adolescents and negative outcomes of substance use, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Parental support and unsupportive parental responses were examined as moderators of this relationship. The research design was cross-sectional, and self-report data were collected from 100 adolescents in the 8th and 9th grades. As hypothesized, significant positive associations were found between perceived stressors and each of the three negative outcomes, as well as between unsupportive parental responses and the outcomes. Also consistent with hypotheses, and previous literature, was the finding of a significant inverse association …
The Long-Term Effects Of Direct Verbal Victimization And Family Support On Anxious And Aggressive Behaviors In Urban Adolescents: Do Mean Words Have A Lasting Impact?, Amie Bettencourt
Theses and Dissertations
Stressful life events that occur within the context of interpersonal relationships are problematic for adolescents. Peer victimization, a stressful interpersonal event, involves acts of both physical and verbal harassment, and can contribute to psychosocial maladjustment among youth. Direct verbal victimization is a specific form of peer victimization involving name-calling and teasing that is particularly prevalent among adolescents, but has rarely been studied separately from other types of victimization.This form of victimization is associated with adjustment problems, including anxiety and aggression among adolescents. Despite the significant association between direct verbal victimization and negative adolescent adjustment outcomes, not all youth who experience …
Innovative Interventions For Disordered Eating: A Pilot Comparison Between Dissonance-Based And Yoga Interventions, Karen S. Mitchell
Innovative Interventions For Disordered Eating: A Pilot Comparison Between Dissonance-Based And Yoga Interventions, Karen S. Mitchell
Theses and Dissertations
Disordered eating, including bingeing, dieting, purging, and clinical and subclinical forms of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, is prevalent among college-aged women. To date, few interventions have successfully reduced risk factors related to disordered eating. One promising intervention utilizes principles of cognitive dissonance to reduce thin-ideal internalization among women at risk for eating disorders. Additionally, the benefits of yoga, including increased awareness of bodily processes, offer hope that this practice might reduce disordered eating symptomatology. The current study compared cognitive dissonance and yoga interventions for disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that there were …