Psychology Commons^™

Emotional Reactivity And Regulation In Current And Remitted Depression: An Event Related Potential Study, Lauren M. Bylsma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is thought to be characterized by emotion regulation deficits, including decreased use of adaptive strategies such as reappraisal, but little is known about the exact nature of these deficits and whether or not they are specific to the depressed mood state. The late positive potential (LPP) is a sustained positive deflection of the event-related potential (ERP) associated with responding to emotionally-valenced stimuli, and reappraisal strategies have been found to reduce LPP magnitude in response to emotional stimuli in healthy individuals, but this effect has not been examined in MDD. This study utilized ERPs to examine emotional …

Does D-Cycloserine Augmentation Of Cbt Improve Therapeutic Homework Compliance For Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?, Jennifer M. Park

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist that acts on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor of the glutamatergic receptor complex, may enhance fear extinction learning during exposure-based therapy. Clinical studies in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and non-OCD anxiety disorders - and a recent trial in pediatric OCD - have shown that DCS can improve treatment response to exposure therapy relative to placebo and exposure therapy. Some have hypothesized that improved treatment response is a function of increased compliance and engagement in therapeutic homework tasks, a core component of behavioral treatment. The present study examined the relationship between DCS and homework compliance in …

Repeated Binge Pattern Ethanol Administration During Adolescence Or Adulthood: Long-Term Changes In Voluntary Ethanol Intake And Mesolimbic Dopamine Functionality In Male Rats, Antoniette Michelle Maldonado-Devincci

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Binge alcohol consumption is a rising concern in the United States, especially among adolescents as during this developmental period alcohol use is usually initiated and has been shown to cause detrimental effects on brain structure and function. These findings have been established through the use of binge models in animals, where animals are repeatedly administered high doses of ethanol typically over a period of three or four days. While such work has examined the effects of a four-day and repeated three-day binge, there has been almost no work conducted aimed at investigating the long-term behavioral and neurochemical and/or functional consequences …

The Impact Of Hospice And Dementia Special Care Units On End-Of-Life Care For Individuals With Dementia, Catherine Elizabeth Mccarty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Hospice and Dementia Special Care Units (DSCUs) have been shown to be gold standards of care for individuals who are dying and for those with dementia in nursing homes. Using a retrospective administrator and family survey, this study investigated whether the processes of care used in hospice and DSCUs are associated with increased quality of end of life (EOL) care for individuals with dementia. A convenience sample of 17 facilities in four states (FL, PA, MD and MA) was included in the study. Nursing home administrators were surveyed between September 2008 and October 2009. The administrators identified 116 family …

Visual Search For Smoking Stimuli: Detection And Distraction, Jason A. Oliver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Extensive research has shown that the attentional systems of addicted individuals are biased towards drug-related stimuli, but despite several decades of effort these results have frequently been inconsistent. Though commonly believed to result from addiction and dependence, cognitive research would suggest that frequent exposure to drug-related stimuli could affect the attentional processing of drug-related cues even if no actual drug use occurs. The present investigation examined attentional bias for smoking cues using a novel visual search paradigm amongst smokers currently in nicotine withdrawal and fully satiated smokers, as well as a non-smoker control group. Variables related to smoking behavior, as …

The Role Of Contextual Associations In The Selection Of Objects, Noah Patrick Sulman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes a sequence of experiments addressing basic questions about the control of visual attention and the relationship between attention and object recognition. This work reviews compelling findings addressing attentional control on the basis of high-level perceptual properties. In five experiments observers were presented with a rapid sequence of object photographs and instructed to either detect or selectively encode a verbally cued object category. When these object categories (e.g. "baseball") were preceded by contextual images associated with a given object category (e.g. "baseball diamond"), observers were less likely to accurately report information about the target item. This effect obtained …

A Mixed Method Study On The Peripartum Experience And Postpartum Effects Of Emergency Hysterectomy Due To Postpartum Hemorrhage, Cara De La Cruz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Little is known about the experience and psychological outcomes for women who experience emergency peripartum hysterectomy (EPH). The objective of this study was to explore women's experiences of EPH and to determine if women who experience EPH were more likely to experience mental health sequelae.

Methods: This mixed method design involved a quantitative and a qualitative phase. The quantitative phase used a retrospective cohort design. Women were sampled through on-line communities, including an EPH support group, and a larger website for mothers. Women completed on-line surveys covering sociodemographic, obstetric/gynecological/ and psychiatric information, including screens for depression and Post-Traumatic Stress …

Drug Courts Work, But How? Preliminary Development Of A Measure To Assess Drug Court Structure And Processes, Blake Barrett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The high prevalence of substance use disorders is well-documented among criminal offenders. Drug courts are specialty judicial programs designed to: 1) improve public safety outcomes; 2) reduce criminal recidivism and substance abuse among offenders with substance use disorders; and 3) better utilize scarce criminal justice and treatment resources. Drug courts operate through partnerships between the criminal justice, behavioral health and public health systems. Offenders participate in an intensive regimen of substance abuse treatment and case management while under close judicial supervision. Drug courts' effectiveness in reducing criminal recidivism and drug use has been documented through numerous primary studies as well …

Friendship Networks, Perceived Reciprocity Of Support, And Depression, Ryan Francis Huff

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using social network analysis as a theoretical framework, the current study examined the associations between self-reported egocentric network characteristics and depression among a sample of United States college students. It is important to understand factors related to depression among this population due to the severity of its potential outcomes (e.g., suicide and interpersonal problems at school). Drawing inspiration from a recent study conducted by Christina Falci and Clea McNeely (2009), the current investigation used OLS regression to test for both linear and curvilinear relationships between egocentric network size and depression. Potential interactions between network size, density, and gender were also …

Responding To Tobacco Craving: Acceptance Versus Suppression, Erika B. Litvin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most treatments for substance use disorders (SUDs) are based on a model that craving is a primary cause of relapse, and therefore they emphasize skills for preventing and reducing craving. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) provides a theoretical rationale for "acceptance" of drug-related thoughts and cravings, and proscribes suppression, a more intuitive and commonly used coping strategy. However, it remains largely unknown whether various coping strategies differentially affect craving intensity, drug use behavior, or other relevant outcomes during a craving episode. Using a randomized, between-subjects design (acceptance-based coping, suppression-based coping, or no coping instructions/control), the current study compared the effect …

Transition Experiences Of Adolescent Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: A Qualitative Investigation, Alana Delores Lopez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent survivors of childhood cancer are a growing population with unique needs as they face a combination of challenges associated with normal development and returning to life after treatment completion (Wakefield et al., 2010). One specific need identified in the research literature includes the effective delivery of transitional care and planning (Hewitt, Greenfield, & Stovall, 2005). It has been suggested that the provision of transition care and planning can help facilitate the shift from one phase of care to another and promote positive transition experiences (National Cancer Institute, 2008). The shift from off-treatment to post-treatment and school reintegration have been …

Celestial Bodies, Jared Calvin White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following is a collection of original poetry written over a span of three years while attending the University of South Florida. The poetry is divided into five numbered sections, marking the major thematic divisions. Preceding the poetry is a critical introduction to the work that outlines the author's developing thematic ideology.