Psychology Commons^™

Neurologists Look At Causes Of Baffling Brain Condition, Maggie Freleng

Capstones

It can be hard getting help for someone with mental illness, but almost impossible when that person doesn't think they are sick. At at least half of people with schizophrenia, for example, insist that the voices they hear are real. People who do not know they are ill often refuse therapy and medication -- and their symptoms can spiral out of control. Doctors call this lack of awareness anosognosia. Neurologists are trying to discover what causes this baffling condition--and how to treat it.

How Can We Build A Moral Robot?, Kristen E. Clark

Capstones

Artificial intelligence is already starting to drive our cars and make choices that affect the world economy. One day soon, we’ll have robots that can take care of our sick and elderly, and even rescue us in rescue us in emergencies. But as robots start to make decisions that matter—it’s raising questions that go far beyond engineering. We’re stating to think about ethics.

Bertram Malle and Matthias Scheutz are part of a team funded by the department of defense. It's their job to answer a question that seems straight out of a sci-fi novel: How can we build a moral …

You're Only As Good As You Do In School: Asian American Students And The Mental Risks They Face In Higher Education, Asia C. Ewart

Capstones

Anne Cai always joked that, “one of these days,” school was going to drive her to insanity. A snapshot of her life begged to differ. As the oldest of three daughters in her traditional Chinese­ American family, Anne, 23, was the image of success and achievement, not only for her parents and their peers, but for her sisters Jenny, 19, and Vicky, 13. She excelled in elementary, middle and at all three of her high schools—the high school moves were decided by her parents and she never questioned them, lest she burden the family with what she considered complaining.

Building Capacity Through The Use Of A Strategic Prevention Framework System In Communities, Duncan Meyers

Theses and Dissertations

The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) is a planning and implementation model that mobilizes communities to collaborate on developing and implementing an evidence-based prevention system. This model follows a structured five-step process with two cross-cutting elements (cultural competence and sustainability) that emphasizes building capacity of coalitions to strategically plan, implement, and sustain evidence-based prevention services to reduce adolescent substance use. This study utilized a repeated cross-sectional design. Participating youth were in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 and lived in one of 27 counties in a Southeastern state that was funded through the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s SPF State Incentive …

Association Between Depression And Aggression In Rural Women, Laetitia Meyrueix, Gabriel Durham, Jasmine Miller, K. Bryant Smalley Phd, Psyd, Jacob C. Warren Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Rural women represent approximately 20% of women living in the United States, yet research on the specific mental health needs of rural women is limited. Given the well-recognized gender-linked disparity in depression, its correlated symptoms in women still need much investigation. While emerging notions of depression in men embrace potential symptoms related to irritability and aggression, less research has focused on the potential role of aggression in depressed women. This connection may be particularly relevant for rural women who face unique mental health stressors in comparison to their urban counterparts. The purpose of this study was to examine if aggression …

"There’S More To Us Than This:" A Qualitative Study Of Black Young Adults’ Perceptions Of Media Portrayals Of Hiv, Maya Corneille, Anna Lee, Roseina Britton, Judith C. Barker

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The extent to which the targeted group attends to and is engaged by HIV/STI prevention messages is one component of effective health communication. Through an empirical examination of the cumulative perceptions of HIV/STI prevention media messages targeted to Black youth and young adults, this qualitative study privileges the voices of Black/ African American young adults as a group that is frequently targeted in HIV prevention campaigns. Semi-structured interviews with 23 Black/African American young adults yielded key themes that suggest barriers to effective health communication. Traditionally, health promotion has advocated for targeted messages as a means to increase risk perception and …

An Examination Of The Disparity Between Self-Identified Versus Legally-Identified Rape Victimization: A Pilot Study, Dorothy F. Marsil, Corinne Mcnamara

Faculty and Research Publications

Objective: Researchers compared rape victimization based on self-identification to the current, federal legal definition in a pilot study of college students. Methods: The sample was comprised of 1,648 (69.8% female; 30.2% male) college students who completed the SES-SFV online. Results: Based on the current, legal definition of rape, 9.4% (11.1% female; 5.2% male) of students had been raped since being enrolled, but only 2.9% of students self-identified as being raped. Moreover, 15.1% of students reported ever being raped, with females acknowledging higher rates (19.7%) than males (4.3%). Conclusions: Rape continues to be a major issue for colleges and universities. A …

How To Cultivate Compassion As A Tool For Everyday Leadership, Paula Webster

Mindfulness Studies Theses

In this two-party thesis study, the need for compassion in our world is presented up front. Upon this foundation of the need for compassion, the building blocks that together comprise compassionate everyday leader are placed: leaders and leadership, mindful leadership, defining the everyday leader, mindfulness, compassion, and how to cultivate compassion. The evolution of broad concepts of leadership are reviewed, from a control-based approach to a more mindful leadership, social-intelligence based approach. In a mindful leadership approach, qualities of self-awareness are cultivated within and then manifest in relation to the leadership process. Everyday leadership is a more expansive and inclusive …

Prescription For Critical Thinking: A Discussion Of Psychotropic Medication And Counseling, Barton W. Biggs

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This paper examines questions about the safety and efficacy of psychotropic medication, and looks at how these questions should impact the field of counseling. The paper first looks at increasing rates of use of psychotropic medication, and establishes that nearly every clinical mental health counselor will work with clients who are taking or considering taking such medication. The paper next examines the scientific literature and establishes that there is a legitimate basis for questions to be raised about the safety and efficacy of these medications. The paper goes on to establish that there is a foundation in ethical codes and …

Addressing The Mental Health Needs Of Women In Rural Communities: A Women’S Wellness Group, Andriana Hench

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This paper explores the mental health needs of women in rural communities. Based on Myers and Sweeny’s Wellness Model (2008), as well as other relevant research, I have developed a group curriculum as a unique intervention to reach this specific population. This paper provides an overview of relevant literature and includes both a handbook for group facilitators and a participant workbook that compliments the facilitator handbook. This group curriculum is suggested for Clinical Mental Health Counselors and other mental health professionals to promote wellness among rural women.

Advocacy In Action: A Framework For Implementation Of The American Counselors Association Advocacy Competencies On A Local Level, Jeffrey M. Lown

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Despite calls from within the professional field and external forces, counselors have faced ongoing challenges in their efforts to be effective advocates for their clients and themselves. A review of the literature reveals that throughout the history of the profession, prominent figures have called on counselors to assume advocacy roles, and that some initiatives have been successful in fostering lasting change. However, as counselors and their clients’ needs continue to evolve, so too must strategies to address these needs be reevaluated and new initiatives put into place.

In this paper, I have outlined a committee structure and agenda that seeks …

Detecting Changes In Auditory Events, Rachael B. Peck

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Change deafness is defined as the failure to detect the source of an above-threshold change in an auditory scene. A new paradigm recently demonstrated the phenomenon under analogous conditions to its visual counterpart, change blindness (Hall, Peck, Gaston, & Dickerson, 2015). This investigation examined the use of the paradigm through two experiments which involved the same four simultaneously presented events. Experiment 1 distributed events across a virtual 120º on the azimuth while the target event oscillated across a 60º space throughout each trial. Listeners were instructed to identify the target as soon as possible. Target rate of change was manipulated …

The Influence Of Lay Concepts And Causal Theories On Definitions Of Mental Illness And Social Outcomes, Kallen A. Bynum

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Lay concepts and causal attribution theories enable lay people to make sense of their social situations, more specifically, their encounters with those suffering from mental disorders by providing informational frameworks and explanations upon which to interpret their circumstances. Thus, lay concepts and causal theories about mental illness play a role in beliefs and behaviors toward those individuals. The current study surveyed 113 undergraduate students to investigate relations between knowledge of mental illness as well as causal attributions and explicit stigma associated with depression and schizophrenia, such as perceived dangerousness and desire for social distance. Scores for schizophrenia and depression were …

A Theory-Guided Investigation Of Proposed Factors That Influence The Relationship Between Cybervictimization And Psychological Adjustment In Late Adolescents, Melissa K. Hord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cybervictimization is related to negative psychological adjustment (e.g., Tokunaga, 2010); however, not all cybervictims report negative outcomes, and it is not clear what factors may influence vulnerability. One possibility is that cybervictims’ attributions regarding technology-based communication impact their emotional adjustment. Those who make hostile intent attributions in ambiguous situations are more likely to experience negative outcomes (e.g., Crick & Dodge, 1994), and the inherent ambiguity of electronic communication may be particularly susceptible to misinterpretation. In addition, how individuals respond to cyber experiences may serve to either protect or damage their emotional well-being. Furthermore, those who are high in rejection sensitivity …

The Interaction Of Parenting And The Serotonin Transporter Gene On Trajectories Of Fearfulness In Early Childhood, Moira R. Riley

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Children who are more fearful and inhibited during early childhood are at greater risk for social problems (e.g., loneliness, social isolation) and clinically significant internalizing disorders during adolescence and adulthood (e.g., Rubin, Chen, McDougall, Bowker, & McKinnon, 1995; Williams et al., 2009). While the impact of fearful temperament on adjustment indices are regularly the focus of study, less well understood are biological and social processes that may affect the development of fearful temperament. The present study considered the role of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and parenting on change in fearful and inhibited temperamental characteristics during early childhood.

The s/s genotype …

Expectations And Violations Of Privacy During Adolescence, Matthew D. Marrero

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study tested a conceptual model of adolescents’ feelings of privacy invasion derived from CPM. Specifically, goals were to describe adolescents’ expectations of privacy, to describe how often adolescents are exposed to behaviors that threaten privacy, and to test privacy beliefs, potentially invasive behaviors, and having things to hide as predictors of individual differences in feelings of privacy invasion. Furthermore, each question and hypothesis was examined across four privacy domains and four relationships to determine whether privacy functions similarly or uniquely across domains and relationships. Participants were 118 adolescents (59% female), ranging from age 15 to 18 years of age …

Emotional And Autonomic Responding To Auditory Stimuli, Jeremy C. Peres

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research examining emotion induction, regulation, and suppression considers solely the visual modality (e.g., pictures of faces) for emotion elicitation. In reality, emotions are cued, expressed, and interpreted through multiple modalities by employing the extensive use of auditory stimuli in addition to visual stimuli. There have been some recent efforts to offset this imbalance in modality preference by using emotional auditory stimuli alone or in addition to visual stimuli. This project aims to further investigate emotional and autonomic responding to auditory stimuli with the added component of examining differential responding across social (nonlinguistic vocal expression) and non-social auditory …

The Temporal Nature Of The Acute Stress Response And Its Impact On Explicit Learning, Steven B. Hutchinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Acute stress is commonly experienced by many throughout their lives. Given the demanding lifestyle of many career paths, it's important to gauge the influence of these stressors upon cognitive performance. The present dissertation focus' upon explicit learning in attempts to explore one avenue of the stress-cognition relationship. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was used as a lab stressor for Experiments 1 and 2, in which participants are asked to give a speech and complete a difficult math task in front of 2 evaluators trained to monitor non-verbal behavior. Experiment 1 investigates the dynamic stress response during the minutes following …

Role Of Dignity In Rural Natural Resource Governance, Tora Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dignity is “an internal state of peace that comes with the recognition and acceptance of the value and vulnerability of all living things” (Hicks, 2011, p. 1). Dignity is a crucial element in effective governance arrangements. This study applies dignity theory, and related theories of natural resource governance and environmental communication, to understand and overcome barriers to effective governance of common pool resources in rural communities. Chapter 1 reviews relevant literature on natural resource governance and develops a theoretical framework for dignity. Chapter 2 applies dignity theory to a contentious comprehensive planning process in a small Maine town in order …

Positive Parenting, Conduct Problems, And Callous-Unemotional Traits, Julia E. Clark

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The current study tested the association of both positive and negative aspects of parenting with callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems. Caregivers of 92 kindergarteners were recruited to complete a series of survey measures. Overall, parent-report of negative parenting practices was not associated with teacher report of conduct problems. However, parent report of positive parenting practices (i.e., warmth, positive reinforcement, positive communication and cooperation) was negatively associated with conduct problems and CU traits. Interactions between positive parenting variables and CU traits in their association with conduct problems indicated that positive reinforcement related more strongly to lower levels of conduct problem …

Fearful Temperament Moderates The Association Between Positive Parenting And Children's Social Competence During Early Childhood, Jessica M. Grande

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Social competence during kindergarten has been linked to adaptive teacher-child and peer relationships. The quality of parents’ interaction with their children during the toddler years may promote better social development placing children on a trajectory towards social competence. Quite possibly, children vary in how responsive they are to parenting efforts. This study evaluated the extent to which positive parenting predicted change in social competence from child age 3 to 4 among 137 parent-child dyads. Observational measures of positive parenting and fearful temperament were analyzed when children were 3-years of age. Teacher reports of social competence in the classroom were collected …

Fearful Temperament Moderates The Effect Of Harsh Parenting On Early Childhood Problem Behaviors Within Dangerous Neighborhoods: A Multilevel Analysis, Brenna Sapotichne

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Social Emotional Learning And Mindfulness: Learning To Be Human, Jena-Lee Rogers

Master's Projects and Capstones

I am a teacher. I always have been and always will be. As a little girl, I developed a passionate need to see fairness and justice in my world, which of course outside of my family of origin revolved around my life at school. If one of my friends could not understand something, even if I was not totally sure about it myself, I would endeavor to help them learn it in a way that made sense to them. A small act of friendship helped me learn and develop my own a belief in the oneness that connects all of …

Effects Of Pharmacological De-Prenylation Of Rhes On Motor Behavior In A Beta-Nitropropionic Acid Animal Model Of Huntington's Disease, Ashley Whitmarsh

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a heritable, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric disturbances. The progressive disease is caused by an unstable CAG expansion within the gene that normally encodes for the huntingtin protein (Htt). The expanded mutant form of Htt (mHtt) is expressed ubiquitously throughout patients’ bodies; however, neuronal degeneration is prominent only in the corpus striatum and, to a lesser extent, the cortex. The Ras homolog Rhes is also preferentially localized to the striatum. The putative co-factor Rhes has been shown to act with mHtt to cause neuronal death. Simvastatin, a lipid lowering drug, and zoledronate, a …

Evaluation Of The Efficiency Of And Preference For Analog Versus Mand Training On The Acquisition Of Mands For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Melissa L. King

Theses & Dissertations

The present study provides a systematic replication of the Jennett, Harris, and Delmolino (2008) study comparing discrete trial instruction (DTI) and mand training on the acquisition of mands for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An adapted alternating treatment design was implemented across three participants. Independent mands, variation in requested items, and duration of sessions were assessed across conditions. Generalization probes were conducted to assess generalization across communication partners (e.g., novel research assistants), along with a maintenance probe one-week post-training. Furthermore, a concurrent-chains arrangement was implemented to assess participants’ preference for teaching strategies. All participants reached mastery criterion quickest with …

Maternal Predictors Of School Readiness Among At-Risk Head Start Preschool Children, Rachel Chase

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Preschool has been identified as a critical period during which children who are at-risk for school difficulties are most responsive to intervention (National Institute of Mental Health, 2002; National Research Council & Institute of Medicine, 2001). Because of this, school readiness has recently become a prioritized area of interest for the educational system, the health care industry, and the federal government. However, many efforts to comprehensively prepare a child to begin school have not been successful because factors beyond the educational system (e.g., parenting/parent attributes, environmental stressors, and other demographic characteristics) have not been closely considered nor adequately researched. Therefore, …

Dialectical Behavior Therapy In College Counseling Centers: Practical Applications And Theoretical Considerations, Carla Chugani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Authors over the last two decades have discussed the myriad of challenges present in managing college students with severe mental health disorders. During the same time period, Marsha Linehan developed dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) as an empirically sound intervention for individuals with suicidal and self-injurious behaviors and this treatment grew to be an evidence-based practice for a range of challenging clinical issues. I argue that one solution to continued increases in college students who present for treatment to their college counseling centers with difficult-to-treat mental health issues, including but not limited to, borderline personality disorder (BPD), is to implement DBT …

Case Study Of The Eastern State Hospital As Evidence Of English Influence On American Ideas About Mental Illness, Grace Devries

James W. Jackson Award for Excellence in Library Research in the Social Sciences

Grace DeVries, Class of 2016 at the University of Richmond, received the James W. Jackson Award for Excellence in the Social Sciences. Her research paper is entitled, Case Study of the Eastern State Hospital as Evidence of English Influence on American Ideas about Mental Illness.

Understanding The Pxs Aspect Of Within-Person Variation: A Variance Partitioning Approach, Brian Lakey

Funded Articles

This article reviews a variance partitioning approach to within-person variation based on Generalizability (G) Theory and the Social Relations Model (SRM). The approach conceptualizes an important part of within-person variation as Person x Situation (PxS) interactions: differences among persons in their profiles of responses across the same situations. The approach provided the first quantitative method for capturing within-person variation and demonstrated very large PxS effects for a wide range of constructs. These include anxiety, five-factor personality traits, perceived social support, leadership, and task performance. Although PxS effects are commonly very large, conceptual and analytic obstacles have thwarted consistent progress. For …

Reducing The Risk Of Suicide On An Inpatient Acute Behavioral Health Unit, Thomas I. Coleman Mr

Master's Projects and Capstones

Evidence suggest for those who have successfully committed suicide in the form of asphyxiation inside locked facilities are more than likely due to patient bathroom doors. The current unit consists of 30 inpatient medical-psychiatric beds serving the adult and geriatric populations. The goal is to ensure patient safety by removing patient bathroom doors and replacing them with breakaway shower curtains for those exhibiting direct signs and symptoms of suicidal ideations with a plan. The specific aim is to improve patient outcomes by decreasing the number of deaths or attempted suicides. With great results, this type of project has been implemented …