Psychology Commons^™

A Wilderness And Art Therapy Program For Children With Social Concerns, Ashlynn C. Wardle

Honors Projects

For my honors project, I created an alternative therapy program for children with special needs. Activities were designed to support children with varied needs such as children with autism, ADHD, or learning disabilities. The program utilizes the most successful factors from the fields of art therapy, wilderness therapy, special education, applied behavior analysis, and speech and language therapy the program to form age appropriate, educational, and fun art and wilderness opportunities.

The Neural Correlates Of Emotion Reactivity And Regulation In Young Children With Adhd, Claudia I. Lugo-Candelas

Doctoral Dissertations

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most frequently occurring pediatric neurobehavioral disorder. Although emotion reactivity and regulation are frequently impaired in ADHD, few studies have examined these factors in preschool aged children with ADHD, and none have explored the neural correlates of emotion reactivity and regulation in this group though event-related potentials (ERPs). Children aged 4 to 7 with (n = 24) and without (n = 30) ADHD symptoms completed an attention task composed of four blocks: baseline, frustration, suppression, and recovery. In the frustration and suppression blocks, negative affect was induced by false negative feedback. During the …

Incremental Clinical Utility Of Adhd Assessment Measures With Latino Families, Margaret A. Grace

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder beginning in childhood, with related symptoms and impairment across settings often persisting into adolescence and adulthood if effective treatment is not provided (Bernardi et al., 2012). Therefore, the early and accurate assessment and diagnosis of ADHD is critical. While the prevalence of ADHD symptomatology has been found to be consistent between Latinos and European Americans (Morgan, Hillemeir, Farkas, & Maczuga, 2014), there is little research on the best practices for assessing ADHD in Latinos. The current study sought to examine the incremental clinical utility of two parent- and teacher-report measures of ADHD symptomatology …

Sleep, Executive Control, And Psychopathology In Children: A Longitudinal Study And An Examination Of Brief Sleep Treatment, Katherine M. Kidwell

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Researchers have acknowledged that poor sleep is not merely a symptom of psychopathology but also a contributing factor to the development of psychopathology in children (Walker & Harvey, 2010). However, more research is needed to explicate the associations among sleep, executive control (EC), and psychopathology. Specifically, there are few studies using longitudinal designs and limited research on how treating sleep can improve mental health symptoms. This dissertation provides a conceptual framework for the associations among sleep, EC, and psychopathology. The conceptual framework is bolstered by two studies. Study 1 is an examination of early sleep problems and preschool EC as …

Possible Underlying Mechanisms Of Hyperactivity In Children With Adhd, Nicole Feirsen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Conceptualizations of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have evolved significantly over the years. Historically, early conceptualizations of ADHD described hyperactivity as the core symptom of the disorder. However, when the third version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was published (1980), hyperactivity became a specific qualifier of the disorder and was no longer necessary for a diagnosis. Despite this shift in conceptualization of the disorder, there is an abundance of empirical evidence, both recent and historical, supporting the fact that hyperactivity is an enduring and clinically impairing symptom domain in ADHD. Despite having numerous validated instruments available to …

The Influence Of Race, Economics, Neighborhood, And School Category On The Severity Of Adhd Symptoms, Angel Linh Nguyen

MA Community Psychology Theses

An ordinal regression method was used to model the relationship between the ordinal outcome variable, an ADHD index created for the purpose of this research, and the predictor variables of Race, Economics, Neighborhood Rating, and School Category/Type. A secondary data analysis of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and Child Development Supplement (CDS) was used in this study. The final sample consisted of 1,169 elementary, middle, and high school children ages 9-18. Six analyses were conducted to determine the best fit model for the data: a combined model with all the predictor variables, one for each individual predictor variable, …

Attention Deficits And Perception Of Emotion In Groups, Agnes Renee Strojewska

Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated the relationship between attention deficits and the recognition of emotions of either individuals or groups (ensembles). Previous research has suggested that individuals with ADHD may have deficits in social cognition, specifically in recognizing the internal (emotional) states of others, though it remains unclear whether these deficits are a discrete component of ADHD or merely the byproduct of the inattention characteristic of the disorder. Perception of ensemble characteristics, or ensemble coding, has recently been the target of increased interest in perception research, and appears to represent a powerful mechanism for processing sensory information, particularly in situations when …

Understanding And Measuring Functional Impairment In Diverse Children With Adhd: Development Of The Adhd-Fx Scale With An At-Risk, Community Sample, Lauren M. Haack, Alyson C. Gerdes, Kathryn E. Lawton, Brian W. Schneider

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Science, Symptoms, And Support Groups:Adhd In The American Cultural Context, Kealy D. Fallon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a cultural analysis of the behaviorally- and psychiatrically-defined disorder ADHD, socio-historically contextualizing it in the United States and exploring ethnographically how people affected by it talk about and organize their experience of its symptoms.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of An Integrated Brain, Body, And Social Intervention For Children With Adhd, Stephanie D. Smith, Lawrence A. Vitulano, Liliya Katsovich, Shuaixing Li, Christina Moore, Fenghua Li, Heidi Grantz, Xixi Zheng, Virginia Eicher, Selin Aktan Guloksuz, Yi Zheng, Jinxia Dong, Denis G. Sukhodolsky, James F. Leckman

Faculty Publications

Objective: This study evaluated the efficacy of an Integrated Brain, Body, and Social (IBBS) intervention for children with ADHD. Treatment consisted of computerized cognitive remediation training, physical exercises, and a behavior management strategy.

Method: Ninety-two children aged 5 to 9 years with ADHD were randomly assigned to 15 weeks of IBBS or to treatment-as-usual. Primary outcome measures included blinded clinician ratings of ADHD symptoms and global clinical functioning. Secondary outcome measures consisted of parent and teacher ratings of ADHD and neurocognitive tests.

Results: No significant treatment effects were found on any of our primary outcome measures. In terms of secondary …

Gender Differences In Adhd Diagnosis, Anthony Rizzo

Theses and Dissertations

There is a great disparity in the amount of males diagnosed with ADHD compared to females. This paper reviews a large collection of literature ranging from the history of the disorder, neurological studies, potential genetic differences between genders, as well as potential gender biases. These topics are all examined with the purpose of trying to determine which effect, if any, they may have had in creating the criteria necessary for a diagnosis and how that relates to each gender. The study examined each individual symptom necessary for an ADHD diagnosis and asked teachers to complete a survey designed to attempt …

Examining Well-Being Among College Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) And Co-Morbid Diagnoses: An Integrative Approach To Understanding Mental Health, Michael T. Strand

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Deficit and dysfunction in college students with ADHD diagnoses are now well studied and known to be commonplace in clinical psychology research literature (see Green & Rabiner, 2014, for review). However, areas of positive functioning and psychological well-being have not been well examined. This dissertation aims to investigate the extent to aspects of well-being may be more or less developed among college students carrying a diagnosis of ADHD, in comparison to their college peers. This examination utilized a subset of data collected from annual national “Healthy Minds” survey of college student mental health in the United States (Eisenberg, D., Hunt, …

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms As A Mediator Of The Relation Between Social Perception And Social Skills And Adaptability In Preschoolers, Brandi Michelle Ellis

Master's Theses

ADHD symptoms have been linked empirically to both social perception deficits as well as impairments in social skills and adaptability. The current study built on existing literature by examining whether social perception abilities indirectly predicted social skills and adaptability through ADHD symptoms in preschool-aged children. The sample consisted of 3- to 6-year-old children attending Head Start Programs and private preschools (N = 76). It was expected that social perception abilities would positively relate to both social skills and adaptability. It was also expected that these relations would occur indirectly through ADHD symptoms. Specifically, social perception abilities would relate negatively …

Association Between Sensory Responsiveness And Attachment Style In College Students With And Without Adhd, Madeline Alderfer

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore possible correlations between overall sensory processing responsivity and relationship attachment, as well as between sensory subscales and relationship attachment. It also tested for a difference between sensory processing patterns among young adults with and without ADHD. The sample included 370 college students: 32 who had received an ADHD diagnosis and 338 who had not. Participants completed an online self-report survey made up of various demographics questions, the Sensory Processing Quotient (SPQ), and the Experiences in Close Relationships – General/Global Scale (ECR-General). A significant correlation was discovered between general SPQ scores and relationship …

Program For Education And Enrichment Of Relational Skills: Parental Outcomes With An Adhd Sample, Kelsey Gonring

Dissertations (1934 -)

The goal of the current study was to examine the effect of PEERS®, a 14-week parent-assisted friendship-building program for adolescents with ADHD, on parental functioning, quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, and family functioning. Participants included 25 parents (19 mothers, 6 fathers) of adolescents with ADHD. Families completed the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®; Laugeson & Frankel, 2010). Measures of parenting stress, parental efficacy, parent-adolescent communication, parent-adolescent involvement, causal attributions for negative social interactions, and family chaos were completed by parents at pre and post-treatment. Parents demonstrated statistically significant improvements in parenting stress and parent-adolescent communication …

Adhd And Attention Problems In Children With And Without Spina Bifida, Rachel M. Wasserman, Alison M. Stoner, Alexa Stern, Grayson N. Holmbeck

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Objectives: To identify differences in the diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) between typically developing children and children with spina bifida. Method: Sixty-eight children with spina bifida and 68 demographically matched, typically developing children participated in a larger, longitudinal study. Rates of maternal, paternal, and teacher reports of attention problems, as well as rates of maternal reports of ADHD diagnosis, diagnosing provider, pharmaceutical treatment, mental health treatment, and academic accommodations were obtained at 5 time points over a period of 8 years and were compared across groups. Results: Children with spina bifida were more likely to have an …

Trait-Based Profiles Of Adhd In Adolescents And Young Adults, Tess E. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Empirical work has examined the utility of using person-centered statistical approaches emphasizing traits to parsing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) heterogeneity in preschool and school-aged children. However, trait-based profiles have not yet been examined in other age ranges, specifically adolescence and young adulthood. Therefore, the goal of the present study is to examine trait-based profiles in adolescents and young adults with ADHD in order to evaluate their similarity with trait-based profiles in preschoolers and children with ADHD and through comparison with external correlates (e.g., comorbidity). One hundred and eighty-two adolescents and 287 young adults completed measures of ADHD symptoms, personality and temperament …

Cooperative Group Play Social Skills Training For Children With Social, Emotional, And Behavior Challenges: Impact On Self-Esteem And Social Skills, Bridget Hirsch

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Social skills training (SST) programs are a common component of treatment for children with social, emotional, developmental, and behavioral challenges. Because of social skills deficits, these children often face peer rejection and develop low self-esteem. Research on SST programs for clinical populations often fails to examine self-esteem or the research is outdated and demonstrates minimal changes in self-esteem. The investigator employed a quasi-experimental, within subjects, repeated measures (pre-post test) design to examine changes in self-esteem and social skills in children from 3^rd to 9^th grades attending an outpatient SST program that incorporated developmentally appropriate games (DAG). Parent- and …

Appalachian Parent Perceptions Of Adhd Symptomology, Shaina Lee Meadows

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most widely documented referral concern among children and adolescents referred to mental health practitioners. The current study examined Appalachian parents’ (N=68) knowledge of ADHD, accuracy in identifying ADHD symptoms, and treatment preferences. Findings of the survey indicate the majority of parents received no training on ADHD; however, most were able to recognize the majority of the signs of ADHD. Equally important, parents of children with ADHD and those who reported receiving some form of ADHD training demonstrated a negligible advantage in correctly identifying ADHD symptoms. Results, moreover, showed a significant preference for discipline as a …

Appalachian Teachers' Referral For Adhd In Contrast To Giftedness In Selected Vignettes, Alexandria Rose Mejia

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

ADHD is the most widely diagnosed behavior disorder in children however, the nonstandardized nature of an ADHD evaluation can lead to misdiagnosis. Teachers often initiate referrals, though symptoms associated with ADHD can also be observed in gifted students. Appalachia has reported rates of ADHD that are much higher than the national average. It is therefore important that the factors that influence referral are better understood. This study hypothesized that priming to giftedness would reduce the likelihood that a teacher would refer for an ADHD evaluation in ambiguous vignettes and that teachers primed to consider giftedness will rate characteristics of ADHD …

Internal And External Validity Of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo In Young Adolescents With Adhd, Zoe Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents with Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) show symptoms of slowness, mental confusion, excessive daydreaming, low motivation, and drowsiness/sleepiness. Although many symptoms of SCT reflect internalizing states, no study has evaluated the utility of self-report of SCT in an ADHD sample. Further, it remains unclear whether SCT is best conceptualized as a unidimensional or multidimensional construct. In a sample of 262 adolescents comprehensively diagnosed with ADHD, the present study evaluated the dimensionality of a SCT scale and compared CFA and bifactor model fits for parent- and self-report versions. Analyses revealed the three-factor bifactor model to be the best fitting model. In …

Biopsychosocial Models Of The Development Of Childhood Disruptive Behaviors, Anne Bernard Arnett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hyperactivity/attention problems (HAP) and conduct problems (CP) are common and impairing disruptive behaviors in childhood and adolescence. Previous research has established that HAP and CP are highly comorbid, and that outcomes are worse for youth exhibiting both symptom clusters relative to youth with only one disruptive behavior type. Despite ample evidence that HAP and CP share common etiological factors and maladaptive outcomes, the nature of their developmental association remains unclear. This dissertation clarifies three important characteristics of comorbid HAP and CP development, in two replicate, longitudinal, population samples of youth. First, I test the theory that within-person variation in HAP …

Nigerian Educators' Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Knowledge And Classroom Behavior Management Practices, Arthur N. Ojionuka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This correlational study assessed Nigerian educators' knowledge about attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and inclusive classroom management practices when serving students with ADHD. Specifically, the study examined the predictive correlation between teachers' demographic characteristics, including years of teaching experience, level of education, and knowledge about ADHD, as well as how their knowledge informed their choice of behavior management interventions. Teachers are accountable for pedagogical responsibilities including maintenance and management of a learning environment that promotes learning and inclusion. Further, they play a significant role in identifying and supporting students with learning impairments including ADHD. Thus, it is critical for teachers to …

Positive Illusory Bias In Adolescents With Adhd: Prevalence, Stability, And Accuracy Of Reporters, Elizaveta Bourchtein

Theses and Dissertations

The positive illusory bias (PIB) – over-reporting levels of self-competence compared to other raters – has been demonstrated in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), despite increased impairment rates. However, due to inconsistent definitions of the PIB, conflicting findings have emerged regarding prevalence of the PIB in youth with ADHD and whether parent or child report is actually “biased” and driving the PIB. Additionally, stability of the PIB across time is unknown. The present study used person-centered methodology cross-sectionally and longitudinally to evaluate the prevalence of the PIB in adolescents with ADHD. Results revealed a cross-domain global PIB group at baseline …

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & Narrative Comprehension Deficits In College Students, Laura E. Vincent

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The current study examined if the narrative comprehension deficits that children with ADHD exhibit during childhood and adolescence continue in college students as a function of ADHD symptoms, and if a relationship existed between ADHD symptoms and self-efficacy. Children and adolescence with ADHD have difficulties in several areas of narrative comprehension, including maintaining goal structure, distinguishing important events from unimportant events, and making causal connections. If these deficits persist there also may be a relationship between ADHD symptoms and self-efficacy.

Higher levels of ADHD symptomatology were associated with difficulties recalling story events in the college population. Some findings differed from …

Ovarian Hormones, Adhd, Risk-Taking, & Impulsivity, Bethan A. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a highly impairing disorder of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that is more frequently diagnosed in males versus females at a ratio of 3:1. However, females with the disorder become highly impaired during adolescence, perhaps due to the onset of cycling ovarian hormones at puberty. The present study empirically assessed the role of the major female sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, in the presentation of ADHD symptoms, impulsivity, and associated risk-taking behaviors (e.g., risky sex, substance use and abuse) in a non-clinical sample of young adult women. 32 healthy young adult women who were screened for hormonal …