Psychology Commons^™

Relations Among Self-Concealment, Mindfulness, And Internalizing Problems, Joshua Edmunds, Akihiko Masuda, Erin C. Tully

Psychology Faculty Publications

Self-concealment and mindfulness can be viewed as two fairly stable emotion/behavior regulation tendencies, which are often linked to a range of internalizing problems. The current study examined whether low levels of mindfulness and higher levels of self-concealment predict higher levels of depression, anxiety, and somatization for both men and women. An ethnically diverse sample of college undergraduate females (n = 738) and males (n = 249) completed a web-based survey that included the self-report measures of interest. Path analysis models were evaluated separately for male participants and female participants. The findings from these models revealed that low levels …

Changes In Genetic And Environmental Influences On Trait Anxiety From Middle Adolescence To Early Adulthood, Sarah Garcia, Erin C. Tully, Nick Tarantino, Susan South, William G. Iacono, Matt Mcgue

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Middle adolescence to early adulthood is an important developmental period for the emergence of anxiety. Genetically-influenced stable traits are thought to underlie internalizing psychopathology throughout development, but no studies have examined changes in genetic and environmental influences on trait anxiety during this period.

Method: A longitudinal twin study design was used to study same-sex twin pairs (485 monozygotic pairs, 271 dizygotic pairs) at three ages, 14, 18, and 21 years, to examine developmental shifts in genetic and environmental effects on trait anxiety.

Results: The heritability of trait anxiety increased with age, particularly between ages 14 and 18, no significant …

The Role Of Mindfulness And Psychological Flexibility In Somatization, Depression, Anxiety, And General Psychological Distress Of A Non-Clinical College Sample, Akihiko Masuda, Erin C. Tully

Psychology Faculty Publications

The current study investigated whether mindfulness and psychological flexibility uniquely and separately accounted for variability in psychological distress (somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress). An ethnically diverse, non-clinical sample of college undergraduates (N = 494, 76% female) completed a web-based survey that included the self-report measures of interest. Consistent with prior research, psychological flexibility and mindfulness were positively associated with each other, and tested separately, both variables were negatively associated with somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress. Results also revealed that psychological flexibility and mindfulness accounted for unique variance in all four measures of distress. These findings …

The Role Of Mindfulness And Psychological Flexibility In Somatization, Depression, Anxiety, And General Psychological Distress Of A Non-Clinical College Sample., Akihiko Masuda, Erin Tully

Psychology Faculty Publications

The current study investigated whether mindfulness and psychological flexibility uniquely and separately accounted for variability in psychological distress (somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress). An ethnically diverse, non-clinical sample of college undergraduates (N = 494, 76% female) completed a web-based survey that included the self-report measures of interest. Consistent with prior research, psychological flexibility and mindfulness were positively associated with each other, and tested separately, both variables were negatively associated with somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress. Results also revealed that psychological flexibility and mindfulness accounted for unique variance in all four measures of distress. These findings …

Neural Responses To Peer Rejection In Anxious Adolescents: Contributions From The Amygdala-Hippocampal Complex, Jennifer Y.F. Lau, Amanda E. Guyer, Erin Tone, Jessica Jenness, Jessica M. Parrish, Daniel S. Pine, Eric E. Nelson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Peer rejection powerfully predicts adolescent anxiety. While cognitive differences influence anxious responses to social feedback, little is known about neural contributions. Twelve anxious and 12 age-, gender- and IQ-matched, psychiatrically-healthy adolescents received ‘not interested’ and ‘interested’ feedback from unknown peers during a Chatroom task administered in a neuroimaging scanner. No group differences emerged in subjective ratings to peer feedback, but all participants reported more negative emotion at being rejected (than accepted) by peers to whom they had assigned high desirability ratings. Further highlighting the salience of such feedback, all adolescents, independent of anxiety levels, manifested elevated responses in the amygdala-hippocampal …

Neural Responses To Feedback Regarding Betrayal And Cooperation In Adolescents With Anxiety And Mood Disorders, Erin B. Tone

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examined patterns of neural response to feedback regarding betrayal and cooperation in adolescents with anxiety/mood disorders and healthy peers. We compared performance on and neural activation patterns during the Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) game, an economic exchange task involving betrayal and cooperation, between age- and IQ-matched groups of adolescents with anxiety/depressive disorders (A/D) (N=13) and healthy controls (n=17). Participants were deceived to believe that their co-player (a pre-programmed computer algorithm) was another study participant. Although participants responded similarly following feedback that the co-player had cooperated with them on preceding trials, A/D adolescents were more likely than controls to cooperate …

The Impact Of Adolescent Chronic Pain On Functioning: Disentangling The Complex Role Of Anxiety, Lindsey L. Cohen, Kevin E. Vowles, Christopher Eccleston

Psychology Faculty Publications

A number of adolescents with chronic pain have clinically significant disability across physical, social, and academic activities, and pain severity only explains a portion of the variance in functioning. Thus, it is important to identify therapeutic options to improve adolescents’ functioning. In contrast to studies with adults with chronic pain, research in pediatric pain has not consistently found anxiety to be a good predictor of pain-related disability. The present study evaluated pain, anxiety, and functioning in 222 adolescents with chronic pain. Results indicated that pain was consistently and linearly related to disability across measures of physical and social functioning, school …

Responses To Conflict And Cooperation In Adolescents With Anxiety And Mood Disorders, Erin B. Mcclure, Jessica M. Parrish, Eric E. Nelson, Joshua Easter, John F. Thorne, James K. Rilling, Monique Ernst, Daniel S. Pine

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examined patterns of behavioral and emotional responses to conflict and cooperation in adolescents with anxiety/mood disorders and healthy peers. We compared performance on and emotional responses to the Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) game, an economic exchange task involving conflict and cooperation, between adolescents with anxiety/depressive disorders (A/D) (N=21) and healthy comparisons (n=29). Participants were deceived to believe their co-player (a pre-programmed computer algorithm) was another study participant. A/D adolescents differed significantly from comparisons in patterns of play and emotional response to the game. Specifically, A/D participants responded more cooperatively to cooperative overtures from their co-players; A/D girls also reported …

Hiv And Psychological Functioning Among Black South African Women: An Examination Of Psychosocial Moderating Variables, Gretchen K. Lindner

Psychology Dissertations

Introduction: South Africa has an HIV-infection rate of 5 million people. Between 1995 and 2005, South Africa is expected to have the highest number of AIDS-related deaths on the African continent, a total of 2.7 million. Many infected individuals are women. However, there is very little research conducted with South African women examining the relationship between HIV-infection and psychological distress. Research conducted in the United States indicates that HIV-infection is associated with increased rates of depression and anxiety. This research project aims to explore the relationship between HIV-infection and psychological functioning in the unique socio-political context of South Africa. In …

Corticotropin Releasing Factor Receptors And Agonistic Behavior In Syrian Hamsters, Alicia N. Faruzzi

Psychology Dissertations

Social conflict is a part of everyday life, and it can be a potent stressor for both humans and other animals. In the laboratory, when two Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) compete for territory, a dominance hierarchy is quickly formed. Becoming subordinate is a significant stressor resulting in increased release of adrenocorticotropic hormone, β-endorphin, and cortisol. Defeated hamsters will also subsequently fail to display territorial aggression in future social encounters and will instead display increased submissive behavior, even in the presence of a smaller, non-aggressive intruder. This change in behavior is consistent and long-lasting and has been termed conditioned defeat (CD). …