Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Racial And Gender Discrimination Predict Mental Health Outcomes Among Healthcare Workers Beyond Pandemic-Related Stressors: Findings From A Cross-Sectional Survey, Rachel Hennein, Jessica Bonumwezi, Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, Petty Tineo, Sarah R. Lowe

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Racial and gender discrimination are risk factors for adverse mental health outcomes in the general population; however, the effects of discrimination on the mental health of healthcare workers needs to be further explored, especially in relation to competing stressors. Thus, we administered a survey to healthcare workers to investigate the associations between perceived racial and gender discrimination and symptoms of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and burnout during a period of substantial stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic and a national racial reckoning. We used multivariable linear regression models, which controlled for demographics and pandemic-related stressors. Of the 997 participants (Mean …

Everyday Memory In People With Down Syndrome, Yingying Yang, Zachary M. Himmelberger, Trent Robinson, Megan Davis, Frances Conners, Edward Merrill

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Although memory functions in people with Down Syndrome (DS) have been studied extensively, how well people with DS remember things about everyday life is not well understood. In the current study, 31 adolescents/young adults with DS and 26 with intellectual disabilities (ID) of mixed etiology (not DS) participated. They completed an everyday memory questionnaire about personal facts and recent events (e.g., school name, breakfast). They also completed a standard laboratory task of verbal long-term memory (LTM) where they recalled a list of unrelated words over trials. Results did not indicate impaired everyday memory, but impaired verbal LTM, in people with …

How Multidimensional Is Emotional Intelligence? Bifactor Modeling Of Global And Broad Emotional Abilities Of The Geneva Emotional Competence Test, Daniel Simonet, Katherine E. Miller, Kevin Askew, Kenneth Sumner, Marcello Mortillaro, Katja Schlegel

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Drawing upon multidimensional theories of intelligence, the current paper evaluates if the Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECo) fits within a higher-order intelligence space and if emotional intelligence (EI) branches predict distinct criteria related to adjustment and motivation. Using a combination of classical and S-1 bifactor models, we find that (a) a first-order oblique and bifactor model provide excellent and comparably fitting representation of an EI structure with self-regulatory skills operating independent of general ability, (b) residualized EI abilities uniquely predict criteria over general cognitive ability as referenced by fluid intelligence, and (c) emotion recognition and regulation incrementally predict grade point …

Creating A Theoretical Framework To Underpin Discourse Assessment And Intervention In Aphasia, Lucy Dipper, Jane Marshall, Mary Boyle, Deborah Hersh, Nicola Botting, Madeline Cruice

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Discourse (a unit of language longer than a single sentence) is fundamental to everyday communication. People with aphasia (a language impairment occurring most frequently after stroke, or other brain damage) have communication difficulties which lead to less complete, less coherent, and less complex discourse. Although there are multiple reviews of discourse assessment and an emerging evidence base for discourse intervention, there is no unified theoretical framework to underpin this research. Instead, disparate theories are recruited to explain different aspects of discourse impairment, or symptoms are reported without a hypothesis about the cause. What is needed is a theoretical framework that …

An Evaluation Of Wayfinding Abilities In Adolescent And Young Adult Males With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Yingying Yang, Weijia Li, Dan Huang, Wei He, Yanxi Zhang, Edward Merrill

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Wayfinding refers to traveling from place to place in the environment. Despite some research headway, it remains unclear whether individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show strengths, weaknesses, or similarities in wayfinding compared with ability-matched typically developing (TD) controls.

Method

The current study tested 24 individuals with ASD, 24 mental-ability (MA) matched TD (MA-TD) controls, and 24 chronological-age (CA) matched TD (CA-TD) controls. Participants completed a route learning task and a survey learning task, both programmed in virtual environments, and a perspective taking task. Their parents completed questionnaires assessing their children’s everyday wayfinding activities and competence.

Results

Overall, CA-TD …

Technology And Opportunity: People With Serious Mental Illness And Social Connection, Lisa Townsend, Allison Zippay, Kyle Caler, Bradley Forenza

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective: Little information exists regarding how individuals with serious mental illness use technology and whether this usage facilitates social connections. This study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by examining ways in which a sample of persons with serious mental illness use cell phones and the Internet. Methods: Interviews with 50 consumers living in supported housing were asked about their use of cell phones and computers and their perceptions of social connections. Results: Cell phones and computers allowed greater linkage with social, medical, mental health, and employment resources. Nearly all obtained phones through publicly funded programs. “Running out of minutes” …

Pregnant Teens In Foster Care: Concepts, Issues, And Challenges In Conducting Research On Vulnerable Populations, Lisa D. Lieberman, Linda L. Bryant, Kenece Boyce, Patricia Beresford

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Teens in foster care give birth at over twice the rate of other teens. Unique challenges exist for these vulnerable teens and babies, yet research on such populations, particularly within the systems that serve them, is limited. A demonstration project at Inwood House, a residential foster care agency in New York City, from 2000 to 2005, at the same time that the Administration for Children's Services was exploring policy and practice changes for this population, is described. Research design and implementation issues, descriptive data, and experiences provide lessons for improving the evidence base to meet the needs of pregnant teens …

A Theater-Based Approach To Primary Prevention Of Sexual Behavior For Early Adolescents, Lisa D. Lieberman, Cydelle Berlin, Lori-Ann Palen, Olivia Silber Ashley

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Early adolescence is a crucial period for preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. This study evaluated STAR LO, a theater-based intervention designed to affect antecedents of sexual activity among urban early adolescents (N = 1,143). Public elementary/middle schools received the intervention or served as a wait-listed comparison group in a quasi-experimental study. Students completed pretest and posttest questionnaires. Multivariate regression models were used to examine treatment effects. Comparison students showed significantly greater increases in sexual intentions and decreases in pro-abstinence attitudes and intended age of first sex than treatment group adolescents. Comparison girls showed significantly greater increases in …

Ethical Issues In Rehabilitation Counselor Supervision And The New 2010 Code Of Ethics, Harriet L. Glosoff, Kathe F. Matrone

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

The 2010 revision of the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors addresses changes in ethical standards related to rehabilitation counselor supervision. In an effort to promote awareness of these changes, this article offers a brief overview of the revisions and implications for practice including the responsibility of supervisors to actively engage in and support professional development activities.

Why Girls? The Importance Of Developing Gender-Specific Health Promotion Programs For Adolescent Girls, Amanda Birnbaum, Tracy R. Nichols

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Adolescence is a time when many girls begin to develop unhealthy behaviors that can affect myriad short- and long-term health outcomes across their lifespan.2There is evidence that smoking, physical activity, and diet are habituated during adolescence, and some physiologic processes of adolescence, such as peak bone mass development, have direct effects on future health.3-4 Establishing healthy practices, beliefs and knowledge among adolescent girls will decrease morbidity and mortality among adult women and potentially affect the health of men and children through women’s role as healthcare agents. This paper provides a brief review of lifestyle health behaviors among women and girls …

Superior Episodic Memory Is Associated With Interhemispheric Processing, Ruth E. Propper, Stephen D. Christman

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The dependence of episodic memories on interhemispheric processing was tested. In Experiment 1, positive familial sinistrality (FS+; e.g., the presence of left-handed relatives) was associated with superior episodic memory and inferior implicit memory in comparison with negative familial sinistrality (i.e., FS-). This reflected a greater degree of interhemispheric interaction in FS+ participants, which was hypothesized as facilitating episodic memory. In Experiment 2, the authors directly manipulated inter- versus intrahemispheric processing using tests of episodic (recognition) and semantic (lexical decision) memory in which letter strings were presented twice within trial blocks. Semantic memory was superior when the 2nd presentation went to …

The Relationship Between Cognitive Maturity And Information About Health Problems Among School Age Children, Lisa D. Lieberman, Noreeen Clark, Karen V. Krone, Mario Orlandi, Ernst L. Wynder

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This study of urban, multi-ethnic children was undertaken to explore the relationships between age, cognitive developmental capability (termed ‘cognitive maturity’) and accuracy of information about health problems. A total of 299 children in the first, second and third grades from six public and one private school hi New York City were individually interviewed using an open-ended set of questions. Findings indicated that having accurate health information is not the same as comprehending the abstract internal nature of the ‘facts’. Results supported Piaget's levels of cognitive development applied to the area of health. Findings also showed that age is a better …

Age Differences In The Maintenance And Restructuring Of Movement Preparation, Paul Amrhein, George Stelmach, Noreen Goggin

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In 2 experiments, 56 elderly (aged 65–78 yrs) and young Ss (aged 20–28 yrs) performed simple reaction time (RT), choice RT, and movement plan restructuring tasks, using a stimulus precuing paradigm. In Exp 1, the precue display (200 ms) and preparation interval (250, 500, 750, or 1,000 ms) were experimentally determined. In Exp 2, the precue display interval was S determined. For the restructuring task, the precue specified the response on 75% of the trials, enabling movement plan preparation with respect to movement parameters of arm and direction. On remaining trials, the precue incorrectly specified the response, requiring movement plan …

Effects Of Age On Motor Preparation And Restructuring, Paul Amrhein, Noreen Goggin, George Stelmach

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Age-related decrements in motor plan restructuring were investigated. In this experiment, older and younger adults performed a discrete aiming task that involved responses that were precued and responses that were modified at the time of an imperative signal. On 75% of the trials, the precue specified the response-stimulus (valid trials) with respect to the movement parameters of the arm (left or right) and direction (toward or away). On the remaining 25% of the trials, the response-stimulus was different from the precue (invalid trials) in that the subject was required to modify a planned movement by changing the arm to be …

Age Differences In Bimanual Coordination, Paul Amrhein, George Stelmach, Noreen Goggin

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

A bimanual coordination experiment was conducted in which two groups of 10 male and female participants, elderly (67 to 75 years of age) and young (21 to 25 years of age), produced unimanual, bimanual symmetrical (equal extent amplitude), and bimanual asymmetrical (unequal extent amplitude) movements. In addition to an overall increase in performance latency, the elderly group exhibited a linear increase in response initiation (RT) with increases in task complexity similar to that of the young group. However, the elderly participants showed a proportional increase over the young participants in response execution latency (MT). Further, the elderly group had a …