Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Complex Trauma In Childhood And Its Relationship To Emotion Regulation And Distress Tolerance In College Students, Elizabeth Lombardo

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Objective: The influence of childhood trauma has been found to be related to difficulties in emotion regulation and distress tolerance in young adulthood (Berenz et al., 2018a, 2018b). Research has shown that childhood abuse and adversities such as neglect or emotional abuse results in impaired processes related to the development of emotion regulation and efficient interpersonal skills, while also resulting in symptoms reflecting disordered affective self-regulation (Cloitre et al., 2009; Shipman, Edwards, Brown, Swisher, & Jennings, 2005; Shipman, Zeman, Penza, & Champion, 2000). Research has examined emotional regulation and distress tolerance in the context of childhood trauma but has not …

Attachment, Exploration, And Internalized Homonegativity, Gregory J. Gagnon

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Internalized homonegativity (IH; a.k.a. internalized homophobia), has been implicated in health disparities between lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons (LGBs) and their heterosexual peers. Yet, little available research has explored factors that may increase or decrease IH.

Objective: This dissertation investigates relations between child and adult attachment and IH. It further examines the mediating and moderating roles of exploration and mentalization, respectively, in the attachment–IH relation.

Method: One hundred fifty cisgender LGB adults participated in two waves of an online survey. The first assessed recalled child–maternal and child–paternal attachment and current attachment to the romantic partner. The second, conducted two …

Exploring Gender Differences Between Bipolar Disorder And Borderline Personality Disorder In Responses On The Personality Assessment Inventory (Pai), Stephanie M. Green

Dissertations

Bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder are two diagnoses that are often difficult to differentiate. Current literature supports this challenge and reveals a high rate of misdiagnosis between the two, as well as a high prevalence of borderline personality disorder diagnoses in women. Diagnostic accuracy remains a vital skill for clinicians to effectively address the needs of clients, and diagnostic assessment tools are often used to aid in this endeavor. The focus in this study was to explore gender discrepancies in responses across the main features of borderline personality disorder (i.e., affective instability, identity problems, negative relationships, and self-harm) and …

The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Procrastination: Examining Trait And Cognitive Conceptualizations, And The Mediating Roles Of Fear Of Failure And Overgeneralization Of Failure, Lital Yosopov

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The relationship between perfectionism and procrastination has been established in the literature; however, findings regarding the magnitude of this correlation are inconsistent. Some studies found small-to-medium effects between trait-perfectionism and trait-procrastination, while others found large effects between perfectionistic cognitions and procrastinatory cognitions, suggesting that the association may be stronger when assessed from a cognitive perspective. The present study addressed this inconsistency, by exploring this association using both trait and cognitive measures. There was a significant and positive correlation between perfectionism and procrastination, and the largest effect size was observed between perfectionism (trait and cognitive measures) and procrastinatory cognitions, suggesting that …

An Interpersonal View Of Personality Disorders, Mariafé T. Panizo Jansana

Dissertations, 2020-current

One of the most controversial psychological disorders in the mental health field is personality disorders. Personality disorders are difficult to study and difficult to treat. Among other issues, high comorbidity among personality disorders interferes with its reliability and differential diagnosis. Substantial efforts in the last decades are attempting to address some of these issues by rethinking the way personality disorders are diagnosed, and special attention has been placed on traits-based dimensional models. Despite the multiple advantages of traits-based dimensional models, there is some hesitancy in the field regarding whether these models are truly equipped to serve as the basis for …

Implicit Bias And Voluntarily Childfree Adults, Virginia Elizabeth Powell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study aimed to determine if there is a negative bias towards voluntarily childfree adults or an association of negative views and attitudes with voluntarily childfree adults, controlling for other participant characteristics such as race, religion, or sexual orientation. At this stage in the research, voluntarily childfree adults are generally defined as legal adults who have the intention to remain childfree for the rest of their lives, due to reasons other than fertility issues. A negative view or bias is defined as any attitude which is not a desirable interpretation of behavior or lifestyle. A negative bias against voluntarily …

You Are Resilient: Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Treatment For Low-Ses, Urban Youth, Courtney Molina

Dissertations

The focus in this review was to explore the benefits and optimal use of trauma-informed, strengths-based care for the therapeutic treatment of low-socioeconomic status (SES), urban youth. Specific focus was given to evidence-based research on the treatment of emotional and behavioral dysregulation among low-SES, urban youth. The review was guided by the following research questions: How can emotional and behavioral dysregulation be symptoms of trauma among low-SES, urban youth; What makes trauma-informed and strengths-based care optimal for the treatment of low-SES, urban youth with dysregulation; and What are clear guidelines for providing trauma-informed, strengths-based care to low-SES, urban youth with …

The Role Of Masculinity In The Development Of Capability For Suicide, Claire Houtsma

Dissertations

Males account for over two-thirds of suicide deaths annually. Additionally, more than 50% of American suicide deaths annually are firearm-related. Suicide risk is elevated within firearm owning households and men are more likely to own firearms, which suggests that male firearm owners are at disproportionate risk for suicide. Prior research has argued that certain stereotypically male traits (e.g., lack of help-seeking) may explain sex differences in suicide death; however, this remains a poorly understood phenomenon. Male gender norms (e.g. physical toughness, self-reliance) may contribute to the development or expression of capability for suicide, primarily through their impact on behavior. The …

Romantic Relational Aggression Among College Students: A Moderated Mediation Study Of Attachment Style, Romantic Jealousy, Mate Value, And Relationship Investment, Skylar Hicks

Dissertations

Most of the research on intimate partner violence has concentrated on overt physical and verbal aggression, and less is known about relational aggression in the framework of romantic relationships. Relational aggression is more prevalent in college students’ romantic relationships compared to physical aggression and may be a risk factor for intimate partner violence. Additionally, a number of adverse correlates have been associated with romantic relational aggression, suggesting that it is worthy of study independent of its association with intimate partner violence. The present study explored the relationships among adult attachment, romantic jealousy, mate value, relationship investment, and romantic relational aggression …

The Roles Of Violence Exposure And Gender On The Relationship Between Adolescent Psychopathic And Conduct Disorder Traits And The Capability For Suicide, Tiffany Harrop

Dissertations

Suicide represents one of the leading causes of mortality for adolescents. Externalizing behaviors, such as psychopathic and conduct disorder traits, represent risk factors for adolescent suicide. Investigation of suicide capability is especially important, as it is theorized to distinguish individuals who evince suicide ideation from those who progress to making a suicide attempt. Currently, associations between psychopathic and conduct disorder traits and capability in youth are understudied, as well as factors that may potentiate these associations, such as exposure to violence and gender. The aim of this study was to explore the interactive nature of psychopathic and conduct disorder traits, …

Cultural Homelessness, Self-Esteem, And Skin Color Satisfaction Among Latinxs, Josephine M. Almanzar

Dissertations

This study explored feelings of cultural homelessness, self-esteem, and skin color satisfaction among Latinxs. A close interest was placed in examining responses of participants who identified as racially Black or Afro-Latinx. Through an electronic survey, the study aimed to answer the four research questions: (1) Is there a correlation between cultural homelessness, self-esteem, and skin color satisfaction; (2) Do participants of different self-perceived skin colors differ in self-esteem, cultural homelessness, and skin color satisfaction; (3) Does age moderate the relationship between self-perceived skin color and self-esteem; and (4) Does age moderate the relationship between self-perceived skin color and cultural homelessness. …

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms As A Moderator Of Affective Reactions To Perceived Interpersonal Behaviors, Narayan B. Singh

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms often struggle with heightened sensitivity and arousal in response to perceived threats. Moreover, interpersonal dysfunction in GAD has become increasingly a focus of empirical investigation and treatment, given the possibility that responses to social interactions may contribute to GAD symptom maintenance. Laboratory studies and cross-sectional trait assessments of interpersonal problems comprise most of our understanding of interpersonal dysfunction in GAD. However, how GAD symptoms interact with perceived interpersonal threats to predict affective responses (increased arousal, lower valence) within daily life remains poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine …

The Dark Triad And Honesty-Humility: A Preliminary Study On The Relations To Pornography Use, Peter Muris, Henry Otgaar, Cor Meesters, Eirini Papasileka, David Pineda

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The present article reports on a preliminary study exploring the relationships between Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and honesty-humility personality traits and pornography craving and deviant pornography use in a sample of 121 participants (46 men and 75 women) who completed an online survey. Narcissism and psychopathy were positively related to pornography craving and deviant pornography consumption, while honesty-humility appeared to be negatively associated with these pornography-related variables. Furthermore, the data suggested that these relationships were only present in men and not in women. While the current results should be interpreted with caution in the light of a number of …

Connecting To The Self: Increasing Self-Awareness In Children With Asd, Development Of A Method, Madison Janke

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Dance/movement therapy is a popular method utilized with the autism spectrum population due to its focus on increasing social skills, developing relationships, improving function, increasing positive body image, and expanding movement repertoire. The literature indicated that mirroring is the most common and most utilized DMT intervention for this population, but it provided minimal alternative dance/movement therapy interventions. The dance/movement therapy method implemented through this research attempted to provide an alternative to mirroring through the creation of a body outline. This method was developed through the theoretical framework of relational-cultural theory, emphasizing the impact that relationships can have on the shaping …

Examining Entitlement And Antagonism As Distinguishing Features Of Narcissism, Zane M. Repp

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Objective: In this study, I worked to examine possible core features in narcissism. Researchers largely accept that there are at least two main dimensions of narcissism, grandiosity and vulnerability. However, these two dimensions have very different presentations in individuals, with very different personality factors, interpersonal traits, and relationships to other psychopathology. This raises the question of whether grandiosity and vulnerability are two versions of the same disorder, or if they would be better understood as different pathologies. This study examines whether the features of entitlement and antagonism can be used to distinguish grandiosity and vulnerability as both unique versions of …

Gender, Race, And Childhood Abuse As Predictors Of Borderline Personality Disorder, Olivia Moses

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a debilitating personality disorder that impacts anywhere between 1% to 5% of Americans. Studies claim that women are significantly more at risk than men to suffer from this disorder and may experience stronger symptoms. Previous research has found that victims of childhood abuse such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect are more at risk for developing Borderline Personality Disorder as adults, particularly when abuse is paired with genetic susceptibility. Some researchers claim that there are no detectable racial differences in Borderline Personality Disorder, but previous studies often have very small sample sizes taken from …

The Dark Triad Predicted By Belief In Determinism And Objectification, Rachel Boros

Theses and Dissertations

While philosophers and psychologists continue to debate the existence of free will without reaching any consensus, recent attention has shifted to the matter of the consequences of belief in free will, or belief in the alternative, determinism. Proponents of the latter position argue that human behavior is the result of causal forces, which implies a lack of autonomy in decision-making and inevitability (Paulhus & Carey, 2011). Recent research has found consequences of belief in determinism that include the promotion of undesirable behavior and undermining of moral behavior (Vohs & Schooler, 2008), impulsive and selfish responses demonstrated through aggression (Baumeister, Masicampo, …

Impact Of Emotional Competencies On Current E-Cigarette Use Within A Young Adult Sample, Laurel O. Brockenberry, Kelli England, Paul T. Harrell

College of Sciences Posters

Significance: Maladaptive emotional states are important drivers of tobacco use, but the mediating factors are poorly understood, particularly for e-cigarette use. Given that e-cigarette use has increased in prevalence and popularity, research examining motivating factors to engage in use is necessary. Methods: Survey data were collected from youth (18-25) attending a four-year university (N = 216, M-age = 20.41, 36.6% African American). Respondents answered questions about emotion dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale; DERS), positive/negative urgency (Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency Scale; UPPS-P), affect (Positive and Negative Affect Scale, PANAS), distress tolerance (Distress Tolerance Scale, DTS); negative …

Maladaptive Personality Traits And Health Behaviors, Health Perceptions, And Inflammatory Biomarkers In Older Adults, Joshua R. Oltmanns

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Traits from dimensional models of normal-range personality have been shown to predict physical health outcomes including health behaviors, health perceptions, disease, and mortality. Maladaptive traits of personality disorders may predict even more variance in physical health indicators. Dimensional models of maladaptive personality traits are replacing categorical models of personality disorder, and the five-factor model of personality disorder (FFMPD) has been shown to be a useful dimensional model of maladaptive traits. However, there has been little work investigating the criterion validity of the FFMPD for predicting physical health indicators. The present study examines FFMPD scales in the prediction of health behaviors, …

Locus Of Control And Mindfulness As Moderators Of The Job Demand-Control Model: Effects On Burnout, Basia Andrejko-Gworek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractBurnout is considered a health hazard of contemporary workplaces and additional research is needed to identify protective factors against this phenomenon. The job demand-control model specifies job control as the key buffer against strains, but empirical support for its buffer hypothesis is limited. The present study accounted for both structural and person factors and tested a revised hindrance job demand-control model in prediction of burnout. By incorporating the challenge-hindrance stress framework with tenets of the transactional stress framework and the differential reactivity of personality theory, it was proposed that inclusion of hindrance stressors (i.e., interpersonal conflict, role conflict and organizational …

Differential Identification Of Hyperacusis And Misophonia: Implications Of Discrete Decreased Sound Tolerance (Dst) Condition Subtypes, Rachel E. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperacusis and misophonia are two conditions of decreased sound tolerance (DST) studied in the psychological literature due to their association with psychological symptoms and mechanisms. DSTs are differentiated from normal sound sensitivity due to the reported impairment and distress individuals experience. Researchers suggest that DSTs are differentiated by types of sounds and emotional reactions elicited, such that hyperacusis is a fear and pain response to ordinary environmental sounds perceived as uncomfortably loud, and misophonia is an anger and disgust response to human-made sounds, but these distinctions, and associated characteristics, have not been empirically demonstrated. Undergraduate students (N = 1572) …

Borderline Traits In Mothers And Their Adolescent Daughters: Associations Between Emotion Regulation, Relationship Quality, And Social Cognition, Tina Krolikowski

Master’s Theses

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is categorized by impairing emotional dysregulation and other difficulties, with traits being more common in females and emerging in adolescence (British Psychological Society, 2009). The mother-daughter relationship has been shown to relate to trait expression (Cheavans et al., 2005), and it is believed social cognition may be impaired in individuals with BPD (Preibler et al., 2010). The current study evaluated how BPD levels, emotion regulation, and social cognition interact within an individual, how similarity between mother and daughter relate to their perception of the relationship, and whether social cognition is a potential moderator between mother and …

Intentional Personality Change: Toward The Prevention Of Problem Drinking, Elizabeth N. Riley

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Personality stability across the lifespan has been well documented, but within that overall stability there is also evidence of meaningful change. There is both theoretical and empirical evidence to suggest that personality change can occur at the volition of the individual, through behavioral processes. The current study tested whether an emotion modulation intervention that promoted behavior change could be applied to reduce a related, high-risk personality trait (negative urgency) and a high-risk behavior (heavy alcohol consumption) using a three-week long, mixed laboratory design. Participants (n=23) were a sample of heavy drinking but otherwise healthy volunteers who were randomly assigned to …

Structure And Demographic Correlates Of Individual Trait Responses To Emotions, Anita Adams

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

From a functionalist perspective, emotions inform people of their needs and influence responses to the environment. Responses to emotion encompass more than emotion regulation strategies. Individual differences emerge from the consistent way that people cope with their emotions, called trait responses to emotion (TRE). We hypothesized approach/avoidance and control/dyscontrol would characterize the dimensional structure of TRE and that dimensions would correlate with age, gender, and early life experiences. The present study developed a multidimensional model to explore TRE from a TurkPrime sample (N = 284). Participants completed a web-based battery of surveys with demographic, early life experience, and TRE questionnaires. …

Shadow Women: Wives Betrayed By Sex Buyers, Ingeborg Kraus

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Shadow women are women whose husbands betray them by using prostituted women. Until now, there has been almost no attention paid to the harm to the wives or partners of men who use prostituted women. In this interview, Dr. Ingeborg Kraus talks to the former wife of a sex buyer. She describes the impact of her husband’s betrayal on her and her family. This type of harm needs to be taken seriously and more research done on it.

Self-Construal As A Moderator In The Relationship Between Self-Enhancement/Protection And Psychological Well-Being, Asmita Saha

Masters Theses

The purpose of the proposed study was to investigate the relationship between self-enhancement/protection and psychological well-being and to test if these relationships differ depending on whether one has a more independent or more interdependent self-construal. Two hundred and fifty-two participants who were residents of the United States were recruited from Amazon Turk. They responded to scales that measured their self-enhancement/self-protection strategies, independent/interdependent self-construals, positive-negative affect, level of life satisfaction, and psychological distress. The study sample was predominantly White, and participants were significantly more independent than interdependent in their self-construal. Results indicate that self-enhancement was positively associated while self-protection was negatively …