Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Sexual Functioning: A Mediation Analysis Of Difficulties In Emotional Regulation, Haven Travis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sexual dysfunction can lead to a negative impact upon a person’s mental and relational health, including relational and overall distress, poor relationship and sexual satisfaction, and clinical mood disorders such as depression. Moving upstream to identify factors that may predict sexual dysfunction would therefore be beneficial for early intervention in at-risk populations. History of childhood trauma is one such factor that may influence sexual functioning later in life. While adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been less studied in association with sexual dysfunction, there is some evidence to indicate that they may be related. ACEs have been shown to increase the …

Effectiveness Of A Peer-Supported Digital Brief Intervention: Reducing Alcohol Use & Related Harms In Young Adults With Histories Of Interpersonal Trauma, Caitlin Mcgettrick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Alcohol is the most frequently used substance in the United States, and young adults ages 18-25 have the highest rates of heavy alcohol use. Heavy and persistent alcohol use is associated with a host of negative outcomes in young adults, including poor mental health, lower life satisfaction, cognitive impairments, poor academic performance, increased risk for motor vehicle accidents, and substance use disorders. Brief interventions (BI) are low-resource, short-term interventions designed to reduce problematic substance use and mitigate the substantial harms posed by heavy and persistent use of substances such as alcohol. BIs have limited effectiveness in trauma survivors despite trauma …

Meaning In Life And Metacognition: Application Of The Self-Validation Hypothesis, Liam Hill

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Meaning in Life is a robust predictor of various positive outcomes, and provides a buffer against a host of negative outcomes. Due to this fact, it becomes important to examine all the facets of a meaningful life. One consistent predictor of Meaning in Life (MIL) in the literature is one’s sense of positive affect. I tested the idea that it is possible to doubt (or have confidence in) one’s affect, such that under conditions of doubt, positive affect is less strongly related to MIL. It may be the case that positive affect predicts MIL because of what we think of …

The Implications, Magnitude, And Development Of Traumatic Brain Injury For Individuals Undergoing Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder, Hannah G. Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an established bidirectional relation between substance use and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Despite the high rate of prescribing opioids for pain management following a TBI and the epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) in the United States, scarce research has specifically analyzed the association between TBI and OUD. In a series of three interrelated manuscripts, the present study will first examine the prevalence and features of TBIs among persons seeking treatment for OUD. Next, the present study will evaluate the association between TBI and indicators of risky health behaviors and OUD severity, including the risk of overdose and …

Impact Of Framing Depression On Illness Perceptions And Coping Strategies, Abby Mcginnis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study aimed to adopt an experimental design used by Schroder et al. (2023) to investigate how framing of depression (as a disease vs a functional signal) impacts illness perceptions and coping strategies. Participants were given the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-42) to assess depression severity and prime participants for the framing condition. Each condition had five videos describing depression and the corresponding frameworks. Perceived control, timeline, and causes of depression were measured using the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Participants were given the brief-COPE questionnaire to measure coping strategies, such as avoidant and problem-focused. There were no differences …

Examining The Effects Of Menstrual Cycle Phase And Hormonal Contraceptive Use On Women's Sleep, Charles Ethan Coombs

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Women overrepresent men for sub-optimal sleep, a consequence of hormone fluctuation in the menstrual cycle affecting sleep regulatory pathways. While research has examined the prevalence of sub-optimal sleep through cycle phases, little research has examined how hormonal contraceptives (HC’s) could similarly affect women’s sleep, while also neglecting to utilize subjective sleep measures. In this study, we examine subjective sleep quality among naturally cycling (NC) women, women using different HC types, and between active and inactive phase pill users by subjecting 463 women to a subjective sleep battery. We hypothesized that HC users would report more sub-optimal sleep than NC women. …

Biopsychosocial Management Of Long Covid Fibromyalgia: Lessons From The Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Fibromyalgia Program, Joseph Harrison, Dennis Given Psy.D.

The Journal of Integrated Primary Care

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the prevalence of chronic health concerns worldwide, leading to a new population of patients suffering from Long Covid. Patients with Long Covid often experience persistent symptoms impacting multiple organ systems, including neuroimmune and neurological manifestations. Recently, attention has grown toward Long Covid patients developing chronic widespread pain similar to fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a nociplastic pain disorder characterized by widespread pain and central sensitization with fatigue, sleep disturbances, and impairments in cognitive functioning. Given the nascent and limited research exploring new treatment options, patients need support now from biopsychosocial multi-modal pain management strategies. The Fibromyalgia Program …

Psy-7 Peer Effects Of Seeking Mental Health Help From A Professional, Devanshi Patel, Susan Ruppel

SC Upstate Research Symposium

How does peer support effect the ability of students to seek out mental health help from a professional? In this study, the experimenter investigates the type of support the students receive from their peers and how that affects their ability to seek out help from a professional. Accurate intention-seeking of students was recorded for both the behavioral concerns and their support types. A Mental Help Seeking Intention Scale was used to measure the data collected in this study. It was found that the behavioral concern (mental, physical) of a student does not matter in this study, nor did the type …

Equality In Times Of Uncertainty: Economic Downturn And Body Image Messaging Toward Women, Ritsa Giannakas

Honors Theses

A vast body of literature indicates that the economy and the status of women are interlinked, with higher levels of economic well-being tending to correspond with advancements in women’s rights. However, little of this research has investigated the changes in the wellbeing of women as it pertains to their physical and mental health, especially as it pertains to exploring the impacts of economics on eating disorder rates and societal messaging toward women. This thesis investigates a novel theory linking economic uncertainty and downturn to the spread of pro-eating disorder content online, positing that economic uncertainty may coincide with a “conservative …

Music As A Coping Mechanism: Clinical Implications Of How College Students Utilize Music To Cope With Anxiety, Depression, And Daily Stressors, Karly Pikel

Senior Theses

Many college students face stress, anxiety, and/or depression in their daily lives which they cope with in their own ways. Listening to music or playing an instrument are particularly powerful forms of coping that can have a plethora of positive effects on an individual. The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey amongst the University of South Carolina student body to determine how they utilize music to cope in their daily lives. Of 847 respondents, almost all of them reported experiencing some extent of anxiety and/or stress and listening to music to help them cope. Respondents agreed that …

The (Dis)Advantages Of Device Free Time: A Mixed-Methods Digital Detox Study, Sandy Burrill

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Digital detox practices are periods of device restriction, reduction, or abstinence aimed to seek improvements in the negative outcomes associated with frequent device use. There are numerous gaps in digital detox literature including unsustainable periods of detox, imprecise definitions of digital detox, a lack of investigation into mediating mental health constructs, no collection of participant-driven qualitative data, and a failure to control for compensatory behaviors. Gaps like these could account for continued mixed findings in areas like anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction, salient to mental well-being. The present study aims to further parse the role that device-free time plays in …

Development And Validation Of The Pain Resilience And Optimism Scale (Pros), Wonjin Seo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Numerous self-report questionnaires have been used in pain research to explore patients' experiences. However, these questionnaires often employ negatively worded items that can potentially worsen patients' distress. In response to the emergence of positive psychology, this thesis aimed to develop a new questionnaire that adopts a positive and strengths-focused approach, incorporating resilience, to replace the negative items found in existing tools such as the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). First, the effectiveness of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in measuring resilience following trauma was assessed through a systematic review using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments …

The Image Of Schizophrenia In Spain's Healthcare System, Meghan Webb

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Schizophrenia affects thousands of people in Spain and is one of the most serious mental health disorders in existence. Despite its this characteristic, schizophrenia did not always get the proper attention it deserved within the country’s healthcare system. This was largely due to the influence that the Spanish government had, and continues to have, over the healthcare system, giving it the power to choose how the disorder was represented. Therefore, what does that mean for schizophrenia in Spain’s healthcare system today? This essay will explore the ways in which schizophrenia was represented in Spain’s healthcare system through an examination of …

Analysis Of Research On The Effects Of Auditory Stimulation On Anxiety And Stress In Clinical And General Populations, Rebecca Lee

CMC Senior Theses

The use of auditory stimulation may be a useful method in treating clinical anxiety disorders, as well as aiding in coping with daily stress among general populations. The understanding of how certain forms of auditory stimulation can increase anxiety and stress is also critical so clinicians and the general population can approach decreasing anxiety and stress in the most effective way possible. The following paper will provide a literature review on studies published after the year 2000, analyzing the various impacts of different types of auditory stimulation, including impacts of music-therapy, music and noise at different frequencies, binaural beat stimulation, …

Cognitive Functioning In Well-Controlled Asthma, Erin Walsh

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Asthma is a common lung disease that impacts lung functioning through inflammatory based mechanisms. Past research suggests that decreased blood oxygenation due to asthma attacks may impair cognitive capabilities (Irani et al., 2017). Moreover, the observed differences in cognition between those with and without asthma may be associated with disease severity or asthma control respectively in asthma populations. The current study explored differences in cognitive functioning between college students with and without self-reported asthma. Sociodemographic data, self-reported asthma severity, and measures of asthma control were collected. The current study did not find significant differences in measures of cognitive efficiency between …

A Longitudinal Examination Of Multiple Forms Of Stigma On Minority Stress, Belongingness, And Problematic Alcohol Use, Akanksha Das, Rose Marie Ward, Lauren Haus, Jackson Heitt, Jeffrey Hunger

Health Behavior Research

College students who experience stigma report problematic alcohol use. However, the stigma-health link focuses on one form of stigma, thereby excluding the intersectional oppression of experiencing multiple forms of stigma. The present work has two primary aims: 1) evaluating whether additive intersectional minority stress confers greater problematic alcohol use among multiply-stigmatized college students one year later, and 2) whether that link can be explained by 1) lower belongingness and 2) greater drinking to cope motives. Students (N=427) ranging in stigmatized identities (14.3% zero; 46.4% one; 29.5% two; 9.8% three or more), participated in an annual health survey at two subsequent …

Constructing And Validating Of The Covid-19 Fear Scale: Psychometric Evidence And Optimal Cut-Off Score From Palestine, Fakher Khalili

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Background: Various corona-phobia scales have been constructed to measure the levels of fear related to COVID-19. However, probably these scales were established based on the individualistic perspective, without pay attention to fear for others’ destiny. Objective: The current study is addressing the fear of COVID-19 in light of collectivistic values. Method: The present study constructed and validated a new scale measuring fear of COVID-19 among Palestinians (C-19FSP) based on a sample size of (885) respondents. Further, this study was designed to provide an optimal cut-off score for diagnosing corona-phobia. The study was carried out through two phases using a convenient …

Nonmedical Stimulant Use In An Undergraduate College Student Sample: Demographics, Academics, Stress, And Other Substance Use, Ashley Skye Vanover, Meredith K. Ginley, Shelby Whalan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Nonmedical use of prescription stimuluants (NMUS) can cause adverse outcomes for college students including academic impediments, such as a lowered GPA, and polyuse of illicit substances (Garcia et al., 2021; Holt & McCarthy, 2019; Norman & Ford, 2018). The current study investigated the demographics, academics, stress, and polysubstance use between students who endorsed NMUS and those who did not in an undergraduate college population sample at a large public university in the Southeast. The sample consisted of 429 undergraduate students who completed online measures of demographics, perceived stress, stressful life events, and substance use. Overall, 3.4% of the sample reported …

Can Affective Symptomology Predict Somatic Complaints In Symptom Checklists?, Catherine E. Scales

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: Persistent and medically unexplained somatic symptoms are widespread and pose significant burden to the healthcare system as patients often overuse consultation services when seeking a diagnosis for their symptoms. In turn, this can lead to misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment. Since somatic symptoms are commonly associated with affective disorders but are not always associated with any specific medical diagnoses, identifying accessible methods of better guiding diagnostic tendencies for clinicians should be a priority.

Methods: Participants (N = 114, Mean age = 18.9) were undergraduate students recruited from the University of Arkansas with no prescreening requirements. Linear regression analyses were utilized …

The Effect Of Parent-Child Relationships On Healthcare Utilization Among Children With Chronic Medical Health Concerns, Karina Guerra-Guzman

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of children with chronic health complaints are more likely to utilize healthcare services for their child, and are prone to experiencing increased stress and anxiety related to their child’s compromised health status. As these parents navigate managing their child’s health and integrating parenting behaviors, they are dealt with unique stressors that are likely to impact their parenting styles, anxiety, and use of healthcare services. However, most studies that have examined HCU in the context of parent-child relationships have neglected children with chronic health concerns (CHCs). This study examined the relationship between parenting styles across parents of children with a …

U.S. Military Veterans Transition To Two Midwest Universities: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Moral Injury, And Academic Outcomes, Malychanh T. Bartlett

Dissertations

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury (MI) and the extrinsic factors of the degree of negative patterns of healthy behaviors and negative experiences in an academic setting, the moderating effects of social support on PTSD and MI symptomatology, and the perception of academic success and positive perception of academic experience. Additionally, to examine the mediating effect of intrinsic factors (perceived academic experience) on academic outcomes objectively and subjectively.

Background: Student veterans as non-traditional students face challenges transitioning to the academic environment. Some have underlying mental and psychological complications of PTSD and MI, …

Examining The Evidence Base For Burnout, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Burnout has elicited growing interest among occupational health specialists in recent decades. Since 2019, the World Health Organization has characterized burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic, unmanageable workplace stress. According to the ICD-11, three symptoms define the entity: feelings of exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, and a sense of ineffectiveness at work, all of which correspond to the structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The ICD-11 includes burnout among the factors that influence health status. This paper calls into question that conceptualization based on a number of lines of evidence. The evidence includes the following: burnout was …

The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History And Perceptions Regarding Their Child’S Healthcare And Utilization Of Healthcare Services, Krishna Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

TITLE: The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History and Perceptions Regarding Their Child’s Healthcare and Utilization of Healthcare Services

Adverse child events (ACEs) have been associated with a number of physical and mental health problems and have also been linked to increased health care utilization. While parents who have an ACE history may tend to seek healthcare services for themselves, limited studies have examined the impact of their trauma history on seeking healthcare services for their child. Healthcare utilization may also depend on the parents’ level of health anxiety, as well as their anxiety about their child’s health status. This …

Parallel Processes Of Posttraumatic Stress And Metabolic Dysfunction: Long-Term Costs Of Trauma On The Psychological And Physical Health Of 9/11 Survivors, Shane W. Adams

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Metabolic conditions (MetC) have been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and may be critical indicators of the systemic physical sequelae of traumatic stress. Parallel process latent growth modeling wasapplied to longitudinal data collected from 35,788 9/11 survivors and used to model PTSD symptoms and MetC to determine how the development and course of one affect the other. A unidirectional relationship was found in which the intercept of PTSD symptoms predicted the slope of MetC. Hyperarousal (ß=.172) and emotional numbing (ß=.171) PTSD symptoms demonstrated the strongest association with the growth of MetC over and above …

Illness Intrusiveness And Psychosocial Adjustment Among Older Adults With Multimorbidity, Irina Mindlis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Given the high prevalence of multimorbidity (MM) among older adults and the exponential growth of the older adult U.S. population, identifying factors that can lessen depressive symptoms and improve quality of life (QOL) in this population is timely and important. While it is well established that MM is associated with greater depressive symptoms and poorer QOL (Li et al., 2016; Makovski et al., 2019; Marengoni et al., 2011; Read et al., 2017), the mechanisms underlying these relationships remain understudied. The illness intrusiveness model (Devins et al., 1984) proposes that stressors posed by diseases (disease-related factors) and their treatments (treatment-related factors) …

Apoe Risk Disclosure: A Review Of Positive And Negative Outcome, Stacey Rowcliffe

Dissertations

Two of this century’s most significant healthcare challenges are Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment, with 40 million people suffering from the diseases. In fact, a conservative estimate projects that both conditions will double every 20 years until 2050. Alzheimer’s disease involves memory impairment, disorientation, confusion, and various problematic behaviors. Presently, no prevention method or cure has been discovered for Alzheimer’s. Mild cognitive impairment typically includes problems with memory, language, thinking, and judgment beyond those typical of one’s age. Usually, these symptoms do not interfere with daily activities but do not improve and have been linked with a risk of …

Recentering Psych Stats, Lynette Bikos

Faculty Open Access Books

To center a variable in regression means to set its value at zero and interpret all other values in relation to this reference point. Regarding race and gender, researchers often center male and White at zero. Further, it is typical that research vignettes in statistics textbooks are similarly seated in a White, Western (frequently U.S.), heteronormative, framework. ReCentering Psych Stats seeks provide statistics training for psychology students (undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral) in a socially and culturally responsive way. All lessons use the open-source statistics program, R (and its associated packages). Each lesson includes a chapter and screencasted lesson, features a …

Disordered Eating Behaviours In Adolescents With And Without A Formal Ed Diagnosis: Comparing Individual And Contextual Factors, Eve G. Chapnik

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored various psychosocial factors associated with disordered eating in adolescents accessing mental health services across Ontario, Canada. Data were collected using the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health (ChYMH) assessment tool and participants were categorized into three groups: individuals with diagnosed eating disorders (ED, n=207), disordered eating without a formal ED diagnosis (sub-ED, n=888), and other treatment-seeking youth (non-ED, n=3285). The ED and sub-ED groups did not differ in many ways, presenting with a similarly greater prevalence of mental health issues, and dysfunctional family and peer relationships, in comparison to non-ED youth. However, the ED …

The Grindr Complex: The Behavioral Health Impact Of Sexual Racism On Latinx Men Who Have Sex With Men, Luisalfredo Plascencia

Doctoral Dissertations

Given the social history surrounding the issue of HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQ+ community and the unique and intersectional experiences that Latinx Men who have Sex Men (MSM) have in their community, this dissertation’s research will contribute to the growing work on sexual racism and how it correlates with various elements of behavioral health. The study investigated the moderation impact of Latinx cultural values of caballerismo and familismo on the relationship between experiences sexual racism to mental health symptoms. The study also examined the moderation of caballerismo and familismo and psychological flexibility on the relationship between experiences of sexual racism to …

Beyond Stressors: Identifying Protective Cultural Factors And Coping Strategies For Mental Health Symptoms Among Aging Latino/Hispanic Immigrants, Juan M. Pena

Psychology ETDs

Within the next decade, Latino immigrants will constitute the largest middle-aged and older immigrant group living in the U.S. This cross-sectional study investigated traumatic stressors, acculturative stress and perceived structural injustices and their associations with mental health symptoms. This study also examined the linkages between cultural factors, social support, and coping strategies and mental health outcomes. Eighty Latino/Hispanic immigrants who were 45 years of age or older completed a series of questionnaires and optional open-ended questions. A greater exposure to traumatic events, higher acculturative stress, and perceived injustices were associated with greater psychological distress and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and …