Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Encoding Style Of Positive Autobiographical Memories: Relationship To Mood Repair, Memory Functioning, And Depression, Ena Begovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The recall of positive autobiographical memories is an effective strategy for improving negative mood among healthy persons, yet individuals with a history of depression often fail to derive emotional benefits. Depressed and depression-vulnerable individuals also exhibit deficits in their autobiographical memory characteristics. Scholars have implicated deficits during autobiographical memory retrieval as a cause of mood repair and memory impairments, however the role of memory encoding has largely been overlooked. The current study manipulated encoding style to examine subsequent effects on mood repair efficacy, memory characteristics, and memory accuracy. Fifty-five formerly depressed and 68 never-depressed participants were assigned to employ either …

Sleep Disruption Among Cancer Patients Following Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Ashley M. Nelson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sleep disruption is one of the most commonly reported quality of life concerns among cancer patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Despite the high percentage of patients reporting sleep concerns, relatively little research has characterized sleep problems or explored relationships with psychological factors. In addition, no studies have used actigraph technology to characterize sleep issues among transplant recipients.

Method: Autologous HSCT recipients who were 6 to 18 months post-transplant were invited to participate. Patients completed self-report measures of cancer-related distress, fear of cancer recurrence, dysfunctional cognitions about sleep, and maladaptive sleep behaviors upon enrollment, wore an …

The Psychometric Evaluation And Validation Of A Measure Assessing Pharmacological And Social Alcohol Expectancies In Adolescents, Megan Victoria Mcmurray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Extending prior alcohol expectancy measurement research, this researcher (McMurray, 2013) recently developed the Pharmacological and Social Alcohol Expectancy Scale (PSAES). The PSAES is the only alcohol expectancy measure to date that provides adequate coverage of both social expectancies and the anticipated positive pharmacological effects resulting from alcohol consumption, and was developed and validated in a sample of young adults (aged 18-23). Research has shown that adolescents at high risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) hold higher expectations of reward from alcohol, suggesting that expectancy patterns may help distinguish at-risk youth. Building upon the previous PSAES validation study, the primary purpose …

A Cross-Methodological Investigation Of Emotional Reactivity In Major Depression, Vanessa Panaite

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is primarily characterized by prevalent sadness and anhedonia. Laboratory studies find that depression is characterized by reduced reactivity across emotional contexts, while a few studies using naturalistic designs find that depressed people show normative reactivity to negative life events and mood brightening in response to positive events. The current study was an investigation of emotional reactivity in depression through the use of experimental and naturalistic designs. This allowed for an investigation of sources of lab-life discrepancies in emotional functioning in depression, including negative affect (NA) regulation. We examined experiential reactivity across contexts and types of stimuli …

The Effect Of A Computerized Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management Intervention On Psychological Factors And Diabetes Management, Cathy A. Bykowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes is associated with increased psychological distress which, in turn, is associated with poorer diabetes outcomes. This study examined the impact of a nine-week Internet based cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention that targeted stress and mood in people with diabetes. It was hypothesized that the intervention would decrease psychological distress and improve diabetes outcomes and adherence to diabetes treatment regimens. Participants with type 1 and type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 103) or a waiting-list control group (n = 74). ANCOVAs demonstrated significant group effects for the reduction of perceived generalized stress (F (1, 105) = …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of A Measure For Evaluating Youth’S And Their Parent’S Worries About Psychosocial Treatment, Robert Rein Selles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Initial examination of treatment worries suggest they may represent an important construct; however, previously used measures were limited by their specificity, scale format, and lack of parent report. Therefore the present study sought to examine the initial outcomes and psychometrics of newly developed corresponding measures of treatment worries in youth (Treatment Worries Questionnaire – Child; TWQ-C) and their parents (Treatment Worries Questionnaire – Parent; TWQ-P).

METHODS: Participants were 94 youth (7-17-years old) and parent dyads presenting for psychosocial treatment of an anxiety disorder. Prior to initiation of treatment, dyads completed the TWQ-C and TWQ-P along with a host of …

The Role Of Threat-Based Beliefs In Mental Health Help-Seeking Processes For Depression, Jason I. Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mental illness among college students is a significant public health concern. Among mental health issues, one of the most prevalent and impairing is depression. Although many students experience depression, the majority do not seek help. Past research has shown that stigma beliefs are associated with help-seeking, but interventions targeting stigma have been unsuccessful at increasing help-seeking prompting the need to explore alternative models. Currently, there has been little research evaluating the role of threat-based beliefs related to help-seeking processes. As well, it remains unclear how different threat-based beliefs may interact and be related to help-seeking intentions.

The purpose of these …

Peer Victimization In Youth With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, Danielle Ung

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Peer victimization is a serious national concern affecting as many as 54% of typically developing children and adolescents. Although an extensive body of literature on peer victimization in typically developing youth exists, few studies have focused on how this problem affects youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who may be at a higher risk to experience peer victimization due to ASD symptomology and other common comorbid characteristics (e.g., anxiety and depressive symptoms) that may invite peer aggression. In this study, 81 school-aged youth between the ages of 9 and 17 years (M= 11.91, SD= 2.32) who were …

Smoking By Restrained Eaters Following A Food Prime In The Context Of An Alternative Distractor, Michelle Kovacs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research found that female smokers with elevated dietary restraint (“high-restrainers”) smoked more after a disinhibiting food event (Kovacs, Correa, & Brandon, 2014). The current study aimed to determine if high-restrainers smoked merely to distract themselves from eating, or if the appetite/weight-control aspects of smoking played a role. Female smokers (N = 128) attended a laboratory session and were randomized to receive a milkshake prime (Prime condition) or not (No-Prime condition). All participants then received ad-lib access to tempting foods, cigarettes, and a computer tablet with internet access. Our main aims were to test the effect of the prime on …