Clinical Psychology Commons^™

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 …

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 …

Pathways From Childhood Sexual Abuse To Sexual Risk Behaviour In Msm: A Mixed Methods Study, Daniel Provenzano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by childhood sexual abuse (CSA) compared to heterosexual men. CSA has been associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes later in life, including engagement in sexual risk behaviours (e.g., condomless anal intercourse), that place MSM at greater risk for HIV acquisition and transmission. Although the links between CSA and sexual risk are well-established among MSM, little research has investigated psychosocial factors that may mediate this relationship. Using a mixed-method approach, this study (a) explored psychosocial factors as pathways linking a composite of complex CSA experiences (i.e., CSA complexities) with …

Transitions In Patterns Of Substance Use During Early Adolescence: Bidirectional Associations With Externalizing Behaviors, Courtney B. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

Early adolescents who engage in polysubstance use, defined as the use of three or more different substances, are at particularly high risk of future substance use disorders and adverse psychosocial outcomes. However, little is known about the development of substance use patterns during early adolescence, particularly among youth living in urban settings. Although theory and research suggest that youth with greater externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression, delinquent behavior) may be more likely to escalate to polysubstance use at an early age, few studies have examined bidirectional relations between externalizing symptoms and polysubstance use. The goal of this study was to (a) …

Policing With A Double-Edged Sword: The Associations Between Neighborhood Deprivation, Coping & Substance Use Among Black & Latiné Families, Neil M. Allicock

Dissertations and Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated systemic racial inequities among Black and Latiné communities, increasing daily stressors such as exposure to violence, racial discrimination, and negative perceptions of the police. Social constraints from quarantining and social distancing have weakened community relationships that previously provided relief from these stressors. Persistent poverty and racial discrimination further strain community ties and challenge the well-being of marginalized communities. Negative experiences with the police are unique stressors for Black and Latiné youth, potentially increasing their risk for substance use. The erosion of community ties may heighten psychological stress and lead to less adaptive coping methods, such …

The Effect Of Non-Offending Caregiver Substance Use On Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms In Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse, Katelynn Robison Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Prevalence rates for child sexual abuse and substance use have often been difficult to determine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022) estimated that one in four girls and one in thirteen boys experience childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in the United States. Similarly, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2021) estimated that 58.7% of individuals over the age of 12 have used a substance in the last month. Despite the identification of both of these experiences as relatively common societal concerns, the impact of parental substance use on children and families has primarily been evaluated in a …

Components Of Emotional Functioning Among People With Substance Use And Posttraumatic Stress Difficulties: An Idiographic Perspective, Danielle Higuera

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has examined components of emotional functioning (e.g., clarity, physiological sensations, expression, regulation) among people with substance use and/or posttraumatic stress at the group level; however, a more cohesive/comprehensive understanding of how these factors unfold and connect for individual people who comprise these populations is needed. The current study used a qualitative interview design to explore the emotional worlds of participants (N = 44) who comprised four groups (substance use [n ¬= 11], posttraumatic stress [n = 12], co-occurring substance use and posttraumatic stress [n = 11], and healthy controls [n = 10]) to gain a person-level understanding of …

Factors Leading To Alcohol Relapse During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Robert Michael Ibraham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little research has been conducted exploring contributing stressors from the COVID-19 pandemic that may have led to alcohol relapse among individuals diagnosed with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Prior to the pandemic, alcohol use was at an all-time high; during the pandemic, the rates of substance use rose significantly more. AUDs are a leading mental health problem with over 32.6 million meeting diagnostic criteria in the United States. This study was conducted to explore self-identified factors leading up to relapse during the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals diagnosed with AUDs, with a focus on the circumstances and events leading up to relapse. …

Examining Genetically-Informed Etiologic Models Of Co-Occurring Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Recreational Cannabis Use Among College Students, Terrell A. Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

The college years encompass a period of increased risk recreational cannabis use (RCU), as well as a time of increased risk for trauma exposure and developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the high co-occurrence between RCU and PTSD, and the potentially negative consequences of the two (e.g., worse academic outcomes), there is a need to understand the etiologic mechanisms of these commonly co-occurring conditions. Two primary phenotypic models exist: self-medication model (i.e., PTSD to RCU) and the high-risk model (i.e., RCU to PTSD). To date, there are two existing studies longitudinally examining the etiologic models proposed to explain co-occurring RCU …

Factors Leading To Alcohol Relapse During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Robert Michael Ibraham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little research has been conducted exploring contributing stressors from the COVID-19 pandemic that may have led to alcohol relapse among individuals diagnosed with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Prior to the pandemic, alcohol use was at an all-time high; during the pandemic, the rates of substance use rose significantly more. AUDs are a leading mental health problem with over 32.6 million meeting diagnostic criteria in the United States. This study was conducted to explore self-identified factors leading up to relapse during the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals diagnosed with AUDs, with a focus on the circumstances and events leading up to relapse. …

Personality Disorder Predisposing To Alcohol Dependence, Samarchitha S Ms., Venkatesh Babu Dr., Megha Sadashiv Dr., Sudeep Pk Mr.

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

Borderline Personality Disorder And Violent Crime: The Moderating Role Of Sex And Race, Genevieve Allison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People receiving treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) are at risk of justice involvement. Although it is well-established that borderline personality disorder (BPD) increases risk for criminal involvement, it is unclear whether this relationship exists among people with SUDs. Furthermore, prior research has found sex and race differences in the relationships between BPD and justice involvement as well as violence, but these moderators have not been explored within a substance using sample. The current study utilized a sample receiving SUD treatment to examine whether BPD is associated with prior violent charges and, if race and sex moderated this relationship. Results …

Associations Between Childhood Sexual Abuse, Adult Sexual Assault Experiences, Psychological Distress, And Substance Use, Diamonde Mccollum

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

This study evaluates the potential mechanisms underlying the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and substance use among adult women. Moreover, CSA, adult sexual assault (ASA), and psychological distress (including symptoms of depression and perceived stress) was evaluated to determine how it contributes to substance misuse. Past research shows that individuals who experience CSA are more likely to experience ASA, which results in psychological distress. Individuals may use substances to cope with psychological distress from CSA and ASA, consistent with the self-medication hypothesis. Women (N = 225) were recruited from Mechanical Turk (Mturk) and completed an online survey. Results indicate …

Trauma And Alcohol/Substance Use: The Role Of Self-Regulation Flexibility, Saankari Anusha Challa

Dissertations

Despite a high comorbidity rate between trauma/PTSD and problematic alcohol/substance use, there is only a small body of work investigating moderators and mediators in this relationship. Few studies have examined the role of self-regulation, composed of coping and emotion regulation, in the context of PTSD and problematic substance use. Prior work has generally measured self-regulation categorically, with strategies labeled as maladaptive or adaptive, and therefore failing to account for the adaptiveness of the strategy in particular contexts. The present study is the only one to date to examine self-regulation flexibility in the relationship between posttraumatic symptoms (PTSS) and problematic alcohol/substance …

Examining The Associations Between Experiences Of Perceived Racism And Drug And Alcohol Use In Aboriginal Australians, Victoria Gentile, Adrian Carter, Laura Jobson

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Objective
This study aimed to explore the relationships between experiences of perceived racism, mental health and drug and alcohol use among Aboriginal Australians.

Method
Sixty-two Aboriginal Australians, ranging in age from 19-64 years (M_age = 33.71, SD = 12.47) and residing in Victoria completed an online questionnaire containing measures of perceived racism, alcohol use, substance use and mental health.

Results
First, 66% of the sample reported experiencing interpersonal racism, with the highest proportion of reported experiences occurring in health settings, educational/academic settings and by staff of government agencies. Second, perceived racism was significantly associated with poorer mental health …

The Effectiveness Of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy For The Treatment Of Substance Use Problems: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Deena Warshaw

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Millions of people worldwide use and misuse psychoactive and alcoholic substances, which can cause a plethora of negative outcomes (WHO, 2018). A handful of studies have researched the efficacy of psychodynamic interventions in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for individuals with substance use problems, with most only examining treatment for specific substances (Crits-Christoph et al.; Imel et al., 2008). These studies are thus limited by their narrow focus on specific substances, and their (between-group comparison) findings have not always been consistent. The present study aims to fill several gaps in the literature, in part by broadening the types of eligible outcome …

Alcohol And Other Addictive Behaviors Among Bariatric Surgery Patients, Rachel M. Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Research has repeatedly highlighted a high rate of comorbidity of addictive behaviors in both clinical and non-clinical samples. While polydrug use has received significant attention in recent years, less is known about rates of comorbidity with behavioral addictions such as eating, work, exercise, or sex. Individuals with a history of bariatric surgery may provide a unique opportunity to examine the potential co-occurrence of addictive behaviors. High rates of food addiction symptoms and changes in alcohol use patterns post-surgically have highlighted a potential gap in our understanding of bariatric patients and their needs post-surgically. Using a composite measure of addictive behaviors, …

Bipolar Disorder & Substance Use Treatment In Adults: A Tool For Recovery, Kaitlin Vieweg Parker

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Bipolar Disorder is an affective disorder characterized by moderate to extreme lability in emotional states where individuals experience symptoms of mania, hypomania, mixed mood and/or depression. Individuals may be diagnosed with bipolar I disorder, which is hallmarked by extreme mood lability between mood states of mania and depression. Alternatively, bipolar II disorder is distinguished by fluctuating hypomanic and depressive episodes (DSM-V, 2014). Cyclothymia is defined by shifting mood states that are less severe than bipolar I or II. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI, 2017), 2.8% of adults in the United States are diagnosed with a type …

The Role Of Childhood Abuse In Subsequent Event-Level Risky Sexual Behavior And Substance Use, Megan C. Kennedy

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Childhood abuse is widespread and associated with negative consequences including mental illness, revictimization, substance use, and impaired functioning. Emotion dysregulation is a possible explanation for the relationship between childhood abuse and subsequent outcomes. Potential pathways between childhood abuse history, risky sexual behavior, and substance use have been explored, with evidence for use of sex and substances to avoid negative affectivity associated with greater risky sexual behavior and substance use. Risky sexual behavior (RSB) is defined as any behavior that places individuals at greater risk for negative outcomes and often include condomless sex, substance use prior to or during sex, and …

Benzodiazepine Use And Dependence In Relation To Chronic Pain Intensity And Pain Catastrophizing, Emma Carnes Lape

Theses - ALL

Benzodiazepines (BZDs), a class of sedative-hypnotic drugs, are at the center of an emerging prescription drug crisis. From approximately 1995-2015, overdose deaths involving BZDs quadrupled and average dose equivalents more than tripled. Specific concern has centered on elevated rates of BZD use among individuals with chronic pain, given that BZDs are generally not indicated for pain management. Consistent with negative reinforcement and motivational models of substance use, desire for pain alleviation may be a salient motivator of BZD use, particularly as individuals commonly report using BZDs for negative affect alleviation. The present study tested cross-sectional associations between pain intensity and …

Latent Variables Predicting Drug Use In Adolescents With High Versus Low Protective Factors, Jessica Jorgenson

Dissertations

The present study utilized archival data provided from the Minnesota Student Survey (2013). The study consisted of two levels of analysis. The first level involved the development of measurement models for various latent constructs (i.e., disaffiliation, normalized use, internalizing behaviors, and externalizing behaviors). Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the second level applied the observed (i.e., abuse) and measured latent variables to the prediction of the outcomes of interest (i.e., a latent variable estimate of substance use) for middle- and high school-aged youth. Models for adolescent girls and boys were examined separately based on sex and high vs low protective factors. …

The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation And Substance Use Treatment Attrition, Melanie Ruth Roys

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Severe substance use disorders are characterized by chronic cycles of relapse; however, individuals who complete substance use treatment are less likely to experience relapse. Research has focused on trying to identify factors that predict treatment dropout to help improve treatment outcomes. Most of this research has focused on examining demographic and patient-specific factors, with little success in reliably predicting treatment attrition. There has been less focus on investigating transdiagnostic factors that span across discrete psychological diagnoses and demographics. The present study sought to determine if self-report and behavioral measures related to emotion regulation predicted inpatient substance use treatment dropout above …

School Violence And Suicidal Ideation: The Mediating Roles Of Perceived School Safety And Substance Use Among Adolescents, Jordan Skalisky

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Substance use and suicidal ideation are prevalent among adolescents. An adolescent’s school environment, such as threatening or violence-related experiences at school, may influence their perceived sense of safety, thus influencing their substance use and potentially increasing suicidal ideation. The current study examined the mediating roles of perceived school safety and substance use (alcohol use, binge alcohol use, cannabis use, and vaping) on the relationship between experienced weapon threat/violence at school and suicidal ideation. Data was used from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey and participants were 13206 adolescents attending high school in the United States. Preliminary analyses indicated significant …

Disinhibition And Persistent Maladaptive Behavior, Angela T. West

Student Theses

Objective: There is an urgent need to reduce overpopulation in U.S. prisons, which are inundated with individuals needing substance use treatment. Research on both substance use and antisocial behaviors highlight maladaptive beliefs and behaviors, while also implicating disinhibition as an important factor. Disinhibition is a dynamic trait that can be targeted with therapeutic interventions. The current study explored the relationships between neurocognitive disinhibition, substance use, and recidivism among incarcerated men. The study hypothesized that disinhibition would be associated with history of substance use, history of antisocial behavior, and institutional misconduct, as well as predicting recidivism over and above history of …

Treatment Access For Dual Diagnosis Substance Use And Mental Health Disorders, Pedro Banuelos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In 2018, of 1.3 million Latinx adults in the United States facing concurrent issues with substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD) 93% remained untreated for either diagnosis. This is concerning since Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) data reveals that this population is at greater risk for suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts. They also face structural barriers such as employment, housing, legal involvement, and insurability that further impede access to treatment.

This study’s purpose was to examine barriers to accessing treatment for Latinx populations confronting co-occurring SUDs and MHDs. This study used a qualitative design …

Substance Use Trajectories Among College Graduates: Associations With Employment Status, Living Conditions, And Negative Mood States, Nicole Zeien

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Alcohol Use And Emotion Dysregulation In Adolescence, Shelby King

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Underage drinking is a serious public health concern with magnified physical and psychological risks for adolescents. Consequences can include impaired judgement, increased risk for alcohol problems later in life, increased risk of physical and sexual assault, interference with brain development, injuries, and death (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2021). In a 2019 survey, 29% of high school students reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Given the high rates of use and adverse effects associated with adolescent substance use, research on risk factors related to alcohol use among this age …

Circling The Wagons: A Re-Entry Program For Substance Use In Nh, Angela Leigh Walter

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation aimed to adapt Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) to a substance-involved population in New Hampshire (NH). CoSA is a volunteer-based community program that provides accountability and various forms of support to previously incarcerated individuals rejoining the community. Program recommendations were created through qualitative realist thematic analysis of a literature review and interviews. Recommendations were integrated with existing CoSA manuals to create the proposed program. NH CoSA, through the principles of narrative reconstruction, risk-need-responsivity, and the Good Lives Model, aims to help individuals successfully re-integrate into their community over a period of about a year. The program will …

Exploring The Relationship Between Anger, Aggression, And Perpetrator Substance Use In The Commission Of Sexual Offenses, Dominique Rivera

Student Theses

This study examined the potential association between perpetrator substance use, anger, and aggressive behavior in the commission of sexual crimes. The sample included 246 adult males convicted of rape (n = 54) or child molestation (n = 192). Descriptive statistics revealed that 64.6% of the individuals in this sample (n = 159) were intoxicated at the time of the offense. Results showed that perpetrators who used substances at the time of the offense were more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior toward the victim (e.g., weapon use, verbal abuse) than those who did not. Offenders with higher pervasive anger scores were …

Morally Injurious Experiences, Trauma-Related Guilt, And Substance Use Among Iraq And Afghanistan Combat Veterans, Allison T. Battles

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Exposure to morally injurious experiences (MIEs), or stressors that transgress deeply held moral beliefs, are risk factors for hazardous alcohol use and drug abuse among combat veterans. Guilt following a traumatic event also has a negative impact on veteran’s mental health and is conceptualized as a core symptom of moral injury that may elicit secondary outcomes, including substance use. Significant gaps remain in our understanding of the way MIEs and trauma-related guilt relate to hazardous alcohol use and drug abuse symptoms. Most prior research on MIEs and substance use have been limited to veterans sampled from the general population and …