Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Bivariate Latent Change Score Analysis Of Peer Relations From Early Childhood To Adolescence: Leading Or Lagging Indicators Of Psychopathology, Brent Ian Rappaport

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite significant public health concerns, the association between problematic peer relations (e.g., bullying) and psychopathology remains unclear. Thus far research has suggested three possible models of this association: that peer relations lead, or are a risk factor for symptoms of psychopathology (interpersonal risk model); lag, or are a consequence of psychopathology (interpersonal scar model); or both lead and lag psychopathology (transactional model). We additionally propose and test the hypothesis that peer relations may be a leading or lagging indicator of psychopathology depending on the developmental period (developmental model). Measures of youth’s peer relations (as reported by a parent and teacher …

Biological And Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Childhood Physical Abuse And Age-Related Disease: Borderline Personality Pathology And Inflammation, Christina Rae Di Iorio

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: The frequent comorbidity of psychiatric and physical health conditions may be partially attributable to early life stress-related changes in inflammatory signaling and behavior (e.g., borderline personality pathology, health behaviors) that reciprocally maintain and enhance their effects on overall health.

Methods: Using data from older adults (n=1,630) who participated in the ongoing longitudinal St Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN) study, we examined associations between childhood physical abuse, borderline pathology, inflammation markers (i.e., interleukin 6, c-reactive protein), health behaviors, and physical health. Morning fasting serum IL-6 and CRP were assayed from a subset of participants (n=791). Borderline pathology factor scores …

Trans-Diagnostic Relations Between Functional Brain Network Integrity And Cognition, Julia May Sheffield

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive impairment occurs across the psychosis spectrum. However it is unknown whether these shared manifestations of cognitive dysfunction also reflect shared neurobiological mechanisms, or whether the source of impairment differs. One common feature of cognitive impairment across psychotic disorders is that the impairments are often ҧeneralizedӬ indicating deficits in a range of cognitive domains, including executive functioning, processing speed, memory, and attention. The goal of the current study was to determine whether the similar generalized cognitive deficit observed across psychotic disorders is also associated with a shared putative mechanism of functional brain network integrity. To address this question, we estimated …

The Role Of Personality In The Development Of Health Disparities During Late-Mid Life, Juliette Mcclendon Iacovino

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: The current study examined race/gender disparities in initial levels and trajectories of self-reported physical and mental health, and health care utilization, as well as the impact of personality and stressful life events on race/gender disparities. We hypothesized that health disparities would remain stable or decrease over time; that at-risk personality traits (e.g., high neuroticism) would have a more robust negative impact on health for black participants; that trust would mediate racial disparities in health; and that personality traits would moderate the association between stressful life events and health trajectories differentially across race/gender. Methods: Analyses utilized the first six waves …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Hatha Yoga Intervention For Smokers, Emily Robin Jeffries

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite well-documented negative effects of smoking, many individuals continue to smoke. Anxiety and depression are associated with poorer cessation outcomes. Three transdiagnostic factors may explain the anxiety/depression-smoking link: anxiety sensitivity (AS), distress tolerance (DT), anhedonia (Anh; Leventhal & Zvolensky, 2015). It therefore follows that changing AS, DT, and Anh could aid cessation efforts. Thus, the current study tested the efficacy of hatha yoga for reducing craving, smoking, AS, and Anh and increasing DT, and whether anxiety/depression moderates these relationships. Participants were 55 community-recruited smokers (62% male, 71% non-Hispanic White, M_age = 28.16) motivated to reduce or quit smoking. We …

Wellness And Karate, Cristina Kumpf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The promotion of wellness is an integral part of the counseling field and is considered to be a central focus to the counseling process (Barden, Conley, & Young, 2015; Myers, 1992). The counseling profession adopted the concept of wellness because it harmonizes with many of the founding principles of the ACA and is seen as a process of questing toward optimal health and well-being in body, mind, and spirit (Barden, Conley, & Young, 2015; Myers, 1992; Myers, Sweeney, & Witmer, 2000). Additionally, ACA Code of Ethics (2014) state that counselors “engage in self-care activities to maintain and promote their own …

The Psychology Of Self-Surrender: A Contemplative-Hermeneutic Study, Danny Sharara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the psycho-spiritual significance of self-surrender as a mode of being and experiencing. The author seeks to generate meaningful knowledge of self-surrender through a methodology that follows from the distinct nature of self-surrender as a psycho-spiritual/religious phenomenon that is grounded in direct experience. As such, this study draws on an integrative methodology that synthesizes elements of applied hermeneutics with autoethnography and contemplative practice. The author conducts an applied hermeneutic analysis of two psycho-spiritual texts; one that is rooted in the Zen Buddhist tradition and the other from the Sufi tradition. This is followed by a thematic analysis that …

The Myth Of Promiscuity: Examining Black Male Sexual Narratives And Sexual Identity, Seth Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black masculinity and sexuality are common topics across areas of philosophy, psychology, cultural studies and others. Yet, these topics are dedicated to the racial narrative of hypersexual Black male, the sexual objectification of Black men, and their presumed promiscuity. While such topics are important, there is little qualitative research that looks at the complexity and emotionality of African American men’s sexual experiences. Using the theoretical research on black masculinity and sexuality as its backdrop, this dissertation explores how heterosexual, African American men experience their sexuality. The study incorporates narrative inquiry and in-depth, semi-structured interviews to gather stories of five African …

Illuminating The Trauma Of The Closet Among Sexual Minorities: A Cinematic-Phenomenological Study Of Existential Rights, Nisha Gupta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a phenomenological research study about the lived experience of being in the closet as a sexual minority. This study’s research findings are represented in two distinct but overlapping ways: a traditional written hermeneutic interpretation, and a short film called “Illuminate” which cinematically brings to life the closeted lifeworld. To produce this film, I developed an innovative research method called “cinematic-phenomenology.” As a researcher, I conducted phenomenological research interviews with five self-identified sexual minorities about their lived experiences of being in the closet. During interviews, I helped participants describe their felt sense of the closet through symbolic imagery, …

Trajectories Of The Effects Of Sad Mood Induction Procedures (Mips), Jennifer C. P. Gillies

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mood Induction Procedures (MIPs) are used widely in cognitive vulnerability to depression research. Although research supports certain MIPs as effective, little research has validated the assumption that MIP-induced sad moods are sufficiently persistent. This study addressed three questions: How long does an MIP-induced mood last? What are the shapes of the trajectories of the mood effects? Do these trajectories differ by type of MIP? Four-hundred-and-one undergraduate students were randomly assigned to undergo one of three commonly used sad MIPs or a neutral MIP. Mood was repeatedly measured immediately prior to and following the MIP.Results did not support the widely held …

Certainty About The Absence Of Positive Future Events As A Unique Predictor Of Suicidal Ideation Over An 18-Month Period, Christina A. Rombola

Theses and Dissertations

We examined the effects of two components of depressive predictive certainty, Certainty-AP and Certainty-N, on suicidal ideation over an 18-month period. We hypothesized that Certainty-AP would better predict SI than Certainty-N, and that future-event fluency would significantly moderate the Certainty-AP and SI relationship. Results and potential implications are discussed.

Exploring Clinically Useful Definitions Of Treatment Success For Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder, Megan Kirouac

Psychology ETDs

Given the widespread costs associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD; World Health Organization, 2011), it is unsurprising that many treatments exist for AUD. Moreover, many treatments have been rigorously studied via experimental research designs. In such research, treatment success has been defined predominantly as abstinence from alcohol or, more recently, no heavy drinking days. Consumption-based definitions of treatment success, rather than alternative non-consumption based definitions, have dominated in the field for at least two reasons. First, there are multiple measures of similar non-consumption constructs (e.g., quality of life, psychosocial functioning), and very little research has been conducted to direct researchers …

The Role Of Meaning-Making In Posttraumatic Growth Among Eritrean Refugees With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Yacob Tewolde Tekie

Doctoral Dissertations

The study examined the moderating role of meaning made, meaning making and social support on the relationship between negative life events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression as well as the facilitating role of these moderating variables for posttraumatic growth(PTG). Eritrean refugees (N = 135) who were residing in Europe were recruited. The results showed that post-migration living difficulties significantly related with negative outcomes. In addition, the results showed that social support moderated the relationship between the number of traumatic life events and anxiety symptoms. However, meaning made and social support were not significant moderators on the …

Violent Media Exposure And Bullying Behaviors: The Moderating Roles Of Parental Monitoring, Emotion Regulation, And Gender, Brianna Elizabeth Pollock

Doctoral Dissertations

The influence of violent media exposure on the development of aggression has received increased attention in recent years. Research supports a relationship between exposure to violent media and aggressive behavior. Few studies have examined the relationship between exposure to violent media and a specific form of aggressive behavior, bullying. The current study aimed to expand on previous research by examining the relationship between the violent media exposure and self-, peer-, and teacher-reported bullying behavior using a longitudinal design with 457 3rd and 4th grade elementary students. Another aim of the current study was to examine the extent to which gender, …

Sex, Love, And Mindfulness: Examining The Longitudinal Effects Of Mindfulness On Young Adult Dating Relationship Outcomes, Alexander Malik Khaddouma

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study examined the role of mindfulness in the relational outcomes of dating couples in order to: 1) investigate whether previously documented associations between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction extend to behavioral indicators of relationship stability cross-sectionally and longitudinally, 2) determine whether the role of mindfulness in relational outcomes differs for male and female partners, and 3) examine how male and female partners’ levels of mindfulness contribute to their own and their partners’ relational outcomes in the context of their dyadic relationship. Fourhundred and sixty-eight participants and 168 of their current dating partners (n = 655) completed baseline measures …

Executive Functioning Abilities And Social Competence In Undergraduates, Megan Carl

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite separate literatures linking attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and executive functions to social competence, no study has examined the simultaneous relationship of these two processes in adults. Beauchamp and Anderson (2010) propose the Socio-Cognitive Integration of Abilities (SOCIAL) model a biopsychosocial model as an explanation for the development of social competence. Given the patterns of social and neurological development in ADHD, it may be consistent with the SOCIAL model. Subcomponents of Beauchamp and Anderson’s (2010) SOCIAL model were utilized to examine the extent to which attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom severity moderated the relationship between executive function (EF) and social competence …

Structurally Rich Movement: Measuring Movement For Empirical Psychology And Examining The Dynamic Complexity Of Affect Regulation In Behavior, Michael Timothy Finn

Doctoral Dissertations

Movement not only permeates human life, but structures dimensions of experience. Phenomenological theory points to the dynamic congruency of movement and emotion, via the body schema, as shaping affectivity. For psychology, this calls for an understanding of behavior beyond being discrete events, but also manifesting kinetic melodies. Yet there is a gap in existing methodology for empirically studying the three-dimensional characteristics of human movement continuously across segments of the body. A potential line of research in this area, implicit affect regulation capacities, was described to inform the selection of instrumentation, measurement, and calculations of dynamic structure that would, theoretically, best …

Breakups And Betrayals In Emerging Adulthood: A Developmental Perspective Of Relationship Dissolution And Infidelity, Jerika C. Norona

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation includes two studies that focus on romantic experiences in emerging adulthood (ages 18-25), romantic dissolution (Study 1) and extradyadic intimacy (Study 2), and their relationship with developmental and individual factors. Each study uses two unique community samples of emerging adults who have attended college as well as those who have not attended college in the past. Importantly, both studies examine romantic dissolution and extradyadic intimacy from a developmental perspective, taking into account the salient developmental tasks of independence and interdependence faced by young people. Additionally, individual factors, including perceptions of emerging adulthood (Study 1), attachment style (Study 2), …

A Military Chronic Pain Interdisciplinary Outpatient Program’S (Iop) Approach To Reducing Pain And Disability And Increasing Functional Ability, Paris N. Mcdonald

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

The present study employed self-report measures to assess pain intensity, self-report perception of disability, and patient activation, and objective functional measures to explore the outcomes of a military interdisciplinary chronic pain intensive outpatient program. Seventy-three Active Duty Service Members (SM) with chronic pain completed baseline measures (pre-IOP) and graduation day measures, 60 SMs completed one-month follow-up measures, and 28 completed three-month follow-up measures. Results indicated that self-report pain levels decreased from pre-IOP to graduation day. The decrease was maintained; however, no additional significant decrease in pain occurred following program completion. Further, participant’s self-reported perception of disability due to back pain …

An Examination Of Student-Athlete Stress And Risky Alcohol Use, Travis Albert Loughran

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Student-athletes are a sub-population of college students that are likely to engage in binge drinking behavior and experience the negative consequences associated with alcohol use (Barry, Howell, Riplinger, & Piazza-Gardner, 2015; Nelson & Wechsler, 2001). In addition, participating in intercollegiate athletics comes with unique stressors not faced by non-athlete students, such as balancing academic responsibilities with athletic obligations, managing the strain associated with playing competitive sport, and navigating complex interpersonal relationships with coaches, teammates, and peers (Parham, 1993; Watson, 2002). However, there appears to be little research examining the relationship between alcohol risk and the specific stressors associated with being …