Clinical Psychology Commons^™

It's Not Just A Dog: The Role Of Companion Animals In The Family's Emotional System, Cassandra Leow

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Past studies have looked into the role of companion animals in families. This study intended to explore the role of companion animals in the family’s emotional system through the lens of Bowen Family Systems Theory. Data from a study on companion animal loss and grief were used. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted to analyze the data from interviews. Three primary themes emerged from the data: balanced family emotional system, response to relational anxiety and role of the absence companion animal. The first theme suggested that human family members and companion animals developed a balanced family emotional system through companion …

Complexities And Challenges Of Nonduality, Elizabeth Stephens

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

States of consciousness referred to as nonduality, awakening, enlightenment, moksha, peak experience, unitive states, or void states, among other terms, have garnered increasing secular attention and have become a topic of psychological and neuroscientific research. A review of the literature revealed many challenges to studying this set of states, such as inconsistent conceptualizations, a variety of models and theories, and conflicting descriptions indicating that the actual experience may not live up to the superlative descriptions found in historical texts or the expectations put forth by nondual teachers. A great deal more empirical research on this topic is needed, and researchers …

Book Review: Ordinary People Change The World, Stephanie Fagin-Jones

Heroism Science

This paper reviews Ordinary People Change the World picture biography series, by New York Times Best-Selling author Brad Meltzer and award-winning illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos. The series offers children, parents, and teachers an indispensible resource toward cultivating the character traits and behaviors associated with heroism and heroic leadership. The extensively-researched, historically accurate series is comprised of eight books, each respectively entitled: I Am…Martin Luther King, Jr.; Albert Einstein; Amelia Earhart; Helen Keller; Rosa Parks; Jackie Robinson; Lucille Ball; and Abraham Lincoln. A major contribution of this book series lies in its ‘parallel process’: parents who share this series on the prosocialization …

Implicit And Explicit Attitudes Toward Physical Appearance Among Recurrent And Non-Binge Eating College Women, Mindy L. Mcentee

Psychology ETDs

Research has found that among individuals who binge eat, overvaluation of body weight/shape and internalization of a thin ideal are associated with higher levels of distress and functional impairment. These findings suggest implicit attitudes and beliefs may play an important role in understanding the complex relations between one’s cognitions and subsequent eating behavior; however, much of the research on binge eating has relied on explicit self-report measures which may not accurately reflect the way individuals automatically process body weight/shape information or the meaning one has associated with these characteristics. The present study sought to address this gap in the literature …

Psychological Factors And The Relation Between Neighborhood Conditions And Latino Health: A Mixed Methods Study, Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa

Psychology ETDs

Latinos, the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the US, face multiple health inequities including higher rates morbidity and mortality. Despite the importance of context and the wide range of stressors faced by this population, the majority of the literature on Latino and immigrant health concentrates on issues related to cultural adaptation processes. Using a socialdeterminants of health framework, the present convergent mixed methods study investigated the relation between neighborhood conditions and Latino health with a psychological lens. A total of 361 Latino residents of Bernalillo County, the largest county in Albuquerque, New Mexico, were recruited to complete a series of …

From Rock Art To Vertical Forests, Hall, Gill

Journal of Conscious Evolution

No abstract provided.

Project Pan: Relationship Between Physical Health, Psychiatric Correlates, And Engagement In Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Alexander Jaffe

Theses and Dissertations

Background: As evidenced by the literature, there is an abundance of research on undergraduate students and mental health. One reason for this is due to the collegiate environment, which has previously been found to increase students' stress levels. When undergraduate students experience these increased levels of stress, they cope with the stress in different ways. Non-Suicidal self-injury (NSSI), one way in which students negatively cope, is an intentional act of harming oneself without suicidal intent. Cutting, burning, hitting oneself, and severe scratching are common ways that individuals self-injure. The Experiential Avoidance Model of Deliberate Self-Harm explains that non-suicidal self-injury …

Attitudes And Acceptability Of The Stepped-Care Model Of Depression Treatment In Primary Care Patients And Providers, Krista L. Herbert

Theses and Dissertations

Primary care has become the first and only point of contact for a majority of individuals experiencing depressive symptoms. One alternative model of care that has been adopted in international primary care settings as an alternative to standard care is the stepped-care model. Emerging evidence suggests that the stepped-care model is at least as effective as standard care for depression; however, little is known about attitudes of patients and providers regarding this model, especially within the US. The current study utilized a cross-sectional survey to inquire about general attitudes towards the stepped-care model, the individual steps, and the treatments offered …

The Effects Of Family Factors On Treatment Outcomes For Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Accommodation And Expressed Emotion, Natalia Desouza

Clinical Counseling Psychology Capstone Projects – Psychology

No abstract provided.

Relations Of Discriminatory Experiences And Marianismo Beleifs With Ptsd Symptoms In Latinx Women, Claire Maria Bird

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Research examining the discriminatory experiences of Latinx women in minimal. The present study examined if various forms of discrimination predicted mental health symptoms in a sample of Latinx women, with the conceptualization of chronic discrimination as a possible form of trauma. There is evidence showing that Latinx individuals are at risk to develop posttraumatic stress disorder at higher rates than their non-Hispanic White counterparts, with many studies pointing to the experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination as a significant contributor (Kaczkurkin, Asnaani, Hall-Clark, Peterson, Yarvis, & Foa, 2016). Given the multiple forms of discrimination that women of color experience, ethnic discrimination, sexism, …

16pf Couples Counseling Report: Predictors Of Marital Satisfaction, Personality Similarity, And Relationship Adjustment Of Males In Marital Therapy, Drema Jane Carpenter

Theses and Dissertations

In the 1960’s-1970’s, the science and history of marital satisfaction was linked to ethnic, religious, and racial similarity. Previous research has administered new psychological and sociological tests, which were believed to predict marital satisfaction. Divorce rates started to rise in the 1980s in the United States. Difficulties surrounding companionate marriage revealed anxieties about the expansion of women’s legal rights, educational and employment opportunities, and interfaith or interracial marriage. Society, views on marriage, and differences between couples have contributed to difficulties in marriage. Further, research on predictors of marital satisfaction, personality similarity, and relationship adjustment was limited. The present study utilizes …

Creating Self-Concordance Through Activation Of The Goal Hierarchy, Michelle Thackray

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, environmental sustainability has become a prominent issue. Organizations have attempted to address this issue by utilizing a variety of intervention strategies. Although some interventions have provided promising results, some researchers have suggested that current intervention strategies are perhaps not as effective as originally thought and lack a theoretical framework as guidance (Unsworth, Dmitrieva, & Adriasola, 2013). Given this, the current research attempts to address this from the promising but understudied perspective of self-concordance as theorized in Unsworth et al.’s framework. More specifically, this research examined the possibility of creating self-concordance, a construct defined as an action or …

16pf Couples Counseling Report: Predictors Of Marital Satisfaction, Personality Similarity, And Relationship Adjustment Of Females In Marital Therapy, Megan Christine Hart

Theses and Dissertations

The preponderance of research in marital therapy focuses on dissatisfaction, discord, and divorce among couples, often leading to an unbalanced perspective of the complex and dynamic nature of relationships. Utilizing an approach to examine the strengths, or specific areas of satisfaction, the present study utilizes the 16 Personality Factor Couple’s Counseling Report (16PF CCR) variables of overall Marital Satisfaction, Personality Similarity, and Relationship Adjustment to address factors related to adaptive relationships for females in marital therapy. Results demonstrated a positive significant relationship between overall Marital Satisfaction and eight of the nine individual satisfaction areas. There was also a positive significant …

16pf Couple’S Counseling Report: Gender Differences In Marital Satisfaction, Personality Similarity, And Relationship Adjustment Of Couples In Marital Therapy, Catherine Amelia Mullis

Theses and Dissertations

The present study uses the16 Personality Factor Couple’s Counseling Report (16PF-CCR) to contribute to the current limited understanding of how gender differences, embedded in personality factors, influence marital satisfaction and relationship adjustment. Results were derived from 80 heterosexual couples (160 individuals) seeking marital counseling in a private practice setting. Statistically significant gender differences were found in Primary Personality Factors including Warmth, Sensitivity, Rule-consciousness, Privateness, Emotional Stability, and Tension. Statistical significant gender differences were observed within Global Personality Factors. Toughmindedness, most closely related to the Openness component of the Five Factor Model of Personality, accounted for a substantial amount of the …

The Integrated Model Of Self-Confidence: Defining And Operationalizing Self-Confidence In Organizational Settings, Kelsey Evelyn Perkins

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that self-confidence is related to success, educational achievement, negotiation, and personal well-being, among other things. It is commonly asserted that employees need to have some degree of self-confidence in order to succeed in the workplace. However, the practical and scientific literatures are lacking in providing a consistent definition and operationalization of the construct. The purpose of this research is to not only summarize the current state of literature on self-confidence, but to use that information to provide a coherent and theoretically-derived definition of self-confidence, so that it can be measured and studied in organizational contexts. This study explores …

The Role Of Self-Care As It Pertains To Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout, And Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Suicide Prevention Crisis Hotline Staff, Crystal T. Henson

Dissertations

The present study was designed to explore the role of an agency/supervisor to increase self-care participation among suicide prevention crisis hotline staff. The impact self-care participation was found to increase compassion satisfaction while decreasing both burnout and secondary traumatic stress in this population of helpers. Self-care is meant to be a preventative measure to help increase an individual’s overall well-being and can also impact job satisfaction. As helpers, self-care is often recommended to those individuals with whom they are working; however, helpers have historically not followed their own recommendations. Research has shown that those helpers with higher levels of compassion …

Client Perceptions Of The Utilization Of Mindfulness Activities In Therapy, Anissa S. Pugh

Dissertations

The aim of the current study was to examine client perceptions of the use of mindfulness activities in the therapeutic process. For this current study, 21 participants completed a seven-item demographic questionnaire, a 39-item Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and a 10-item Mindfulness Experience Questionnaire. The present study investigated three research questions. Research Question 1 looked at how clients perceived the effectiveness of the use of mindfulness activities in therapy. The next research question examined how clients viewed the addition of mindfulness activities to be an acceptable treatment approach based on personal values and beliefs. The third research question for this …

Testing The Efficacy Of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Tms) In Treating Depression In Patients With Cognitive Impairment, Daniel Robert Schaffer

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to (1) examine the efficacy of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in treating depression among individuals with cognitive impairment and (2) to examine if TMS is capable of facilitating cognitive improvements independent of mood improvements. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is often seen as a pre-clinical stage to dementia, and depressive disorders are highly prevalent among both MCI and dementia. There is a large body of research that has linked depressive disorders as a prodromal symptom of MCI and the later development of dementia. While some researchers debate whether or not this link between depression and …

Examining The Measurement Invariance Of The Mmpi-A-Rf Externalizing Scales Across Korean And American Adolescent Normative Samples, Kristoffer Yong Park

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory – Adolescents – Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF; Archer, Handel, Ben-Porath, & Tellegen, 2016) is a newly developed instrument in personality and psychopathology and has been translated into many different languages, including the Korean language (University of Minnesota Press, 2016). Due to the cultural differences between Korean and American populations, it is important that constructs measured in the MMPI-A-RF are interpretable across cultures. Focusing on the Externalizing Scales, the present study used multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) to examine the measurement invariance in Korean and American adolescent normative samples. Partially supporting the hypothesis, the results showed that …

Latent Class Analysis Of Malingering Classifications Using Performance And Symptom Validity Measures In A Civil Forensic Setting, Willie Floyd Mcbride Iii

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The study examined the applicability of various validity measures and their ability to identify patterns of invalid responding (i.e., malingering) in an archival sample of civil forensic litigants. A latent clustering approach was used to create profiles comprised of the response patterns from validity measures of different domains including three performance validity tests (PVT), five symptom validity scales (SVT), and an embedded validity indicator (EVI). Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to enumerate subgroups of malingering and to assess differences between the subgroups.

Results demonstrated five distinct classes. The classes revealed complex patterns of symptom endorsement and performance on validity …