Digital Commons Network^™

Accuracy Of Educator Nominations In Identifying Students With Elevated Levels Of Anxiety And Depression, Jennifer Cunningham

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Internalizing disorders, specifically depression and anxiety, affect up to 18% and 33% of youth, respectively (Costello, Egger, & Angold, 2005b). Schools have become a major provider of mental health services to children, primarily in attempts to overcome barriers to receiving community services (Farmer, Burns, Philip, Angold, & Costello, 2003). As such, it is important that schools have effective mechanisms in place to accurately identify students who may be in need of such services. The current study examined the accuracy of one such method, educator nominations (including from both teachers and school-based mental health professionals) in identifying students who self-report elevated …

Psychosocial Correlates Of Alexithymia In A Rural Adolescent Residential Population, Stephanie Powell, Kenneth M. Coll, Ann Trotter, Patti Thobro, Robin Haas

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study used a multimethod approach to evaluate the relationship of alexithymia (as measured by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the 30-item Emotion Awareness Questionnaire), psychosocial development (assessed with the Measure of Psychosocial Development), and risk behavior (as measured by the Youth Comprehensive Risk Assessment) in 67 adolescents (85% from rural communities) in a rural residential treatment facility. Results revealed that both measures of alexithymia demonstrated good internal consistency and convergent validity. The EAQ-30 demonstrated stronger convergent validity over the TAS-20 with psychosocial measures of shame, inferiority, and role confusion and was more robust in differentiating risk behavior among …

Assessing Mental Health Care For Iraqi Refugees In Jordan Looking To New Solutions For The Future, Hannah B. Egan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Across the globe citizens flee their native countries in search of newfound safety and stability. These people are known as refugees. Since 2003 refugees from Iraq have entered Jordan in search of a better life. Unfortunately, the terrors that Iraqi refugees escape do not disappear after crossing country lines. These memories cause serious mental health conditions for Iraqi refugees. Such conditions are intensified by the living environment in Jordan where Iraqis are not granted legal status. While some refugees are wealthy and others are resettled to the United States or Europe, the majority remain “stuck” in Jordan.

This study seeks …

Perceived Self-Efficacy Of Licensed Counselors To Provide Substance Abuse Counseling, Nichelle Chandler, Michelle Perepiczka, Richard S. Balken

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

This nationwide, quantitative study documented licensed counselors' perceived self-efficacy of adequately providing substance abuse services. Despite their lack of substance abuse training, counselors were highly confident in their ability to provide quality substance abuse services. Counselor training implications are discussed.

Depression And Its Associated Risk Factors In Medical And Surgical Post Graduate Trainees At A Teaching Hospital: A Cross Sectional Survey From A Developing Country, Aisha Yousuf, Sidra Ishaque, Waris Qidwai

Department of Family Medicine

Objectives: To determine the frequency of depression among post graduate medical trainees in a teaching hospital of Pakistan and to explore the associated factors contributing to depression in them. Methods: It's a cross-sectional study at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. It was done in June 2008 till August 2008. Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was administered among 172 post graduate trainees. Self administered questionnaires were used to assess the associated demographic and work related risk factors. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated by logistic regression. Results: The survey response rate was 172(82.69%). Depression in the overall sample was 103(59.88%), of …

A Silent Storm: Hepatitis C In Pakistan, Noureen Jiwani, Raisa B. Gul

School of Nursing & Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Diagnosing Liability : The Legal History Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Deirdre M. Smith

Faculty Publications

This Article examines the origins of the unique relationship between the psychiatric diagnosis Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the law and considers the implications of that relationship for contemporary uses of the diagnosis in legal settings. PTSD stands apart from all other diagnoses in psychiatry 's standard classification system, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM} , and is the focus of significant controversy within psychiatry, because its diagnostic criteria require a determination of causation. By diagnosing a person with PTSD, a clinician necessarily assigns responsibility to a specific event or agent for causing the person 's symptoms, …

Psychosocial Problems Of Refugees: Understanding And Addressing Needs, Catherine Doren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Because all refugees have, by definition, left their country due to a “well-founded fear of persecution due to race, political opinion, ethnic origin, religion, or belonging to a particular social group,” it must be assumed that they have experienced trauma, making psychosocial problems ubiquitous among refugees (Bulbul, 2011; M. Carballo, personal communication, 29 September 2011). Research has shown that refugees often experience a range of psychosocial problems, yet research about the potential avenues for ameliorating these problems and their consequences is lacking and must be increased. Through a combination of interviews and a review of the field’s existing literature, it …

The Effects Of Caffeine And Expectancy On Short Term Memory, Sara J. O'Brien

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Although caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world, research on the effects of caffeine on mental performance tasks (especially short term memory tasks) is inconclusive. One possible explanation for this limited understanding is the lack of studies accounting for participant expectancy surrounding caffeine. This study examined the effects of caffeine dosage (0mg, 200mg, and 400mg) and expectancy related to past caffeine use (positive, negative) on short term memory span task. A two-way Analysis of Variance showed that the two independent variables (caffeine dose and expectancy), did not significantly influence the short term memory span score. However, the …

The Social Nature Of Male Suicide: A New Analytic Model, Daniel Coleman, John T. Casey

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Suicide is one of the leading causes of male mortality. In nearly every country in the world, more males than females end their life by suicide. Previous research indicates male-specific risk factors include social factors such as being unmarried, low income, and unemployment. An analytic model of male suicide is developed, proposing that the traditional male gender role creates a culturally-conditioned narrowing of perceived options and cognitive rigidity when under stress that increases male suicide risk. Suicide prevention and intervention require recognition of the role of high traditional masculinity, situating individual explanations within a broader social context. Based on this …

Prenatal Cocaine Exposure Increases Synaptic Localization Of A Neuronal Rasgef, Grasp-1 Via Hyperphosphorylation Of Ampar Anchoring Protein, Grip, Kalindi Bakshi, Mary Kosciuk, Robert G. Nagele, Eitan Friedman, Hoau-Yan Wang

Publications and Research

Prenatal cocaine exposure causes sustained phosphorylation of the synaptic anchoring protein, glutamate receptor interacting protein (GRIP1/2), preventing synaptic targeting of the GluR2/3-containing alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4- isoxazolepropionic acid-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs; J. Neurosci. 29: 6308–6319, 2009). Because overexpression of GRIP-associated neuronal rasGEF protein (GRASP-1) specifically reduces the synaptic targeting of AMPARs, we hypothesized that prenatal cocaine exposure enhances GRASP-1 synaptic membrane localization leading to hyper-activation of ras family proteins and heightened actin polymerization. Our results show a markedly increased GRIP1-associated GRASP-1 content with approximately 40% reduction in its rasGEF activity in frontal cortices (FCX) of 21-day-old (P21) prenatal cocaineexposed rats. This cocaine effect …

Relationships Between Self-Reported Smoking, Household Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure And Depressive Symptoms In A Pregnant Minority Population, Sylvia Tan, Lauren P. Courtney, Ayman El-Mohandes, Susan M. Blake, Marie G. Gantz, Jutta Thornberry, M. Nabil El-Khorazaty, David Perry, Michele Kiely

Publications and Research

This study sought to examine relationships between depressive symptoms and prenatal smoking and/or household environmental tobacco smoke exposure (HHETSE) among urban minority women. We analyzed private, audio computer-assisted self interview data from a clinic-based sample of 929 minority pregnant women in Washington, DC. Depressive symptoms were assessed via the Beck Depression Inventory Fast Screen. HH-ETSE, current smoking, and former smoking were assessed via self-report. Depression levels and demographic characteristics were compared: (1) among nonsmokers, for those reporting HH-ETSE versus no HH-ETSE; and (2) among smokers, for those reporting current smoking (in last 7 days) versus former smokers. Measures associated with …

A Study In Religious Worldview And Subjective Well-Being, Julian Affrime

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between religious worldview and multiple measures of subjective well-being, including: the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (Chamberlain & Haaga, 2001a), the Orientations to Happiness Questionnaire (Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005), the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), the Purpose in Life Test (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, et al., 1985) among a sample of 272 college students. Participants were divided into six worldviews (Monotheism, Polytheism, Eastern Pantheism, Modern Humanism, Empiricism, and Naturalism) based on the factorial analysis computed by Spearman, the developer of the Personal Philosophical Belief Statements Scale (2006). …

Reduction Of Anxiety In College Students With Asperger's Disorder Using Behavioral Relaxation Training, Jaclyn Bechtler

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to reduce levels of anxiety in college students with Asperger's Disorder. Two students from Rowan University were taught Behavioral Relaxation Training over a period of four weeks. Measurements of anxiety and relaxation were gathered during biweekly sessions and those results were graphed. Results showed that a) behavioral relaxation training was quickly learned by participants and b) anxiety levels decreased on some measures with the use of behavioral relaxation. Issues facing those with Asperger's Disorder were discussed as well as the wide variety of populations that have demonstrated positive change with behavioral relaxation training.

Early Maladaptive Schemas And Negative Life Events In The Prediction Of Depression And Anxiety, Lindsay Anmuth

Theses and Dissertations

This study tested the relationships between Young's (1990, 2003) model of Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs), negative life events occurring over the past 4 months, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms. We also replicated a design testing the ability of EMSs, negative life events, and their interaction to predict depressive and anxious symptoms and extended the design to include specific categories of negative life events (interpersonal and achievement). Results of this study showed that EMSs are predictive of depressive and anxious symptoms, but that negative life events account for a greater prediction. The EMS model was just as highly associated with and …

Likelihood Of Asking For Help In Caregivers Of Women With Substance Use Or Co-Occurring Substance Use And Mental Disorders, Suzanne Brown, David E. Biegel, Elizabeth M. Tracy

Social Work Faculty Publications

Family members are important to the well-being of their relatives with substance use disorders or cooccurring substance use and mental disorders. Many caregivers experience high levels of burden, negatively impacting their capacity to provide support to their ill family member. The Andersen health care utilization model (Andersen & Newman, 1973, 2005) was used to identify the impact of predisposing, enabling, and need factors hypothesized to predict caregivers’ likelihood of asking for help and support with their caregiving role. The sample include 82 women recruited from outpatient or inpatient substance abuse treatment centers and 82 family caregivers nominated by these women. …

The Structure Of Client Language And Drinking Outcomes In Project Match, Tim Martin, Paulette J. Christopher, Jon M. Houck, Theresa B. Moyers

Faculty Articles

Client language during Motivational Interviewing interventions is an important predictor of drinking outcomes, but there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding what aspects of client language are most predictive. We characterized the structure of client language by factor analyzing frequency counts of several categories of client speech. The results provide limited support for a model proposed by Miller et al. (2006) and Amrhein et al. (2003) but with some important differences. While Amrhein et al. (2003) found that only increasing strength in client commitment language predicted behavior change, the current study revealed that client language preparatory to commitment predicted drinking …

The Grief Experience Of Caregivers When The Child Has A Life Threatening Illness, Avigail Ward

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Using a mixed method approach, this study explored the impact of attachment styles on the grief experience of parents and guardians of a child who has a hematological or oncological illness. The grief experience was evaluated through the lenses of Chronic Sorrow, Ambiguous Loss and Anticipatory Grief. This study was conducted at the Loma Linda University Medical Center Hematology Oncology Pediatric Clinic and was completed by 106 participants who responded to a quantitative survey with open-ended questions. An open-ended questionnaire regarding the impact of the child’s illness on the couple relationship was completed by six couples. The results indicated that …

Traditional Story As A Tool In Substance Abuse Prevention And Treatment., Claiborne Beth Ohlsson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the viability of traditional stories in substance abuse treatment. The subjects for this study were young women ages 18-30 who were in substance abuse treatment in a small, rural, health department. During the 4-week study, 4 traditional stories were used in group sessions that gave the women a common reference point and a common language to frame discussions. Using story in the IOP sessions helped to create a safe, supportive environment as well as creating an opening for discussions about trauma and abuse, and other significant issues. Principles of 12 Step Recovery were woven into the …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Valued Living Questionnaire: Comparing Distressed And Normative Samples, David D. Cotter

Dissertations

The Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ; Wilson, 2002) was created to measure the extent to which an individual contacts his/her chosen values, an important construct in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999). The goal of the current study was to contribute to the psychometric evaluation of the VLQ by replicating and extending the first study of the VLQ’s psychometric properties conducted by Wilson, Sandoz, Kitchens, & Roberts (2010). In the present study, the VLQ was administered to a normative collegian sample (n = 171, M age = 19.32) and a distressed sample of collegians who were participating …

Emotional Reactivity And Regulation In Current And Remitted Depression: An Event Related Potential Study, Lauren M. Bylsma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is thought to be characterized by emotion regulation deficits, including decreased use of adaptive strategies such as reappraisal, but little is known about the exact nature of these deficits and whether or not they are specific to the depressed mood state. The late positive potential (LPP) is a sustained positive deflection of the event-related potential (ERP) associated with responding to emotionally-valenced stimuli, and reappraisal strategies have been found to reduce LPP magnitude in response to emotional stimuli in healthy individuals, but this effect has not been examined in MDD. This study utilized ERPs to examine emotional …

Can Positive Self-Talk Alter One's Happiness?, Elizabeth Armetta

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the possibilities of positive self-talk and the effect it can have on people and their happiness level. In this study there were a total of thirteen subjects who attended classes to exam their self-talk and develop skills in using positive self-talk. The subjects took a pretest to establish the degree of their happiness and they took a posttest to see if there is an improvement in their level of happiness. Using a Paired Sample t-test the result showed a significant finding. The result suggests that people using positive self-talk can improve the …

The Referral Process: Rural Primary Care Physicians' Perspectives On Providing Counseling Referrals, Casey N. Tallent

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

The advantages to collaborative care between physicians and mental health care providers have been known for many decades. Rural primary care physicians (RPCPs) are the first professionals that most patients contact when they have a mental health concern, particularly in rural communities. It is therefore important to understand the process that occurs when a referral for counseling is made from a RPCP and the subsequent collaboration that occurs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to generate a model that provides a better understanding of the counseling referral process from the perspective of RPCPs in private practice in the Midwest. …

Treating Trauma Survivors With Neurofeedback: A Grounded Theory Study Based On The Practices Of Experienced Mental Health Professionals, Christine L. Currie

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Neuroscience, the mental health field, and the concept of trauma as an underlying factor in mental and physical disorders have been inextricably linked since the inception of the mental health professions. Numerous quantitative studies have indicated that neurofeedback may be effective in ameliorating trauma symptoms; however, there is a paucity of research exploring the factors that produce those positive outcomes. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to explore the factors and processes that influence treatment outcomes when neurofeedback is used with trauma survivors. Thirty interviews were completed with ten experienced mental health and neurofeedback professionals identified through …

Reducing High-Risk Drinking In Mandated College Students: Evaluation Of Two Personalized Normative Feedback Interventions, Diana M. Doumas, Camille Workman, Diana Smith, Anabel Navarro

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study evaluated the efficacy of two brief personalized normative feedback interventions aimed at reducing heavy drinking among mandated college students (N = 135). Students were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: web-based assessment with self-guided personalized normative feedback (SWF) or web-based assessment with counselor-guided personalized normative feedback (CWF). Results indicated students in the CWF condition reported significantly greater reductions in weekly drinking quantity and binge drinking frequency than those in the SWF group at follow-up (M = 8 months). Students in the CWF group also reported significantly greater reductions in estimates of peer drinking from baseline to the …

How Transnational Couples Deal With Teen Substance Use: A Socio-Contextual View, Alicia Marquez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Using the lenses of social constructionism and critical feminist theory, this dissertation examines how transnational Mexican couples in the agricultural town of Mecca, Southern California, respond to the crisis created by their adolescent children using illegal substances.

As part of the Contemporary Couples’ Study of Loma Linda University, sixteen

families were interviewed about how this problem affected their lives. The rich stories

collected were analyzed using the Strauss and Corbin (1998) guidelines for qualitative

research, in order to identify grounded theory that would inform services to this population.

Results suggest that these couples’ relationships are organized around the world of …

African Americans With Diabetes: Couples’ Support Program Development Project, Zanetta Fern Carlene Van Putten

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States with a record 25.8 million diagnosed in 2010 compared to 20.8 million in 2005. African Americans have the highest prevalence of diabetes in the United States. Social support related to medical conditions has been found effective in increasing treatment adherence. The purpose of this study is to gain a clearer understanding of diabetes support within African American couples’ relationships. This study explores the definition of support from the perspective of African American couples when at least one member has been diagnosed with diabetes. Couples were recruited from Riverside and San Bernardino …

Marital Experience And Spirituality Among Physician Couples, Elisabeth Vonegen Esmiol

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study will examine how marital experience and spirituality interact in the lives of physician couples. Physicians’ increasing openness to spiritual issues inherent in treating the ill and suffering (King, 2000; Thorsen, Harris & Oman, 2001), the growing number of women entering the medical profession and becoming physician and dual physician couples (Levinson & Lurie, 2004; Brotherton & Etzel, 2008), and physicians’ work-related stress (Transue, 2004; Wicks, 2006) and the resulting pressures and time constraints on medical marriages (Sotile & Sotile, 2000) make studying this population particularly relevant. Interviews with twenty two married, professional couples, in which at least one …

Yearnings: Stories Of Insecure Attachment And The Journey To Connect To God, John Bracy

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Utilizing grounded theory and the semi-structured interviews of25 participants, this study sought to understand how an insecure attachment affects one's relationship with God. Participants' stories suggested that: I) one's struggle to connect with God was a part of their struggle to connect with others; 2) that experiencing others as safe and responsive contributed to building a more secure attachment with God; and 3) that attachment is less a fixed style and more of an ongoing process: defined as gradual changes made by the participants towards the set-goal of feeling safe and secure. Four major processes were identified: I) finding what …

My Journey To Develop An Innovative Approach To Unplanned Pregnancy, Gina Dillon Podolsky

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper is my personal journey in developing the non-profit Pennies for Pause that addresses the issue of unplanned pregnancy in the 18-29 populations through the use of incentives, social media, long-acting reversible contraception and the development of critical and creative thinking skills. The paper begins with an insight into my family, how my own thinking skills developed informally throughout my life, and how my personal experiences lead to the development of the 501 (c)(3) organization Pennies for Pause. It also provides insight into my casual observations that I used to create theories, which I then researched, S.C.A.M.P.E.R.E.D, and then …