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Biological Psychiatry: A Practice In Search Of A Science, W. Joseph Wyatt, Donna M. Midkiff

Psychology Faculty Research

The rise of the biological causation model in the past thirty years is traced to psychiatry’s efforts to regain lost status and to protect itself from intrusions by non-medical practitioners, as well as to the pharmaceutical industry’s drive for profits. Evidence in support of the model, including studies of identical twins and of brain structure and function, are less revealing than was earlier thought, due to problems in methodology and interpretation. Organized psychiatry, when challenged in 2003, was unable to provide compelling evidence for biological causation of most mental and behavioral disorders. A paradigm shift away from biological causation and …

Six-To-One Gets The Job Done: Comments On The Reviews, W. Joseph Wyatt, Donna M. Midkiff

Psychology Faculty Research

We are pleased to note that six of the seven responses to our article were marked by approval, and/or thoughtful contemplation, regarding our central theses—that the research said to support biological causation of mental disorders is relatively weak, and that the claims of drug effectiveness are often overstated.

Stress And Fatigue In Foreign Language Professionals: Implications For Global Security, James A. Mccubbin, June J. Pilcher, Thomas W. Britt, Thomas Wallsten

Publications

Information critical to the security of nations is embedded in an array of foreign languages. Foreign language professionals must often analyze complex information from different language sources, and the integrity of their analyses can significantly affect corporate and government decision-making, policy development, and response to world events. Psychological stress and fatigue can degrade the performance of foreign language professionals resulting in errors that may adversely affect security. Optimal design of work organization and work environments, individual stress management training, and augmented cognitive linguistics may facilitate the performance of foreign language professionals. Strategic assessment and management of stress and fatigue in …

Effects Of A Personified Guide On Adherence To An Online Program For Alcohol Abusers., Daniel Z Lieberman

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Publications

The quality of the therapeutic alliance has robust effects on the outcome of psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic interventions. Automated behavioral health programs that are being developed to increase access to mental health treatment are administered in the absence of direct human participation, thereby precluding the development of a traditional therapeutic relationship. The aim of this study was to develop a personified guide designed to stimulate reactions similar to those experienced in a therapeutic relationship, and evaluate the effect of the guide on adherence to and satisfaction with an online alcohol use evaluation program. After completing a battery of four standard questionnaires …

Stress, Coping, Social Support, And Prostate Cancer Risk Among Older African American And Caucasian Men, Ann L. Coker, Maureen Sanderson, Gary L. Ellison, Mary Kay Fadden

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

Objectives: While psychosocial stress and high effort coping have been associated with reduced immune function, no epidemiologic study has addressed psychological stress and risk of prostate cancer. The purpose of this analysis was to investigate the association between stress, coping, social support, and risk of prostate cancer among older men (age 65–79 years). Design: Population-based case-control study in South Carolina.

Participants: Cases were 400 incident, histologically confirmed prostate cancer cases identified through the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry between 1999 and 2001 (70.6% response rate). Controls were 385 men identified through the 1999 Health Care Financing Administration Medicare beneficiary file …

Mild Cognitive Impairment, Activity Participation, Functional Difficulty, & Adaptations , Laraine Winter, Laura N. Gitlin

Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Current Health And Preferences For Life-Prolonging Treatments: An Application Of Prospect Theory To End-Of-Life Decision Making, Laraine Winter, Barbara Parker

Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Mild Cognitive Impairment, Activity Participation, Functional Difficulty, And Adaptations In Functionally Vulnerable Elderly People: A Closer Look, Laraine Winter, Laura N. Gitlin

Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Physical Activity In An Inclusive Setting, Stephen Kodish, Pamela Hodges Kulinna, Jeffrey J. Martin, Robert Pangrazi, Paul Darst

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purposes of this study included (a) to determine if the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) predicted intentions of individuals with and without disabilities to be physically active, (b) to determine if the TPB predicted behaviors of individuals with and without disabilities to be physically active, and (c) to determine if significant differences were present in physical activity opportunities between inclusive and non-inclusive elementary physical education classes taught by the same teacher. Students (N = 114, ages 10-13) completed questionnaires assessing the TPB constructs and had four days of PA evaluated through pedometer measurements. Analyses revealed that subjective norm …

Linking Adolescent Family And Peer Relationships To The Quality Of Young Adult Romantic Relationships: The Mediating Role Of Conflict Tactics, Lisa J. Crockett, Brandy A. Randall

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examined the associations between the quality of adolescents’ peer and family relationships and the quality of their young adult romantic relationships. Adolescents (N = 253) completed self-report measures of their family and peer relationships in grades 10–12; 7 years later, they reported on connectedness, discord, and the conflict tactics used by both partners in their current romantic relationships. Family relationship quality in adolescence predicted the levels of connectedness, discord, and specific conflict behaviors youth reported in their adult romantic relationships. The use of discussion to resolve conflict mediated the association between adolescent family relationships and the level of …

Righting Wrongful Discharge: A Recommendation For The New York Judiciary To Adopt A Public Policy Exception To The Employment-At-Will Doctrine, Nadjia Limani

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note examines the public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine, emphasizing its critical role in addressing unjust terminations while balancing employer discretion. It highlights the variability in how states define and apply this exception, with a particular focus on New York's refusal to recognize the exception despite its recognition in most other jurisdictions. The analysis advocates for a structured, four-element test to resolve wrongful discharge claims, ensuring clarity and fairness for all parties involved.

Education Chronicle Issue 4 No. 1, Touro College School Of Education And Psychology - Graduate Division

Yearbooks and Newsletters

Fall/Winter 2006/2007 Issue

Domestic Violence Treatment Response And Recidivism: A Review And Implications For The Study Of Family Violence, Robert M. Sartin, David J. Hansen, Matthew T. Huss

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Although domestic violence is a significant societal problem, which continues to receive public and private sector attention, intervention and treatment programs have proven inconsistent in their success. This paper reviews the published literature on domestic violence treatment efficacy and post-treatment recidivism and explores the related factors. In addition, challenges in the assessment of domestic violence are briefly discussed. Finally, recent developments are discussed along with their potential benefits, and an appeal is made for the need to study domestic violence in the broader context of family violence.

Retrospective Assessment Of Childhood Sexual And Physical Abuse: A Comparison Of Scaled And Behaviorally Specific Approaches, David Dilillo, Michelle A. Fortier, Sarah A. Hayes, Emily Trask, Andrea R. Perry, Terri Messman-Moore, Angèle Fauchier, Cindy Nash

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study compared retrospective reports of childhood sexual and physical abuse as assessed by two measures: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which uses a Likert-type scaling approach, and the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI), which employs a behaviorally specific means of assessment. Participants included 1,195 undergraduate students recruited from three geographically diverse universities. Agreement was high across the two measures in the classification of victim status (92% and 80% for sexual and physical abuse, respectively). However, the CTQ classified more participants as sexually abused than did the CAMI, whereas the opposite trend was found for physical abuse. For child physical …

Decision-Making About Volitional Impairment In Sexually Violent Predators, Cynthia Calkins Mercado, Brian H. Bornstein, Robert F. Schopp

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The Kansas v. Hendricks (1997) decision, in which the Supreme Court authorized post-sentence civil commitment for certain sex offenders, appeared to be constitutionally legitimized by limiting the class of offenders eligible for this special form of civil commitment to those who are “unable to control” their dangerousness. Nowhere in the available record, however, did the Court elucidate what they meant by this notion of volitional impairment. This study sought to examine factors that legal professionals (n = 43), psychologists (n = 40), and mock jurors (n = 76) deem most relevant to a determination of sex offender volitional impairment. Participants, …

The Environment Of Child Maltreatment: Contextual Factors And The Development Of Psychopathology, Debra B. Hecht, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Some professionals have hypothesized that the observed problems in children who have been maltreated may actually be a result of the combination of risk factors surrounding the child, including but not limited to direct results of the abuse itself. This article examines the complexity of hypothesized pathways to poor adjustment after physical and sexual abuse. The literature on the impact of major risk factors associated with maltreatment is reviewed in an attempt to clarify the potential contributions of these contextual variables on the development of psychopathology in physically and sexually abused children. The implications this analysis may yield for prevention, …

Religious Belief, Coping, And Mental Health In Seventh-Day Adventists, Luther E. Davis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The present study examines religious belief, coping style, and social support influences on psychological adjustment in 401 Seventh-day Adventists. Based on cross cultural psychology guidelines, Adventist Sabbath and eschatology belief measures were created and integrated into a religious coping framework. Sabbath and eschatology belief measures, the brief RCOPE, two social support scales, and the Medical Outcomes Study Mental Health Index II were administered. After controlling for demographics, religious coping, social support, and Adventist beliefs were significantly associated with psychological adjustment. Negative religious coping was the most powerful predictor of adjustment. Eschatology beliefs predicted adjustment after accounting for religious coping and …

Effects Of War Stressors And Life Events On Gulf War Veterans With Cfs Symptoms, Kieran K. Dhillon

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The present study examines the association of life stressors and the period when they occur, with the development of CFS symptoms in Gulf War veterans. From data collected from Gulf War Health Registry veterans, 113 met CFS criteria and 441 were controls. After hierarchical linear analysis, negative life stressors: wounded, traumatic war experience, frequent battle experiences, demotion, and unable to work within 2 years of returning from the Gulf predicted CFS symptoms; and positive life stressors of buying a house more than 2 years of returning was protective against CFS symptoms (all significant at p < .05). The findings are consistent with psycho social etiological hypotheses for CFS and are useful in developing programs for veterans returning from war.

Key Leadership Roles In The 9/11 Terrorist Attack, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Personality assessment of three al-Qaida leaders in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States – Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Mohamed Atta – provides evidence for a rudimentary model of the leadership roles required for a global-reach terrorist operation: (1) a narcissistic, charismatic leader devoid of core values beyond personal self-interest, adept at exploiting others in pursuit of his grandiose ambitions (e.g., bin Laden); (2) a strategic-thinking “true believer” without constraints of conscience regarding the level of violence he is willing to employ in his single-minded pursuit of mission (e.g., al-Zawahiri); and (3) unobtrusive, disciplined operatives …

Participant Responses To Retrospective Surveys Of Child Maltreatment: Does Mode Of Assessment Matter? , David Dilillo, Sarah Degue, Amanda Kras, Andrea R. Di Loreto-Colgan, Cindy Nash

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examines the impact that different methods of assessing child maltreatment history may have on adult participants. A total of 334 female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to complete a retrospective measure of child sexual and physical abuse in one of three conditions: paper-and-pencil questionnaire, face-to-face interview, or computer-administered survey. Disclosure rates of abuse, psychological distress and mood change, preferences for assessment format, and perceptions of confi dentiality were examined across the three assessment formats. Although disclosure did not vary by condition, participants with a history of abuse reported more distress and mood change than did nonvictims, particularly in …

Effect Of Nicotine On Negative Affect Among More Impulsive Smokers, Neal Doran, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Bonnie Springs, Joe Vanderveen, Jessica Werth Cook, Malia Richmond

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

In the present study, the authors tested the hypothesis that nicotine would provide greater relief from negative affect for more impulsive smokers than for less impulsive smokers. Euthymic adult smokers (N = 70) participated in 2 laboratory sessions, during which they underwent a negative mood induction (music x autobiographical memory), then smoked either a nicotinized or de-nicotinized cigarette. Mixed-effects regression yielded a significant Impulsivity x Condition (nicotinized vs. de-nicotinized) x Time interaction. Simple effects analyses showed that heightened impulsivity predicted greater negative affect relief after smoking a nicotinized cigarette but not after smoking a de-nicotinized cigarette. These data suggest …

Adolescent Perceptions Of Appropriate Parental Reactions In Moral And Conventional Social Domains, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Research suggests that adolescents’ ratings of the appropriateness of parental reactions are influenced by several constructs, including adolescents’ perceptions of the type of parental reaction, the emotions felt by the adolescent and parental intentions. However, little is known regarding how these constructs are differentially predictive of appropriateness in different socialization contexts. One hundred and twenty-two adolescents (mean age = 16.87 years) answered questions regarding past situations in antisocial and prosocial contexts, and in moral and conventional domains. Different parental reactions were reported across moral and conventional domains. In addition, the appropriateness of parental responses varied across domain. Namely, in antisocial …

Mean Length Of Utterance In Children With Specific Language Impairment And In Younger Control Children Shows Concurrent Validity And Stable And Parallel Growth Trajectories, Mabel L. Rice, Sean M. Redmond, Lesa Hoffman

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Although mean length of utterance (MLU) is a useful benchmark in studies of children with specific language impairment (SLI), some empirical and interpretive issues are unresolved. The authors report on 2 studies examining, respectively, the concurrent validity and temporal stability of MLU equivalency between children with SLI and typically developing children. Method: Study 1 used 124 archival conversational samples consisting of 39 children with SLI (age 5;0 [years;months]), 40 MLU-equivalent typically developing children (age 3;0), and 45 age-equivalent controls. Concurrent validity of MLU matches was examined by considering the correspondence between MLU and developmental sentence scoring (DSS), …

Elevated Positive Mood: A Mixed Blessing For Abstinence, Neal Doran, Bonnie Spring, Belinda Borrelli, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Brian Hitsman, Raymond Niaura, Donald Hedecker

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study, a secondary analysis of published data (B. Hitsman et al., 1999), assessed (a) the influence of initial positive mood (PM) on smoking cessation and (b) whether smokers low in PM benefited from fluoxetine versus placebo for cessation. Euthymic adult smokers (N = 103) received 10 weeks of cessation treatment. Analyses showed a Time x PM interaction, indicating that higher baseline PM predicted decreased abstinence during treatment but increased abstinence afterward, mediated by time to dropout. Dichotomous initial PM interacted with drug, suggesting a benefit of fluoxetine for low-PM smokers. Results indicate that lower pretreatment PM may …

A Critical Review Of The Clinical Applications Of Continuous Performance Tests, Yvette Gutierrez

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computerized testing has emerged as an important assessment tool for clinicians. In particular, continuous performance tests (CPTs) have become popular measures to assess sustained attention; yet research regarding the clinical usefulness of CPTs appears mixed. This paper will review research literature on CPTs published in peer-reviewed journals/periodicals between 1980 and 2004. A range of descriptive data will be gathered and summarized from the articles including history and present uses of CPTs and psychometric information on various versions of commercially available CPTs. This information will be used to present a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of CPTs as well as …

Characteristics Of Staff–Patient Interactions On A Behavioral Treatment Unit For Patients With Serious Mental Illness, And The Effects Of A Behavior Management Training Program On Staff Performance, Lindsay S. Schenkel

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Despite the existence of effective psychological interventions for people diagnosed with schizophrenia, these continue to be underutilized. This problem is most critical in the case of so called “treatment-refractory” patients, where, paradoxically, effective interventions with among the strongest evidence base in psychiatry exist – namely – inpatient social-learning-based rehabilitation programs. Barriers to implementation and effective maintenance of such programs include a low frequency of staff-patient interactions and a relatively high frequency of non-therapeutic staff behaviors, lack of staff training and background in behavioral treatment, negative attitudes towards behavioral interventions, and tension between professional disciplines. This study examined the nature and …

Early Predictors Of Self-Regulation In Middle Childhood, Rebecca A. Colman, Sam A. Hardy, Myesha Albert, Marcela Raffaelli, Lisa J. Crockett

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study examined the contribution of caregiving practices at ages 4–5 (Time 1) to children’s capacity for self regulation at ages 8–9 (Time 2). The multiethnic sample comprised 549 children of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) participants. High levels of maternal warmth and low levels of physically punitive discipline at Time 1 were associated with a greater capacity for self-regulation at Time 2. These associations remained significant once initial levels of self-regulation were taken into account, indicating that the development of self-regulation is open to caregiver infl uence during childhood. Neither child gender nor ethnicity moderated the effects …

Sleep Quality Of College Students And Its Relationship To Coping Styles And Well-Being, Cathy Alison Word

Doctoral Dissertations

College students suffer from more sleep disturbances than the general population. Sleep difficulties in college students can lead to lower levels of performance, memory, and cognitive ability, as well as increased levels of anxiety and decreased levels of well-being. Sleep quality is known to impact individuals' physical and psychological health, which are indicators of well-being. Sleep also appears to influence individuals' choices of coping strategies. Sleep quality is also highly correlated with college students' emotional response to stress. The relationships between and among sleep quality, well-being, and coping style have not been fully examined. The purpose of this study was …

Sensitivity Of The Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule Iv In Detecting Potentially Traumatic Childhood Maltreatment, David Dilillo, Sarah A. Hayes, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examined the sensitivity of the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule IV (ADIS-IV) in detecting potentially traumatic childhood abuse experiences in a sample of 50 consecutive adult anxiety disorder patients. Of 13 patients who reported traumatic childhood maltreatment experiences using a behaviorally specific abuse history questionnaire, seven failed to report these experiences during the ADIS-IV interview (a sensitivity of 46%). Findings suggest that the two omnibus gating questions on the ADIS-IV may be insufficient in capturing exposure to certain traumatic events, as stipulated by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual diagnostic criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This potential …

Community Projects In A Senior Capstone Course, Linda J. Anooshian, Mary E. Pritchard

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Working in groups, students in a senior-level capstone class completed service learning projects addressing specific needs of community agencies. Students were generally positive about the extent to which course objectives were met and assignments were valuable for their learning. Students were also generally positive about the value of service learning, indicating that the class helped them become more interested in solving community problems and that they gained a better understanding and appreciation of civic engagement.