Digital Commons Network^™

Strategies To Overcome Burnout In Women In Behavioral Health Leadership, Pamela Atueyi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The global mental health landscape is currently facing a significant crisis, characterized by an unprecedented surge in patient demand and a concurrent shortage of therapists. This imbalance has led to overwhelmed mental health facilities, prolonged access and wait times for patients, and diminished quality of care. Several factors contribute to this crisis, including the increased prevalence of mental health issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing stigma surrounding mental health treatment, and systemic problems, such as the lack of training programs, leaders not feeling supported, and low retention rates. This study explored significant burnout levels among women behavioral health …

Is Sharing One’S Personal Story Of Victimization Preferred? Incarcerated Women’S Perspectives On Group Treatment For Sexual Trauma, Marie E. Karlsson, Melissa J. Zielinski, Ana J. Bridges

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Treatment preferences are an important part of evidence-based practice and have been shown to affect treatment outcomes. In this two-part study, incarcerated women were asked about their preferences for two versions of a trauma-focused group treatment: one that requires sharing their personal memory of sexual victimization (Sharing Required) and one that does not (Sharing Not Required). Study 1 enrolled 88 non-treatment seeking women who evaluated the treatments based on descriptions of the groups. Study 2 was a partially randomized patient preference trial with 85 treatment-seeking women who either agreed to be randomly assigned to one of the two therapy groups …

Examination Of Musical Sophistication And Working Memory Correlates In High School Students, Abby South

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between musical engagement and cognitive ability in high school students. While musicians’ brains have long been of interest to those who study experience-dependent neuroplasticity, a lack of adolescent data grossly limits our understanding of the relationship between music training and observed neuroplastic changes in the brain. Advances in psychometric testing and brain imaging reveal relationships among musical expertise, changes in brain function, structure, and connectivity, and enhanced cognitive ability, but categorical groupings of dichotomously defined musicians and non-musicians prevent nuanced understanding of these complex relationships. In this study, 83 …

Adverse Childhood Experiences Moderate The Association Between Sensory Processing Sensitivity And Depression, Grant Benham

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Investigations of the link between personality and depression provide a path to identifying at-risk individuals and developing tailored treatment. Sensory processing sensitivity, reflecting individual differences in processing of internal and external stimuli, has been found to predict depression severity. Based on a diathesis-stress model, the present study examines whether this association is moderated by adverse childhood experiences. An online survey containing standardized measures of adverse childhood experiences, sensory processing sensitivity, and depression severity, was administered to 558 college students. The sample was predominantly Hispanic (92%) and female (70%) with a mean age of 20.2 years. In support of the diathesis-stress …

It’S Worse If Superman Does It: Perceptions Of Moral Transgressions Committed By Superheroes And Supervillains, Justin F. Martin, Hansika Kapoor

Heroism Science

Superheroes are distinguished from supervillains due to their morally relevant behavior. However, what happens when they both engage in immoral behavior? This study examined how individuals perceive moral transgressions by their favorite superhero/villain in a quasi-experimental design. In line with Social Cognitive Domain Theory and Moral Foundations Theory, transgressions related to harm and justice were assessed. Specifically, participants (N = 363, predominantly White/Caucasian and South Asian) assessed characters’ likability, character traits, and moral evaluations. In line with hypotheses, results suggested that (a) superheroes were liked more than supervillains; (b) transgressions by superheroes were more morally impermissible than those by supervillains, …

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Iv México Versus U.S. Versions In The Assessment Of Mexican Americans, Gabriela Ontiveros, Philip Gerard Gasquoine

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Objective:

To delineate score differences between the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) and the WAIS-IV México in the assessment of balanced bilingual Mexican Americans and to determine the efficacy of five hold measures in predicting summary scores in each version.

Methods:

Hold measures were WAIS-IV Information, Vocabulary, and Matrix Reasoning subtests, picture vocabulary, and the Test of Premorbid Function (English)/Word Accentuation Test (Spanish). Using a repeated measures design, 60 neurologically intact participants were tested in a counterbalanced order, with WAIS-IV version as the repeated measure (mean intertest interval = 5.68 days). To minimize practice effects, the five visual-perceptual subtests, which …

Young Children’S Mental Well-Being In Low-Income South African Settings: A Qualitative Study, Catherine E. Draper, Caylee J. Cook, Elizabeth A. Ankrah, Jesus A. Beltran, Franceli L. Cibrian, Jazette Johnson, Kimberley D. Lakes, Hanna Mofid, Lucretia Williams, Gillian R. Hayes

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

This qualitative study aimed to capture community perspectives of the risks and protective factors for social emotional development and mental health of young children in low-income South Africa settings, and was conducted as one component of a larger study with the ultimate aim of co-designing the Mazi Umntanakho (‘know your child’) digital tool. Twenty focus group discussions (n = 154, 97% female) were held with staff of community-based organisations (CBOs) and community health worker (CHW) programmes in urban and rural sites from four geographical regions. Data were analysed thematically, and grouped according to components of nurturing care (responsive caregiving, safety …

Examining The Relationships Between Emotional Intelligence, Role Overload, And Intent To Leave The Profession Among Elementary School Teachers, Rachael D. Egli

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

District and school leaders experience significant challenges in recruiting, supporting, and retaining teachers, year-to-year. This non-experimental quantitative correlational study examined relationships between components of teacher role overload and intent to leave the profession among elementary school teachers. The study also examined emotional intelligence as a moderator variable on the relationship between teacher role overload and teachers’ intent to leave the profession. A total of 106 eligible teacher participants were recruited to complete an anonymous online survey. Demographics data, as well as emotional intelligence and occupational stress data, using the BEIS-10 and TOSFQ were collected (Davies et al., 2010; Foxworth et …

The Mediating Effect Of Organizational Identification On Shared Identities And Turnover Intention In Large Companies, Quentin T. Singletary

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study sets the foundation for a relational investigation of the relationship between shared identification (shared experiences and shared characteristics) and the turnover intentions of employees from large organizations, mediated by the construct of organizational identification. The research aimed to highlight which shared identification style is most important for the reduction of turnover in large corporations. Participants answered a questionnaire that consisted of forty-nine items: six items that measured shared experiences, four items that measured shared characteristics, twenty-five items that measured organizational identification, six items that measured turnover intention, and eight items that measured demographic variables. Through a mediation regression …

Relationship Between Use Of Online Dating Apps And Mental Well-Being In Young Adults, Kyndal A. Burdin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Technology and social media use are steadily becoming the preferred way to form and maintain relationships. A large majority of young adult populations investing time and energy into dating applications to meet romantic partners. Research has identified that there are many benefits, but also many risks, to using technology. It is important to identify the potential negative outcomes that dating app users may face and inform mental health professionals who can create proper preventive measures and treatment plans when working with clients. This study addresses the gap in the literature about some of the potential relationships between negative mental health …

Fear, Distress, And Dissociation: Correlates Of Physiological Hyporeactivity After Interpersonal Victimization, Natalia Kecala

Dissertations

Background and Objective: Despite consistent findings of high reactivity to trauma cues in PTSD, there exists a consistent subset of physiological nonresponders who exhibit more complex and severe posttraumatic symptomatology. Research has identified different patterns of defensive reactivity representing Fear (core) and Distress (complex) PTSD symptoms. However, no studies have directly compared responders and nonresponders on physiological and clinical symptoms posttrauma.

Method: 66 adult women who had experienced first-degree sexual or physical assault within the last month were categorized using heart rate reactivity (HRR) to two personalized trauma scripts. Participants exhibiting negative HRR to both scripts were classified as nonresponders …

Neural Correlates Of Socially Rewarding Memories In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Kyle P. Blidy

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Significance. Memory disturbances for emotional content are central to PTSD, yet most research focuses on trauma memories. Recent evidence suggests that enhancing access to positive memories could improve mood, affect regulation, self-esteem, and integration of trauma memories. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying positive memory encoding in PTSD are poorly understood. No study has examined memory for positive social items in PTSD, which is important because PTSD entails social withdrawal and reduced accessibility to positive memory. Additionally, positive memories embedded in a social context have enhanced subjective value and strengthening their accessibility may confer greater benefits to wellbeing compared to non-social …

Cumulative Stressor Exposure Predicts Menstrual Cycle Affective Changes In A Transdiagnostic Outpatient Sample With Past-Month Suicidal Ideation, Anish Nagpal, Jordan C. Barone, Hafsah Tauseef, Jaclyn Ross, Zack J. Gray, Katja M. Schmalenberger, Grant S. Shields, George M. Slavich, Tory Eisenlohr-Moul

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Abstract

Affective responses to the menstrual cycle vary widely. Some individuals experience severe symptoms like those with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, while others have minimal changes. The reasons for these differences are unclear, but prior studies suggest stressor exposure may play a role. However, research in at-risk psychiatric samples is lacking. Methods

In a large clinical sample, we conducted a prospective study of how lifetime stressors relate to degree of affective change across the cycle. 114 outpatients with past-month suicidal ideation (SI) provided daily ratings (n = 6187) of negative affect and SI across 1–3 menstrual cycles. Participants completed …

Age, Slow Wave Sleep, And Hippocampal-Dependent Memory: Insights Into Cognitive Mapping, Hannah R. Maybrier

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Age, Slow Wave Sleep, and Hippocampal-Dependent Memory: Insights into Cognitive Mapping by Hannah Maybrier Doctor of Philosophy in Psychological and Brain Sciences Clinical Science Aging and Development Washington University in St. Louis, 2024 Denise Head, Chair Aging affects the ability to form cognitive maps—mental representations of spatial layouts—leading to reduced driving mobility and reluctance to visit unfamiliar places (Bryden et al., 2013; Burns, 1999). Since independence is crucial for successful aging, reduced mobility is linked to lower quality of life and well-being in older adults (Spinney et al., 2009). Identifying lifestyle factors that impair cognitive mapping …

An Exploration Of Rural Incarcerated Parents’ Needs And Existing Jail-Based Parenting Programs, Sarah Downard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to better understand the holistic and cultural needs in jails to better support incarcerated parents in a rural Western region and to compare the needs to existing programs. The theoretical framework for this study was a program model called the Family Strengthening Project. Data were collected in individual telephone interviews with five professionals with experience working with incarcerated parents and their families in a rural jail and community, including human services practitioners and law enforcement officials. The findings of the study indicated that although the jail is currently offering parenting classes, staffing …

Age, Slow Wave Sleep, And Hippocampal-Dependent Memory: Insights Into Cognitive Mapping, Hannah R. Maybrier

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Age, Slow Wave Sleep, and Hippocampal-Dependent Memory: Insights into Cognitive Mapping by Hannah Maybrier Doctor of Philosophy in Psychological and Brain Sciences Clinical Science Aging and Development Washington University in St. Louis, 2024 Denise Head, Chair Aging affects the ability to form cognitive maps—mental representations of spatial layouts—leading to reduced driving mobility and reluctance to visit unfamiliar places (Bryden et al., 2013; Burns, 1999). Since independence is crucial for successful aging, reduced mobility is linked to lower quality of life and well-being in older adults (Spinney et al., 2009). Identifying lifestyle factors that impair cognitive mapping …

The Pilling Process: Significance Quest, Self-Verification, And Fusion In Online Incel Forums, Gregory J. Rousis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Incels (short for “involuntary celibates) are an online community of men who blame women for their reputed sexual and romantic failures. The misogyny of their worldview, called the blackpill, has inspired multiple instances of real-world violence against women. Alarmingly, we know little about the temporal processes whereby an incel goes from joining an online community to becoming deeply aligned (i.e., “fused”) with the group. This project sought to address this by scraping incels’ most popular web forum and using text analysis to identify psychological mechanisms that could be responsible for incels’ fusion. The resulting dataset consisted of 1,097,841 unique discussion …

The Mediating Role Of Happiness On Marital Satisfaction In Couples Experiencing Mental Health Challenges, Stacey Stafford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While extensive research has examined the impact of mental health challenges on academic and occupational functioning, the effect on marital satisfaction remains underexplored in the literature. Previous studies indicate robust correlations between happiness and mental health, but the specific mediating role of happiness in couples with mental health issues is unaddressed. This archival quantitative study, grounded in Bowen family systems theory, addressed happiness's mediating role on marital satisfaction in couples facing mental health challenges. Using data from the 2018 General Social Survey, this study analyzed a sample of married adults (N = 938) to explore whether happiness mediated the relationship …

Latino Young Adults’ Experiences As Children And Adolescents With Incarcerated Parents, Anna Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parental incarceration has a significant impact on children’s and adolescents’ lives, including emotional and mental well-being, which can carry to their adulthood. Although parental incarceration has been researched, the lived experiences and mental health needs of Latino children and adolescents of incarcerated parents have not been explored. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the recollections of young Latino adults about their lived experiences and mental health needs as children and adolescents with incarcerated parents. Data were collected through semistructured participant interviews with open-ended questions. Participants were 10 Latino young adults who had experienced having at least …

Making Space For Spatial Thinking In Steam Education: Teacher Professional Development Modules, Remke Klapwijk, Gavin Duffy, Eleni Lagoudaki, Natalia Segura Caballero, Rohit Mishra, Caiwei Zhu, Marten Westerhof, Ergi Bufasi, Chloe Leung, Styliani Malkogeorgou, Ting Jun Lin, Estefania Gamarra, Trang Nguyen

Books/Book chapters

This guide provides seven modules to train primary school teachers, STEAM (Science, Teachnology, Engineering, Art and Math) coaches, makerspace coaches and policy makers to foster spatial thinking in classroom and STEAM programs. The modules focus on topics such as: improving students self-concepts, using spatial language and gestures as tools to improve spatial thinking, ways to use integrated STEAM activities such as design thinking and maker education to foster spatial thinking, new ways to engage children in spatial math puzzles and assignments using evidence-based teaching strategies including the application of materials and classroom dialogue, as well as a module on spatializing …

Correcting Misperceptions About Very Low Nicotine Cigarettes For Cigarette-Only Smokers, Dual/Poly Smokers, Other Tobacco Users, And Non-Tobacco Users, Rui Shi, Robert Feldman, Jiaying Liu, Pamela I. Clark

College of Communication & Creative Arts Departmental Research

Background

Methods

The Spiritual Well‑Being Scale In The Polish Catholic Setting: Construct, Structure, And Relationships With Psychological Well‑Being, Beata Zarzycka, Kamil Tomaka, Michał Grupa, Raymond F. Paloutzian, Rodger K. Bufford

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

The population of Poland could be of particular interest to researchers studying religion and spirituality. Catholicism has played a significant role in shaping the country’s culture, history, and tradition and is considered a national religion. More recently, however, the processes of moving away from regular participation in religious services and loosening ties with the institution of the Catholic Church are marked (Polish Public Opinion Research Center, CBOS). The Polish Catholic setting may modify the associations between psychological variables that have been studied in their relationships with spirituality, which have been investigated in religious contexts differing from a Polish Catholic one. …

Empowering Students Is “Perfectly Normal:" The Case For 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 In Middle Schools, Caroline H. Peabody

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

In September of 2023, a middle school teacher wrote an open letter to the Lexington County, Virginia school board expressing outrage over the “graphic sexual content” included in the county middle school’s library. Swiftly following the letter, the school board removed two books from the county’s Lylburn Middle School library without due process and avowed to reconsider the guidelines for including books in the library. One of the two books in question was It’s Perfectly Normal, a non-fiction illustrated book intended to educate readers ten and up on sex, intercourse, and puberty. It’s Perfectly Normal and should be available …

Understanding Patterns Of Hope And Sense Of Belonging From Mentoring Through Latent Class Analysis, Bailey Dow

Theses and Dissertations

Youth who have safe, stable, nurturing relationships (SSNRs) are more resilient to adverse childhood experiences and have better mental health. Compared to prior generations, today’s youth feel lonelier and more socially isolated than ever, and they crave the sense of belonging and hope that comes from meaningful social connections. Mentors can play a crucial role in bolstering these attributes. Mentors help youth in different ways, depending on the mentee's characteristics, preferences, or circumstances. Despite the well-known significance of natural mentoring relationships as a SSNR, researchers have paid little attention to how and why natural mentoring benefits vary among mentees. The …

Implied Occlusion And Subset Underestimation Contribute To The Weak-Outnumber-Strong Numerosity Illusion, Eliana G. Dellinger , '25, Katelyn M. Becker , '25, Frank H. Durgin

Psychology Faculty Works

Four experimental studies are reported using a total of 712 participants to investigate the basis of a recently reported numerosity illusion called “weak-outnumber-strong” (WOS). In the weak-outnumber-strong illusion, when equal numbers of white and gray dots (e.g., 50 of each) are intermixed against a darker gray background, the gray dots seem much more numerous than the white. Two principles seem to be supported by these new results: 1) Subsets of mixtures are generally underestimated; thus, in mixtures of red and green dots, both sets are underestimated (using a matching task) just as the white dots are in the weak-outnumber-strong illusion, …

The Spiritual Well-Being Scale In The Polish Catholic Setting: Construct, Structure, And Relationships With Psychological Well-Being, Beata Zarzycka, Kamil Tomaka, Michał Grupa, Raymond Paloutzian, Rodger K. Bufford

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

The population of Poland could be of particular interest to researchers studying religion and spirituality. Catholicism has played a significant role in shaping the country’s culture, history, and tradition and is considered a national religion. More recently, however, the processes of moving away from regular participation in religious services and loosening ties with the institution of the Catholic Church are marked (Polish Public Opinion Research Center, CBOS). The Polish Catholic setting may modify the associations between psychological variables that have been studied in their relationships with spirituality, which have been investigated in religious contexts differing from a Polish Catholic one. …

Training Counselors In Clinical Case Formulation: A Proof Of Concept Of The Thematic Mapping Method, Christina E. Jeffrey, Charles Ridley, Nina Quintana, Taylor Parks

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Case formulation, or the way in which clinicians synthesize client information and formulate appropriate treatment directions, is a crucial part of counseling and clinical training. Thematic mapping is a transtheoretical, transdiagnostic strategy of case conceptualization that provides a holistic, complex, multicultural formulation of clients. This proof of concept study evaluated the relationship of a training in the thematic mapping method and case conceptualization quality. Supervisors trained six second-year counselors in the method, along with application to clinical cases, during weekly group supervision. Case formulation complexity, evidence of a systematic approach, level of detail, and goodness-of-fit from client data to synthesized …

Relational Resilience, Grace, And The Role Of Divine Forgiveness, Bethanie Pusey

Senior Honors Theses

The constructs of relational resilience, divine forgiveness, and grace have recently grown in popularity within the field of positive psychology, yet their associations have thus far remained unexplored. The present study sought to fill this gap in the literature and determine what relationship exists between these variables while controlling for other related factors such as interpersonal forgiveness, self-forgiveness, spirituality, and general resilience. Participants (N = 247) from a large private Christian university provided responses to both trait and conflict-specific measures. Correlational findings supported significant positive relations between relational resilience and divine forgiveness, interpersonal forgiveness, and self-forgiveness. Relational resilience was …

The Relative Strength Of Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, And Self-Care In Predicting Resilience Among First Responders, Corey Norton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Given the situations confronted daily by first responders, many experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, often triggered by exposure to traumatic events, can be so debilitating that the first responder can no longer travel, spend time with family, or enjoy hobbies, a self-isolating state of affairs that diminishes quality of life. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relative strength of emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and self-care in predicting resilience among first responders. Emotion regulation theory described how individuals experience, express, and control their emotional reactions when faced with life and …

How The Lockdown Of Covid-19 Influenced The Neurocognitive And Psychosocial Development Of Preschoolers, Kay Picson

Nursing | Student Research Posters

The COVID-19 pandemic instilled a new normal across the world. Businesses turned to take out services and faced financial struggle. Hospitals enacted a visitor policy, limiting contact with patients, their families, and their friends. Schools closed their classrooms and moved to online learning from home, isolating children from their teachers, peers, and an optimal learning environment.

The literature review consists of six articles pertaining to the influence of the COVID-19 lockdown on preschoolers neurocognitive and psychosocial development. Specifically, the influence of the lockdown on preschooler mental health, executive function, and social skills. According to the research, the results were differential, …