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Building Media Literacy In Adolescence: A Cognitive Behavioral Clinician's Manual To Combat Misinformation And Misdiagnosis During Sessions, Patricia Sacchetti

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper examines the role of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in countering misinformation that youth encounter on social media and other informal sources, with the goal of creating a manual for mental health clinicians. The use of CBT by clinicians working with adolescents to combat the issue of misinformation and misdiagnosis has received little attention in the literature. Mental health clinicians’ knowledge of media literacy as a psychological construct can foster an effective treatment style by building upon the foundation of well-established theory and practice, such as CBT. CBT is a multifaceted treatment that can help guide mental health clinicians …

Investigating Momentary Body Image Disturbance, Affect, And Disordered Eating Among College Students, Allison T. Cunning

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite evidence that eating disorders are associated with elevated mortality rates, increased risk of suicide, and societal and financial burden, treatment outcomes for individuals with eating disorders remain poor. Body image disturbance has emerged as a robust risk factor for the development and maintenance of disordered eating (e.g., overeating, binge eating, purging, restriction) and theoretical and clinical perspectives most commonly operationalize body image disturbance as a trait construct. However, empirical evidence suggests body dissatisfaction may fluctuate, and these fluctuations may play an important role in the relationship between risk factors and disordered eating. The current study employed ecological momentary assessment …

Is She Being “Fast?”: Exploration Of African American Women’S Experience With Sexual Objectification, Alaigra V.R. Usher

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Issues of sexual objectification have been intertwined in America’s history since enslavement. This phenomenology study aimed to explore African American women’s lived experiences with sexual objectification and to understand the essential themes and conceptualizations that African American women attribute to sexual objectification. Through semi-structured interviews with a criterion sampling of African American women, the research sought to identify core themes surrounding sexual objectification experiences. In the results of this study, it was found that this population conceptualizes their sexual objectification experiences through seven themes: Earliest Sexual Objectification Experiences (SOE), SOE, Responses to SOE, Parental Protection, Reasons for SOE, SOE places, …

Overcoming Barriers To Connection Between People With Schizophrenia And Their Caregivers, Sarah G. Fernandez

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The purpose of this doctoral project is to bring together existing literature on relational barriers between patients and caregivers, and strategies for overcoming them, for one reason: to help clinicians facilitate connection within families and households where one person has schizophrenia. It is therefore comprised of two parts: this paper containing a three-part literature review on barriers to connection including social skill deficits characteristic of the disease of schizophrenia, environmental factors, and caregiver burden and expressed emotion within families, as well as protective factors and strategies for overcoming them. The second component of this project is a psychoeducational module geared …

Attitudes Toward Pig Islet Xenotransplantation For Type 1 Diabetes: A Scoping Review, Daniel J Hurst, Daniel Rodger, Luz A Padilla, Fernando Ovalle

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Over 8 million people globally have type 1 diabetes. Islet allotransplantation offers an alternative to insulin therapy but is constrained by donor availability. Genetically modified pig islet transplantation presents a potential solution, yet understanding stakeholder attitudes is crucial before clinical adoption.

METHODS: This scoping review followed Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and PRISMA guidelines. CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed, PsychINFO, and SCOPUS were searched for studies examining attitudes toward pig islet xenotransplantation among patients, healthcare workers, and other stakeholders.

RESULTS: From 199 sources, 16 met eligibility criteria, spanning ten countries from 2003 to 2023. The 23,780 participants included 1,535 (6.5%) patients/family members, …

The Relative Strength Of Help-Seeker Stereotype, Help-Seeking Self-Stigma, And Self-Esteem In Predicting Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Help, Souad Torjani Azim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increasing prevalence of mental health issues among college students is a critical concern. Disorders such as depression and anxiety are becoming more common, with depression notably a major risk factor for suicide—the second leading cause of death in this age group. Despite this troubling trend, significant barriers to accessing mental health services remain. While research has explored various factors contributing to students’ reluctance, such as stigma, distrust in the mental health system, lack of social support, and mental health literacy, none to date has examined the relative strength of help-seeker stereotype, help-seeking self-stigma, and self-esteem in predicting attitudes toward …

Social Perception Of Bipolar Disorders On Employment Outcomes, Mary E. Henson

Student Theses and Dissertations

An important component to quality of life in those living with bipolar disorders is employment. Employment gives people an opportunity to provide for themselves and others, granting them the ability to live bountiful lives. For those with mental health diagnoses, it also provides them with economic access to affordable treatment. Literature agrees that many people with these diagnoses, specifically people with bipolar disorders, are less likely to be employed and maintain employment. It is likely that a lack of employment is due to stigma faced from employers and colleagues. Many studies have investigated internal stigma of bipolar disorders, but there …

Revising And Consolidating The Dsm-5 And Icd-11 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Into A Dimensional Spectrum-Based Disorder: A Literature Review, Samuel Milton Shatsky

University Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the clinical, cultural, and theoretical implications of replacing the current DSM-5 and ICD-11 categorical diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) with a unified dimensional framework: trauma spectrum disorder (TSD). The proposed TSD model addresses ongoing concerns around diagnostic inflation, treatment misalignment, and clinical confusion stemming from binary trauma categorizations. This thesis explores whether adopting a dimensional diagnostic model to replace DSM-5 and ICD-11's current PTSD and CPTSD designations could lead to improved treatment outcomes and diagnostic clarity.

Methodology consisted of an extensive literature review of the field's current research. Using the …

As Good As It Gets? Comparing Clients’ And Treatment Providers’ Perceptions Of Engagement Barriers And Facilitators For Exposure And Response Prevention Ocd Treatment, Samuel Mutschler-Aldine

University Honors Theses

This mixed-methods study compared clients' and providers' sentiments toward research-based themes on barriers and facilitators of client engagement in treatment. For individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), engagement in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy is a crucial ingredient of successful treatment and symptom remission. Therefore, it is imperative to thoroughly understand the perspectives on engagement barriers and facilitators of people with field experience: ERP patients and therapists.

The researcher administered two Qualtrics surveys to thirty current providers and six current or former clients of ERP for OCD. Each survey contained five-point, Likert-style scales to measure the level each participant agreed …

The Impact Of Child And Parent Trauma Exposure On A School-Based Trauma-Focused Child Intervention, Andrea Donis

Master's Theses

National statistics demonstrate that vast majority of Latine youth living in low-income neighborhoods in the United States experience on-going trauma exposure throughout their life. However, most trauma-focused therapies were designed without considering the impact that experiencing new trauma exposure during treatment may have on treatment effectiveness, limiting our understanding of the potential attenuation caused by new traumatic experiences. In addition, most youth research has focused on the impact of child trauma exposure, with little attention given to the impact of parental trauma exposure on child treatment outcomes despite the salient role that parents play in child development. In particular, little …

Situational Analysis Of Child Labour In Coastal And Marine Activities In Zanzibar, Tanzania, Happiness Anold Moshi, Rukia Kitula

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study analyses the situation of child labour in coastal and marine activities in Zanzibar, Tanzania, by examining activities carried out by children, the major driving factors for engaging in child labour, as well as the associated impacts to children’s schooling and wellbeing. Questionnaire survey, focus group discussions (FGDs), participant observations, and key informant interviews (KII) were all used to collect data for the study. The study involved a total of 90 children, who were randomly selected among working children in coastal and marine activities. It was found that most of the working children were involved in fishing, fish descaling, …

Enhancing Mental Health Through Mind-Body Exercises In Sedentary Students: A Systematic Review With An Indonesian Perspective, Izmi Alya Khairunnisa, Aditya Denny Pratama

Jurnal Sosial Humaniora Terapan

Sedentary Behavior (SB) among students is associated with increased risks of depression, anxiety, stress, and weakened immune function. According to the WHO, SB contributes to approximately two million deaths each year. This systematic literature review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mind-body exercises in improving mental health outcomes—specifically stress reduction, anxiety management, and emotional regulation—among students with sedentary lifestyles. Using the PRISMA framework, 2,201 articles were identified from databases including Scopus, PubMed, and ProQuest, with six studies meeting the inclusion criteria. The review found that mind-body exercises such as yoga, tai chi, and pilates significantly reduce stress and anxiety, enhance …

Family Matters: Experiences Of Family Stigma, Addiction Recovery & The Role Of Self-Compassion, Kennedy Hoying

Master's Theses

Addiction and substance use is currently one of the most stigmatized disorders in society, creating a barrier to treatment and recovery. This study explored the role of family stigma, the stigmatization processes of family members of otherwise stigmatized individuals, within families of substance users to examine how stigma might affect family support behaviors. Two hundred and twenty-two U.S. adults who have a substance using family member completed an online survey regarding their experiences of family stigma, attributions of responsibility for addiction, self-compassion, and any supportive recovery behaviors they engage in to help their family member’s addiction. Results of correlation analysis …

An Examination Of Positive Risk-Taking: Testing The Effect Of Modeling, Allison M. Schuck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Positive risk-taking is a common behavior which may be associated with favorable outcomes. However, there has been little theoretical and empirical investigation of potential predictors and pathways to this behavior. Both social/behavioral and psychological factors may play a role in engagement in positive risk-taking. Modeling, along with related factors (i.e., perceived similarity and perceived credibility of the model), may lead to engagement in positive risk-taking behavior and intentions. Further, internal psychological characteristics (i.e., autonomy, fear of negative evaluation, empathy, and previous positive risk-taking behavior) may also be associated with engagement in positive risk-taking behavior. As such, the present study sought …

Exploring The Connection Between Mental Health Stigma, Social-Emotional Risk, And Help-Seeking Behaviors Among High School Students, Dorie Ross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the United States, the rate of adolescents experiencing mental health-related challenges continues to rise, impacting their social-emotional well-being. Despite increasing concerns, the majority of adolescents do not seek treatment for mental health problems. One barrier contributing to a lack of help-seeking behaviors is mental health stigma. Furthermore, for students who have sought help for such concerns, there is a lack of consensus on whom high school students turn to for support when seeking help. The current study utilized quantitative methodology in the form of Structural Equation Modeling to examine the complex relationship between social-emotional risk, perceptions of mental health …

Christian Beliefs About Salvation: Measurement And Associations With Mental Health And Well-Being, Anthony Edward Rose, Timothy B. Smith

Faculty Publications

Religious beliefs influence many behaviors and perspectives relevant to wellbeing and mental health. In Christianity, beliefs about how one attains salvation may be particularly relevant to psychology, but limited scholarship has considered cognitive aspects of religiosity. This study developed and evaluated a new measure of Beliefs about Salvation (BAS) that assesses affirmations of salvation (a) by God’s grace alone and (b) by God’s grace after human repentance/ordinances, as understood by different Christian denominations. We examined the association of the BAS with three measures of mental health and six measures of influences on religiosity. In a sample of 1556 predominantly members …

Evaluating The Use Of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation In A Patient With Treatment Resistant Depression, Autism Spectrum Disorder, And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Report, Luke Fritsch Ba, Mba, Msiv, Oluwafunke O. Ogunremi Bs, Msiv, Alexandra R. Job Bs, Msiv, James Hellekson Md

Aesculapius Journal (Health Sciences & Medicine)

Despite a wide array of therapeutic modalities, many patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) experience no significant improvement in symptoms with traditional treatment. Given the prevalence of Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), other alternative therapeutic modalities for MDD are being researched. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is one modality that continues to show successful therapeutic outcomes for those with TRD. The aim of this study is to highlight a case of rTMS being used on a patient with TRD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use.

Methods:

Our patient is a 53-year-old female who first presented to …

Trainees’ Experience Of Videoconferencing Psychotherapy Training: A Consensual Qualitative Research Study, Tin Weng Mak

Dissertations (1934 -)

As videoconferencing psychotherapy (VCP) becomes an increasingly common component of mental health service delivery, little is known about how trainees experience VCP training during their graduate education. Gaining insight into trainees’ lived experiences is essential to understanding how they navigate virtual care and how training programs can better prepare future clinicians. This study employed Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methodology to explore how trainees experienced their VCP training and how it shaped their clinical development. Fifteen master’s- and doctoral-level trainees were interviewed and provided rich accounts of both the helpful and challenging aspects of VCP training. Through the use of CQR, …

Introduction To Clinical Psychology Syllabus (Psych 347), Valentina Nikulina

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Effective Adapted Psychotherapy Approaches For Autistic Adults: Perspectives From Clinical Psychologists, Emily Morgan Hilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Autistic adults face a high risk of co-occurring mental health challenges, yet standard psychotherapy often fails to meet their unique needs, raising concerns about treatment effectiveness. This qualitative study aimed to understand how clinical psychologists decide on therapeutic approaches and adaptations for their autistic adult clients through three research questions: RQ1: How do clinical psychologists decide on the appropriate therapeutic approach they use with their autistic adult clients? RQ2: How do clinical psychologists decide which adaptations are appropriate to implement in psychotherapy with their autistic adult clients? RQ3: Does the therapeutic approach affect how a clinical psychologist chooses appropriate adaptations …

The Mediating Role Of Intellectual Humility On The Relationship Between Perspective-Taking And Affective Polarization, Daniel Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Affective polarization, a phenomenon characterized by animosity between opposing political parties, has emerged as a growing and intractable problem in the United States. Affective polarization threatens American democracy, as polarized citizens become increasingly unwilling to trust cross-partisans, hold their political leaders accountable, or support the results of free and fair elections. While prior research has investigated the mitigating effect of intellectual humility and perspective-taking on affective polarization, researchers have yet to investigate whether intellectual humility and perspective-taking work synergistically to mitigate affective polarization. Informed by social identity theory, this quantitative study determined if intellectual humility mediated the relationship between perspective-taking …

Optimal Well Being Of Those Recovering From Alcohol Use Disorder: An Exploration Of Individual Difference Factors And Treatment Outcomes, Jared Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Harmful alcohol use has continued to be one of the largest negative impact factors of daily living worldwide. Despite the pervasive use of alcohol and negative impacts that it has on the individual and society there is large disagreement on how to know when someone has “recovered” from AUD (El-Guebaly, 2012), with much of the literature focused narrowly on negative indicators (e.g., return to heavy drinking, re-occurrence of AUD symptoms). Such views have not only restricted definitions of recovery but has also created public perception that those with AUD will continue to struggle even when cessation of drinking has occurred. …

A Participatory Approach To Case Management: Co-Creation Of Effective Anti-Trafficking Programming Based On The Self-Identified Strengths, Needs, And Priorities Of Survivors, Angela Robinson Phd, Kelsey Morgan Phd

SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference

Some estimates claim the existence of 50 million victims of human trafficking and the U.S. Department of State suggests that less than 1% of survivors received services to prevent further exploitation. This presentation shares processes for co-creating knowledge with case management tools that empower survivors while gathering data to improve their care, assist service providers in effectively targeting supportive services, and strengthen anti-trafficking initiatives. Findings will be shared from Freedom Lifemap, a self-assessment used by human trafficking survivors to identity their own strengths, needs, and priorities to prevent the risk of re-exploitation and attain lasting freedom. Global patterns in data …

Reproductive Rights At Work: The Role Of Organizations In Menstrual Support, Emily Julia Ready

Dissertations and Theses

Painful menstrual symptoms affect up to 90% of people with uteruses globally. These symptoms can result in lost productivity at work and absenteeism for working individuals. Normative work structures have not been designed with accessibility and inclusivity for those with uteruses in mind. Therefore, women and those with uteruses have often had to work through barriers with no accommodations or systematic change. Currently, there is no published research in the United States on the nuances of the relationship between menstruation and work with the intention of exploring effective solutions. There has been discussion related to menstrual supportive policies, but there …

Support Beyond Services: Examining The Role Of Neighbor Relationships, Housing Staff, And Place In Mental Health Recovery, Kenna Estell Dickard

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation explores the role of non-clinical support for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). Through three interconnected manuscripts, this dissertation highlights the importance of housing staff support, places in the community, and neighbor relationships in fostering recovery for individuals with SMI. The first manuscript analyzes how housing staff support influences residents' well-being through an ecological lens. This study found that staff support is associated with reduced loneliness, higher residential satisfaction, and increased sense of community. This study also considers the role of self-determination as a moderator, demonstrating the importance of resident agency in maximizing well-being outcomes. The second manuscript …

A Psychometric Investigation Of The Distress Tolerance Scale Short Form (Dts-Sf): Reliability, Validity, And Factor Structure In A Trauma-Exposed Sample, Brianna M. Byllesby, Ruby Charak, Ines Cano-Gonzalez, Nicole M. Christ

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Perceived emotional distress tolerance refers to one’s perceived capacity to tolerate negative emotional states, and this construct is commonly identified as a transdiagnostic development and maintenance factor of psychopathology. The Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) is a commonly used self-report measure of emotional distress tolerance, and recently an abbreviated version, the Distress Tolerance Scale-Short Form (DTS-SF), was developed. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the DTS-SF in a large sample (N = 1099) of emerging adults. Our findings demonstrated that the DTS-SF had adequate internal reliability and was strongly associated with the DTS total score. Similarly, the DTS-SF …

Charting Your Own Course: Diverse Paths To Occupational Health Psychology, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

This piece describes my pathway, via stressful work experiences, into occupational health psychology (OHP). Those work experiences combined with my later training in epidemiology at Columbia led me to the study of work, stress, and health. I briefly describe key research experiences with Joe Mazzola of Meredith College (the role of qualitative research in theory development and hypothesis generation) and Renzo Bianchi of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (research on burnout–depression overlap and the creation of scales to assess occupational depression, occupational anxiety, and pandemic-related anxiety). The piece concludes with ideas for newcomers to OHP for getting the …

Inside Out: Autistic Psychologists On The Power Structures Of Diagnosis, Audrey J. Scaer, Christopher R. Dabbs

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

How do relationships between medicalized diagnostic powers and training intersect with the complex social identity of autism? How does self-identification (self-diagnosis) challenge the diagnostic status quo, created and scaffolded by enormously powerful social systems? In this paper, we reflect on the historical and modern dynamics of these power relations. As autistic psychologists actively working with and diagnosing autistic clients, we end this paper with an autoethnographic interrogation of our own self-diagnostic journeys and ways in which we’ve integrated our identities across personal and professional spheres of functioning.

Does Schooling Improve Cognitive Abilities At Older Ages? Causal Evidence From Nonparametric Bounds, Vikesh Amin, Jere R. Behrman, Jason M. Fletcher, Carlos A. Flores, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Hans-Peter Kohler

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We revisit much-investigated relationships between schooling and health, focusing on schooling impacts on cognitive abilities at older ages using the Harmonized Cognition Assessment Protocol in the Health & Retirement Study (HRS) and a bounding approach that requires relatively weak assumptions. Our estimated upper bounds on the population average effects indicate potentially large causal effects of increasing schooling from primary to secondary; yet, these upper bounds are smaller than many estimates from the literature on causal schooling impacts on cognition using compulsory-schooling laws. We also cannot rule out small and null effects at this margin. We do, however, find evidence for …

More Schooling Can Delay The Onset Of Dementia Later In Life, Vikesh Amin, Jere R. Behrman, Jason M. Fletcher, Carlos A. Flores, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Iliana Kohler, Hans-Peter Kohler, Shana D. Stites

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.