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Child Maltreatment’S Heavy Toll: The Need For Trauma-Informed Obesity Prevention, Susan M. Mason, S. Bryn Austin, Jennifer L. Bakalar, Renee Boynton-Jarrett, Alison E. Field, Holly C. Gooding, Laura M. Holsen, Benita Jackson, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Mar Sanchez, Stephanie Sogg, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, Janet W. Rich-Edwards

Psychology: Faculty Publications

This paper is the product of a workshop on the topic of child maltreatment and obesity at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard that brought together the listed authors, who are experts across a number of relevant fields.

Emerging research has highlighted childhood maltreatment and other psychological traumas as risk factors for obesity and related comorbidities.1–3 Although the high rate of obesity in the U.S. affects the entire population, those with histories of maltreatment—making up at least 30% of the population4,5—appear to be at greater risk. Unfortunately, childhood maltreatment is often overlooked as a risk factor for adult …

Effects Of Massive Familiarization On Crossmodal Aesthetic Preference, Nicholas J. Voss, Dylan S. Campbell, Ronald S. Friedman

Psychology

An investigation was carried out to determine whether familiarization to the experience of visual dissonance would have crossmodal effects on the preference for dissonant and consonant musical stimuli. We hypothesized that subjects who viewed a large number of disharmonious color combinations would come to show greater liking for dissonant musical stimuli than their counterparts who had seen either harmonious or single color images. Findings showed that there was no difference in preference between groups, though musical experience and score on a benign masochism measure predicted larger differences between average ratings of consonant and dissonant chords. These results are discussed in …

Meditation And Chocolate: Comparing Their Effects On Cognitive Abilities, Ryan Dyck

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Numerous studies have been conducted on the effects of meditation on long-term meditators. This current study aims to test the immediate effects of meditation on cognition. It is hypothesized that meditation will have a significant effect on cognition in comparison to the control of chocolate. In order to test this hypothesis participants were subject to two conditions: a meditation condition and a chocolate condition. After each condition participants were given a cognition test designed to test their reading comprehension and math skills. Using a related samples t-test I conclude that meditation does not have a significant effect on cognition using …

Assessing Clinical Significance Of The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment And Cognitive Testing Battery When Comparing Adjusted And Unadjusted Rci Methods For Different Ranges Of Baseline Scores, Ashley N. Figaro

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The growing concern revolving around the dangers of sports-related concussions have led to the most recent implementation of neurocognitive (NC) test batteries as a means to objectively determine the presence of a cognitive defect. Whereas any other sports-related injury can be diagnosed with tools such as an x-ray or MRI, a concussion represents a metabolic disturbance that cannot be identified by these diagnostic tools. Many neurocognitive test batteries employ statistical techniques to derive cut off scores in order to represent significant or insignificant changes as compared to individual baseline scores, or pre-established normative values. If an individuals’ post-injury score exceeds …

Barriers And Facilitators Of Adolescent Health In Rural Kenya, Molly Secor-Turner, Brandy A. Randall, Courage Chikomborero Mudzongo

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

The purpose of this research was to identify perceived barriers and facilitators of health from the perspective of rural Kenyan adolescents and to characterize the cultural context that shapes these barriers and facilitators. Design: Following a semistructured interview guide, qualitative focus group interviews were conducted at day schools with 64 upper-primary and secondary students in rural central Kenya. Participants provided written parental consent and individual assent for study participation. Results: Findings were organized into seven categories (individual, family, peer, school, community, institutional, and cultural) according to a social–ecological framework to highlight the multiple social and environmental contexts that shape health …

Examining The Effects Of Caregiver Coping Strategies On Care Recipient Outcomes, Joseph S. Wanzek

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dementia is a progressive syndrome with declines in cognitive and functional abilities. As the world’s population becomes increasingly older, prevalence rates are expected to increase exponentially to over 80 million affected by the year 2040. Individuals with dementia and their caregivers experience various difficulties associated with progression that increases stress for both parties. Caregiving can be burdensome and caregivers may employ a number of strategies to manage problems as they arise. Renewed interest has been focused on the care environment as one way to modify dementia progression as caregivers can be an influential person in the care recipient’s life. Two …

Treating Chronic Pain At A Federally Qualified Health Center: Staff Perspectives, Nathan K. Goins

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Although half of all patients with chronic pain seek treatment with their primary care practitioner, many physicians report being overburdened, with limited confidence in their training in the treatment of chronic pain. Opiate monotherapy remains the most common treatment utilized, despite strong correlations with addiction issues and increased distrust between patients and providers. In response to these issues, multidisciplinary stepped-care approaches utilizing psychoeducation, cognitive therapies, movement-based therapy, pharmaceutical treatment, yoga, and acupuncture have been developed. However, treatment within Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) are complicated by financial constraints and high complexity in patient populations. This study examined the perspectives of …

Too Much Of A Good Thing? Overexertion Of Self-Control And Dietary Adherence In Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes, Brooke N. Jenkins, Karen S. Rook, Raquel Borges-Garcia, Melissa M. Franks, Mary Ann Parris Stephens

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objectives

The resource model of self‐control posits that self‐control is a finite resource that can be depleted. Individuals with diabetes must continually restrict their diet, requiring self‐control. As a result, dietary adherence is difficult, and lapses are common. People with diabetes who overexert self‐control following a lapse may be especially likely to experience a subsequent relapse, as suggested by the resource model. This investigation used the resource model of self‐control to test whether overexertion of dietary self‐control following a lapse would be predictive of a subsequent relapse in dietary control.

Design

We tested this prediction in a daily diary study …

46th Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

See document below for project abstracts

The Effect Of Mobile Health Applications On Health Behaviors: A Pilot Study, Danielle M. Shilling, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Elizabeth Krumrei Mancuso

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The present research examined the effectiveness of mobile Health (mHealth) fitness and nutrition applications where effectiveness was defined as eliciting behavior changes towards national guidelines for minutes of weekly exercise and daily water consumption. In this study, it was hypothesized that an mHealth Application condition using the MyFitnessPal application would be more effective at altering water consumption and exercise behaviors when compared to a Daily Monitoring condition and a Paper Dairy condition. All 92 participants of this randomized trial participated in a one-week baseline collection and three weeks of intervention for a total of four weeks of participation. Results indicated …

Ciis Today, Spring 2016 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Spring 2016 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Type D Personality And Injury Relationship In Collegiate Track Athletes, Annmarie Tuxbury

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

The purpose of this study was to examine Type D personality as an internal factor for injury risk in collegiate track athletes. A survey was administered to 275 track athletes across each of the three NCAA divisions. The survey included general questions about injury history, which included demographic type questions. A Type D Personality Inventory assessment was administered which measured negative affectivity and social inhibition (Blum, 2009). Additionally, the survey included a version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), measuring an athlete’s evaluation of situations that invokes a stress response (Cohen et al, 1983). Lastly, the survey included the Athletic …

How Health Claims On Product Packaging Influence Consumer Perceptions And Purchase Decisions, Taylor Vanasse

Honors Projects in Marketing

The goal of this investigation was to expand upon research from the field of consumer behavior, with a specific focus on food product packaging and health claims. It specifically focused on how these health claims impact consumer perceptions and purchase decisions related to everyday food items. Students at Bryant University were asked to take part in a study which measured their overall health knowledge and nutritional interest. They were then presented with different variations of a product packaging label to assess its impact on their attitude towards a product. Findings indicated that both females and those who score highest on …

Participation In Organizational Health And Wellness Programs, Sarah C. Adams

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Health and wellness programs are being utilized by organizations at growing rates. Research on health and wellness programs is typically confined to the program of a single organization and the employees participating in that specific program. Typically, this research examines the outcomes of health and wellness programs in organizations, such as return on investment in terms of medical costs, as well as improvements in the health of the employees. However, little information is known about those who choose to participate in health and wellness programs and the characteristics that may influence their participation.

This study examined the relationship between demographic …

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus And Subparaventricular Zone Lesions Disrupt Circadian Rhythmicity But Not Light-Induced Masking Behavior In Nile Grass Rats, Andrew J. Gall, Dorela D. Shuboni, Lily Yan, Antonio A. Nunez, Laura Smale

Faculty Publications

The ventral subparaventricular zone (vSPVZ) receives direct retinal input and influences the daily patterning of activity in rodents, making it a likely candidate for the mediation of acute behavioral responses to light (i.e., masking). We performed chemical lesions aimed at the vSPVZ of diurnal grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus) using N-methyl-D,L-aspartic acid (NMA), a glutamate agonist. Following NMA lesions, we placed grass rats in various lighting conditions (e.g., 12:12 light-dark, constant dark, constant light); presented a series of light pulses at circadian times (CT) 6, 14, 18, and 22; and placed them in a 7-h ultradian cycle to assess behavioral masking. …

Does Faith Ameliorate The Relationship Between Sleep And Depression?, Jesse E. Burrell

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Depression is one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in the world. College students are more likely to experience depression than adults. Research has established a correlational relationship between sleep and depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Davidson, 2013; Franzen & Buysse, 2008, Lund, Reider, Whiting, & Prichard, 2010; Tsuno, Besset, & Ritchie, 2005; Van Bemmel, 1997) and suggests there is also a causational relationship between faith and lower rates of depressive symptoms (Baker & Cruickshank, 2009; Koenig, 2008a Koenig, 2001; Newport, Agrawal, & Witters, 2010; Reutter & Bigattie, 2014; Rosmarin et al., 2013). However, little research exists exploring how faith …

The Relationship Between Sexual Objectification, Body Image, Activity Monitoring, And Compulsive Exercise, Christina Tuning

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The purpose of this study was to look at the relationship between sexual objectification, body image, eating disorder symptomatology, activity monitoring, and compulsive exercise. Objectification Theory provides a framework for understanding a woman’s experience of the culturally established ideal body, which in Western cultures has become increasingly thin. As women internalize the thin ideal, their experience of self-worth and body image can be impacted and can lead to efforts to control their appearance including diet and exercise. While exercise has been consistently shown to have health benefits, little has been said about unhealthy levels of exercise. Compulsive exercise in particular …

The Relationship Between Religiosity And Health-Promoting Behaviors In Pregnant Women At Pregnancy Resource Centers, Natalie Cyphers, Andrea D. Clements, Jody L. Ralph

ETSU Faculty Works

Abstract available through the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

The Impact Of Teen Intimate Partner Violence On Subsequent New Dating Experiences Among Latinas, Lucia J. Stubbs

Dissertations (1934 -)

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is experienced by Latinas (Villavicencio, 2008; González-Guarda, Peragallo, Vasquez, Urrutia, & Mitrani, 2009) at comparable and higher rates to women of other racial/ethnic backgrounds (Black et al., 2011; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2011). Young Latinas, in particular, appear to be disproportionately affected by IPV in comparison to young non-Latina white women (CDC, 2011). The negative outcomes associated with IPV in women, including Latinas, range from physical health issues (e.g., death, injuries including broken bones and concussions), and illnesses (e.g., gastrointestinal issues, headaches, and cardiovascular problems), to mental health problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, and …

The Relationship Between Counselors' Multicultural Counseling Competence And Poverty Beliefs, Madeline Elizabeth Clark

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The relationship between increased levels of poverty and decreased levels of psychological wellbeing and overall wellness is well documented. Although poverty clearly impacts mental health and wellness, little research in counseling has been conducted exploring the poverty attitudes of counselors. This study explored the relationship between professional counselors’ multicultural counseling competence (MCC), poverty beliefs, and select demographic factors (i.e. counseling specialty, gender, age, ethnocultural identity, poverty counseling experience, and personal poverty experience). Data were collected using survey-based methods from professional counselors of all specialties. Results of a hierarchical linear regression indicate that increased MCC, adjusted for select demographic factors, is …

The Construct And Predictive Validity Of Psychosocial Correlates Of Television Viewing, Raheem Paxton, Pascal Jean-Pierre, Saehwan Park, Yong Gao Dr., Stephen Herrmann, G J. Norman

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: Many studies have examined the consequences of prolonged television viewing, but few studies have examined the psychological states that contribute to this behavior. In this study, we evaluated the construct and predictive validity of psychosocial correlates of television viewing in a population of African American (AA) breast cancer survivors (BCS).

Methods: AA BCS (N = 342, Mean age = 54 years) completed measures of decisional balance, self-efficacy, family support, and time spent watching television online. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) was used to examine the construct and predictive validity as well as the differential item functioning of the instruments …

Does Physical Fitness Predict The Reading Achievement Of Fifth-Grade Students? The Interaction With Gender, Courtney Lynn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

States across the nation are facing pressure to meet standards for high stakes testing which is resulting in a decrease in the amount of time allotted to physical education (Ennis, 2006). Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008) recommends children engage in 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day, on average, children only receive 30 minutes per day of aerobic exercise (Epstein et al., 2001). Despite this decrease in physical activity, research has shown that physical activity is associated with academic achievement (Ardoy et al., 2013). In addition, physical activity is positively related to physical …

Anti-Fat Attitudes And Weight Bias Internalization: An Investigation Of How Bmi Impacts Perceptions, Opinions And Attitudes, Laurie Schrider

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Americans hold negative and judgmental attitudes towards obese and overweight individuals and these anti-fat attitudes and weight stigma have become a damaging form of discrimination. The internalization of weight bias and anti-fat attitudes contributes to negative health outcomes including: feelings of devalue, self-hate, anxiety, depression, body dissatisfaction and eating disturbances. The purpose of this study was to investigate weight bias internalization in individuals who perceive themselves as overweight as well as to examine differences in anti-fat attitudes among normal and overweight individuals. A sample of 202 male and females completed an online survey that assessed anti-fat attitudes via the Anti-Fat …

Depression And Body Mass Index, Differences By Education: Evidence From A Population-Based Study Of Adult Women In The U.S. Buffalo-Niagara Region, Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Jing Nie, Maurizio Trevisan, Jo L. Freudenheim

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

The relationship between obesity and depression is well described. However, the evidence linking depression and body mass index (BMI) across the broad range of body size is less consistent. We examined the association between depressive symptoms and BMI in a sample of adult women in the Buffalo-Niagara region between 1997 and 2001. Using logistic regression, we investigated whether increased weight status beyond normal-weight was associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, and if educational attainment modified the association between obesity and depression. There was a trend for increased weight status to be associated with higher depressive symptoms (obese II/III, …

Meditative Movement As A Treatment For Pulmonary Dysfunction In Flight Attendants Exposed To Second-Hand Cigarette Smoke: Study Protocol For A Randomized Trial, Peter Payne, David Zava, Steven Fiering, Mardi Crane-Godreau

Dartmouth Scholarship

A study protocol is presented for the investigation of meditative movement (MM) as a treatment for pulmonary dysfunction in ight attendants (FA) who were exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke while ying before the smoking ban. The study will have three parts, some of which will run concurrently. The rst is a data gathering and screen- ing phase, which will gather data on pulmonary and other aspects of the health of FA, and will also serve to screen participants for the other phases. Second is an exercise selection phase, in which a variety of MM exercises will be taught, over a …

A Systems Approach To Stress And Resilience In Humans: Mindfulness Meditation, Aging, And Cognitive Function, Barry S. Oken

Dissertations and Theses

Psychological stress is common and contributes to many physical and mental health problems. Its effects are mediated by a complex neurobiological system centering in the brain with effectors including autonomic nervous system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, inflammatory system, and gene expression. A stressor pushes the human physiological system away from its baseline state towards a lower utility state. The physiological system may return towards the original state but may be shifted to a lower utility state. While some physiological changes induced by stressors may benefit health, chronic stressors usually have negative effects on health. In contrast to this stressor effect is the …

Animal Suffering And Human Bias, Stijn Bruers

Animal Sentience

Ng proposes concrete ways to decrease animal suffering on the basis of commonsense economic logic and research in welfare biology. But to reduce animal suffering effectively in livestock farming, animal experimentation or the natural environment we have to become more aware of our pervasive and spontaneous but unreliable intuitive moral judgments. These can generate biases that prevent us from decreasing animal suffering effectively.

Nicu Parental Mental Health And Infant Outcomes: Effects Of Psychological Well-Being And Psychopathology, Kathleen H. Parker

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Previous research has shown that having a child in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is stressful for parents and that parents of NICU infants exhibit higher levels of stress compared to parents of healthy infants (Carter, Mulder, & Darlow, 2007; MacDonald, 2007; Treyvaud et al., 2010). As a result of these high levels of stress, NICU parents are at risk for developing psychopathology. Studies have found correlations between parental psychopathology and lower scores on measures of psychological well-being such as self-acceptance and autonomy (Bhullar, Hine, & Phillips, 2014; Valiente et al., 2013). Additionally, research has indicated that some well-being …

Resilience And Internalizing Symptoms Among Adolescent Girls In Residential Treatment: An Evaluation Of Strong Teens, Luke Andrew Marvin

Theses and Dissertations

Strong Teens is an evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum designed to target internalizing disorders by promoting emotional resilience and social competence. In this study, Strong Teens was implemented among 36 adolescent girls during group therapy in a residential treatment center (RTC). A non-equivalent, quasi-experimental wait-list control group design was used. The curriculum was evaluated by tracking the girls' social and emotional knowledge, internalizing symptoms, and resilience from the perspectives of the girls, group therapists, and a supervisor who was blind to the study. Although the results indicated that exposure to Strong Teens was not effective in increasing the …

Association Between Polymorphisms Associated With Major Depression, Cognitive Function, And Stress Regulation And Telomere Length In Older Community-Dwelling Adults And In Older Competitive Athletes, Cynthia Elizabeth Perry

Theses and Dissertations

Many factors detrimental to healthy aging have been proposed including depression, stress, cognitive decline, and telomere shortening. Of specific interest are the genetic factors that may contribute to these factors and subsequently lead to accelerated telomere shortening and aging, namely the Bcl1, 5-HT, DRD2, and ApoE polymorphisms. We sought to: 1) further clarify the role of depression, stress tolerance, and cognitive decline in aging by examining the effect of associated polymorphisms (Bcl1, 5-HT, DRD2, and ApoE) on telomere length in two samples of older adults and 2) determine the difference in absolute telomere length between the two groups. We examined …