Person-Centered Analysis Of Adhd Comorbidities And Differential Characteristics And Outcomes, Christine Anne Lee

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent and impairing childhood disorders (5%; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), yet it is often studied in isolation. Such an approach is at odds with the clinical reality, where ADHD has a high comorbidity with oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety, and depression (Jensen, Martin, & Cantwell, 1997). Based on the possible presentations of ADHD with both externalizing and internalizing symptoms, there may be differences in associated characteristics, areas of impairment, and resulting assessment interventions. Therefore, the present study investigated how ADHD comorbidities manifested in a population of 233 elementary age children and how these …

Potential Candidates For Treating Deficits Associated With Developmental Ethanol Exposure In A Rodent Model: Solidago Nemoralis & Dimethoxybenzylidene-Anabasine, Logan James Fields

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Prenatal alcohol exposure (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [FAS] and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders [FASD’s]) represents the leading preventable cause of intellectual disabilities in the western world, with FASDs estimated to affect approximately 2-5% of live births in the United States at an approximate annual cost of $3.6 billion (CDC, 2015; May et al., 2009). Ethanol (ETOH) exposure during development can lead to a variety of long-term behavioral impairments including problems with executive functioning, motor coordination, spatial learning, attention, and hyperactivity (Jones, 2011; Mattson & Riley, 1998). Much research has been conducted to develop pharmacological and/or environmental interventions to reduce these deficits, …

Gene By Environment Interaction On Weight-Related Outcomes Over Time In Underserved African-American Adults, Tyler Coe Mcdaniel

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity research in the area of prevention has become a national priority given the increasingly high prevalence rate of this condition among US adults, and subsequent health risks that are associated. The etiology of obesity is complex, so a more comprehensive understanding of the interaction between genetic predisposition and the social environment in regards to obesity in adults would advance our knowledge for future public health and prevention efforts. This study’s aim was to assess the impact of a gene by neighborhood social environment interactions on weight-related (i.e., waist circumference) and stress-related (i.e. cortisol) outcomes in underserved African-American adults. A …

Life Satisfaction In Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kathleen Blackburn Franke

Theses and Dissertations

The present study was informed by the Emerging Disability Paradigm, which emphasizes the importance of research regarding positive experiences, personality, and social relationships for individuals with disabilities (Schalock, 2004). The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary evidence regarding the reliability and validity of measures of self-reported psychosocial assets and life satisfaction (LS) for adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFA). Additional purposes included identifying the overall levels of general and domain-specific LS within adolescents with HFA, comparing these levels to those of a sample of typically developing adolescents, and describing the relation between psychosocial assets and LS for …

Family Oriented Values, Emerging Adulthood, And Tobacco Use Among Hispanic Emerging Adults, Melek Yildiz Spinel

Theses and Dissertations

Theory and research on emerging adulthood (ages 18 to 25) have increased in the past two decades. However, few studies have assessed how different cultural values and experiences influence the experiences of ethnic minority emerging adults. The first objective of the current study was to expand the field of emerging adulthood research by exploring how familism, the belief that family is central to a person’s life, related to their experience of emerging adulthood. Specifically, the study assessed how familism related to Arnett’s proposed experiences of emerging adulthood (identity exploration, self focused, other-focused, feeling in between, the age of instability/negativity, and …

Political Essentialism And Affective Polarization, Chase Wilson

Dissertations

Affective polarization, the phenomenon of liberals and conservatives treating each other as disliked outgroups, is increasingly intense (Iyengar & Westwood, 2015; Pew, 2016). In the present research, I used the construct of psychological essentialism (Medin & Ortony, 1989) to help understand this intergroup phenomenon. Specifically, I measured political essentialism, or the belief that political ideologies are strongly determined, informative, discrete and/or immutable, and tested the relationship between these beliefs and affective polarization. I approached this question with both correlational and experimental methods. In a correlational study, political essentialism overall is found to covary positively with affective polarization and social avoidance …

Measuring Community Violence, Trauma, And Family Functioning Among Youth Living In Low-Income, Urban Environments, Kyle Deane

Dissertations

Exposure to community violence is a pressing public health concern that has profound effects on an adolescent’s development and psychological well-being, and is disproportionately experienced by ethnic minority youth living in economically disadvantaged urban environments. Efforts to measure violence exposure and its sequelae have centered primarily on the use of retrospective questionnaires and cross-sectional design and often fail to consider other contributory risk or resilience factors. Comprised of three related studies, the goal of this dissertation is to address the relations between of exposure to community violence, adjustment difficulties, such as posttraumatic stress, and family functioning among African American and …

In Between: What The Experiences Of Biracial, Bisexual Women Tell Us About Identity Formation, Marissa C. Floro

Dissertations

Research on bisexual, biracial women has been scarce; identity development in particular shows not only a gap in the research for this particular population, but shows the lack of intersectional models for approaching identity as a whole. Traditional models of queer identity have used White, gay, cisgender men as the default sample and coming out as the benchmark goal for identity integration. Biracial identity research, though more holistic, rarely includes intersectionality. Through feminist, queer theory and constructivist grounded theory, this project hopes to challenge traditional models of categorical identity development, give voice and visibility to a continually underrepresented group of …

The Experience Of Mentors In A Cross-Age Peer Mentoring Program: Exploring The Helper Therapy Principle, Dakari Quimby

Dissertations

Mentoring programs are increasingly popular interventions for promoting positive development in Black youth from high risk environments. Cross-age peer mentoring refers to an older youth serving as a mentor for a younger mentee. Although not as widely studied as adult mentoring, this relationship has been found to have a beneficial effect for both the mentor and mentee. The current study seeks to better illuminate this bidirectional benefit by focusing on one half of the relationship—the experience of cross age peer mentoring by Black American mentors from low income communities. This is an important untapped area of study as peer mentoring …

A Sociofunctional Approach To Understanding Transphobia, Linas Mitchell

Master's Theses

Despite widespread evidence of anti-transgender prejudice and discrimination, research has yet to determine the nature of prejudice against transgender people. This study used the sociofunctional threat approach (Cottrell & Neuberg, 2005) to examine threat perceptions (contamination threats, obstacle threats, physical safety threats, and threats to reciprocity relations) and emotional reactions (disgust, anger, fear, pity) to transgender (transgender women, transgender men, and nonbinary people) and cisgender (cisgender women, cisgender men, and bisexual people) targets. Results from an online survey suggest that transgender targets evoke higher threat perceptions and negative emotions than cisgender targets; additionally, this tended to be the case for …

The Stigmatization Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder As Influenced By Gender, Evelina Alex

Senior Independent Study Theses

Children who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder are inherently more vulnerable to stigma in ways that children without this diagnosis are. The current study was an experimental study in which attitudes towards children with and without Autism were measured through a vignette along with an attribution questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire, modified from Ling, Mak, & Cheng (2010) was to analyze peoples’ perceptions about the actions of children with and without Autism. The questionnaire examined sympathy, helping behavioral intention, punitive behavioral intention, perceived controllability, and anger. Disability status was defined as the first independent variable, with gender being …

Beyond The Breakfast Club: The Influence Of Breakfast Type On Cognition, Jillian D. Saccogna

Senior Independent Study Theses

The glycemic index (“GI”) of a food refers to the magnitude with which the food elevates an individual’s blood glucose levels, and this value can be used to calculate the glycemic load (“GL”) of a specific portion of food. Some evidence suggests that blood glucose levels may play a key role in self-control. Emerging research suggests that consuming low GI or GL breakfasts may enhance memory performance and result in greater levels of positive affect compared to high GI or GL breakfasts. Participants in the present study were randomly assigned to consume either a low GI/GL breakfast or a high …

Food For Thought: The Effects Of Past And Present Food Insecurity On Subjective Well-Being And Child Behavior, Jena C. Styka

Senior Independent Study Theses

Food insecurity arises when one does not have physical, social, or economic access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (2016), food insecurity affects 15.6 million U.S. households. Its effects go beyond the physical consequences that might arise from not having adequate nutrition, influencing subjective well-being and behavior in both adults and children. This 2 x 2 quasi-experiment investigated how current and prior food insecurity influenced depression, anxiety, stress, life satisfaction, and happiness in parents, as well as how it influenced child behavior. Results indicated that prior experiences of food insecurity resulted in …

Contextualizing Lgbtq Faculty Experiences: An Account Of Sexual Minority Perceptions, Travis Dimitri David

All Theses And Dissertations

The well-being of faculty is susceptible to influence from intrinsic and extrinsic occupational characteristics. Heterosexism or hostile environments can be associated with decreased satisfaction amongst sexual minorities. As such, this transcendental phenomenology examined perceptions from tenured lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) faculty of their workplace conditions. Eight participants reflected on experiences from within higher education, academic settings. This study purposefully probed how sexual orientation and sexual minority status impacted their overall job satisfaction. Through providing context for social interactions in a traditionally heteronormative environment, cultural and attributional behaviors associated with affecting LGBTQ faculty in higher education was analyzed. …

Stigma And Its Reduction: The Role Of Knowledge, Causal Attribution, And Mental Disorder Type, Jesica N. Ferguson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Abstract

Research has shown undeniable evidence of mental illness stigma. Stigma has been shown to reduce treatment seeking and negatively impact emotion and cognition in individuals with mental illness (Livingstone & Boyd, 2010). By discovering the driving forces behind stigma, treatment seeking and quality of life can be improved for individuals with mental illness. This study investigates the effect of knowledge, disorder type, and causal attribution on mental illness stigma. Specifically, participants were assigned to one of two conditions, knowledge or no knowledge. Knowledge conditions included information about a disorder (schizophrenia or depression, depending on disorder condition) such as definition, …

Investigating Racial Bias In Perceptions Of Free Will, Courtney J. Alderson

Theses and Dissertations

The overarching goal of this study was to examine whether perceptions of others’ free will would differ depending on perceiver race as well as target race. The current study proposed that such a racial bias may be one mechanism by which racial disparities in medical treatment recommendations arise. By bridging findings from four different lines of research (i.e., the literatures on racial health and medical treatment disparities, racial bias, free will beliefs, and social identity), it was hypothesized that: (1) participants would perceive greater amounts of free will for a hypothetical racial ingroup patient than an outgroup patient; (2) such …

Bed And Breakfast: The Role Of Sleep And Affect In Breakfast Intake, Ashley R. Macpherson

Theses and Dissertations

Breakfast intake is associated with numerous positive physical and mental health outcomes, yet breakfast skipping remains common in adults. Chronotype and sleep show potential as predictors of breakfast intake; however the existing literature has methodological limitations and fails to examine how psychological mechanisms might explain the relation between sleep and breakfast. The current investigation explored the association of means and variability of sleep behaviors (bedtime, midsleep, sleep duration) as predictors of breakfast intake frequency and high-protein breakfast intake frequency. Additionally, the role of positive and negative affect as mediators in the sleep—breakfast association was examined. Hierarchical regressions and PROCESS parallel …

Investigating The Presence And Correlates Of Anti-Thin Bias In Adults, Alexandria Davies

Theses and Dissertations

Weight stigma is associated with negative health outcomes across the BMI continuum. However, few studies have examined weight discrimination targeting people with low body weights. This investigation explored the presence of anti-thin bias, defined as the belief that people with low BMIs have undesirable personality characteristics. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of six vignettes about women that differed by race (White and Black) and weight status (slightly underweight, normal weight, and slightly overweight). Negative personality characteristics were more likely to be ascribed to both underweight and overweight women, compared with normal weight women. Furthermore, participants were significantly more …

Queer Health Equity And Cervical Cancer: Identifying Social Determinants Of Papanicolaou Test Uptake In A Sample Of Sexual Minority Women And Gender Nonbinary Individuals, Ariella R. Tabaac

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual minority women (SMW) demonstrate lower rates of cervical cancer screening than heterosexual women. This is concerning as lesbian and bisexual women tend to engage in higher rates of substance-related cancer risk behaviors, unprotected sex, and tend to have higher body mass indices, all of which are risk factors for cancer development. Another major risk factor, screening avoidance, places SMW at increased risk for the development of high grade cervical lesions in the absence of early detection practices, which is likely to impact overall cervical cancer morbidity in this population. The aim of the present study was to utilize the …

A Laboratory Study Of Stress Reactions To Witnessing A Police Killing Of An Unarmed Black Man: Discrimination, Distress Tolerance, Ethnic Identity, And Risk-Taking, Michael A. Trujillo

Theses and Dissertations

Black individuals have been disproportionately targeted by law enforcement, most notably in shooting deaths at the hands of police, and has contributed to a general distrust of law enforcement. A rise in citizen journalism has helped document excessive use of force by police on video; however, little is known how individuals respond to viewing this type of media. A history of race-based stress is likely to contribute to an expectation of racism and may impact how individuals respond to videos of the treatment of unarmed Black men at the hands of police, with some evidence suggesting ethnic identity may moderate …

Abuse Liability Of An Electronic Cigarette In Traditional Cigarette Smokers, Sarah F. Maloney

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic cigarettes have grown in popularity across the U.S. and concerns have been raised about their abuse liability. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate and compare the abuse liability of an electronic cigarette with and without nicotine to a nicotine inhaler (the Nicotrol inhaler) and participants’ own brand of cigarettes. A total of 24 smokers attended four sessions in which the abuse liability of each product was examined using the Multiple-Choice Procedure (MCP), nicotine delivery, nicotine abstinence symptom suppression, and subjective reinforcing effects. Results revealed that the nicotine containing and non-nicotine containing electronic cigarette had a higher …

Consuming Digital Debris In The Plasticene, Stephen R. Parks

Theses and Dissertations

Claims of customization and control by socio-technical industries are altering the role of consumer and producer. These narratives are often misleading attempts to engage consumers with new forms of technology. By addressing capitalist intent, material, and the reproduction limits of 3-D printed objects’, I observe the aspirational promise of becoming a producer of my own belongings through new networks of production. I am interested in gaining a better understanding of the data consumed that perpetuates hyper-consumptive tendencies for new technological apparatuses. My role as a designer focuses on the resolution of not only the surface of the object through 3-D …

Adolescent Emotion Expression, Emotion Regulation, And Decision-Making In Social Context, Tennisha N. Riley

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents engage in risk behaviors at an alarming rate, and particularly when they are with peers. Despite efforts to develop prevention and intervention programs, rates of risk-taking among adolescents is still relatively high. Adolescents continue to engage in physical fights and aggressive behavior, use substances such as alcohol and illicit drugs, and make decisions that impact driving and motor vehicle incidents. The regulation of emotions plays a significant role in adolescents’ decisions to engage in such risk behaviors.Examining adolescents’ emotion expression and regulation is therefore critical to identifying ways to support positive development.

This dissertation project explored important regulatory mechanisms …

Reliability And Validity Of The Humboldt Food Addiction Questionnaire, Sarah R. Taylor

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Current research shows that foods high in sugar, salt, and fat can illicit addictive responses (Pursey, Stanwell, Gearhardt, Collins, & Burrows, 2014). Although measures of overeating pathology exist, only a few are dedicated to food addiction. Two of these measures are the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS; Gearhardt, Corbin, & Brownell, 2009b) and the Eating Behaviors Questionnaire (EBQ; Merlo, Klingman, Malasanos, & Silverstein, 2009). Given the shortage of food addiction measures, the Humboldt Food Addiction Questionnaire (HFAQ) was developed to supplement the need for additional tools. Recruited from both a university and online, 626 participants completed this study. Reliability of …

The Relationship Between Stress, Social Problem Solving, And Psychological Distress In Mothers Of Daughters With Eating Disorders, Sarah M. Hittinger

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Mothers of daughters with eating disorders are at risk for experiencing high levels of psychological distress, which can have negative implications for mothers themselves and the children under their care. Coping strategies that effectively manage the stress of the caregiving role have been found to reduce psychological distress, but the literature does not clearly define the type of coping that is best indicated for this population of caregivers. Coping via social problem solving has been found to predict less psychological distress and moderate the stressdistress relationship in many caregiver populations. The relationship between stress, coping via social problem solving, and …

Prevalence And Predictors Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder In Adolescent And Adult Males With Fragile X Syndrome And Autism Spectrum Disorder, Shannon L. O’Connor

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) experience disproportionate rates of diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when compared to the general population. Exact prevalence rates and outcomes for individuals with a diagnosis of FXS and ADHD is not well known. The current study assesses rates of ADHD diagnosis in individuals with FXS as well as tests the prediction of a diagnosis of ADHD from levels of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptom presentation. The present study included 30 individuals with FXS aged 13-25 and were assessed using a structured diagnostic interview. Interviews were conducted with individual’s parents’ due to low cognitive ability …

Sibling Survivors Of Suicide: A Retrospective Exploration Of Familial Attachment During Bereavement, Mark Macor

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The following qualitative study retrospectively explored the adolescent experiences and reactions of adult survivors to their loss of a sibling to suicide. The study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to inform subsequent interpretation of interview data collected from a sample of five adult sibling survivors of suicide. Criteria for an individual’s participation included being of at least 25 years old at the time of the interview and that they experienced the loss of a sibling to suicide while they themselves were between the ages of 12 and 21 years old. Participant responses to an attachment self-report measure—Attachment Style Questionnaire (Feeney, …

The Experience Of “Cool”: A Qualitative Exploration, Kristen Lauer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study explored the phenomenological experience of cool as retrospectively reported. I proposed cool as a phenomenological concept and advocate for the consideration of cool as relevant to clinical psychology through first, a literature review of related academic research and second, by identifying the information gap around cool as it intersects with clinical psychology. I utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to inform analysis and exploration of participant narrative responses collected through an online survey. Participants consisted of 25 individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 who endorsed having experienced cool at some point in their life. In sharing …

Transient Signals And Inattentional Blindness In A Multi-Object Tracking Task, Dakota B. Palmer, Yusuke Yamani, Taylor L. Bobrow, Nicole D. Karpinsky, Dean J. Krusienski

Psychology Faculty Publications

Inattentional blindness is a failure to notice an unexpected event when attention is directed elsewhere. The current study examined participants' awareness of an unexpected object that maintained luminance contrast, switched the luminance once, or repetitively flashed. One hundred twenty participants performed a dynamic tracking task on a computer monitor for which they were instructed to count the number of movement deflections of an attended set of objects while ignoring other objects. On the critical trial, an unexpected cross that did not change its luminance (control condition), switched its luminance once (switch condition), or repetitively flashed (flash condition) traveled across the …

Independent And Interactive Associations Of Negative Affect, Restraint, And Impulsivity In Relation To Binge Eating Among Women, Tyler B. Mason, Kathryn E. Smith, Jason M. Lavender, Robin J. Lewis

Psychology Faculty Publications

There is growing recognition that impulsivity may serve as an underlying risk factor for binge eating. In addition, the association of impulsivity with binge eating may be moderated by other affective and cognitive risk factors. This study examined independent and interactive associations of negative affect, dietary restraint, and facets of impulsivity with binge eating. A diverse sample of 566 undergraduate women completed online questionnaires of study variables. Results revealed a three-way interaction of negative affect, dietary restraint, and attentional impulsivity in relation to binge eating. Women who were high on each of these three variables reported the greatest levels of …