Digital Commons Network^™

The Construction Of “Discomfort Psychological”: An Exploration Of Italians Teachers' Reports, Antonio Iudici, Matteo Fabbri

The Qualitative Report

Although there are several studies on youth problems in school, there are few studies on how teachers report psychological discomfort of the students and on what criteria does their procedure. Considering that schools increasingly make such reports to social or neuropsychiatry services, we wanted to find out whether it is flawless (bias, etc.) and how it can affect a student's career. This research presents an investigation on how the practice of signaling "psychological discomfort" at school is set up. Objects of the survey are the procedures used by the teachers to submit the psychological problems. The research subjects were Secondary …

The Lived Experience Of Recovery Home Residents: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Dina Chavira

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Substance use disorders have had an enormous impact on individuals, families, and communities in the United States. The societal cost of substance abuse in terms of health care, crime, and lost wages is over $700 billion annually. Despite advances in evidence-based treatments, the chronicity of substance use disorders underscores the need to explore and expand long-term aftercare options to prevent relapse after acute residential treatment. Oxford Houses offer an affordable alternative to more costly and limited forms of transitional housing. These self-sustaining, democratically-run recovery homes provide a safe and sober living environment with peer support and no professional staff. Provided …

The Impact Of Values As Heuristics On Social Cognition, Lauren James

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Stereotypes, and other forms of heuristics, are used in our everyday lives to assist our brains absorb information. An argument is made here to show that values can act as a form of heuristics and affect implicit attitudes. Drawing on research regarding implicit attitudes, heuristics, and values, we believe that values, such as equality, can act as a heuristic and consequently alter implicit attitudes on race. In this experiment, participants were primed with equality, intuition, or a stereotype inhibition prompt and ran through the affect misattribution procedure (AMP). Contrary to the hypothesized expectation, the results showed that participants in the …

The Effects Of Perceived Danger, Fear Of Heterosexism, And Internalized Homonegativity On Public Displays Of Affection Among Gender And Sexual Minorities, John Patrick Brady

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Among the gender and sexual minority (GSM/GSMs plural) population, public displays of affection (PDA) “out” the participants to observers. Any minor display of affection - such as holding hands or comforting a partner - can lead to verbal harassment or physical assault. In addition to this perceived danger, GSM couples must take into account the possibility of less dangerous and direct forms of heterosexism, such as the denial of business services or poor response from authorities to discrimination. This fear of nonviolent prejudice and discrimination is referred to as a fear of heterosexism. Due to a negative view of their …

Secondary Students’ Writing Achievement Goals: Assessing The Mediating Effects Of Mastery And Performance Goals On Writing Self-Efficacy, Affect, And Writing Achievement, Meryem Yilmaz Soylu, Mary G. Zeleny, Ruomeng Zhao, Roger H. Bruning, Michael S. Dempsey, Douglas F. Kauffman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The two studies reported here explored the factor structure of the newly constructed Writing Achievement Goal Scale (WAGS), and examined relationships among secondary students’ writing achievement goals, writing self-efficacy, affect for writing, and writing achievement. In the first study, 697 middle school students completed the WAGS. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fit for this data with a three-factor model that corresponds with mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance goals. The results of Study 1 were an indication for the researchers to move forward with Study 2, which included 563 high school students. The secondary students completed theWAGS, as …

Stereotypes Of Saudi Women Among Saudi College Students, Ali Hadi Omair

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the nature of stereotypes regarding Saudi women in contemporary Saudi Arabia. Despite the extremely high levels of inequality between men and women that The Global Gender Gap has documented in Saudi Arabia (American Association of University Women, 2014), little is known about the actual perception of women within Saudi society. Several factors in Saudi Arabia’s history—including its pastoral herding economy, tendency toward frequent warfare, and polygamous family structure (Wagemakers et al., 2012)—link Saudi society with a tendency to encourage the formation of restrictive gender stereotypes that may be particularly harmful to women (Alesina et al., 2013; Nisbett …

Maternal Trauma Experience On Infant Cortisol Reactivity At 12 Months, Michelle Anne Gilchrist

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health concern in the United States (US). One third of women in the US have experienced rape, physical assault or stalking by a former or current partner (Black et al., 2011). Evidence suggests that women experience increased risk for IPV during the perinatal period and exposure to IPV during and after pregnancy increases risk for adverse physical and mental health outcomes for victims. The “fetal programming” hypothesis proposes that prenatal experiences are also particularly impactful for offspring development in the short and long term; prenatal poor nutrition and stress have been linked …

Recommendations For Developing Video Games To Address Depression Among College Students, John Bodycombe

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Depression is a significant problem on college campuses, and the data shows that prevalence is on the rise (The National Survey on Drug Use and Health [NSDUH], 2014; Stewart, Ricci, Chee, Hahn, & Morgenstein, 2003). Depression impacts the well-being of students and puts them at risk for a variety of issues (Leach, 2009; Adams, Wharton, Quilter, & Hirsch, 2008; Serras, Saules, Cranford, & Eisenberg, 2010; Cranford, Eisenberg, & Serras, 2009; Weitzman, 2004). Many students with depression do not receive care (Blanco, Okuda, Wright, Hasin, Grant, Liu, & Olfson, 20008; Eisenburg and Chung, 2012), or receive care that is not minimally …

Food Addiction And The Effective Treatment Of Adult Food Addicts: An Integrative Review Of Literature, Sara Bourque

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Abstract

Background: In a survey conducted between the years of 2011 and 2014 it was suggested that 36% of adults in the U.S. were obese with over 40.2% being middle aged adults. Obesity is associated with a number of comorbid conditions including diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. Due to this it is one of the major factors driving up our annual medical care costs. It is also one of the leading causes of death not only in the U.S. but worldwide. With one third of the adult population in the U.S. being obese food addiction may very well be a …

Evaluation Of Real-Time Feedback To Train Caregivers To Conduct Early Intensive Behavioral Interventions, Amanda L. Gibson

Theses & Dissertations

Mounting empirical support for early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) has increased demand for these types of treatments for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many caregivers are now learning EIBI techniques and becoming active agents in their child’s ASD treatment. Behavioral skills training (BST) has been frequently used to teach individuals to perform a variety of skills correctly, including discrete-trial instruction (DTI; Lafasakis & Sturmey, 2007). In this study, caregivers were trained to conduct a DTI procedure. A single-component BST method (i.e., real-time feedback) was examined. A concurrent, multiple baseline across caregivers design was used to demonstrate experimental control. …

Bedtime Fading With Response Cost For Treatment Of Sleep Disturbances In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sela Ann Sanberg

Theses & Dissertations

As many as 82% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) experience numerous chronic sleep-related problems and at a much higher frequency and severity than their typically developing peers. Behavioral treatments are considered best practice and first-line treatment to address sleep problems. These treatments tend to address one specific sleep-related behavior at a time. Bedtime Fading with Response Cost (BFRC) is a promising intervention that targets a multitude of sleep problems concurrently and has yet to be replicated by more than one investigative team in the home setting with children on the autism spectrum. This study evaluated the effectiveness of …

Stress-Related Growth In Two Challenging Conditions, Iva Solcova, Peter Tavel

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

In the last few years, attention has been given not only to negative impacts of stressful conditions but also to possible positive outcomes. The present study was devoted to personal growth in two challenging conditions in two samples of participants coming from different nations and different cultural backgrounds. The study extends existing knowledge by more intimate insight into the different facets of social and cognitive/affective personal growth. The experience of personal growth was individualized as far as the number of changes, their intensity, and facets/items in which the changes occurred.

Least affected was the spirituality area. The reason is probably …

Executive Dysfunction Or State Regulation: A Dimensional Comparison Of Two Neuropsychological Theories Of Attention Disorder Symptoms Using Rdoc Paradigms, Justin Hull Ory

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Two leading theories regarding the neurocognitive basis of attentional disorders are the executive dysfunction theory and the state regulation theory. The executive dysfunction theory takes a top-down approach, explaining the symptoms of ADHD as a byproduct of general deficits in executive functioning—particularly disinhibition. The state regulation theory takes a bottom-up approach, explaining the symptoms of ADHD as a failure to be sufficiently aroused by, and subsequently engage with, less stimulating or rewarding tasks. These two theories predict different patterns of performance on tasks of executive functioning and attention, and research has demonstrated mixed support for both theories. The present study …

Addressing Common Mental Health Issues Prevalent Among Honors College Students, Steven Pham

Honors Theses

The prevalence and severity of mental health disorders on college campuses has been increasing nationwide. This review aims to address some of the prevalent mental health issues that continuously plague college students today. Recent trends in college student mental health are analyzed as well as literature regarding common disorders including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. A comparison of honors and non-honors students is provided to contribute to an otherwise lacking area of research surrounding honors student populations. Effective practices and policies for colleges and universities to incorporate into their counseling services are also considered, with viable goals centering on the …

Evaluating A Targeted, Universal Middle School Program For Childhood Overweight And Obesity: Stayingfit, Myra Altman

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATIONEvaluating a Targeted, Universal Middle School Program for Childhood Overweight and Obesity: StayingFitbyMyra AltmanDoctor of Philosophy in PsychologyWashington University in St. Louis, 2016Professor Denise E. Wilfley, ChairpersonChildhood obesity is a pressing public health concern associated with significant medical and psychosocial comorbidities. Intervention is crucial, and schools are often suggested as an important venue through which to intervene, although the results of such interventions are inconsistent and mixed. The present study sought to expand on the literature by evaluating the effect of a targeted and universal school-based obesity intervention, StayingFit, in three middle schools in a low-socioeconomic status, …

Neurogenetics Of The Externalizing Spectrum, Caitlin E. Carey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Externalizing spectrum disorders, which include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, alcohol and substance use disorders, and antisocial personality disorder, are characterized by behavioral disinhibition and are thought to be manifestations of a common heritable liability factor throughout the lifespan. However, relatively little is known about their underlying etiology. Here, I probe genetic and neural risk mechanisms for externalizing psychopathology in three complementary studies. First, I report an indirect association between genetic risk for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and problem drinking in young adulthood, mediated by heightened reward-related neural activity within the ventral striatum, among 404 college students. I …

Is There A Higher-Order Mechanism That Explains Performance Across Prediction Tasks?, Michelle Lisa Eisenberg

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

People constantly make predictions about what will happen in the near future. People anticipate how other people around them will act, what other people will say, and what actions will help them achieve the greatest rewards. Because all of these behaviors are typically called prediction, it is easy to make the assumption that performance across all of these types of tasks is driven by the same underlying mechanism. However, there has been little investigation into whether the mechanisms underlying prediction are the same across multiple task modalities. Therefore, in the current study, 226 participants completed four types of tasks that …

Changes In Personality Traits And Personality Pathology In Older Adults: Self And Informant Perspectives, Hannah R. King

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

A relatively small amount of research has examined personality and personality disorder change from more than one perspective, particularly in older adults. The main aim of this study is to examine personality and personality disorder change in older adults from multiple perspectives including an interview assessment, self-report, and informant-report. Data from the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN), a representative sample of St. Louis residents with 1,630 participants and their informants, was used to study change. We use structural equation modeling to test mean-level changes and individual differences in change over the course of the study. For personality disorders, …

The Developmental Interplay Of Personality And Relationship Quality In Young Adulthood, Kelci Harris

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

I used the framework of the personality-relationship transaction to examine the co-development of personality and relationship quality during college in three different relationship contexts: an aggregate of friends, romantic partner dyads, and friend dyads. I treat the personality-relationship transaction as a dyadic process, rather than an ego-centric one, by including friends’ and romantic partners’ reports of personality and relationship quality. I created a multivariate latent growth curve model version of the Actor Partner Interdependence Model to test how personality and relationship quality co-developed. Initial correlations between personality and relationship quality reflect what is seen in previous work; self-reported extraversion, agreeableness, …

Review Of Training Principles For Flight Training In Aircraft Or Simulator, Stefan Kleinke

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

In human-performance-driven fields such as the social and behavioral sciences and education, there is a particular risk for a disconnect between current research and applied practice. Often, new findings require policy changes and workforce re-education before being applied in a meaningful way. Therefore, a continuous need for practitioner professional development and continuation training exists to ensure informed practices. This presentation is motivated by these needs and aims to help flight training professionals to make informed decisions when designing and conducting flight training events. Based on a conceptual framework of cognitive and behavioral theories in learning, a variety of common training …

Aggression, Impulsivity, And Symptom Severity: An Examination Of Risk Factors For Violent Behaviors, Melissa Charfadi

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore the relationship between psychopathology, aggression, and impulsivity. Two hypotheses were derived from the existing scientific literature: First, as a validity check, we anticipated that levels of psychopathology would be related to both aggression and impulsivity (as previously reported data suggests). Second, we anticipated that impulsivity would moderate the relationship between overall symptom severity and aggression. Finally, we constructed exploratory regression models to examine the contribution of specific types of impulsivity in the prediction of specific acts of aggression across BSI symptom groupings. Data was collected using Rowan University undergraduate students that completed an in-person battery …

Linking Kindling To Increased Glutamate Release In The Dentate Gyrus Of The Hippocampus Through The Stxbp5/Tomosyn-1 Gene, Seth R. Batten, Elena A. Matveeva, Sidney W. Whiteheart, Thomas C. Vanaman, Greg A. Gerhardt, John T. Slevin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Introduction: In kindling, repeated electrical stimulation of certain brain areas causes progressive and permanent intensification of epileptiform activity resulting in generalized seizures. We focused on the role(s) of glutamate and a negative regulator of glutamate release, STXBP5/tomosyn-1, in kindling.

Methods: Stimulating electrodes were implanted in the amygdala and progression to two successive Racine stage 5 seizures was measured in wild-type and STXBP5/tomosyn-1^−/− (Tom^−/−) animals. Glutamate release measurements were performed in distinct brain regions using a glutamate-selective microelectrode array (MEA).

Results: Naïve Tom^−/− mice had significant increases in KCl-evoked glutamate release compared to naïve wild type as …

Albright Uses Avatars, Horses To Improve Mental Health., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“When I was a college student, I was struggling in an intimate relationship I was forming, and it got to the point where I had to do something about it. So I went into the counseling center, and that’s what really turned me on—noticing the change within myself and the impact of counseling on the way we view our lives.”

That is the way Dr. Glenn Albright explains how he became interested in psychology in general and in counseling in particular. A native of Albany, New York, Albright received his bachelor’s in biology from Parson College in Iowa, his MS …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity Development, Cognitive Complexity, Differentiation Of Self, And Reports Of Racial And Ethnic Microaggressions, Deshae C. Gatti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although individuals may not engage in racism consciously due to social undesirability, they may have biases that manifest in more subtle and unconscious ways. Research has found that people of color experiencing different racial and ethnic microaggressions in their everyday lives are subject to pervasive and negative impacts on their mental health, though little is known about the influence of one’s ethnic identity formation, affective processes, and cognitive processes. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the degree to which ethnic identity development, cognitive complexity, and differentiation of self were associated reported experiences of microaggressions. The analysis indicated that …

The Moderating Effects Of Positive Religious/Spiritual Coping On Teachers’ Pain And Stress, Dawn Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this internet-based survey was to investigate the effects of positive religious or spiritual coping strategies on teachers’ chronic pain reports. Teachers in the United States may represent a vulnerable group due to a high prevalence of risk factors for chronic pain conditions. Teachers have been identified to experience high stress (Johnson, et al., 2005; Kyriacou, 2001) and report poor job satisfaction (Wang, Hall, & Rahimi, 2015), which are associated with development of chronic pain conditions (Kopec & Sayre, 2004). Religious coping strategies have been associated with beneficial associations with stress and health (Reutter & Bigatti, 2014). The …

Sexual Dimorphism In Striatal Dopaminergic Responses Promotes Monogamy In Social Songbirds, Kirill Tokarev, Julia Hyland Bruno, Iva Ljubicic, Paresh J. Kothari, Santosh A. Helekar, Ofer Tchernichovski, Henning U. Voss

Publications and Research

In many songbird species, males sing to attract females and repel rivals. How can gregarious, non-territorial songbirds such as zebra finches, where females have access to numerous males, sustain monogamy? We found that the dopaminergic reward circuitry of zebra finches can simultaneously promote social cohesion and breeding boundaries. Surprisingly, in unmated males but not in females, striatal dopamine neurotransmission was elevated after hearing songs. Behaviorally too, unmated males but not females persistently exchanged mild punishments in return for songs. Song reinforcement diminished when dopamine receptors were blocked. In females, we observed song reinforcement exclusively to the mate’s song, although their …

Effects Of Fluoxetine On Social And Startle Behavior In The African Cichlid Astatotilapia Burtoni, Stephanie Shih

Theses and Dissertations

The commonly prescribed antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine) is found in waste water and affects aquatic animals. Here we ask how social hierarchy and startle behavior in an African cichlid fish community is impacted by chronic fluoxetine exposure. Results indicate reduced aggression and startle rates, implying possible ecological consequences.

Methamphetamine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference In Adolescent Male And Female Mice Of Two Strains, Andre Bevil Toussaint

Theses and Dissertations

We used a conditioned place preference paradigm to test the rewarding effects of methamphetamine (1mg/kg) in adolescent male and female mice of two strains. We found that methamphetamine induced conditioned place preference in female C57Bl/6 and male 129/SvEv mice, but not female 129/SvEv or male C57Bl/6 mice.

Combating Stress With Yoga: A Theoretical Model Of Self-Regulation, Sierra K. Wait

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to environmental stressors may challenge children’s developing self-regulatory abilities and increase their risk of developing emotional and behavior problems. Interventions aimed at improving children’s self-regulatory skills, specifically emotion regulation and attentional control, may reduce children’s risk for adjustment problems. The present study proposed a novel theoretical model which describes how participation in yoga may increase children’s self-regulatory skills and increase children’s mindfulness, or the ability to focus attention on the present moment. Both self-regulation and mindfulness were expected to be associated with fewer anxiety problems. Components of the theoretical model were evaluated using a very small sample of at-risk, …

Crying And Attachment Style: The Role Of Romantic Relationships, Katherine L. Fiori, Jessica Buthmann, Christy A. Denckla

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Crying is an attachment behavior that functions to elicit support from others (Nelson, 1998); the context in which the crying occurs is important in understanding whether it is adaptive or maladaptive (Hendriks & Vingerhoets, 2006). However, very little research has examined whether and how attachment style is associated with adult crying, and if this association might vary by an individual’s relationship status. Using a sample of 305 first-year college students and a series of hierarchical regressions, we examined the moderating effect of relationship status on the associations between attachment style (measured using the Revised Experiences in Close Relationships Scale; Fraley, …