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Negative Urgency And Lack Of Perseverance: Identification Of Differential Pathways Of Onset And Maintenance Risk In The Longitudinal Prediction Of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury, Elizabeth N. Riley, Jessica L. Combs, Carol E. Jordan, Gregory T. Smith

Psychology Faculty Publications

Many researchers have identified impulsivity-related personality traits as correlates of and risk factors for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Using a longitudinal design, we tested the hypothesis that one such trait, negative urgency (the tendency to act rashly when distressed), predicts the onset of NSSI during the first year of college and a different trait, lack of perseverance (the disposition to fail to maintain focus on tasks that are difficult or boring), predicts the maintenance of NSSI during the first year of college. In a sample of n = 1,158 college women (mean age = 18.04, 95% of participants were 18 at …

Influence Of Caregiver Activation On Health Of Informal Caregivers Of Persons With Alzheimer’S, Trinity Rose Parker

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Abstract Caregiver activation is related to a caregiver’s knowledge, skill and confidence to provide multiple levels of care of another individual. To date there is little research assessing caregiver activation within the population of informal caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. Forty-four informal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s were recruited through caregiver resource centers and online communities in the state of Oregon, completed a self-report survey. The purpose of this study was to identify the predictive qualities and influence of caregiver activation on informal caregiver physiological and psychological health as well as positive health behaviors. General health, emotional wellbeing, self-efficacy, and caregiver …

Respite Care And Marital Quality In Parents Of Children With Down Syndrome, Michelle Norton

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of a child with a disability are at greater risk than other couples for having higher stress, adjustment difficulties, and lower marital quality. Respite care has been shown to reduce stress in parents of children with disabilities. This study focused on parents who have a child with Down syndrome and their reported marital quality and respite care received. One hundred and twelve couples, each consisting of a mother and a father who lived with their child with Down syndrome, completed questionnaires including the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Experience in Close Relationships Questionnaire, Daily Hassles and Uplifts Scale, and a …

Comparative Analysis Of Meissner's Corpuscles In The Fingertips Of Primates, A. Verendeev, C. Thomas, S. C. Mcfarlin, William D. Hopkins, Kimberley A. Phillips, Chet C. Sherwood

Psychology Faculty Research

Meissner's corpuscles (MCs) are tactile mechanoreceptors found in the glabrous skin of primates, including fingertips. These receptors are characterized by sensitivity to light touch, and therefore might be associated with the evolution of manipulative abilities of the hands in primates. We examined MCs in different primate species, including common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus, n = 5), baboon (Papio anubis, n = 2), rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta, n = 3), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes, n = 3), bonobo (Pan paniscus, n = 1) and human (Homo sapiens, n = 8). Fingertips …

Neural Plasticity In Response To Intervention In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sheryl Jayne Stevens

Dissertations (1934 -)

Current theories of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) suggest that they may develop from the transactional interaction between biological risk factors and environmental processes (Dawson et al., 2009). Due to the brain’s experience-expectant nature, one’s degree of social exposure may have a significant impact on their brain development and behavioral presentation. In addition to the primary critical neurodevelopmental period identified in early childhood, recent research has demonstrated a second period of substantial neurodevelopment during the adolescent period (Sisk & Foster, 2004). This study investigated the neural and behavioral impact of participation in an empirically validated behavioral intervention (The Program for the …

Stay-At-Home-Fathers Navigating Depression: A Consensual Qualitative Research Study, William Douglas Meyers Caperton

Dissertations (1934 -)

Evidence suggests that the practices through which men are socialized to become masculine may serve both to restrict their potential in ways that lead to psychological distress, and also to restrict the ways in which they respond to such distress (Addis & Mahalik, 2003; Mahalik, Good, Tager, Levant, & Mackowiak, 2012; O’Neil, 2008). While we are beginning to understand masculine depression (Cochran & Rabinowitz, 2000; Magovcevic & Addis, 2008) and paternal depression (Paulson & Bazemore, 2010; Ramachandani & Psychogiou, 2009), almost nothing is known about how SAHFs experience depression, nor their experiences and beliefs regarding help-seeking and psychotherapy. The trend …

The Effects Of Specific Mental Illness Stigma Beliefs On Treatment Seeking Attitudes, Henry Arthur Boeh

Dissertations (1934 -)

Despite significant gains in the research base and effectiveness of psychotherapy, only thirty to forty percent of individuals experiencing mental illness symptoms seek treatment. A large barrier preventing many individuals from seeking psychotherapy is the stigma that surrounds mental illness. This study reviews the current state of mental illness stigma literature and presents a new Treatment Seeking Barriers Model (TSBM) that attempts to better explain the connection between stigma and treatment seeking. The goal of the current study was to isolate and manipulate responsibility or immutability beliefs related to depression in order to evaluate their relationship with treatment seeking stigma. …

The Efficacy Of A Standalone Protective Behavioral Strategies Intervention For Students Accessing Mental Health Services, Joseph W. Labrie, Lucy Napper, Elizabeth M. Grimaldi, Shannon R. Kenney, Andrew Lac

Heads Up!

Objective

Students with poor mental health are at increased risk for problematic alcohol use. These students also tend to underutilize alcohol-related protective behavioral strategies (PBS). Cross-sectional studies indicate that PBS use may be particularly useful for students with mental health challenges; however, it is unclear whether training these students to use PBS is an effective approach for reducing alcohol use and consequences. The current study evaluated the efficacy of a standalone PBS skills training and personalized feedback (PBS-STPF) intervention among students accessing mental health services.

Method

Participants (N = 251) were randomly assigned to either an individual facilitator-led PBS-STPF …

Embracing Multiple Definitions Of Learning, Andrew B. Barron, Eileen A. Hebets, Thomas A. Cleland, Courtney L. Fitzpatrick, Mark E. Hauber, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Eileen Hebets Publications

Definitions of learning vary widely across disciplines, driven largely by different approaches used to assess its occurrence. These definitions can be better reconciled with each other if each is recognized as coherent with a common conceptualization of learning, while appreciating the practical utility of different learning definitions in different contexts.

Learning is a major focus of research in psychology, neuro- science, behavioral ecology, evolutionary theory, and computer science, as well as in many other disciplines. Despite its conceptual prevalence, definitions of learning differ enormously both within and between these disciplines, and new definitions continue to be proposed [1]. Ongoing disputes …

Participation In Sports And The Development Of Resilience In Adolescents, Jason Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents today are faced with an array of risk factors including sexual activity and drug and alcohol use, as well as environmental factors that are beyond their control, such as parental divorce and poverty. The attribute of resilience is an extremely desirable quality that, if developed, has the capacity to reduce the effect of many of these risk factors that many adolescents are exposed to. Sport participation is a potential intervention that a large portion of adolescents can have access to through school and community programs that could potentially foster resilience. The current causal-comparative, non-experimental study sought to add to …

Interactions Between Maternal Prenatal Obesity And Physiological Stress: Predictors Of Offspring Adult Obesity, Jennifer L. Hambleton, Jared Vineyard, Nicki L. Aubuchon-Endsley (Mentor)

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

Over half of US women of childbearing age are overweight or obese. This is significant because excessive gestational maternal weight may program offspring for greater risk of lifetime obesity. Preliminary research suggests this effect may be moderated by fetal exposure to stress hormones, known to be dysregulated in obese individuals. However, long-term longitudinal research of these constructs is needed.

Therefore, this study used archival data from the NEFS/CPP Studies to examine interactions between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI/gestational weight gain and fetal cortisol exposure as predictors of offspring growth trajectories from birth-7 years and adult BMI via growth curve modeling and ANOVAs. …

Neonatal Isolation Stress Inhibits Pre-Weaning Weight Gain And Mild-Stressor Induced Locomotor Activity In Early Adolescent Male And Female Rats, Peter Villavecchia, Mindy Miserendino

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study looked at the effects of neonatal isolation, an early life stress experience, in male and female early adolescent rats, an age which is underrepresented in the early stress literature. Four stress-sensitive indices were assessed: weight gain during the pre-weaning period, open field activity, and locomotor activity in response to two mild stressors: exposure to a novel environment, and a single IP saline injection. Rats in the neonatal isolation condition were removed from dam and littermates on postnatal days 2-9 in accord with the procedure used by Kehoe et al. (1995); behavioral testing occurred on PN25-PN30 during …

Test-Retest Reliability Of The Sway Balance Mobile Application, Ryan Z. Amick, Alex Chaparro, Jeremy A. Patterson, Michael J. Jorgensen

Publications

The SWAY Balance Mobile Application is an FDA-cleared balance testing system which uses the built-in tri-axial accelerometers of a mobile electronic device to objectively assess postural movement. The system was designed to provide a means of quantitative balance assessment in clinical and on-field environments. The purpose of this study was to determine the intrasession and intersession reliability, as well as the minimum difference to be considered real, of the SWAY Balance Mobile Application.

Donepezil’S Effect On Cardiac Function In Patients With Alzheimer’S Disease Through An In Vivo, Non Invasive Measure Of Cardiac Autonomic Function, Lewis P. Hackett

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The aim of the current study was to explore the effects of the medication Donepezil (Aricept®) on cardiac autonomic function for individuals diagnosed with mild to moderate (probable) Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Using age (± 3 years) and gender matched controls, differences in heart rate variability (HRV) among individuals with Alzheimer’s disease were compared to healthy controls over a period of six months (session 1 [baseline], session 2 [3 months], and session 3 [6 months]) in both supine and standing positions. HRV was obtained through frequency-domain (Low Frequency Power, High Frequency Power, RMSSD, LF/HF Ratio) and time-domain (six minutes) measures using …

Maoa Genotype X Environment Interaction And Influence On Monoamine Neurotransmitter Functioning In Rhesus Macaques (Macaca Mulatta), Daniel Loveland, Dr. J. Dee Higley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Original Project Title: Why can’t we all just get along? MAOa genotype variation is associated with aggressive temperaments in nonhuman primates

In place of studying behavior differences among rhesus monkeys with differing MAOa genotypes, my research group and I chose to analyze the effects of genes and the environment on brain chemistry.

Longitudinal Effects Of School Climate On Middle-School Students' Academic, Social-Emotional And Behavioral Outcomes, Jennifer Lynn Engelland-Schultz

Theses and Dissertations

Millions of youth are at risk for low academic achievement, school dropout, risky behavior, bullying, and mental health concerns, especially those living in rural areas. Protective factors can reduce the likelihood of children and adolescents experiencing these negative outcomes. Research shows that positive school climate is a powerful protective factor for youth. The present study investigated the longitudinal relations between middle school students' school climate perceptions and their academic, social-emotional, and behavioral development over two years. Specifically, 510 students in grades 5-9 from six rural schools rated their support and influence at school as well as their internalizing problems, personal …

The Effects Of Trilostane And Dheas On Dopamine Release In The Nucleus Accumbens, Tyler Okelberry, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alcohol dependency is a serious, widespread problem in the United States. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that “In 2009, the number of persons aged 12 or older needing treatment for an alcohol use problem was 19.3 million (7.7 percent of the population aged 12 or older).” ¹ The following study contributed to a growing body of research about alcohol addiction and the brain. The study focused on a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. The release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the nucleus accumbens has been implicated in the mental processes of reward and …

Mothers', Fathers' And Children's Perceptions Of Parents' Expectations About Children's Family Obligations In Nine Countries, Jennifer E. Lansford, Jennifer Godwin, Liane Peña Alampay, Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado, Arnaldo Zelli, Suha M. Al-Hassan, Dario Bacchini, Anna Silvia Bombi, Marc H. Bornstein, Lei Chang, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Laura Di Giunta, Kenneth A. Dodge, Patrick S. Malone, Paul Oburu, Concetta Pastorelli, Ann T. Skinner, Emma Sorbring, Sombat Tapanya

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

Children's family obligations involve assistance and respect that children are expected to provide to immediate and extended family members and reflect beliefs related to family life that may differ across cultural groups. Mothers, fathers and children (N = 1432 families) in 13 cultural groups in 9 countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and United States) reported on their expectations regarding children's family obligations and parenting attitudes and behaviours. Within families, mothers and fathers had more concordant expectations regarding children's family obligations than did parents and children. Parenting behaviours that were warmer, less neglectful and more controlling …

Does Our Fear Of Death Stem From Threatened Belongingness?, Stan Treger

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine the relative contribution to worldview defense (i.e., upholding one’s cultural worldviews) provided by the thoughts of one’s death and perceptions of curbed close relationships.

The need to belong, to form meaningful and strong ties with others, is what many social psychologists believe to be one of the most fundamental and strongest motivations that humans possess (Baumeister, 2012; Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Kenrick, Griskevicius, Neuberg, & Schaller, 2010; Tomasello, 2014). The human brain is “hard-wired” to be around others (Beckes & Coan, 2011). In fact, large social group sizes of humans’ evolutionary past may have contributed …

The Role Of School Psychologists In Bullying Interventions In Year Four Of New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill Of Rights Act, Amanda Brady

Theses and Dissertations

Within education, bullying has been a prominent topic of discussion with regard to its effects on students and schools. In order to investigate the specific role of school psychologists in Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) initiatives, this study (a) analyzes the HIB roles of school psychologists and (b) the factors that influence their involvement in advocating HIB initiatives after the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act was passed in 2010. A survey was distributed to about 1,000 school psychologists in New Jersey and asked about demographics, specific roles regarding HIB initiatives, factors that affect their involvement, and satisfaction with …

The Importance Of Family Meals And Sedentary Behavior In Understanding Childhood Depression And Obesity, Draycen D. Decator

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The ongoing obesity epidemic within the United States is a problem that has received a lot of attention, but is still inadequately understood. Understanding the epidemic requires examining BMI from a larger perspective, with an ecological mindset (Rosenkranz & Dzewaltowski, 2008). A bidirectional relationship between depression and obesity, which has been found in the past, might be due to family meals. Sedentary behaviors has been linked to both outcomes, and is predicted by family meal frequency, suggesting that it may play a mediational role. In order to help clarify the relationship between depressive symptoms and obesity, a sample of 120 …

Providers' Socioecological Perspectives On The Supports For And Challenges To Engagement In Care For Latino Youth Living With Hiv: A Qualitative Study, Diana Lemos

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Among youth, marginalized groups, such as Latino YLWH (LYLWH), may face multiple social stigmas, including such concerns as limited English-language proficiency, sexual-minority status, and immigration status that impact engagement across the continuum of HIV care (van Servellen, Chang, & Lombardi, 2002). One necessary step toward increasing understanding of the facilitators and barriers to this group’s engagement in HIV care is to examine engagement in care through a socioecological framework to better understand each of the multiple factors impacting Latino youth’s engagement in HIV care (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Hosek, Harper, Lemos et al., 2005; Mugavero, Norton & Saag, 2011). Through the …

Perceived Choices: Perceptions Of Mothers’ Devotion To “Family Or Work” Or "Family And Work", Stefanie Mockler

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The role of motherhood is culturally associated with reduced performance expectations and lower performance evaluations. This is referred to as the motherhood penalty. Social role theory (Eagly, 1984), the stereotype content model (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002) and the lack of fit model (Heilman, 1984, 2001) suggest that stereotypes regarding how women are and how they should be drive these perceptions. When mothers express strong devotion to work over family (i.e., devotion orientation) the motherhood penalty appears to be minimized. However, having to claim that work is central to their lives (i.e., work-­‐devotion) to avoid being penalized can impede …

Disparity Of Assets In Addiction Recovery: Moderators Of Perceived Control In Treatment And Recovery Settings In Kenya, Elias Kinoti Kithuri

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Assets/resources are core for positive community health outcomes and wellbeing. Assets availability, accessibility and perception by members that these resources are actually available and accessible determines community members' behavior around health choices. People with substance abuse require many types of resources that expected to cumulatively help recovery from the treatment start, through recovery into sober lifestyle. This study investigated the presence of assets at individual, social network and community level that Substance abuse problems can and able to easily access for their treatment and recovery, depending on present setting; professional Usual Care and Self-help settings. The findings indicate that there …

Effects Of Early-Adolescent, Mid-Adolescent, Or Adult Stress On Morphine Conditioned Place Preference, Chloe Shields

Senior Theses

In light of previous work demonstrating that stress can increase subjective drug reward in adult rats, the present study investigated the influence of stress on morphine conditioned place preference (CPP) in early-adolescent, mid-adolescent, and adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Subjects in each age group were assigned to either a no stress condition or a stress condition in which they were exposed to an unpredictable eight-day schedule of elevated platform and synthetic fox odor stressors. Place conditioning then evaluated subjective morphine reward in all animals. Using a biased procedure, subjects were assigned to receive morphine on the initially non-preferred side of the …

Treating Trauma: The Efficacy Of Emdr As A Treatment For Ptsd, Grace S. Crawford

Honors Projects

This literature review examines the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) relative to other evidence-based treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), such as Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). The paper explores the problem of PTSD; outlines the history, theory, and initial trials of EMDR; and examines five randomized controlled trials which compare EMDR to PE or CPT. Results suggest that neither treatment model produces significantly greater reductions in PTSD symptoms, though there is some evidence that EMDR may be better tolerated and produce desired results faster than other treatments.

Health Coaching For Chronic Disease Management: A Program Evaluation Conducted At Denver Health Managed Care, Adam Altschuh

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The purpose of this study is to evaluate health coaching at Denver Health Managed Care Center. We evaluated patients with diabetes and obesity who received a telephonic, motivational-interviewing intervention. Our hypothesis was that patients who received health coaching would have improved health outcomes compared to patients who received standard medical care alone. This research benefits this specific program in clarifying effectiveness (i.e. improvement in health and efficiency, indicated by length of treatment). Health coaching is a growing area of study. This research also adds to a broader conversation about what professionals best serve in the role of health coaches, what …

The Clinical Utility Of The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System: A Clinician's Perspective, Ashley Gunterman

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP) is the first performance-based measure of adult attachment to be developed. The purpose of the measure is to provide a clinical understanding of an adult client's attachment status and associated coping mechanisms. The AAP is a relatively new measure that has yet to be examined from a utility perspective. In the current study, seven psychologists completed a structured survey in order to identify their perspectives of the AAP and its utility as a clinical instrument. A phenomenological qualitative analysis of the data was conducted to derive themes about the AAP and its clinical …

Mathematical Models Of Games Of Chance: Epistemological Taxonomy And Potential In Problem-Gambling Research, Catalin Barboianu

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Games of chance are developed in their physical consumer-ready form on the basis of mathematical models, which stand as the premises of their existence and represent their physical processes. There is a prevalence of statistical and probabilistic models in the interest of all parties involved in the study of gambling – researchers, game producers and operators, and players – while functional models are of interest more to math-inclined players than problem-gambling researchers. In this paper I present a structural analysis of the knowledge attached to mathematical models of games of chance and the act of mathematical modeling, arguing that such …

The History Of Autism, Kieran A. Cook, Alissa N. Willmerdinger

Narrative Documents

No abstract provided.