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Perceived Partner Support In Pregnancy Predicts Lower Maternal And Infant Distress, Lynlee R. Tanner Stapleton, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Erika Westling, Christine Rini, Laura M. Glynn, Calvin J. Hobel, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Maternal postpartum emotional distress is quite common and can pose significant risk to mothers and infants. The current study investigated mothers' relationships with their partners during pregnancy and tested the hypotheses that perception of prenatal partner support is a significant predictor of changes in maternal emotional distress from midpregnancy to postpartum, and contributes to maternal ratings of infant distress to novelty. Using a prospective longitudinal design, 272 adult pregnant women were interviewed regarding their partner support, relationship satisfaction, and interpersonal security (attachment style and willingness to seek out support), and they completed standardized measures of prenatal symptoms of depression and …

Theism And Psychological Science: A Call For Rapprochement, Michael J. Vogel, Tyler A. Gerdin, Mark R. Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

The authors offer two arguments for the inclusion of theism in natural science. First, an argument against excluding theism is offered. Though early roots of science promoted a view that it is a way to accumulate knowledge that is untainted by presuppositions and traditions, postmodern critiques call this into question. Scientists have sometimes rejected religion as a context-dependent, tradition-based way of knowing, yet science itself is also context-dependent and tradition-based. Second, an argument for including theism in psychological is offered. Theistic beliefs are relevant insofar as they are part of human experience for many, they represent a form of human …

Chronic Orofacial Pain Influences Self-Regulation In A Rodent Model, Tracey Christine Kniffin

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Self-regulation is the capacity to exert control over cognition, emotion, behavior, and physiology. Since chronic pain interferes with the ability to self-regulate, the primary goal of this study was to examine, in rodents, the effects of chronic pain on self-regulation processes. Sixteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups: (1) chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve (CCI-ION) and (2) naïve. Testing confirmed that CCI-ION animals had significant mechanical allodynia compared to naïve animals (p<0.001). A two-part self-regulation behavioral paradigm consisting of a cued go/no-go task and a subsequent persistence task was developed based on human paradigms. In the cued task, both groups made fewer incorrect lever presses in post-surgery trials (p<0.001); naive animals had a greater decrease in number of incorrect presses than CCI-ION animals (p=0.06). Similarly, both groups had a larger correct to total lever presses ratio in post-surgery trials (p<0.001); naïve animals had a greater increase than CCI-ION animals (p=0.06). In the persistence task, naïve animals experienced a greater decrease in lever presses (p=0.08) than did CCI-ION animals (p=0.66). These results suggest that animals experiencing chronic pain were not able to learn as well as naïve animals, and may have difficulty responding to novel environmental demands.

Feeling At Home: Learning, Law, Cognitive Science, And Narrative, Lea B. Vaughn

Articles

What is the "how and why" of law's affinity for narrative? In order to explain why the use of stories is such an effective teaching and presentation strategy in the law, this paper will consider theories and accounts from cognitive as well as evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and, briefly, cultural anthropology. This account seeks to address "how" narrative helps us learn and use the law as well as "why" we are so compelled to use stories in teaching and in practice.

Brain science, simplified here, suggests that the first task is to grab someone's attention. Emotionally charged events are more likely …

Infants’ Perception Of Emotion From Dynamic Body Movements, Nicole R. Zieber

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

In humans, the capacity to extract meaning from another person’s behavior is fundamental to social competency. Adults recognize emotions conveyed by body movements with comparable accuracy to when they are portrayed in facial expressions. While infancy research has examined the development of facial and vocal emotion processing extensively, no prior study has explored infants’ perception of emotion from body movements. The current studies examined the development of emotion processing from body gestures. In Experiment 1, I asked whether 6.5-month-olds infants would prefer to view emotional versus neutral body movements. The results indicate that infants prefer to view a happy versus …

Impulsivity Traits And The Longitudinal Prediction Of Addictive Behaviors During The Transition From Elementary To Middle School, Leila Guller

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The aim of this study was to test for prospective relationships between personality factors measured in elementary school and drinking, smoking, and binge eating during the first year of middle school. Data were collected among adolescents drawn from 23 elementary schools and 15 middles schools in central Kentucky. In a two-wave study, 1,906 children completed questionnaire measures in the spring of 5^th grade and the spring of 6^th grade. After controlling for sex, pubertal status, and prior engagement in addictive behaviors, it was found that urgency at wave 1 predicted drinking, smoking, and binge eating at wave 2, …

Shame And Borderline Personality Features: The Potential Mediating Role Of Anger And Anger Rumination, Jessica R. Peters

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Two prominent emotions in borderline personality disorder (BPD) are anger and shame. Rumination has been demonstrated to occur in response to shame and to escalate anger, and rumination, particularly anger rumination, has been shown to predict BPD symptoms. The present study examined whether one way that shame leads to the features of BPD is via increased anger and anger rumination. A sample of 823 undergraduates completed self-report measures of global and situational shame, trait- level anger, anger'rumination, and BPD features. A structural equation model was constructed using these measures. The hypothesized model of shame to anger and anger rumination to …

Program Evaluation Of A Curriculum For Increasing Empathy, Self-Awareness, Personal Healing, And Knowledge Of Abuse And Sex-Trafficking, Haley H. Crowl

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

No abstract provided.

Yo Hablo Ingles: The Influence Of Motivation And Group Cohesion On Learning English In A Workplace Setting, Adam Henry Dehoek

Dissertations

Immigration reform is a current and controversial issue in the United States and around the globe. Although it is unlikely that comprehensive immigration reform is immediately forthcoming in the United States, plans proposed by both liberal and conservative law-makers require those applying for long-term residency to hold employment and demonstrate a working knowledge of the English language. Given that these goals are often difficult to achieve in tandem, enacted immigration reform may suggest that businesses offer English language courses on the job in order to facilitate the legalization process. Answering important questions regarding the process of successful language acquisition, particularly …

Neuropsychological Functioning, Parenting Behaviors, And Healthcare Behaviors Among Youth With Spina Bifida, Lauren Kelly O'Hara

Dissertations

Objective This study was designed to examine whether neurocognitive functioning (attention and executive functions) and parenting behaviors (acceptance, behavioral control and psychological control) are associated with medical adherence and autonomy among preadolescents and adolescents with spina bifida. Methods Questionnaire and observational data were collected from a sample of 8 to 15 year olds with spina bifida (n = 139) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers. Youth also completed neuropsychological testing. Results Youth with spina bifida demonstrated impairment on measures of attention and executive function, based on questionnaire and test data. Attention, executive function, and parenting behaviors were associated with medical …

A Mediational Model Predicting Adjustment In Affluent Adolescents: The Role Of Parental Perfectionism, Perceived Parental Pressure, And Organized Activity Involvement, Edin Randall

Dissertations

The current cross-sectional study evaluated the relative contributions of parental perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed), perceived parental pressure, and organized activity involvement (i.e,. intensity) on depressive symptoms, anxiety, substance use, and life satisfaction in a sample of affluent adolescents. Findings indicated that parental perfectionism, and specifically other-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, is an important contextual factor negatively influencing affluent adolescent adjustment. Additionally, perceived parental pressure was found to have robust associations with adolescent adjustment and to explain the link between parental perfectionism and adolescent adjustment. Furthermore, the current study revealed a synergistic association between intensity of organized activity …

Internet Support Groups For Parents Of Children With Add: An Examination Of The Characteristics Of Group Members And The Impact Of Social Support On Parent Functioning, Kriston B. Schellinger

Dissertations

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders and is associated with a variety of difficult behaviors. In addition, parents of children with ADHD experience significantly greater parenting stress and psychological distress than parents of children without ADHD. However, social support is a beneficial coping tool associated with increased mental and physical well-being in those experiencing stress. Although many turn to family and friends for social support, people sometimes go outside of their immediate support network and seek support groups. In recent years, Internet support groups have become a popular alternative to face-to-face support groups. However, …

Agreement And Disagreement In Parent And Child Perceptions Of Spina Bifida Medical Responsibilities During The Transition To Adolescence, Alexandra Psihogios

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of informant discrepancies by evaluating levels of parent-child agreement and disagreement over who takes responsibility for SB medical tasks in relation to family conflict and medical adherence. Participants were 140 preadolescents with SB. Data used in this study are taken from the first wave of data collection (when adolescents were between the ages of 8-15) in a larger longitudinal study. Although disagreement levels predicting family conflict and medical adherence were non-significant (p > .05), a significant main effect of agreement and two significant Agreement x Conflict interactions predicting medical adherence were …

The Gatekeepers: Clergy Involvement In Referrals And Collaboration With Mental Health And Substance Abuse Professionals, Curtis J. Vanderwaal Dr., E. I. Hernandez, A. R. Sandman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cultivating Teachers’ Morality And The Pedagogy Of Emotional Rationality, Minkang Kim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers are expected to act ethically and provide moral role models in performing their duties, even though teacher education has often relegated the cultivation of teachers’ ethical awareness and moral development to the margins. When it is addressed, the main theoretical assumptions have relied heavily on the cognitivist developmental theories of Piaget and Kohlberg. A major pedagogical problem in adopting these theories of moral reasoning is that they may not help teachers to act as moral agents in real-life classrooms. This paper argues that one underlying difficulty is the insufficient attention given to the role of emotion in moral reasoning, …

How Selective Is Social Learning In Dolphins?, Stan A. Kuczaj Ii, Deirdre Yeater, Lauren Highfill

Psychology Faculty Publications

Social learning is an important aspect of dolphin social life and dolphin behavioral development. In addition to vocal social learning, dolphins discover behaviors for foraging, play, and social interactions by observing other members of their social group. But dolphins neither indiscriminately observe nor mindlessly mimic other dolphins. To the contrary, dolphin calves are quite selective in their choices of who to observe and/or imitate. Calves are most likely to learn foraging behaviors from their mothers, but they are more likely to watch and reproduce the play behaviors of other calves than the play behaviors of adult dolphins (including their mothers). …

Sugar Consumption And Cognitive Aging In The Swedish Adoption/Twin Study Of Aging, Shyam Seetharaman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Consumption of foods high in sugar content has been linked with the development of metabolic abnormalities such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes, major sources of global health concerns. Although the detrimental consequences of high intake of sugar on abnormal metabolic processes are established, it is not known how this association affects (or accelerates) cognitive aging.

The current project was based on data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) to test the hypothesis that high refined sugar intake contributes to accelerated trajectories of cognitive decline assessed longitudinally. Trajectories of cognitive change were assessed as a function …

Precarious Manhood And Men's Attributional Biases In Partner Conflict, Joshua Guy Lenes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A study investigated men and women's attributions of criticism, rejection, and threats to gender status in a fictitious partner conflict scenario in which the victim was either a man or a woman. The results indicated that in the context of a partner conflict scenario that ends in violence, greater perceived threats to gender status are attributed to a female victim who criticizes a man's manhood more than a male victim who criticizes a woman's womanhood. The results also revealed that women attribute greater amounts of criticism/rejection and gender status threat in a victim's statements toward an abuser than men do, …

Circulating And Organizational Testosterone And The Perception Of Dominance, Jon C. Pedersen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This project focused on the relationship between both circulating testosterone (T), prenatal exposure to T, and perception of emotions in the faces of others. Based on past research, Twas hypothesized to be related to the Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities, which are concerned with reading emotions and intentions of others. More specifically, T was hypothesized to be more strongly related to the perception of dominant emotions compared to the perception of non-dominant emotions. To test this idea, the Test of the Eyes was used, which measures the ability to correctly perceive emotions in pictures of faces (specifically, eyes). To date, …

Predicting Reflective Reactions To Rejection Using The Multimodal Model Of Rejection, Abigail Leigh Harris

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Following rejection, people experience both reflexive and reflective reactions. According to the multimodal model of rejection (Smart Richman & Leary, 2009), relational construals surrounding the rejection impact the subsequent reflective behavior. The purpose of this study is to predict the behavior following rejection based on the theoretical model. It is hypothesized that when partner "relationship value" is high, rejection will result in more pro-social behaviors, compared to when partner "relationship value" is low, in which rejection will result in more anti-social behaviors. Though belonging is a fundamental motivation, not all humans exhibit the same level of sensitivity as others. Therefore …

The Significance Of Developing Core Counseling Competencies In Pastoral Care Ministry, Craig L. Younce

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis project is to present the importance of developing four specific core competencies in the area of pastoral counseling. It is problematic that most pastors have received minimal or no training in counseling resulting in inadequate therapy when parishioners seek pastoral counseling during times of crisis. The material presented in this thesis project enables pastoral care givers to become proficient counselors through a series of learning objectives, best practices, critical tasks, and accomplished practices directed toward improving counseling competencies in the area of personal, marriage, and family counseling. Additionally, this project addresses the problem of pornography, …

Role Of Foundations In The Changing World Of Philanthropy: A Houston Perspective, Ronnie Hagerty

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

From the earliest days of the American nation, philanthropy has had a defining role in leading change. Philanthropy has provided vision and voice for nascent social movements ranging from civil rights and the women’s movement to AIDS research and environmentalism. As the 21st century has moved into its second decade, philanthropy finds itself facing significant pressures that threaten to compromise its ability to innovate and advocate for issues and individuals whose voices cannot be heard over the public rhetoric of the day. Once perceived as the purview of the rich and well connected, modern philanthropy cuts across social, economic, and …

Millennial Integration: Challenges Millennials Face In The Workplace And What They Can Do About Them, Chip Espinoza

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There is a monumental changing of the guard that is currently taking place in organizations due to demographic metabolism. One of the largest birth cohorts or generations in history (Baby Boomer) is beginning to retire while their predecessor (Builder) is almost completely out of the workforce. Gen X is hitting stride and on the cusp of inheriting the proverbial organizational mantle. The three aforementioned age cohorts have learned to play in the organizational sandbox together. However, a new age cohort (Millennial, a.k.a. Gen Y), equal or greater in size to the Baby Boomer cohort started entering the playground approximately ten …

Women's Leadership In Philanthropy: An Analysis Of Six Giving Circles, Deborah A. Witte

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Women have played an essential role in the development of philanthropy in the United States. While their giving behavior and financial contributions have been studied extensively, other aspects of their philanthropy-namely leadership-have not been documented as completely. The giving circle-a new trend within philanthropy where groups of individuals pool their money, and through educating themselves about issues in their community, decide together where to award their funds-provides an ideal case for this study, as the majority of giving circle members are women. In order to gain a better understanding of women's leadership, focus groups were conducted with more than 35 …

Fatherhood And A Partner's Postpartum Depression: Coping, Relationship Satisfaction, Gender Roles, And Empathy, Martha G. Ruiz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The present study focused on assessing differences in new father’s coping styles when living with a partner suffering from symptoms of postpartum depression. It further investigated whether a relationship existed between father’s coping style and their level of relationship satisfaction, empathy, and views on gender. Five fathers, between the ages of 27 and 46 volunteered their participation in this study. Fathers were recruited through their partners from medical and mental health clinics and agencies offering services to new mothers or mothers suffering from symptoms of postpartum depression. The Coping Responses Inventory (CRI) was utilized to determine if differences existed in …

An Alcohol Intervention Model With College Students: Effectiveness Of The Basics Program, Francisco Gil-Del-Real

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program was designed at the University of Washington to provide treatment for high-risk drinkers in the college population. This program was evaluated in 2002 as a part of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, 2002) report on college drinking. However, this evaluation was based exclusively on a narrative review of the available intervention literature. The purpose of the present study was to conduct meta-analyses on select empirical literature related to the efficacy of the BASICS program in order to serve as a complement to the already extant …

Heart To Heart: A Cardiac Rehabilitation Follow-Up Program, Tamara H. Bisbee

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation describes a tele-health follow-up program designed to attend to the problem of noncompliance in the process of health-behavior change after formal Cardiac Rehabilitation treatment at a southern New Hampshire community hospital. Cardiac Rehabilitation treatment encompassing lifestyle behavior change is associated with a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality in individuals with Coronary Heart Disease. However, evidence that adherence to lifestyle behavior change recommendations diminishes significantly within six months of treatment suggests that noncompliance is a significant barrier to the secondary prevention of a disease with prodigious consequences. Accumulating evidence that Cardiac Rehabilitation treatment encompassing extended duration of contact …

How Managed Behavioral Health Care Impacts Psychotherapeutic Practices, Beth S. Abramson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The cost of health and mental health care is a growing problem for the United States. Managed care evolved as a way to continue providing quality services in a cost-effective fashion. In the mental health field, some individuals believe managed care reduces the quality of treatment. This exploratory study investigates current sentiments among mental health clinicians regarding managed care’s impact on mental health treatment and looks at how clinicians practice in light of managed care’s guidelines for treating patients. This study explores the current impact of managed care compared with managed care’s first detectable impact in the 1980s.

Perceived Stress And The Buffering Hypothesis Of Perceived Social Support On Facebook, John G. Lynch

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Online social networking sites have experienced a surge in popularity since their inception. Serving as a hub for communities of all ages, Web sites such as MySpace, Friendster and Facebook bridge geographic and time limitations and offer their members the opportunity to connect with anyone on the Internet at any time. The growing accessibility of technology for computer-mediated communication, outside of such Web sites offers similar opportunities. Although critics share concern over potential for the loss of intimacy, the possibility for increased levels of perceived social support through limitless networking options should not be overlooked. When we consider the strong …

The Other Child: Health Narratives Of Adults Raised With A Chronically Ill Sibling, Danielle Anna Hughes

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The sibling relationship brings with it a powerful experience and unique effects on individual development. Within this paper the personal health narratives of adult siblings who grew up with a chronically ill brother or sister are explored in depth. Using a naturalistic, qualitative paradigm and approach to the research a small sample of participants (N=7) provided in depth, semi-structured interviews geared to explore their experiences growing up with their siblings, and later effects on the development of personal health narratives. Using thematic analysis, a number of themes were identified including: (a) at home: finding out, the early relationship, early environment, …