Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Impact Of Early Adversity On Young Children With Autism, Kelsea M. Batista

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation builds on a small but growing literature exploring the association between early adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research suggests that children with ASD are more likely to experience ACEs throughout their lifetime due to increased vulnerability to victimization and social communication deficits. Still, to date, there is scant research explicitly exploring the impact of ACEs on young children diagnosed with ASD. This study utilized a biopsychosocial framework to further examine whether a relationship exists between ACEs and ASD. The objectives of this study include: (a) to determine whether a relationship exists …

Associations Of Chronic Pain With Psychosocial Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Nidilrr And Va Tbi Model Systems Collaborative Project, Robin Hanks, Jessica M Ketchum, Mackenzie Peckham, Mitch Sevigny, Angelle M Sander, Aaron M Martin, Stephanie Agtarap, Cynthia L Beaulieu, Librada Callender, Flora M Hammond, Jean Lengenfelder, Amanda R Rabinowitz, William C Walker, Jeanne M Hoffman, Cynthia Harrison-Felix, Risa Nakase-Richardson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: To examine the differences in participation, life satisfaction, and psychosocial outcomes among individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) endorsing current, past, or no chronic pain.

SETTING: Community.

PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand eight hundred four TBI Model Systems participants 1 to 30 years of age postinjury classified into 1 of 3 groups based on their pain experience: current pain, past pain, no pain completed a Pain Survey at their usual follow-up appointment which on average was approximately 8 years postinjury.

DESIGN: Multisite, cross-sectional observational cohort study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sociodemographic and injury characteristics and psychosocial outcomes (ie, satisfaction with life, depression, …

Subjective Cognitive Decline: Examining The Contributions Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Social Determinants Of Health, Amber Victoria Rusch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Subjective cognitive decline is one’s awareness of their own consistent memory loss or confusion that interrupts their day-to-day activities (CDC, 2022; Roehr et al., 2017). Several risk factors for subjective cognitive decline, such as demographic social determinants of health (SDOH) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been identified through previous research (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016; Dening & Sandilyan, 2015); however, less is known about the interaction between demographic SDOH and ACEs on subjective cognitive decline. The current study sought to examine how demographic SDOH (i.e., age, sex, race, and education) (research question 1) and ACEs (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, and …

Factors That Influence Plans To Have Children: An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Fertility Decision-Making Across The Reproductive Years, Amanda Chappell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fertility intentions include plans to have one or more children; intentions can be used to predict fertility behavior. The focus of the current study was to examine the influence of age and gender on factors involved in estimating fertility intentions (measured with 5 items), including attitudes (i.e., how one feels about becoming a parent; 13 items), norms (i.e., pressure from important others to have children; 5 items), and perceived control (beliefs about capability of becoming a parent; 4 items) in a U.S. sample. The study included a sample of N = 289 (51% men) participants (75.6% White) between the ages …

Seeing Red: Hostile Attribution Bias, Aggression, And Antisocial Personality Disorder Traits, Kaley Potter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a destructive and severe mental illness that costs the U.S. trillions of dollars annually. Although ASPD is significantly correlated with acts of aggression, violence, and imprisonment, not all individuals with ASPD are aggressive. In samples without ASPD, increased aggression has been linked to an error in social information processing, which is referred to as hostile attribution bias (HAB).

The current study tested the extent to which HABs, or the tendency to attribute hostility to neutral or ambiguous stimuli, predicted aggression above and beyond ASPD traits in participants with a history of incarceration. Participants (N = …

Associations Among Psychosocial Factors, Health-Related Quality Of Life, And Adherence In Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cecelia I. Nelson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a prevalent disorder among youth in the United States. IBD is one of the leading causes of chronic pain in adolescence and symptoms can lead to reduced quality of life, social embarrassment, and lower self-esteem. Adherence to medical regimens for IBD is incredibly important to prevent morbidity, mortality, and impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, adolescents struggle generally with adherence and the regimen for IBD can be complicated and include aversive side effects. Psychological factors, such as depressive symptoms, are key factors associated with non-adherence. Nevertheless, gut-specific anxiety (GSA) is a psychological factor that …

Adverse Childhood Experiences Predict Mortality Risk: The Role Of Social Support & Social Strain, Meredith A. Willard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Childhood adversity has long-lasting negative effects across the lifespan including increased mortality risk. The love and support individuals receive from others, also known as social support, has shown to be a protective factor against ACEs. However, little research has investigated the amplifying effects of social conflict and strain that often accompanies social relationships. Utilizing data from the Midlife Development in the U.S. (MIDUS) study, I tested whether higher levels of social support would buffer the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences on mortality risk, and whether higher levels of social strain would amplify these associations. The sample included 6,150 participants …

Anxiety And Depression In Older Adults Post Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Mickaela R. Reed

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research has investigated challenges that are created when one experiences a disaster within populations such as older adults and other vulnerable groups of people. However, there is little to no consideration given to how age in combination with trauma history are related to well-being after a disaster. Using two theories, socioemotional selectivity theory (SST, Carstensen, 2006) and the strength and vulnerability integration model (SAVI, Charles, 2010). I compared older adults post disaster vulnerabilty to depression and anxiety to that of younger adults with trauma history as a moderator. The 2,508 participants in the current study were from the Survey of …

Examining Invalid Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory Profiles Within A Randomized Controlled Trial For Toddler-Aged Children And Their Parents, Lindsay Rebecca Druskin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Child abuse is a significant public health concern that impacts children worldwide. Efforts to connect at-risk parents with prevention and intervention programs require the use of high-quality measures that evaluate child abuse potential. Researchers frequently use the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (Milner, 1986) and the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory (BCAP; Ondersma et al., 2005) which contain Validity indices that evaluate response patterns such as social desirability responding. The measure developers recommended that abuse risk scores from invalid profiles be disregarded in clinical and research settings; however, little is known about factors that may relate to invalid responses and whether …

The Effects Of Forgetting And Disclosure On Mock Jurors' Perceptions Of An Alleged Rape, Johnathan Meier

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Memory recall and forgetting is a complex process. Memories can be completely forgotten (e.g., Ebbinghaus, 1885/1964; Murre, 2015) or repressed and recovered at a later time (e.g., Key et al., 1996; Foster-Lee et al., 1999). Instances of sexual assault may be disclosed to a close acquaintance or medical professional at the time of the event or kept secret until the time of reporting to authorities (e.g., Pica et al., 2020a). In the current study, mock jurors’ perceptions of credibility and guilt, as well as the amount of compensation awarded to the plaintiff, will be assessed in response to testimony depicting …

Different Methods Of Winning, Losing, And Training In Combat Sports And Their Relationship With Overall Competitive Winningness, Oliver R. Barley, Craig A. Harms

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study aimed to investigate how overall competitive winningness in combat sports depended on patterns of victory and loss, as well as training habits. Competitors (N = 280) from several combat sports participated in the study. The online survey included questions on self-reported patterns of victory (and loss), training habits, general demographics (e.g., age), and sport-specific information (e.g., stage of career and competitive style). Overall, it was found across four models that reflected diversity of winningness in combat sports that the most important predictors of competitive winningness were loss by points (negative), loss by submission (negative), loss (negative) or victory …

An Examination Of Working Memory In Dancers And Non-Dancers, Mason Low

All Master's Theses

The present study examined the behavioral working memory differences between dancers and non-dancers. Previous research has indicated that dance can provide an enhancing effect on working memory, particularly in non-dancers. A Dance History Questionnaire along with the letters backward, digits backward, digits forward, letters forward, and abstract visual subtests of the Test of Learning and Memory II was used to collect data. The current study found that dancers had greater visuospatial memory than non-dancers and that dance experience may have an effect on certain working memory tests such as the letters forward subtest.

Ethically Managing Theories Of Agency In Counseling And Psychotherapy, Jeffrey S. Reber, Jacob D. Tubbs, Jacob A. Larson

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Informed by personal and professional cultures, clients and therapists inevitably hold various assumptions and attributions about the possibility of free will. Given that these “theories of agency” may not always align, and in light of the ethics codes for psychotherapists and counselors, it is imperative, as a matter of cultural competence and responsivity, that therapists seek training in understanding different cultures of agency. To that end, and to help therapists navigate cultural differences and mitigate the risk of personal and professional values imposition, this article provides a conceptual framework for organizing the common formal and informal theories of agency that …

A Mega-Study Of Stereotypes And Attitudes Toward Nationality Groups In The United States, Ayse Selin Toprakkiran

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The culture and demographics of the United States have been greatly influenced by numerous immigrant nationality groups, which continue to play a vital role in society. To understand how nationality groups are perceived in the United States, we asked residents to report stereotypes and attitudes toward 28 nationality groups and 6 racial/ethnic groups (N = 7,050). Our findings showed various patterns across 15 stereotypes, grouped under warmth, status, Americanness, and political orientation dimensions. Warmth-related stereotypes and attitudes varied widely across groups and did not follow a discernible pattern. Status-related stereotypes of Asian Americans and East Asian nationality groups were consistently …

Disrupting Perceptions Of Color Blindness As The Norm: Children’S Talk About Race, Grace Reid

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Talking about race can improve children’s ethnic identities, prepare them for encounters with racism, and reduce their racial biases. Yet adults hold intuitive beliefs (e.g., children do not notice race) that limit their conversations about race with children. Children can also initiate conversations about race, but children have been found to avoid talking about race by 10 years. It has been suggested that children avoid talking about race because of colorblind norms, but children’s reasoning about color blindness as a norm is not well understood. Even less is known about the conditions under which children will talk about race. Across …

Direct Relationships Between The Five Internal Senses: The Extremes And In-Between Of The Inner Experience, Sydnie Hoyt, Camryn O'Neal, Miranda Brannum, Sara Bagley

The Confluence

Inner experience of all 5 modalities were investigated to determine if there were correlations amongst them and how visual mental imagery and internal hearing were used in an applied story. Our sample (N = 137) completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ; Marks, 1973) and the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire (Psi-Q; Andrade et al., 2013) to obtain trait measures of the different modalities within the inner experience. Results showed statistically significant positive correlations between each of the trait measures of the 5 sensory modalities (visual mental imagery, inner hearing, taste, smell, and touch). Based on their VVIQ total scores, …

The Effects Of Full Spectrum Hemp Oil On Extinction Of Stress Enhanced Fear Learning In A Rodent Model Of Ptsd, Tiphanie Chanel

Psychology ETDs

There are only 2 FDA-approved treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) despite the overwhelming evidence of the need for safer and more effective treatments. For example, roughly 50% of treatment seeking patients with PTSD experience relief from conventional pharmaceutical medications and only one third experience full remission. The Cannabis plant is a promising novel treatment for PTSD for several reasons. The endocannabinoid system plays a role in stress, emotion, cognition, suicidal phenotypes, fear memory consolidation, retrieval and reconsolidation and extinction. Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the most widely studied phytocannabinoids found in the Cannabis plant, has both anxiolytic and antidepressant qualities. …

Neurobehavioral And Eeg Characteristics In Latino Targets Of Bullying, Isabel Solis

Psychology ETDs

Bullying adversely impacts the well-being and development of youth, calling for a comprehensive understanding of its neurobehavioral and social mechanisms for targeted interventions. Despite the increasing demographic of Latino children, little is known about their early life experiences and individual traits that leave them susceptible to becoming targets of bullying. The present study utilized a mixed-methods design to address this gap, incorporating interviews, neuropsychological assessments, and resting-state EEG (rsEEG) spectral power within the alpha (8-13Hz) and theta (4-7Hz) frequency bands. The aim was to compare the cognitive, emotional, social, and neural characteristics of nine Latino Targets (LT) of bullying and …

Negative Psychology Of Anti-Semitism: Fear Of The Uncategorizable, Benjamin Strosberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anti-Semitism is a pervasive global issue, particularly prominent in the United States. Studying and defining anti-Semitism prove remarkably challenging for scholars, leading to inadequate understanding and exclusion from contemporary academic discourse and social justice initiatives. In this dissertation, I made the case that anti-Semitism is hard to categorize, stemming, in part, from the difficulty in categorizing what it is to be Jewish, which seems to be multi-form (a figure of thought, a race, an ethnicity, a religion, a nation, none of the above). In thinking about the difficulty in categorization, I constellated various instances of anti-Jewish practices across historical epochs …

A Demonstration Of Enactivist Personality Assessment Using The Five-Factor Model, Garri Hovhannisyan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to extend the intellectual and existential horizon of the enactive approach by bringing forth an enactivist understanding of human cognitive life as it is lived from the perspective of personality traits. The theoretical task of this dissertation is to review existing evidence in support of the Enactivist Big-5 Theory (EB5T) of personality and its potential for bridging the phenomenological gap between minimal and human cognition. As a phenomenologically grounded theory of personality, EB5T conceptualizes individual differences not merely as differences in trait measures within a person but as differences in styles of how individuals bring forth, experience, …

Early Diagnosis Methods For Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review, Megan Denise Mccarthy

Doctoral Dissertations

Objective: This systematic review aimed to comprehensively synthesize existing literature on early detection methods for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children birth to 3 years, that lead to an effective and reliable early diagnosis in children 2 to 3 years of age.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted across multiple electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and PsycINFO following PRISMA guidelines. Studies reporting on early detection methods for ASD in infants and toddlers within ages 0 to 3 years that lead to early diagnosis of children ages 2 to 3 years were eligible for inclusion. Data extraction and quality assessment were …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Ethnic-Racial Minority Former Foster Youth Who Identify As Queer, Cristian A. Lemus

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the lived experiences and meaning making of former foster youth of color who identify as both ethnic-racial minorities and as either gender or sexual minorities. A total of three participants took part in this study. All participants identified as a former foster youth with at least one foster care placement in the United States, as an ethnic-racial minority, and as a gender or sexual minority. In the lived experiences of the participants three themes, and several subthemes, emerged: identity, cultural prejudice, and power dynamics. The findings supported the hypothesis former foster …

The Impact Of Mindfulness On Perceived Stress And Academic Performance Among English Language Students In Central Asia, Laurie Wolfe

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The current study investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness training in reducing stress and increasing academic performance among Uzbek English language students. The researcher partnered with four English faculty at Tashkent State Pedagogical University (TSPU) to conduct a quasi-experimental study using a convenience sample of sixty 2^nd year students studying English as a foreign language. One group of students (n = 30) received mindfulness training while the acted as an active control group (n = 30) and received study skills training. Both groups received 20-minutes training in their English classes, four days a week, for 4-weeks. All participants …

Why Autistic Sociality Is Different: Reduced Interest In Competing For Social Status, Catherine L. Caldwell-Harris, Anna M. Schwartz

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

The complexity of human organizations poses the challenge of understanding and navigating social hierarchies. If 'social impairment' is a defining feature of autism, then these challenges may be heightened for autistic persons. We reject the premise of social deficits but follow recommendations to investigate how autistic social behavior diverges from neurotypical norms. We review autistic writings and also scholarship on reputation management, non-conformity and moral reasoning to argue that autistic people dislike social hierarchies, find status-seeking illogical, prefer egalitarian relationships, and often seek to report wrong-doing by authorities. We outline three possible causes: (1) reduced social motivation; (2) emergent property …

Moving On: An Overview Of Approaching Trauma Through Dance/Movement Therapy, Eliza Barber

Student Works

Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT), an approach meant to facilitate holistic integration, has been historically associated with treating symptoms of trauma. Because it is a relatively new field, many questions still remain regarding appropriate interventions. In this extensive review of existing literature on the topic, I explored how DMT is applied in relation to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, culture-specific trauma and oppression, multigenerational trauma, and developmental trauma. Additionally, I delved into interventions with specific populations including refugees and young people. To identify the 26 items of literature referenced in this review, I conducted searches with appropriate terms on two scientific databases and filtered …

Cannabis-Induced Psychotic Disorder And Schizophrenia Diagnostic Comparison, Tyanna Brodhagen

Honors Theses

Recent changes in cannabis legalization will have broad societal impacts for decades to come, not the least of which are the unknown consequences to neuropsychiatric health, particularly for adolescents and young adults. Cannabis-induced psychotic disorder (CIPD) is a controversial and poorly understood neuropsychiatric condition characterized by a psychotic experience brought on by excessive cannabis intoxication and/or withdrawal. Although CIPD is currently an uncommon diagnosis, the overlapping symptomology and comorbidity with schizophrenia indicates CIPD may be underdiagnosed. Some authors suggest the under diagnosis of CIPD may be correlated to physician diagnostic practices. This honors thesis constitutes a scholarly literature review and …

In The Words Of Early Adolescents: A Novel Assessment Of Positive Psychological Well-Being Predicts Young Adult Depressive Symptoms, Julia K. Boehm, Farah Qureshi, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

Methods

Kids For A Happy Marriage? A Preliminary Study On Marriage Satisfaction And Presence Or Absence Of Children Among Married Individuals In Indonesia, Alftisya Victory Hutabarat, Karel Karsten Himawan

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

Having children after marriage tends to be seen as a normative practice in Indonesia. As a result, individuals who do not have children could be at risk of experiencing a set of social stigmas. The study aims to explore whether having children is associated with one’s marital satisfaction. In particular, the present study aims to explore the differences in marital satisfaction among married individuals who have biological children, who are childfree (voluntarily childless), and who are childless (involuntarily childless). A cross-sectional survey was conducted to 210 married individuals (M age = 34.3; SD = 7.9). The result shows that …

Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Realconsent2.0: A Web‑Based Intervention To Promote Prosocial Alcohol‑Involved Bystander Behavior In Young Men, Laura F. Salazar, Dominic J. Parrott, David Dilillo, Sarah J. Gervais, Anne Marie Schipani‑Mclaughlin, Ruschelle Leone, Kevin Swartout, Lauren Simpson, Renita Moore, Tiffany Wilson, Nyla Flowers, Haley Church, Amanda Baildon

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background Sexual violence (SV) is a significant, global public health problem, particularly among young adults. Promising interventions exist, including prosocial bystander intervention programs that train bystanders to intervene in situations at-risk for SV. However, these programs suffer from critical weaknesses: (1) they do not address the proximal effect of alcohol use on bystander decision-making and (2) they rely on self-report measures to evaluate outcomes. To overcome these limitations, we integrate new content specific to alcohol use within the context of prosocial bystander intervention into an existing, evidence-based program, RealConsent1.0. The resulting program, RealConsent2.0, aims to facilitate bystander behavior …

Biopsychosocial Markers Of Impulsive Eating And Emotional Eating, Lucia Foster-Engen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.