Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Childhood Trauma On Neurological Development And Mental, Physical Health In Adulthood, Sara Mckissick

D.U.Quark

Unfortunately, childhood maltreatment and trauma are prevalent in society. As awareness grows, so does the research on the long-term effects early exposure to traumatic events has on the developing person. Socioeconomic hardships, psychopathologies, and cognitive deficiencies correlate with early childhood adverse experiences. This review will compare normal neurological activity and development to that of children who have experienced childhood trauma. It will also further explore various factors such as the level of trauma, the onset of exposure, duration or recurrence of trauma experienced. Finally, this review will examine the effects that manifest themselves in adulthood to further understand the detrimental …

Emotional Clarity In Young Adults: Operationalization, Measurement, And Associations With Mental Health Outcomes, Madeline D W Noland

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Emotional clarity (EC) refers to the ability to identify, understand, and distinguish one’s emotions (Gohm & Clore, 2000). The literature suggests that EC is highly related to emotion regulation (ER), such that individuals with higher EC are more likely to use adaptive ER strategies and individuals with lower EC are more likely to use maladaptive ER strategies (Vine & Aldao, 2014). EC has been measured with both self-report measures and physiological tasks. Due to the limitations of both self-report measures and physiological tasks, I aimed to develop a behavioral measure of EC using the concordance between change in individuals’ physiological …

Is There Synergy Between Song Learning And Vocal Stimuli Discrimination Training?, Kenta Watanabe

Theses and Dissertations

Does auditory discrimination ability predict greater accuracy in imitating song? We investigated this question in zebra finch males by testing if the accuracy of vocal imitation of song syllables relates to auditory discrimination performance. The majority of birds improved on imitating their discriminated syllable pairs over non-discriminated syllable sets.

Challenging Girlhood, Mary Ann Harlan

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Small-World Network Analysis Of Cortical Connectivity In Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Using Eeg, Mark Alan Zinn

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this thesis was to explore the relationship between electroencephalography (qEEG) and brain system dysregulation in people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). EEG recordings were taken from an archival dataset of 30 subjects, 15 people with CFS and 15 healthy controls (HCs), evaluated during an eye-closed resting state condition. Exact low resolution electromagnetic tomography (eLORETA) was applied to the qEEG data to estimate cortical sources and perform functional connectivity analysis assessing the strength of time-varying signals between all pairwise cortical regions of interest. To obtain a comprehensive view of local and global processing, eLORETA lagged coherence was …

A Computational Cognitive Architecture For Exploring Team Mental Models, Neil Benoit Outland

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Team Mental Models (TMM) are one of the strongest predictors of team behavior and performance. TMM direct team behaviors through the series of tasks they perform over time. Research in the area, although crucial in demonstrating the effect of TMM, has been largely static, failing to articulate specifically how TMM emerge or function in teams over time. This dissertation develops a computational model to explicate the process of TMM emergence and demonstrate necessary factors. First, I explain the core concepts of TMM emergence, including team composition, dyadic interactions, and contextual variables. Second, I develop a process-oriented theory of TMM development …

Key Expressions Of Posttraumatic Distress In Cambodian Children: A Step Toward Culturally-Sensitive Trauma Assessment And Intervention, Caleb J. Figge

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

More than half of all children in Cambodia experience direct abuse and over 70% other traumatic events, which significantly increase risk for a range of physical and mental health problems. Additionally, Cambodian children face longstanding sociopolitical, intergenerational, and cultural factors that compound the impact of direct victimization. As a result, rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms among Cambodian youth are high. However, care providers often rely on Western-based nosology that does not account for culturally specific expressions of trauma. Lack of knowledge surrounding the expressions of distress that best represent the experience of traumatized Cambodian children hinders diagnostic accuracy and treatment …

Defining The American System, Andrea Bellovary

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

American systems are commonly discussed in system justification literature; however, little is known about what subsystems are important to Americans’ understanding of the overall American system and what impact status has on forming these perceptions. This study attempts to answer these questions by asking Americans about their perceptions of the overall American system and seven underlying subsystems (political, economic, employment, education, criminal justice, social services, and health care). Three hundred and forty three community members from the Chicagoland area and Mechanical Turk were recruited to participate in the survey. It was hypothesized that high-status participants would prioritize the subsystems that …

Chasing The White Whale: Capturing The Relation Between Parent Educational Involvement And Student Socioemotional Difficulties Over Time, Samantha Irene Reaves

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Early childhood socioemotional difficulties are of increasing concern due to their impact on later functioning, particularly in the academic environment. A large body of research highlights the relation between parent educational involvement and student academic success, such that more involvement is associated with better grades, retention, and graduation. It is praised as a protective factor for those students at risk for poor outcomes. An under-researched area of the parent educational involvement literature is the construct’s relation to student socioemotional functioning, which also affects success in the academic environment and predicts long term functioning. This study seeks to longitudinally investigate these …

Becoming The Good Shepherds, Eze Paez

Animal Sentience

It is very important that we clarify what we owe to nonhuman animals. To that end, we need a better understanding of animal cognition and emotion. Marino & Merskin’s target article is a welcome contribution to this project. Sheep, like most other animals, are sentient beings with interests of their own. It is wrong to discriminate against them based on species-membership or cognitive sophistication. We are morally required not to harm them, and to help them have the best possible lives, just as we would be in the case of human beings with similar interests. We must become the good …

The Psychological Implications Of Lyme Disease, Joseph Trunzo

Applied Psychology Department Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Student Performance In Pre-Requisite Coursework And Upper Division Nursing Coursework, Jennifer L. Brown, Cheryl M. Smith

Journal of Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership in Quality & Safety

Admission and retention of qualified nursing students are essential in meeting the demands of a rapidly changing health care environment and nursing shortage. The purpose of this exploratory correlational study was to determine the relationship between student performance in quantitative pre-requisite coursework and student performance in upper division nursing coursework in order to identify students at-risk for attrition. A series of descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted using pre-existing institutional data. A moderate relationship existed among the chemistry II and first-year upper division nursing courses (r = .21 to r = .40). These results suggest that prerequisite chemistry course …

Serotonin And Motherhood: From Molecules To Mood, Jodi L. Pawluski, Ming Li, Joseph S. Lonstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Emerging research points to a valuable role of the monoamine neurotransmitter, serotonin, in the display of maternal behaviors and reproduction-associated plasticity in the maternal brain. Serotonin is also implicated in the pathophysiology of numerous affective disorders and likely plays an important role in the pathophysiology of maternal mental illness. Therefore, the main goals of this review are to detail: 1) how the serotonin system of the female brain changes across pregnancy and postpartum; 2) the role of the central serotonergic system in maternal caregiving and maternal aggression; and 3) how the serotonin system and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications (SSRIs) …

How Music Therapy Effects The Traumatized Brain: Neurorehabilitation For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Through Music Therapy, Jordan Winter Payne

Honors Projects

This review discusses the neurological components of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how both structures and processes in the brain are altered in individuals with the disorder, specifically the neural network that includes the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. This impacts awareness and responsiveness to stimuli. After examining these aspects, invasive and non-invasive treatment approaches are examined, with a specific emphasis on the treatment approach of music therapy. Musical stimuli are processed in many areas of the brain, so it has therapeutic potential for modulating neurological changes. Music therapy applies music clinically to address a variety of goals …

The Impact Of Trauma Experience, Adverse Early Circumstances And Unit Cohesion On Posttraumatic Growth In Active Duty Service Members, John Charleson

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Active duty service members are regularly exposed to highly traumatic events. Commonly, individuals exposed to trauma experience positive changes as a result of the trauma they experienced. The likelihood of these changes occurring can be positively or negatively influenced by characteristics of the event itself, the biopsychosocial history of the service member, and the availability of internal and external coping resources. The present study aimed to evaluate how threat to life during a traumatic event influences posttraumatic growth using a sample of active duty service members (N = 818). Participant’s ranged in age from 19 to 54 (M …

Examining Successful Aging And Resilience After Disasters, Katie Elizabeth Stanko

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Resilience, a psychological adaptive process and outcome, is the ability to return to normal functioning after a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster. Successful aging entails biological, psychological, and social factors. The Great Flood of 2016 in the greater Baton Rouge area caused catastrophic structural damage to thousands of homes and businesses. Some of these individuals had previously moved to the Baton Rouge area after receiving catastrophic damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In this study, I investigated the role that age group (younger, middle-aged, older) and disaster exposure group (control, single exposure, double exposure) had on post-disaster well-being. …

Basal Ganglia Involvement In The Playfulness Of Juvenile Rats, Stephen M. Siviy

Psychology Faculty Publications

Play is an important part of normal childhood development and can be readily studied in the laboratory rat in the form of rough‐and‐tumble play. Given the robust nature of rough‐and‐tumble play, it has often been assumed that the basal ganglia would have a prominent role in modulating this behavior. Recent work using c‐fos expression as a metabolic marker for neural activity combined with temporary inactivation of relevant corticostriatal regions and pharmacological manipulations of opioid, cannabinoid, and dopamine systems has led to a better understanding of how basal ganglia circuitry may be involved in modulating social play in the juvenile rat. …

Disentangling The Impact Of Poor Sleep From Depressive Symptoms On Emotion Regulation, Kimberly O'Leary

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Depressive symptoms and sleep are both strongly associated with deficits in emotional functioning (Durmer & Dinges, 2005; van der Helm & Walker, 2010). Although sleep and depression are tightly intertwined, understanding their independent and conjoint impact on emotional functioning is imperative. Given the limitations of previous designs, the primary goal of this study was to examine the separate impact of poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms on emotion regulation. In order to accomplish this goal, we preselected groups on the basis of their sleep and depression profiles: individuals with mainly sleep problems (N = 30), individuals with mainly depressive symptoms …

The Roles Of Pragmatic Language And Theory Of Mind In The Adaptive Communication Skills Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Taja Estrada

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit marked social communication impairments. Research suggests that these deficits often lead to delays in adaptive behavior, such as adaptive communication. In this study, I examined the roles of two social constructs, pragmatic language and theory of mind (ToM), in the adaptive communication abilities of young children with and without ASD. Thirteen children with ASD (31% female; M age = 58.08 months) and 24 children with typical development (58% female; M age = 52.42 months) between the ages of 3:0 and 6:5 were assessed. Adaptive communication was measured by the Functional Communication subscale of …

Neuro-Correlates Of Word Processing Among Four-And-Five-Year-Old Children From Homes Varying In Socio-Economic Status, Wendy Olsen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A large body of research relates families’ socioeconomic status (SES) to child language development (Hoff & Tian, 2005). Results from these studies indicate preschoolers from low SES backgrounds may have underdeveloped linguistic foundations required for future academic success (Sirin, 2005; Lacouri & Tissington, 2011). These differences have been said to create a 30 million word-gap between the language experiences of low and middle to high SES children by the age of 3 years. Thus, children who come from lower SES backgrounds often lack the vocabulary knowledge used in school and in textbooks (Hart & Risley, 1995). One index of SES …

Aesthetic Perception Of Urban Spaces: New York, Timur Pozhidaev

Theses and Dissertations

Aesthetic perception is an important field of interest in many aspects of everyday human life. It affects individual and social unconscious behavior and is strongly related to the decision-making processes in the human mind. The current study can serve as an important prototype for planning purposes and social and environmental justice among the regional units of New York City. With the current scientific sphere lacking a comprehensive methodology for assessing social superstructure, an aesthetic framework has the potential for success in evaluating the aspects of sustainable and resilient urban development.

Clearing The Muddy Waters: Is Lack Of Motivational Interviewing Quality Accounting For Mixed Findings And Can Measuring Fidelity Help?, Lauren N. Rowell

Psychology ETDs

ABSTRACT

Objective: The SMART ED study was a randomized, controlled trial of 3 brief interventions in ER settings targeting high-risk substance use. Findings in the main study indicated that there was no difference in outcomes for groups receiving minimal, rather than more extensive, behavioral interventions. This secondary analysis investigated the quality of (MI) sessions in the SMART ED study to examine the hypothesis that better quality of MI would be associated with improved client outcomes.

Method: The Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Code (MITI 3.0) was used to evaluate 388 sessions, yielding indicators of MI Quality including Overall Spirit (MI Spirit), …

Factors Associated With Return To A Child Advocacy Center For A Subsequent Sexual Abuse Allegation: A Longitudinal Analysis, Jessica Pogue

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Child sexual abuse is a widespread problem impacting substantial numbers of youth (Finkelhor, Shattuck, Turner, & Hamby, 2014). There are many factors that make telling someone about sexual abuse difficult for children, which can mean disclosures are delayed and children are at-risk longer. After initial victimization, there is increased risk for children to experience subsequent sexual abuse victimization (Pittenger, Pogue, & Hansen, 2018). Using the framework of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, the present study examined predictors to distinguish children who are at the highest risk of returning to a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) for a subsequent sexual abuse referral. It also …

Treatment Considerations For Adoption-Related Complex Trauma, Jessica Reyka

Dissertations

The western culture holds many assumptions related to adoption; however, it is clear based on the research provided that adoption and the circumstances leading up to being adopted often leave the child traumatized. Many adopted individuals and adoptive families seek mental health services in order to help address some of the symptoms that have manifested through traumatic events. However, the services they are receiving are reportedly lacking in basic knowledge related to adoption and have, at times, done more harm than good. As clinicians, it is important to acknowledge one's scope of clinical competence and to only treat individuals that …

Understanding Trauma And Victimization In Women's Incarceration: California's Treatment Response, Marissa Tuttle-Roache

Social Sciences

The purpose of this review is to provide an exploration of past research on women's pathways to incarceration, specifically discussing how this problem affects California women. Using research from various case studies, both quantitative and qualitative, this review examines the correlation between life experiences and incarceration for women. California laws and policies that mitigate the impact incarceration has historically had on women will be discussed. This research provides a better understanding of the treatment needs of incarcerated women and the programs that could provide them with some positive resources to succeed post incarceration and avoid recidivism.

The Roles Of Parents In Shaping Fathering Across Generations In Cebu, Philippines, Lee T. Gettler, Patty X. Kuo, Abet Bas, Judith B. Borja

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: This study examined how parental caregiving and parent–child closeness are associated with future fathering among 335 Filipino men who are participants in a long-running birth cohort study.

Background Few studies have multidecade longitudinal data to test the pathways through which parenting is transmitted across generations, with most relevant research conducted in the United States, Europe, and other similar settings. The roles of mothers and fathers in shaping their sons’ future parenting is particularly understudied despite fathers having the potential to positively influence child health and development.

Method: Participants’ mothers (Generation 1 [G1]) reported on caregiving during Generation 2 (G2) …

Engaging In Self-Care: Do Mental Health Care Providers Practice What They Preach?, Nancy L. Lashley

Dissertations

Self-care has been identified as a critical protective factor against the adverse effects of career-related stress among mental health care professionals. The need for utilization of adequate self-care practices among mental health care professionals remains critical with the number of mental health care professionals endorsing clinically significant levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations. Research has identified the need and importance of self-care among mental health care providers as well as the adverse consequences of inadequate self-care. This literature review examined the methods and strategies mental health care providers are using to engage in self-care including complementary and alternative methods. …

I Want To Be Busy: Instrumental Regulation Of Busyness Among Conscientious Individuals, Brandon Koh

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

A sense of busyness, the subjective feeling of having a long and effortful work schedule, is increasingly prevalent in today’s societies. Although people commonly feel busy because of externally imposed work pressures, the motivated self-regulation perspective suggests that people might intentionally put themselves in a busy state for instrumental reasons. Grounded in the instrumental emotion regulation framework, this research theorizes that people instrumentally regulate themselves to experience busyness – a negative affect – to facilitate a performance motive. In other words, people might desire to feel busyness despite its unpleasant hedonic tone in order to attain higher performance. Results from …

Protective Factors Of Academic Resiliency, Guadalupe Valdivia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Numerous studies had explored wide-ranging effects of childhood adversity. Yet, there is no known study that explores the impact of non-parental relationships (NPR) formed during the participation in out-of-school youth activities (OSYA), and future orientation (FO) on academic resiliency (AR) among people with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). This study moved away from the deficit perspective and focused on the strengths of individuals rather than weaknesses. The study examined the impact of protective factors of OSYA, NPR, and FO using the Michael Ungar’s (2011) Socio-Ecological Model of Resiliency to better understand their role on AR among university students with ACEs. A …

Exploring Genetic Biomarkers In A Sample Of Depressed Patients In The Uae, Nailah Mahmood

Psychology Theses

This study focuses on exploring the expression of genes associated with depressive and anxiety disorders (AD) among depressed individuals. Anxiety and depression are well known to co-occur with each other. Growing research in the field of genetics has indicated moderate familial aggregation for these disorders. The aim of this study is to analyze gene expression among a depressed population residing in the UAE. The genes were chosen to be studied (PPARGC1A, CAMKMT, HSD11B1, SLC6A4, and MAOA) have previously been linked to depression and anxiety in other populations. The study employed a case-control design, where gene …