Digital Commons Network^™

Utilizing Act Daily As A Self-Guided App For Clients Waiting For Services At A College Counseling Center: A Pilot Study, Jack Haegar, Carter H. Davis, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: Considering increasing demands for mental health services at college counseling centers (CCCs), there is a need for cost-effective solutions that avoid depleting stressed CCC resources. This study examined if ACT Daily, a mobile application based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), could serve as an effective self-guided intervention.

Participants: 11 individuals on a CCC waitlist suffering from anxiety/depression participated in the study over 2 weeks.

Methods: This study implemented a pre-post, open trial design of ACT Daily. Assessments were completed at baseline and 2-week post assessment.

Results: Results indicated that ACT Daily was acceptable and that participants improved on …

Examining Processes Of Change In An Online Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Dismantling Trial With Distressed College Students, Michael E. Levin, Jennifer Krafft, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

This secondary analysis examined the processes of change from a randomized dismantling trial evaluating the Open (i.e., cognitive defusion, acceptance) and Engaged (i.e., values, committed action) components of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Analyses were conducted with 161 distressed college students randomly assigned to a full online ACT program (Full n=40), online ACT targeting the Open components (Open n=41) or targeting the Engaged components (Engaged n=39), or a waitlist condition (Waitlist n=41). The intervention occurred over six weeks followed by a post-treatment assessment with mental health symptoms as the primary outcome. Consistent with predictions, pre- to …

A Randomized Trial Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy And Traditional Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Self-Help Books For Social Anxiety, Jennifer Krafft, Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Self-help resources such as books may help meet critical mental health needs in college students, but there is insufficient evidence on whether and how such books work. This randomized trial compared acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and traditional cognitive behavior therapy (tCBT) self-help books for social anxiety, a common concern with notable barriers to treatment seeking.

Methods: A sample of college students (n = 102) with social anxiety was randomly assigned to use one of the two self-help books over eight weeks.

Results: Improvements were observed in both conditions across all outcomes (social anxiety, general well-being, and social …

A Psychometric Comparison Of Psychological Inflexibility Measures: Discriminant Validity And Item Performance, Clarissa W. Ong, Benjamin G. Pierce, Julie M. Petersen, Jennifer L. Barney, Jeremiah E. Fruge, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Psychological inflexibility is a rigid behavioral pattern that interferes with engagement in personally meaningful activities; it is the hypothesized root of suffering in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Thus, the quality of its measurement affects the research, theory, and practice of ACT. The current study aimed to evaluate the discriminant validity and item performance of four measures of psychological inflexibility: the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire—II (AAQ-II), a revised version of the AAC-II (AAQ-3), the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ), and the Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes (CompACT). We analyzed data from community (n = 253), student …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Neurological Functioning, Julie M. Petersen, Clarissa W. Ong, Allison S. Hancock, Ronald B. Gillam, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Clinical perfectionism is the rigid pursuit of high standards, interfering with functioning. Little research has explored neural patterns in clinical perfectionism. The present study explores neural correlates of clinical perfectionism, before and after receiving ten 50-minute, weekly sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), as compared to low-perfectionist controls, in specific cortical structures: the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), right inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Participants in the perfectionist condition (n = 43) were from a randomized controlled trial evaluating ACT for clinical perfectionism and low-perfectionist controls were undergraduate students (n = 12). Participants completed three tasks (editing …

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Effect Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy On Neural Activation In Clinical Perfectionism, Clarissa W. Ong, Allison S. Hancock, Tyson S. Barrett, Eric B. Lee, Nicholas Wan, Ronald B. Gillam, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Clinical perfectionism is associated with various cognitive processes including performance monitoring and emotion regulation. This exploratory study analyzed neurological data from a randomized controlled trial for clinical perfectionism that compared acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to a waitlist control. The objective was to assess the effect of ACT on neural activation. Twenty-nine participants underwent a functional near-infrared spectroscopy assessment during which they completed behavioral tasks designed to elicit error detection and error generation at pre- and posttreatment. The hemodynamic response function (HRF) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and right inferior parietal lobe was analyzed using mixed effects …

The Empirical Status Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy: A Review Of Meta-Analyses, Andrew T. Gloster, Noemi Walder, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig, Maria Karekla

Psychology Faculty Publications

The efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been evaluated in many randomized controlled trials investigating a broad range of target conditions. This paper reviews the meta-analytic evidence on ACT. The 20 included meta-analyses reported 100 controlled effect sizes across n = 12,477 participants. Controlled effect sizes were grouped by target conditions and comparison group. Results showed that ACT is efficacious for all conditions examined, including anxiety, depression, substance use, pain, and transdiagnostic groups. Results also showed that ACT was generally superior to inactive controls (e.g. waitlist, placebo), treatment as usual, and most active intervention conditions (excluding CBT). Weaknesses …

A Geostatistical Study Of Socioeconomic Status (Ses), Rurality, Seasonality And Index Test Results As Drivers Of Free Private Groundwater Testing In Southern Ontario, 2012–2016, Shahryar Qayyum, Paul Hynds, Harriet Richardson, Kevin Mcdermott, Anna Majury

Articles

Approximately 12% of the Canadian population uses private wells for daily water consumption; however, well water testing rates are on the decline, resulting in an increased risk of waterborne acute gastrointestinal illness. To date, limited research has explored the determinants influencing well testing practices. Accordingly, the current study sought to investigate the drivers of “one-off” and repeat well water testing in southern Ontario during the 5-year period 2012–2016, using the worlds largest private groundwater testing data-frame. Data from >400,000 wells were geospatially integrated with all tests conducted by the provincial laboratory in southern Ontario. The Ontario Marginalization Index (ON-Marg) was …

An Exploratory Study Of Accomplished Librarian-Researchers, Marie Kennedy, Kristine R. Brancolini, David P. Kennedy

Librarian Publications & Presentations

Objective – This work explores potential factors that may contribute to a librarian becoming a highly productive researcher. An understanding of the factors can provide evidence based guidance to those at the beginning of their research careers in designing their own trajectories and to library administrators who seek to create work conditions that contribute to librarian research productivity. The current study is the first to explore the factors from the perspective of the profession’s most accomplished librarian-researchers.

Methods – This exploratory and descriptive study recruited 78 academic librarians identified as highly productive researchers; 46 librarians participated in a survey about …

Aviation Education Impacts On Cockpit Culture Of Chinese Student Pilots, Xiaoyu Wu, Yujia Liu, Terrence Kelly

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The safety of the aviation industry heavily depends on the performance of pilots. A pilot with a good cockpit culture improves safety performance. However, a lack of understanding of how a well-established aviation program impacts student pilots’ cockpit culture regarding power distance, masculinity, individualism, and uncertainty avoidance. This study aimed to investigate the training effect on Chinese student perceptions regarding power distance, masculinity, individualism, and uncertainty avoidance, and its related variables. The study collected 726 Chinese student pilots and analyzed their cockpit culture based on the survey data. The study examined the academic tenure influences on cockpit culture variables within …

Social Science Considerations For Integrating Aviation Technology, Emergency Services, And Human Resilience, Chelsea A. Lenoble, Joel M. Billings, Janel M. Ingraham, Ray H. Chang, Allison A. Kwesell

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have a range of innovative applications within the field of disaster management, underscoring the potential to enhance human security by integrating UAS across phases of disasters. This paper highlights important social science challenges that must be addressed to ensure the effective integration of UAS, the complex team of teams that respond to disasters, and the populations affected by disasters. Expanding upon points of intersection between UAS capabilities and disaster management identified in recent research, UAS uses in disaster management and corresponding psychosocial considerations are discussed. Broadly, these considerations focus on the training and development of the …

Comics-Based Literary Trails: The Case Of Tintin And The Saint-Nazaire Landmarks, Simon Bréus

Plymouth Business School Theses

This thesis aims to assess whether Hall et al.’s Circuit of Culture theory and pattern are applicable to a cultural object such as a literary trail based on a comic book. The case under study is a literary trail inspired by the comic book character of Tintin in the city of Saint-Nazaire, France. It uses the prescribed holistic approach while relying on interviews and hard data collected from local sources to the trail as material for analysis. Two main interviews were conducted with the founder of the trail and president of the association Les 7 Soleils, which helped provide an …

Aware I Am Alone: Intersections Of Solitude And Mindfulness, Richard Cleveland

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

This paper explores the relationship between solitude and mindfulness. Parallels between the two constructs exist, allowing them to complement each other in furthering the well-being of individuals and communities. Three perspectives through which mindfulness may assist in forming foundational understandings of solitude are presented; these comprise Theoretical, Practice, and Research. The Theoretical lens provides introductory understandings of both solitude and mindfulness. On this basis, integral parallels between the two constructs are outlined. Next, Practice reviews solitude that is fostered through mindfulness practices. Further, additional models for recognizing solitude as a part of mindfulness are proposed. Finally, Research …

Book Review Of Disrupting The Status Quo Of Senior Living: A Mindshift By Jill Vitale-Aussem, Martha J. Giles

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Book Review of Disrupting the Status Quo of Senior Living: A Mindshift by Jill Vitale-Aussem, Health Professions Press, 2019, ISBN 978-1938870828, 216 pages.

Secondary Trauma Of Lay Mental Health Workers In Low Resource Locations: Bukavu, Janny Jinor

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

A general consensus exists in the literature that working with a trauma population will produce negative personal, psychological, and professional consequences including secondary trauma. However, a significant research gap occurs with regard to how secondary trauma affects psychosocial assistants (PAs) who work in low-resource and conflict-stricken Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC is plagued by psychological problems resulting from numerous past and ongoing conflicts, but sufficient trained mental health personnel and resources are lacking. As a result, the dire responsibility of providing mental health services to survivors of rape has shifted to minimally trained PAs. This …

Growth Of Pedagogical Practice In An Active Multidisciplinary Flc On Flipped Learning, Grace Onodipe, Michelle Robbins, Gwendoline Ayuninjam, Tashana Howse, Adrienne Cottrell-Yongye, Jayme Curry-Savage

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) have gained a lot of attention in higher education. Research has shown that they support student learning, faculty development, and congenial relations among faculty. This paper will shed light on a successful, multidisciplinary FLC comprised of nine faculty members who engaged in Flipped Classroom pedagogy over a two-year period. Guided by Cox’s (2015) recommendations, the FLC members sought to improve their students’ learning while at the same time enhance their instructional practice. Participation in the FLC led to (1) course redesign, (2) instructional redesign, (3) professional growth, and (4) a sense of community.

Dimensions Or Discrete Entities?: Cluster A Personality Disorders In A Psychometrically Identified Schizotypic Sample, Kaitlin M. Keister

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, mental health clinicians and researchers have debated over the classification of personality disorders (PDs). Although currently classified categorically, dimensional models have increased in popularity, and there have been several proposals to overhaul the classification of these disorders (cf. Livesley, Schroeder, Jackson, & Jang, 1994; McCrae, 1994; Widiger & Clark, 2000). Disagreements over PDs raise conflict for psychologists who assume normal personality to be dimensional, but recognize that some pathological personality disorders may be discrete entities (e.g., Haslam, 2003). Moreover, growing evidence suggests that some diagnostic constructs may be distributed as discrete latent classes rather than quantitative shifts in …

Evaluator Characteristics And Evaluation Procedures In The Assessment Of Competency For Execution, Kulynych Ryan Harr

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Under the legal standards established in Ford v. Wainwright (1986) and Panetti v. Quarterman (2007), a defendant must possess a factual and rational understanding of their impending execution and the reasons for it. When concerns about a defendants competency for execution (CFE) are raised, the defendant often undergoes a forensic mental health evaluation. Over the past several decades, there has been considerable debate about the involvement of mental health professionals in CFE evaluations, as well as how these types of evaluations should be conducted. However, there is a dearth of empirical research specific to CFE due to the low base …

Individual Differences In Resilience And Cardiovascular Reactivity, Megan Barclay

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood stress has been correlated with deleterious health outcomes and illnesses such as cardiovascular disease (Felitti et al., 1998; Su et al., 2014). The biopsychosocial model of health conceptualizes childhood development and identifies possible mechanisms of this relationship. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study found a significant relationship between the number of ACEs and heart disease (Felitti et al., 1998). As the number one killer in the United States, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is frequently addressed in the research literature (Garbers et al., 2018), with evidence suggesting a correlation among cardiovascular reactivity (i.e., blood pressure), and CVD (Brindle et al., 2016; …

Influence Of Child And Family Factors On Parent And Teacher Ratings Of Impairment, Amanda Korsmo

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several studies have evaluated child and family factors that impact informant ratings of ADHD symptoms, however few studies have examined factors that may impact ratings of ADHD-related impairment. The present study evaluated several child and family factors (i.e. age, gender, family income, ethnicity), to understand the possible influence these factors have on parent and teacher ratings of impairment. Based on a sample of 322 participants, parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms were found to be strongly correlated with ratings of ADHD-related impairment. In addition, child age and gender were found to be significantly correlated with ratings of impairment. Teachers …

2019-2020 Georgia Southern University Women's Rifle Roster, Georgia Southern University

Women's Rifle Records

• 2019-20 Women's Rifle Roster

2019-2020 Georgia Southern University Women's Rifle Statistics, Georgia Southern University

Women's Rifle Records

No abstract provided.

Professional Childminding In Ireland: Ecocultural Perspectives, Miriam O’Regan

Doctoral

The present study seeks to address the dearth of research focussed on childminding in Ireland, despite its significant role in national childcare provision. The overarching aims of this research are to interrogate the concept of professionalism and to explore the cultural models and praxis of childminders. The research has been conducted in an ecological theoretical framework: Ecocultural Theory (ECT) (Weisner 1993, 2002) predominantly, also referencing Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-Ecological Model (2006) and Attachment Theory. The history of childminding and current policy in Ireland, Europe and the USA are reviewed, including an overview of international research into childminding in the last 30 years. …

Remodeling Recovery : Understanding Social Conditioning And Communication During Adolescent Stages Of Development And How They Correlate With Substance Use Disorders, Douglas Stogner

Theses

This thesis uses a mix method research design to collect data from entry assessments and a survey administered to current residents of the His Way recovery center. The survey was also administered to a control group of participants that did not have substance use disorders (SUD). This study addresses the potential determinants that may be associated with SUD. The data from the entry assessment shows that the preference or drug of choice for clients in His Way recovery is consistent with compatible data collected in the United states. The results of the survey data suggest that people who suffer from …

An Implementation Of The Wireless Body Area Network Of Synchronized Inertial Sensors For Balance Testing, Harsha Ganegoda

Theses

In an aging society with increased lifespans, falls represent a serious risk for older adults. Balance is a key indicator of mobility, stability, and risk of falls. Wireless body area networks (WBAN) provide opportunity for unobtrusive monitoring and assessment of balance impairments and mobility. This thesis presents an implementation of WBAN system for monitoring of balance in older adults in smart homes. The system features two wireless inertial sensor nodes, a smart watch, an always-on home server, and an Android smartphone application. The sensors are placed on the user’s lower back and forehead. We designed and implemented custom smart inertial …

Influences Of Operator Characteristics On Monitoring Behavior And Performance In A Supervisory Control Task, Jacob R. Davis

Theses

This study examined the influences of trust in automation and working memory capacity (WMC) on inattentional blindness (IB) in a supervisory control task. Participants completed 160 trials of a simulated X-ray screening task. Participants visually searched images of baggage for hazardous items and chose whether to clear or search the baggage. Participants were assisted by an 80% reliable automated aid. Participants’ performance was worse on unreliable recommendation trials, indicating participants were biased to agree with the automation. When participants (58.33%) chose to clear the trial which featured the IB stimulus (a bomb), it was interpreted as IB. Results indicated WMC …

The Impact Of Cognitive Style, Affectivity, And Mental Toughness On Non-Clinical Symptoms Of Stress, Anxiety, And Depression In College Students, Cristina M. CabañAs Garcia

Theses

The current study aimed to determine whether cognitive style, positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and mental toughness (MT) were distinct but related constructs as well as to study the nature of the relationships between the three constructs, and their impact on non-clinical symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Participants completed a paper-pencil version of a measure that assessed cognitive style as well as three self-report questionnaires via Qualtrics that assessed positive and negative affect, individual’s MT, and symptoms of non-clinical depression, anxiety, and life stress. Results indicated that MT was positively related to PA and negatively related to NA. …

Testing The Forensic Confirmation Bias : Do Jailhouse Informants Contaminate Evidentiary Independence?, Baylee D. Jenkins

Theses

Research has shown that primary confessions influence forensic evidence examinations such as handwriting evidence. Additionally, previous research on secondary confessions from jailhouse informants has indicated that primary and secondary confessions are equally influential in jury decision making. The current study investigated the relationship between jailhouse informant statements and perceptions of forensic evidence. Participants read a case summary depicting a bank robbery along with confession evidence either from the suspect or a jailhouse informant before examining handwriting evidence. Result indicated that reliable jailhouse informant statements led participants to fall prey to the forensic confirmation bias. Jailhouse informant reliability significantly impacted perceptions …

An Exploration Of The Impact Of Clothing Match And Opportunity To View On Showup Performance, Alexis Marie Le Grand

Theses

Clothing bias occurs during a showup when the clothing worn by the suspect matches the clothing of the culprit during a crime. The present study investigated whether a clothing match enhanced identification performance at varying levels of culprit facial view. Witnesses watched a mock-crime video and then made an identification decision from a showup. The results indicated that a clothing match led to an increase in correct and false identifications of the suspect, regardless of facial view. However, the presence of a clothing match did not enhance discriminability. Additionally, there was not a match by facial view interaction. Furthermore, there …

Teasing Apart The Roles Of Fluency And Memory Beliefs In The Self-Regulated Learning Behaviors Of Visually-Impaired And Unimpaired Participants, Payne A. Winston-Lindeboom

Theses

Participants give higher judgments of learning to words presented in large font compared to those in small font despite memory performance not differing. One argument is large fonts seem more fluent than small. Another suggests participants have memory beliefs that large fonts will be more memorable. The present study sought to tease apart these arguments using vision impairment. We were also interested if self-regulated learning habits of these individuals differ. Both vision-impaired and unimpaired participants studied word pairs presented in both fonts. After studying the word pairs, participants were asked to select up to half of the word pairs they …