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Effects Of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction On Anxiety & Depression In Primary Care Patients, Elizabeth Mccallion

Psychology ETDs

The objective of this study was to examine effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the ability to decrease anxiety and depression and increase mindfulness compared to cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM). Thirty-five subjects were recruited from a community healthcare center and took part in MBSR (n = 21) and CBSM (n =14) groups. There were no initial differences between MBSR and CBSM subjects on demographics including age, gender, education, and income. MBSR was an 8-week course using meditation, gentle yoga, and body scanning exercises to increase mindfulness. CBSM was an 8-week course using cognitive and behavioral techniques to change thinking …

Quantitative Genetics Of Response To Novelty And Other Stimuli By Infant Rhesus Macaques (Macaca Mulatta) Across Three Behavioral Assessments, G. L. Fawcett, A. M. Dettmer, D. Kay, M. Raveendran, James Dee Higley, N. D. Ryan, J. L. Cameron, J. Rogers

Faculty Publications

Primate behavior is influenced by both heritable factors and environmental experience during development. Previous studies of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) examined the effects of genetic variation on expressed behavior and related neurobiological traits (heritability and/or genetic association) using a variety of study designs. Most of these prior studies examined genetic effects on the behavior of adults or adolescent rhesus macaques, not in young macaques early in development. To assess environmental and additive genetic variation in behavioral reactivity and response to novelty among infants, we investigated a range of behavioral traits in a large number (N = 428) of pedigreed infants …

Corticosterone Administration Up-Regulated Expression Of Norepinephrine Transporter And Dopamine Β-Hydroxylase In Rat Locus Coeruleus And Its Terminal Regions, Yan Fan, Ping Ping Chen, Ying Li, Kui Cui, Daniel M. Noel, Elizabeth D. Cummins, Daniel J. Peterson, Russell W. Brown, Meng-Yang Zhu

ETSU Faculty Works

Stress has been reported to activate the locus coeruleus (LC)-noradrenergic system. In this study, corticosterone (CORT) was orally administrated to rats for 21 days to mimic stress status. In situ hybridization measurements showed that CORT ingestion significantly increased mRNA levels of norepinephrine transporter (NET) and dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) in the LC region. Immunofluorescence staining and western blotting revealed that CORT treatment also increased protein levels of NET and DBH in the LC, as well as NET protein levels in the hippocampus, the frontal cortex and the amygdala. However, CORT-induced increase in DBH protein levels only appeared in the hippocampus and …

Changing Attention To Emotion: A Biobehavioral Study Of Attention Bias Modification Using Event-Related Potentials, Laura O'Toole

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anxiety is characterized by an attentional bias toward threat; that is, anxious individuals will preferentially attend to threatening versus non-threatening information. Recent research has demonstrated that reducing this bias, through attention bias modification (ABMT), leads to reductions in anxious symptoms and stress reactivity. Although these effects are promising for the development of an alternative intervention for anxiety, little is known about the attentional processes underlying ABMT effects. The present research used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the neurocognitive attentional processes altered by ABMT over the course of three studies. In Study 1, non-anxious participants were trained towards and away from …

Inter-Religious Relationships And Anxiety In The Regulation Of Automatic Inter-Religious Prejudice, Karla J. Felix

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Shared reality theory predicts and evidence suggests that inter-religious relationships are motivated to maintain or regulate interpersonal interactions with others. However, this motivation has been given little attention within the automatic attitude literature. This research is centered on the idea that automatic prejudice is moderated by two fundamental themes, shared reality and anxiety. These themes are reviewed to determine the degree to which participants socially tune to ingroup versus outgroup religious experimenters. In Experiment 1, automatic inter-religious attitudes toward Christian and Jewish experimenters were assessed via a subliminal prime procedure. Religious orientation (extrinsic, intrinsic) and regulation of inter-religious relationships were …

Acts Of Belonging: Perceptions Of Citizenship Among Queer Turkish Women In Germany, Ilgin Yorukoglu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines how people who have multiple identifications develop a sense of belonging. It focuses on those with politicized, romanticized, and stigmatized identifications which are assumed to be in conflict with one another. My particular case is that of "queer" women of Turkish descent in Germany with Berlin as my main study site.

These people embody what is considered to be an oxymoron: being queer yet also Turkish, being a lesbian yet having a Muslim background, being of immigrant origin yet also German. In short, they are between all worlds and thus, seemingly, do not belong anywhere. Their ambiguous …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Bidirectional Relations Between Internalizing Symptoms And Peer Victimization In Urban Adolescents, Tess Drazdowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional relations between anxious and depressive symptoms and two forms of peer victimization (i.e., overt and relational) within a sample of 358 predominantly African-American adolescents living in low-income urban areas across four years. Longitudinal path analyses tested progressively complex models for each type of victimization. For both overt and relational victimization the autoregressive model where only previous levels of each construct predicted future levels of the construct was the most parsimonious explanation. The best fitting model for both types of peer victimization suggested that internalizing symptoms helped to further explain future …

Measurement Issues With Couple-And Family-Level Data, Dean M. Busby, Franklin O. Poulsen

Faculty Publications

Early in my (D.B.) training as a family therapist, I did some co-therapy with a clinical psychology student who wanted to learn how to work with couples. The couple we were working with was quite volatile, and it was not uncommon for the dialogue between the spouses to get heated. While it was challenging enough to keep the interactions between the partners moving in a productive direction, my co-therapist was quite uncomfortable with conflict and would emotionally "check out" of the session as soon as things became intense. Each time a session was challenging and conflict became intense, my co-therapist …

Complex Mental Health Sequelae Of Psychological Trauma Among Women In Prenatal Care, Julian D. Ford

UCHC Articles - Research

Pregnancy is a critical time to identify and address maternal mental health problems, for the health of both mother and child. Pregnant women with histories of exposure to interpersonal psychological trauma may experience a range of mental health problems including but not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a community sample of 1,581 pregnant women, 25% reported symptoms consistent with at least one of six syndromes, including PTSD, major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), or clinically significant dissociation, somatization, or affect dysregulation. Six sub-groups with distinct mental health problem profiles were identified by cluster analysis. Controlling for …

Chronic Behavioral And Cognitive Deficits In A Rat Survival Model Of Paraoxon Toxicity, Laxmikant Sudhir Deshpande, Kristin Phillips, Beverly Huang, Robert J. Delorenzo

Neurology Publications

Organophosphate (OP) compounds, including paraoxon (POX), are similar to nerve agents such as sarin. There is a growing concern that OP agents could be weaponized to cause mass civilian causalities. We have developed a rodent survival model of POX toxicity that is being used to evaluate chronic morbidity and to screen for medical countermeasures against severe OP exposure. It is well known that the survivors of nerve gas and chronic OP exposure exhibit neurobehavioral deficits such as mood changes, depression, and memory impairments. In this study we investigated whether animals surviving severe POX exposure exhibited long-term neurological impairments. POX exposure …

Excess Risk Of Chronic Physical Conditions Associated With Depression And Anxiety, Rituparna Bhattacharya, Chan Shen, Usha Sambamoorthi

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

Depression and anxiety have been reported to be associated with chronic physical conditions. We examined the excess risk of chronic physical conditions associated with depression and/or anxiety within a multivariate framework controlling for demographic and modifiable lifestyle risk factors.

Methods

We used a retrospective cross-sectional study design. Study participants were adults aged 22–64 years from 2007 and 2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. We defined presence of depression-anxiety based on self-reported depression and anxiety and classified adults into 4 groups: 1) depression only; 2) anxiety only; 3) comorbid depression and anxiety 4) no depression and no anxiety. We included presence/absence …

Intranasal Neuropeptide Y Reverses Anxiety And Depressive-Like Behavior Impaired By Single Prolonged Stress Ptsd Model, L I. Serova, M Laukova, L G. Alaluf, L Pucillo, E L. Sabban

NYMC Faculty Publications

PTSD is a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder and many patients do not respond sufficiently to current treatments. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is suggested to provide resilience to the development of PTSD and co-morbid depression. Injections of NPY to the rodent brain are anxiolytic. Recently we showed that intranasal delivery of NPY to rats before or immediately after exposure to single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model of PTSD prevented development of many biochemical and behavioral symptoms of PTSD, indicating its prophylactic potential. Here, we investigated whether intranasal NPY might provide benefits once symptoms have already developed. One week after exposure to SPS stressors, …

A Young Child's Anxiety And Math Performance: Enhancing Cognitive Behavioral Intervention With Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, Kirsten L. Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Partnering with families, school personnel, and community resources is an important step to supporting the child and family, especially when children might suffer from debilitating anxiety concerns. However, little research examines the impact of anxiety on math performance for young children participating in school-based interventions enhanced by family components. The following research questions were addressed in the study: 1a) Will a young child with elevated levels of anxiety show a decrease in anxiety symptoms with a Cognitive Behavioral framework intervention program for children? 1b) Will anxiety be reduced with the addition of a Conjoint Behavioral Consultation with the family and …

Polish Version Of The Cognitive Distortions Scale (Cds): Preliminary Validation And Personality Correlates, Tomasz Besta, Agata Barczak, Aleksandra Lewandowska-Walter, David J. A. Dozois

Psychology Publications

Background
The aim of the two research studies presented in this article was to test the reliability and validity of the Polish version of the Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS). The relation of the CDS to psychological measures of well-being and other theoretically relevant variables was also explored.

Participants and procedure
Two correlational studies were conducted with psychology undergraduate students and their family members (n = 196 and n = 90, respectively). Participants completed a paper-pencil set of questionnaires that contained measures of cognitive errors (study 1) and scales related to perceived quality of life and psychological well-being (study 2).

Results …

A Support Group Proposal For Women Seeking Fertility Treatment, Emily Jazdzewski

Theses and Graduate Projects

lnfertility is the inability to conceive a pregnancy. Not being able to conceive or carry a child is a devastating reality for many women. Infertility causes both physical and emotional stress that can make it difficult to cope. A literature search revealed the need for a support group for fertility patients to share their journey to decrease the incidence of depression and anxiety. A proposal to develop a support group supported by a Reproductive Endocrinology Department will be explored. The proposal will describe benefits of a support group, integrating cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation and Mindfulness techniques to promote self-soothing …

Evaluating The Psychometric Soundness Of Bostick's Library Anxiety Scale Among Medical Students In A Malaysian Public University, Abdul Karim Noor Harun, Nik Shamsuddin Nik Nur Asilah

Archival Material (2010s)

The study was about exploring the phenomenon of library anxiety among medical students and examines various antecedents that may contribute towards increasing or decreasing level of library anxiety. Bostick's (1992} Library Anxiety Scale has been widely used to assess library anxiety among library users. The instrument was pre-tested and the reliability and validity of the scale was established. The 46-item modified version of Bostick's (1992} Library Anxiety Scale was tested among 104 students from a population of 354 undergraduate students. The instruments were administered during information skills sessions by copies handed directly to students. A 100% return rate was achieved …

Escaping From Lawyers' Prison Of Fear, John Lande

Faculty Publications

Lawyers regularly experience numerous fears endemic to their work. This is not surprising considering that lawyers generally operate in environments that frequently stimulate many fears. Lawyers’ fears can lead them to enhance their performance due to increased preparation and effective “thinking on their feet.” Fear is problematic when it is out of proportion to actual threats, is expressed inappropriately, or is chronically unaddressed effectively. It can lead to sub-optimal and counterproductive performance through paralysis, ritualized behavior, or inappropriate aggression. Some lawyers’ fears unnecessarily prevent them from performing well, producing good results for clients, earning more income, and experiencing greater satisfaction …

Exploring The Stressors Of New Librarians, Anne Larrivee

Library Scholarship

This article describes the different stressors and anxieties that can haunt new librarians. It also addresses the various ways that new librarians can cope with location, emotional and work-related stressors. The article is broken into four different categories of stress; some stressors have been more explored than others. The research is based on an extensive review of the literature and the writer’s own experience as a new librarian.

Understanding The Role Of Communication Anxiety/Uncertainty Management (Aum) Among Female Teenage Bloggers, Heather Carleston

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examines how and what female teenagers communicate through blogging; how they manage uncertainty and anxiety within their posts and/or comments; the role communication anxiety/uncertainty plays in self-presentation and self-disclosure for this population; and how, when faced with bullying, flaming and adverse responses, they express and manage anxiety and uncertainty online. Using both Buber’s (1970) I-It and I-Thou philosophy and Gudykunst’s (2005) Anxiety and Uncertainty Management theory, this study examined the blog sites of three female U.S. teenagers. Examining the five most recently published blog posts, the study analyzed the details and self-disclosure levels, from site design and development; …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Opinions About The Course On Scientific Research Methods And The Levels Of Knowledge And Skills They Gained In This Course, Cemal Tosun

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the basic knowledge and skills are attained within the scope of the course on Scientific Research Methods. In addition, the impact of the procedure, which is followed while implementing the course, on the students’ anxiety and attitude towards the course is examined. Besides, the study also tried to determine the pre-service teachers’ beliefs regarding their self-sufficiency in terms of doing a scientific research. The study was carried out the action research design as the basis. The sample of the study consisted of 27 pre-service teachers. They were in the third …

The Uncertainty Paradox: Perceived Threat Moderates The Impact Of Uncertainty On Political Tolerance, Ingrid J. Haas, William A. Cunningham

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

People respond to dissimilar political beliefs in a variety of ways, ranging from openness and acceptance to closed-mindedness and intolerance. While there is reason to believe that uncertainty may influence political tolerance, the direction of this influence remains unclear. We propose that threat moderates the effect of uncertainty on tolerance; when safe, uncertainty leads to greater tolerance, yet when threatened, uncertainty leads to reduced tolerance. Using independent manipulations of threat and uncertainty, we provide support for this hypothesis. This research demonstrates that, although feelings of threat and uncertainty can be independent, it is also important to understand their interaction.

Toward A Conceptualization Of Emetophobia: Examining Intolerance Of Uncertainty As A Unique Predictor Of Symptoms, Mimi Zhao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emetophobia, a poorly understood disorder, is a specific phobia characterized by an irrational and persistent fear of oneself vomiting or others vomiting. Though research on the disorder is sparse, previous investigations have reported interference in social, occupational, and health domains in the lives of individuals with emetophobia (Lipsitz et al., 2001; McFayden & Wyness, 1983; Veale & Lambrou, 2006). To this end, the current study examined whether individual differences in Anxiety Sensitivity (AS), Disgust Sensitivity (DS), and Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) are associated with symptoms of emetophobia, whether AS predicts symptoms of emetophobia above and beyond DS, IU, and expected …

A Study Of Self-Efficacy In A Group Of Hmong Refugees, Mai M. Yang

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Social cognitive theorist Albert Bandura defined resilience as the ability to organize thoughts and actions to manage prospective and unknown situations. He called it the theory of perceived self-efficacy (Bandura, 2010). The tool used to measure this construct is called the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), which assesses a broad stable sense of an individual's personal competence to efficiently deal with a variety of stressful situations. Previous research suggested that due to its positive association with mental health and well being, the GSES and theory of self-efficacy are worthy of further examination in refugees (Sulaiman-Hill and Thompson, 2011). This study examines …

Great Expectations: How Are Couples Influenced By Threatening Information Prior To A Pain Task?, Angelia Marie Corley

Wayne State University Theses

The present study examines the effects of a threat manipulation on romantic partners, in which one partner is about to undergo a painful task. Couples were randomly assigned to high and low threat manipulation groups, designed to alter one's anxiety or fear about the task. The study broadened the theoretical model, the Fear Avoidance Model, to the incorporate the social context and derived hypotheses regarding the role of one's romantic partner in the present paradigm. Results demonstrated preliminary evidence that a romantic partner may reduce one's anxiety about a painful task. Additionally, satisfaction with a conversation with a intimate partner …

Evaluation Of The Psychometric Properties Of Two Short Forms Of The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale And The Social Phobia Scale, Allura L. Le Blanc, Laura C. Bruce, Richard G. Heimberg, Debra A. Hope, Carlos Blanco, Franklin R. Schneier, Michael R. Liebowitz

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale are widely used measures of social anxiety. Using data from individuals with social anxiety disorder (n = 435) and nonanxious controls (n = 86), we assessed the psychometric properties of two independently developed short forms of these scales. Indices of convergent and discriminant validity, diagnostic specificity, sensitivity to treatment, and readability were examined. Comparisons of the two sets of short forms to each other and the original long forms were conducted. Both sets of scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency in the patient sample, showed expected patterns of correlation with measures of …

Challenge Accepted: Self-Enhancement Through The Pursuit Of Difficulty, Julie Anne Steinke

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Individual resilience is popular topic whereby researchers attempt to identify characteristics of individuals who react positively to stress. However, such research uses a reactionary approach, attempting to characterize successful individuals after they experience adversity and does not explain why some individuals proactively seek out challenging circumstances. Pursuing challenge is a new construct that explains why individuals proactively increase stress as a strategic mechanism for developmental purposes. I developed and validated a measurement tool for pursuing challenge in multiple studies. Additionally, I explored relationships between pursuing challenge and similar constructs (e.g., grit, proactive personality, and self-efficacy), as well as the extent …

A Little Goes A Long Way: Pressure For College Students To Succeed, Jennifer R. Davis

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

When college students begin college they experience pressure from multiple sources. For example, they experience pressure from their parents to succeed, from their professors, and pressure from themselves to do well in classes. This pressure could lead to high anxiety and possibly even poor performance in classes. Prior research that has examined the impact of anxiety on performance includes the Yerkes-Dodson law and the Processing Efficiency Theory. Both argue that anxiety increases the performance to a point, but then performance decreases again with too much pressure. The Processing Efficiency Theory also includes motivation. This motivation increases the drive to succeed …

Troubles Psychiatriques Chez Les Patients Soumis À Une Évaluation Relative À L’Asthme Professionnel : Prévalence Et Impact Sur La Situation D’Emploi Et L’Utilisation Des Services De Santé, Kim L. Lavoie, Maryann Joseph, Hélène Favreau, Manon Labrecque, André Cartier, Catherine Lemière, Jean-Luc Malo, Denyse Gautrin, Blaine Ditto, Simon L. Bacon

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Click here for the English version of this report

Contexte : L’asthme professionnel (AP) est un important problème de santé au travail qui a un impact tant sur le secteur de l’emploi que sur les ressources en santé et l’individu lui-même. Entre 10 % et 30 % des asthmatiques qui le sont devenus à l’âge adulte mentionnent que leur asthme s’aggrave au travail et qu’il est souvent difficile à diagnostiquer et à traiter. La majorité (environ 70 %) des patients référés pour une évaluation relative à l’AP ne reçoivent pas un diagnostic d’AP, et jusqu’à 30 % d’entre eux ne …

Psychiatric Disorders Among Patients Under Investigation For Occupational Asthma: Prevalence And Impact On Employment Status And Health Service Use, Kim L. Lavoie, Maryann Joseph, Hélène Favreau, Manon Labrecque, André Cartier, Catherine Lemière, Jean-Luc Malo, Denyse Gautrin, Blaine Ditto, Simon L. Bacon

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Cliquez ici pour la version française de ce rapport

Contexte : L’asthme professionnel (AP) est un important problème de santé au travail qui a un impact tant sur le secteur de l’emploi que sur les ressources en santé et l’individu lui-même. Entre 10 % et 30 % des asthmatiques qui le sont devenus à l’âge adulte mentionnent que leur asthme s’aggrave au travail et qu’il est souvent difficile à diagnostiquer et à traiter. La majorité (environ 70 %) des patients référés pour une évaluation relative à l’AP ne reçoivent pas un diagnostic d’AP, et jusqu’à 30 % d’entre eux ne …

Anomie: Concept, Theory, Research Promise, Max Coleman

Honors Papers

The term anomie has declined in the sociology literature. Apart from brief mentions, it has not featured in the American Sociological Review for sixteen years. Moreover, the term has narrowed and is now used almost exclusively to discuss deviance. This project explores Durkheim's original use of the term, and whether modifications of his work--by Merton, Parsons, and others--are useful or muddling. We also present critiques of the term, evaluating them in light of Durkheim's intentions. Possible explanations for the decline of anomie theory are given, including academic explanations (e.g., classical sociology was replaced by newer theories like symbolic interactionism) and …