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Acute Stress Exposure And Expression Of Instrumentally Conditioned Financial Preferences: An Fmri Study, William Travis Mccuddy

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Recent research suggests acute stress exposure is associated with increased habit-based over goal-oriented decision making (e.g., Schwabe & Wolf, 2011). The current study examined whether acute stress promotes the expression of simple financial preferences “overtrained” to the point of habit in the face of a changing environment where said preferences were later rendered non-optimal. Over three days participants (N = 28) learned to discriminate between visual stimuli probabilistically associated with monetary gains or losses and made decisions between stimuli with real financial outcomes. On the fourth day after exposure to either an acute stressor or control procedure participants performed the …

Male Psychological Adaptation To Unsuccessful Medically Assisted Reproduction Treatments: A Systematic Review, Mariana Veloso Martins, Miguel Basto-Pereira, Juliana Pedro, Brennan Peterson, Vasco Almeida, Lone Schmidt, Maria Emília Costa

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

BACKGROUND Similarly to women, men suffer from engaging in fertility treatments, both physically and psychologically. Although there is a vast body of evidence on the emotional adjustment of women to infertility, there are no systematic reviews focusing on men's psychological adaptation to infertility and related treatments.

OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE The main research questions addressed in this review were ‘Does male psychological adaptation to unsuccessful medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatment vary over time?’ and ‘Which psychosocial variables act as protective or risk factors for psychological maladaptation?’

SEARCH METHODS A literature search was conducted from inception to September 2015 on five databases …

Moral Stress In Health Care Professionals, Maria Teresa De Jesus Alonso Castillo, Maria Magdalena Alonso-Castillo, Bertha Alicia Alonso Castillo, Nora Nelly Oliva Rodriguez, Karla Selene Lopez Garcia, Isidro Artemio Gamboa Cazares

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Session presented on Saturday, November 7, 2015 and Sunday, November 8, 2015:

Introduction: With the advent of modernity, today's world debates between what is objective and subjective, between the global and the individual. Achieving modernity in Mexican society, determines the presence of demographic and health transitions, characterized by the increase in infant (neonatal) mortality, aging of the population, the polarization of health problems, which are becoming more complex, resulting the vast majority in deep ethical dilemmas. Changes in the pattern of culture derived from modernity, characterize the individualistic society in less solidarity and more unequal. (Martinez, 2006; Rodriguez, 2009) The …

The Lived Experience Of Iraqi Nurses In Communities Impacted By War Or Terrorist Threat, Elizabeth J. Diener

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Session presented on Sunday, November 8, 2015:

Background: Over the last two decades Iraq has endured three international wars, 13 years of economic sanctions, dictatorship, foreign occupation, and acts of terrorism. For professional nurses practicing in Iraq, expectations have been that professional life continues "as usual;" caregivers are to function as if the stress of political unrest and personal insecurity does not have personal impact. Results of an extensive review of the literature review emphasize the lack of published research exploring the lived experiences of nurses living and practicing in communities that experience war and terrorist threat. These gaps make …

Listening To Student Voices: A Critical Study Of Homework, Michael Bates

LMU Theses and Dissertations

In a culture of meritocracy and an increasing emphasis on global competition, student learning has become more fully aligned with a belief in the value and effectiveness of homework. Amidst the incessant drive toward competition and an unrelenting push toward an increasing use of homework as commonplace educational practice, there also exist clarion calls to question, reform, and abolish this practice. From student stress to overarching challenges to the nature of education, there exist unexamined discourses that critically challenge current beliefs in the significance of homework practice in the United States. Through employing discussions of student voice and theoretical lenses …

The Relationship Between Bmi, And Depression, Anxiety And Stress Represented By The Physiologic Indicators Of Vagal Response And Blood Pressure, Rebecca Jo Helmreich

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI), and depression, anxiety and stress represented by the physiologic indicators of vagal response and blood pressure. Depression, anxiety and stress are precursors for numerous poor outcomes that may be associated with physiologic changes in the autonomic vagal response that often result in perinatal complications. However, it is unclear why some women experiencing adversity remain resilient and have positive perinatal outcomes in spite of an over-abundance of life circumstances. Individuals with attenuated response to life obstacles may exhibit a lack of physiologic adaptability in response …

Social Stressors, Inflammation And Preterm Birth In African-American Women, Carmen Giurgescu

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Session presented on Monday, July 27, 2015:

Purpose: In 2012 in the United States, 11.5% of infants were born prematurely (<37 weeks) and African American women had almost twice the rates of preterm birth compared with non-Hispanic white women. Preterm birth is associated with neonatal mortality and morbidity, childhood illness, and school failures; and it costs $26 billion annually. Attempts to explain preterm birth disparity have focused on social stressors of neighborhood environment and racial discrimination. These social stressors increase psychological stress and are related to preterm birth. Psychological stress and its associated inflammation [e.g., interleukin (IL)-6] are also associated with preterm birth. In contrast, personal resources (e.g., coping, social support) ameliorate stress and have protective effects on preterm birth. Guided by the Stress and Coping model and the Psychoneuroimmunology framework, we examined the relationships among neighborhood environment, racial discrimination, psychological stress, personal resources, inflammation and preterm birth.

Methods: Using a longitudinal descriptive correlational design, we enrolled 114 pregnant African American women. Women completed questionnaires and had blood draw at 16-22 weeks and 26-32 weeks. Birth data were collected from medical records.

Results: Women who reported higher levels of perceived neighborhood stressors and more experiences of racial discrimination also reported higher levels of psychological stress and lower levels of personal resources. Psychological stress was related to higher levels of inflammation (IL-6, IL-8). Compared with women with full …

Law Library Blog (March 2016): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Spring 2016

Scientia

Stress busters: intervention study combats stress in African-American youth; Peer-to-peer health power; Research roundup; Notes from the field; Program accelerates health care careers; Deep dive: Alumnus researches underwater volcanoes; Lab notes

Dealing With Student Anxiety, Diane Suffridge

Collected Faculty Scholarship

A presentation on how university faculty can recognize and deal with student anxiety.

Polymorphisms Of The Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene And The Association With Stress, Randall Beck, Michael J. Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Polymorphisms in the GR gene are an interesting and important area of research as these polymorphisms may be associated with an attenuated ability to cope with stress. This project bridged an unexplored gap between cellular and environmental stress and the expression of the GR gene—specifically the Bcl1 polymorphism of the GR gene. Cellular stress is any damage caused to the cell that alters its ability to function properly (Milisav, 2011). The Bcl1 polymorphism has what are known as C and G alleles that are genotyped as either homozygous GG, homozygous CC, or heterozygous CG (Srivastava et al., 2011). The homozygous …

Polymorphisms Of The Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene And The Association With Stress, Randall Beck, Michael J. Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Polymorphisms in the GR gene are an interesting and important area of research as these polymorphisms may be associated with an attenuated ability to cope with stress. This project bridged an unexplored gap between cellular and environmental stress and the expression of the GR gene—specifically the Bcl1 polymorphism of the GR gene. Cellular stress is any damage caused to the cell that alters its ability to function properly (Milisav, 2011). The Bcl1 polymorphism has what are known as C and G alleles that are genotyped as either homozygous GG, homozygous CC, or heterozygous CG (Srivastava et al., 2011). The homozygous …

Cancer Experience Modulates The Relationship Between Child And Parent Hypothalamic Pituiatary Adrenal (Hpa) Axis Functioning, Sarah Dinces

Psychology ETDs

Objective: We examine how parental stress and pediatric cancer might jointly predict child HPA function using a non-invasive method of cortisol assessment (hair samples). Methods: Parents and children from healthy control and pediatric cancer survivor families participated. Multilevel modeling was applied to data from a nested-design study (85 children, 5-18 years old, from 64 families, healthy controls: n=32; cancer survivors: n=32) to determine the relationship between parent salivary and child hair cortisol measures. Results: No main effect of the cancer experience on child cortisol was found. Parental cortisol positively correlated with child cortisol levels within healthy controls, while there was …

Healthy Beginnings: Exploring The Impact Of Parental Stress And Relationship Quality On Birth Outcomes, Anna A. Divney

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three studies exploring the effects of maternal and paternal experiences of stress and perceptions of relationship quality on length of gestation and birth weight. The first study assessed the association of parental relationship quality with the baby’s length of gestation and birth weight among 2,072 families in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study. Romantic relationships can be a substantial source of social support as well as stress, and have been shown to influence many health outcomes. Beyond crude relationship characteristics, however, few studies have assessed the association of other dimensions of relationship quality, such as …

Perceived Social Support Mediates The Association Between Optimism And Active Coping, Tracy Chapman, Terry Chi

Northwestern Review

The current study investigated two mediation models that may partially explain the association between optimism and active coping. One-hundred fifty-three participants completed self-report surveys to assess each construct. Results showed that while high perceived social support completely mediated the association between optimism and active coping, internal locus of control was not a mediator of the association. Implications from this study suggest that perceived social support plays a significant role in the relationship between optimistic personality type and active coping style.

Implementing Psychological Resilience Training In Law Incubators, M. Mark Heekin

Journal of Experiential Learning

No abstract provided.

Toward A Model Of 12-Step Engagement: Predicting Recovery Involvement In Narcotics Anonymous, Hillary L. Howrey

Theses and Dissertations

Substance use disorders (SUDs) affect a significant portion of the population and are noteworthy public health concerns. Mutual help organizations (MHOs) such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are considered evidence-based practices for SUDs. Despite a growing body of research examining mechanisms of change in MHOs, relatively few investigations of 12-step organizations have been theory-driven. Theory-based models of recovery provide a more comprehensive view of the range of individual factors affecting individuals in recovery and how and why they might engage in recovery-related behaviors. Stress and coping theory fills a gap in explaining how improvements occur as a result of …

A Survey Of Emotional Well-Being Among Irish Third Level Educators, Lorna Lawless, Colm Mcguinness, Aiden Carthy, Fiona Mcsweeney

Outcomes in Higher Education

This study aimed to gain baseline scores of perceived levels of work-related stress, self- efficacy, emotional intelligence and well-being for Irish third level educators. A questionnaire was designed to achieve this, including an open-ended question asking participants to note their attitudes and beliefs towards training in the area of social and emotional skills. The questionnaire received 494 responses, 185 (37%) university, 238 (48%) institute of technology, 59 (12%) college of education and 18 (3%) other. Statistical analysis using a one-way ANOVA found a significant difference, with higher levels of work-related stress being reported by university lecturers in comparison to institute …

Various Tests Induce, Then Measure, Stress, Malik Hall

The Scope

We all experience stress in some shape or form, especially university students facing final exams and graduating seniors under pressure to find a job. Now these nerve-wracking situations are being replicated in a lab – but this isn’t as sadistic as it may sound.

A Mindfulness-Based Intervention To Improve Family Functioning Among Child Welfare-Involved Families With Substance Use, Samantha Marie Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the frequent co-occurrence of parental substance misuse and child maltreatment, the field lacks feasible and effective intervention and strategies designed to meet the complex needs of child welfare-involved families with substance misuse. Mindfulness demonstrates promise in cultivating awareness and self-regulatory capacities, thereby reducing stress and substance use and improving parent-child interactions. The purpose of this mixed methods, randomized clinical trial was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement adapted for child welfare families (MORE-CW), and to test initial treatment effects on proximal (i.e., parental stress, autonomic activity during a stress-induced state and recovery [heart rate variability], …

Perceived Stress, Caffeine Consumption, And Gpa Of Undergraduate Students At A Large Public University, Emma Simpson

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Evidence suggests that college students may increase caffeine consumption to cope with the stress and demands of college. The relationships between perceived stress, caffeine consumption, and GPA were examined in students at a large public university. Students were surveyed to determine perceived stress (Cohen’s Perceived Stress Questionnaire), beliefs about caffeine, caffeine consumption, workload in and outside of the classroom, and GPA. Surveys were administered at the beginning of the semester and again at midterm. Based on Cohen’s 40-point scale, average stress scores increased from 15.95 ± 6.34 at the beginning of the semester to 18.89 ± 6.94 at midterms. Additionally, …

An Interpersonal Model Of Depression: A Psychophysiological Perspective, Kelsey J. Pritchard

ETD Archive

This study examined whether parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity predicts depression risk through excessive reassurance seeking (ERS) which subsequently erodes social support and generates stress. Recent theories suggest that the PNS evolved to regulate social interaction and that the PNS is associated with depression and interpersonal deficits. Therefore, PNS deficits may be associated to ERS, given its interpersonal function. Participants (N= 65) completed measures of ERS, interpersonal stressors, social support quality, depression symptoms, and a protocol that measured indices of the PNS (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) at rest and during a paced breathing task. Multiple mediator models …

Burnout-Depression Overlap: A Study Of New Zealand Schoolteachers, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Mayor, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We examined the overlap of burnout with depression in a sample of 184 New Zealand schoolteachers. Burnout and depressive symptoms were strongly correlated with each other (r = .73; disattenuated correlation: .82) and moderately correlated with dysfunctional attitudes, ruminative responses, and pessimistic attributions. All the participants with high frequencies of burnout symptoms were identified as clinically depressed. Suicidal ideation was reported by 36% of those participants. Three groups of teachers emerged from a two-step cluster analysis: “low burnout-depression,” “medium burnout-depression,” and “high burnout-depression.” The correlation between the affective-cognitive and somatic symptoms of depression was similar in strength to the burnout-depression …

The Effect Of Stress Coping Techniques In Sports, Lestter Yeh

CMC Senior Theses

The first part of this literature review goes over the biological and psychological aspects of stress. The cause of stress can be linked back to a primitive instinct known as “fight or flight.” The “fight or flight” instinct is triggered by several chemical reactions in the body starting from a signal from the amygdala to the sympathetic nervous system. Stress can also be categorized into internal and external stress. Further research links stress to sports. Many studies show that stress coping techniques such as meditation, self-talk, rituals, etc. are beneficial to athletes during competition. Suggested avenues of further research are …

Bothered Bloggings And Troubled Tweets: Constructions Of Stress And Concerns For Early-Career Academics, R Busch, M Ledingham

Arts Conference Papers

While recent studies suggest that stress is becoming more prominent for academics, very little research has been conducted on understanding the realities of stress for early-career academics. Through the employment of social constructionist epistemology and theory as a framework for research, our study examines how early-career academics language and construct experiences of stress and concern. We employed a constructionist thematic analysis. This involved selecting a sample of blogs and Twitter microblogs to code and identifying important themes, in relation to stress and concern. Through a preliminary analysis of blogs, we found that there were recurring concerns on work-life balance, a …

Music Therapy As An Intervention To Reduce Anxiety In Mechanically-Ventilated Patients, Stephanie L. Levine

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Patients receiving mechanical ventilation endure high levels of stress and anxiety due to the invasiveness of the procedure. These critically ill patients are often uncomfortable as a result of their serious conditions and the high-intensity environments in which they are placed. Health care workers heavily sedate these patients to minimize pain and induce a state of relaxation. However, sedatives are known for their wide-ranging, and often deleterious, side effects. Music therapy is an intervention that has been studied in a variety of hospital settings to determine any potential beneficial effects on patients. Many studies have demonstrated a relationship between music …

Effects Of Predator Odor-Induced Stress On The Rodent Prefrontal Cortex And Cocaine Self-Administration, Jonathon Alan Koerber

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD) affect a combined 30 million Americans as of 2014 (Hedden et. al., 2015). An individual who is diagnosed with one has a greatly increased risk of being diagnosed with the other later in life. This suggests some type of biological link between the two. Unfortunately, it is difficult to study the molecular underpinnings of either disease in humans because of ethical concerns. Therefore it would be prudent to develop an animal model that allows for a standardized examination of both disorders. This investigation was designed as an attempt to create an …

Understanding Mental Toughness And Stress: The Role Of Cortisol, Alexis K. Satterwhite Ms.

Honors Program Theses

Mental toughness research aims to understand how two people of the same skill level, experience, and background react to pressure and stress, with one succumbing to the pressure while another succeeds (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2012). This study used Clough, Earle, and Sewell’s (2002) four C’s of mental toughness (commitment, challenge, control, and confidence) as a theoretical framework. The current study aims to explore physiological aspects of mental toughness through cortisol, a stress hormone that is released as an internal reaction to some type of threat occurring externally to the body (Kottler & Chen, 2011). The relationships between mental toughness and …

What Works For Successful In-Home Family Therapists Working At Community-Based Agencies, Aleyah R. Yasin

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

Resiliency is an important characteristic of successful therapists (Aponte, 1991; Aponte & Carlsen, 2009; Aponte & Winter, 2000; Clark, 2009; Hamel & Laraway, 2004; Kuiper, 2012; Protinsky & Coward, 2001; Rosenburg & Pace, 2006; Wolgien & Coady, 1997), especially those in entry-level positions that tend to involve high stress and turnover (Acker, 2004; Clark, 2009; Davis, 2013; Greenson, Guo, Barth, Harley, & Sission, 2009; Grosch & Olsen, 1994; Gupta, Peterson, Lysaght, & Zweck, 2012; Horan, 2002; Maslach & Leiter, 1997; Negash & Sahin, 2011; Rosenburg &Pace, 2006; Skovolt &Trotter Mathison, 2011). This study explored the perspectives of six therapists providing …

Coping With Incarcerated-Related Stress : A Study Of Coping Responses By Women Romantically Involved With Incarcerated Men, Jaleesa I. Myers

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Research related to coping responses of women romantically involved with, or married to, incarcerated men has been unexamined in social work literature. This study examined how women romantically involved with, or married to, incarcerated men cope with economic, social and emotional stress associated with their partners ’ incarceration by examining their use of problem-focused, emotion-focused and avoidant-focused coping styles. The study answered to what extent do women romantically involved with, or married to, incarcerated men utilize adaptive coping responses, especially paying close attention to experiences of African American women. Using quantitative methods, the Brief COPE —a 28-item inventory—was administered to …