Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Mental Health Service Utilization Among Urban Adolescents: The Roles Of Perceived Mental Health Problems, Attitudes Towards Professional Help, And Stigma, Yi Tak Tsang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Mental health among adolescents is widely acknowledged as a significant concern in the United States. Based on a national survey, Merikangas et al. (2010) found that among 13-17 year olds, 42% to 48% reported experiencing mental health concerns. It is estimated that only half of adolescents with mental health problems utilize mental health services (Costello et al., 2014). An initial study found that caregivers of disadvantaged youth appeared to function as the “gatekeepers” to mental health services (Tsang et al., 2020). Also, the results suggested that positive attitude towards professional psychological help, but not stigma, predicted service enrollment. The current …

Characterizing The Development Of Episodic Memory And Assessing The Reliability Of Fmri Measures, Lingfei Tang

Wayne State University Dissertations

The ability to remember past events is critical for everyday life and showed robust improvement over development from childhood to adulthood. With advances in noninvasive neuroimaging methods such as functional MRI in recent years, research efforts have been focused on identifying neural correlates underpinning developmental gains in memory performance. In my dissertation work, using a widely-validated subsequent memory paradigm, I aim to characterize functional MRI correlates of memory development. Specifically, I focused my investigation on identifying age differences in the functional patterns of two brain regions critical for memory, the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Focusing on the prefrontal cortex …

The Impact Of Neonatal Pain And Reduced Maternal Care On Brain And Behavioral Development, Sean Michael Mooney-Leber

Wayne State University Dissertations

In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) preterm infants are exposed to a multitude of stressors, which include both neonatal pain and reduced maternal care. Clinical and preclinical research has demonstrated that exposure to neonatal pain and reduced maternal care has a profound negative impact on brain and behavioral development. Currently, the biological mechanism by which both of these stressors impacts brain and behavioral outcomes remains widely unknown. To uncover a potential biological mechanism, the current dissertation project utilized a preclinical model of repetitive needle pokes and developed a novel model of reduced maternal care through tea-ball encapsulation. Briefly, rat …

Assessing Parent Invovlment In Applied Behavior Analysis Treatment For Children With Autism, Krista Marie Clancy

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare two groups of parents whose children participated in ABA on their levels of stress, self-efficacy, treatment acceptability, and parents’ level of involvement in their children’s treatment, and to assess variables that may explain variance in parent involvement. Parents in the treatment group participated in a voluntary parent training (n=18) and the comparison group were parents who elected not to participate in the voluntary training (n=22). This was a quasi-experimental design study where parents and their therapists completed a survey regarding parents’ involvement in their children’s treatment programs. Additional parent measures collected as …

Measuring The Effectiveness Of Benefit-Provisioning And Cost-Inflicting Mate Retention Tactics Through Relationship Outcomes, Tara Delecce

Wayne State University Dissertations

Mate retention has received much less research attention compared to mate choice and attraction. Even the research that has been done on mate retention often only aims to identify what constitutes as mate retention tactics. In the current studies, the effectiveness of mate retention strategies is explored by measuring relationship outcomes of tactics unlike previous research that measures effectiveness through perceptions of relationship satisfaction. In Study 1, individuals who have experienced a nonmarital breakup reported on their own and their ex-partners’ mate retention tactics before the breakup to see which ones predicted the outcome of relationship dissolution. Tests for moderation …

Preparing To Parent: Mindfulness In Expectant Parents Exposed To Adversity, Laurel Marie Hicks

Wayne State University Dissertations

Expectant parents who have been exposed to psychosocial risk encounter deleterious psychological (Ashley et al., 2016), and physiological (V. H. Pereira, Campos, & Sousa, 2017) effects. This not only affects the parent-to-be, but also may affect the developing fetus (E. P. Davis et al., 2011) and is linked to poorer infant development (Lefmann & Combs-Orme, 2014). However, not all risk-exposed individuals experience this, many are resilient and still thrive in the face of adversity. Understanding potential risk and resiliency factors in expectant parents is advantageous, so tailored interventions can be devised to improve outcomes. One potential resiliency factor, mindfulness, is …

This Is Us Saying Who We Are: Speaking The Rhetoric Of Mental Disability, Renuka Uthappa

Wayne State University Dissertations

People with mental disabilities, or what are sometimes referred to as “mental illnesses,” face stigma when they interact with the public. To fight this stigma, the members of a small, grassroots, advocacy organization known as the Speakers Bureau travel to high school and college classrooms narrating their experiences with mental disability. They do so to replace culturally circulating stereotypes regarding such disability with more accurate and positive images. This dissertation is an auto-ethnographic exploration of the rhetoric of the Speakers Bureau. Through rhetorical analysis of members’ classroom speeches, of interviews with each speaker, and of the speaker’s self- assessment of …

The Effects Of Courtship And Pairing Behavior On The Nonapeptide And Noradrenergic Systems Of Adult Male And Female Zebra Finches, Erin Lowrey Ondercin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Social relationships are complex and likely involve the multiple neural circuits, including those involved in learning, memory, motivation, and attention. Two neurotransmitter pathways highly involved in these neural circuits are norepinephrine (NE) and the nonapeptides, vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT). There is extensive research implicating a role for the nonapeptides in trust, sociality, parental care, and romantic relationships. There is little direct evidence for the role of nonapeptides in monogamous relationships in any species other than the prairie vole (Goodson 2013). However, there is evidence that nonapeptides are important in pair bonding for both male and female zebra finches (Lowrey …

Child Maltreatment, Problem Alcohol Use And Physical Revictimization: Examining Longitudinal Trajectories In A Nationally Representative Sample, Kathryn Mariah Zumberg Smith

Wayne State University Dissertations

Past investigations examining the relationships between child maltreatment, alcohol use and physical revictimization have been limited by their use of cross-sectional designs and their focus on childhood sexual abuse and sexual revictimization. In addition, there is a paucity of epidemiological studies examining child maltreatment, alcohol use, and physical revictimization. The present study sought to address these limitations by examining relationships between child maltreatment, problem alcohol use, and physical revictimization in a nationally representative sample. Data were analyzed from the public-use data set of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add health; Harris & Udry, 2014), waves I-IV. …

The Impact Of Age On Workplace Motivation: A Person-Centered Perspective, Keith Lynn Zabel

Wayne State University Dissertations

The present study used the person-centered approach to examine how profiles based upon six different age conceptualizations differentially impact workplace motivation. In the first known study to examine all conceptualizations of age simultaneously, results suggested the age conceptualizations of subjective age and health significantly impact growth motives for older workers, but not social or security motives. Results suggest social motives are influenced more by chronological age as opposed to other conceptualizations of age. Implications for practitioners in designing and implementing HR activities (e.g., succession planning) and researchers in utilizing all the conceptualizations of age and studying workplace interventions are discussed.

The Semantic Memory Imaging In Late Life Pilot Study, Michael Adam Sugarman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Several functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have analyzed the famous name discrimination task (FNDT), an uncontrolled semantic memory probe requiring discrimination between famous and unfamiliar individuals. Completion of this simple task recruits a semantic memory network that has shown utility in determining risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Specific semantic memory probes using biographical information associated with famous individuals may build on previous findings and yield superior information regarding risk for AD.

Method: Sixteen cognitively intact elders completed the FNDT and two novel tasks during fMRI: Categories (matching famous individuals to occupational categories) and Attributes (matching famous individuals to …

An Analysis Of Virtual Place Learning/Navigation In Children And Young Adults Prenatally Exposed To Alcohol, Neil Christopher Dodge

Wayne State University Dissertations

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder refers to the spectrum of disorders resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure and is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation. Rodent studies have found that prenatal alcohol exposure impairs performance on the Morris water maze. This task requires the rodent to use distal room cues to locate a hidden platform in a pool of opaque water. Successful performance on this task is dependent upon hippocampal function. Rodents prenatally exposed to alcohol are impaired on the Morris water maze and show damage to hippocampal neurons. A human analogue of the Morris water maze, the virtual water maze …

Diabetes Interaction Study: Communicating Understanding And Social Support, Dana K. May

Wayne State University Dissertations

The current study evaluated a brief individualized feedback intervention developed to improve communication style of parents with an adolescent with type 1 diabetes. Seventy-nine parent-adolescent dyads (13-18 years) were randomized to receive a single session of brief feedback to target parental person-centered communication skills (n = 39) or to receive an educational comparison group (n = 40). Families were asked to discuss a diabetes related problem. A clinician concurrently rated the parent’s communication skills to identify communication strengths and weaknesses. Parents in the feedback group received feedback on their use of person-centered communication during the conversation using motivational interviewing techniques. …

Fear Of Alzheimer's Disease And Its Role In Memory Monitoring And Control, Annalise Marie Rahman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Fear of Alzheimer’s disease (FAD), or Anticipatory Dementia, is a healthy adult’s misinterpretation of everyday memory failures as indicators of developing dementia. The current study investigated the construct of FAD and aimed to contextualize FAD within the Health Belief Model through development of a new scale, the Anticipatory Dementia Index (ADI). The study also assessed the relationship between FAD and metacognitive monitoring and metacognitive control.

Methods: 94 cognitively-intact community-dwelling older adults with and without a history of family history of AD completed questionnaires regarding their subjective memory complaints, state and trait anxiety, depression, and multiple measures of FAD, including …

Management Safety Climate And Violence Prevention Climate: A Mediational Model For Healthcare Employee Outcomes, Lydia Hamblin Hamblin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Workplace violence is defined as aggressive acts against employees ranging from verbal abuse, threats, and bullying, to physical assault (OSHA, 2002; Jackson, Clare, & Mannix, 2002). The two purposes of this study were (1) to differentiate two specific forms of psychological climate related to workplace violence on a work unit: Violence Prevention Climate (VPC) and Management Safety Climate (MSC), and (2) to test a causal model focusing on the relationship between these climates and their effects on relevant outcomes for at-risk employees in the healthcare industry. MSC was expected to partially mediate the effects of VPC on four outcomes: work …

An Evaluation Of The Factor Structure, Reliability And Construct Validity Of The Male Role Norms Inventory-Revised For African American/Black Men, Wilfred Michael Allen

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: In the United States, on average, men die nearly five years younger than women. Among men, the life expectancy for African American/Blacks is 72.1 years compared to 76.6 years for White/European Americans. African-American/Black men experience an earlier onset and more severe disease with higher rates of complications than White/European American men. Masculinity ideology has been identified by researchers as having an influence on health behaviors and ultimately health outcomes. Based on prior research literature, higher levels of masculinity ideology have been associated with fewer health promoting behaviors. As such, there is a need for a reliable and valid measure …

Toward Enhancing Treatment For Pregnant Smokers: Laying The Groundwork For The Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Approaches, Amy Michele Loree

Wayne State University Dissertations

Tobacco is the most widely used drug of abuse during pregnancy. Despite efforts to reduce perinatal tobacco use, its prevalence has remained steady over at least the past decade, suggesting that efforts to reduce smoking prevalence before and during pregnancy have not been effective. Although a range of effective treatments exist, most pregnant smokers neither seek nor receive any kind of treatment. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments may be ideal as alternative, low-cost approaches capable of reaching and assisting a greater proportion of pregnant women with smoking cessation. This study examined characteristics and treatment utilization practices of pregnant smokers …

Engagement In Activities And Cognitive Functioning Among Older Adults In The Health And Retirement Study, Pamela Emily May

Wayne State University Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to examine the effect of cognitive and social activities on cognitive performance and health conditions in a national sample of older adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). This dissertation first aimed to identify longitudinal relations between activity frequency and cognitive functioning. Two hypotheses were tested, baseline activity frequency predicts change in cognitive functioning over time, and baseline cognitive performance predicts change in activity frequency over time. The dissertation’s second aim was to identify links between activity frequency and cognitive trajectories. The third aim was to identify longitudinal relations between activity frequency and …

Empathy As A Moderator Of Adolescent Bullying Behavior And Moral Disengagement After Controlling For Social Desirability, Amy Zelidman

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the moderating influence empathy has on the associations between adolescent bullying behavior and moral disengagement after controlling for social desirability (e.g., response bias). 676 students in 7th and 8th grade from a suburban middle school in Southeast Michigan participated in this study in the fall of 2012.

Results showed male respondents were more likely than female respondents to (a) report engaging in all forms of traditional bullying behavior overall, including physical, verbal, and social bullying and (b) report higher rates of physical victimization and moral disengagement. Female respondents were more likely to …

Longitudinal Change In Regional Cortices And Fluid Intelligence, Peng Yuan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystalized intelligence (Gc) are two factors of the general intelligence. They have distinct age-related trajectories of change. Jung and Haier proposed Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (P-FIT, 2007) to account for the inter-person variance in reasoning intelligence. Some brain regions such as prefrontal, parietal, temporal and anterior cingulate cortices were included in the P-FIT model and were hypothesized to be involved in fluid reasoning task. Therefore, in the current study, we examined latent growth curves (LGC) of longitudinal change in Gf, Gc, prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, anterior cingulate, temporal cortex and primary visual cortex. Forty-six healthy middle-aged and …

Accumulation Of Subcortical Iron As A Modifier Of Volumetric And Cognitive Decline In Healthy Aging: Two Longitudinal Studies, Ana Marie Daugherty

Wayne State University Dissertations

Accumulation of non-heme iron in the brain has been theorized as a cellular mechanism underlying global neural and cognitive decline in normal aging and neurodegenerative disease. Relatively few studies of brain iron in normal aging exist and extant studies are almost exclusively cross-sectional. Here, I estimated iron content via T2* and measured volumes in several brain regions in two independent samples of healthy adults. The first sample (N = 89) was measured twice with a two-year delay; and the second sample (N = 32) was assessed four times over a span of 7 years. Latent models estimated change in iron …

Coping Similarity And Psychosocial Risk Factors In Couples With Chronic Pain, Amy M. Williams

Wayne State University Dissertations

Chronic pain is an important public health problem that is associated with a host of negative individual and relationship outcomes. Chronic pain is a chronic stressor that both the individual in pain and their spouse must cope with. The current study examined how pain coping similarity within the couple predicted not only patient adjustment, but also spouse adjustment in a longitudinal study. Participants were 108 heterosexual couples in which one partner had chronic pain. The participants completed measures at 3 time points at 6 month intervals. Both the patient and spouse individually completed questionnaires pertaining to their marriage, mood, pain …

Subordinate-Supervisor Demographic And Perceived Value Similarity: Relationships To Subordinate Perceptions Of Organizational Justice, Charles Levi Wells, Iv

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the empirical relationship between subordinate-supervisor demographic and value similarity with subordinate perceptions of organizational justice using three structural equation models. The first model indicated that subordinate-supervisor demographic and value similarity were directly related to subordinate perceptions of organizational justice (Direct Model). The second model indicated that subordinate perceived value similarity with their supervisor mediated the relationship between the subordinate-supervisor demographic similarity and subordinate perceptions of organizational justice (Mediated Model). The last model indicated subordinate perceived value similarity with their supervisor moderated the relationship between subordinate-supervisor demographic similarity and subordinate perceptions of organizational …

Vascular Depression: An Early Indicator Of Decline, Daniel Lee Paulson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Women over the age of 80 represent a rapidly growing demographic group. While older women live longer than men, they do so with more years of disability and frailty. The emergence of geriatric disorders such as vascular disease, depression, frailty and cognitive decline in the aging US population place additional strain and expense on the already over-burdened public health care system. Meanwhile, integrated models of care are associated with preserved functional independence, reduced medical costs, and greater satisfaction for both health care providers and patients. Implementation of integrated care demands process-models of disease that contextualize symptoms within broader patterns of …

Dispositional Mediators Of Burnout Syndrome In A Sample Of Direct Care Staff Employed At Group Homes In A Midwestern State, Cristovao Bartolo Carreira

Wayne State University Dissertations

The current research examined the dispositional characteristics that mediated burnout syndrome in a sample of direct care workers who were employed in group homes for the mentally ill in a Midwestern state. Specifically, the indirect effects that the direct care staff's attachment systems and problem solving ability were examined as they applied to their potential burnout status. Attachment theory, a contemporary psychodynamic theory of personality, was used to provide a context for the study. The researcher studied the interactions between construct subcomponents to address a criticism in the literature stating that only total scores were used to study burnout and …

White Matter Integrity And Age Related Differences In Reaction Time Components, Yiqin Yang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Reduced speed in information processing is a well-documented phenomenon associated with advanced aging. Age-related deterioration in white matter integrity might play a role in age-related increase in reaction time (RT). However, the association between microstructural differences in particular white matter regions or tracts with RT is unclear. Decomposing RT into parts might be a better way to understand the relationship due to multiple processes involved in RT. In a lifespan sample of 90 healthy normotensive participants, this study examined the association between RT components derived from the Ratcliff diffusion model with age related difference in DTI indices of a wide …

The Relationship Between Generalized Anxiety Disorder In Women And Hormonal Imbalances, Self-Efficacy And Lifestyle: Implications For Licensed Professional Counselors And Counselor Educators, Gillian Bernadette Robbins

Wayne State University Dissertations

The intent of the study was to conduct a preliminary enquiry of the relationship between Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in women and hormonal imbalances, self-efficacy, and lifestyle. Key consideration was given to the study as it points to implications for licensed professional counselors and counselor educators. A nonexperimental, correlation design was used in the study and conducted in a large urban city in Ontario, Canada. Participants in the study were female clients receiving bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) for a minimum of three month at a Medical Health Spa. A total of 55 participants completed a demographical survey, the Generalized …

The Influence Of Gender And Aging On The Neural Circuitry Supporing Facial Emotion Processing In Adults With Major Depressive Disorder, Emily Briceno

Wayne State University Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is associated with decrements in facial emotion processing (FEP). Previous studies investigating the neural substrates of these decrements have often reported hyperactivity of emotion processing circuitry. Neural circuitry supporting FEP has been shown to be different between healthy men and women, and between young and elder adults. However, no prior studies have investigated how gender and aging affect emotion processing circuitry in individuals with MDD. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of gender and aging on emotion processing circuitry in MDD. One hundred-ten adults, grouped into subgroups according to MDD status, gender, and age …

Neuropsychological Outcome In Relation To Duration Of Early Orphanage Experience, Jacquelyn Marie Perry Avery

Wayne State University Dissertations

In this sample of 144 children with a history of prior orphanage experience, increasing duration of institutionalization is related to decreasing performance for a number of cognitive domains, most consistently verbal measures and executive Functioning measures. The relationships with duration for measures requiring visual-spatial skills were more mixed and a visual reasoning task was found to significantly relate to duration but not a measure of visual memory or a measure of nonverbal achievement. There was little evidence to support a relationship between the duration of institutionalization and fine-motor dexterity. The strongest relationships with duration were observed for language measures followed …

The Effects Of Two Group Counseling Interventions On Arab-American High School Students' Perceptions Of Their Primary Relationships (Parent, Teacher, Peer), Nuzmeya Bader Elder

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study specifically investigated the effects of two group counseling interventions on Arab-American high school students' perceptions of the strength of their primary relationships (parent, teachers, and peers). It was designed to help high school students increase their acceptance of the culture of their host society and develop a sense of comfort so they can retain some of their own culture and Arab identity without feeling they will totally lose them. One approach was Choice group theory grounded in the reality of making choices concerning thoughts and behaviors. Choice Theory is described as the idea that people have mental images …