Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons^™

Relationship Between Individual Differences In Functional Connectivity And Facial Emotion Recognition Abilities In Traumatic Brain Injury, Arianna Rigon, Michelle W. Voss, Lyn Siobhan Turkstra, Bilge Mutlu, Melissa Duff

Communication Disorders Faculty Research

Although several studies have demonstrated that facial-affect recognition impairment is common following moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), and that there are diffuse alterations in large-scale functional brain networks in TBI populations, little is known about the relationship between the two. Here, in a sample of26 participants with TBI and 20 healthy comparison participants (HC) we measured facial-affect recognition abilities and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) using fMRI. We then used network-based statistics to ex-amine (A) the presence of rs-FC differences between individuals with TBI and HC within the facial-affect processing network, and (B) the association between inter-individual differences in emotion recognition …

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 …

Depression In Low-Income Adolescents: Guidelines For School-Based Depression Intervention Programs, Gopika Hari

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Adolescent depression is growing in interest to clinicians. In addition to the estimated 2 million cases of adolescent major depressive episodes each year, depressive symptoms in youth have become indicators of mental health complications later in life. Studies indicate that being low-income is a risk factor for depression and that socioeconomically disadvantaged teenagers are more than twice as likely to develop mental illnesses. Only an estimated 1 in 4 children with mental illnesses receive adequate help and 80% of these resources come through schools. Thus, this study focuses on establishing the importance of depression intervention programs in low-income high schools …

Canine-Assisted Therapies Among U.S. Veterans With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Olivia A. Kondos

Honors Undergraduate Theses

A sizeable number of U.S. veterans of all ages experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which can impact their quality of life; physically, mentally and socially. Consequences of PTSD are associated with physical and emotional disabilities, including ideation of self-harm and even suicide. Increasingly, animal-assisted therapies (AAT) are used to treat PTSD and other physical and behavioral conditions in veterans. Over the decades, AATs have used dogs, cats, horses, and dolphins among other animals. The purpose of this integrative review is to examine the use of AAT focusing on canine assisted therapy (CAT) among veterans diagnosed with PTSD. The methodology involved …

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Characteristics And How Social Support Plays A Role, Stephanie Smith-Kellen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

NSSI affects many young adults and is associated with suicidal ideation, as well as numerous mental health disorders and other psychological variables. There were a total of 59 participants that participated in this study from an undergraduate college sample who endorsed self-injuring. An online platform for research was used to recruit participants and provide them with the online survey link. Self-injuring more than one bodily location may result in feeling more stigma than individuals who self-injure one bodily location. Self-stigma and self-injuring multiple bodily locations both significantly predicted suicidal ideation, but gender and social support did not predict suicidal ideation. …

Mental Health Needs & Barriers: Assessment Of Latinos In Las Vegas, Vanessa L. Diaz, Janice C. Mcmurray Ph.D

McNair Poster Presentations

• Research suggests that the prevalence of mental illness in Latinos is not necessarily uncommon and that economic concerns may be an important factor in determining the type of services Latinos are likely to seek (Kouyoumdjian, 2003).
• For Latinos, mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety have higher rates than the general population but the rate at which Latinos seek treatment is strikingly lower (Barrio, 2008).
• Observations regarding treatment engagement rates conclude that Latinos also have significantly higher probability of terminating treatments prematurely (Kouyoumdjian, 2003).
• Aim: to examine the mental health needs and barriers to treatment present in the Latino …

Exploring The Role Of Escapism In The Dsm-V Criteria For Internet Gaming Disorder : A Meta-Analytic Investigation, Yeonggeul Lee

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been included in the DSM-5 in a preliminary endorsement of excessive video gaming as a behavioral disorder. Further research is required to validate IGD because some criteria are controversial in diagnostic accuracy. Escapism is one such criterion. Despite some research evidence of escapism as the strongest motivational predictor of IGD, recent investigations found that the escapism criterion is highly questionable. Because of the inclusion of escapism in initial IGD measures, previous studies have produced evidence of escapism as a predictor of IGD owing to a tautology. Thus, the present study examined the effect of gaming …

Does What You Think You Feel, Impact What You Actually Eat? : An Examination Of Alexithymia, Interoceptive Awareness, And Loss Of Control Eating In Young Women, Lisa Marie Anderson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Affect regulation theories posit that loss of control (LOC) and binge eating are maintained via an emotion regulation process, through which eating relieves negative affect and aversive mood states. LOC has been identified as a key binge eating characteristic associated with psychopathology and poor psychological outcomes. As such, maladaptive emotion regulation has been identified as a central risk factor for binge eating, as theories posit that individuals binge eat in response to negative mood states. However, empirical studies testing the link between induced negative mood and subsequent food intake in people with LOC and binge eating have yielded inconsistent findings. …

A Brief Motivational Intervention For Marijuana Use In College Students, Vivian S. Hwang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The prevalence of marijuana use has risen among young adults, and marijuana is

Mediating And Moderating Factors Of The Relationship Between Sexual Orientation And Eating Pathology And Body Satisfaction In Sexual Minority And Heterosexual Men, Andrea Denae Murray

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Most research on body image and disordered eating has focused largely on women, as women are at higher risk than men for eating disorders. In recent years research has revealed that men are at increasing risk for these outcomes, especially as the ideal male body represented in media images and therefore frequently internalized among men is becoming so lean and muscular as to make it very difficult for most men to realistically achieve. Sexual minority men in particular have been found to be at increased risk for body dissatisfaction, body shame, and disordered eating than their heterosexual counterparts. The research …

Factors Asociated With Mental Health Help-Seeking Attitudes Among University Students In South Korea, Hee Chul Kim

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The current study investigated factors associated with mental health help-seeking attitudes among university students in South Korea. In particular, the study examined the moderating effects of culturally relevant factors (religiosity, social support, social stigma, and self-stigma) on the relationship between psychological distress and help-seeking attitudes and the mediating effect of stigma (social and self) on the association between psychological distress and help-seeking attitudes. A total of 240 students at 4 universities in South Korea completed in-class surveys in Spring 2016. Data was analyzed using a series of multiple regressions, hierarchical moderated multiple regression, and 3-step mediation regression. Results indicated that …

Educational Interventions To Improve Aggressive Behavior Recognition For An Acute Psychiatric Setting, Marie Elois Ortiz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurses working in an acute psychiatric setting within a veterans' administration hospital must maintain a therapeutic milieu by recognizing and managing aggressive behaviors before violence ensues to reduce injuries to staff nurses and patients. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based and theoretically grounded educational program that will help staff nurses manage escalating aggression, violence, and acting out behaviors to provide a safe environment for patients and staff through high risk identifier recognition and intervention training. During the data and information gathering stage, 23 articles were reviewed, rated, and graded to provide the most significant information used …

Professionals' Perspective On Mental Health Courts, Martha M. Amos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In recent years, the percentage of incarcerated individuals with mental illness has dramatically increased. It is very hard to provide treatment and care for these defendants in jails or prisons. Currently, there are more mentally ill individuals incarcerated than in psychiatric hospitals. Furthermore, as budget cuts are being decided, urban and rural communities in America are looking at ways to help the mentally ill by initiating a mental health court (MHC) or continuing to fund an already existing MHC. Guided by the therapeutic jurisprudence theory, the purpose of this study was to elicit the opinions from MHC professionals regarding the …

Teacher And Student Variables Affecting Special Education Evaluation And Referral, Lorenzo Adrian Woodson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has revealed that African American/Black boys are referred for special education evaluation at disproportionately higher rates than boys of other racial/ethnic groups. This correlational study used survey methodology to examine whether student and teacher demographic variables predicted how likely a teacher would refer boy students for special education evaluation. The following questions guided this research: 1) To what degree does student race/ethnicity, teacher gender, teacher race/ethnicity, and teacher attitude toward inclusion predict how likely a teacher would refer boys' to special education after controlling for teacher's years of experience in general and special education? 2) What are the …

Similar Adverse Events From Two Disparate Agents Implicate Lipid Inflammatory Mediators For A Role In Anxiety States, Gordon Mccarter, Lauren B. Blanchard

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Pharmacy

We recently reported a case in which a 54-year-old male experienced maintenance insomnia, generalized anxiety and panic symptoms associated with consumption of a fish oil supplement enriched in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). We report here that the same patient has experienced identical but more severe symptoms in response to the use of the leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast, in accordance with other cases reported to the Food and Drug Administration. Since omega-3 fatty acids like EPA are precursors for the biosynthesis of eicosanoids including leukotrienes, a common factor to these psychiatric adverse events may be perturbations in this highly complex system of …

Vitamin D Deficiency And Suicide, Miriam Salamon

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Vitamin D deficiency, in an increasingly modernized world, is a major global health issue and so is major depressive disorder (MDD) and its high fatality risk. Studies suggest that there may be a connection between the two. Several studies have found a connection between low levels of vitamin D and higher rates of major depressive disorder, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Specifically, lower concentrations of vitamin D was seen in the subgroup of patients with suicidal thoughts when comparing with non-suicidal depressed patients. A likely reason for this may be the well- researched role vitamin D plays in regulation of …

Parental Understandings Of The Meaning Of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Kylara Leyva

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines how parents understand autism, their child's behavior and development. Parents can understand their child's behavior and development through a medical model perspective, which sees the childâ??s autism as a series of deficits and deviations. However, a growing number of parents understand their child's behavior and development through a neurodiversity perspective, where a child is seen as having differences in behavior, instead of deficits. Parents' understandings of autism can influence how they see their child's behavior and development and be a driver for seeking diagnosis. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents of children with autism to probe for …

Filmmaking As Artistic Inquiry: An Examination Of Ceramic Art Therapy In A Maximum-Security Forensic Psychiatric Facility, Serena Duckrow

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This Art-Based Research (ABR) illuminates the power of creativity to inspire and heal people living in a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital. The study comprises: the individual and group artwork from the Collaborative Ceramic Art Therapy Studio with thirteen participants; a culminating thirteen-minute film found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PytlFZVvlig, Conversations in Clay: Creativity, Collaboration, and Community; an artistic inquiry and examination of the project footage; and a discussion of how the therapeutic filmmaking process helped capture the essential therapeutic elements of clay, filmmaking, and the art therapy studio environment.

A Theory Of Veteran Identity, Travis L. Martin

Theses and Dissertations--English

More than 2.6 million troops have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, surveys reveal that more than half feel “disconnected” from their civilian counterparts, and this feeling persists despite ongoing efforts, in the academy and elsewhere, to help returning veterans overcome physical and mental wounds, seek an education, and find meaningful ways to contribute to society after taking off the uniform. This dissertation argues that Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans struggle with reassimilation because they lack healthy, complete models of veteran identity to draw upon in their postwar lives, a problem they’re working through collectively …

A Case Study Exploration Of Teachers' Perspectives On Children's Mental Health Service Needs In Title I Elementary Schools, Natalie Denise Yates

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children go to school for approximately 32 hours each week of an academic year. Many children who are in need of mental health treatment do not get the services they need because of barriers such as lack of access and stigma. Teachers are one of the primary sources of referrals for children's mental health services, and they often make referrals based on their perceptions of their students' mental health needs. Although teachers are typically the primary source of referrals for mental health services, they usually do not have any specialized mental health training. The purpose of this study was to …

Adolescents' Experiences Returning To School After A Mental Health Hospitalization, Pamela Iverson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative study explores how adolescents experience transition when they return to school after an acute mental health hospitalization. For this study, the term transition is used to describe the process of adjusting to the return from an acute mental health hospital to school. Eight adolescents from southern Minnesota, ages 15-17, were interviewed about their transition experience for this study. Each participant had experienced an acute hospitalization within 12 months of their interview. Each participant interview was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using phenomenological research methods. For each participant, an individual textural description, structural description, and textural/structural description was provided through …

A Pilot Study Of Online Feedback For Adult Drinkers 50 And Older: Feasibility, Efficacy, And Preferences For Intervention, Alexis Kuerbis, Lisa Hail, Alison A. Moore, Frederick Muench

Publications and Research

Normative (NF) and personalized feedback (PF) are moderately effective brief interventions for at-risk drinking middle-aged and older adults. This study tested the feasibility of online feedback for drinkers 50 and older. This study’s aims were to identify whether there is differential effectiveness of PF over NF in prompting drinkers 50 years old and older to plan for change and to determine potential preferences for intervention among adult drinkers 50 and older with practical knowledge about computers. Method—Using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, 138 male and female drinkers aged 50 to 75+ were recruited to complete an online survey that asked about their: …

Evaluating Internet Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy In Adults With Depression, Togan Cottrell

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

• Depression is one of the most prevalent and costly mental health issues worldwide.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been a long-standing treatment for patients with depression. CBT has been proven to reduce or eliminate depression symptoms while increasing quality of life.

• Due to lack of access to care and a deficiency of mental health providers throughout the United States, the frequent and lengthy visits that are required for traditional CBT may not be an option.

• The use of internet based CBT has been studied as an alternative to traditional therapy and may serve to fill a …

Folate As An Adjunctive Therapy For Treatment Resistant Depression, Katherine Mcfarland

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

Numerous medications are available to treat depression, yet many patients do not achieve remission or recovery of their symptoms with traditional therapies alone. Folate supplementation has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of depression when used in addition to traditional prescription therapy. A literature review was conducted to determine the effect of low folate levels on depression and if supplementation with either folic acid or L-methylfolate benefits this patient population. Key search terms including folate, folate deficiency, methylfolate, nutrition, and depression were used to perform searches of multiple databases and journals including PubMed, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and the American …

Exploring Autism And The Caregiver Burden Relationship, Mary C. Drockton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to collect qualitative data on the different stresses and burdens associated with being a caregiver for an autistic individual, and discover strategies of stress relief for caregivers. A total of four autism support group meetings hosted by the Autism Society of Greater Akron were attended and observed, with documentation of the discussion between the moderator of the meeting and the caregivers in attendance. Through observation of these meetings, common themes of stress in caregivers were revealed. These include: difficulty with the diagnosis process and finding medical treatment; seeking additional information on available medical treatments; …

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 Development Of Mental Illness Stigma: The Role Of Perceived Social Support, Social Proximity, And Help-Seeking Behavior, Emily Kathryn Reed

Online Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to explore the relationships mental illness stigmatization may have with perceived social support, proximity, and help-seeking behavior. Based on findings from previously conducted studies, hypotheses were formulated in order to further analyze how perceived social support, proximity, and help-seeking behavior may impact an individual's tendency to stigmatize mental illness. 203 Eastern Kentucky students participated in this study to test these hypotheses. These participants took part in an online study that measured their perceived social support based on their family environment, their proximity to those with a mental illness or mental illness in general, their attitudes regarding …

Testing Cross-Sectional And Prospective Mediators Of Internalized Heterosexism On Heavy Drinking, Alcohol Problems, And Psychological Distress Among Heavy Drinking Men Who Have Sex With Men, Alexis Kuerbis, Ethan Mereish, Marie Hayes, Christine Davis, Sijing Shao, Jon Morgenstern

Publications and Research

Objective: Minority stress theory is often used as a causal explanation for substance use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations. This study tested whether drinking to cope with stress (DTC), loneliness, and gay community participation (GCP) mediated the relationship between one type of minority stress (i.e., internalized heterosexism, IH) and behavioral health outcomes. Method: Utilizing secondary data analysis and the PROCESS procedure, relationships between IH, the mediators (DTC, loneliness, and GCP), and outcomes (heavy drinking, alcohol problems, and psychological distress) were explored, both cross-sectionally and in a lagged manner, among both treatment seeking and non-treatment seeking problem drinking men who …

Person-Centered Treatment To Optimize Psychiatric Medication Adherence, Natalie Bareis

Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: Adherence to psychotropic medication is poor among individuals with bipolar disorder (BD). To understand treatment experiences and associated adherence among these individuals, we developed a novel construct of Clinical Net Benefit (CNB) using psychiatric symptoms, adverse effects and overall functioning assessments. We tested whether adherence differed across classes of CNB, whether individuals transitioned between classes over time, and whether these transitions were differentially associated with adherence.

Methods: Data come from individuals aged 18+ during five years of the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD). Latent class analysis identified groups of CNB. Latent transition analysis determined probabilities of …

Screening For Alcohol Use/Abuse In The Primary Care Setting Using The Audit-C And Sbirt (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral To Treatment), Whitney D. Spear

DNP Projects

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of alcohol screening in the primary care setting to detect alcohol abuse or misuse using the AUDIT-C standardized screening tool and SBIRT.

METHODS: This study design was a Quasi-Experimental intervention, one group post-test. Data was collected via retrospective chart review from the electronic medical records by the type of office visit; either new patient initial visit or annual well visit. The patient sample consisted of 25 participants for the study period of September 19^th through October 10^th, 2017.

RESULTS: There were 37 patients eligible to participate …