Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Trait Anxiety And Economic Risk Avoidance Are Not Necessarily Associated: Evidence From The Framing Effect, Ruolei Gu, Runguo Wu, Lucas S. Broster, Yang Jiang, Rui Xu, Qiwei Yang, Pengfei Xu, Yue-Jia Luo

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

According to previous literature, trait anxiety is related to the tendency to choose safety options during risk decision-making, that is, risk avoidance. In our opinion, anxious people’s risk preference might actually reflect their hypersensitivity to emotional information. To examine this hypothesis, a decision-making task that could elicit the framing effect was employed. The framing effect indicates that risk preference could be modulated by emotional messages contained in the description (i.e., frame) of options. The behavioral results have showed the classic framing effect. In addition, individual level of trait anxiety was positively correlated with the framing effect size. However, trait anxiety …

Increasing Valued Behaviors Precedes Reduction In Suffering: Findings From A Randomized Controlled Trial Using Act, Andrew T. Gloster, Jens Klotsche, Joseph Ciarrochi, Georg Eifert, Rainer Sonntag, Hans-Ulrich Wittchen, Jürgen Hoyer

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Psychological flexibility theory (PFT) suggests three key processes of change: increases in value-directed behaviors, reduction in struggle with symptoms, and reduction in suffering. We hypothesized that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) would change these processes and that increases in valued action and decreases in struggle would precede change in suffering.

Method: Data were derived from a randomized clinical trial testing ACT (vs. waitlist) for treatment-resistant patients with primary panic disorder with/without agoraphobia (n= 41). Valued behavior, struggle, and suffering were assessed at each of eight sessions.

Results: Valued actions, struggle, and suffering all changed over the …

Persistent Amygdala Novelty Response Is Associated With Less Anterior Cingulum Integrity In Trauma-Exposed Women, Seungyeon A. Yoon, Mariann R. Weierich

Publications and Research

Objectives: We investigated the potential role of cingulum and uncinate fasciculus integrity in trauma-related neural hypervigilance, indexed by less discrimination between amygdala activation to novel and familiar affective images.

Participants: 22 women (mean age 21.7 ± 3.9 years) with a history of trauma, and 20 no-trauma controls (mean age 21.9 ± 4.8 years).

Measures: Trauma exposure and trauma-related symptoms were assessed during structured clinical interview. White matter integrity in the anterior cingulum, parahippocampal cingulum, and uncinate fasciculus was measured using diffusion weighted imaging. Amygdala response to novel and familiar affective scenes was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Results: Trauma-exposed …

Sociocultural Risk Factors For Elevated Perceived Stress Among African American Smokers, Monica Webb Hooper, Noella A. Dietz, Joseph C. Wilson

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Introduction: African Americans experience unique stressors that may inhibit smoking cessation and enhance relapse rates. Few studies, however, have focused on risk factors for perceived stress among treatment seekers. Because African Americans are less likely to quit compared to the larger community, understanding factors associated with perceived stress among smokers has the potential to improve intervention outcomes. This study examined psychosocial and cultural correlates of stress in a sample of African American participants in a randomized controlled trial.

Methods: At baseline, participants reported demographic factors and completed assessments of smoking history, alcohol use, friend and household smoking, weight concerns, acculturation, …

To Nudge Or Not To Nudge: Promoting Environmentally Beneficial Behaviors, Emma Jean Cooper

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

In order to mitigate the effects of climate change, humans need to change how they act toward the environment. Unfortunately, as much as we may want to act in ways that would be best for us and for the environment, we often struggle to do just that due to cognitive biases. Nudge theory attempts to remedy this problem by helping us make the decision that would be in our best interests. To explore this issue, I conduct an extended review of the literature to examine how well nudge theory can be applied to the realm of environmental policy. Specifically, I …

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 …

Whose Preferences Matter? A Patient-Centered Approach For Eliciting Treatment Goals, Nananda F. Col, Andrew J. Solomon, Vicky Springman, Calvin P. Garbin, Carolina Ionete, Lori Pbert, Enrique Alvarez, Brenda Tierman, Ashli Hopson, Christen Kutz, Idanis Berrios Morales, Carolyn Griffin, Glenn Phillips, Long H. Ngo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background. Patients facing a high-stakes clinical decision are often confronted with an overwhelming array of options. High-quality decisions about treatment should reflect patients’ preferences as well as their clinical characteristics. Preference-assessment instruments typically focus on pre-selected clinical outcomes and attributes chosen by the investigator. Objective. We sought to develop a patient-centered approach to elicit and compare the treatment goals of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthcare providers (HCPs). Methods. We conducted five nominal group technique (NGT) meetings to elicit and prioritize treatment goals from patients and HCPs. Five to nine participants in each group responded silently to one question …

Preclinical Assessment Of Immunocal® As A Preventative Treatment For Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi) In A Mouse Model Of Closed Head Injury, Elizabeth Eugenia Ignowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past three decades, traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been considered a "silent epidemic" and recognized as an emergent public health problem by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). TBI is defined as a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Due to the debilitating effects and prevalence of TBI, novel preventative treatment regimens are highly desirable in at risk populations. According to the CDC groups disproportionately affected by TBI include athletes, people aged 75+, and service men and women, among others. Here, we investigated a unique whey protein …

Reliability And Validity Of The Hd-Pro-Triadtm, A Health-Related Quality Of Life Measure Designed To Assess The Symptom Triad Of Huntington's Disease., Nicholas R Boileau, Julie C Stout, Janes S Paulsen, David Cella, Michael K Mccormack, Martha A Nance, Samuel Frank, Jin-Shei Lai, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Huntington's disease (HD), is a neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments that diminish health related quality of life (HRQOL). The HD-PRO-TRIADTM is a quality of life measure that assesses health concerns specific to individuals with HD. Preliminary psychometric characterization was limited to a convenience sample of HD participants who completed measures at home so clinician-ratings were unavailable.

OBJECTIVES: The current study evaluates the reliability and validity of the HD-PRO-TRIADTM in a well-characterized sample of individuals with HD.

METHODS: Four-hundred and eighty-two individuals with HD (n = 192 prodromal, n = 193 early, and n …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Increases Amygdala Connectivity With The Cognitive Control Network In Both Mdd And Ptsd, Haochang Shou, Zhen Yang, Theodore Satterthwaite, Philip Cook, Steven Bruce, Russell Shinohara, Benjamin Rosenberg, Yvette Sheline

Psychology Faculty Works

BackgroundBoth major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by alterations in intrinsic functional connectivity. Here we investigated changes in intrinsic functional connectivity across these disorders as a function of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an effective treatment in both disorders.Methods53 unmedicated right-handed participants were included in a longitudinal study. Patients were diagnosed with PTSD (n = 18) and MDD (n = 17) with a structured diagnostic interview and treated with 12 sessions of manualized CBT over a 12-week period. Patients received an MRI scan (Siemens 3 T Trio) before and after treatment. Longitudinal functional principal components analysis …

Burnout Or Depression: Both Individual And Social Issue, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Éric Laurent

Publications and Research

In view of the profound problems attached to the construct of burnout, we recommended in our that occupational health specialists focus on (job-related) depression rather than burnout to help workers more effectively. The phenomena of interest (burnout or depression) should not be confused with the perspectives (individual or social) adopted to elucidate those phenomena. Both burnout and depression are best explained through the interaction of social or external conditions with individual or internal dispositions.

Mental Health Treatment Seeking Patterns And Preferences Of Appalachian Women With Depression, Claire Snell-Rood, Emily Hauenstein, Carl G. Leukefeld, Frances Feltner, Amber Marcum, Nancy E. Schoenberg

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

This qualitative study explored social-cultural factors that shape treatment seeking behaviors among depressed rural, low-income women in Appalachia—a region with high rates of depression and a shortage of mental health services. Recent research shows that increasingly rural women are receiving some form of treatment and identifying their symptoms as depression. Using purposive sampling, investigators recruited 28 depressed low-income women living in Appalachian Kentucky and conducted semistructured interviews on participants’ perceptions of depression and treatment seeking. Even in this sample of women with diverse treatment behaviors (half reported current treatment), participants expressed ambivalence about treatment and its potential to promote recovery. …

Consumers, Clergy, And Clinicians In Collaboration: Ongoing Implementation And Evaluation Of A Mental Wellness Program, Glen Milstein, Dennis Middel, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

As a foundation of most cultures, with roots in persons’ early development, religion can be a source of hope as well as denigration. Some religious institutions have made attempts to help persons with mental health problems, and some mental health professionals have sought to engage religion resources. These programs have rarely been sustained. In 2008, the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) developed a program to assess the utility of religion resources within mental health care. In response to positive feedback, MHCD appointed a director of Faith and Spiritual Wellness who facilitates community outreach to faith communities and spiritual integration …

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 …

The Impact Of Stress On Steroid Hormones And Cue Reactivity In Smokers And Gamblers, Stephanie Elaine Wemm

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Addictions, both substance and behavioral, have been conceptualized as having similar biopsychosocial processes with different opportunistic expressions (Shaffer et al., 2004). Biological processes such as the hormonal response to stress as measured by cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and the ratio of the DHEA/cortisol may be among the variables underlying the disposition to develop an addictive disorder, regardless of whether it is a substance-based or a so-called behavioral addiction. The current study aimed to examine whether physiological and psychological reactions to stress are similar in high-frequency smokers and gamblers. The subjective (urges, cravings) and physiological responses (skin conductance and heart rate) of …

Phylogeny, Psychology, And The Vicissitudes Of Human Development: The Anxiety Of Atavism, Frank Pittenger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This cross-disciplinary dissertation provides a missing intellectual history of an ostensibly dead idea. Once widely held and no less elegant for its obsolescence, the principle of biogenetic recapitulation is best remembered by its defining mantra, “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.” Among psychologists and sociologists as well as embryologists, the notion that the development of any individual organism repeats in compressed, miniaturized form the entire history of its species enjoyed broad (if not uncontested) acceptance through the early twentieth century. The author reexamines the origins of this theory in the work of Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel, and traces its influence in psychology …

Buying Happiness: Property, Acquisition, And Subjective Well-Being, David Fagundes

Faculty Articles

Acquiring property is a central part of the modern American vision of the good life. The assumption that accruing more land or chattels will make us better off is so central to the contemporary preoccupation with acquisition that it typically goes without saying. Yet an increasing body of evidence from psychologists and economists who study hedonics—the science of happiness—yields the surprising conclusion that getting and having property does not actually increase our subjective well-being. In fact, it might even decrease it. While scholars have integrated the insights of hedonics into other areas of law, no scholarship has yet done so …

The Mobius Strip Of Total Health: Manipulation Of Thinking Prior To Exercise Activity, Joseph A. Schenk

Honors College Theses

Research shows mental and physical health are interdependent. We sought to test various methods of external motivation to effect change in the physical performance and mental health of students enrolled in walking classes. We hypothesized that if there was a correlation between physical exercise and mental health and we could motivate individuals to exercise, then that motivation would in turn result in better mental health. Participants, 19 in the pilot and 320 in the main study, were randomly assigned into three groups to receive messages prior to conducting physical activity: those who received neutral messages about exercise, those who received …

The Implications Of Attachment Orientation And Personality Pathology For Detecting Deception, Madeline Luedke

Global Tides

This study investigated the implications of attachment orientations and personality dimensions for accuracy in detecting deception from emotionally-based statements. Thirty individuals (M age = 25.33, range = 18-52) completed a survey that included the Personality Inventory for DSM-V-Brief Form and the Relationship Styles Questionnaire to measure the individual differences in question. To measure deceit, 7 mental health counselors volunteered to participate in a video-recorded mock interview concerning their current romantic partner—3 individuals provided false responses, and the remaining 4 offered true answers. The audio-visual vignettes were imbedded in the survey and subjects viewed each, then responded a question asking …

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 …

The Effect Of Two Modes Of Aerobic Assessment On Fifth Grade Students' Self Efficacy, Debra Roth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Declining youth physical activity levels and lack of aerobic fitness have been well documented with a corresponding rise in obesity levels and health issues. Based on Bandura's social cognitive theory, healthy physical activity levels and aerobic fitness are strongly connected to positive physical activity self-efficacy beliefs. This study examined whether student physical activity self-efficacy, motivation, and effort were different for the FitnessGram-® (FG) 1-Mile Run when compared to the 15-minute Aerobic Assessment Based on Improvement (AABI). A concurrent mixed method quasi-experimental approach measured 5th grade students' physical activity self-efficacy beliefs through a pretest and posttest survey while aerobic assessment scores …

The Effect Of Parenting Styles On Academic Self-Efficacy, Resilience, And Help Seeking, Ana Gonzalez

All Master's Theses

Parenting is a balance of behaviors that can influence a child’s outcome. Twenty-eight undergraduate college students completed ratings of parenting styles, resilience, and help-seeking behaviors, as well as academic self-efficacy. None of these variables were significant predictors of academic self-efficacy, although significant positive correlations were found between an authoritative parenting style and the variables of help-seeking and resilience. Help-seeking and academic self-efficacy were negatively correlated, suggesting that students with lower academic self-efficacy reported a higher willingness to seek help. Implications of these findings for both mental health counselors and university student support staff are discussed.

Urine Cotinine In Children And Parental Behavior Modification: A Pilot Study, Teresa Lachance

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

“Urine Cotinine in Children and Parental Behavior Modification” was designed by Dr. Deirdre Burns, a pediatrician at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (BBCH). It was implemented as a pilot study to determine whether urine cotinine testing in children who are admitted to the hospital for respiratory illness and tracking parental smoking behaviors over time was feasible. Parents were given a brief survey to assess their current smoking behaviors and to understand their readiness to quit smoking. They received smoking cessation materials provided by the Breathe Easy Coalition of Maine. These materials outline information about second-hand and third-hand smoke, and encourage …

Cross-Validation Of The Validity-10 Subscale Of The Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory, Jordan P. Harp

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The present study is a cross-validation of the Validity-10 embedded symptom validity indicator from the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) for the detection of questionable response validity during evaluation for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The sample and data derived from a three-site Veterans Affairs (VA) parent study to validate the TBI Clinical Reminder, a routine set of questions asked of all recently returned veterans at VA facilities to screen for history of TBI. In the parent study, veterans recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan underwent an evaluation for TBI with a physician and completed an assessment battery including neuropsychological tests …

Role Of Food Preoccupation And Current Dieting In The Associations Of Parental Feeding Practices To Emotional Eating In Young Adults: A Moderated Mediation Study, Natalie A. Williams, Dipti A. Dev, Maren Hankey, Kimberly A. Blitch

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Parental feeding practices reflecting coercive control are related to children’s later eating behaviors, but the mechanisms underlying these effects remain poorly understood. This study examined the relationships between recalled childhood experiences of parental pressure to eat and restriction and current food preoccupation, dieting, and emotional eating in a racially diverse sample of college students (N = 711). Results revealed that parental restriction, but not pressure to eat, was associated with more emotional eating (r = 0.18, p < 0.0001). Food preoccupation mediated the association between restriction and emotional eating (95% CI [3.6495–7.2231]); however, a moderated mediation model revealed that the strength of the indirect effect of restrictive feeding on emotional eating through food preoccupation was significantly different for dieters and non-dieters (index of moderated mediation = 1.79, Boot SE = 0.79; 95% bias-corrected bootstrap CI [–3.5490 to –0.4515]). These findings provide unique insight into the mechanisms linking parental feeding practices with emotional eating in young adulthood. Future studies attempting to clarify the processes through which child feeding practices impact later eating behaviors should consider the role of current dieting.

Auditory Erp Differences Across A Continuum Of Psychotic Symptoms In Non-Clinical Population, Anaya Rehman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Psychosis is a term given to a mental state described as a loss of contact with the real world. The aim of this thesis was to examine early non-specific psychotic experiences in a healthy population by means of two self-report screening tools: Prime Screen and Youth Psychosis At-Risk Questionnaire-Brief, and place individuals on a psychosis continuum. Across this psychosis continuum, three event related potential (ERP) components were assessed: P300, Mismatch Negativity and N100. There is evidence that P300 and mismatch negativity amplitudes diminish in individuals with psychosis. Similarly, impaired N100 amplitude suppression (increased N100 amplitudes) during vocalization has been observed …

On The Depressive Nature Of The “Burnout Syndrome”: A Clarification, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Pierre Vandel, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Key theoretical arguments and empirical findings converge to suggest that the burnout construct captures a depressive phenomenon. The reluctance to consider burnout a depressive condition may be due to (a) a neglect of the stress–depression relationship and (b) a difficulty coordinating dimensional and categorical approaches to psychopathology in burnout research. The dimensions and categories constitute two ways of describing (psychopathological) phenomena. Thus, dimensions and categories should be heuristically combined rather than opposed: burnout and depression can be studied both as ‘‘processes’’ or ‘‘end-states’’. Clarifying what burnout actually is matters in terms of conceptual parsimony, theoretical integration, nosological consistency, interventional effectiveness, …

Just World Beliefs, Identity Development, And Social Justice Advocacy Of Counselor Trainees, Sara Rundlett

All Master's Theses

This was the first study exploring the relationship between the belief in a just world, identity development, and social justice advocacy (SJA). A mixed methods design was conducted using a nationwide sample of ninety-seven counselor-in-training participants. Hypotheses included positive correlation between identity development and SJA, negative correlation between belief in a just world and SJA, and negative correlation between belief in a just world and identity development. Results were not significant but provided implications for future research and counselor training programs.

A Study Of Media Portrayal Of Schizophrenics To Understand How Stigma Associated With Schizophrenia May Be Reversed, Rainielle M. Cua

UROP Posters

The news media are one of the most influential sources of information regarding mental illness. Media coverage on schizophrenia, one of the most stigmatized mental illnesses, tends to be negative, focusing on high risks of violence, failure, and unpredictability. Such perceptions may cause a detrimental impact on the mentally ill and cause them to internalize a stigmatizing stereotype and hinder the public’s understanding of mental illness. I studied how media portrayal in newspaper coverage of schizophrenics has evolved to discover how nonfiction media representation has affected people’s perceptions and attitudes towards schizophrenics and to propose an implementable solution to reduce …