Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Predicting Body Mass Index In Northern Plains American Indian Children, Tami Jollie-Trottier

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity has become a major health concern for American Indians. Obesity prevalence is higher for minority groups, however American Indians consistently have higher rates than any other U.S. population. Of more concern is the trend towards higher rates of overweight and obesity in American Indian children. Obesity has been associated with many health concerns such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes mellitus in both American Indian adults and children. The purpose of this study is to identify predictor variables that may be contributing to the development or possibly maintenance of obesity in American Indian children. …

Acculturation Status And Sexuality Among Female Cuban American College Students, Marcela Raffaelli, Byron L. Zamboanga, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The authors examined relations among different measures of acculturation, and between acculturation and sexual behavior, in a sample of female Cuban American college students (n = 61, M age = 18.4 years) who completed self-report surveys. In the first set of analyses, weak to moderate associations emerged among 4 measures of acculturation (birthplace, childhood language use, current language use, and ethnic identity), suggesting that inconsistent findings from prior research may have resulted from measurement limitations. In multivariate analyses, the authors examined predictors of sexual behavior and found that 1 aspect of acculturation (higher levels of ethnic identity) and background characteristics …

A Social Cognitive Perspective Of Physical-Activity-Related Behavior In Physical Education, Jeffrey J. Martin, Pamela Hodges Kulinna

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of the current study was to examine student and teacher physical-activity-related behavior using the theory of planned behavior and self-efficacy theory. Although teachers reported an overwhelmingly positive attitude toward teaching physical activity lessons to promote fitness development, they only devoted 4% of their class time to actually demonstrating and promoting fitness. Students were quite sedentary during class spending 61% of class time sitting, standing, or lying down. Using hierarchical regression analyses, teachers' attitudes toward teaching physically active physical education classes accounted for 50% of the variance in teachers' intention. Teachers who demonstrated/promoted fitness and who limited their general …

Community Life And Housing In Rural Nebraska: 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan Tomkins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Many rural communities are experiencing population decline. However, rural residents have continued to show a strong attachment to their communities. How do rural Nebraskans feel about their community? Are they satisfied with the services provided? Do they own their home? What is the condition of their home?

This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll, the tenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their community and housing. Trends for some of these questions are examined by comparing data from the nine previous polls to this year’s results. For …

Lizette Peterson: A Collaboration Of Passion And Science, David Dilillo, George Tremblay

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Since her untimely death in July of 2002, there have been two tributes to Lizette Peterson published in psychology journals. Sher and Homer (2003) provided an overview of Lizette’s history and achievements, and Roberts (2002), in the pages of this journal, reflected on her legacy to the field of Pediatric Psychology. Both are poignant remembrances by authors who held enduring and special places in Lizette’s affections. We will not seek to replicate the scope or intimacy of those portrayals, but instead to offer a brief chronology of her distinguished career and to establish a context for the articles presented in …

Gonadal Steroids Differentially Modulate Neurotoxicity Of Hiv And Cocaine: Testosterone And Ici 182,780 Sensitive Mechanism, Sherie L. Kendall, Caroline F. Anderson, Avindra Nath, Jadwiga Turchan-Cholewo, Cantey L. Land, Charles F. Mactutus, Rosemarie M. Booze

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: HIV Associated Dementia (HAD) is a common complication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection that erodes the quality of life for patients and burdens health care providers. Intravenous drug use is a major route of HIV transmission, and drug use is associated with increased HAD. Specific proteins released as a consequence of HIV infection (e.g., gp120, the HIV envelope protein and Tat, the nuclear transactivating protein) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of HAD. In primary cultures of human fetal brain tissue, subtoxic doses of gp120 and Tat are capable of interacting with a physiologically relevant dose of cocaine, …

Evaluation Of Florida's Medicaid Managed Mental Health Plans: Year 8 Report, David L. Shern, Pat Robinson, Julienne Giard, Amy Vargo, Patty Sharrock, Roger A. Boothroyd

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Clinical Decision-Making About Psychopathy And Violence Risk Assessment In Public Sector Mental Health Settings, Eric B. Elbogen, Matthew T. Huss, Alan Tomkins, Mario J. Scalora

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Although there has been extensive research on psychopathy, it is unknown how, or whether, clinicians in public sector mental health settings consider the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) for assessing violence risk. Mental health clinicians (N = 135) from 4 facilities were interviewed by using multiple methods for collecting data on decision making. Participants considered clinical information most often when assessing violence risk, indicating that these data were most readily available. Clinicians perceived formal testing results (e.g., PCL) to be least available and considered testing least often, especially if clinicians had less clinical experience. Participants did not explicitly report using the …

Rural Nebraska: Looking Back At A Decade Of Change And Progress: 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan Tomkins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Nebraska Rural Poll, rural Nebraskans were asked about changes they may have experienced during the past ten years. Where have they lived during the past decade? In what types of business activities have they been involved? Have they received any education or training during that time period? What has been their experience with the Internet?

This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll, the tenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about changes they have experienced during the past ten years. For …

Religiosity And Prosocial Behaviours In Adolescence: The Mediating Role Of Prosocial Values, Sam A. Hardy, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examined the hypothesis that religiosity would be differentially related to six types of adolescent prosocial behavior, and that these relations would be mediated by the prosocial value of kindness. Self-report data were collected from 142 high school students (63 per cent female; 91 per cent White; M age = 16.8, S =.80). Religiosity was a significant positive predictor of kindness, as well as compliant, anonymous and altruistic prosocial behavior, but not public, dire and emotional prosocial behavior. Associations between religiosity and both compliant and altruistic prosocial behaviors were mediated by kindness. Direct and indirect paths were found between …

The Ecology And Evolution Of Patience In Two New World Monkeys, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Elizabeth V. Hallinan, Marc D. Hauser

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Decision making often involves choosing between small, short-term rewards and large, long-term rewards. All animals, humans included, discount future rewards—the present value of delayed rewards is viewed as less than the value of immediate rewards. Despite its ubiquity, there exists considerable but unexplained variation between species in their capacity to wait for rewards—that is, to exert patience or self-control. Using two closely related primates—common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)— we uncover a variable that may explain differences in how species discount future rewards. Both species faced a self-control paradigm in which individuals chose …

Juror Reactions To Jury Duty: Perceptions Of The System And Potential Stressors, Brian H. Bornstein, Monica Miller, Robert J. Nemeth, Gregory L. Page, Sarah Musil

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Jurors were surveyed on their general perceptions of the court system and factors that may cause stress immediately after trial, after participating in a post-trial debriefing, and a month after trial. Jurors had an overall positive view of the court system but did report some perceived inequities. The two most stressful elements of jury duty were related to the complexity of the trial and the decision-making involved in the trial, although jurors reported low levels of stress overall. Women reported more stress than men, and trial characteristics such as trial length also affected stress levels. The debriefing intervention was perceived …

“You Would If You Loved Me”: Toward An Improved Conceptual And Etiological Understanding Of Nonphysical Male Sexual Coercion, Sarah A. Degue, David Dilillo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This paper reviews current research regarding the prevalence and possible etiological factors associated with male sexual coercion, defined here as a class of inappropriate male behaviors in which nonphysical tactics (e.g., verbal pressure, lying, deceit, and continual arguments) are utilized to obtain sexual contact with an unwilling adult female. This form of sexual misconduct is contrasted with sexual aggression (i.e., forcible rape), in which the threat or use of physical force is utilized to gain sexual contact. A conceptual framework for understanding and examining sexual coercion within the broader context of male sexual misconduct is offered. This model consists of …

Novelty Reward As A Measure Of Anhedonia, Rick A. Bevins, Joyce Besheer

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A decrease in sensitivity to pleasurable stimuli, anhedonia, is a major symptom of depression in humans. Several animal models have been developed to simulate this symptom (e.g. drug withdrawal, learned helplessness) using reward-sensitive procedures such as intracranial self-stimulation and progressive ratio responding as a measure of reward function. Recently, we introduced the use of another procedure, novel-object place conditioning in rats, to measure reward function in an associative learning situation. Withdrawal from chronic nicotine blocked a place preference conditioned by access to novel objects. This blockade was not due to impairment of object interaction, general activity, novelty detection, environmental familiarization, …

Freedom Of Thought, Offensive Fantasies And The Fundamental Human Right To Hold Deviant Ideas: Why The Seventh Circuit Got It Wrong In Doe V. City Of Lafayette, Indiana, Clay Calvert

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “A precarious balance and considerable tension exists between two competing legal interests – the essential, First Amendment-grounded human right to freedom of thought, on the one hand, and the desire to prevent harm and injury that might occur if thought is converted to action, on the other. To understand this tension, it is useful to start by considering three different and disturbing factual scenarios.

This article examines and critiques the majority opinion of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in City of Lafayette. The majority held that the city’s ban of John Doe, a convicted sex offender, from its …

Histories Of Childhood Maltreatment In Schizophrenia: Relationships With Premorbid Functioning, Symptomatology, And Cognitive Deficits, Lindsay S. Schenkel, William D. Spaulding, David Dilillo, Steven M. Silverstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A number of studies have demonstrated an increased rate of histories of childhood maltreatment among adults with serious mental illness. The present investigation documented the presence of childhood maltreatment in a sample of 40 psychiatric inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The type (neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse), duration, and severity of childhood maltreatment was examined along with measures of premorbid functioning, current symptomatology, and cognitive functioning. Participants with histories of maltreatment were significantly more likely to have poorer peer relationships in childhood, more diffi culty in school, an earlier age at first hospitalization, more previous hospitalizations, elevated symptoms of anxiety, …

Timing Of Conditioned Responding In A Nicotine Locomotor Conditioning Preparation: Manipulations Of The Temporal Arrangement Between Context Cues And Drug Administration, Rick A. Bevins, Sarah Eurek, Joyce Besheer

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Using a locomotor conditioning preparation, we examined whether manipulating time between exposure to distinct environmental cues and nicotine administration affected conditioned responding. Rats that received nicotine (0.42 mg/kg base) immediately before placement in an environment for 30 min on eight separate occasions displayed hyperactivity relative to controls in a subsequent injection/drug-free test. This conditioned hyperactivity was weaker if nicotine was administered 15 min before environment exposure. Conditioning was not evidenced when nicotine was administered 15 min after placement or upon removal from the environment. In a follow-up experiment, rats received 45 min in the environment; nicotine was administered 15 min …

Should I Diet? What Should I Eat? Different Decision Making Factors Predict Dieting Intentions Versus Actual Dietary Behavior, Marc T. Kiviniemi, Kristi E. White, Amy M. Humke

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Many individuals diet to lose weight. Most attempts are not successful—weight is either not lost or is quickly regained.We investigated decision making factors influencing dieting intentions versus those influencing actual behavior. Prior to eating in a university cafeteria, 65 participants reported their cost-benefit beliefs about low fat foods and fruits/vegetables, affective associations with both food categories, and whether they were currently dieting to lose weight. After the meal, participants reported what they ate. Using these reports and nutritional data from the college dining service, we computed the calories, total and saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol consumed. Cost-benefit beliefs and affective …

Current Mood And Food Choices: The Relation Between Positive Affect And Dietary Behavior, Kristi E. White, Amy M. Humke, Marc T. Kiviniemi

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Colloquially, much is made of the relation between food and mood. For example, “comfort foods” are eaten in the service of affect regulation. Affect can influence behavioral choices in a number of ways. We investigated whether college students’ mood when making dietary choices influenced the nutritional value of the foods chosen. Sixty-five participants completed a questionnaire immediately prior to eating a meal in a college dining hall. The questionnaire included a measure of current positive affect. Following the meal, participants reported what they ate for dinner. Using nutritional data from the college dining services, we used participants’ self reported food …

The Need For Quality Aviation Safety Graduates: An Educational Challenge For The 21st Century, Thomas R. Weitzel, Thomas R. Chidester

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

The authors investigated a previously unaddressed problem within the curricula of the United States (U.S.) aviation institutions of higher education. Graduates of these institutions were not being prepared to work within the safety departments of the U.S. air carriers involved with one or more of the five current, voluntary programs. To ascertain the need for a solution, a subjective instrument was developed and personally administered to 13 participants within the industry. The qualitative results were interpreted, and, in combination with the knowledge gained from the immersion of a professor within a research organization, resulted in placement of some of the …

Moving Forward: Negotiating Self And External Circumstances In Recovery, Joanna Ochocka, Geoffrey Nelson, Rich Janzen

Psychology Faculty Publications

This article presents a framework for understanding the concept of recovery from serious mental illnesses and other life struggles. The framework is based on findings from a longitudinal, qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews with 28 people who experienced serious mental health challenges. The purpose of this article is to clarify the concept of recovery by presenting a grounded theory analysis of the components of recovery. The framework recognizes the experiences of struggle constructed through the words of study participants and captures four main components of recovery: a) a drive to move forward, b) a spiral of positive and negative …

Construction And Validation Of A Children’S Interpersonal Trust Belief Scale, Ken J. Rotenberg, Claire Fox, Sarah Green, Louise Ruderman, Kevin Slater, Kelly Stevens, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A scale was constructed to assess children’s generalized trust beliefs (CGTB) in four target groups (mother, father, teacher and peer) with respect to three bases of trust: reliability, emotionality, and honesty. The CGTB Scale was administered to 145 Year 5 and 156 Year 6 children (mean age = 10 years, 1 month) residing in the English Midlands, United Kingdom. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded evidence for the expected factor structure of the CGTB Scale. The total CGTB Scale and subscales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and expected levels of stability across time. As support for validity, Year 6 participants’ scores …

Future Expectations Of Brasilian Street Youth, Marcela Raffaelli, Silvia H. Koller

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Future expectations of youth surviving on the streets of Porto Alegre, Brasil, were examined. The sample consisted of 35 boys and 34 girls aged 10–18 (M age 14.4) who participated in a sentence completion task and semi-structured interviews. Responses to two incomplete sentences regarding the future revealed a mismatch between hoped-for and expected events. When completing the sentence, “In the future, I hope…” the majority of youth gave optimistic (but generally non-specific) responses. In contrast, the sentence “For me, the future…” elicited more pessimistic responses. Few gender or age-related differences emerged. Findings are discussed in light of prior research with …

Education Chronicle Issue 2 Number 2, Touro College School Of Education And Psychology - Graduate Division

Yearbooks and Newsletters

Spring/Summer 2005 Issue

The Reference-Dose Place Conditioning Procedure Yields A Graded Dose-Effect Function, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A major criticism of the place conditioning procedure for studying conditioned drug reward is that it is relatively insensitive to large quantitative shifts in drug dose (i.e., dose effects are all or none). Experiment 1 demonstrated this lack of sensitivity using a wide range of intravenous (IV) cocaine doses (O.1, 0.3, 0.45, 0.6, 0.9, or 1.2 mg/kg). Rats had cocaine repeatedly paired with one distinct end compartment of a 3 compartment apparatus; vehicle was administered in the other end compartment. In a subsequent drug-free choice test, the 0.45 to 1.2 mg/kg doses of cocaine conditioned a place preference. The magnitude …

Evaluating Sex Offenders Under Sexually Violent Predator Laws: How Might Mental Health Professionals Conceptualize The Notion Of Volitional Impairment?, Cynthia Calkins Mercado, Robert F. Schopp, Brian H. Bornstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the significance of the Supreme Court’s Hendricks and Crane decisions, with focus given to how mental health professionals may conceptualize the notion of volitional impairment. The Hendricks decision authorized postsentence civil commitment for sex offenders having a mental abnormality or personality disorder, rendering them likely to engage in future acts of sexual violence. In the Supreme Court’s majority opinion, Justice Thomas implied that the Kansas Act was legitimized by limiting the class of offenders eligible for this specialized form of commitment to those who are “unable to control” their dangerousness. In Crane, the Court ruled that …

Clinical Characteristics Of Individuals Using An Online Alcohol Evaluation Program., Daniel Z Lieberman

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Publications

Access to treatment for substance abuse disorders is limited, and practical strategies are needed to expand opportunities for individuals to receive effective interventions. Automated or semi-automated treatments have shown promise in other disorders. Identifying the characteristics of patients who will be able to benefit from this unconventional approach will increase the likelihood of success. The current study examined 1,297 individuals using an online alcohol evaluation program. Subjects had high scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and a substantial amount of ambivalence about the possible harm that their drinking caused, but they also had very low levels of …

Examining The Time Course Of Indexical Specificity Effects In Spoken Word Recognition, Conor T. Mclennan, Paul A. Luce

Psychology Faculty Publications

Variability in talker identity and speaking rate, commonly referred to as indexical variation, has demonstrable effects on the speed and accuracy of spoken word recognition. The present study examines the time course of indexical specificity effects to evaluate the hypothesis that such effects occur relatively late in the perceptual processing of spoken words. In 3 long-term repetition priming experiments, the authors examined reaction times to targets that were primed by stimuli that matched or mismatched on the indexical variable of interest (either talker identity or speaking rate). Each experiment was designed to manipulate the speed with which participants processed the …

2005 Pinellas County Human Services Priorities Conference Summary Report, Eric M. Eisenberg

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

On March 2, 2005, influential leaders in Pinellas County Human Services gathered to discuss the state of the county and set priorities for the future. The starting point for this conversation was findings from a comprehensive assessment of services conducted by researchers at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. The purpose of this brief report is to summarize the main points made in the conference in the hope that they can provide significant direction for the development of future plans and initiatives in this arena.

Epistasis Among Presynaptic Serotonergic System Components, Scott F. Stoltenberg

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Epistatic interactions among regulatory components of the serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmitter system may be an important aspect of 5-HT function. Because 5-HT dysregulation is associated with several common psychiatric disorders, the potential for epistasis among genetic variants in the 5-HT transporter (SERT), 5-HT_1B terminal autoreceptor and the 5- HT_1A somatodendritic autoreceptor should be examined. In this study, output from a dynamic minimal model of 5-HT function was compared to empirical results in the literature. Parameters representing extracellular 5-HT clearance rates (SERT), 5-HT release levels (5-HT_1B) and inhibitory thresholds (the amount of extracellular 5-HT above which cell firing …