Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons^™

Association Between Climate Change Awareness And Depression & Anxiety: Findings From A U.S. Sample, Stanley Nkemjika, Colvette Brown, Henry Onyeaka, Srikanta Banerjee, Jennifer Oliphant

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Exploring the connection between climate change awareness and overall well-being is crucial, particularly in how it impacts both the environment and mental health. The mental health consequences of climate change and its awareness have not been thoroughly examined, especially in the U.S. In this study, the relationship between awareness of climate change and depression or anxiety among U.S. adults was explored. Similarly, the role of climate change awareness has not been explored in relation to mental health concerns.

METHODS: Based on the HINTS-6 dataset, a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey conducted by the National Cancer Institute, a variety of statistical …

Assessing The Effects Of Long-Covid On Mental Health In The United States: A Population Based Study, Anusua Datta

School of Business Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: While most individuals recover fully from COVID-19, a significant proportion of survivors experience prolonged symptoms lasting three months or more, a condition commonly referred to as long-COVID. Long-COVID conditions have been associated with reduced quality of life. By utilizing a nationally representative sample of nearly a million Americans, this study provides insights into the prevalence and impact of long-COVID on anxiety and depression in the U.S.

METHODS: We utilize the Household Pulse Survey data, which provides the first population-based sample on the prevalence of long-COVID, beginning with its June 2022 wave. This survey also includes questions on respondents' mental …

Reducing Stress Related To Injection Therapy: A Zen Bundle Approach, Valoree Bowen

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: Needle fear and stress are common barriers preventing adults from seeking necessary medical treatments, including intramuscular (IM) injection therapy. Research highlights the need for evidence-based interventions to mitigate this fear and improve patient experience.

Objective: This evidence-based pilot project included a Zen Bundle—an intervention incorporating shared decision-making, aromatherapy, and distraction—to evaluate the impact on stress reduction and patient satisfaction in a retail vitamin shop in North Texas.

Methods: The project utilized a pre-and post-intervention design over eight weeks. Participants completed pre-surveys assessing stress levels using a Visual Analog Scale before choosing an intervention (aromatherapy, distraction, or both) during IM …

An Integrative Review Of Trauma Informed Care With Pediatrics To Minimize Psychological Sequelae Post Discharge, Amber Lee, Courtney Heinzelman

Master's Projects

Each year, a significant number of children sustain injuries requiring hospitalization, and while many recover physically, some face long-term psychological challenges such as post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression. This integrative review focuses on adolescents aged 13–18 who have experienced accidental trauma, exploring how trauma-informed care (TIC) in nursing compares to traditional approaches in reducing psychological impacts after discharge. Research suggests that many young patients report mental health symptoms for months following traumatic events. Trauma-informed care prioritizes principles such as safety, trust, peer support, and empowerment, aiming to reduce emotional distress and promote recovery. This review examines the application of these …

The Impact Of A 4-Domain Wellness-Initiative Curriculum On Internal Medicine Resident Physicians, Esha Vallabhaneni, Luigi Cubeddu, Ryan Petit, Fernando Poli, Premal Patel, Cynthia Rivera

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

There is a trend toward fostering well-being, or the state of being happy and healthy, within the medical community. Historically, resident physicians have faced high rates of distress during training. A structured well-being curriculum in residency programs may shift residents' mindsets from survival and resilience to one centered on purpose, engagement, and joy.

Methods

An original well-being curriculum was administered to residents in person at a single institution every 5 weeks for approximately 10 well-being workshops, totaling around 20 hours of curriculum exposure during every academic year. The well-being curriculum was divided into 4 domains: cognitive distortions and problematic …

Review Of Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures And Patient-Centered Approaches To Care, Rabeel Ahmad, Rebekah Dietrich, Munaza Khan

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are defined as involuntary experiential and behavioral responses to internal or external stimuli. They are behaviors, not associated with pathological alterations in the physiology of the brain. Although some of them mimic syncope, they have historically been regarded to clinically resemble epileptic episodes.

There is a multiplicity of different names for this condition. PNES is the most widely used term, though the term "functional seizures" is increasingly used. Alternatives such as "psychogenic seizures," "dissociative seizures," "psychogenic nonepileptic attacks" (PNEA), and "nonepileptic seizures" are also used.

Social Media Addiction Affecting Mental Health Of College Women, Praneetha Rajkumar, Don D. Shamilov, David F. Lo

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

In our digital society, many teenagers and young adults use the many forms of social media, which are applications that enable users to create, share, and view content. Addiction to sites such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat is a rising concern due to the impact it has on the mental health of young women, particularly those aged 18-25. Addiction can result in spending an unreasonable amount of time on social media, being overly preoccupied with social media content, or having day-to-day activities that revolve around social media usage. Different sources of data were reviewed to understand why mental health concerns …

Asl-English Interpreters And Anxiety, Stephen B. Fitzmaurice, Meri Faulkner

Journal of Interpretation

Reflective of the American population, there are a number of interpreters who have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Using a mixed methods approach, credentialed interpreters share their experience with anxiety as a professional interpreter. Participants relate both the positive and negative effects of anxiety on their interpreting work. Several anxiety coping strategies are explored, as well as, detailing the importance of finding a confidant. Issues such as potential professional stigma and the consequences of declining assignments for anxiety reasons are discussed.

The Difficulty In The Diagnosis And Management Of Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome, Sidney Charm D. Reyes

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome (ADS) is a condition that occurs in about 20% of patients following the abrupt reduction/stoppage of any antidepressant medication that has been taken continuously for at least one month.

Case Presentation: We present a 36-year-old Hispanic woman who initially presented for evaluation of flu-like symptoms (subjective fever, rhinorrhea) and worsening body aches, trouble sleeping, and headaches for the past three days. She also reported recent exposure to a sick co-worker. Rapid flu, strep, and COVID tests came back negative. Pt was diagnosed with a viral URI and was discharged with counseling on supportive treatment. The patient …

Anxiety And Agitation In Adult Patients Admitted To An Emergency Room During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Doris L. Asombrado

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective correlational study was to identify the relationship between COVID-19 status and the prevalence of anxiety-agitation with select sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in adults admitted to the ED during the pandemic (03/01/2020 through 12/31/2020).

Background: COVID-19 infections combined with the WHO and CDC recommendations to mitigate spread have had deleterious psychosocial and economic outcomes with the risk of subsequent COVID-19 related mental illness. Studies indicate one in three adults experience anxiety or depression.

Methods: This retrospective correlational study reviewed 2,572 psychiatric admissions from a Southern California ED during the pandemic from March 1, 2020 through …

Dental Fear, Anxiety, And Phobia; Causes, Diagnostic Criteria And The Medical And Social Impact, Nadya Avramova

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Despite technological advances in modern medical science and practice, many people still associate dental treatment with unpleasant emotional sensations and pain. According to the current literature, dental fear and anxiety are psychological barriers that negatively affect frequency of patient attendance which results in avoidant behavior and poorer oral health-related quality of life.

This paper was therefore aimed at discussing basic theoretical aspects concerning diagnostic criteria, causes, and impacts of dental fear, anxiety, and phobia. Clarifying their differential diagnostic characteristics, clinical features and specific causes may play an important role in proper diagnosing, positive influencing, and management of this group of …

Contribution Of Early-Life Unpredictability To Neuropsychiatric Symptom Patterns In Adulthood, Andrea D. Spadoni, Meghan Vinograd, Bruna Cuccurazzu, Katy Torres, Laura M. Glynn, Elysia P. Davis, Tallie Z. Baram, Dewleen G. Baker, Caroline M. Nievergelt, Victoria B. Risbrough

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Recent studies in both human and experimental animals have identified fragmented and unpredictable parental and environmental signals as a novel source of early-life adversity. Early-life unpredictability may be a fundamental developmental factor that impacts brain development, including reward and emotional memory circuits, affecting the risk for psychopathology later in life. Here, we tested the hypothesis that self-reported early-life unpredictability is associated with psychiatric symptoms in adult clinical populations.

Methods

Using the newly validated Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood, we assessed early-life unpredictability in 156 trauma-exposed adults, of which 65% sought treatment for mood, anxiety, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) …

Interactions Of International Pilots' Stress, Fatigue, Symptoms Of Depression, Anxiety, Common Mental Disorders And Wellbeing, Marion Venus, Martin Grosse Holtforth

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Objective

This study Investigates more dimensions than previous studies simultaneously: pilots’ duty rosters, stress, sleep difficulties, fatigue levels, wellbeing, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and common mental disorders (CMD), and how they are interrelated.

Background

Several scientific studies have confirmed that fatigue can pose a significant risk to flight safety. Other studies reported positive depression screening results for more pilots, compared with the general population.

Method

A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 406 international pilots, who reported their duty rosters of the last two months. Pilots also self-assessed their stress-levels, sleep problems, fatigue, wellbeing, and mental health.

Results

Although pilots …

Cerebellum-Seeded Functional Connectivity Changes In Trait-Anxious Individuals Undergoing Attention Bias Modification Training, Katherine Elwell

All NMU Master's Theses

Anxiety and anxiety related disorders are increasing at a drastic rate in the past decade, with the NIMH reporting that 31.1% of U.S. adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Anxiety is commonly characterized by increased attention bias to threat. Attention Bias Modification (ABM) is a new treatment used to reduce individual’s attention bias towards threat. The extent to which ABM leads to underlying neural changes is still unknown. The cerebellum is a neglected brain structure, with new research provides evidence that cerebellum’s functional connectivity and shared networks with threat processing regions has a direct …

Weight Status, Bullying Involvement, And Internalizing Symptomology In Adolescents: Examining A Diathesis-Stress Model, Ana Damme

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Bullying is a pervasive societal issue that is consistently linked to negative outcomes that are emotionally, socially, behaviorally, and medically related. Most youth will encounter this negative life event in their childhood. The purpose of this dissertation was to use a diathesis-stress model perspective to assess the relations between the negative life event of bullying involvement, youths’ mental health, and youth weight status. Youth who have an unhealthy weight status are more likely to be involved in bullying than those with a healthy weight status (Browne, 2012; Puhl). Additionally, bullying and having an unhealthy weight status are related internalizing symptomology …

Evaluating Commonalities Between Different Medically Unexplained Symptoms, Dan Guo, Maria Kleinstäuber, Malcolm Henry Johnson, Frederick Sundram

Psychology Faculty Publications

This commentary presents commonalities in medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) across multiple organ systems, including symptoms, aetiological mechanisms, comorbidity with mental health disorders, symptom burden and impact on quality of life. Further, treatment outcomes and barriers in the clinician–patient relationship, and cross-cultural experiences are highlighted. This discussion is necessary in aiding an improved understanding and management of MUS due to the interconnectedness underlying MUS presentations across the spectrum of medical specialties.

Addicted To The Answer, Charumathi Raman

Capstones

Hypochondria, which is now broadly known as health anxiety, is the fear of a serious illness that continues despite evidence to the contrary from laboratory tests and the reassurance of physicians. In the past people with this disorder would go from doctor to doctor seeking an answer, but now many people rely solely upon online information.

For people with health anxiety, the Internet provides a lot of fodder. Researchers have recently coined the term "cyberchondria" to describe the phenomenon of increased health anxiety due to online health searches.

Entering questions like “Who started World War Two?” or “Who was the …

Use Of Music To Reduce Anxiety In Short Wait Periods For Patients Receiving Care In An Urgent Care Clinic, Rebecca Anne Parker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

The concept of waiting has received limited attention in the world of research. In modern society, waiting has become a commonplace event, especially in healthcare. Although the waiting experience can produce anxiety, healthcare environments can be easily manipulated in order to increase human comfort and reduce situational anxiety. One such way of accomplishing this is to introduce music to an environment. This paper will discuss the findings related to short wait periods, anxiety, and music within the literature, and the findings within this research study. This study found listener-selected music to be statistically effective in reducing anxiety for patients …

The Effectiveness Of A Computer-Assisted, Cognitive-Behavior Program For Treating Anxiety Symptoms In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jennifer A. Zabel

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex and multifaceted, neurodevelopmental disorder that severely impacts children and families across a variety of settings. Prevalence rates of ASD are continuing to increase rapidly, with sizeable intervention and treatment costs placed on families and society. Further complicating the matter, many individuals with ASD also evidence co-occurring anxiety symptoms or disorders and tend to be at a higher risk for developing such problems when compared to other clinical populations or typically developing children. This study investigated the effectiveness of a computer-assisted CBT program, Camp Cope-A-Lot (CCAL), in regards to reducing anxiety symptoms in four …

Pregnancy Anxiety And Prenatal Cortisol Trajectories, Heidi S. Kane, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Laura M. Glynn, Calvin J. Hobel, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Pregnancy anxiety is a potent predictor of adverse birth and infant outcomes. The goal of the current study was to examine one potential mechanism whereby these effects may occur by testing associations between pregnancy anxiety and maternal salivary cortisol on 4 occasions during pregnancy in a sample of 448 women. Higher mean levels of pregnancy anxiety over the course of pregnancy predicted steeper increases in cortisol trajectories compared to lower pregnancy anxiety. Significant differences between cortisol trajectories emerged between 30 to 31 weeks of gestation. Results remained significant when adjusted for state anxiety and perceived stress. Neither changes in pregnancy …

The Effects Of Anxiety On Sensory Gating, Jonathon Meier

Honors Projects

Sensory gating is a proposed important physiological process of inhibiting neuronal responses of repetitious stimuli in the central nervous system to allocate more cognitive resources to additional salient information. Sensory gating is currently being studied to better understand psychiatric illnesses, especially those characterized by emotional changes and the inability to concentrate such as schizophrenia, ADHD, anxiety disorder, and Parkinson’s. Anxiety is a strong feeling of nervousness that occurs in all individuals at varying degrees and is associated with detrimental health effects as well as hindering concentration. Numerous brain regions are associated with anxiety levels such as the anterior limbic system, …

Predictors Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms Among African American Hiv-Positive Women, Nina Katherine Sublette

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

This descriptive correlation study had four purposes: describe depressive and anxiety symptom levels in pregnant and non-pregnant African American (AA) HIV-positive women, examine the association between underlying vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms in HIV-positive AA women, determine the association between underlying vulnerabilities and anxiety symptoms in AA HIV-positive women, and determine the predictors of depressive and anxiety symptoms among African American HIV-positive women. A convenience sample of 80 African American HIV-positive women was recruited from university-based obstetrics/-gynecology and infectious disease practices in a large metropolitan city in the Mid-South. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale …