Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Acceptability And Feasibility Of Telehealth Delivered Written Exposure Therapy With College Students, Maya Anais Krek

Theses and Dissertations

Full and subthreshold presentations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are both functionally impairing and chronic. Therefore, development of feasible and acceptable treatments for both is imperative. Written Exposure Therapy (WET), a brief five-session in-person PTSD treatment, has the potential to be successfully administered accessibly via a telehealth format due to minimal therapist contact and short duration of treatment. This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of WET delivered via a telehealth format to college students experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Participants (N = 4) were college students who were impacted by at least one traumatic event and had associated posttraumatic stress …

Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling To Examine Factors Impacting Health-Related Quality Of Life For Emerging Adults With Chronic Pain As They Transition To Adulthood, Amy Coral Lang

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 5% to 30% of adolescents and emerging adults are living with chronic pain as they navigate the transition from pediatric- to adult-focused health care. However, there is a paucity of research investigating the health care transition experience for emerging adults with chronic pain. The current study aimed to utilize structural equation modeling in a sample of community-recruited emerging adults with chronic pain to: 1) assess a hypothesized measurement model and validate pertinent measures in this understudied population; and 2) assess a hypothesized structural model based in the Individual and Family Self-Management Theory. Findings provide preliminary validation of measures of …

The Impact Of Emotional Cues On Response Inhibition In Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms, Ashleigh M. Harvey

Theses and Dissertations

Response inhibition (RI; the ability to inhibit a pre-potent response) has been proposed as a cognitive vulnerability underlying obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, extant mixed findings about this purported relationship have raised questions of how robust this relationship might be, and whether other contextual factors may not be fully captured by existing study methodologies. Given rates of comorbid depression and real-world clinical observations of the effects of dysphoric mood on OCD, the present study examined the associations between RI, OCD, and dysphoric mood by utilizing an analogue sample and a cross-sectional, within-subjects design. Participants completed the stop-signal and go/no-go tasks to …

The Relationship Between Response Inhibition Deficits And Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration, Bryce Arseneau

Theses and Dissertations

Victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration suffer from lasting deleterious impacts of trauma. Although various risk factors of IPV have been explored, fewer studies have focused on executive functioning as potential risk factors for IPV perpetration. Response inhibition is a form of cognitive control which serves to stop the initiation of a maladaptive action/response. Within the context of IPV, adaptive response inhibition may inhibit utilizing aggression as a conflict strategy. Therefore, exploring the relationship between response inhibition deficits and IPV may further our understanding of IPV perpetration.

This study sought to explore the relationship between response inhibition and IPV …

Cross-Day Associations Between Relational Factors And Intimate Partner Violence In Young Adult Couples, Lauren Grocott

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) is alarmingly high, with young adults at increased risk, underscoring the importance of identifying risk factors for perpetration of IPV. IPV is largely understood as a dyadic process, as it involves both partners and is inherently influenced by the behaviors of both partners. Thus, it is important that research poised to better understand risk factors for IPV utilize young adult samples that include both dyad members. Previous research examining risk factors for IPV perpetration has identified multiple relational factors (i.e., relationship characteristics influenced by both partners) that impact risk. In particular, findings suggest …

Anti-Bisexual Discrimination, Hazardous Alcohol Use, And Sexual Victimization Among Bi+ Individuals, Benjamin Katz

Theses and Dissertations

Bi+ individuals are at an elevated risk of sexual victimization compared to other sexual minorities. Hazardous alcohol use and minority stress are two factors proposed to contribute to increased rates of sexual victimization among bi+ individuals. The present study investigated the roles of distal and proximal minority stress, general life stress, negative affect, and hazardous alcohol use as predictors of sexual victimization in a sample of 192 bi+ young adults. Results indicated that experiences of anti-bisexual discrimination were associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing past year rape victimization. A direct, positive association between hazardous alcohol use and past year …

Alcohol Use, Trait Anger, And Intimate Partner Violence In College Student Couples, Cayla O'Hair

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem, and risk for IPV is often highest among young adults. Numerous studies have found alcohol use to temporally precede and increase the risk for IPV perpetration. Trait anger is also associated with greater levels of physical, sexual, and psychological IPV perpetration. Daily diary research using one member of the dyad has found that alcohol is associated with increased physical IPV perpetration among men high, but not low, in levels of trait anger. However, IPV is a dyadic process that is impacted by the behavior of both partners, and little is …

The Cumulative Impact Of Childhood Adversity On Bold Responses To Inhibitory Control During Early Adolescence In The Abcd Study Cohort, Elizabeth Ashley Stinson

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is characterized by dynamic neurodevelopment, which poses opportunities for risk and resilience. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) pose additional risk to the developing brain, where ACEs have been associated with alterations in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) BOLD signaling in brain regions underlying inhibitory control. Potential resiliency factors, like positive family environment, may attenuate the risk associated with ACEs. Using baseline to 2-year data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the current study examined how ACEs relate to fMRI BOLD signaling during successful inhibition on the Stop Signal Task (SST) in regions underlying inhibitory control during early adolescence …

Patterns Of Therapist Use Of Play And Humor And Child Behavioral Fear Response In An Exposure Therapy For Children With Williams Syndrome, Brianna Young

Theses and Dissertations

Children with Williams syndrome struggle with fears and phobias that significantly impact their daily lives. Yet there are few psychosocial and no empirically supported behavioral interventions to treat anxiety and phobias in this population of children. This study is part of a larger project examining the effectiveness of an exposure-based play- and humor-infused intervention aimed to provide developmentally appropriate behavioral therapy to reduce fear and anxiety in children aged 4 to 10 with Williams syndrome. This approach was piloted with 9 children (3 females; 6 males) in the context of developing a website to disseminate the approach to university-based and …

Characterizing Coping Among Parents Of Children With Medical Complexity, Julia Barbara Tager

Theses and Dissertations

Children with medical complexity (CMC) are characterized by intensive healthcare needs. Given the centrality of the relationship between parent and child well-being, an investigation of the experiences of parents who care for CMC is warranted. Parents of CMC experience significant challenges relating to practical matters and their own well-being, but there is a dearth of research examining parental coping strategies used in response to these challenges. Informed by the revised Transactional Model of Coping, the current study aimed to characterize coping among a sample of parents of CMC. Twenty parental caregivers of CMC served by the Complex Care Program at …