Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Fantasia On A Theme Of Purpose: Using A Music-Guided Scribble Technique To Support Meaning-Making In Older Adult Retiree Musicians, Sophia R. Smith

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Within the population of older adults, overall well-being corresponds with the ability to self-actualize and seek meaning, but age-related changes combined with ageism and isolation can negatively impact this capacity to maintain a sense of purpose, especially following retirement. It may be that retired musicians are especially vulnerable to this experience later in life due to a loss of the primary method of creative engagement and community that is facilitated by musical performance in a group setting. Integrating phenomenological and ethnographic approaches, this study utilized a qualitative design to understand how music-guided art-making incorporating the scribble technique could support a …

Cognitive Fusion, Self And Other-Blame, And College Adjustment Outcomes, Olivia B. Tipton

Master's Theses

College students from socioeconomically challenging backgrounds are more likely to drop out of college before being awarded a bachelor’s degree. A challenging background predicts difficulties in emotion regulation, which may affect adjustment to college and, subsequently, persistence in college until a bachelor’s degree is awarded. Previous research has identified cognitive fusion, a state in which one unquestioningly believes the literal content of their thoughts, and inflexible usage of self and other-blame as predictors of negative social, psychological, and academic outcomes. The present study used self-report data collected from emerging adult college students at a small midwestern university to assess whether …

Act And Veterans: A Multiple Baseline Study Using Act To Treat Anxiety Disorders In U.S. Military Veterans, Jeremiah E. Fruge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There are 18 million Americans, roughly 7% of the population, who are Veterans. In contrast with the general population, Veterans have a high likelihood of exposure to psychological harm during their military service. For example, studies indicate Veterans are diagnosed with anxiety disorders in some cases four times higher than in the general population, though few studies examine treatment. Military culture is an additional factor which is important to account for when treating Veterans. For example, within the military an emphasis is placed on values and committed action which may mean this population will benefit more from certain therapies than …

Telehealth: Visual Adaptations For Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (Act), Caycie Smith

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an influx in therapeutic services provided via web-based “telehealth” platforms. Some therapeutic treatments that were traditionally offered in-person needed to be adapted for telehealth platforms. After virtually beginning ACT with a client who struggled to grasp the material, the ACT PowerPoints were created as an adaptation of an in-person treatment to help the client learn and retain the information. In addition to the ACT PowerPoints, in-session worksheets and homework activities were created as well.

This document examines literature involving the effectiveness and benefits of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), telepsychotherapy, and visual aids. The goal …

Complex Narratives Of Individuals Living With Alpha-Gal Syndrome (Ags). A Mixed-Methods Investigation: Examined Through Self-Reported Data, In-Person Interviews, And A Group Body Mapping Art Therapy Intervention, Sylvan Streightiff

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Alpha-gal (galactose-α-1,3-galactose) Syndrome or AGS is an under-recognized chronic condition which coincides with tick-bite exposure, resulting in a unique allergy to non-primate mammalian products and byproducts (in addition to other items caring the α-gal epitope such as carrageenan, agar-agar, and nori). This paper explores the experiences of individuals with this illness, establishing psychological context for expressed symptomatology, while emphasizing the complex trauma rooted in the population’s experiences of the life-altering and life-threatening contexts associated with managing AGS. This research is structured with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) theory and utilizes a mixed-methods approach to arts-based research with the goal of …

The Efficacy And Feasibility Of Web-Based Acceptance-Enhanced Behavioral Treatment For Trichotillomania In Adults: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial, Leila K. Capel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Trichotillomania, or chronic hair pulling, impacts several aspects of a person’s everyday life and functioning including making it difficult to fully engage in school, work, romantic relationships, and other social relationships. There are several treatment options for trichotillomania and one that is particularly promising is acceptance and commitment therapy-enhanced behavioral therapy (AEBT). Several studies have been done in person and through telehealth and this treatment has helped participants.

Many people in the U.S. struggle with trichotillomania but many people are not able to access treatment for their hair pulling because clinicians are not available in their area, clinicians are not …

The Acceptability And Feasibility Of Virtual Parent Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Groups: A Feasibility Study, Abigail Elizabeth Moretti

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and poor overall well-being, particularly when their child also engages in challenging behavior (e.g., self-injury, aggression, property destruction). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which encourages psychological flexibility and attending to the present moment, is particularly suited for this population because parents of children with ASD experience high stress levels and difficulty with adaptive coping. The aim of the current study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of implementing virtual ACT groups with parents of children with ASD and co-occurring challenging behavior. Participants attended an in-person …

A Brief Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Protocol For Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial For Inpatient Detoxification Patients, Taylor R. Weststrate

Dissertations

Alcohol detoxification inevitability involves physical and emotional discomfort. Common withdrawal symptoms include experiences of nausea, muscle pain, stomach and headaches, shakiness, restlessness, anxiety, and agitation. Rarer, but more severe, withdrawal symptoms can include hallucinations, seizures, and delirium tremens. Pharmacologic treatment of withdrawal symptoms is the primary, and often only, approach to intervention. The current study examined the incremental efficacy of adding a psychotherapeutic program based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for individuals struggling with withdrawal during alcohol detoxification in a residential rehabilitation center. This study compared the standard of care, medication management, which was treatment as usual (TAU) at …

Trauma-Informed Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Substance Abuse, Whitney Nasse

Dissertations

The high co-morbidity of trauma and substance use disorders has prompted the need for more trauma-informed care within the available substance abuse treatments. The purpose of this research was to dissect and identify the strengths of two empirically studied treatment approaches for trauma and substance abuse. Furthermore, a suggested protocol was defined, showing the integration of these two models as a proposed treatment modality for trauma and substance abuse populations. Implications and recommendations for further research on this topic are also highlighted.

Fear Of Failure, Mindfulness, And Procrastination, Jose M. Parlade

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Procrastination is a complex behavior with often negative consequences. Prior studies have found a positive correlation between procrastination and various negative emotional states, such as fear of failure. Conversely, specific mindfulness techniques, have been negatively associated with procrastination in prior research. The current study set out to examine the correlations of fear of failure and procrastination as well as those of mindfulness and procrastination. A sample of university students (n=310) were assessed using three scales: the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI), the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS), and the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS). Results indicated a significant positive correlation …

The Relationship Between Covid-19 Stress, Psychological Inflexibility, And Psycholoical Well-Being, Alyx Duckering

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the literature on the mental and physical health consequences of COVID-19 has expanded exponentially. Much of the published research has focused on the physical health and economic consequences of COVID-19. Research on the mental health effects of COVID-19 has primarily addressed the increase in anxiety and depression and related avoidance/safety behaviors surrounding COVID-19 (Taylor et al., 2020). Although there is an emerging literature on the COVID-19 mental health consequences, there is a paucity of research examining the processes of how people respond to COVID-19 stress and psychological well-being. Specifically, data examining potential psychological …

The Psychometric Properties Of A Social-Emotional Learning Measure, Allison Murray

Theses and Dissertations

Each year many students take college admissions exams (i.e., SAT® and ACT®), hoping to demonstrate their ability to perform at a collegiate level and gain admission to desired universities. However, a growing movement encourages colleges and universities to abandon this practice in their admissions protocol and instead consider alternative factors, such as, social-emotional learning skills, to identify promising applicants. As such, this study examined the psychometric properties of a novel social-emotional learning measure, ACT® Tessera®, which conceptualizes social-emotional traits through the Five-Factor Model lens using different measurement methods (Self Report Likert, Situational Judgement Tests, Forced Choice). Using data obtained from …

A Brief Online Acceptance And Commitment Training For Enhancing Outcomes Of A Cultural Competence Intervention, Elizabeth Tish Hicks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In an increasingly diverse and multicultural society, there is a pressing and practical need for interventions to help professionals improve their cultural competence. Cultural competence trainings that target psychological flexibility in addition to knowledge, awareness, and skills may produce more efficacious results. The current study will examined the utility of targeting psychological flexibility (the ability to maintain contact the present moment and current internal experiences and to choose contextually appropriate, values-consistent behaviors, regardless of what one’s internal experiences are) as a process to enhance the impact of a cultural competence intervention with an Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT)-enhanced cultural competence …

An Evaluation Of A Brief Mindfulness And Values Training On Cyber Bullying Behavior In College Students, Emily M. Boduch

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Cyber bullying is associated with many negative outcomes for both the bully and the victim (Fahy et al., 2016; Kowalski et al., 2014; Merrell et al., 2008; Quintana-Orts & Rey, 2018). There has been a large research focus on the causes (Barlett & Gentile, 2012; Mehari & Farrell, 2018) and consequences (Fahy et al., 2016) of cyber aggression, but there has not been as much focus on the evaluation of prevention and intervention strategies (Gaffney et al., 2018). While cyber bullying is primarily targeted in adolescence, Tynes, Rose, and Markoe (2013) showed that online aggression occurs amongst university students as …

Integrating Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Processes With Information-Processing Theory In Anxious Early Adolescents, Gilly Kahn

Theses and Dissertations

The social information-processing (I-P) model states that cognition assumes several cognitive steps (encoding, interpretation, response access, and selection). It has been shown that anxious youth display deficits or distortions at various stages of the social I-P model. In response to ambiguous situations, they show threat perception and interpretation biases, choose maladaptive responses, and engage in greater levels of avoidance than do non-anxious youth. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an empirically-supported treatment for anxious youth. It aims to increase mindfulness, acceptance, and cognitive defusion, and to decrease experiential avoidance. The mechanisms explaining the effectiveness of ACT processes suggest that they …

Comparison Of Gpa And Act Reading And Math Scores For African American Males In Afrocentric Versus Mainstream High Schools, Marissa Irene Prince

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, the academic achievement of African American males is not at the same level as their peers from other ethnic backgrounds. There are negative social and financial implications for African American males who do not experience positive educational outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative study, based on critical race theory, was to compare the effectiveness of traditional high school education and Afrocentric high school education on the educational outcomes of African American males. Three measures of educational outcomes were examined: GPA at graduation, ACT reading score, and ACT math scores. The participants were 143 African American males, …

A Single Session Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy To Promote Health-Related Behavior Change: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Monica Barreto

Dissertations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified physical activity, nutrition, and sleep as three key health-related behaviors that can help the prevention of chronic disease. Only a fraction of the population met the recommended guidelines across these domains. It is important to develop interventions that can be simultaneously focused, flexible, efficient, and efficacious as a means of impacting population health. This study examined the efficacy of a single 60-minute Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) session targeting health-related behavior change and compared it to an information-only wait-list (WL) control condition. Forty-five collegians (Mage = 22.35 [6.91], 78% female, 56% …

Considering Art Therapy For Adults With Fear Of Cancer Recurrence (Fcr): A Literature Review, Max Roberts

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is a major problem for many cancer survivors. As cancer treatments improve and more people are surviving cancer, FCR will likely become a larger problem in general for the healthcare system. Art therapists working with cancer survivors need to be prepared for addressing FCR as they are likely to encounter this clinical issue. A literature search was conducted and no research investigating art therapy specifically for FCR was found, indicating there is currently no empirically supported approach to art therapy for FCR. Mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies appear to be efficacious for reducing effects of FCR. …

Comparison Between Brief Acceptance And Cognitive Interventions: Assessing Public Speaking Performance In Socially-Anxious Individuals, Soultana Mpoulkoura

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Social anxiety disorder is one of the most prevalent psychological disorder to date and it is associated with impairments in multiple domains, such as in occupational and academic settings. Although, traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), aims to reduce distress by altering maladaptive schemas, this approach is not always successful. Recent research has shown ambiguous support for cognitive restructuring as a mechanism of change. Therefore, further research is needed to discover effective treatments. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), emphasizes psychological flexibility and values rather controlling negative thoughts. The current study compared brief acceptance and cognitive control based interventions for increasing performance …

Utilizing Music Therapy To Enhance Competency Restoration Treatment, Cory Linder

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

In Dusky v. the United States (1960), the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution requires all defendants to be competent to proceed before the judge issues a verdict. Specifically, to stand trial, defendants must have a factual and rational understanding of court proceedings and the capacity to work with their attorneys. Those who are found incompetent to proceed frequently have severe and persistent mental illness and often exhibit cognitive deficits (Mossman et al., 2007). Competency restoration utilizes therapeutic services to treat symptoms that inhibit defendants from being opined competent to proceed. Existing research suggests music therapy can be used …

Cinematherapy With Inside Out: A Theoretical And Practical Guide, Jessica Rosenfeld

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Since its release in 2015, the Disney/Pixar film "Inside Out" has received widespread critical and commercial acclaim. Despite the film's basis in established psychological theories, little has been published regarding its clinical applicability, particularly for adolescent and adult clients in traditional talk therapy. Through the use of cinematherapy, a deeper examination of the film is offered, and suggestions for treatment use are provided. Via the lens of modern psychodynamic (Intersubjectivity) and behavioral (ACT) techniques, this paper offers diverse options for integrating "Inside Out" in psychotherapy and proves that it contains clinical applicability for a wide range of practitioners.

Comparing Brief Acceptance And Control-Based Interventions: Evaluating Public Speaking Performance In Socially-Anxious Individuals, Samuel Spencer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Social anxiety disorder is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders in our society today. Although Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is considered a gold standard for the treatment of anxiety disorders, some individuals do not respond to CBT, and other approaches to treatment continue to be investigated. One alternative approach is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which has been used successfully to treat social anxiety, and has also tentatively been shown to be effective for increasing public speaking performance. The current study compared the effects of brief acceptance- and cognitive-control-based intervention protocols on public speaking performance in socially-anxious college students …

An Examination Of The Psychometrics Of The Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire And Its Relationship To Other Constructs, Barry Eye

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

More than one billion humans currently suffer from one or more mental health difficulties, the leading cause of disability in the world. Psychotherapy is well-established as efficacious and cost effective in the treatment of mental health difficulties, particularly the widely-used family of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT). The most prominent, new CBT–acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)–has shown efficacy equal to or better than traditional CBT across a range of such difficulties. ACT’s novel approach to language, defusion (the opposite of fusion), can help improve mental health by changing one’s relationship with their thoughts. Efforts to better understand this mechanism of ACT …

Open-Minded Religiosity: Investigating The Link Between Religious Commitment And Thinking Style, Carl W. Sallee

Honors Projects

This study examined the relationship between religious commitment and thinking styles. Participants (n = 195) completed self-report measures of religious commitment, contextualism, Authoritarianism-Conservatism-Traditionalism (ACT - conceptualized as social attitudes/beliefs), and Open-Minded Cognition (OMC - conceptualized as a cognitive style). A marginally significant direct link was observed. Furthermore, when controlling for Contextualism, the strength of the negative link between SRF and OMC increased non-significantly. When controlling for ACT, mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between SRF and OMC was more indirect (via shared variance with ACT) than direct. Moderation analyses did not reveal significant results. Results tentatively suggest a negative …

Burnout, Work Engagement, And Well-Being In The Healthcare Professions: A Proposal For A Digital Intervention, Eric T. Reinhart

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Burnout is a chronic problem for individuals in the helping professions and is particularly pronounced in healthcare settings. Burnout is an extreme stress response characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization of patients, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. Factors unique to healthcare settings include high patient to staff ratios, evaluations of effectiveness based on patient outcomes, and the competing demands of policy makers, patients, and clinicians. Work engagement is a product of the positive psychology movement and developed out of the study of burnout. Work engagement is an affective-emotional state of work-related well-being and is characterized as being positive and …

Using An Acceptance And Commitment Training Protocol To Decrease Drug Use, Alexander Brown Mclean

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavior analysts have had much success in affecting behavior change with individuals diagnosed with intellectual disabilities as well as those who would be considered typically developing with a variety of intervention strategies; most of which involve affecting direct acting contingencies. However, the realm of language-based psychopathology has just begun to be addressed within the field through language based, or indirect acting strategies. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is based on the concept of derived stimulus relations and allows for a behavior analytic treatment of language-based psychopathology. The current study was intended to test the efficacy of a brief protocol-delivered ACT …

A Brief Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Protocol For Depression In An Inpatient Setting: An Effectiveness Study, Lucas Broten

Dissertations

The present study sought to investigate the utility of a brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) protocol for the treatment of depression in an inpatient setting. ACT is a generally promising treatment for a variety of psychological issues. Thirty-nine participants were randomly assigned using and weighted, blocked distribution to either Treatment as Usual (TAU) or individual sessions of ACT in conjunction with treatment as usual (ACT). The study compared re-admission rates between the ACT intervention group and the TAU group at 3 and 6 months. In addition, the study examined the proposed mechanisms of change between groups and depression rates …

Cultivation Of Mindfulness And Acceptance Processes In Act And Cbt: A Randomized Clinical Trial In A Pure Self Help Context, Andrew N. Orayfig

Psychology

There is a paucity of research on self-help approaches within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); specifically there is a need for more randomized controlled trials to elucidate the effectiveness of ACT-based biblio-therapy relative to more traditional cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The aim of the present research, therefore, is two-fold: (a) to provide a preliminary comparison of ACT and CBT for anxiety in a self-help context and (b) to examine how the two treatments impact ACT-relevant processes in an international community sample (N=200) of persons reporting difficulties with anxiety and fear. Participants were randomized to receive either an ACT or CBT …

Acceptance Versus Distraction For Unwanted Sexual Thoughts, Joseph A. Sherwood

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This on-line study examined 67 participants who rated their sexual thought distress level as moderately distressing or greater, on the successfulness of an acceptance-based strategy and a distraction-based strategy for dealing with unwanted sexual thoughts. The study began with the completion of an assessment battery, which measured attitudes about sexual thoughts. During a pre-intervention three minute time period, participants were asked to record/report occurrences a previously identified unwanted sexual thought, if or when, it occurred. They were then randomly placed into one of three experimental conditions (e.g., acceptance-based, distraction-based, and a control group) in which they viewed a video presentation …

Cognitive Defusion And Psychological Flexibility With Self-Relevant Academic Distress Stimuli, Laura Ely

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A distinctive feature of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is cognitive defusion. Rapid word repetition is one of the exercises used in ACT to promote defusion. Previous research has examined the effect of this exercise with the general population, using words representing negative self-referential thoughts. Studies have found that discomfort and believability of these thoughts decrease more following this defusion exercise as compared to a thought distraction task. The present study evaluated the effects of the word repetition defusion exercise using content reflecting academic distress, in an undergraduate sample primed to feel academic anxiety. The defusion exercise was compared to …