Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Genome-Wide Systems Genetics Of Alcohol Consumption And Dependence, Kristin Mignogna

Theses and Dissertations

Widely effective treatment for alcohol use disorder is not yet available, because the exact biological mechanisms that underlie this disorder are not completely understood. One way to gain a better understanding of these mechanisms is to examine the genetic frameworks that contribute to the risk for developing this disorder. This dissertation examines genetic association data in combination with gene expression networks in the brain to identify functional groups of genes associated with alcohol consumption and dependence.

The first study took advantage of the behavioral complexity of human samples, and experimental capabilities provided by mouse models, by co-analyzing gene expression networks …

A Contextual Approach To Understanding Psychiatric Comorbidities In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Individual, Peer, And Family Factors, Jessica L. Greenlee

Theses and Dissertations

Psychiatric comorbidities are common in youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and can have a negative impact on adaptive functioning and quality of life. Research has primarily focused on individual characteristics associated with internalizing problems such as age, intelligence, and social functioning. However, developmental theory supports the notion that individual level factors are necessary but not sufficient to understand the mental health of youth with ASD. Using the Family Ecology Framework as a guide, the purpose of this study was to examine how peer and family contexts are associated with anxiety and depression symptoms of adolescents with ASD. Using data …

A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Relations Among Parkinson’S Disease Impairments, Caregiver Burden And Mental Health, And Family Dynamics In Mexico And The United States, Erin Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a common progressive neurodegenerative disorder that leads to both physical and cognitive impairment over time. Eventually, these impairments may include the loss of autonomy, and the individual may require the assistance of an informal caregiver. Informal caregivers are critical in the care of individuals with PD and spend substantial time providing care, which may be associated with negative caregiver outcomes such as burden, mental health issues, as well as poor family dynamics. Although research in the United States and Europe has generally supported these relations, there is very limited research on PD caregiving in Latin America. …

Racism, Healthcare Provider Trust, And Medication Adherence Among Black Patients In Safety-Net Primary Care: A Strength-Based Approach, Mickeal Pugh Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Integrated primary care has been incorporated into a variety of healthcare settings. The benefits of these services are empirically supported by a plethora of studies, which highlight the integration of behavioral and physical healthcare to be beneficial for both patient and healthcare providers. Integrated care models are typically incorporated in Veterans Affairs hospitals, general primary care facilities, and community clinics. Community-based clinics, such as safety-net clinics, typically serve underrepresented populations, and research has shown several mental and physical health disparities to exist among minority populations. Further, the minority stress model posits that distal and proximal minority-based stress processes can result …

Training Future Mental Health Professionals In An Evidence-Informed System Of Care, Julia R. Cox

Theses and Dissertations

High quality mental health services do not reach the youth who need them, leading to efforts to implement effective treatments more broadly. One focus of these efforts concerns training the mental health workforce, of which master’s-level social workers represent a large proportion. However, the curricula of master’s in social work (MSW) programs do not often emphasize evidence-based approaches. One possible solution is Managing and Adapting Practice (MAP; PracticeWise, LLC), a system that allows clinicians to (1) identify clinically indicated evidence-based programs by searching a growing evidence-base of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and (2) build individualized evidence-informed treatment plans by focusing …

Sexual Satisfaction And Functioning In Women With Histories Of Sexual Victimization, Kerri Anne Guadagni

Theses and Dissertations

The present study evaluated the relationship between a history of sexual abuse and adult sexual satisfaction and functioning. This included examining psychological symptomology, revictimization, and the degree of sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction of women who reported childhood, adolescent, and/or adult sexual traumas. This study contributes to the limited research on the sexual functioning of women with childhood sexual trauma histories. Sexual satisfaction and sexual functioning were found to be related, yet separate areas in which women with sexual abuse histories may experience difficulties. There was evidence of an association between psychological distress and trauma history in that the presence …

Pediatric Sleep Education In Primary Care: Parental Receipt, Compliance And Children’S Sleep Problems, Jenna Patricia Mullarkey

Theses and Dissertations

Sleep is important for children, as inadequate sleep can result in a number of poor outcomes in terms of cognitive, psychosocial, and somatic functioning. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended that all pediatric providers educate parents about the necessary sleep duration for optimal functioning and healthy sleep hygiene practices for their children. The present study sought to examine the proportion of parents who receive pediatric sleep education from their child’s providers, the rates of compliance with these recommendations, and the effects that receiving this information has on frequency and severity of the child’s sleep problems. This cross-sectional study …

A Qualitative Study Exploring Motivation And Engagement Among Millennial Volunteers In Nonprofit Organizations, Joanne Quinones

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation focused on capturing the lived experiences of Millennials and explore their motivation and engagement for volunteering in a nonprofit organization. This study illustrates the importance of civic and social engagement in our society. The Millennials have been labeled as “Genme or the me generation” (Twenge, Campbell, Hoffman, & Lance, 2010, p. 1117; Twenge, 2006, p. 1), as they have been criticized for focusing on their own self-interest. While millennials have been considered as being technologically savvy, since they grew up with the internet. The millennials, have a social interest in offering support to a cause versus an …

Predictors Of Peripartum Care Attendance Among A Sample Of African American Women At Increased Risk For Poor Prenatal Care Compliance, Anna B. Parlier-Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations

Prenatal and postpartum care are important for reducing maternal and infant morbidity. Racial and ethnic disparities are prevalent in maternal peripartum health and infant birth outcomes as well as peripartum care access and utilization. They highlight the need to identify and better understand correlates of poor prenatal and postpartum care compliance. While risk factors for low adherence to peripartum care have been identified, no studies have looked specifically at predictors of prenatal and postpartum care attendance in an at-risk sample of African American pregnant women. Using existing data from an RCT targeting maternal and infant health disparities and comparing a …

Tobacco And E-Cigarette Use In Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Nicole R. Higgins

Theses and Dissertations

While there has been an extensive amount of research on tobacco use in children and adolescents, very little has been conducted in children with developmental delays, particularly Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Similarly, research examining newer methods of nicotine use, such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; ecigarettes) has not yet been conducted in this population. It has previously been assumed that characteristics commonly observed in youngsters with ASDs serve as protective factors for the initiation of tobacco and ENDS use; however, no studies have identified the variables that contribute to a youngster’s intention to smoke/use ENDS in this vulnerable population. …

Self-Reported Malingering: Prevalence, Strategies, And Decision Making, Bethany Linn Hall Wellman

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Malingering is intentional fabrication or exaggeration of physical or mental symptoms for the purpose of gaining an external incentive, whether it be for a reward or a gain of some sort or avoidance of an unwanted outcome (Gorman, 1982). Understanding malingering behaviors for accurate identification is of vital importance due to both the economic burden on health care corporations, workers compensation and disability services when malingering goes unidentified, as well as the harm caused to individuals with genuine symptoms falsely suspected of malingering. Greater understanding of malingering practices to help improve resources for correct identification is an area within …

Associations Between Expressed Emotion, Mental Health, And Functioning In Families: Child Asthma Status As A Moderator, Katherine W. Dempster

Theses and Dissertations

Expressed emotion (EE), the affective attitudes and behaviors of one toward another, can affect caregivers’ behaviors toward their child. Research examining associations between EE and child/family outcomes is mixed; these associations may be affected by other influences such as the presence of a chronic disease or parent mental health. In this study of families living in an urban area, we examined associations between EE and child outcomes (anxiety/depressive symptoms) and family functioning, with parent anxiety as a covariate. We evaluated child asthma status as a moderator as the presence of a chronic illness may strengthen the association between EE and …

A Longitudinal Investigation Of Interpersonal Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, And Cannabis Use Phenotypes Among College Students, Terrell A. Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

College students have an increased risk for cannabis use, trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cannabis use disorder (CUD) and PTSD comorbidity is high, and given the negative consequences of the comorbidity (e.g., poor academic outcomes), there is a need to understand comorbid CUD-PTSD etiology. Two primary etiologic models exist: self-medication (i.e., PTSD à CUD) and high-risk (i.e., CUD à PTSD) hypotheses. This study 1) examined the prevalence and predictors of cannabis use and interpersonal trauma (IPT) exposure; 2) investigated the relationship between cannabis use and IPT; and 3) examined cannabis use, IPT, and PTSD through mediational self-medication and …

The Context Of African American Emotion Expression: College Campus Influences, Deon Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Theoretical frameworks suggest that African Americans express emotion in context-specific ways that are unique to their familial socialization experience (Boykin, 1986; Dunbar, Leerkes, Coard, Supple, & Calkins, 2017). However, less is known about how African Americans express emotion across familial and public contexts. The current study was interested in exploring the contextual differences in emotion expression among 188 African American/Black college students from 3 different types of college campuses: predominantly White (i.e., PWI), historically Black (i.e., HBCU), and racially diverse. Data were collected via an online survey in which students reported the school they attend, their emotion expression in the …

Adverse Childhood Experiences Indirectly Affect Child Telomere Length Through Self-Regulation, David Sosnowski

Theses and Dissertations

The goals of present study were: (a) to examine associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and telomere length during childhood using ACE composite scores both with and without “new” adversities (i.e., parental death and poverty), and (b) to determine if ACEs indirectly affect telomere length through children’s self-regulatory abilities (i.e., effortful control and self-control). The analytic sample consisted of national data from teachers, biological parents, and their children (N = 2,527; M_age = 9.35, SD = .36 years; 52% male; 45% Black). Results from linear regression analyses revealed a statistically significant main effect of updated (but not traditional) …

Effect Of A 14-Day Mindfulness Intervention On Daily Desire Experiences And Desire Regulation, Nabila Farhin Jahan

Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of research suggests that mindfulness, a receptive attentiveness to one’s present moment experiences, has the potential to adaptively regulate habitual behaviors. No prior study has tested the effect of mindfulness interventions on people’s daily desire experiences to inform the potential for adaptive desire regulation. The present exploratory randomized controlled trial examined the effect of a 14-day smartphone-based mindfulness intervention (versus a coping control intervention) on the frequency, intensity, duration, and enactment of everyday desires in 19 participants. The desire domains included basic need-based desires (i.e., for food, drink, sleep) and secondary desires (e.g., for sex, media, social …

The Efficacy Of A Group Visual Art Bereavement Intervention With Older Adults, Rachel E. Weiskittle

Theses and Dissertations

Research on expressive art interventions for bereavement has burgeoned in recent years. Studies have supported their effectiveness in facilitating participants’ adjustment to loss (e.g., Rosner, Kruse, & Hagl, 2010; Uttley, 2015) and have revealed the frequency with which they are clinically implemented (Thompson & Neimeyer, 2014). Clinicians and recipients of expressive art interventions advocate for their helpfulness in grief processing (e.g., Gamino, 2015). Publications have highlighted particular visual art modules that facilitate adaptive adjustment to loss by providing avenues for self-expression, meaning making and continuing bonds with the deceased (Neimeyer, 2016), but few studies have quantitatively investigated whether they improve …

Schadenfreude: The Impact Of Another's Misfortune On The Mood Of College Students, Erin A. Chalmers

Theses and Dissertations

The present study was focused on determining if positive affect scores increase after viewing an example of misfortune which would demonstrate the psychological phenomenon of schadenfreude-defined as a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction when something misfortunate happens to someone else. Measures used in the study included the Positive and Negative Affect inventory (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988) and a modified version of the Velton mood induction procedure developed by Seibert and Ellis (1991) which was used to measure and manipulate students’ mood, respectively. Students enrolled in a psychology research pool at Columbus State University participated in the study (N=46). The …