Psychology Commons^™

Mothers’ Reflections On Cat Ownership For A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder During Covid-19, Saskia Keville, Sophia De Vita, Amanda K. Ludlow

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Animal- assisted interventions are increasingly used as a complementary therapy in clinical practice to support people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with promising outcomes compared to traditional therapies. Less is understood about the therapeutic benefits of more accessible and affordable small pet ownership for families with a child with ASD, alongside the pets’ welfare living in these homes. This study explored the experiences of cat ownership for young people with ASD from the perspective of their mothers during a time of transition generated by COVID-19. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six mothers and transcripts analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three …

Development And Initial Validation Of The Adolescent Social Media Use Inventory, Johannah Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Adolescents are the largest population group that accesses social media applications (Boneva et al., 2006; Gross, 2004; Subrahmanyam, Reich, Waechter, & Espinoza, 2008). However, there is little known on how to measure the positive (i.e., enabling privacy settings, friending parents and other family members on social media platforms) and negative (i.e., public social media account, hiding posts from parents) adolescent social media use. This is an important oversight given the relationship between negative uses of social media and increased delinquency, aggression, and decreased parent-adolescent communication (Coyne et al., 2014). The present study sought to address this limitation in the research …

Pediatric Seizures: Access And Utilization Of Specialty Care And Mental Health Care, Samantha Delos Santos

Theses and Graduate Projects

Epilepsy is the leading neurological disorder among children, and requires specialized health care (Zack & Kobau, 2015). However, many patients with seizures do not receive appropriate specialized care (Begley et al., 2009; Burneo et al., 2009). This study examined the impact of health insurance type on access to and use of specialty care and mental health care among pediatric patients, ages 3-17, whose parents reported that they had experienced at least one seizure in the last year. This study was a secondary analysis of data collected in the 2011 (n = 77) and 2016 (n = 87) National Health Survey …

Development Of A Combined Model Of College Student Alcohol-Associated Condomless Sex, Alan Z. Sheinfil

Dissertations - ALL

Harmful alcohol use and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are significant public health concerns for college students. Because alcohol use and condomless sex often co-occur in this population, alcohol-associated condomless sex has been identified as a target for behavioral interventions. Existing theoretical frameworks have not garnered sufficient empirical support to serve as the foundation for interventions. The primary goal of the current study was to use a mixed-methods approach to develop a novel model of college student alcohol-associated condomless sex that combines elements from well-established health behavior theories. In Aim 1, multilevel structural regression models were estimated to predict condomless vaginal …

The Developmental Pathways And Treatment Approaches For Maladaptive Perfectionism In Undergraduate Student Athletes, Kara Hoff

Dissertations

Developmental and contextual factors may largely contribute to how an undergraduate student athlete develops maladaptive perfectionism (MP) within his or her athletic performance. Being able to understand different possible etiologies of MP will provide enriching clinical information to tailor more in-depth treatment approaches for the student-athlete(s) being impacted by the serious and life-threatening side effects of MP. This literature review provides a comprehensive summary on MP and how it may manifest in the athlete, in addition to how it can mature and intensify throughout one’s athletic career. Treatment approaches for MP in undergraduate student athletes will be discussed in how …

The Role Of Traumatic Experiences In Developing Nocturnal Panic Attacks, Nicole S. Smith

Dissertations

Nocturnal panic attacks refer to panic attacks that occur out of a sleeping state with no obvious cause, resulting in awakening at the peak of a panic attack. Nocturnal panic affects roughly half of patients with panic disorder as well as individuals with other psychological disorders such as PTSD. Prior research has suggested that experiencing a traumatic event may lead to the development of nocturnal panic attacks. The current study sought to expand upon the extant literature related to the role of trauma in nocturnal panic by collecting a comprehensive trauma and panic history in order to establish a timeline …

Associative Learning In The Monodelphis Domestica Utilizing The Cpa Paradigm, Joseph Caleb Cantu

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to investigate associative learning in the Monodelphis domestica by utilizing the conditioned place aversion paradigm (CPA). The Monodelphis domestica has been used as an animal model for research in multiple fields; however, there is still little information regarding associative learning or utilizing a CPA paradigm. Expanding the literature of the Monodelphis domestica would be adding to the limited research concerning associative learning utilizing the CPA paradigm.

An Analysis Of Mental Health, Psychosocial Stressors, And Social Support Among Latinx Students Who Relocate For College, Lisa A. Lozano

Theses and Dissertations

Relocating for college is one facet of the college adjustment process that has been scarcely explored. Research suggests that relocated students report more severe depression symptoms (Reyes-Rodriguez et al., 2012), poorer social adjustment (Brooks & Dubois, 1995), and worse mental health overall (King et al., 2011) compared to nonrelocated students. This study hypothesized that relocated Latinx college students would experience more severe mental health concerns (depression, anxiety, and stress), psychosocial stress (acculturative stress, loneliness, and sense of belonging), and perceived social support than their nonrelocated counterparts. 159 underclassmen with permanent residence in a South Texas community were surveyed in a …

Evaluating Outcome Factors Of Childhood Emotional Neglect: An Exploratory Factor Analysis, Taylor Levitt

Dissertations

Experiencing childhood maltreatment has been shown to have major implications on adult outcomes. Less is known about the outcomes of childhood emotional neglect (CEN). The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to psychological outcomes of CEN within the domains of depression, anxiety, and alexithymia as a precursor to the development of an inventory. One hundred and fifty participant responses on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) were collected. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted where nine factors yielded significant results and were titled, “Depressive Symptoms,” “Difficulty Identifying Feelings,” “Usefulness of …

Approach And Avoidance Food Craving: A Dual Cue Reactivity Investigation, Christina Lee Verzijl

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent research suggests that food craving is a motivational process underlying the full spectrum of disordered eating behaviors. The ambivalence model of craving, originally applied to substance use craving, provides a framework through which the push-pull motivational process of food craving and its relation to the range of disordered eating behaviors can be understood. In this perspective, food craving is a multi-dimensional motivational process that involves an individual’s competing desires to both consume (i.e., approach) and not consume (i.e., avoid) certain food. Building on previous literature, the current study tested whether behavioral measures of approach and avoidance food craving (i.e., …

Cannabis Sleep Aid Use In Daily College Life: An Intensive Longitudinal Assessment Approach, Patricia A. Goodhines

Dissertations - ALL

Objective: Emerging evidence suggests that college cannabis sleep aid use may increase vulnerability to diurnal impairment, despite proximal sleep-related benefits. In contrast, relatively little is known about proximal precipitants of cannabis sleep aid use in daily college life. The identification of modifiable, situational intervention points preceding cannabis sleep aid use in daily college life is critical to accelerate the development of college harm reduction efforts. This 14-night mixed methods study tested temporal associations of THC-based cannabis sleep aid use with cognitive arousal-based precipitants (consistent with cognitive theory of insomnia) and sleep outcomes.

Method: Daily diary (pre-sleep and waking) and actigraphy …

Integrated Behavioral Health And Primary Care: Refining A Determinant Framework, Ariel Michelle Domlyn

Theses and Dissertations

The integration of behavioral health and primary care is a best practice to improve patient outcomes and achieve health equity. However, the process of integrating is opaque, requiring organizational change and sometimes a complete system overhaul. Implementation science offers useful ideas for helping healthcare organizations to implement care. This field has identified potential environmental conditions and determinants of successful implementation; however, much is still unknown about how these factors may be relevant for organizations seeking to integrate care. To address the limited existing knowledge in this area, this dissertation gathers practice-based evidence using exploratory methods. Results are translated into an …

The Moderating Impact Of Gender And Friendship Quality On The Effects Of Interparental Conflict On Adolescent Internalizing Problems, Jessica Dandan

Theses and Dissertations

In response to escalating concerns about the increasing incidence of adolescent internalizing disorders, several mechanisms have been investigated to understand their etiology. Though genetic predisposition contributes to the risk for psychopathology, its interaction with environmental stressors such as interparental conflict appears to further increase this risk. Girls are more susceptible to stressors and twice as likely as boys to develop internalizing problems. However, friendship quality may buffer some of the adverse effects incurred from exposure to interparental conflict. A recent review of proposed mechanisms through which conflict is associated with youth psychopathology pinpointed the need for further adolescent-focused research including …

Ambivalence, Sexism, And Sexual Decision-Making Among Heterosexual College Students, Alexandra Nicoletti

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual ambivalence is defined as having both favorable and unfavorable thoughts toward sexual activity in any given sexual situation (Muehlenhard & Rodgers, 1998). Most sexually active people will experience feelings of ambivalence at some point in their lives and ultimately decide to engage in sexual activity (Muehlenhard & Peterson, 2005; Peterson & Muehlenhard, 2007). Based on previous research and guided by sexual script theory Simon & Gagnon, 1986), we hypothesized that gender, hostile, and benevolent sexism would moderate the association of prior experience with a partner/activity and engaging in sexual activity despite ambivalence. A total of 457 heterosexual college students …

She’S Just Not That Into Me: Sexual Self-Concept Among Heterosexual Men Who Identify As Involuntary Celibates, Kyle J. Justin, Dustin K. Shepler, Joseph R. Kinel

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Emerging adult men experiencing involuntary celibacy are increasingly self-identifying as “incels.” Popular culture has painted a negative view of incel men. Nonetheless, almost no research has addressed the experiences of incels or systematically compared incels to their peers to identify whether actual differences exist in psychological functioning. In this study, we surveyed a total of 129 emerging adult men (75 incels and 54 non-incels) to determine if and how incels differ from their non-incel peers. MANOVA results indicated that incels disproportionately struggled with low self-esteem, social anxiety, difficulty approaching women, and optimism about partnered sexual experiences compared to their non-incel …

School Related Criminal Acts, Interpersonal Problems, And Classroom Behaviors As A Function Of The Proportion Of Black Students And Black Teachers, Leanne Zaire

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to investigate school-level behavioral outcomes in relation to the proportion of Black teachers and students in U.S. schools. Negative school outcome and academic achievement gaps are well-documented. However, many of these studies utilized small, localized populations; my research used national data and focused on the problem behaviors in school. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, I hypothesized that a greater proportion of Black teachers would reduce school student problems and negative behaviors (e.g., student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms). After receiving a restricted-use license, I utilized data from 25,818 schools from the National Teacher …

Mindfulness To Promote Healthy Aging In Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment And Their Caregivers: A Mixed Methods Feasibility And Acceptability Study, Emma Mcbride

Theses and Dissertations

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), thought be a precursor to dementia, is characterized by cognitive decline without functional impairment. As the population ages and the prevalence of MCI increases, non-pharmacologic interventions are needed to address well-being and disease progression in this population of older adults and their caregivers. In response to growing interest in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) as an adjunct to integrated care for this population, this single arm, mixed methods pilot study trialed a lightly adapted, 6-week MBI for both MCI patients and their caregivers (n=24). The intervention was feasible and acceptable in both groups. There was a trend toward …

Drinking Motives As Potential Mediators Of Associations Between Loneliness And Alcohol Use And Consequences Among College Students, Faith A. Shank

Theses and Dissertations

College is a pivotal time when many individuals begin to cultivate social relationships and engage in heavy drinking practices, resulting in alcohol-related consequences. Two potential factors associated with college drinking behaviors are loneliness and drinking motivation. Loneliness has mixed associations with drinking behaviors, meanwhile, drinking motives have clear associations with drinking behaviors. Prior research suggests that individuals experiencing loneliness are more likely to drink to cope, yet the existing research examining loneliness, drinking motives, and drinking behaviors is limited. Thus, this study aims to examine associations between 1) loneliness and drinking behaviors; 2) loneliness and drinking motives; 3) and whether …

The Role Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Associated Features On Criminality In Emerging Adults, Jessica L. Harangozo

ETD Archive

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including criminal and violent behaviors (Milaniak & Widom, 2015). Prior research indicates that antisocial personality traits such as callousness may play a mediating effect on the relationship between ACEs and criminality (Baglivio et al., 2020). Further, the developmental period in which childhood maltreatment occurs may be related to greater criminality (Thornberry et al., 2010). This research project aims to examine how ACEs relate to criminality in emerging adults, with consideration of antisocial personality traits and the developmental period of experiencing childhood abuse. This study hypothesizes: (A) Both higher …

Differences In Attachment, Resilience, And Negative Affect In Non-Treatment-Seeking And Treatment-Seeking Ems Professionals, Jose Carbajal, Warren Ponder, Lauren Malthaner, Kathryn Shahan, Katelyn Jetelina, Jeanine Galusha, Donna Schuman

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Emergency medical service (EMS) professionals have a stressful vocation, inarguably worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects their mental health and makes them a vulnerable population warranting further study. However, to date, no published research has compared non-treatment and treatment-seeking EMS professionals in the same greater metropolitan area. In this study, we examined differences and similarities among the non-treatment-seeking EMS professionals (n = 57) from a local EMS agency and treatment-seeking EMS personnel (n = 53) from a non-profit community treatment center on six assessment instruments that measure attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, resilience, depression, generalized anxiety, posttraumatic stress …

Examining The Role Of Mentorship On Youth Residing In Urban Poverty: The Effect Of Attitudes Toward School And Sense Of Inadequacy On Academic Achievement, Stacy Stewart

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring programs have been shown to improve the academic achievement of participating youth. However, little is known about the constructs impacted during the mentoring relationship that produce these meaningful academic advancements. The present study seeks to uncover what specific mechanisms underlie the relationship between mentoring and improved achievement. The present study explored the constructs Attitudes Towards School and Sense of Inadequacy and examined their relationship to mentoring and academic achievement. These constructs were examined in the context of the Cities Mentor Project, which is a three-pronged intervention (i.e., coping skills training, access to undergraduate mentors and protective settings after school) …

Under The Skin Social Stress: Physiological Effects Of Racial Discrimination And Family Communication During Adolescence, Dana Mansfield

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a formative, developmental period that encompasses increased life stress. For youth of color, these stressors are amplified due to race-related experiences such as racial discrimination. Studies have shown that family communication greatly influences the physiological stress response in childhood development. The purpose of the current study was to examine how interpersonal and institutional discrimination impact the physiological stress response and how supportive family communication may influence the stress response in adolescents from various ethnic and racial groups. A sample of 379 ethnically diverse adolescents participated in this study and completed self-report questionnaires. Cortisol samples were collected in conjunction …

Latinx Parent-Child Acculturative Stress Profiles And Their Relation To Expressed Emotion And Academic Achievement, Laura Saldana

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

A unique stressor among families of immigrant background is acculturative stress (AS), which is experienced by both adults and youth. AS results from difficulties with acculturation and is associated with negative youth outcomes. Past studies link AS to worse family functioning yet very few studies examine parent and youth AS together. The current study incorporates reports from 284 Latinx youth (M_age = 11.5; 55.6% females) and their parents to examine AS latent profiles. Four profiles emerged in this sample, characterized by high child-low parent (HLAS), low child-high parent (LHAS), moderate child-low parent (MLAS), and low child-low parent (LLAS), …

A Digital Application For Assessment Of Neurocognitive Disabilities, Thomas H. Auriemma

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Neuropsychological assessment is designed to identify neurocognitive impairment and has traditionally relied on pen-and-paper tests. The behavior collected from these tests is usually expressed as a total summary score or a score that reflects a restricted number of features that assess errors. There is now interest in coupling traditional paper and pencil tests with digital assessment technology. In this context traditional metrics such as summary scores are still available. However, using digital technology, a host of time-based parameters can now be obtained. These time-based parameters include the total time to complete the task or total time to completion, as …

Individual Differences In The Criminogenic Effects Of Discrimination: An Exploration Of The Role Of Impulse Control And Callous-Unemotional Traits, Toni Walker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The association between perceived discrimination and engagement in criminal offending has been well studied, especially in samples of minority (predominantly Black, Hispanic, and Latinx) adolescents. Several theories have been developed (Social Schematic Theory) and adapted (General Strain Theory) in an attempt to explain how harmful, discriminatory experiences may have an effect on an individual’s behavior. There may be variability in how an individual responds to perceived discrimination, however, but the moderating role of personality characteristics has not been explored. Impulse control and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are both established predictors of offending and may also relate to the mechanisms that theories …

Testing The Effects Of Social Exclusion On Emotional Arousal: An Examination Of The Effects Of Psychological Pain And Rumination, Amanda L. Peterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The examination of social exclusion and its impact on future emotional responding may prove to be a fruitful area of research in the prevention of suicide. Additionally, there may be other factors (such as the experience of psychological pain and rumination) that may influence how one responds to social exclusion. However, little research has explored individual differences in reactions to social exclusion. As such, the present study explored how social exclusion influences emotional responding to other environmental stimuli, as well as examining how a history of psychological pain and rumination affected how one responds to social exclusion. 503 undergraduate students …

The Draw Of The Wild: How To Easily Integrate Nature Into Clinical Practice, Jason T. Duffy

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

For thousands of years many societies and people have intuitively recognized the wellness-enhancing power of the natural world as well as its ability to assist people in the construction of a sense of purpose and meaning. More recently, research emanating from the field of ecotherapy as well as other fields has begun to build empirical support for the efficacy of the natural world in promoting mental and physical health. This conceptual manuscript provides the rationale for integrating nature into clinical practice and describes flexible, concise, and easy ways for counselors to utilize ecotherapy in their work with clients, including, ironically, …

Is The Phq-9 A Unidimensional Measure Of Depression? A 58,272-Participant Study, Renzo Bianchi, Jay Verkuilen, Sharon Toker, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Markus Gerber, Elmar Brähler, Kurt Kroenke

Publications and Research

The PHQ-9 has become a measure of reference in depression research and clinical practice. However, the issue of the PHQ-9’s unidimensionality has not been fully elucidated, and the usability of the PHQ-9’s total score requires clarification. In this study, we examined the dimensionality, scalability, and monotonicity properties of the PHQ-9 as well as the scale’s total-score reliability. We did so based on exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) bifactor analysis and Mokken scale analysis (MSA). We relied on a total of 58,272 participants (63% female; Mage = 43, SDage = 13) from 29 samples involving seven different countries (e.g., Germany, the …

Identification Of Sexual Grooming Behaviors In Male And Female Perpetrators, Stephanie Mignogna

Student Theses

It is estimated up to 12% of all sexual abuse is perpetrated by females. However, little is known regarding the tactics that women use to perpetuate the abuse. There is evidence that almost all cases of child sexual abuse involve grooming and that female perpetrators may also engage in sexual grooming to perpetrate the abuse. Identification of sexual grooming behaviors can prevent abuse before it occurs however, previous research has found that individuals are poor at identifying sexual grooming behaviors before they occur. Using an experimental vignette design, this study compared the ability to identify sexual grooming behaviors when the …

Neurofeedback Training For Attentional Processing In Anxious Individuals, Caleb Benjamin Barcenas

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The current study assessed the effectiveness of neurofeedback training for reducing anxiety symptoms and improving attention and response control in adults with self-reported anxiety. This paper presents a review of an archival database of a sample of individuals with reported attention concerns who received 20 to 40 neurofeedback training sessions at a university outpatient clinic. Participants were administered and completed the Integrated Visual and Auditory – Version 2 (IVA-2) Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and the General Well-Being Schedule (GWBS) before and after the intervention. Findings showed that participants significantly improved their scores on the Full Scale Attention Quotient (FAQ) and …