Psychology Commons^™

Development Of A New Measure To Assess For Poverty-Based Stress: The Poverty-Based Stressor Scale (Pbss), Brianna N. Allen

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Poverty, typically measured by economic well-being or depravation, is the result of systemic flaws built into the structure of society that adversely impact multiple dimensions of health and well-being. The specific stressors that disproportionately impact low-income individuals are called poverty-based stressors, and they encompass multiple categories of risk including physical, psychosocial, and financial risks. Currently, there is not an adequate measure of poverty-based stressors for low-income adults in the United States (U.S.), which restricts our ability to accurately determine the effects of poverty on important health-related outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of …

The Use Of An Evidenced Based Mobile App For Ptsd Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Stair Coach, Jason Brooks

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Many individuals experience traumatic events within their lifetime and between 7 and 9% will be diagnosed with PTSD (Kilpatrick et al., 2013; National Center for PTSD, 2018); however, many will not receive treatment due to a variety of barriers, including stigma, limited mental health literacy, high cost, lack of transportation, and other factors (Blais et al., 2014; Chikovani et al., 2015; Hom et al., 2017; Gavrilovic Kantor et al., 2017; Kulesza et al., 2015). Mobile apps may offer a way to overcome some these barriers (Kantor et al., 2017). Prior research demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of mobile apps for …

A Literature Resource For Those Supporting Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Cancer, Kaylee James

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts both social interaction and patterns of behavior. ASD is rooted in genetic, biological, and environmental causes. Cancer begins when cells grow out of control and there is also a genetic and biological cause of cancer. There is an overlap between the genetic and biological causes of ASD and cancer. As a result, evidence supports an increased risk of developing some types of cancer as well as protective factors for some times of cancer for individuals with ASD. Therefore, individuals with ASD may be at a heightened risk to develop cancer, …

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy: Implications For Treating Trauma, Kara L. Harrison Psy.D.

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Trauma related symptoms and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have been increasingly recognized for the key roles they occupy in mental health and overall individual well-being within both adult and childhood populations. They often represent significant barriers to the provision of mental healthcare within military populations and individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI). This original contribution to practice explores the significance of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy as a novel adjunctive approach to treating trauma. symptoms in adults and children. An extensive literature review examines current research and discussion on common definitions and nomenclature. It begins with discussion on the broader areas …

Stardust In Cedar Forest: Suicide Prevention Through Interactive Theatre For College Students, Ghina Fawaz

Honors Program Theses

Suicide can impact people from all walks of life, and for those who are vulnerable to circumstances that amplify suicidal ideation, prevention programs can be effective methods to provide relief and promote awareness to community members. The World Health Organization (2021) highlighted a global need for prevention programs targeted toward young people as suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 15-29. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of interactive theatre as a form of psychoeducation and suicide prevention for college students. This study found that interactive theatre had a positive impact as …

Online Disclosure Boundaries And Marital Quality Among Facebook Users, Dominique M. Jones-King

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCurrent marital and social media research has revealed that married couples are often unsuspecting of the negative marital ramifications associated with impulsive disclosure to Facebook friends, poor disclosure boundaries, and inappropriate online emotional affairs until the affair has been revealed and the emotional detachment has already incited a legal divorce. The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation, if any, between online intimate disclosure with another sex, online disclosure boundaries, and marital quality among Facebook users. The theoretical framework for this study was the social penetration theory. A quantitative, nonexperimental correlational research design was used. A total of …

Educational Level As A Moderator Between Stress And Suicidal Ideation Among Law Enforcement Officers, Sittipong Permsookjit

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement officers are exposed to occupation-related stress at a level greater than any other occupation, save war combatants, such stress can lead to suicidal ideation. There is a growing trend of suicidal ideation among law enforcement officers. This trend will threaten the stability of society if it is allowed to continue. Educational level has been shown to improve quality of life and is considered a quantitative resource. Using the theoretical framework of appraisal theory, this study’s purpose was to examine the moderating effects of educational level on stress and suicidal ideation among law enforcement officers. A total of 72 …

Are Narcissism And Entitlement Associated With Higher Rates Of Violence And Unsuccessful Treatment Completion?, Melissa Chipollini

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Following the dimensional-categorical model of personality functioning, this study used archival data to examine the degree to which narcissism and entitlement determined engagement in violent acts and treatment completion. The study reviewed MCMI-III/IV scores, discharge summaries, and violence histories for a sample of 105 individuals who were referred for forensic outpatient services by the court. One-way ANOVAs were used to assess all four of the hypotheses (a) individuals with more than one violent act (vs. one violent act) would have significantly higher mean scores on the MCMI-III/IV entitlement subscale, (b) individuals with more than one violent act would have significantly …

Do Law Enforcement Officers’ Attitudes And Knowledge Impact Their Likelihood Of Administering Naloxone?, Nicole Alexis Gulkis

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Law enforcement officers (LEOs) are integral public service providers who have been called upon by government personnel across state and local government bodies to aid in combating the opioid epidemic. As LEOs are often the primary front-line workers who encounter opioid overdose scenarios, more states across the nation are training LEOs to administer naloxone. The emergence of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has complicated LEOs’ involvement with naloxone administration because of shifts in policing strategies and occupational safety procedures. Given the current pandemic, concerns about contraction and transmission of COVID-19 must be considered for LEOs working in the frontlines of these concurrent public …

Characteristics Of Patient Encounters For Athletic Training Students During Clinical Education: A Report From The Aate Research Network, Cailee E. Welch Bacon, Julie M. Cavallario, Stacy E. Walker, R.Curtis Bay, Bonnie L. Van Lunen

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context: To enhance the quality of patient care, athletic training students (ATSs) should experience a wide variety of clinical practice settings, interact with diverse patient populations, and engage with patients that have a wide variety of conditions. It is unclear in what ways, if any, ATSs have diverse opportunities during clinical experiences.

Objective: To describe the characteristics of patient encounters (PEs) ATSs engage in during clinical experiences. Design: Multi-site, panel design.

Setting: 12 professional athletic training programs (ATPs; 5 Bachelor, 7 Master's).

Patients or Other Participants: 363 ATSs from the ATPs that used E*Value software to document PEs during clinical …

Expectations And Reality: Post Deployment Reintegration Through The Lived Experiences Of Military Spouses, Michele Marie Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This phenomenological study aims to understand how post-deployment reintegration impacted the quality of life, functionality, adjustment, and levels of distress among military spouses. Additionally, this study analyzed data collected from 11 individual military spouse responses to gain firsthand insight into the challenges of post-deployment reintegration and the resiliency factors that influence stability. While extensive research existed on the challenges associated with the hardships of physical distance and absence, there was limited research on the impact of post-deployment reintegration on the overall quality of life of a military spouse. Three theories explored the extremely individualized experiences of military spouses’ post-deployment reintegration. …

The Relationship Between Cognitive Distortions, Humor Styles, Coping Humor, And Self-Confidence, Emma Dudones

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Cognitive distortion is an error in thinking believed to increase susceptibility to depression (Burns, 1980; Dozois & Beck, 2008). Research shows Affiliative and Self-Enhancing humor styles are associated with less cognitive distortion, while Aggressive and Self-Defeating humor styles are associated with greater cognitive distortion (Rnic et al., 2016). The current study examines those relationships and extends the research by examining whether coping humor and self-confidence relate to humor styles and cognitive distortion. 210 college students took the Humor Styles Questionnaire, the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire, the Coping Humor Scale, and the Internal and External Self-Confidence Scales. The maladaptive humor styles were …

The Role Of Affective Heterogeneity On Treatment Effects For Youth With Conduct Problems, Pevitr Singh Bansal

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Conduct problems (CP) are a class of disruptive and aggressive behaviors (e.g., aggression, vandalism) comprised of both oppositional defiant and conduct disorder. CP are highly heterogenous and one vital factor that parses out this heterogeneity is affect, specifically the affective traits of irritability (IRR) and limited prosocial emotions (LPE). The current study examined how IRR and LPE predict distinct aspects of treatment efficacy including (1) treatment response (i.e., magnitude of change from week 1 to week 5); (2) trajectories (i.e., shape of symptom change); and (3) time-out (i.e., behavioral and emotional reactions to time-out). Participants were 49 youth aged 7-12 …

Examining The Indirect Effect Of Trauma On Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Through Responsibility/Threat Beliefs, Emily E. Fenlon

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Inflated responsibility beliefs and threat estimations have been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. Research suggests that early life experiences that involve actual or perceived serious harm to oneself or others may lead to inflated responsibility/threat beliefs and OC symptoms. Research has yet to explore if traumatic experiences influence responsibility/threat beliefs or if the associations between trauma and OC symptoms are at all dependent on trauma’s influence on responsibility/threat beliefs. The present study aims to examine associations among exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs), responsibility/threat beliefs, and OC symptoms. A sample of 886 undergraduate students completed …

Pain Interference Across Chronic Pain Populations: Variability And Associated Psychosocial Processes, Stephanie Judge

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Chronic pain is one of the most common health complaints, yet the limited effectiveness of existing treatment options suggests that chronic pain is still not fully understood. The goals of this study are to identify and organize well-established and emerging psychosocial factors associated with pain interference, clarify the nature of between- and within-diagnostic group differences in psychosocial and demographic factors associated with pain interference, and identify interactions among diagnostic and psychosocial factors associated with pain interference.

Community-dwelling participants (N = 284) completed a one-time survey which included demographic information, information about pain and diagnosis, and five existing measures that assess …

A Comparison Of Forensic Populations Using The Validity Scales On The Mmpi-3, Steven W. Steinert

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Examining the impact of different factors influencing the validity of an individual’s self-report during a psychological assessment is important in ensuring valid clinical findings and useful recommendations. These factors are often referred to as response biases. There are multiple types of response bias that can negatively influence the validity of self-reports in clinical assessment contexts. Specifically, individuals undergoing an assessment can be impacted by non-contentbased response bias, overreporting, and underreporting of psychological impairment and/or distress. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) instruments are amongst the leading tools within professional psychology used to identify response bias. The most recent iteration, the MMPI-3, …

Screening For Energy Restriction In Middle And Late Life, Kate Happel Krautbauer

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The most commonly used screening tools for disordered eating, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and Eating Disorders Examination–Questionnaire (EDE-Q), rely on the detection of shape and weight concerns to identify potentially dangerous caloric restriction among adolescent girls and young adult women. It is unclear how accurate these measures are at detecting restriction among adults 40 years and older. These adults may be vulnerable to developing or maintaining restrictive eating patterns when healthcare providers recommend weight loss as a preventative health measure or when acute or chronic illnesses (e.g., diabetes or cancers) impact eating. The present online study (a) evaluated the …

Primary Care Behavioral Health In The Time Of Covid-19, Michael Vriesman

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

People are commonly receiving mental health treatment from primary care providers rather than from behavioral health providers. To address this issue, the healthcare system has begun to integrate behavioral health providers into primary care clinics, known as integrated primary care (IPC). Research suggests that IPC can lead to a number of benefits, including increased likelihood of patients receiving the appropriate standard of care, as well as reduction in healthcare costs due to medical cost offset. While IPC is a promising method of healthcare delivery, additional research is needed to optimize this system. Additionally, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has …

Five Spiritually Based Tools For Clinical Practice During Challenging, Stressful, And Apocalyptic Times, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Stress in America and across the globe is high with so many ongoing societal problems. The COVID-19 global pandemic along with accelerating climate change, increasing economic instability and inequality, divisive politics and an increase in authoritarianism, racism, and discrimination against those who are oppressed and marginalized are just a few current examples. Evidence suggests that mental health problems and demand for services have exploded as well. Psychotherapists who are well versed in spiritual and religious integration in their clinical work can help. While therapists cannot solve the country’s and world’s numerous problems, they can help their clientele better cope and …

The Role Of Coping Self-Efficacy, Coping Strategies, And Resiliency Following Sexual Assault, Lauren Hirsch

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Sexual assault is a pervasive problem in the United States that effects people of all genders and sexualities. Due to fears of negative consequences, many victims of sexual assault do not legally prosecute the perpetrator. Those who do risk experiencing secondary victimization. The use of legal advocates during prosecution can help to guide individuals through the legal process and add a layer of social support that can minimize feelings of secondary victimization and help increase resilience in the victims. In this dissertation I examined a model predicting resilience from coping self-efficacy, mediated by four coping strategies. Participants were at least …

Integrative Meaning, Mindfulness, And Traumatic Grief Among Bereaved Adults, Brandy Tidwell

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Traumatic Grief (TG) entails clinically significant expressions of grief and posttraumatic stress following bereavement. TG experiences are more likely following violent, sudden, or accidental losses, which has been largely explained by integrative meaning-making processes. In this study, I aimed to explore relationships between integrative meaning, mindfulness, and TG among a sample of adults (N = 237) bereaved by various circumstances. First, I sought to contribute to findings regarding the negative association between integrative meaning and TG experiences by investigating whether this relationship persists among individuals bereaved by varied circumstances. Second, I sought to explore the role of mindfulness in …

Examining Perceived Stigma, Disclosure, Self-Compassion, And Health-Related Quality Of Life In College Students With Cystic Fibrosis, Anna R. Hangge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a life-limiting genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. Recent advances in CF-related healthcare have improved the life expectancy of individuals with CF from childhood to approximately 50 years old (CFF, 2020). Therefore, more individuals with CF are attending college and facing challenges within this new stage of life. This study examined perceived stigma, disease disclosure, self-compassion, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of current and former college students with CF to understand their psychosocial experience of managing their illness while in college. Results indicated that perceived stigma and HRQoL …

“I Knew These Marvelous People”: Gay Men’S Experiences Of Long-Term Hiv/Aids Survival, Ilana J. Sichel

Dissertations and Theses

The gay and bisexual men who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS before the pharmaceutical breakthroughs of the mid-1990s were given what was expected to be a death sentence. Instead, the majority of those who began the newly available treatments outlived not just their initial prognoses but their lovers, friends, and community members who had already perished. This study used grounded theory analysis of semi-structured interviews with a sample of 10 self-identified gay men who are long-term HIV/AIDS survivors to explore experiences of trauma, loss, and mourning in relation to current psychological wellbeing. Qualitative thematic analysis indicated that despite demographic variance among …

Early Risk Factors For School-Age Adhd And Irritability: The Roles Of Prenatal Risk, Intrusive Parenting Style During Preschool And Caregiver-Child Attachment Quality., Ashley M. Rainford

Dissertations and Theses

ADHD is a highly impairing neurodevelopmental disorder and the family context provides a critical early environment where children’s risk for the disorder may be heightened or reduced. A parent’s style, that is their approach to interacting and guiding the child may provide children with warmth and security, or elicit fear, distrust and disappointment, both of which in turn impact behavior. However, the parent-child relationship is not unidirectional; it is dynamic. Children with high ADHD-like behaviors have greater difficulty relating to and interacting with their caregivers, while caregivers become increasingly stressed and show greater hostility and less warmth in their parenting. …

Loneliness, Interpersonal Sensitivity And The Mechanisms Through Which The Dimensions Of Trait Emotional Intelligence May Protect Against Clinical Depression, Eva H. Leighton

Dissertations and Theses

Reducing the prevalence of loneliness and depression are important public health objectives. This dissertation aims to contribute to these objectives by improving our understanding of the relationship between loneliness and depression. Specifically, we assessed three additional constructs known to be strongly associated with loneliness and depression –-perceived social support, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal sensitivity –- with the aim of showing how these three constructs influence the relationship between loneliness and depression. Previous research that jointly examines all five constructs has not been identified by the author in an extensive search of prior literature.

Specifically, this dissertation tested the following hypotheses: …

Identification Of Adhd And Comorbid Disorders In Children: The Potential Role Of Minority Group Membership, Rachel H. Tayler

Dissertations and Theses

Identification of ADHD and Comorbid Disorders in Children: The potential role of minority group membership

by

Rachel Tayler, MSc, MA

Advisor: Sarah O’Neill, PhD

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects six million US children. Females, Latinx, and possibly Black children have lower rates of diagnosis than their Male and White non-Latinx peers. ADHD is behaviorally defined, and as such, clinicians' perceptions of symptoms and determination of diagnoses may be influenced by demographic factors such as race, ethnicity and sex.

This vignette study examined whether clinicians' implicit ethnic, racial, and sex biases affect diagnosis of ADHD and comorbid conditions. Psychiatry trainees and pediatricians …

Being Black & Blue: Sex As A Moderator Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Depressive Symptoms Among Black Emerging Adults, Wynta C. Alexander

Dissertations and Theses

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been linked to adult mental health consequences (e.g., depressive symptoms). Black people are disproportionately affected by ACEs, and factors related to ethnic subgroups and/or sex may produce differential depressive outcomes. The current study examined the moderating role of sex in the association between adverse childhood experiences and depression symptoms using a life course of health approach among a sample of Black emerging adults. Participants (n = 159) of the current study were Black (e.g., African – American) and Black Caribbean (e.g., Jamaican) undergraduate students (18 – 59 years old; 72.3% female) attending a large, public …

Joint Laughter Between Patient And Therapist: Exploring The Function Of These Moments And Their Relationship To The Working Alliance In Short-Term Psychotherapy, Molly Rappaport

Dissertations and Theses

Laughter emerges in infancy and reflects mutually aroused and regulated positive affect within the caregiver-infant relationship and repeated cycles of shared, co-regulated positive arousal have been shown to play a critical role in fueling secure attachment bond formation and laying the groundwork for the infant’s capacity for affect regulation (Schore, 2003). Throughout life, laughter continues to function as an attachment behavior with the possibility of promoting interpersonal closeness or creating distance. Attitudes toward the role of laughter in psychotherapy vary among psychodynamically-oriented clinicians and research has mostly focused on the kinds of humor and interventions that provoke laughter rather than …

The Impact Of Self-Compassion On Engagement During A Writing Exposure Session For Posttraumatic Stress, Jessica Rose Ellem

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 6-17% of college students in the United States, which can negatively impact academic achievement and is associated with other emotional difficulties. Exposure therapy, including written exposure therapy as been found to be efficacious for treating. However, concerns of treatment dropout and low symptom improvement are barriers to treatment success. Experiential avoidance in treatment has been problematic and may influence outcomes. The current study sought to reduce the use of experiential avoidance in exposure sessions through the promotion of self-compassion, an extension of kindness, humanity and mindfulness to the self. Furthermore, the current study also examined …

Role Of Feedback And Social Anxiety In Dating Situations, Kanika Singh

Masters Theses

Social anxiety has been linked to both the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) and the Fear of Positive Evaluation, suggesting that receiving feedback (whether positive or negative) is difficult for persons with social anxiety. However, little research has examined whether receiving feedback in an evaluative setting (e.g., dating) can directly affect social anxiety levels. Thus, this study examined whether varying types of feedback (negative, positive, and neutral) can affect the levels of social anxiety for individuals in a dating scenario. Feedback was provided to participants and examined in relation to their levels of FNE and FPE. Participants consisted of undergraduate …