Psychology Commons^™

Adolescent Perspectives On Media Use: A Qualitative Study, April Fiacco

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study looks at adolescents’ engagement with media and explores their perceptions of how media plays a role in their lives. For the purpose of this study, media includes watching television shows, watching and reading the news, and involvement in various types of social media. The influence of parents and peers is also explored to examine adolescents’ views of whether parent and peer opinions affect the types of media with which the adolescent participants choose to engage. The study used a semi structured interview to collect data with participants from a Massachusetts public high school. The data were analyzed …

A Drama-Based Group Intervention For Adolescents To Improve Mentalization, Michael S. Goddard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation is an innovative intervention design to improve mentalization in preadolescents. The intervention presented is conducted in a group format and using techniques drawn from drama-based therapy. I have provided a brief literature review on mentalization, and relevant topics in group treatment and drama therapy. I have outlined key concepts from mentalization theory including: (a) the development of the self, (b) its relationship to attachment, (c) psychic equivalence and pretend mode functioning, (d) marked-affect mirroring, (e) the various facets of mentalization, and (f) mentalization treatment with children. After outlining these concepts, I discuss psychodynamic group treatment, mentalization-based group therapy, …

An Exploration Of Overparenting And College Student Ability To Manage The Stress Associated With College Life, Isabelle Creste

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There has been an increase in the level of anxiety, perceived stress, and mental health problems among college students. An examination of the contributions of parenting to these increases may help in improving college student mental health; however, research is limited in this area. This study examined the associations between overparenting, and other types of parenting including, authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting, and differentiation of self, cognitive emotion regulation, perceived stress, and state and trait anxiety. The participants were 163 undergraduate college students (74.8% identified as cisgender women, 25.2% identified as cisgender men). The participants completed questionnaires that described their …

Client Perceptions Of The Therapy Room: Effects Of Homely Therapeutic Landscapes, Amanda Knapp

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There is very limited research exploring the effects of a homely therapeutic landscape design on the psychological wellbeing of clients attending outpatient psychotherapy. In particular, very little is known about the impact of office design on client perceptions of their therapist and the quality of care they anticipate receiving. Ample data support the idea of healing environments; this has important implications for the field of clinical psychology. The theoretical framework underlying this study is the Tripartite Model, which states that people view spaces as most meaningful when they promote positive feelings of comfort, belonging, and security. Focusing on college students …

Adult Intellectual Developmental Disorder: Adverse Childhood Experiences And Problem Behaviors, Jacqueline R. Dye

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have detrimental effects on health and psychological outcomes in the general population (Felitti et al., 1998). Individuals with the diagnosis of intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) are at increased risk for adverse events and may be vulnerable to poor outcomes, including problem behaviors (Hatton & Emerson, 2004; Hulbert-Williams et al., 2014). The present study examined relationships among Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire (Felitti et al., 1998) items, total score, and problem behaviors for adults with IDD receiving community-based care. Participants (N = 41) were referred by a developmental services agency for a review of their archived records, …

Evaluating Implementation And Adaptation Of Moral Reconation Therapy At A Local Jail, Branwen Gregory

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Recidivism among criminal offenders has been a persistent and intractable problem for many decades. Cognitive behavioral interventions, particularly when implemented with adherence to the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) treatment model, have proven to be effective in reducing recidivism rates. However, real world circumstances in penal institutions place restrictions on how these programs are implemented and may make it difficult for these interventions to be instituted with integrity and/or adherence to the RNR model. This is a particular challenge at local jails, which house shorter-term populations and have fewer resources. Currently there is a lack of research looking at the effectiveness of treatment …

Why Patients Miss Appointments At An Integrated Primary Care Clinic, Katherine Lambos Wilsey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Missed appointments in primary care clinics is of import given the significant impact not only on patients’ continuity of care, but also on the larger healthcare system. Missed appointments indicate that there are barriers to patients’ access of health care and these contribute to poor health outcomes. Further, missed appointments lead to financial and capacity issues for primary care clinics while also contributing towards higher patient utilization of emergency department services, for medical problems traditionally treated by primary care. Integrated primary care clinics offer both medical and mental health services to patients by way of employing behavioral health consultants to …

Shame In The Supervisory Hour: Do Supervisors Sense What Is Hidden?, Melanie R. Harkins

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Shame inevitably arises for psychologists in training, as they are required to expose potential mistakes or oversights in their personal and professional selves (Hahn, 2001). However, studies show that shame impedes supervisee’s willingness to disclose information to the supervisor, especially regarding clinical difficulties (Ladany et al., 1996; Yourman, 2003) or concerns with professional competence (Ladany & Lehrman-Waterman, 1999). The presence of shame in supervision threatens the assumption of most supervision models: supervisees will willingly disclose pertinent information (Falender & Shafranske, 2004). Fortunately, strong supervisory relationships can buffer negative emotions and supervisors can encourage disclosures (Hess et al., 2008). Utilizing qualitative …

Examining Optimism And Caregiver Strain In Parents With Youth And Young Adults Diagnosed With Anxiety And Unipolar Mood Disorders, Jennifer M. Gross

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An anonymous online survey investigated optimism and caregiver strain in parents of youth and young adults diagnosed with anxiety and unipolar depression. Caregiver strain is a

well-researched phenomenon where the experience of parenting youth with serious psychological disorders has a potentially negative impact on parents and caregivers. Optimism is a trait that confers resiliency and improved coping to the individual. The relationship between caregiver strain and optimism is not well understood. This inquiry utilized the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) to measure caregiver strain and the Life Orientation Test, Revised

(LOT-R) to measure optimism. Participants endorsed significantly higher scores on the …

Physician Training And Support In Managing Dilemmas Around Benzodiazepine Prescribing, Elizabeth Corley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Numerous concerns have emerged regarding the dangers of extended benzodiazepine use and abuse, as well as continued prescribing by medical professionals despite related contraindications. Primary care physicians (PCPs) may find decisions around benzodiazepine prescription and related patient encounters to be especially challenging. Little is known on the efficacy of routine medical training and supervision/consultation models in preparing emerging PCPs for managing the dilemmas that may ensue with regards to prescribing benzodiazepines. The present study sought to begin addressing this gap by conducting an initial qualitative inquiry into the training and supervision experiences and needs of a group of current family …

Resilience In Adult Women Who Experienced Early Mother Loss, Elizabeth Schmitz-Binnall

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The primary purpose of this dissertation study was to explore levels of resilience in adult women whose mothers died when the participants were children. The death of a mother during an individual’s childhood is an adverse event that can affect all areas of that person’s life. It is intuitive to believe that early mother death would cause long-term effects on the overall resilience levels of the individuals; however, there has been minimal research exploring resilience in this population. With a sample of 245 women throughout the United States, this study used the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 25 (CD-RISC-25) to begin investigating …

Creating Positive, Negative, And Neutral Primes And Testing Their Impact On Scrupulosity Relevant Tasks And Symptoms, Kelsey Jean Evey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A series of three studies was conducted to develop and validate primes to activate negative, positive, or neutral beliefs about God and to determine how these activated beliefs impact scrupulosity signs and symptoms. Scrupulosity is a specific presentation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in which individuals become preoccupied and distressed by intrusive thoughts and images related to religious issues. Individuals with more severe scrupulosity often have more negative beliefs about God. Christianity conceptualizes God in both positive (e.g., loving, caring, and helpful) and negative (e.g., angry, judgmental, and wrathful) terms. It is therefore important to determine how more positive, negative, or …

The Relationship Between Familism And Social Distancing Behaviors During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Thien-An Le

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Transmission of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) occurs efficiently and from symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, therefore making it highly infectious. As such, social distancing is generally recommended to mitigate the speed of transmission and decrease incidence, hospitalization, and mortality rates. Consistent with other chronic medical conditions, COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting Hispanic/Latinx and black populations. One inherent cultural concept, familism, might also serve to inhibit adherence to social distancing guidelines. Thus, the current study contributes to the growing literature on COVID-19, specifically examining barriers underscoring health disparities. This study evaluated Attitudinal Familism (AFS) and Behavioral Familism (BFS) as predictors of adherence of social …

Social Support And Mental Health Outcomes Of Lgb People Of Color, Jessica Ruiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people of color (LGB PoC) continue to remain an understudied population. Research supports that LGB PoC may experience greater negative health consequences compared to LGB racial/ethnic majority populations. Social support, including family and peer support, is often associated with positive health outcomes for sexual minorities of all backgrounds. The present study sought to evaluate differences between types of social support, including what occurs when one is faced with significant loss of support (i.e., family support). Comparisons between groups sought to determine whether alternative systems of support (i.e., peer social support) buffers against the negative impact of …

Student Veterans: Factors Impacting Campus Adjustment, Allyssa Lynn Borak

Theses and Dissertations

Veterans represent a growing part of the student body on college campuses. Yet, retention rates continue to remain lower among student veterans in comparison to their civilian peers. A majority of research regarding the student veteran population focuses solely on the physical and mental challenges they face as they transition into student life. However, limited research has explored the relationship experiential avoidance and student engagement has on psychosocial functioning and reintegration difficulties, leaving a gap in universities empirical knowledge about how to successfully meet student veteran needs. Therefore, the current study examined the relationships between factors such as traumatic exposure, …

Relation Between Depression Symptoms And Suicide Risk In Adults And Older Adults, Ruifeng Cui

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Suicide consistently ranks among the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States. Depressive disorders as well as depression symptoms are risk factors for suicide. Depression symptoms typically fall under a cognitive affective domain and a somatic domain. Males and older adults may have a more somatic presentation of depression. Among those with physical health problems, these somatic symptoms may be confounded with symptoms of physical conditions. Not all symptoms of depression are equally useful for predicting suicide risk. The types of depression symptoms that are risk factors may vary depending on the characteristics of the sample and …

Identifying Protective Factors To Early Suicide Markers: The Buffering Effects Of Savoring And Resilience, Matthew Miceli

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Suicide continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States, which highlights the need for researchers to identify protective models through longitudinal designs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019). Importantly, suicide prevention strategies are more efficacious when they target early indicators of suicide and consider risk and protective factors. Desire for death, the combination of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness proposed by the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior (Van Orden et al., 2008), is one such early marker of suicidal behavior. A protect factor is methodologically defined as one that demonstrates an inverse …

Confusing Conversations: Assessing Traumatic Stress In Young Children, Jennifer Lela Moniz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Early detection and interventions are important for the prevention of negative long-term effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Current evaluations of PTSD in young children rely heavily on caregiver reports, and there are few self-report measures for children under 8 years old (Mash & Barkley, 2007). This study examined the construct validity of the Post Traumatic Symptom Inventory for Children (PT-SIC), a self-report measure of PTSD symptomatology for young children, through a comparison of results with the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC), an empirically supported caregiver measure of child PTSD symptomatology. Results of the Spearman correlation indicated that …

Ayurvedic And Bionian Theories Of Thinking: Mental Digestion And The Truth Instinct, Jenna Labbe-Watson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical paper integrates Ayurvedic and Bionian psychoanalytic theories of thinking into a new, integrative understanding of how individuals learn from experience. The relationship between knowledge, emotional experience, and the truth instinct is explored. Ayurvedic and Bionian theories describe the complexity involved in transforming raw sensory and emotional experiences into thoughts that nourish our intelligence and permit us to continually dream ourselves into being. Ayurvedic theories of intrapsychic processes and the anatomy and physiology of the mind will be explicated alongside Bionian concepts of intersubjective projective identification. For the promotion and maintenance of psychological growth, Bionian psychoanalytic thinkers describe the …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Client Experience Of The Psychotherapy Relationship, Mark D. Knutzen

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Meta-analyses have indicated that there are likely common factors across varied treatment modalities that account for the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Research has attempted to identify therapist and treatment relationship components that correlate with effective mental health treatment. Yet, there is a paucity of research directly addressing the qualitative experience of the relationship between psychotherapists and their clients.

Eight adult psychotherapy clients were interviewed regarding their experience of the psychotherapy relationship with their mental health therapist. The interviews were analyzed through the use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Seven themes emerged. Three themes related to the formation, and overall foundation of …

The Importance Of Mindfulness And Self-Compassion In Clinical Training: Outcomes Related To Self-Assessed Competency And Self-Efficacy In Psychologists-In-Training, Chelsea Latorre

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The release of the APA (2011) Revised Competency Benchmarks used for evaluation of doctoral-level psychology trainees calls for literature to examine competencies in this population with use of appropriate instrumentation. The recent publication and validation of the Professional Competencies Scale-Revised (Taylor, 2015) allows for researchers to explore factors associated with trainee competencies as it relates to the benchmark system. Previous literature suggests a strong relationship between counselor self-efficacy and professional competency (e.g., Constantine, 2002), suggesting that interventions that can foster these constructs may lead to enhanced counseling performance. This study examined the predictive value of mindfulness and self-compassion for self-assessed …

Associations Between The Adult Adhd Self-Report Rating Scale And The Test Of Differential Inhibition And Attention, Andrew Benton Darling

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) ranks among the most common mental health disorders in adults (APA, 2013). ADHD assessment is complicated by heterogenous symptoms, gender and age differences in diagnosis, variability in symptom manifestation across the lifespan, and comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders and medical conditions (Asherson, 2016; Willcut, 2012; Williamson & Johnston, 2015). The stop-signal task (SST) identifies ADHD clinical groups in children and adults (Lifffijt et al., 2005), yet it remains unclear whether SST performance reflects general deficits in attention (Alderson et al., 2007) or a selective deficit in motor response inhibition (Aron & Poldrack, 2005). Studies of SST often …

Why Are They Wrong? Exploring Surrogates’ Accuracy When Predicting Patient Treatment Preferences, Rachael Lynn Spalding

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Surrogate decision making is common in medical settings, particularly regarding treatment decisions for patients at end-of-life. When making decisions on behalf of patients, surrogates are most often encouraged to use the substituted judgment standard and make the decision that the patient would make if he or she were able to express a choice. A significant body of research, using patient-surrogate pairs and hypothetical vignettes, has documented that surrogates tend to inaccurately predict patient preferences when making these decisions (Shalowitz et al., 2006). This results in treatment decisions that do not match what the patient would have selected. Various factors that …

Effects Of Appalachian Culture And Pregnancy Status On Pain-Related Fear, Cecelia Irene Nelson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fear of pain during pregnancy is an understudied phenomenon with important implications for prenatal and postpartum functioning. The aim of the current study was to understand the role of pregnancy and culture on pain-related fear in Appalachia. Archival datasets, and a new sample of women recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, were sources of data. Participants completed the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9 and responded to demographic questions in order to ascertain whether they were pregnant at the time of the study as well as the number and nature of prior pregnancies. In support of hypotheses, results indicated that pregnant women reported …

A Video Decision Aid For The West Virginia Post: A Randomized, Controlled Trial, Jarred Vicente Gallegos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) allows patients to express preferences for end-of-life medical decisions. Although POLST forms are used throughout the United States, evidence is lacking about the quality of the decision-making process of individuals completing these forms. The use of a decision aid developed for the POLST could ensure that patients completing these forms are informed, confident, and certain of their treatment decisions. The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate a video decision aid for the West Virginia POST. 64 English-speaking, community-dwelling adults (50+), with no evidence of cognitive impairment, were recruited to …

Sibling Mediated Play Intervention Of Joint Engagement And Symbolic Play In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Catherine Callaci

CMC Senior Theses

The study will utilize a multiple baseline design to assess a sibling mediated play intervention using Behavior Skills Training (BST) to increase joint engagement (JE) and symbolic play (SP) behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). JE will be operationalized as turn-taking, imitation, or following through on verbal commands to play. SP will be operationalized as play actions with objects for imaginative uses, without the actual objects present, or labeling abstract properties of the object. Six siblings of children with ASD will be taught BST during playtime. JE and SP occurrences will be scored via a 15 second partial …

Predicting Competency In Motivational Interviewing Through An Objective Empathy Task, Kylah Moneek Clark

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the process of disseminating motivational interviewing (MI) it is important to identify who benefits from initial workshops and which trainees would benefit from an extended training model that involves coaching and performance feedback, which has recently been advocated. Prior research attempting to determine who benefits from training has failed to show associations between baseline self-reported empathy and training outcomes. However, the use of an objective empathy task may address the shortcoming of prior research. The purpose of the present study was to predict competency in motivational interviewing skills following training using an objective empathy task. In addition, we investigated …

Mindfulness Within Relationships: Is Partner Discrepancy Related To Relationship Satisfaction, Chelsea Carson

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness has been linked with positive relationship outcomes; however, there is limited understanding regarding which facets of mindfulness are most related to couples’ relationship satisfaction and the potential role of discrepancy in mindfulness between partners for relationship satisfaction. Additionally, previous studies did not account for individuals’ well-being, a potential confounding variable in the association between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction. The present study examined the relation between each facet of mindfulness using the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire and relationship satisfaction (Couple Satisfaction Inventory), while controlling for well-being (Compass Assessment System) using Actor Partner Interdependence Models. The relation between discrepancies in …

Towards Collaboration: A Comparative, Longitudinal, Conversation Analysis Of Change In Talk-In-Interaction In Psychotherapy, Kai Bekkeli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study utilizes conversation analysis to describe changes at the level of talk-in-interaction across four points of time (beginning, middle, late, and ending sessions) in four different psychotherapies: two “successful” psychotherapies and two “unsuccessful” ones, with the author of this study conducting the psychotherapies in each case. The analytic domains, practices, and sequence types of interest were not pre-defined at the outset, though the analysis showed alignment to be of principal interest. Patients whose therapies were “successful” progressively aligned with therapeutic activities over time, with a difference revealed in how quickly this alignment occurred according to the ‘type’ of activity …

A Darker Side Of Venus: An Empirical-Phenomenological Study Of Women's Negative Experiences Encountering Pornographic Imagery, Rebecca Gimeno

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This empirical-phenomenological study explores the psychological dimensions of negatively encountering a pornographic image. The study includes four participants, all adult women who have had an adverse encounter with a pornographic image within the past five years at the time of the data collection. The recollected experiences of the participants were collected through written narratives as well as semi-structured interviews.

The written narratives and recorded audio interviews were transcribed and subsequently analyzed using an empirical-phenomenological analysis, a process that yielded situated structures. From this analysis, thematic elements of each structure were brought to light. Some of the thematic elements that were …