Psychology Commons^™

The Impact Of Sexual Assault Training And Gender On Rape Attitudes, Monica Krolnik Campos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Sexual assault is a growing concern across college campuses in the United States. According to the Sexual Victimization of College Women study, the victimization rate is 27.7 rapes per 1,000 ­­­­women students (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000). In response to the high prevalence of sexual assault, college campuses are now mandated to implement various forms of sexual assault prevention programming. Sexual assault prevention programming is intended to promote awareness of sexual assault and reduce the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses. Numerous studies have examined the short term effectiveness of sexual assault prevention programs (e.g., Anderson & Whiston, 2005). …

An Exploration Of The Experience Of Adults With Learning Disabilities Through Art, Adi Greenboim-Zimchoni

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study employed arts-based research with phenomenological, qualitative inquiry to understand and explore the perspectives of adults with learning disabilities and their sense of self and support in inclusive and special education classrooms in Israel during their school years. In this study, the researcher attempted to take Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) one step further by examining the participants’ feelings and relationships with the people in their daily lives during childhood. The researcher met with 12 participants ages 18-31 diagnosed with learning disabilities between third and eleventh grade. Participants created drawings illustrating how they felt about teachers, parents, friends and …

Project Palmms (Physical Activity Levels And Family Medical Histories): An Undergraduate Sample, Pierre Alexander Leon

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Physical inactivity has garnered significant attention as it is considered an emerging worldwide young adult problem. There is empirical evidence on predictors of low levels of physical activity (PA), such as an individual’s sex and/or socio-economic status. There are also other possible reasons for the decline in PA, such as an individual’s motivations and/or barriers for participation in physical activity and an individual’s understanding of their predisposition to chronic illnesses. This study seeks to identify perceptions of benefits/barriers to PA and motivating factors needed to increase physical activity in college populations. Methods: A survey gathering information on demographics, PA, …

Contextually Modulated Avoidance Behavior In Rats Post-Pavlovian Extinction, Lauren Branigan

Theses and Dissertations

The following study sought to examine the psychological substrates of renewal (e.g.., context dependent extinction processes) for conditioned avoidance behaviors in rats. Using signaled active avoidance conditioning, rats acquired two-way shuttle responding, to two different auditory stimuli. These behaviors were then extinguished through exposure to the auditory stimuli where shuttling behavior was now without consequence. Subjects were then tested for renewal of avoidance in three distinct renewal sequences (e.g., ABA vs ABB, AAB vs AAA, and ABC vs ABB) in three separate groups of rats. It was found that subjects showed more responding to a stimulus presented outside of its …

The Obstacles To Receiving Grace In A Substance Abuse Population, Bradley Johnson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Grace has been important throughout the history of Christianity, and it is also relevant in the contemporary positive psychology movement. Nonetheless, the construct of grace has been left relatively unexplored through theoretical or empirical investigation in the social sciences. The few psychological explorations of grace found in the current literature can be roughly divided into four categories: advocating for grace, theoretical development, measuring grace, and empirical studies of grace. The current study examined the obstacles to grace experienced by patients in a substance abuse recovery program. Seven obstacles were first identified by a group of 25 participants through the use …

Emotional And Spiritual Well-Being As Predictors Of Burnout Among Doctoral Clinical Psychology Trainees, Garret L. Blankenship

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

It has been observed in prior studies that student spiritual engagement and attribution tends to decline throughout graduate clinical training in psychology (Eisele, 2016; Fisk et al., 2013). This is problematic considering the inverse relationship between spirituality and stress (Calicchia & Graham, 2006) and the protection it provides against burnout. Also protective against burnout, and correlated with spirituality, is Emotional Intelligence (EI; Kaur, Sambasivan, & Kumar, 2013). Both EI and spirituality are related to lower burnout, less depression, and greater life-satisfaction (Kroska et al., 2017). Despite burnout being a common experience for graduate students in medical school (Amir, Kumari, Olivetta, …

Abortion In The United States: Identifying Populations That Perceive The Most Abortion-Related Stigma, Megan Layne Cheatham

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately three million pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended, and about half of the women who experience an unwanted, unintended pregnancy obtain an abortion to terminate their pregnancy. However, despite abortion being a common and safe gynecological procedure, it is publicly controversial and highly stigmatized. Available research is in agreement that abortion does not lead to long-term mental health problems; however, there is a strong and significant association between abortion-related stigma and pre-abortion depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Furthermore, stigma is suspected to vary based on demographic factors, and understanding these differences may help further prevent and …

미투 운동은 성매매도 포함하여야 한다 (#Metoo Must Include Prostitution), Melissa Farley

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Wounded Heroes And Heroic Vocations: Heroism And The Storied Lives Of Therapists, Peter Bray

Heroism Science

For many the world can be a dangerous place. Life is random. Survival is conditional, and individuals inevitably sustain physical and psychological wounds along the way. Challenged by change, human beings seek meaning in the making and remaking of personal myths that acknowledge both failure and the heroic achievement to endure and flourish. Revealing the heroic character of their creators, this impulse to make and share stories also elevates prosaic, day-to-day struggles into inspirational tales that can transcend context and speak into others’ lives. The sharing of stories permits others to purposefully consider their own struggles and can inspires them …

Cancer Blog Narratives: The Experience Of Under-Fifty Women With Breast Cancer During Different Times After Diagnosis, Maria Luisa Martino, Anna Gargiulo, Daniela Lemmo, Giorgia Margherita

The Qualitative Report

The recent literature shows an increase of breast cancer in women under 50, however still few are the studies which analyse the impact of the disease in this specific target age. This study aims at exploring the most prevalent topics in Italian cancer blogs of women who have received a breast cancer diagnosis before the age of 50, in order to understand their experience of illness and the characteristics of women’s narrations at different times after diagnosis (1 year, 2 years, 3 years). We collected the textual corpus of 4 Italian breast cancer blogs and performed a thematic analysis. Five …

Discrimination, Victimization, And Suicidality In The Lgbtq Population: The Role Of Psychological Pain And Perceived Connectedness, Amanda L. Peterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) are at a higher risk for suicide compared to the general population, but little is known about why this is. Many LGBTQ individuals face some form of discrimination or victimization in their lifetime, and some evidence suggests these experiences may contribute to this group’s higher suicide risk. Unfortunately, research has only examined the impact of direct discrimination/victimization on suicidality and has neglected to examine how ambient discrimination/victimization relates to suicidality. Additionally, although some links exist between discrimination, victimization, and suicide, the mechanisms by which these are related are unknown. …

Coping With Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms: The Role Of Illness Beliefs And Behaviors, Lisa M. Mcandrew, Nicole Sullivan, L. Alison Phillips, Wilfred R. Pigeon, Karen S. Quigley, Fiona Graff, David R. Litke, Drew A. Helmer, Joseph F. Rath

Educational & Counseling Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Background: Medically unexplained syndromes (MUS) are both prevalent and disabling. While illness beliefs and behaviors are thought to maintain MUS-related disability, little is known about which specific behavioral responses to MUS are related to disability or the way in which beliefs and behaviors interact to impact functioning. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between illness beliefs and disability among patients with MUS, and assess the extent to which behaviors mediate this relationship. Methods: The study examined data from the baseline assessment of a multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants were 248 veterans with MUS. Illness …

Examining Effects Of Parental Sexual Abuse On Female Juvenile Delinquency Using A Social Developmental Perspective, Michelle Nagle

Theses and Dissertations

Delinquency has traditionally been viewed as a male phenomenon, often defined in androcentric terms, and neglecting females in studies regarding delinquent behavior. However, females are the fastest growing subpopulation of the correction population, which amplifies the importance of understanding the nature and etiology of their offending. Recent research has suggested that predictors of male juvenile delinquency do not adequately explain delinquency in females, because the androcentric research ignores the damaging impact of sexual childhood abuse and other prominent family factors on female juvenile delinquents. This study aimed to examine the impact of childhood parental sexual abuse on female juvenile delinquency …

Perceptions Of Female Defendants As A Function Of Pregnancy Status, Rachel A. Silverthorn

2019 Symposium

Given the impact pregnancy has in other areas of life it makes sense that when a woman is brought into the criminal justice system pregnancy will play a role in how others perceive her. While research exists on the implications of pregnancy on incarceration, there is a gap regarding the trial phase and the effects of pregnancy on the adjudication process.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether pregnancy status impacts jury perception of female defendants. It was hypothesized that a pregnant defendant would evoke sympathy in a trial situation and consequently a pregnant woman would be judged …

The Effect Of Self-Compassion In The Experience Of Anxiety And Fear During An Interpersonal Stressor, Arishna Agarwal

ETD Archive

At its core, Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is an intense fear where an individual is afraid of being rejected, humiliated, embarrassed, or negatively judged by others in social situations. Due to these feelings, those affected by SAD avoid interpersonal situations, which maintain and worsen the disorder. SAD affects 15 million adults and impairs daily functioning in countless aspects. Through various research studies, evidence has shown that individuals who suffer from SAD have difficulty managing their emotional states such as fear and anxiety and are less willing to accept and forgive themselves than their healthy peers. Willingness to accept, be kind, …

Brief Behavioral Health Intervention Program For Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease, Chelsea Wiener

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Healthy eating, physical activity, stress management, and smoking cessation are widely recognized as essential for preventing and treating coronary artery disease (CAD). Research on lifestyle programs for patients with CAD has largely focused on long-term interventions (e.g., several months to one-year in duration). Further, many studies have recruited patients immediately post-cardiac event. By contrast, evaluation of brief lifestyle interventions for stable patients treated in outpatient cardiology is lacking. The present study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a 3-session behavioral health lifestyle program for patients with stable CAD being treated in an outpatient cardiology clinic. Thirty-three patients were randomized …

Cognitive And Vascular Risk Factors For Depression: Testing An Integrated Theoretical Framework, Rosanna Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Theoretical models that have guided the study of later-life depression include the vascular depression hypothesis, depression-executive dysfunction syndrome, and the CaR-FA-X model. Evidence suggests these can be integrated into a single developmental model of disordered mood (and its associated overgeneral memory feature) in later-life to delineate a mechanism of the vascular depression effect and identify modifiable intervention targets. Methods: In older adults, four serial mediation models evaluated the relationships between (1) vascular burden and depressive symptoms via executive control and rumination, and (2) vascular burden and autobiographical memory specificity (AMS) via executive control and rumination. In younger adults, four …

Syllabus And Lecture Slides For A Revised Social Work Practice Course On Diagnosing With The Dsm-5 Using Case Studies And Active Learning Techniques To Enhance Student Engagement., James D. Simon

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

Syllabus and lecture slides for a revised social work practice course on diagnosing with the DSM-5 using case studies and active learning techniques to enhance student engagement.

The following syllabus and lecture slides were completed as part of the Newer Faculty Learning Center (NFLC) grant to increase the use of high-impact content and pedagogy among new faculty. The syllabus and lectures slides provide an example of how to embed case studies, an evidence-based teaching (EBT) strategy (Herreid, 2011), into a social work foundation practice course on diagnosing with the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This particular EBT was implemented primarily …

Oneness In Everyday Life: Nonduality, Wholeness And Human Life After Awakening, Gibbons, Tom

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

In Advaita Vedanta a distinction is made between an experience of oneness and permanent awakening. The author argues that a nondual philosophy such as Advaita - as opposed to a direct experience of oneness – contains significant theoretical difficulties, which in turn are reflected in problems with actualizing nonduality in everyday human life. Alternative spiritual conceptions that might be more helpful in guiding the nondual aspirant in her spiritual life are examined, including the concept of “wholeness.” In the place of a reliance on an exclusive doctrine of nonduality, Jorge Ferrar’s concept of “Participatory Spirituality” and A. H. Almaas’s idea …

Categorical Modelling Of Conscious States, Baruss, Imants

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

In the last several decades, there has been an explosion of research concerning consciousness with some efforts at mathematical modelling. The purpose of this paper is to model conscious states using categorical constructions. In particular, this modelling captures temporality, the intentional structure of consciousness, and meaning fields, which provide the templates for occurrent events. The architecture of conscious states naturally lends itself to applications of category theory, more specifically to sheaf-like constructions in which the stacks over a site are topoi whose germs are the objects of the topoi. Each topos represents the potential experiential content of an individual where …

Psychotherapy In The Dream: A Phenomenological Exploration, Bustos, Nick

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

Post-materialist ontologies offer a transformed worldview whose implications point toward the illusory nature of the separate self, or ego. Aligned with the literature of mysticism and perennialist spiritual models, this portends a significantly altered backdrop for the practice and discipline of psychotherapy, the underlying premises of which assume a strict existential dichotomy between patient and therapist. Kenneth Wapnick, preeminent scholar of the twentieth-century spiritual document of A Course in Miracles, provides a relevant model toward integrating spiritually-based, ego-negative states within psychotherapy practice. The author studied the lived experiences of eight psychotherapists, both practicing and retired, who practice according to this …

The Impact Of Early Social Factors On Trajectories Of Internalizing Behavior Problems Within Maltreated Foster Care Youth, Ethan Michael Paschall

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Children who experience maltreatment are at an increased risk for developing internalizing problems. Little is known about long-term symptom trajectories of children placed in foster care following maltreatment. This study used contemporary growth mixture modeling to assess symptom trajectories of 322 youth from the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect Southwest site placed in foster care due to maltreatment. Internalizing symptom trajectories were assessed using Child Behavior Checklist caregiver reports. This study examined the relationship between early social factors (i.e., social support, unpopularity, aggression, cognitive ability, trauma exposure) and trajectories of future internalizing symptoms. Results indicate a …

Ante- And Perinatal Risk Factors And Neuropsychological Outcome: Exploration Of The Role Of Multiple Birth And Acid-Base Status In Preterm Born Preschoolers, Jamie Piercy

Wayne State University Dissertations

Increased attention to medical risk factors that precede or accompany preterm birth is necessary in order to better understand functional deficits in this vulnerable population. Children who are born preterm are subject to increased risk of neurodevelopmental deficits in the preschool years and beyond. As such, the current study aimed to gain a better understanding of the influence of two disparate biological risk factors, one antenatal and the other perinatal, on neuropsychological development. More specifically, the influence of twin gestation and low arterial pH (reflecting hypoxic risk) on neuropsychological outcomes was examined in a sample of preterm-born (before 34-weeks gestation) …

Great Sexpectations: Analyzing The Influence Of Expectation And Desire On Sexual Behaviors Performed In Hookups, Mariel Boyle

Research Days Posters 2016-2019

Sexual acts performed in college hookups are determined by a variety of factors. A significant problem is that culturally driven taboos cloud open communication during hookups leading to unexpressed expectations. These unexpressed expectations play a large role in sexual decision-making. Ideally, hookup partners would only engage in acts they desire, but culturally driven expectations are powerful forces, and may lead to the performance of less-preferred acts. Norm driven expectations develop into persistent sexual scripts that young adults follow closely. Moreover, the influence of expectations may be gendered due to sex role traditionality. Implications for hookup behavior are discussed.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Rural Emergency Medical Services Personnel, Nicole Elizabeth Bailey

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have undergone multiple revisions over the past few decades which have substantially refined our understanding of PTSD. Upon the publication of DSM-5, occupational exposure is now officially recognized as satisfying criterion A (exposure to a traumatic event) for the diagnosis of PTSD. First responder populations - particularly EMS personnel - have been historically understudied and warrant additional attention. The present study examines PTSD symptomology in a rural EMS population, as well as considering barriers to treatment. A total of 437 participants from West Virginia and western Pennsylvania completed a survey that included demographic …

The Role Of Dissociation And Hyperarousal In Adult Sexual Revictimization, Madeline S. Herman

ETD Archive

The purpose of the present study was to examine how child sexual abuse (CSA), hyperarousal symptoms, and dissociation symptoms are associated with sexual revictimization in adulthood. The study hypothesized that (A) a history of CSA will be associated with greater instances of adult sexual victimization, (B) higher rates of hyperarousal will be associated with lower rates of adult sexual revictimization in survivors of CSA, (C) higher rates of dissociation will be associated with higher rates of adult sexual revictimization in survivors of CSA, and (D) in looking at both hyperarousal and dissociation, hyperarousal symptoms will buffer the relationship between CSA …

Rumination And Positive Autobiographical Memories In Depression: An Examination Of The Undermining Effect Of Maladaptive Emotion Regulation On Adaptive Emotion Regulation, Pranav R. Bolla

ETD Archive

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent disorder of a recurrent nature that enacts a high burden across many domains. MDD has been conceptualized as a disorder of emotion regulation deficits in the frequent use of maladaptive ER responses as opposed to adaptive ER responses. While adaptive ER responses have been generally found to be efficacious in reducing distress within laboratory settings, they often fail to predict depression symptoms, do not differentiate those at high- from low-risk for MDD, and do not prognosticate risk for new MDD episodes. Given the preponderance of evidence suggesting a reliance on maladaptive ER …

Mechanisms For Depression Risk Among Those With Sexual Abuse Histories: Stress Sensitivity And Emotion Regulation Deficits, Angela Bush

ETD Archive

The present study examined whether childhood sexual abuse (CSA) predicts depression-related outcomes indirectly via stress sensitivity and emotion regulation (ER) deficits or whether ER difficulties mediate the relationship between CSA and stress sensitivity. Both stress sensitivity and ER deficits have been examined as mechanisms that increase depression risk for those with CSA histories, however their interplay has been largely understudies. Competing models of CSA, stress sensitivity, ER deficits and depression symptoms and affects in daily life were examined. Community dwelling and undergraduate participants (N=99) reported CSA histories via a psychosocial interview, completed measures of trait ER repertoires, perceived stress and …

The Protective Role Of Parenting Behaviors In The Development Of African American Adolescents, Kelsey Johanna Sala-Hamrick

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation aimed to understand how African American parents protect their teens from developing psychopathology in the face of extreme adversity. To do this, I examined three dimensions of parenting behavior, stress exposure, and behavior problems in order to understand the direct and moderating relations between parenting behaviors, cumulative stress and youth internalizing, externalizing, and total psychological problems. 150 African American primary caregivers reported on their adolescent children’s internalizing, externalizing and total behavior problems, exposure to stressful events, and their own parenting behavior. 150 inner-city African American adolescents reported on their exposure to traumatic stressors and a subsample of 43 …

Detroit People And Transitions In Housing-3 (Dpath-3): Changes In The Composition And Service Needs Of The Homeless Adult Population, Kiel Opperman

Wayne State University Dissertations

The current research study explores the composition and service need of the homeless community in Detroit, Michigan and its surrounding county, Wayne. The project aims to 1) examine differences in composition and social service characteristics across three decades and 2) access service utilization and unmet needs of the homeless population. The study’s central hypothesis is that demographic shifts in the homeless population indicate the need to make specific and substantive shifts in the distribution of the limited resources allocated to homelessness. Results demonstrated significant changes across the three time points, where the current sample of homeless people were older, spent …