Psychology Commons^™

The Moderating Effects Of Protective And Risk Factors On Outcomes For Behavioral Smoking Cessation Treatment, Holly Reid

Wayne State University Dissertations

The rate of cigarette smoking is three-fold higher among adults living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) than in the general population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Relative to non-smoking HIV-positive adults, HIV-positive cigarette smokers have even higher mortality rates, more physical health problems, greater tobacco-related health disparities, lower quality of life, and more barriers to treatment. These barriers are often interrelated with the significantly higher rate of trauma and violence exposure reported in both cigarette smokers and persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA; CDC). Violence exposure not only predicts emotional distress and substance use, but also …

Meditations On The Machine, Stephanie Schapowal

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

I've been thinking a lot lately about the machine. In my last project the machine took on many different roles, many of which were very human. I recently found myself explaining to someone my empathy for machines and their personalities, and how they shouldn’t necessarily be struggled against or eliminated, but rather embraced. This made me realize my connection to machines is deeper than previously realized, and I wondered–

Can this role reversal work in the other direction? Can I become a machine?

By definition, what is the machine?

Fear Of Alzheimer's Disease And Its Role In Memory Monitoring And Control, Annalise Marie Rahman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Fear of Alzheimer’s disease (FAD), or Anticipatory Dementia, is a healthy adult’s misinterpretation of everyday memory failures as indicators of developing dementia. The current study investigated the construct of FAD and aimed to contextualize FAD within the Health Belief Model through development of a new scale, the Anticipatory Dementia Index (ADI). The study also assessed the relationship between FAD and metacognitive monitoring and metacognitive control.

Methods: 94 cognitively-intact community-dwelling older adults with and without a history of family history of AD completed questionnaires regarding their subjective memory complaints, state and trait anxiety, depression, and multiple measures of FAD, including …

Neuropsychological Predictors Of Engagement In Rehabilitation Therapy And Functional Independence In Individuals With Acquired Brain Injuries, Michael W. Williams

Wayne State University Dissertations

Occupational therapy after acquired brain injury (ABI) is an important part of a rehabilitation program, as it is designed to assess and aid patients in regaining independent functioning with activities of daily living (ADL; eating, toileting, etc.) and instrumental ADL (IADL). Engagement in therapy is a patient factor that can limit or enhance the benefits of occupational therapy. Therapy engagement refers to deliberate effort and commitment to working toward the goals of rehabilitation (Lequerica et al., 2006); it encompasses patient participation in rehabilitation activities, such as attendance and completion of prescribed exercises. Low engagement and failure to maximize therapy are …

Parent Participation In Child Therapeutic Settings, Robert Doss

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Researchers agree that more caregiver participation and higher levels of engagement in child therapeutic settings lead to better outcomes. However, challenges arise in families of low socioeconomic status (SES) where resources are already spread thin. The current study evaluates the efficacy of implementing a single caregiver participation session during an eight-week physical activity and play group for kids aged 6 to 9 years old. Results indicate that the group as a whole is useful in improving some emotional and behavioral issues in children, but the participation session did not seem to have an impact on improvement. A discussion of results, …

Airline Pilots In Recovery From Alcoholism: A Quantitative Study Of Cognitive Change, Heather Christina Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In order to perform their duties, airline pilots must have no clinical diagnosis of mental illness or any substance use disorder. However, provisions have been in place since the 1970s that provide for a return to work for airline pilots with alcohol problems. To date, over 5,000 airline pilots have undergone rehabilitation for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and successfully returned to work. An important gap in the literature remains with regard to what extent improvements in cognitive performance may be experienced by airline pilots who complete treatment and to what extent age influences the amount of change. This study examined …

Examining Maternal Psychological Recollections Of Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Christine Desiree Shoop

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mothers of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and despair stemming from the challenges of raising offspring with behavioral, communicative, and socioemotional impairments. Researchers have shown that children diagnosed with ASDs exhibit symptoms within the first year of life (early-onset), while some exhibit normal development until the second year (regressive-onset), and some exhibit normal development until the second year but display abnormalities in the first year (mixed-onset). Despite the wealth of research on ASDs, there are few examinations of ASD symptom onset groups and the impact of those onset groups on parental psychological …

Stereotype Threat And Work Attitudes Of Older Workers, Cheryl A. Countryman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Despite an aging U. S. workforce, age discrimination at work remains an issue. Researchers have found that beliefs about the aging process affect workers' performance and attitudes. There is little research available examining this phenomenon from the perception of older workers. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of 7 workers aged 55 and older regarding ageism through the theoretical framework of stereotype threat theory. Research questions focused on identifying age-related stereotypes held by the participants, the influence of those stereotypes on perceptions of aging, perception of the impact of aging on job …

The Psychological Impact Of Distal Combat On Veterans, Candrick C. Darkashade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers and military organizations have defined military conflicts as being fought in two principal combat environments, namely, close proximity, or the proximal combat environment, and distant proximity, or the distal combat environment. This study used Gal and Jones's psychological model of combat stress as the theoretical framework. The study also used Merriam's generic interpretative qualitative research method, including open-ended interviewing and document review, to obtain data. The study used inductive thematic analysis to analyze the narratives of 10 distal combat veterans who were recruited for the study. The research questions were designed to identify the characteristics of distal combat and …

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: The Lived Experience Of Extended Family Reconciliation, Sheryl Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have documented the increasing role of grandparents who provide care for their grandchildren; however, few have studied extended family reconciliation after grandparents assumed their primary care. This study explored the reconciliation experiences of 12 grandparents who were primary caretakers of their grandchildren. Using Moustakas's phenomenological research approach, the participants were interviewed about their experiences of the relationship triad (grandparent-grandchild, grandparent-adult child, parent-child). Attachment theory and family systems theory were the conceptual frameworks to explore the central research question, which addressed the meaning of extended family reconciliation for grandparents who become primary caregivers of grandchildren. Using NVivo, the interview data …

Evaluating The Implications Of Parental Mental Illness For Children Using An Ecological Perspective, Jessica Elizabeth-Rose Carroll

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have extensively studied the experiences and potential consequences of being a child whose parent has a mental illness (COPMI). However, there is no consensus on the best way to support these children, in general or in schools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effects of parental mental illness on children by using an ecological approach. Researchers have used ecological theory to illustrate the importance of internal characteristics, skills, and supports for children to enhance resiliency. This study looked at whether COPMI differed significantly from the children of parents of parents with no current or past …

Perceptions Of Female Sexual Pathology: The Role Of Racial Biases In Clinical Decision Making, Jerusha Sanjeevi

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Diversity issues such as multicultural competence and sexual health competence have received increased but separate academic attention in recent years. Although empirical support has been found for the presence of racial biases in the diagnoses of mental health disorders, there is no evidence to date regarding the role of racial biases in the diagnoses of female sexual pathology. In the present study, 101 pre-doctoral psychology interns across the United States assessed the symptom severity of a fictional client via online vignettes in which client race was experimentally manipulated. Participants did not report significantly different symptom severity ratings between the vignettes …

Understanding Mental Toughness And Stress: The Role Of Cortisol, Alexis K. Satterwhite Ms.

Honors Program Theses

Mental toughness research aims to understand how two people of the same skill level, experience, and background react to pressure and stress, with one succumbing to the pressure while another succeeds (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2012). This study used Clough, Earle, and Sewell’s (2002) four C’s of mental toughness (commitment, challenge, control, and confidence) as a theoretical framework. The current study aims to explore physiological aspects of mental toughness through cortisol, a stress hormone that is released as an internal reaction to some type of threat occurring externally to the body (Kottler & Chen, 2011). The relationships between mental toughness and …

Relative Preservation Of Emotion Recognition Abilities In Women Compared To Men With Parkinson's Disease, Colleen Frank

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Successful emotion recognition is necessary for healthy relationships. Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be associated with deficits in emotion recognition through both auditory and visual modalities. Because past research has also documented that gender plays a role in emotion recognition, PD could differentially affect men and women. This study examined the abilities of men and women with PD to recognize specific emotions through emotional facial expressions and emotional prosody compared to healthy controls. This study included 28 PD patients (14 men, 14 women) and 40 (20 men, 20 women) age-matched healthy control participants. The PD group displayed deficits on both the …

An Analysis Of Reinforcers Maintaining Caregiving Behaviors Of Long-Term Care Facility Staff, Sandra Garcia

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Traditionally, the medical model has been the standard level of care in long-term care facilities. However, many facilities are transitioning from the medical model to a person-centered approach. The core of person-centered care is the relationship between frontline staff and residents. Empirical research has found person-centered care to reduce depressive and behavioral symptoms, levels of loneliness, and increase quality of care in residents; person-centered care has increased job satisfaction in nursing staff. Unfortunately, little is known about what motivates caregiving behavior in nursing staff and whether these motivators are consistent with principles of person-centered care. The current study attempted to …

Impact Of Stigma On Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help For Depression, Anna Marie Dierks

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Depression is the most common mental illness, affecting almost seven percent of Americans each year. Although mental illness treatment through professional psychological services has been proven to be effective, underutilization of these services is high. Underutilization of seeking help could lead to serious consequences, such as suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults aged 15-34 years old and in 2013 the highest rates of suicide were among adults aged 45-64 years old. Stigma has been viewed as a barrier to seeking professional psychological help.

Two age groups were chosen for this research due …

Reciprocal Relations Between Traumatic Stress And Physical Aggression During Middle School, Erin L. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

There is convincing evidence that demonstrates traumatic stress and aggressive behavior are highly related among adolescents. The evidence is less clear regarding the direction of this relation. The purpose of this study was to examine the reciprocal longitudinal relations between physical aggression and traumatic stress among a predominantly African American sample of middle school students. Support was found for traumatic stress predicting increased levels of physical aggression across the winter to the spring of the sixth grade for boys and across all waves from the fall of the seventh grade to the fall of the eighth grade for both boys …

Improving Mental Health Care For Transgender Consumers: Providers’ Attitudes, Knowledge, And Resources, Hillary Gleason

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Transgender individuals may present for treatment with a variety of mental health needs, both related and peripheral to their gender identity and expression. Compounding stigma and other life stressors elevate mental health risks in transgender communities, and the barriers to mental health services are manifold. As such, the current research study was designed to determine the competency of mental health care providers to address the unique needs of transgender consumers. Online surveys gauged mental health providers’ knowledge of transgender issues, implicit and explicit transphobic attitudes, as well as treatment decisions with transgender and cisgender consumers; moreover, workplace resources and infrastructure …

A Latent Profile Analysis Of Drinking Patterns Among Nonstudent Emerging Adults, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Abby L. Braitman, Amy L. Stamates, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research indicates that nonstudent emerging adults, as compared to their college-attending peers, are at higher risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems, including alcohol use disorders. The present study sought to extend the limited research on nonstudent drinking by (1) identifying sub-groups of nonstudent drinkers based on their drinking patterns and (2) determining the extent to which social-cognitive between-person factors related to drinking (i.e., social expectancies, perceived drinking norms, social drinking motivations) distinguish these sub-groups. Participants were 195 (65.1% men) nonstudent emerging adult heavy episodic drinkers recruited from the community. Mean age was 21.88 (SD = 2.08) years and 45.4% were unemployed. …

Positive Illusory Bias In Adolescents With Adhd: Prevalence, Stability, And Accuracy Of Reporters, Elizaveta Bourchtein

Theses and Dissertations

The positive illusory bias (PIB) – over-reporting levels of self-competence compared to other raters – has been demonstrated in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), despite increased impairment rates. However, due to inconsistent definitions of the PIB, conflicting findings have emerged regarding prevalence of the PIB in youth with ADHD and whether parent or child report is actually “biased” and driving the PIB. Additionally, stability of the PIB across time is unknown. The present study used person-centered methodology cross-sectionally and longitudinally to evaluate the prevalence of the PIB in adolescents with ADHD. Results revealed a cross-domain global PIB group at baseline …

Investigating The Relation Between Self-Compassion And Romantic Relationships, Emily Jacobson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-compassion has recently emerged as a component of psychological health. Research on self-compassion processes has grown in recent years, and shows that self-compassion is related to lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of positive affect. The current study examined the extent to which self-compassion is related to the quality of romantic relationships. Undergraduates at the University of Mississippi (N=261) completed online self-report questionnaires assessing self-compassion and relationship quality. Correlational and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted in order to assess the relation between self-compassion and relationship quality. Results indicated that self-compassion was positively and significantly correlated with relationship …

The Relationship Of Impulsivity To Eating Behaviors And Alcohol Consumption, Megan J. Newkirk

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Previous research has discovered a significant relationship between problematic eating disorder behaviors and alcohol consumption among women. Within this relationship, past studies have found that impulsivity significantly influences the correlation between these behaviors. The primary aim of the present study was to determine if impulsivity influences the relationship between bingeing behavior and alcohol consumption as well as the relationship between purging behavior and alcohol consumption while using a behavioral measure for impulsivity. Participants included 62 undergraduate females who were recruited from Murray State University. The results indicated that there was not a significant correlation between bingeing behavior and alcohol …

Beyond Mindfulness: Expanding Integration Of Spirituality And Religion Into Psychotherapy, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Since the publication of Bergin’s classic 1980 paper “Psychotherapy and Religious Values” in the Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, an enormous amount of quality research has been conducted on the integration of religious and spiritual values and perspectives into the psychotherapy endeavor. Numerous empirical studies, chapters, books, blogs, and specialty organizations have emerged in the past 35 years that have helped researchers and clinicians alike come to appreciate the value of religion and spirituality in the psychotherapeutic process. While so much has been accomplished in this area of integration, so much more needs to occur in order for the …

The Effects Of Sleep Quality On Theory Of Mind, Julie Erwin

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Previous research indicates a relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM; the ability to discern others’ thoughts, emotions, intentions, etc.) and psychological disorders. Further, previous research has described a relationship between psychological disorders and sleep disruption. However, no existing research has examined whether sleep quality is associated with ToM. In this study, I explored that relationship in a healthy undergraduate population. To address this question, I proposed to correlate measures of ToM with measures of sleep quality.

Contemplating Mindfulness At Work: An Integrative Review, Darren J. Good, Christopher Lyddy, Theresa M. Glomb, Joyce E. Bono, Kirk W. Brown, Michelle K. Duffy, Ruth A. Baer, Judson A. Brewer, Sara W. Lazar

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness research activity is surging within organizational science. Emerging evidence across multiple fields suggests that mindfulness is fundamentally connected to many aspects of workplace functioning, but this knowledge base has not been systematically integrated to date. This review coalesces the burgeoning body of mindfulness scholarship into a framework to guide mainstream management research investigating a broad range of constructs. The framework identifies how mindfulness influences attention, with downstream effects on functional domains of cognition, emotion, behavior, and physiology. Ultimately, these domains impact key workplace outcomes, including performance, relationships, and well-being. Consideration of the evidence on mindfulness at work stimulates important …

Measures Of Acculturation And Relations To Weight Among Mexican-Origin Youth, Dorothy L. Mcleod

Master's Theses

Risk for obesity increases dramatically for Mexican-origin immigrants and their children among upon arrival in the United States. Many studies have shown that acculturative factors play a role in this process for adults, which suggests that this could also be the case for children and adolescents. The significance and directionality of this relation may differ based on many factors, including the multitude of methods currently used for the purpose of measuring acculturation. This study examines the relations between several measures of acculturation and child weight in a sample of 6 to 11 year old, Mexican-origin youth, cross-sectionally and longitudinally over …

The Relation Between Appearance Evaluation And Disordered Eating Attitudes Throughout College: Trajectories And Moderators, Amy Heard

Master's Theses

The college years are a time of increased risk for body image concerns and disordered eating in both men and women. Studies have shown that body image concerns may emerge in childhood, increase throughout adolescence, and become more stable in middle adulthood, but less is known about the changes that happen during the college years that may cause these concerns to level off. One of the most common ways of assessing body image is by measuring appearance evaluation, or global satisfaction with appearance. While problematic appearance evaluation and disordered eating attitudes are often associated with one another, all individuals who …

Episodic Memory, Hippocampal Volume, And Effects Of Premature Birth In Young Children, Dana Marie Anderson

Wayne State University Theses

The hippocampus is essential for episodic memory. Preterm birth is associated both with deficits in episodic memory and with alteration on hippocampal structure; however, the effect of term status on the relation between episodic memory and hippocampal volume (HCV) is unclear. We studied the potential of a latent construct of episodic memory as well as the relation between episodic memory and HCV in full-term and preterm born children (ages 5-6). The individual episodic memory measures separated into different components based on the level of association and decision that was required for the tasks. The composite scores were not significantly correlated …

Personality Trait Interactions With Narrator Empathy In A Brief Computerized Intervention, Jennifer Danielle Ellis

Wayne State University Theses

Computer-delivered, brief interventions (CDBIs) have been an increasingly popular way to treat substance use disorders; however, very few studies have examined which characteristics of CDBIs maximize intervention effectiveness. The literature has consistently demonstrated that therapist empathy is associated with reduced substance use; however, it is unclear whether this principal applies to CDBIs. Therefore, one aim of this study was to examine whether the presence of an empathic narrator increases motivation to reduce heavy drinking in a CDBI. A second aim was to examine whether an individual’s personality traits (empathy, psychopathy, and Big Five Traits) interact with treatment characteristics (specifically high …

Relation Between Harsh Parenting Exposure In Childhood And Adult Externalizing Symptoms : Moderating Role Of The Autonomic Nervous System, Samantha Aldea Barry

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Though literature suggests that many individuals with childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) report having symptoms of the respective disorder as adults, little is known about potential predictors of adulthood externalizing symptoms. The proposed study examines the impact of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), as measured by skin conductance levels (SCL), on the link between harsh parenting experienced during childhood and ADHD and ODD symptoms during young adulthood. Results yielded a significant two-way interaction between harsh parenting and resting RSA, which significantly accounted for …