Psychology Commons^™

Consumers, Clergy, And Clinicians In Collaboration: Ongoing Implementation And Evaluation Of A Mental Wellness Program, Glen Milstein, Dennis Middel, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

As a foundation of most cultures, with roots in persons’ early development, religion can be a source of hope as well as denigration. Some religious institutions have made attempts to help persons with mental health problems, and some mental health professionals have sought to engage religion resources. These programs have rarely been sustained. In 2008, the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) developed a program to assess the utility of religion resources within mental health care. In response to positive feedback, MHCD appointed a director of Faith and Spiritual Wellness who facilitates community outreach to faith communities and spiritual integration …

Estimate Of Undergraduate University Student Alcohol Use In China: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Ian Newman, Lanyan Ding, Yonghua Feng

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To develop an estimate of self-reported last 30 day alcohol use by university students in China.

Methods: A search of papers published in English and Chinese between 2006 and 2015, following pre-established selection criteria, identified 30 papers that were included in this meta-analysis. Nine moderator variables were preselected for this analysis.

Results: A total of 749 papers were identified in the keyword search, and 30 studies (28 in Chinese, 2 in English) met all selection criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The self-reported last-30-day alcohol use for undergraduate university students was 66.8% for males and 31.7% …

Debunking The 'Gaydar' Myth, William Cox, Alyssa Bischmann, Janet Hyde, Patricia Devine

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Kids are often told that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Even so, people often believe they can rely on their gut to intuit things about other people. Stereotypes often influence these impressions, whether it’s that a black man is dangerous, a woman won’t be a good leader or a fashionable man is gay.

Mexican-Origin Youth's Risk Behavior From Adolescence To Young Adulthood: The Role Of Familism Values, Lorey A. Wheeler, Katharine H. Zeiders, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Sue A. Rodriguez De Jesus, Norma J. Perez-Brena

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Engagement in risk behavior has implications for individuals' academic achievement, health, and well-being, yet there is a paucity of developmental research on the role of culturally-relevant strengths in individual and family differences in risk behavior involvement among ethnic minority youth. In this study, we used a longitudinal cohort-sequential design to chart intraindividual trajectories of risk behavior and test variation by gender and familism values in 492 youth from 12 to 22 years of age. Participants were older and younger siblings from 246 Mexican-origin families who reported on their risk behaviors in interviews spaced over eight years. Multilevel cohort-sequential growth models …

Impact Of Child Sexual Abuse On Non-Abused Siblings: A Review With Implications For Research And Practice, Alayna Schreier, Jessica K. Pogue, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Research has widely supported the numerous negative outcomes for victims of child sexual abuse (CSA), but little attention has been paid to the experiences of non-abused, non-offending siblings following the victim's disclosure. This review presents evidence indicating that this overlooked sibling population merits both clinical and research attention. Siblings may experience significant emotional and behavioral responses to the victim's disclosure due to changes within the family system. A sibling's internalizing and externalizing behaviors can increase family distress post-abuse, while a supportive sibling can contribute to the victim's recovery. The current state of clinical services for siblings is described. Services including …

Examining The Relationship Between Inattention, Impulsivity, And Externalizing Behaviors In Children: Does Intelligence Play A Role?, Carrie Blackeye-Hall

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This study gathered data using archival clinical files from the Murray State University Psychological Center, which provides psychological services to students, faculty, staff, and community members. The majority of the participants for the sample consisted of Caucasian (93%) males (60%) seeking an assessment (N = 76). Measures of externalizing behaviors and attentional problems were gathered from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and a measure of general cognitive ability (GAI) was gathered from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). It was hypothesized that the relationship between impulsivity and externalizing behaviors would be more pronounced when intelligence is lower. …

American Mom, Maria Weiss

Scripps Senior Theses

A reflection of my short film American Mom

Maternal Attachment Representations Of The Infant In The First Year Of Life: The Influence Of Prenatal Factors., Fatimah Hussain Alismail

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictability of prenatal factors, including maternal depression, reflective functioning, and romantic attachment style, on maternal mental representations at seven months postpartum. The participants were 74 mothers, a subsample of the Perinatal Imaging of Neural Connectivity study (PINC). Data from the current study were collected using semi-structured interviews, including the Pregnancy Interview-Revised (PI-R) (Slade, Grunebaum, Huganir, & Reeves, 1987) and the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; Zeanah, Benoit, Barton, & Hirshberg, 1996); and self-report questionnaires, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987) and the Experiences …

Designing And Using Digital Books For Learning: The Informative Case Of Young Children And Video, Georgene Troseth, Gabrielle Strouse

School of Education Faculty Publications

To promote young children’s learning from screen-based digital books, parents, educators, researchers, and designers might productively consult research about very young children’s learning from another screen-based medium: video. This extensive literature reveals challenges to young children’s learning from digital screens that extend from infancy throughout the preschool years. The youngest viewers learn better watching real events “face to face” than they do watching video, and have trouble transferring information from a screen to the real world. Supports for learning include particular experiences, active mediation by social partners, and select built-in features. Each support is reviewed in regard to its potential …

Toddlers’ Word Learning And Transfer From Electronic And Print Books. Journal Of Experimental Child Psychology, Gabrielle Strouse, Patricia Ganea

School of Education Faculty Publications

Transfer from symbolic media to the real world can be difficult for young children. A sample of 73 toddlers aged 17 to 23 months were read either an electronic book displayed on a touchscreen device or a traditional print book in which a novel object was paired with a novel label. Toddlers in both conditions learned the label within the context of the book. However, only those who read the traditional format book generalized and transferred the label to other contexts. An older group of 28 toddlers aged 24 to 30 months did generalize and transfer from the electronic book. …

Cumulative Risk And Chinese Adolescent Problematic Internet Use : The Mediating Role Of Self-Esteem, Xian Li

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A decade of research has documented the adverse effect of multiple ecological risks on adolescent problematic Internet use (PIU), yet existing research provides rather segmental explanations, and few studies offer a comprehensive and integrated account. A better theoretical and empirical understanding of the associations of multiple ecological risks and PIU, as well as the underlying mechanisms, could help inform intervention practices and policies to mitigate adolescent PIU.

Parent-Fostered Enrichment Activities And Academic Outcomes In Middle Childhood, Princess-Melissa T. Washington-Nortey

Theses and Dissertations

Despite numerous educational reforms, elementary school children in the United States continue to lag behind their peers from other developed countries on reading, math and science outcomes. Many interventions focus on strategies aimed at increasing the amount of classroom work children undertake. However, the key to improving outcomes may lie in out of school enrichment activities that facilitate learning. Drawing from Eccles Expectancy-Value theory(Simpkins, Fredricks, & Eccles, 2012), the current study focuses on assessing the impact of parent-fostered enrichment activities on child academic outcomes in the first three years of elementary school. Using secondary data from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study …

Mental Health Service Utilization Among At-Risk Urban Adolescents: The Relative Contributions Of Perceived Need, Attitude, And Spirituality/Religiosity, Yi Tak Tsang

Wayne State University Theses

Adolescence has been described as “a time of storm and stress” (Arnett, 1999; Hall, 1904). In fact, a national survey in the United States estimated that adolescents were twice as likely than adults to report at least one major depressive episode in the past 12 months (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016). In particular, adolescents who are poor, who belong to ethnic minority groups, and who live in urban neighborhoods are more vulnerable to mood and behavioral symptoms than their White/Caucasian counterparts who grow up in relatively affluent suburban and rural areas (Beyers, Bates, Pettit, & Dodge, 2003; …

Examining The Role Of Ethnic Identity In The Relationship Between Characteristics Of Autism Spectrum Disorders And Eating Disorders, Ashley Bojorquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present work provides a synthetic literature review investigating the potential role of ethnic identity in the relationship between Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and eating disorders (EDs). To date, there is no literature that directly examines the role that ethnic identity may play in the relationship between these two disorders. However, there is reason to believe it may; previous literature has shown that race/ethnicity plays a role in both of these disorders, and the role of ethnic identity has been more fully explored in the ED population. Notably, there is little research that examines the role of ethnic identity on …

Evaluation Of A Mindfulness Intervention For Children With Emotion Regulation Difficulties, Stephanie Jo Pirsig

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Emotion regulation difficulties are featured in internalizing and externalizing psychological diagnoses and can be seen as a precursor for a severe and persistent mental illness, relationship, and personal problems. Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) is a non-pharmaceutical alternative and may alleviate limitations for medication, cognitive behavior therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a MBSR intervention on emotion regulation in children with emotion regulation difficulties and associated psychiatric diagnoses. Five participants, ages 6 to 13 years old, with emotion regulation difficulties were recruited through local psychiatric clinics and participated in …

A Study Exploring Parents’ And Occupational Therapists Views On Facilitating Social And Emotional Development, Salena C. Neuwar

Honors College Theses

This study examined how parents of a child with a disability and the child's occupational therapist each facilitate social and emotional development among children who have or are currently receiving occupational therapy services. This study first served to identify, through interviews, what social and emotional skills are important individually to the parent and the occupational therapist that the child gains. Through interviews, the researcher investigated the perceptions of how parents and occupational therapists facilitate social and emotional skills. The location of the therapy session was found to be a vital component among parent and occupational therapist interaction. Finally, this research …

The Role Of Intrapersonal Schemas In The Development Of Adolescent Body Satisfaction, Madeline Luedke

Global Tides

Body image is a mental representation of the self that evolves across the lifespan and is a critical component of the psychological-developmental process of adolescence. An individual’s attitudinal and perceptual dimensions of this construct are formulated, in part, from intrapersonal factors such as self-efficacy, self-esteem, affect, attachment orientation, and childhood abuse history. The Big Five personality characteristics; agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience; act as a foundation for the prevalence of these traits. Intrapersonal schemas, such as these, sculpt the visualizations an individual experiences concerning their physical self, with regards to both the accuracy of interpretation and the …

The Implications Of Attachment Orientation And Personality Pathology For Detecting Deception, Madeline Luedke

Global Tides

This study investigated the implications of attachment orientations and personality dimensions for accuracy in detecting deception from emotionally-based statements. Thirty individuals (M age = 25.33, range = 18-52) completed a survey that included the Personality Inventory for DSM-V-Brief Form and the Relationship Styles Questionnaire to measure the individual differences in question. To measure deceit, 7 mental health counselors volunteered to participate in a video-recorded mock interview concerning their current romantic partner—3 individuals provided false responses, and the remaining 4 offered true answers. The audio-visual vignettes were imbedded in the survey and subjects viewed each, then responded a question asking …

Parental Cultural Conflict And Children's Cultural Identity Development, Amanda Araki

Student Research Posters

Parent culturally incompatibility was evaluated for its possible negative impact on a bicultural offspring’s cultural identity development. The 43 self-identified bicultural participants, aged from 18 to 67 years, provided family cultural histories, and completed the Parental Cultural Conflict Scale (PCCS) and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). The hypothesized relationship between high PCCS levels and low MEIM levels was not supported by the data; however, the range of responses on the PCCS was very limited with a complete absence of any very low or very high conflict scores. It was concluded that parents’ cultural incompatibility does not have the level …

Relative To Einstein: Quality Of Life In Twice Exceptional Adults, Rk Wall-Polin

Student Research Posters

Twice exceptionality, or 2e, is the recently-coined term for the intersection of learning disabilities (LDs) and giftedness in an individual. Typically, these learning disabilities encompass ADHD, ASD, and/or specific learning disorders such as dyslexia. Because giftedness may obscure or compensate for a student’s academic struggles, and because institutional fixation on disability may overshadow intelligence, twice exceptionality is often missed by teachers and other authority figures in a child’s life. Given the ongoing difficulties of screening for twice exceptionality, it is likely that many 2e students have gone unidentified throughout most of their academic careers, without receiving the accommodations that would …

"You're Doing Fine, Right?": Adolescent Siblings Of Substance Abusers, Cynthia E. Clarfield

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There has been a rising interest in addiction medicine and addiction treatment in both the medical and behavioral health science fields. Research suggests having a family member with a substance abuse problem has negative impacts on both physical and mental health (Orford, Copello, Velleman, & Templeton, 2010a). Despite advances toward understanding the experiences of family members affected by a loved one's addiction, the siblings of substance abusers have been largely excluded from scientific research and literature. As a result, little is known about how siblings experience the impacts of a brother or sister's addiction; even less is known about the …

Processing Of Spatial Information In Social And Non-Social Stimuli By Opioid-Exposed And Non-Exposed Newborns, Alyson J. Hock

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The ability to process information from faces is important for effective social functioning. Adults are experts at this function. It has been suggested that the encoding of configural spatial relations among facial features (e.g., the distance between the eyes) contributes to this expertise. I investigated the developmental origin of face processing expertise by studying typically developing newborns’ sensitivity to the distance between the eyes and between the nose and the mouth in face stimuli. Further, I investigated whether prenatal opioid exposure is associated with neonates’ processing of spatial information in social and non-social stimuli. Infants with prenatal opioid-exposure are at …

The Role Of Child Temperament On Low‐Income Preschool Children’S Relationships With Their Parents And Teachers, Ibrahim H. Acar, Julia C. Torquati, Amy J. Encinger, Amy Colgrove

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The current study examined the associations between low‐income preschool children’s temperament (reactive and regulatory) and their relationships with parents and teachers. In particular, we focused on the moderating role of regulatory temperament on reactive temperament in the prediction of closeness and conflict with parents and teachers. Two hundred ninety‐one children (M = 53.88 months, SD = 6.44 months), their parents, and teachers from 3 different preschools serving low‐income children in 2 midwestern cities in the United States participated. Parents reported on temperament and parent–child relationships, and teachers reported on teacher–child relationships. Hierarchical regression models using SAS PROCMIXED were employed to …

Teaching For Tomorrow: An Exploratory Study Of Prekindergarten Teachers’ Underlying Assumptions About How Children Learn, Erin E. Flynn, Rachel E. Schachter

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study investigated eight prekindergarten teachers’ underlying assumptions about how children learn, and how these assumptions were used to inform and enact instruction. By contextualizing teachers’ knowledge and understanding as it is used in practice we were able to provide unique insight into the work of teaching. Participants focused on children’s ability to remember information, frequently through engagement and repetition. Teachers also anticipated what children would be learning in the early elementary years and taught that content, yet they did not necessarily expect children to remember the information, or even know if children learned the information. Implications for the design …

Female Superiority In Social Cognition: Can Pretend Play Help The Boys Catch Up?, Maria Weiss

Scripps Senior Theses

The effect of pretend play on 150 (~ 75 girls; 75 boys; M=3 yro) preschool children’s social cognition will be assessed through a semester long intervention study. Research has reported a trend of female superiority in empathy and ToM and a likelihood of young girls to engage in pretend play more frequently and to a higher degree than young boys. Previous research has also found a relationship between play and social cognition, as through the act of imagination, one is able to thoroughly take on the perspectives of someone other than the self. This study attempts to show a …

Multiple Maltreatment And Adverse Childhood Experiences: Exploring Cumulative Threats To Attachment Quality, James E. Barnett

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Child maltreatment is associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms across the lifespan. Maltreatment often co-occurs with other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as parental incarceration or substance use. Studies have examined child maltreatment and other ACEs mostly independently, and both variables have been linked to poor adult functioning, such as insecure attachments. However, research discerning the unique contributions of maltreatment versus ACEs in predicting developmental outcomes is limited. For example, it is unclear if these connections to adult functioning persist across both early and middle adulthood. Recent studies suggest that maltreatment and ACEs uniquely predicting socioemotional problems. However, other studies …

Effects Of A Growth Mindset Intervention On First-Year College Student Academic Performance, Sarah North Wolfe

All Master's Theses

Student success is influenced by a complex array of factors, including implicit theories of intelligence, or mindset. Previous research has shown that students’ mindset, whether they view intelligence as a fixed quantity or something that can be incrementally increased, can predict academic achievement. Students who hold a fixed mindset believe that intelligence is a static trait that cannot be changed and often internalize failure, exert less effort when faced with difficulty, and avoid challenging work in order to preserve their self-image. Conversely, students who hold a growth mindset believe that intelligence can be cultivated by engaging in challenging experiences. These …

The Relationship Between Physical Exercise And Cognition In Children With Typical Development And Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Beron Wei Zhong Tan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research project sought to investigate the relationship between physical exercise and cognition in children with and without a neurodevelopmental condition. To achieve this aim, three approaches were undertaken to explore the exercise and cognition relationship. The first approach sought to understand the efficacy of exercise interventions on cognition in individuals with a neurodevelopmental disorder. The second approach was to understand the effectiveness of an exercise activity when compared to a cognitively-engaging tablet game activity on measures of implicit learning and attention in children with and without a neurodevelopmental condition. The third approach was to investigate if psychophysiological measures could …

Puberty Predicts Approach But Not Avoidance On The Iowa Gambling Task In A Multinational Sample, Grace Icenogle, Laurence Steinberg, Thomas M. Olino, Elizabeth P. Shulman, Jason Chein, Liane Peña Alampay, Suha M. Al-Hassan, Hanan M S Takash, Dario Bacchini, Lei Chang, Nandita Chaudhary, Laura Di Giunta, Kenneth A. Dodge, Kostas A. Fanti, Jennifer E. Lansford, Patrick S. Malone, Paul Oburu, Concetta Pastorelli, Ann T. Skinner, Emma Sorbring, Sombat Tapanya, Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

According to the dual systems model of adolescent risk taking, sensation seeking and impulse control follow different developmental trajectories across adolescence and are governed by two different brain systems. The authors tested whether different underlying processes also drive age differences in reward approach and cost avoidance. Using a modified Iowa Gambling Task in a multinational, cross‐sectional sample of 3,234 adolescents (ages 9–17; M = 12.87, SD = 2.36), pubertal maturation, but not age, predicted reward approach, mediated through higher sensation seeking. In contrast, age, but not pubertal maturation, predicted increased cost avoidance, mediated through greater impulse control. These findings add …

Impulsivity Symptoms As Core To The Developmental Externalizing Spectrum, Michelle M. Martel, Cheri A. Levinson, Christine A. Lee, Tess E. Smith

Psychology Faculty Publications

Impulsivity is posited to be a key part of the externalizing spectrum during childhood, but this idea has received minimal empirical attention. The goal of the present investigation was to utilize network analysis to determine whether behavioral impulsivity symptoms are key components of the externalizing network across several developmental periods from preschool into adolescence. Participants were 109 preschoolers (64 % male) ages 3 to 6, 237 children (59 % male) ages 6 to 9, 372 children (59 % male) ages 10 to 13, and 357 adolescents (59 % male) ages 13 to 17 and their parents. Parents completed ratings of …