Psychology Commons^™

Secrecy In The Context Of Romantic Relationships, Kristyn Marie Jackson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The studies included in this dissertation investigated the experiences of individual romantic partners as secret keepers and couples as collective secret keepers. Study 1 investigated the topics of secrets kept by individual romantic partners and public perception of secret keeping in the context of romantic relationships via qualitative content analysis. The analysis of secret topics resulted in the following themes: (1) secrets about the Redditors’ relationship, (2) secrets about the Redditor, and (3) a discussion of secrecy. The analysis of public perception resulted in the following themes: (1) normalization, (2) advice, (3) comfort, (4) personal reactions, and (5) a request …

Do Beliefs About Sex Behaviors Mediate The Link Between Parent-Adolescent Communication About Sex And Risky Sexual Behaviors?, Guangyi Cui

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The current study examined the protective effect of parenting-adolescent communication about sex on four risky sexual behaviors (age of onset of sex, number of sex partners, condom use, and STDs) among youth, framed by the Theory of Planned Behavior. It also tested for potential mediation effects between parent-adolescent communication and risky sex measures by sexual cues, date rape attitudes, and acceptance of dating violence in a sample of 2,245 college students from Japan, Slovenia, Spain, and the United States. Results provided evidence of a weak effect of parent-adolescent communication about sex on risky sexual behaviors across samples. A number of …

How Therapists Use And Choose Mindfulness To Treat Trauma, Jessica M. King

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This qualitative study used the phenomenological method to examine how therapists use mindfulness therapies and interventions to address trauma-salient issues with their clients. Specifically, it explored therapists’ use of and choices about mindfulness-based treatments when addressing post-traumatic stress symptoms, and trauma-relevant emotion dysregulation and attachment injury. Informants were associate and fully-licensed local therapists, recruited using convenience sampling and snowball sampling by word-of-mouth referrals. Data was collected by semi-structured interviewing. Interview data was analyzed with Moustakas’ (1994) recommended procedures for analysis of phenomenological data. Results, Discussion, Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research are described at the end.

Evaluation Of A Diabetes Self-Management Program For Hispanics In Lexington Kentucky: A Pilot Study, Miguel A. Gamboa Oropeza

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Hispanics are more affected by diabetes than non-Hispanic whites and they tend to experience more severe complications. Research shows that although self-management is poor among ethnic minorities, it is even more so among Hispanics. The “Taking Ownership of Your Diabetes” (TOYD) program has been shown to be successful in helping individuals manage their diabetes. However, no work has been conducted with Hispanic audiences in Kentucky. TOYD program allows individuals to modify lifestyle risks and solve problems related to diabetes management. The program was translated from English to Spanish. Hispanics males and females between ages 19 to 75 years …

Perceptions In Predicting Actor And Partner Sexual And Relational Satisfaction In Couple Relationships, Lucia Novakova

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The present exploration of perceptual accuracy and bias in romantic relationships bridges a gap in the literature on the ability of partners to estimate one another’s level of relational and sexual satisfaction, and its impact on their own and their partner’s level of satisfaction. A sample of 50 couples, recruited internationally, in continuously monogamous relationships of at least six-months in length completed online assessments of their relationship. The degree of accuracy and bias of their perception was established by comparing actor’s estimates of their partner’s satisfaction with the partner’s actual, self-reported satisfaction scores. The actor-partner interdependence model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, …

An Alternative Approach To The Singer's Breath: Method And Workshop, Bradley S. Williard

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This research endeavors to stretch the boundaries of vocal training, a field defined by its century-old techniques and teachings, to include the cultivation of a relationship with the breath, body, and Self. The paper reviews the contributions of Ilse Middendorf and Carl Stough’s work with the breath and body and outlines a new method, Unlock Your Breath (UYB) – Performance Breathwork, which integrates the greatest strengths of those methods. UYB Performance Breathwork teaches the singer’s breath as a way towards deeper embodiment of Self (mind-body-voice relationship), while creating a stronger breath-body-voice connection with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. This …

The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective: An Ongoing Experiment In Musical Self-Governance, Julian D. Bryson

Theses and Dissertations--Music

C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective and Triad: Boston’s Choral Collective are the first choirs to explore collectivity as a method of ensemble organization. While more traditional ensembles have a single artistic director, C4 and Triad share and rotate leadership responsibilities among the full membership. Artistic and logistical decisions develop through conversation, consensus, and/or voting.

This monograph draws primarily on interviews with thirteen current and former members of the two ensembles as well as the author’s personal experiences with Triad’s inaugural concert cycle to present a narrative description of member characteristics, governance, and operational processes. Interview responses are compared to relevant …

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury As A Risk Factor For Purging Onset: Negatively Reinforced Behaviours That Reduce Emotional Distress, Elizabeth N. Riley, Heather A. Davis, Jessica L. Combs, Carol E. Jordan, Gregory T. Smith

Psychology Faculty Publications

Both nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and purging behaviour are thought to involve harm to the self. The acquired capability for self-harm model holds that engaging in one self-harming behaviour increases the capability to tolerate harm to the self, thus increasing risk for engaging on other such behaviours. In addition, both behaviours are thought to serve the similar function of relief from distress. We thus tested whether engagement in one of these behaviours predicts the subsequent onset of the other. In a longitudinal design, 1158 first-year college women were assessed for purging and NSSI at two time points. Engagement in NSSI at …

Corticosterone Enhances N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Signaling To Promote Isolated Ventral Tegmental Area Activity In A Reconstituted Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway, Jennifer Nicole Berry, Meredith A. Saunders, Lynda Sharrett-Field, Anna R. Reynolds, Michael T. Bardo, James R. Pauly, Mark A. Prendergast

Psychology Faculty Publications

Elevations in circulating corticosteroids during periods of stress may influence activity of the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway by increasing glutamatergic N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor expression and/or function in a glucocorticoid receptor-dependent manner. The current study employed organotypic co-cultures of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) to examine the effects of corticosterone exposure on NMDA receptor-mediated neuronal viability. Co-cultures were pre-exposed to vehicle or corticosterone (CORT; 1 μM) for 5 days prior to a 24 h co-exposure to NMDA (200 μM). Co-cultures pre-exposed to a non-toxic concentration of corticosterone and subsequently NMDA showed significant neurotoxicity in the VTA only. …

Adolescent Methylphenidate Treatment Differentially Alters Adult Impulsivity And Hyperactivity In The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat Model Of Adhd, Sucharita S. Somkuwar, Kathleen M. Kantak, Michael T. Bardo, Linda P. Dwoskin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Impulsivity and hyperactivity are two facets of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Impulsivity is expressed as reduced response inhibition capacity, an executive control mechanism that prevents premature execution of an intermittently reinforced behavior. During methylphenidate treatment, impulsivity and hyperactivity are decreased in adolescents with ADHD, but there is little information concerning levels of impulsivity and hyperactivity in adulthood after adolescent methylphenidate treatment is discontinued. The current study evaluated impulsivity, hyperactivity as well as cocaine sensitization during adulthood after adolescent methylphenidate treatment was discontinued in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) model of ADHD. Treatments consisted of oral methylphenidate (1.5 mg/kg) or water …

Critical Needs In Drug Discovery For Cessation Of Alcohol And Nicotine Polysubstance Abuse, C. E. Van Skike, Sarah E. Maggio, A. R. Reynolds, E. M. Casey, Michael T. Bardo, Linda P. Dwoskin, M. A. Prendergast, Kimberly Nixon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Polysubstance abuse of alcohol and nicotine has been overlooked in our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and especially in the development of novel therapeutics for its treatment. Estimates show that as many as 92% of people with alcohol use disorders also smoke tobacco. The health risks associated with both excessive alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking create an urgent biomedical need for the discovery of effective cessation treatments, as opposed to current approaches that attempt to independently treat each abused agent. The lack of treatment approaches for alcohol and nicotine abuse/dependence mirrors a similar lack of research in the neurobiology …

Individual Differences In Impulsive Action And Dopamine Transporter Function In Rat Orbitofrontal Cortex, Justin R. Yates, Mahesh Darna, Joshua S. Beckmann, Linda P. Dwoskin, Michael T. Bardo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Impulsivity, which can be subdivided into impulsive action and impulsive choice, is implicated as a factor underlying drug abuse vulnerability. Although previous research has shown that dopamine (DA) systems in prefrontal cortex are involved in impulsivity and substance abuse, it is not known if inherent variation in DA transporter (DAT) function contributes to impulsivity. The current study determined if individual differences in either impulsive action or impulsive choice are related to DAT function in orbitofrontal (OFC) and/or medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Rats were first tested both for impulsive action in a cued go/no-go task and for impulsive choice in a …

Does The Pain Of Rejection Promote The Pleasure Of Revenge? A Neural Investigation Of Cingulo-Striatal Contributions To Violence, David Chester

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Aggression is a dynamic and costly feature of human behavior. One reliable cause of aggression is social rejection, though the underlying mechanisms of this effect remain to be fully understood. Previous research has identified two psychological processes that are independently linked to aggressive retaliation: pain and pleasure. Given recent findings that pain magnifies the experience of pleasure, I predicted that the pain of rejection would promote the pleasure of aggression and thus, aggression itself. I also expected that this indirect effect of aggressive pleasure would only be observed among individuals with weaker self-regulatory abilities that are necessary to cope with …

Body Part Structure Knowledge In Infancy, Rachel Jubran

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Human faces, bodies, and hands convey critical social information (e.g., emotions, goals, and desires). Infants, like adults, are sensitive to such social information. Unlike infants’ knowledge of the structure of the human face and body, not much is known about infants’ knowledge of hands and feet. The current study tested infants for their preference between intact hand images and ones in which the same hands were distorted (i.e., location of at least one finger was altered to distort the typical structure of the hand). Infants at 3.5 months of age had a preference for the reorganized hand image, demonstrating that …

The Influence Of Religiosity On Risky Patterns Of Drug Usage And Sexual Practices In Underage Undergraduate Students, Hannah Beth Prassel

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

High-risk behaviors such as illicit drug usage and risky sexual practices have been increasing over the years among underage college students. Research has indicated that religious beliefs and religious behaviors interact to predict risky alcohol use in underage college students, with students having higher religious beliefs but lower religious behaviors being the most at risk. The current study hypothesized that this interaction would predict risky drug usage and sexual practices in underage college students in the same way as it does unsafe alcohol use. Underage students (N=211) at the University of Kentucky completed surveys online. Results indicated that religious beliefs …

The Role Of Adult Attachment In International Students’ Acculturation Process, Miao Li

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

International students face a variety of challenges in their acculturation process. The acculturation process is a highly variable process that is influenced by the mediating and moderating effects of individual factors that exist prior to, or arise during, acculturation (Berry, 1997). Among the moderating personal factors existing prior to acculturation, adult attachment has received heightened attention as an important variable impacting the acculturation process and adaptation outcomes. Wang and Mallinckrodt (2006a) suggested that successful adaptation involves exploration of unfamiliar social situations that resemble the infants’ exploration of their physical surroundings. The acculturation process can be challenging and stressful because individuals …

Relationships Between Parental Self-Efficacy And Posttraumatic Growth In Mothers Of Children With Down Syndrome, Amanda A. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the relationships between maternal variables (mother status (biological or adoptive), birth order of the child with Down syndrome, timing of diagnosis (in utero or at birth), mother’s age at time of birth or adoption, time elapsed since diagnosis and maternal psychological variables (parenting self-efficacy, and Posttraumatic growth). The current study hypothesizes that maternal variables will be positively related to parenting self-efficacy and that parenting self-efficacy will explain a significant portion of the variance in maternal Posttraumatic growth. Results indicated that maternal self-efficacy as measured by the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale was …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Continuous Client Feedback System For Parolees Referred To Treatment: Benchmarking Treatment Outcomes, Alyssa B. Grossl

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a group substance abuse program that incorporated continuous client feedback into treatment for parolees who had been referred to attend by the criminal justice system.

Method: The pre-post treatment outcomes, as measured by the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS; Miller & Duncan, 2000), of 1,112 diverse parolees participating in treatment from October 2014 to January 2015 were analyzed. The most up-to-date benchmarking methodology was utilized to compare treatment outcomes observed in the naturalistic setting with those observed in rigorous randomized controlled trials evaluating the Partners for Change Outcome …

An Examination Of A Yoga Intervention And Elementary Students’ Selective Attention And Executive Function In The School Setting, M. Jill Rogers

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of yoga on children’s executive function and selective attention. There were three primary aims of this study. The first aim was to examine whether yoga would have a positive effect on children’s selective attention in a school setting. Another aim was to explore if teachers will report an improved change in children’s executive function in the classroom. The final aim was to determine if yoga would be a socially acceptable intervention to teachers and students. Participants included three fifth grade students and two teachers. Mixed methods were used to visually …

The Mediating Role Of Cognitive Flexibility On The Relationship Between Cross-Race Interactions And Psychological Well-Being, Robert D. Cardom

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Counseling psychologists are tasked with understanding optimal psychological and cognitive functioning. Recent theoretical predictions (Crisp & Turner, 2011) and growing evidence suggest that cross-race interactions are important ways individuals might improve their cognitive and psychosocial functioning. However, the theoretical predictions from Crisp and Turner have not yet been tested in one model. Further, much of the empirical support for the theoretical predictions has been from studies using 1) undergraduate samples and 2) weak theory-measurement fit.

The present study used an online, community survey (N = 270) to test Crisp and Turner’s (2011) predictions that cognitive flexibility would mediate the …

What’S With All The “Hype?”: Racial Discrimination, Racial Identity, Racial Socialization, And Hypermasculinity Among African American Adolescent Males, Christina M.B. Jordan

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Experiences tied to individual and institutional racism have a long and persistent history of impacting the livelihood of African American people. Some theorists and researchers have argued that African American males have adopted masculine identities that emerged as coping responses to their experiences with racism and oppression (Cunningham, Swanson, & Hayes, 2013; Franklin, 2004; Majors & Bilson, 1992; Spencer, 1995). Younger males, are increasingly demonstrating an exaggerated form of masculinity (hypermasculinity) in response to their environments, particularly those in urban communities, as a coping response (Spencer, Fegley, Harpalani, & Seaton, 2004). The degree to which racial discrimination is related to …

Cognitive And Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Alcohol-Induced Risky Driving, Jennifer R. Laude

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Alcohol intoxication represents one situation an individual might increase their amount of risk taking when driving. This dissertation is comprised of three studies that investigate the mechanisms by which alcohol increases driver risk-taking. Study 1 examined the effect of alcohol on driver risk-taking using a proxemics approach. The study also tested whether alcohol-induced increases in risky driving co-occurred with pronounced impairment in the driver’s skill. The study also examined whether the most disinhibited drivers were also the riskiest. Indeed, alcohol increased driver risk-taking and impaired driving skill. The study also revealed risky driving can be dissociable from impairing effects on …

Categorical Perception Of Species In Infancy, Hannah B. White

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Although there is a wealth of knowledge on categorization in infancy, there are still many unanswered questions about the nature of category representation in infancy. For example, it is yet unclear whether categories in infancy have well-defined boundaries or what knowledge about species categories young infants have before entering the lab. Using a morphing technique, we linearly altered the proportion of cat versus dog in images and observed how infants reacted to contrasts between pairs of images that either did or did not cross over the categorical boundary. This was done while equating between-category and within-category similarity. Results indicate that …

Investigating The Role Of Social Support, Cardiovascular Reactivity, And Self-Regulation Skills Training In Response To Thermal Stimuli, Tracey Christine Kniffin

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Persistent pain conditions are a major health problem throughout the world and are one of the primary reasons that people seek medical treatment (Gureje, Von Korff, Simon, & Gater, 1998; Verhaak, Kerssens, Dekker, Sorbi, & Bensing, 1998). These conditions are characterized by complex interactions between cognitive, emotional, and physiological disturbances and are often associated with comorbid psychological disorders (Gatchel, 2004). Though previous studies have examined the effect of interventions targeting persistent pain, such as physical self-regulation interventions, few studies have examined the complex interaction between such interventions and other variables such as psychological and physiological …

Validity Of Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment And Cognitive Testing (Impact), Lisa Mason Koehl

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Sports concussions have been recognized as significant injuries among young athletes with research demonstrating that return-to-play prior to becoming asymptomatic can have significant repercussions, including risk of sustaining cognitive deficits. In tracking and monitoring concussions during sports seasons, many programs have begun utilizing computerized testing rather than traditional neuropsychological tests to 1) determine baseline scores, 2) track symptoms, and 3) measure cognitive deficits following concussion.

Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) is one such instrument. The current study examined ImPACT’s convergent, discriminant, and diagnostic validity by comparing scores from post-concussion athletes (SPORT) to those from non-concussed controls (CONT). SPORT …

Trait-Based Profiles Of Adhd In Adolescents And Young Adults, Tess E. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Empirical work has examined the utility of using person-centered statistical approaches emphasizing traits to parsing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) heterogeneity in preschool and school-aged children. However, trait-based profiles have not yet been examined in other age ranges, specifically adolescence and young adulthood. Therefore, the goal of the present study is to examine trait-based profiles in adolescents and young adults with ADHD in order to evaluate their similarity with trait-based profiles in preschoolers and children with ADHD and through comparison with external correlates (e.g., comorbidity). One hundred and eighty-two adolescents and 287 young adults completed measures of ADHD symptoms, personality and temperament …

Psychosocial Functioning In Adolescents With Temporomandibular Disorders, Monica L. Gremillion

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Psychosocial functioning is a key component of screening and treatment of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) in adults; however, psychosocial functioning in adolescents with TMD has received little empirical attention. The present study aims to examine group difference between adolescents and adults with TMD on pain and prominent psychosocial factors, such as anxiety, depression, and somatization, as well as to explore additional developmentally sensitive psychosocial factors that may be associated more with the adolescent TMD pain.

Participants included 35 adolescents aged 12-17 (M=14.89 years, SD=1.84) with TMD muscle pain who completed pain questionnaires and a comprehensive dental examination. Patients …

Utility Of The Caars Validity Scales In Identifying Feigned Adhd, Random Responding, And Genuine Adhd In A College Sample, Brittany D. Walls

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Due to increased concern about malingered self-report of symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in college students, there is a need for instruments that can detect feigning. The present study provided further validation data for a recently developed validity scale for the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS), the CAARS Infrequency Index (CII). The sample consisted of 139 undergraduate students; 21 individuals with diagnoses of ADHD, 29 individuals responding honestly, 54 individuals responding randomly (full or half), and 35 individuals assigned to malinger. The CII demonstrated modest sensitivity to malingering (.31-.46) and excellent specificity to ADHD (.91-.95). Sequential application of validity …

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & Narrative Comprehension Deficits In College Students, Laura E. Vincent

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The current study examined if the narrative comprehension deficits that children with ADHD exhibit during childhood and adolescence continue in college students as a function of ADHD symptoms, and if a relationship existed between ADHD symptoms and self-efficacy. Children and adolescence with ADHD have difficulties in several areas of narrative comprehension, including maintaining goal structure, distinguishing important events from unimportant events, and making causal connections. If these deficits persist there also may be a relationship between ADHD symptoms and self-efficacy.

Higher levels of ADHD symptomatology were associated with difficulties recalling story events in the college population. Some findings differed from …

Deep Brain Stimulation For Parkinson's Disease: An Investigation Of Post-Surgical Self-Regulation And Executive Functioning, Hannah L. Combs

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that attacks the basal ganglia and contributes to a range of motor, cognitive, and behavioral impairments (e.g., tremor, rigidity, and executive dysfunction). This dysfunction may contribute to self-regulatory impairment across several domains, including cognitive skills, thought processes, and emotion. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that allows for direct and reversible manipulation of brain activity in patients with PD. The procedure is growing in popularity and is commonly used as an adjunct or in some instances an alternative to dopaminometic medications. Preliminary studies suggest mild executive dysfunction follows DBS but …