Psychology Commons^™

A Review Of Factors Contributing To The Shortage Of Palliative Care Service For Adolescent And Young Adult Oncology Patients, Erin K. Harper

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adolescent and young adult oncology (patients aged 15–39 years old) is an emerging group of patients that are recognized to have distinctive qualities concerning their cancer treatment, including intensified psychosocial needs compared to their adult and child counterparts (Bleyer, 2012). The quality of life for adolescent and young adults during and after cancer treatment is disproportionally worse than what is reported by adults and children and the incidence of cancer in this population is steadily growing (Bleyer, 2011, 2012; Pritchard, Cuvelier, Harlos, & Barr, 2011; Rosenberg & Wolfe, 2013; Siegel, Naishadham, & Jemal, 2013; Wein, Pery, & Zer, 2011). Palliative …

Vicarious Battering: The Experience Of Intervening At A Domestic Violence-Focused Supervised Visitation Center, Tracee Parker

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This descriptive phenomenological research illustrated the experience of women who worked in a supervised visitation program (SVP) specifically developed to address safety concerns related to allegations of domestic violence. The SVP policies and procedures were designed not only to prevent physical assault and abduction but also to intervene in vicarious battering—a term introduced to describe the attempts by men who battered to exert control over, undermine, and/or intimidate the mothers of their children via interactions with their children and the visitation staff. The results of this research demonstrated the challenges of intervening in the context of court-ordered supervised visitation. Data …

Low Self-Esteem Leads To Depression Among Elderly: Case Study Of Nursing Home, Savera Aziz Ali, Nadir Suhail, Sumera Aziz Ali

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: Self-esteem is defined as “how we value our self”; it affects our trust and relationships in every part of life. Person with low self-esteem may feel powerless and incompetent about himself/herself. Moreover, low self-esteem operates as a risk factor for depression, which is most common disorder among elderly people both in developed and developing countries, causing multiple behavioral changes as well as may increase the chances of depression and suicide among the elderly people. Objective: The objective of this case study was to understand the problems faced by elderly people in the nursing home and to relate the self-esteem …

Mending Maya: An Analysis Of Aging And Intergenerational Connection In Delhi, India, Aleksandr Chandra

Psychology Honors Papers

Past research suggests that intergenerational programming can have positive effects in bridging generational gaps. In an effort to explore intergenerational programming in one specific, cosmopolitan community in India, this research examined intergenerational connection and understanding and tested the effectiveness of implementing an art-based intergenerational intervention called Mending Maya. The intervention engaged seven young adults from a young adult’s empowerment and learning center and eight seniors at an old age home. This eight-week intergenerational intervention connected both young adults and seniors through three specific art forms: music, arts and crafts, and theater/meditation. Before and after the conclusion of this intergenerational intervention, …

Clinician Perspectives On Community Reentry For Mentally Ill Offenders In New York, Lauren C. Meath

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The prevalence of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) in prisons has risen in recent years. While incarcerated, individuals with SMI face many challenges, such as difficulties with peers and staff, and potential exacerbation of mental health symptoms. These difficulties do not subside when reentering their communities upon release. These individuals encounter unique challenges upon release, such as facing the difficult task of finding mental health services and other resources, housing, and health insurance. This study aimed to gather the perspectives of clinicians who worked for the Office of Mental Health in New York State regarding community reentry for inmates …

The Lived Experience Of Facilitating The Violet Oaklander Model Of Psychotherapy For Children And Adolescents, Blake Brisbois

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of facilitating the Oaklander Model of Gestalt Play Therapy when treating children or adolescents in psychotherapy. Interviews were conducted with clinicians who have received training and use the Oaklander method in their practice of psychotherapy. Transcriptions of the interviews were coded and analyzed, revealing a consistent experience along various themes. Participants reported that this Gestalt method allows a non-linear method of helping clients to unfold according to the needs and challenges of each session. Participants also reported that the end goal of the Oaklander Gestalt model helped young clients …

Supporting Student Veterans Utilizing Participatory Curriculum Development, Bryce A. Doehne

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An organizational level program utilizing Participatory Curriculum Development (PCD) (Taylor, 2003) is presented to assist postsecondary institutions with development, implementation, and evaluation of programs to support student veterans. Postsecondary institutions are provided with a “how to” program manual that includes literature-based core and supplemental programs, trauma-informed theory, and a methodological framework to implement programs. Practical program evaluation measures are offered to assist postsecondary institutions with evaluating the outcomes of their efforts to support student veterans. The electronic version of this dissertation is at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLink ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu

Modeling Cognitive Parsimony With A Demand Selection Task, Othalia Larue, Ion Juvina

Psychology Faculty Publications

The law of less work (Hull, 1943) is our natural tendency given two alternatives with equal incentives to pick the less demanding one. This notion also appears in the field of judgment and decision making (Gigerenzer & Goldstein, 1996; Tversky & Kahneman, 1974), it is referred to as internal cost of effort. Cognitive parsimony is our tendency to favour low-effort strategies that help us to decide faster and simple strategies to approach a complex problem. An experimental paradigm for this phenomenon has been developed by Kool, McGuire, Rosen, & Botvinick (2010) and referred to as the demand selection task. In …

Dognition : The Effect Of Pet Ownership On Cognition In Older Adults, Molly Mcsweeney

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of pet ownership on cognition in older adults. Previous research has indicated that interactions with pets are associated with improved mental and physical health in humans. We predicted that these benefits of human-pet interactions will extend to expose superior cognitive functioning in cat-owning or dog-owning older adults as compared to older adults who do not own pets. More specifically, we hypothesized that dog-owners would perform significantly better than cat-owners and non-pet owners on cognitive tasks as owning a dog requires exceeding attention, training, and exercise. We tested this effect …

Breaking The Language Barrier : The Spanish Translation Of The Barriers To Access To Care Evaluation (Bace), Yosmary Rodriguez

Honors Theses

The Hispanic/Latino population in the United States has been identified as a high-risk group for mental health problems. Unfortunately, due to commonly reported factors such as lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate services, many fail to seek treatment. While growing research has focused on identifying and addressing the different barriers to accessing mental health care experienced by this community, there continues to be a lack of validated Spanish assessments to aid in the evaluation of these barriers. In hopes of overcoming this barrier, and working towards better quality of care for this growing population, this project translated the Barriers to …

A Change Of Heart : The Effect Of Heartwarming Advertisements On Brand Affinity, Hannah Butman

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine if evoking heartfelt responses to advertisements would yield greater brand affinity. It was hypothesized that a heartwarming response would yield greater brand affinity because it was a mixed emotional experience that produced both positive and negative emotions simultaneously. Across two studies, participants were shown both control and heartwarming advertisements for five brands. After each video, all participants were prompted to respond to every measure, regardless of condition. Heartwarming perceptions of the advertisements, overlap of self, feelings of love, and a mixed emotional experience were all significant mediators of video condition and brand …

Socioeconomic Gaps In Early Childhood Experiences: 1998 To 2010, Daphna Bassok, Jenna E. Finch, Raehyuck Lee, Sean F. Reardon, Jane Waldfogel

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study compares the early life experiences of kindergarteners in 1998 and 2010 using two nationally representative data sets. We find that (a) young children in the later period are exposed to more books and reading in the home, (b) they have more access to educational games on computers, and (c) they engage with their parents more, inside and outside the home. Although these increases occurred among low- and high-income children, in many cases the biggest changes were seen among the lowest-income children. Our results indicate narrowing but still large early childhood parental investment gaps. In addition, socioeconomic gaps in …

All In The First Glance: First Fixation Predicts Individual Differences In Valence Bias, Maital Neta, Tien T. Tong, Monica L. Rosen, Alex Enersen, M. Justin Kim, Michael D. Dodd

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Surprised expressions are interpreted as negative by some people, and as positive by others. When compared to fearful expressions, which are consistently rated as negative, surprise and fear share similar morphological structure (e.g., widened eyes), but these similarities are primarily in the upper part of the face (eyes). We hypothesized, then, that individuals would be more likely to interpret surprise positively when fixating faster to the lower part of the face (mouth). Participants rated surprised and fearful faces as either positive or negative while eye movements were recorded. Positive ratings of surprise were associated with longer fixation on the mouth …

Antipsychotic-Induced Sensitization And Tolerance: Behavioral Characteristics, Developmental Impacts, And Neurobiological Mechanisms, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Antipsychotic sensitization and tolerance refer to the increased and decreased drug effects due to past drug use, respectively. Both effects reflect the long-term impacts of antipsychotic treatment on the brain and result from the brain’s adaptive response to the foreign property of the drug. In this review, clinical evidence of the behavioral aspect of antipsychotic sensitization and tolerance is selectively reviewed, followed by an overview of preclinical literature that examines these behavioral characteristics and the related pharmacological and nonpharmacological factors. Next, recent work on the developmental impacts of adolescent antipsychotic sensitization and tolerance is presented and recent research that delineates …

The Use Of A Visual Aid To Facilitate Transitional Periods For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Stevi Barrio

All Master's Theses

Transitioning is described as moving from one activity or place to another and has been often recognized as an event that can provoke problem behaviors in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (Sainato et al., 1987). Past research has concentrated on facilitating transitions by using both functional behavior assessments and visual aids. A type of functional behavior assessment is the Questions About Behavioral Function, which is a measurement system designed to determine the function of a given behavior and the environmental stimuli that surround that behavior. This questionnaire rates how often the individual engages in the behavior for situations …

Effect Of Prior Trauma Exposure On Alpha Amplitude, Heart Rate, And Self-Reported Negative Affect, Gina L. Denoble

All Master's Theses

This study was conducted to investigate whether the number of traumatic events an individual has previously experienced influences that individual’s physiological and psychological reactions when exposed to a negative affective stimulus followed by a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention. Twenty-eight participants were placed into intact quasi-experimental groups based on their scores on the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ). The negative affective stimulus consisted of a series of photos bearing negative affective valence. The photos were selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), and paralleled the areas of trauma exposure evaluated by the TLEQ. All participants were exposed to the …

The Stress-Buffering Model Of Social Support In Post-Acute Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Emily Anna Pearce

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Currently, 3.2-5.3 million Americans (1.1-1.7%) live with long-term disability resulting from acquired brain injury (ABI). Despite two to three million more being treated yearly for milder injuries and released without further services, those with enduring problems often require ongoing rehabilitation and support. The immediate and long-term costs of ABI are substantial, as are the burdens associated with lifelong sequelae. A clear understanding of prognostic indicators—only some of which have been identified—could assist in reducing these costs and burdens. Social support, which has been linked with physical health and function in populations across the world, is one likely indicator. Family stress, …

Impacts Of Recreational Aviation On Wildlife: The Physiological Stress Response In White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) And Associated User Perceptions, Devin W. Landry

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Recreational aviation on public lands may negatively impact wildlife. However, land-use decisions need to balance user need with wildlife impact. We know very little about 1) how back country airstrip use affects local wildlife, or 2) attitudes and perceptions of recreational pilots toward possible management actions. For my Master’s research, I investigated how aircraft activity influenced physiological measures of stress in white-tailed deer, while also modeling how psychometrics such as wildlife attitudes and place attachment predict the willingness of recreational pilots engage in impact-mitigating behaviors. I measured physiological stress through non-invasive sampling of stress hormones in fecal samples (fecal glucocorticoid …

Getting Active With Passive Crossings: Investigating The Efficacy Of In-Vehicle Auditory Alerts For Rail Road Crossings, Steven Landry

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Train-vehicle collisions at highway-rail grade crossings continue to be a major issue in the US and across the world. Installing additional hardware at individual crossings is expensive, time consuming, and potentially ineffective. To prevent recent trends in safety improvement from plateauing, experts are turning towards novel warning devices that can be applied to all crossings with minimal cost. In-vehicle auditory alerts (IVAAs) could potentially remedy many of the human factor issues related to crossing safety in a cost effective manner.

This thesis presents a series of experiments designing and testing an IVAA system for grade level railroad (RR) crossings. Study …

An Analysis Of Stakeholders Communication In Collaborative Software Development Projects, Wei Zhang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Software development is a multidisciplinary collaboration involving many stakeholders. However, existing software development processes exhibit many issues related to that collaboration. Because prior research on stakeholder analysis and teamwork revealed the importance of communication, this study analyzed stakeholder communication with reference to team activities as a social and cognitive process. The study’s goal was to understand the collaboration process during software development and to delineate factors that influence this process. We focused on communication between the software developers and their clients during the requirements gathering phase, the team process, and the inter-team and interdisciplinary collaboration, in particular between software engineers …

"It's (Not) Your Fault": The Influence Of Blame Mitigation Versus Guilt Induction On True And False Confessions, Skye Woestehoff

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

False confessions remain an important problem facing the criminal justice system. Practitioners assert that blame mitigation techniques can minimize suspects' perceptions of responsibility independently from legal consequences. However, blame mitigation techniques increase false confessions in part by minimizing suspects' expectations of punishment. Blame mitigation techniques are also designed to reduce suspects' feelings of guilt, which may inhibit confessions from guilty suspects given that true confessions are related to feelings of guilt and remorse. Thus, it may be more beneficial to induce guilt rather than mitigate blame in the interrogation room. This Dissertation (1) tested practitioners' assumption that blame mitigation can …

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 …

Biochemical And Behavioral Effects Of Environmental Enrichment On Strain-Dependent Vulnerability To Anxiety And Depression In The Chick Separation Stress Paradigm, Sydney M. Anchor

Honors Theses

Increased attention has been directed towards determining how environment interacts with genetics on the manifestation of stress-related disorders. This study investigates the differential effects of an enriched versus impoverished environment on behavioral and biochemical endpoints of depression between stress-vulnerable and stress-resilient strains in the chick anxiety-depression model. Black Australorp and Production Red strains were housed in either enriched or impoverished conditions for 4 days and then socially isolated for 90 min. Rate of distress vocalizations (DVocs) were recorded throughout the isolation period and latency to behavioral despair was calculated. Immediately following testing, bilateral hippocampal tissue was harvested and brain-derived neurotrophic …

The Influence Of Perceived Relationship Quality With The Deceased, And Guilt, On Suicide Survivors' Grief Reactions, Nicole Carden Dishman

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The objective of this study was to examine whether or not (1) the quality (emotional attachment, level of psychological closeness) of the pre-mortem relationship between a suicide survivor and the deceased, and (2) the amount of guilt experienced has influenced grief reactions in suicide survivors. Specifically, complicated grief, perceived stigma, and overall quality of life were examined. Data were collected from 1130 adult participants between the ages 18 and 80, who identified as having lost someone to suicide, in a time period more than six months prior to survey completion. This dissertation's findings suggest that guilt has a detrimental impact …

The Effects Of Therapist Self-Disclosure Of A Mental Health Condition On Client Perceptions Of The Therapist, Samantha E. Kaufman

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Therapist self-disclosure is a controversial intervention that is defined in numerous ways and includes a variety of content. Little is known about how therapist self-disclosure of a mental health condition affects clients’ and non clients’ perceptions of the therapist. The first goal of this study was to investigate the effects of therapist self-disclosure of a mental health condition on client perceptions of the therapist on three social influence factors (Attractiveness, Expertness, Trustworthiness) and two facilitative conditions (Empathy and Level of Regard). The second goal was to investigate if client perceptions of the therapist’s social influence factors and facilitative conditions varied …

The Examination Of Peer Support On Psychological And Academic Functioning In A Sample Of Inner-City Latino Students, Carly Bosacker Ma, Ms

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Research has shown that peer relationships influence both psychological and academic functioning (Woolley, Kol, & Bowen, 2008; Zimmer-Gembeck & Pronk, 2012). Peer relationships have also been found to be important components of a child’s emotional and behavioral functioning across cultures (Ladd, 1999; Jensen-Campbell & Malcolm, 2007; Parker et al., 2005; Parker & Asher, 1993; La Greca & Harrison, 2006)). However, there is a lack of research on peer relationships in minority youth, specifically Latino youth (Way & Chen, 2000). This study examined the relationship between peer support and psychological and academic functioning in a sample of Latino middle-school students. Self-report …

Community Reentry, Mental-Health And Substance Abuse Treatment, And Stigmatization: A Qualitative Study Of Ex-Offenders, Deborah Luckey

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This qualitative study was conducted with ex-offenders who are currently in reentry programs and professionals who have contact with them in order to explore experiences of stigmatization, as well as access and adherence to mental-health and substance abuse treatment. A better understanding of what works and does not work, from the viewpoint of individuals actively engaged in the process of reentry, is needed in order to assist them with successful reentry. A total of 11 participants were in the study; six were in the ex-offender group and five were in the professionals group. All individuals were interviewed using a semistructured …

Therapeutic Effectiveness, Stress, And Burnout In Mental Health Professionals, Christina Pimble

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Therapists face a great deal of stress in their day-to-day work, which arises from issues regarding psychotherapy effectiveness, therapist gender, client population, and job dissatisfaction. These stressors make therapists susceptible to personal mental health issues, which can lead to burnout. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between therapist perception of therapeutic effectiveness, perceived stress, and burnout experienced by the therapist as influenced by, but not limited to, therapist gender, client population, the type of setting in which the therapist works, and length of time in the field. Findings from this study may provide insight into stressors …

Correlates Of The Perception Of Recovery-Oriented Treatment In An Inpatient Setting, Beau Brendley

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

In 2003, the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health articulated a call for mental-health-care service systems to transform their service systems to a recovery-oriented model. Current research regarding the integration of recovery-based services has predominantly been conducted in outpatient and community provider settings (Crane-Ross, Lutz & Roth, 2006; Deegan et al., 2008; Matthias et al., 2012; Salyers & Tsemeris, 2007; Solomon & Stanhope, 2004). The following study examines whether adult inpatients with serious mental illnesses perceive their treatment to meet recovery-related standards at a private psychiatric hospital that uses a recovery-oriented treatment system. The study will further identify if there …