Psychology Commons^™

Enhancing Emotional Safety In A Graduate School Setting, Jacob J. Ambrose, Tysheann S. Grant, Renee A. Joseph, Catherine E. Beer, Kenneth J. Thompson, Kristina R. Johnson, Constance J. Dalenberg

Journal of Graduate Education Research

In the United States, racial disparities in education can be seen in rates of graduation from high school through doctoral programs, with People of Color reporting rates that are significantly lower than their White peers. Academic success has been significantly predicted in prior research by the support of teaching staff. Our Safety in the Classroom (SITC) program was developed to close the support gap for several different, often-marginalized groups within graduate school classes at a university in southern California. Students within racial, religious, and sexual orientation groups reported stronger perceptions of prejudice when compared to their peers. The SITC program …

Attitudes Toward Participation In Organized Religion: Its Impact On Mental Health And Life Satisfaction, Kayla M. Riley, Jonathan Riley

Journal of Graduate Education Research

This is a non-experimental study which is designed to discover potential relationships between an individual’s attitude towards participation in organized religion and their mental health, as well as their life satisfaction. The study contained 203 young adults taken from a convenience sample using social media, e-mail, and SMS messages. The research was conducted using a survey form composed of three instruments intended to measure attitude towards religion, general well-being, and life satisfaction. The results from the study indicated that there is a weak positive relationship between one’s attitude towards organized religion and mental health. Additionally, the results also indicated that …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Ethnicity And Attitude Toward Seeking Mental Health Services, Victoria Simmons

Journal of Graduate Education Research

This non-experimental study aimed to see how ethnicity affects an individual's attitude toward seeking mental health services and how ethnicity affects an individual's preference for a counselor of the same ethnicity. A convenience sample of 108 adults, 18 years of age or older, was obtained using social media platforms. The participants completed the Mental Health Service Survey, which included demographic questions and the components of the Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Scale created by Fischer and Turner (1970). The findings indicated Blacks or African Americans have a similar attitude toward seeking mental health services to non-Blacks or non-African Americans. Additionally, …

Temporal And Spatial Properties Of Orientation Summary Statistic Representations, Jacob S. Zepp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the current work was to determine the amount of information that contributes to the formation of summary statistical representations (SSRs), as well as the time course over which these representations are formed. While the prevailing interpretation of SSRs within literature is that the summaries are formed through a compulsory rapid integration across all information in a scene, debate exists on the necessity of this unique processing mode. To investigate the formation of SSRs, two experiments were conducted. In the first, results from an orientation averaging task were compared to results from a whole-report task, over equivalent stimulus …

Exploring Facilitators, Barriers And Concerns Of Police Using Social Media When Investigating Missing Children, Eleanor Howlings, Reka Solymosi

International Journal of Missing Persons

Missing person investigations involve the collection of information to ensure the person is located as fast as possible, minimising their exposure to harms. Social media is a valuable source of information in police investigations both to learn about the missing person, and to appeal for information to the public. To ensure social media is used safely and effectively, we must understand the concerns and experiences of investigating officers. In this pilot study, we analysed interviews from 8 experts who investigate missing children to identify the facilitators and barriers of using social media. We also identified concerns raised by officers around …

Can Undergraduate Artists With No Training In Forensic Art Produce Accurate Age Progressions?, William B. Erickson, James Lampinen, Charlie Frowd, Gregory Mahoney

International Journal of Missing Persons

When children go missing and remain missing for long periods of time, authorities sometimes retain forensic artists to age progress the last known picture to provide an estimate of the current appearance. In the present research, undergraduate artists with no training in forensic art were asked to age progress images of children to an adult appearance. Similarity of age progressions produced by undergraduate artists were as similar to the corresponding targets as were age progressions produced by practicing forensic artists. However, age progressions produced by undergraduate artists were rated as being more similar to description matched foils than were the …

A Path Towards Intersectionality-Informed Counseling Sexology: A Special Commentary, Bianca R. Augustine

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

It is the goal of professionals within the field of counseling sexology and sexual wellness to provide clients with clinical mental health counseling through a sex-positive and affirming framework. To do so, clinicians must pay special attention to best practices in the field, especially as it relates to historically oppressed and minoritized clients. To do so, appropriate training is required to inform care. Furthermore, clinical practice is also informed by research, making it imperative that research is conducted related to various aspects of sexual wellness and treatment. This commentary will identify and discuss sexual health and wellness priorities within the …

A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Self-Guided Online Acceptance And Commitment Therapy As A Transdiagnostic Self-Help Intervention, Korena S. Klimczak, Guadalupe G. San Miguel, Miriam N. Mukasa, Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Student Research

Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) interventions use websites and smartphone apps to deliver ACT exercises and skills. The present meta-analysis provides a comprehensive review of online ACT self-help interventions, characterizing the programs that have been studied (e.g. platform, length, content) and analyzing their efficacy. A transdiagnostic approach was taken, including studies that addressed a range of targeted problems and populations. Multi-level meta-analyses were used to nest multiple measures of a single construct within their respective studies. A total of 53 randomized controlled trials were included (n = 10,730). Online ACT produced significantly greater outcomes than waitlist controls at …

Trauma-Informed Care In Native American Education: Compassion Satisfaction, Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout, And Resilience As Mediating Factors To Implementation, Peter Tissell

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

With increased awareness and discussion of trauma-informed care, both within the educational setting and the Native-American community, this study went about developing a training series on trauma and resilience for educational and residential staff at a Native-American boarding school. This study sought to identify the effectiveness of this training series on improving participant’s attitudes towards trauma-informed care, while also assessing individual characteristics including Resilience, Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Compassion Satisfaction as possible predictors of trainees’ attitudes. Results determined the training series did not significantly change trainees’ attitudes on trauma-informed care. Additionally, while resilience and secondary traumatic stress proved to …

Comparing The Efficacy Of Two Inclusivity Interventions On Willingness To Invest In Female- Versus Male-Led Stem And Non-Stem Companies, Alicia Macchione

Dissertations

A notable gender asymmetry has been historically prevalent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Recent work has shown how gender-inclusive advertisements can increase women’s interest in pursuing these fields as indexed by college course enrollment, which could occur through reminders of moral and pragmatic utilities of gender inclusivity. This dissertation extended prior work by determining if inclusivity priming can be leveraged to facilitate financial investment in hypothetical STEM and non-STEM companies led by either a male or female CEO. Participants were first primed with a statement describing the pragmatic utility of gender inclusivity in STEM, a moral statement …

The Emergence Of Specialized Roles Within Groups, Robert L. Goldstone, Edgar J. Andrade-Lotero, Robert D. Hawkins, Michael E. Roberts

Psychology and Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Humans routinely form groups to achieve goals that no individual can accomplish alone. Group coordination often brings to mind synchrony and alignment, where all individuals do the same thing (e.g., driving on the right side of the road, marching in lockstep, or playing musical instruments on a regular beat). Yet, effective coordination also typically involves differentiation, where specialized roles emerge for different members (e.g., prep stations in a kitchen or positions on an athletic team). Role specialization poses a challenge for computational models of group coordination, which have largely focused on achieving synchrony. Here, we present the CARMI …

Recent Advances In Psychopharmacology: From Bench To Bedside Novel Trends In Schizophrenia, Asim A Shah, Syed Z Iqbal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Research in the field of psychopharmacology is ongoing to develop novel compounds which can revolutionize the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The concept of bench-to-bedside is a tedious process, transforming the initial research performed in the laboratories into novel treatment options. Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a chronic psychiatric illness with significant morbidity and mortality. SCZ not only presents with psychotic symptoms including hallucinations and delusions but also with negative and cognitive symptoms. The negative symptoms include the diminished ability to express emotions, loss of pleasure, and motivation with minimal social interactions. Conventional antipsychotics primarily target positive symptoms with minimal therapeutic benefits for …

Enhancing School Psychologists’ Consultation Skills To Support Students With Anxiety, Elana R. Bernstein

Thomas C. Hunt Building a Research Community Day

School psychologists are increasingly called on to consult with teachers and parents regarding students with anxiety. Unfortunately, and despite increased incidence of child and adolescent anxiety, the mental health needs of school-age youth exceed available resources in a school. To promote effective and sustainable school-based intervention models for youth with anxiety, increased focus on indirect service delivery models are warranted. This study examined school psychology practitioners’ preparedness to respond to referrals for student anxiety through a consultation model of service delivery. A sample of (n = 231) practicing school psychologists were surveyed on their: a) knowledge of empirically supported intervention …

Do Semantics Matter In Empathetic Person Perception Of Children Or Adults With Mental Illness?, Rylie Hansen, Caroline Polak, Emma Gries, Stevie Ostman, Gina A. Paganini, E. Paige Lloyd

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Experiences of stigma, discrimination, or aggression negatively affect the well-being of people experiencing symptoms of psychopathology. However, empathy is thought to undermine prejudice and discrimination and is linked with positive outcomes (e.g., greater well-being, more social support, etc.) among those with stigmatized mental illnesses. The current work investigates the influence of target age (adult or child) and language type (person-first or identity-first) on how much empathic concern perceivers report toward individuals with a hypothetical mental health condition. This research contributes to an ongoing debate about whether person-first or identity-first language carries stigmatizing or protective effects, while also considering a novel …

The Effect Of Language Type And Perceived Controllability On Stigma And Compassion, Maddie Leake, Christine Mcgrath, Trudy Mickel, Claire Shaver, Gina A. Paganini, E. Paige Lloyd

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Previous research suggests that mental health stigma creates significant barriers to treatment seeking and adherence, diminishes treatment outcomes, and motivates social rejection towards people experiencing mental illness; by contrast, compassion seems to offer protective effects, improving treatment outcomes and helping behavior. The current work extends the established literature by experimentally examining the independent and interactive effects of two factors theorized to influence stigma and compassion: controllability and language. Participants read vignettes about hypothetical mental illnesses explained with a genetic attribution (indicating low controllability) or a behavioral attribution (indicating high controllability) and completed measures of perceived controllability, stigma, and compassion. We …

Examining The Effect Of Physician Language On Physician Impressions, Kathleen L. Hopps, Anna H. Rini, Maggie E. Williams, Gina A. Paganini, E. Paige Lloyd

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Previous research provides evidence that stigma can be perpetuated through language with consequences for well-being and quality of care. For example, providers who use stigmatizing language transmit bias toward patients with implications for care provided by other healthcare professionals. The current work extends upon this research by investigating perceptions of physicians who use stigmatizing or humanizing language. The current work sought to document the negative consequences of providers’ indelicate language on impressions of the provider, thereby motivating thoughtful language choices. To this end, the current work experimentally manipulated the language (stigmatizing, identity-first and destigmatizing, person-first) that hypothetical providers used to …

Gottman Processes And Couple Outcomes While Navigating Infertility, Clayton Brigance

Dissertations

Infertility remains one of the most difficult relational contexts for couples. However, some research suggests that some couples actually increase their overall satisfaction in their relationship through infertility due to a deeply shared emotional experience. To the knowledge of the author of this dissertation, no studies exist which explain how couples arrive at their relational outcomes through the experience of infertility. These studies within this dissertation add to the present literature by explaining how couples may arrive at their relational outcome through the lens of Gottman Method Couple Therapy (GMCT). For both studies presented here, 902 participants were recruited through …

Videoconference Administration Of The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, Zachary T. Stine

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Neuropsychological assessments rely on standardization, reliability, validity, and normative data to increase the accuracy of clinicians’ interpretations (Lezak et al., 2012). One particular assessment that focuses on examining comprehensive executive functioning is the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Delis et al., 2001). Videoconference is gaining in use to provide services within multiple healthcare domains to increase access to care and convenience, potentially reduce costs, and sustain patient satisfaction (Brearly et al., 2017). The literature has shown support for the growing field of telehealth neuropsychology (Brearly et al., 2017); however, many neuropsychological assessments, such as the D-KEFS, have not been normed …

Precision Medicine Approaches To Alcohol Use Disorder For American Indians: Assessment And Phenotypic Differentiation Of Reward And Relief Drinking, Hanna M. Hebden

Psychology ETDs

American Indian (AI) communities endorse high rates of abstinence from alcohol and substance use, yet experience disparate rates of alcohol and substance-related consequences. Alcohol and substance use is conceptualized as interwoven with unique AI contextual factors, which are often not incorporated into examination of related constructs. Current knowledge gaps exist in study of precision medicine approaches to treatment for reward and relief drinking in AI. This study aimed to understand reward and relief substance use phenotypes in AI. We described a contextually-informed model of relief assessment and to compare this assessment to the original reward and relief models using latent …

Paths To Equity: Parents In Partnership With Ucedds Fostering Black Family Advocacy For Children On The Autism Spectrum, Elizabeth H. Morgan, Benita D. Shaw, Ida Winters, Chiffon King, Jazmin Burns, Aubyn Stahmer, Gail Chodron

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Racism and ableism have doubly affected Black families of children with developmental disabilities in their interactions with disability systems of supports and services (e.g., early intervention, mental health, education, medical systems). On average, Black autistic children are diagnosed three years later and are up to three times more likely to be misdiagnosed than their non-Hispanic White peers. Qualitative research provides evidence that systemic oppression, often attributed to intersectionality, can cause circumstances where Black disabled youth are doubly marginalized by policy and practice that perpetuates inequality. School discipline policies that criminalize Black students and inadequate medical assessments that improperly support Black …

Introduction To Chigen-Iku (Universal Performance Improvement Method), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

This brief article introduces a universal performance improvement method called Chigen-iku, which has been developed carefully and extensively over more than 25 years through more than 100 individual and group projects based on the principles that were selected through my doctorial study in the field of Instructional Psychology and Technology.

Editorial: Emotion Processing In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Denise Davidson, Nicole Russo-Ponsaran, Maaike Marijn Van Rest, Angela Scarpa

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in social communication and restrictive and repetitive interests. Although progress has been made in understanding its phenomenology, underlying mechanisms for core and co-occurring difficulties remain elusive. Emerging evidence suggests that emotion processing and regulation play a critical role in the challenges experienced by autistic individuals. This special issue provides current thinking related to methods, research, and practice in the field of emotion processing and regulation in ASD, and to integrate study findings to elucidate underlying mechanisms. With a global perspective, article coverage includes (1) explorations of the neurological underpinnings …

The Effectiveness Of Changing Negative Self-Talk, Tiffany Jeppson

Annual Research Symposium

The Effectiveness of Changing Negative Self-Talk

by T. Jeppson - Instructional Design Support Specialist

This paper explores how teaching individuals struggling with negative self-talk or negative self-statements how to change them to be positive statements can help them become more aware of their self-talk and inner critic, as well as help them understand that by changing their self-talk they will increase and boost their self-confidence, assisting in finding their value and worth thus increasing their ability to be more effective personally and professionally.

Decision-Making Under Risk And Theory Of Mind In Adolescent Offenders In Provisional Deprivation Of Liberty, Rubens José Loureiro, Flavio Takemi Kataoka, Thiago Wendt Viola, Gisele Iesbich Vargas, Breno Sanvicente-Vieira, Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Delinquent behaviors are risky behaviors that increase during puberty and reach their highest peak in late adolescence. It has been proposed that poor decision-making and theory of mind (ToM) are key cognitive processes implicated with delinquency during adolescence, affecting evaluation of risks and impairing appreciation of social norms. Nevertheless, it is not yet clear whether adolescent offenders who are subjected to provisional deprivation of liberty due to conflict with the law (adolescents in conflict with the law [ACL]) might, in fact, present a specific profile with regard to these cognitive processes.

OBJECTIVES: To assess deliberative decision-making and ToM among …

Investigative Interviews – A Refresher For Investigators, Alan Saquella

Publications

Whether you are interviewing a suspect, witness, or victim, let us review some basic reminders to make your investigative interviews more productive and successful in obtaining factual and truthful information.

To start understanding yourself.

Check your personal biases and prejudices at the door. Going in with your mind ready and set on a conclusion can lead you down the wrong path and waste valuable time.

Just Right, William L. Blizek, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Just Right (2023), directed by Camille Wormser.

Shared Responsibility: Conceptualising How A Public Health Approach May Enhance Police Response To Missing Persons, Katie Gambier-Ross, Joe Apps Dr, Sarah Wayland Dr

International Journal of Missing Persons

When a person is reported missing there are substantial costs for the individual, their family and society. This paper conceptualises the experience of missing persons episodes, through a public health approach. This then allows police, stakeholders and the community to engage in discussions about who is vulnerable to going missing by intervening in a way that addresses risk. Historically, a missing persons episode involves an absence, typically followed by police involvement in consultation with next of kin with establishing the whereabouts of the missing person being the primary focus. Yet, the risk factors of going missing relate more to the …

Hr And Child Welfare Data – Building Connections To Improve Practice, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development (Qic-Wd)

Other QIC-WD Products

Combined human resources (HR) and child welfare data is essential to answer pertinent workforce questions. The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) has been intentional about bringing HR and child welfare professionals together to better understand and use the data they have available to them. In some cases, however, public child welfare agencies struggle to link their HR and child welfare data sets. Through the QIC-WD’s work with our intervention sites and Child Welfare Data Analytics Institutes, our team has worked directly with agencies grappling with the challenge of connecting these vitally important data sets to address a …

Efficacy Of A Combined Food-Response Inhibition And Attention Training For Weight Loss, Eric Stice, Sonja Yokum, Timothy D. Nelson, Elliot Berkman, Harm Veling, Natalia Lawrence

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences article reviews trials that evaluated an obesity treatment that combines response-inhibition training with high-calorie foods and training designed to reduce attention for high-calorie foods. Two randomized controlled trials suggest that food-response inhibition and attention training produced significant body-fat loss, along with a reduction in valuation of, and reward-region response to, high-calorie foods. However, these effects did not emerge in a third trial, potentially because this trial used more heterogeneous food images, which reduced inhibition learning and attentional learning. Collectively, results suggest that food-response inhibition and attention training can devalue high-calorie foods and result in …

Evaluating Implementation And Barriers To Sustainability Of An Asthma Clinical Quality Improvement Project, Holly Uphold Phd, Ms, Diane Liu Md, Faap

Journal of Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership in Quality & Safety

Purpose and Objectives

Asthma is an important public health issue in Utah and quality asthma care is essential to addressing the burden of asthma. The purpose of this initiative was to evaluate clinical asthma quality improvement (QI) program delivery formats and identify barriers to sustaining QI processes.

Intervention Approach

The focus of the intervention was to improve clinical asthma care through reducing variation in clinician knowledge about recommended asthma care and facilitating process improvements in asthma care delivery using Academic Detailing (AD) and Learning Collaboratives (LC) QI delivery formats.

Evaluation Methods

A pre/post-test design was used to compare improvements between …