Psychology Commons^™

Not Beloved, Only Broken: Sex Dolls, Robots, And Woman Hating: The Case For Resistance By Caitlin Roper (Spinifex Press, 2022), Donovan Cleckley

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Gun Violence: Is Mental Illness Really The Issue?, Rachel T. Dillon

Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research

As the cases of gun violence are continuously increasing in America, so are the number of assumptions that the incident was caused by a mental illness. Whenever there is a mass shooting, the media is quick to diagnose the shooter with a mental illness, without having the credentials to do so. Previous research has found that stories of mass shootings and incidents of gun violence increase negative attitudes towards people with a serious mental illness (SMI), and an increase in support for gun restrictions for this specific population. This paper uses past research on gun violence beliefs to help answer …

Binge Drinking And Protective Behavioral Strategies Among Greek And Non-Greek College Students, Maria Niitepold

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

One of the most problematic habits of college students, binge drinking, has been of particular interest among researchers as a result of the increased risk of harm experienced by students engaging in this high-risk behavior. Fraternity and sorority students have also come under scrutiny for habitually engaging in binge drinking and experiencing significant levels of negative consequences as a result. Little is currently understood about the differences between Protective Behavioral Strategy (PBS) use of Greek and non-Greek students. The aim of this study was to examine the differences in rates of binge drinking and PBS use among Greek and non-Greek …

Metaphor And Intersubjectivity: The Use Of Metaphor Within A Metaphor, Sara Jalbert

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Psychotherapists experience encounters in psychotherapy that present the opportunity for metaphor and imagery to be utilized as methods of intervention that enhance attunement in the therapeutic dyad. Working within imagery, tropes, and metaphor may facilitate experiential processing and integration of information. Metaphor has been used across cultures for many years to describe abstract concepts and to apply deeper meaning to the confines of logical thought. This paper discusses the literature on metaphor as an object of shared language, enhancing the space which minds share in the therapeutic dyad, and posits that metaphor has the ability to enhance intrapsychic levels of …

A Theoretical Basis For Understanding And Researching The Relationship Between Music, Stress, And Biofeedback, Frederick Wang

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Music’s ability to influence emotional states and physical arousal has become an increasingly popular area of study. The wealth of literature around music and stress suggests a significant amount of interest in leveraging music to manage stress. However, as attention increases, the robustness of research becomes an increasing concern. This study investigates the current literature and proposes recommendations for the future studying of the psychological and physiological impacts of music as it relates to stress reduction. Existing literature was reviewed with a focus on the operationalization of key concepts of music and stress. The analysis showed considerable discrepancies in research …

How Cultural Believes Support And Perpetuate Relational Violence: A Delphi Study For Violence Prevention, Alisha D. Guthery

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study solicited experts in relational violence across the United States using the Delphi methodology and grounded theory. This research was conducted in two phases and designed to answer two primary questions: (1) What cultural beliefs are involved in relational violence in the United States? And (2) How are the beliefs about relational violence maintained? The findings showed agreement from the experts on the societal beliefs that hold relational violence, the specific beliefs held by the abuser, and the impacts of these beliefs on the survivor. The experts offered ideas for intervention and prevention, which are important contributions to professional …

Deconstructing Orthorexia In An Age Of Healthism And Social Media, Maddison Paul

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Orthorexia, a pathological fixation with healthy eating, has recently emerged as a construct of interest in the field of clinical psychology. Despite its growing recognition, the origin of this construct remains unclear. This dissertation aims to contribute to the understanding of orthorexia by examining its emergence and contextual factors through a constructivist lens. The study found that the cultural, economic, and moralistic landscape of healthism and social medially have played a role in the development of orthorexia. The dominant clinical perspective of orthorexia was also deconstructed, revealing potential biases that may lead to pathologizing the experiences of those who demonstrate …

When The Bough Breaks: Alcohol Misuse Among Jamaican Young Adults, Marsha Smith

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The incidence of alcohol misuse globally continues to be a significant problem with copious adverse health and social causes and implications. The prevalence of alcohol misuse in Jamaica, British West Indies, instigated the trifold objective of this study. The ecological systems model provided a framework for conceptualizing multilayered biological and social processes that interact to determine mental health. This study examined anxiety and depression, family structure, and perceived parental warmth and control as predictors of alcohol misuse among young adults ages 18 to 30 residing in Jamaica. The current study revealed a correlation between alcohol misuse and higher levels of …

The Inventory Of Cognitive Distortions-Youth Version: The Development And Validation Of A Psychometric Test For The Measurement Of Cognitive Distortions In Youth, Kelsey Jones

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Cognitive distortions are systematic biases in an individual’s thinking that maintain a person’s belief in their negative views of themselves or others, even in the presence of contradictory evidence. The Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), created by Yurica and DiTomasso, measures distorted thinking in adults. Currently, there is not a youth measure of distortions that adequately encapsulates the range of distorted thinking that may be present in youth. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to create and validate a newly designed instrument of cognitive distortions, The Inventory of Cognitive Distortions-Youth Version (ICD-YV), with youth ages 11 to 17. …

Assessing The Quality Of Life In Spousal Caregivers Of Kidney Dialysis Patients, Mallory Christman

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Caregivers are considered extended parts of the healthcare system. As the responsibilities of caregivers increase, they are more prone to develop a poorer quality of life (QOL; Avsar et al., 2013; Rafati et al., 2019; Sajadi et al., 2020; Turner & Finch-Guthrie, 2020). Further, as the prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) continues to increase, factors that impact coping and QOL should be evaluated.

Understanding the relationship between coping, social problem solving, and QOL may increase professionals’ ability to help caregivers flourish. However, little is known about the QOL in spousal caregivers of kidney dialysis patients in the United States. …

Mitigating Compounded Barriers To Independence: Improving Outcomes Post Emancipation For Foster Youth With Secondary And Tertiary Barriers To Success, Corletha Norman

DSW Capstone Projects

A total of 407,493 children were identified as foster children by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (2021) at the completion of their 2020 fiscal year. The reason for entry into foster care is just as varied as the way in which the children exit. It is expected that many foster youth will experience poor outcomes as a result of their foster care experiences. Poor outcomes continue to be an ever-present undesired rite of passage for foster youth preparing to leave foster care at or after the age of 18. Research conducted over …

Peer Influence On Mental And Physical Health Symptoms: A Network Autocorrelation Model, Ashley N. Hall

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Adolescent youth are similar to their friends in both personal attributes, such as gender and ethnicity, and exhibited behaviors. However, limited research has analyzed the role of peer influence on physical and mental health symptoms. The current study aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating the association between friendships and individual health symptoms. A linear network autocorrelation model was used to examine the relation between adolescent friendships, physical health, and mental health symptoms in a sample of 336 seventh grade students from a Midwestern, public middle school. Results from the current study indicate a peer influence effect …

Grit, Efficacy, Commitment And Career Planning, Mary Clare Newsham

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This current study advanced understanding of the career goal-setting and relevant goal-related attitudes to the career planning process. Specifically, this study evaluated how career goal commitment, career goal self-efficacy and grit affect career goal structures and effort. A multidimensional career goal commitment scale was developed to differentiate intrinsic (affective) from rational types of commitments. Findings supported affective career goal commitment as consequential to the completeness of career goal structures and in career-relevant effort. Also, career goal self-efficacy was found to predict career planners’ self-efficacy for shorter term performance.

Measuring Microaggressions In The Advisor Advisee Relationship: Preliminary Scale Development, Samantha Lynn Bumgardaner

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

A number of survey instruments exist to measure microaggressions across various contexts and across numerous historically underrepresented groups. However, no such scale exists to assess microaggressions within the advisor-advisee relationship. The academic advisor-advisee relationship can make—or break—a student’s experience at a university, both personally and academically. Thus, microaggressions in the advisor-advisee relationship could impose numerous negative implications, both psychologically and academically. The goal of the present study aimed to develop a psychometrically sound scale to measure microaggressions in this association. Overall, findings from the present study offer preliminary support of a two-factor measure to assess microaggressions within the advisor-advisee relationship …

The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures For Black Women Stereotypes, Natasha Pierre

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The struggles that Black women face in everyday life are underrepresented in the research literature. Part of these hardships involve negative stereotypes that are associated with Black women. The purpose of this project was to create measures to assess the implicit association between stereotypic attributes and Black women. This study used Implicit Association Test (IAT) procedures to develop implicit measures of Black women stereotypes and investigate relationships with theoretically related explicit (self-report) measures in a sample of university students. Results indicated the implicit measures have acceptable psychometric properties (low stimuli misclassification error rates and adequate internal consistency) and sufficient variability …

Supporting Lgbtqia2s+ College Students: Psychological Flexibility And Promoting Verbal Behavior Of Support And Inclusion, Breanna Ashtyn Lee

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The current thesis includes two studies that account for aspects of LGBTQIA2S+ experiences. The first study explored verbal behavior involved in stereotyping. Relational Density Theory (RDT; Belisle & Dixon, 2020) offers a model for conceptualizing relational strength of environmental stimuli, such as those contributing to stereotypes based on sexuality. Participants in the present study completed a multidimensional scaling procedure using an RDT framework by rating the degree of relatedness between stimulus pairings. Stimuli included a series of sexualities (e.g., gay man), as well as adjectives (e.g., masculine). A brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes, 2004) based defusion exercise was …

Evaluating Contextual Factors Surrounding Romantic Infidelity And Reentry Support For Prisoners Using Behavior Analytic Research Methods, Maggie K. Adler

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Translational research combines application of fundamental principles with the concern for everyday issues and outcomes, which makes it possible to use translational research to address these societal issues (Mace and Critchfield, 2010). This thesis combines and discusses two multi-authored manuscripts centered around translational research. In the first manuscript, participants completed a probability discounting task developed by the experimenters under the hypothetical situation of being in a relationship with moderate or low satisfaction. In the task, participants chose to cheat or not cheat on their partner as a function of the subjective attractiveness of the non-partner and the probability of getting …

From Assessment To Treatment: Evaluating The Life Skills Emergence System Functional Module, Shelby Blecha

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The need for evidence based technologies supporting the development of behavioral repertoires essential for daily living is increasing, and while empirical research is valued among behavior analysts, limited psychometric research exists in behavior. Assessing and promoting daily living skills (DLS) requires empirical assessments and training technologies to enhance independence and autonomy, consistent with applied behavior analysis principles. The LIFE Skill Emergence System: Functional Module contains both a 250-item behavioral assessment evaluating DLS as well as a curriculum that integrates behavior analytic procedures such as chaining, task analyses, direct training, generalization, and relational framing to support DLS in behavior programming. The …

Toward A Behavior Analysis Of Discrimination And Prejudice: Racism, Sexism, And The Stigmatization Of Autism, Claire M. Zuch

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Behavior analysts are becoming increasingly aware of and involved in the study of issues related to sex, gender, disability, prejudice, and discrimination. This thesis integrates and discusses two collaborative manuscripts that revolve around the shared subject matter of multi-level research on systemic issues. In the first chapter, sexism and gender bias are conceptualized and informed by the framework of the nested sociobehavioral model of racism developed by Belisle et al. (2022), including implicit bias, selective gender norms, and systemic oppression, while integrating feminist and queer theories in the analysis. A model-dependent scoping review of research in major behavior analytic journals …

Between Choice And Compulsion: An Examination And Critique Of The Evolution Of 'Original Sin', Matthew James Wynn

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

“Why are we the way that we are?” is one of the hardest questions to answer because it requires grasping the origin of human beings. This has left philosophers and theologians in century-long debates on forming a “cosmogony of ontology” (i.e., how the origin of the universe informs the human condition). The concept, “original sin” was developed by a North African theologian named Augustine (354 – 430 CE). Augustine’s reading of Genesis 3, and inaccurate translation of Romans 5:12, taught that a person is born morally culpable for a fault antecedent to their existence. This way of thinking about the …

Trauma Clusters And Iorns Measure For Sex Offense Treatment Outcomes, Katherine Carlson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs are traumatic experiences that occur for children including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). The pattern of ACEs grouping together, or what will be known as ACEs Clusters, has impact on outcomes for specific populations (Lacey et al., 2020). Individuals convicted of a sexual offense (ICSO) have often experienced childhood physical and verbal abuse (Levenson et al., 2014). It was hypothesized that ACEs clusters for the ICSO population will be: low ACEs, household dysfunction, and household violence. To evaluate whether an ICSO is at risk for engaging in violent …

Psychologists-In-Training Attitudes Towards Complicated Grief, Caroline A. Williams

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Complicated grief as a diagnosis has been in development in the United States and United Kingdom since World War II through the utilization of diagnostic manuals, resulting in grief being commonly explored from an intervention standpoint. The inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in the International Classification of Disease (11th ed.; ICD-11; World Health Organization, 2020) and in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5 TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2022) has instigated a debate on whether these complicated grief disorders are culturally appropriate and sensitive with the consensus that generally providers advocate for a diagnosis, but not …

Callosal Malformations: Developmental Impacts And Parental Adjustment During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kera Larson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

In March 2020 the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was determined to be a global health crisis (Lee et al., 2021). As the virus continued to spread rapidly, individuals had to adjust their daily routines to reduce disease transmission. Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (AgCC) is a broad term used when there is a presence of congenital brain malformation in the region of the brain responsible for transmitting information to both left and right hemispheres (Paul, 2011). Evaluation of individuals with AgCC have been observed to demonstrate specific deficits including cognitive efficiency, transfer of sensory-motor information, and complex reasoning (Brown & …

Relationship Of Resilience With Well-Being And Loneliness In Individuals With Severe And Persistent Mental Illness, Krysta Young

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Resilience research has evolved from interest in understanding why some people thrive despite early adversities (Davino, 2013) to explain people’s adaptability when faced with challenge or adversity (Karaırmak & Figley, 2017). It has three components: adaptability, ability to succeed despite poor expectations, and persistent engagement instead of avoidance (Werner-Wilson et al., 2000), and is impacted by the severity of adversity, trait characteristics, and environmental characteristics (Chung, 2008). Resilience is a predictor of psychological well-being (Miranda & Cruz, 2022), is negatively correlated with loneliness (Tan et al., 2021), and while resilience is a protective factor against anxiety and depression (Cusack et …

Political Polarization In College Students, David Franks

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Political engagement in the United States has been increasing over the last several years and with it a seeming rise in political polarization. Specifically, recent research supports that there has been a significant increase in affective polarization, which is characterized by strong negative emotions and impressions of one’s political opponents. Political science surveys have found that individuals rate their political opponents as being less intelligent and more selfish in recent years and individuals open to inter-party marriages have drastically declined in recent years compared to decades past. This study explored the relationship of personality, as understood in the Big Five …

Thwarted Belongingness And Burdensomeness As Moderators Between Entrapment And Suicide Ideation In College Students, Tupelo Witte

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

College students are amid their search for identity development, desire to meet social expectations, and are juggling stressors that often lead to mental health concerns including suicidality. The integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behavior has established a three-phase framework to describe the process of suicidality. Life factors and feelings of defeat lead to entrapment and suicidal ideation followed by suicidal ideation and behaviors, as influenced or intervened by moderating factors. This study used data from the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment III to further investigate the integrated motivational-volitional model and specifically the motivational phase and relationship between …

Body Shame And Wellness: Consequences Of Being Fat, Edith Halina James

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

People who live in larger bodies have unique experiences which may influence their overall wellbeing. While primary care providers may choose to focus on weight and physical health, there are numerous emotional consequences to being fat, including social stigma and shame. Unfortunately, there are few studies researching the experience of fat people, resulting in a significant gap in knowledge. The present study seeks to provide some preliminary information about the fat experience, which can be utilized in future research and in clinical and interpersonal settings. A convenience sample of young adults (ages 18−30 years) was derived from undergraduate and graduate …

The Impact Of Social Connection And Psychological Resilience On Covid-19 Pandemic- Related Mental Health Outcomes, Shelby Lee Powers

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had wide reaching, well-documented impacts on mental health across demographics. Among these impacts are higher rates of depression and anxiety in adults. Several factors have been shown to mitigate the experience of depression and anxiety, including social connection and psychological resilience. The present study examined social connection and psychological resilience as predictors of depression and anxiety on a U.S. adult sample (n = 535) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were recruited using Qualtrics. Results of this study described that over 30% of the variance in anxiety and depression was predicted by a person’s levels of social …

Impact Of Having A Sibling With A Mental Disorder On Relationships, Sabrina C. Kluvers

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

When a family member has a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, depression, or autism spectrum disorder, family dynamics and expectations often shift and change. This can influence how the siblings of these individuals, known as well siblings, interact with and experience their relationships with family members and peers. However, few studies have examined how well siblings perceive their relationships during the developmental period of emerging adulthood, which represents a time of increased differentiation and identity development. The present study explored the ways in which relationships with family and close friends differ between well siblings and their peers with typically developing …

Determining The Quality Of The Evidence Base For Incremental Rehearsal, Emily K. Fischer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this review is to examine the current literature on incremental rehearsal (IR) to investigate whether IR is be considered an evidence-based practice, based on the quality indicators set forth by the Council for Exceptional Children (Cook et al., 2014). Burns et al. (2012) completed a meta-analysis to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of IR and to compare the effect sizes calculated from single-case and group designs. Results of that analysis showed that IR was effective with various student groups, including students in grades ranging from preschool to high school, and students with disabilities. The original review investigated …