Psychology Commons^™

Illness Intrusiveness And Psychosocial Adjustment Among Older Adults With Multimorbidity, Irina Mindlis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Given the high prevalence of multimorbidity (MM) among older adults and the exponential growth of the older adult U.S. population, identifying factors that can lessen depressive symptoms and improve quality of life (QOL) in this population is timely and important. While it is well established that MM is associated with greater depressive symptoms and poorer QOL (Li et al., 2016; Makovski et al., 2019; Marengoni et al., 2011; Read et al., 2017), the mechanisms underlying these relationships remain understudied. The illness intrusiveness model (Devins et al., 1984) proposes that stressors posed by diseases (disease-related factors) and their treatments (treatment-related factors) …

The Neural Correlates Of Bodily Self-Consciousness In Virtual Worlds, Evan A. Owens

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bodily Self-Consciousness (BSC) is the cumulative integration of multiple sensory modalities that contribute to our sense of self. Sensory modalities, which include proprioception, vestibulation, vision, and touch are updated dynamically to map the specific, local representation of ourselves in space. BSC is closely associated with bottom-up and top-down aspects of consciousness. Recently, virtual- and augmented-reality technology have been used to explore perceptions of BSC. These recent achievements are partly attributed to advances in modern technology, and partly due to the rise of virtual and augmented reality markets. Virtual reality head-mounted displays can alter aspects of perception and consciousness unlike ever …

An Affective Technology Of Heimat: Whiteness, Nation Building And Social Media In Germany, Friederike Windel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examined the patterns of attachments and affective investments in Whiteness, objectifications, and exclusions entrenched in the construct of Heimat, which is broadly defined as “homeland” in German-speaking contexts. It used computational social science and discourse analytical methods to analyze how Heimat was discussed, embodied, and made sense of in affective ways. Sitting at the intersections of critical psychology, critical race and feminist theory, and Heimat scholarship, this research asked how Heimat functions affectively to (re)produce and maintain ideologies like white supremacy and nationalism.

Using Structural Topic Modeling on a big Twitter dataset (611,609), I estimated a model …

Avoiding Success: How Does Fear Of Success Impact Today's Workforce?, Bradley E. Gray

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fear of success refers to the anxiety experienced by individuals as they come close to accomplishing a goal, ambivalent and even paralyzed over choosing to accept or avoid success. Success fearers are more likely to avoid success, choosing to forego their goal to avoid the assumed negative repercussions that will accompany the success (Canavan, 1989). Though interest in fear of success has waned since its introduction in the 1970’s, evidence of fear of success still exists today. However, original theories of fear of success cannot explain its impact on both men and women, and little is known about how it …

Confronting The Doppelganger: Mapping The Ontological Terrain Of An Afro-Caribbean Woman As She Rebrands Diasporic, Feminine Identity Politics: An Autoethnography, Aysha E. Todd-Stone

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis seeks to interrogate the intricacies governing the intra-racial\ intra-gendered relationship of an Afro-Trinidadian woman as she commandeers professional spaces in North America. The intent is to challenge the instrument of Black sisterhood deeming it as an incomplete, social instrument, and to prove using an auto-ethnographic approach how Diasporic, feminine trauma leads to psychically induced, episodic violence that is highly suggestive but subtle to the naked eye which in turn irretrievably damages intra-interpersonal relations. Quantitative studies have produced a composite from the white\black perspective (Goosby et al., 2015, Sims et al., 2012) and others dealing with gender (Braithwaite., 1981, …

Brainwaves, Memory, And Reward, Rebecca Mccune

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The development of effective educational curricula for enhancing learning involves the crucial consideration of effort and rewards. In the realm of education, teachers commonly employ rewards as motivational tools. Traditionally, these rewards are given to students as a recognition of their successful performance. However, a thought-provoking idea emerges: What if we were to extend rewards to students not solely based on accurate answers, but also on the effort they invest, even in cases where their actual response might be incorrect? Our study explores the potential impact of this approach on the way information is absorbed and subsequently retained, specifically focusing …

If You Don’T Live By The Sea, You Won’T Talk About Sailing: An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach Of The Polish Immigrant Experience In Chicago And The Acculturation Of Racial Beliefs, Monica Zabinski

Dissertations

There has been a steady increase in research and focus on defining and understanding racism and the role it plays in the ongoing inequality and inequity between individuals of White descent and individuals who are Black, indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC). However, little research has focused on what changes with racial beliefs when individuals immigrate between various countries where racism, discrimination, and racial beliefs may appear differently. Our objective was to increase our understanding of how the acculturation process may impact or change racial beliefs over time. Our research sought participants of Polish descent in the Chicagoland area and …

Understanding The Experiences And Associated Symptomology Of Disclosers And Non-Disclosers Of Sexual Victimization, Kaitlin Carson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 43% of women report experiencing some form of sexual victimization, with the highest rates occurring in emerging adulthood. It is estimated that 75% of survivors disclose this experience to someone else; the remainder of survivors keep the experience to themselves. While disclosure can be therapeutic, there are multiple factors that can complicate the disclosure process for sexual victimization survivors. There is limited research investigating why some women choose to disclose sexual victimization experiences and how their reasons may relate to psychopathology. Additionally, extant research primarily focuses on …

Interventions For Improving Social-Communication Skills For Adolescents And Adults With Asd: A Meta-Analysis, Sanikan Wattanawongwan, J. B. Ganz, Ee Rea Hong, Claudia Dunn, Valeria Yllades, Lauren M. Pierson, Eunkyeng Baek, Margaret Foster

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

There is a lack of services to support adolescents and adults with ASD in different areas including social-communication intervention. The purpose of this study is to conduct a meta-analysis determining effects of social-communication interventions in improving social-communication skills for adolescents and adults with ASD. A search of databases yielded 2,353 potential documents of which 41 documents met inclusion criteria. The finding of this study indicated that social-communication interventions across all documents are moderately effective in improving social-communication skills for adolescents and adults with ASD. This study investigated the effectiveness of social-communication interventions for these populations and also examined differential effects …

The Effect Of Non-Offending Caregiver Substance Use On Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms In Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse, Katelynn Robison Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Prevalence rates for child sexual abuse and substance use have often been difficult to determine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022) estimated that one in four girls and one in thirteen boys experience childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in the United States. Similarly, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2021) estimated that 58.7% of individuals over the age of 12 have used a substance in the last month. Despite the identification of both of these experiences as relatively common societal concerns, the impact of parental substance use on children and families has primarily been evaluated in a …

Solastalgia Mediates Between Bushfire Impact And Mental Health Outcomes: A Study Of Australia's 2019–2020 Bushfire Season, Zoe Leviston, Samantha K. Stanley, Rachael M. Rodney, Iain Walker, Julia Reynolds, Bruce K. Christensen, Conal Monaghan, Alison L. Calear, Aparna Lal, Jo Lane, Sotiris Vardoulakis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In 2019–2020, Australia experienced an unprecedented bushfire season that caused widespread environmental destruction across the continent, and especially to its south-east corner. Over two studies, we examine mental health outcomes of individuals impacted by bushfire, drawing on the concept of solastalgia – the sense of distress arising from unwanted environmental change – as a potential explanation for the mental health consequences of bushfire. In Study 1, we surveyed 2084 residents from the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding regions directly after the bushfire season. Participants were asked about exposure to the 2019–2020 bushfires, and to a previous regional fire of significance, …

Investigating The Link Between Iadl And Depressive Symptoms In Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Serial Mediation Model, Wee Qin Ng, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objectives: There is a dearth of research on the psychological processes that underlie the negative relation between impaired instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and depressive symptoms in older adults. Drawing on the stress process model and the resilience framework, we investigated whether purpose in life and resilience serially mediate the relationship between impaired IADL and depressive symptoms.Methods: We recruited 111 cognitively healthy community-dwelling older adults (ages 54-85; M = 66.5) who scored a minimum of 25 points on the Mini-Mental State Examination.Results: We found that purpose in life and resilience serially mediated the relationship between IADL and depressive symptomatology …

Experiences Of Professionals Of Color In The Child Welfare Workforce, Nina Williams-Mbengue, Anita Barbee

Other QIC-WD Products

“Entrenched disparities in our laws and public policies, and in our public and private institutions, have often denied that equal opportunity to individuals and communities. Our country faces converging economic, health, and climate crises that have exposed and exacerbated inequities, while a historic movement for justice has highlighted the unbearable human costs of systemic racism.”

- Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government, January 20, 2021

Many Americans are currently engaged in a painful examination of the nation’s history of individual, interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism. Leaders within the child welfare system …

Observers' Perceptions Of Rapport In Accusatorial Interrogations, Gabriela Rico

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rapport is widely regarded as a necessary precondition for interrogations and is thought to lay the foundation for the success of later interrogation techniques. In accusatorial contexts in which suspects are often resistant to disclose potentially self-incriminating information, rapport enables interrogators to gain the suspect’s trust, respect, and cooperation. Although the specific psychological mechanisms by which rapport achieves these effects are largely understudied, rapport-building techniques resemble principles of social influence (Goodman-Delahunty & Howes, 2014), specifically persuasion. Techniques such as establishing common ground, engaging in active listening, demonstrating empathy, and disclosing personal information may serve as impression management strategies, which allow …

Effects Of Genes And Gene-Environment Interactions On Work-Family Conflict And Enrichment, Peter Yu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how macro-level issues can influence how we manage work and family responsibilities. Yet, work-family (WF) research at different levels of analysis is relatively scarce. To address this, I take a multilevel lens to study WF conflict and enrichment in the context of micro-level factors (in the form of genes), macro-level factors (in the form of family and community-level demands), and their cross-level interactions (i.e., gene–environment interactions). To study genetic main effects, I drew from the work-home resources model to identify four candidate genes associated with conditions that could impact the ability to accrue WF resources …

Artists, Activists, And Therapists Making Meaning Of Collective Violence In Lebanon: A Community-Engaged Participatory Research Study, Nawal Muradwij

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study collaborated with community-engaged artists, activists, and mental health workers living in Lebanon to explore the community narratives that exist around collective violence in Lebanon. With the support of a community advisory board, in-depth interviews, and focus groups were utilized to understand the associations that participants had with the construct of collective violence as it pertains to communities in Lebanon and their understanding of its impact on collective mental health. The sample of artists, activists, and mental health workers framed collective violence in Lebanon as intergenerational, perpetual, and institutionally and politically entrenched. Cultural concepts that described the impact of …

Machine Independence Of Ultrasound-Based Quantification Of Vitreous Echodensities, Cameron Hoerig, Justin H Nguyen, Jonathan Mamou, Cedric Venuat, J Sebag, Jeffrey A Ketterling

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) provides objective indices of Vision Degrading Myodesopsia (VDM) that correlate with contrast sensitivity (CS). To date, QUS methods were only tested on a single ultrasound machine. Here, we evaluate whether QUS measurements are machine independent.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 47 eyes (24 subjects; age = 53.2 ± 14.4 years) were evaluated with Freiburg acuity contrast testing (%Weber), and ultrasonography using 2 machines: one with a 15-MHz single-element transducer and one with a 5-ring, 20-MHz annular-array. Images were acquired from each system in sequential scans. Artifact-free, log-compressed envelope data were processed to yield three parameters (mean …

Lgbtq+ Identity-Related Abuse During Childhood And Associations With Depression And Suicide Behavior: Role Of Adulthood Cisheterosexism And Expressive Suppression, Ruby Charak, Ines Cano-Gonzalez, Roman Ronzon-Tirado, Rachel M. Schmitz, Jennifer Tabler, Sidsel Karsberg, Ayleen Flores, Julian D. Ford

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Background: Exposure to minority stressors specific to LGBTQ+ individuals, such as heterosexism and cissexism (or cisheterosexism) is not covered under the traditional adverse childhood experiences framework. This is important because childhood identity-related abuse by a parent/caregiver can lead to mental health challenges in later life through the adoption of maladaptive coping mechanisms.

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the role of cisheterosexism and expressive suppression as serial mediators in the associations between identity-related abuse and depressive symptoms and suicide behavior.

Participants and setting: Participants included 563 LGBTQ+ identifying adults between 18 and 64 years (M = 30.02, SD = …

Interpersonal Behavior In Assessment Center Role-Play Exercises: Investigating Structure, Consistency, And Effectiveness, Simon M. Breil, Filip Lievens, Boris Forthmann, Mitla D. Back

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although the behaviors displayed by assessees are the currency of assessment centers (ACs), they have remained largely unexplored. This is surprising because a better understanding of assessees' behaviors may provide the missing link between research on the determinants of assessee performance and research on the validity of performance ratings. Therefore, this study draws on behavioral personality science to scrutinize the behaviors that assessees express in interpersonal AC exercises. Our goals were to investigate (a) the structure of interpersonal behaviors, (b) the consistency of these behaviors across AC exercises, and (c) their effectiveness. We obtained videotaped performances of 203 assessees who …

Revisiting The Design Of Selection Systems In Light Of New Findings Regarding The Validity Of Widely Used Predictors, Paul R. Sackett, Charlene Zhang, Christopher M. Berry, Filip Lievens

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Sackett et al. (2022) identified previously unnoticed flaws in the way range restriction corrections have been applied in prior meta-analyses of personnel selection tools. They offered revised estimates of operational validity, which are often quite different from the prior estimates. The present paper attempts to draw out the applied implications of that work. We aim to a) present a conceptual overview of the critique of prior approaches to correction, b) outline the implications of this new perspective for the relative validity of different predictors and for the tradeoff between validity and diversity in selection system design, c) highlight the need …

To Produce Or Not To Produce? Contrasting The Effect Of Substance Abuse In Social Decision-Making Situations, Laurent Avila-Chauvet, Diana Mejía Cruz, Óscar García-Leal, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Substance use disorders (SUD) have been related to high criminal justice costs, expensive healthcare, social impairment, and decision-making deficits. In non-social decision-making tasks, people with SUD tend to take more risks and choose small immediate rewards than controls. However, few studies have explored how people with SUD behave in social decision-making situations where the resources and profits depend directly on participants' real-time interaction, i.e., social foraging situations. To fulfill this gap, we developed a real-time interaction task to (a) compare the proportion of producers (individuals who tend to search for food sources) and scroungers (individuals who tend to steal or …

Activation Of Cell-Free Mtdna-Tlr9 Signaling Mediates Chronic Stress-Induced Social Behavior Deficits, Ashutosh Tripathi, Alona Bartosh, Carl Whitehead, Anilkumar Pillai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inflammation and social behavior deficits are associated with a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. Chronic stress, a major risk factor for depression and other mental health conditions is known to increase inflammatory responses and social behavior impairments. Disturbances in mitochondria function have been found in chronic stress conditions, however the mechanisms that link mitochondrial dysfunction to stress-induced social behavior deficits are not well understood. In this study, we found that chronic restraint stress (RS) induces significant increases in serum cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) levels in mice, and systemic Deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) treatment attenuated RS-induced social behavioral deficits. Our findings revealed …

Health Care Providers' Attributions Of Blame For Unintended Pregnancy And Hiv Acquisition Among Cisgender Women, Alison J. Goldberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Unintended pregnancy and HIV are both possible but preventable outcomes of vaginal sex, and both can be prevented in similar ways (condoms, daily oral medication, etc.). Despite these similarities, providers more readily prescribe contraception to cisgender women, compared to PrEP (Guttmacher Institute, 2021; Raifman et al., 2019). Providers’ differential willingness to prescribe each medication cannot be attributed merely to differences in women’s need for pregnancy prevention vs. HIV prevention, as women account for nearly 20% of new HIV infections (CDC, 2021). Through three studies, I examined whether perceivers’ support for harm reduction (i.e., prescribing PrEP/contraception) and behavior reduction (i.e., discouraging …

Prescription Drug Misuse In Racial And Ethnic Minorities: Prevalence And Predictors, Valerie Watts

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The United States (U.S.) is currently facing a complex epidemic of prescription drug misuse (PDM). Previous literature lacks information on the prevalence of PDM in racial and ethnic minorities (REM) and associated precipitating variables. The current review aims to build upon the limited research regarding REM engagement in PDM and the associated variables. This examination identified and summarized: 1) contemporary research on the prevalence of PDM in REM, 2) major variables associated with PDM in this subpopulation, and 3) current evidence-based treatments for PDM. The review revealed mixed results related to the prevalence of PDM in REM. Previous research believed …

Protective Factors In The Relationship Between Perceived Discrimination And Risky Drinking Among American Indian Adolescent, Ying Guo, Randall C. Swaim, W. Alex Mason

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

Introduction: The relationship between perceived discrimination and risky drinking among American Indian (AI) youth is understudied, and the potential protective factors that may buffer this association are unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine protective factors across individual, family, school, peer, and cultural domains of the social ecology that might attenuate the relationship between perceived discrimination and risky drinking among AI adolescents.

Method: Data were from the Substance Use Among American Indian Youth Study (Swaim and Stanley, 2018, 2021). AI youth who have used alcohol in their lifetime (n = 2516 within 62 schools) …

Investigating The Differences Between Neuropsychological And Physiological Markers In A Ptsd-Only Group Among Vietnam Veterans, Ashtan Madsen

Dissertations

Individuals diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have demonstrated extinction-resistant symptoms and long-lasting impacts on the brain’s functional activity (Krystal et al., 2017; Stark et al., 2015). PTSD illustrates a strong relationship with cognitive functioning, and research has found lower parietal and hippocampal volume and deterioration in brain function and structure, resulting in executive dysfunction, attentional deficits, mood dysregulation, and memory difficulties (Krystal et al., 2017; Stark et al., 2015; Weiner et al. 2017). Sleep has been investigated to better understand its contribution to AD pathologies as well as its impact on PTSD treatment and prognosis. Although sleep’s functions are …

Not Getting Laid: Consumer Acceptance Of Precision Fermentation Made Egg, Oscar Z. Thomas, Mark Chong, Angela K. Y. Leung, Tricia M. Fernandex, Shu Tian Ng

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Mounting concern over the negative externalities of industrialized animal agriculture, coupled with falling cost curves of novel food technologies have birthed the field of cellular agriculture: a new category of food technology seeking to reproduce the sensory experiences of animal protein, and promising a cleaner, more ethical way of enjoying animal proteins. This research examines consumer acceptance of precision fermentation (PF) made egg products in Germany, Singapore, and the USA. Using an online survey of 3,006 participants, the study examines demographic and dietary traits that predict willingness to try such products and identifies the reasons why consumers are most attracted …

Assessing The Severity Of Cervical Dystonia: Ask The Doctor Or Ask The Patient?, Adam C Cotton, Laura Scorr, William Mcdonald, Cynthia Comella, Joel S Perlmutter, Christopher G Goetz, Joseph Jankovic, Laura Marsh, Stewart Factor, H A Jinnah

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Assessing disease severity can be performed using either clinician-rated scales (CRS) or patient-rated outcome (PRO) tools. These two measures frequently demonstrate poor correlations.

OBJECTIVES: To determine if the correlation between a CRS and PRO for motor features of cervical dystonia (CD) improves by accounting for non-motor features.

METHODS: Subjects with CD (N = 209) were evaluated using a CRS (Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale, TWSTRS) and a PRO (Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile, CDIP-58).

RESULTS: Linear regression revealed a weak correlation between the two measures, even when considering only the motor subscales of each. The strength of this relationship …

Deficiencies With Cage-Aid Questionnaire In Identifying Nonmedical Opioid Use-A Report Of Two Cases, Jaya Amaram-Davila, Patricia Bramati, Laura Gammon, Tarun Mallipeddi, Olivia Jastrzemski, Matthew D Clark, Joseph Arthur, Akhila Reddy, Eduardo Bruera

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: The CAGE-AID questionnaire (Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener scale Adapted to Include Drugs) is used to screen patients for substance use disorder and nonmedical opioid use (NMOU). Major pain guidelines encourage using such screening tools for all patients including cancer patients before initiating opioids. We present two cases where the CAGE-AID results did not accurately identify the risk for NMOU.

Case description: Patient 1 is a male in his 60s with metastatic prostate cancer was admitted for uncontrolled pain. Imaging revealed extensive spinal metastasis, needing initiation of methadone and hydromorphone. The CAGE-AID score was positive, placing him at risk for …

Contribution Of Implicit Memory To Adaptation Of Movement Extent During Reaching Against Unpredictable Spring-Like Loads: Insensitivity To Intentional Suppression Of Kinematic Performance, Devon D. Lantagne, Leigh A. Mrotek, James B. Hoelzle, Danny G. Thomas, Robert A. Scheidt

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

We examined the extent to which intentionally underperforming a goal-directed reaching task impacts how memories of recent performance contribute to sensorimotor adaptation. Healthy human subjects performed computerized cognition testing and an assessment of sensorimotor adaptation, wherein they grasped the handle of a horizontal planar robot while making goal-directed out-and-back reaching movements. The robot exerted forces that resisted hand motion with a spring-like load that changed unpredictably between movements. The robotic test assessed how implicit and explicit memories of sensorimotor performance contribute to the compensation for the unpredictable changes in the hand-held load. After each movement, subjects were to recall and …