Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Maternal Depressive Symptoms And Responsiveness To Infant Distress: Contingency Analyses Of Home Mother-Infant Interactions At 3 Months, Fernanda Lucchese

Graduate Masters Theses

Maternal depressive symptoms during the postnatal period have been shown to be detrimental to the socio-emotional, cognitive, and motor development of infants. Studies indicate that one of the mediators of these detrimental effects is decreased maternal responsiveness, a maternal characteristic that may hinder infant emotion-regulation development and infant secure attachment. Although previous research has shown the impact of infant cries on the behavior and physiology of mothers with elevated depressive symptoms in laboratory-based contexts, little is known about the quality and timing of maternal responsive behaviors to infant negative affect in mothers with elevated or non-elevated depressive symptoms in the …

Reactive And Regulatory Temperament Traits As Predictors Of Depressive Symptoms In Middle Childhood, Yuliya Kotelnikova

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although a large literature has examined temperament in adult and adolescent depression, few studies have investigated temperamental precursors of depressive symptoms in young children over time. I evaluated the role of positive and negative emotionality (PE, NE) and effortful control (EC) in predicting initial levels and change in depressive symptoms in middle childhood. Measures of child temperament (laboratory observations and maternal reports) and depressive symptoms were collected from 205 seven-year-olds who were followed up one and two years later. A steeper increase in self- and mother-reported depressive symptoms was found for children lower in laboratory-assessed EC and higher in laboratory …

The Mediating Role Of Emotion Regulation In The Relations Of Between Somatization And Internalizing Disorders In Children, Priscilla A. Khuanghlawn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Somatic symptoms are a common experience of childhood and research suggests that specific populations, including girls and children who are African-American, may be more likely to experience and report somatic complaints. Although seen in developmentally typical populations, somatic symptoms are also often strongly linked with general psychopathology, especially internalizing disorders. The etiology of somatic symptoms is unclear, with the current literature suggesting various contributing causes. One such contributing factor includes emotional factors such as the management of emotional arousal through emotion inhibition, coping, and dysregulation. Using an African-American sample of 136 elementary school-aged children (47% boys) and their parents (86% …

Emotion Management Skills Of School-Age Children In The Context Of Risk: The Role Of Parent Socialization Strategies, Carla Damiani Correia

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Exposure to risk in childhood can disrupt social and emotional processes (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000) and lead to the development of physical and mental health issues across the lifespan (Flouri, 2008). This study sought to better understand the associations between contextual risk, parent socialization of emotion, and children's emotion regulation skills in an at-risk sample. Information about risk was obtained from U.S. Census data and a family questionnaire. Parent socialization strategies and children's ER skills were measured using self-report and interview methods. Though not to the degree that was expected, results indicate that contextual risk relates to both parent socialization …

Help-Negation For Suicidal Thoughts In Sub-Clinical Samples Of Young People, Coralie Joy Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Across the popular and academic literature, it is widely recognised that young people with persistent suicidal thoughts are at high risk for suicide completion. It is also accepted that seeking and receiving appropriate help offers protection against the development of acute forms of suicidality, along with suicide completion. Yet, as promising as appropriate help-seeking appears for suicide prevention, a growing number of studies suggest that suicidal ideation itself may impede the help-seeking process. There is evidence that acutely suicidal samples will negate or avoid available help, and there are indications that the help-negation process may occur in samples before levels …

Promoting The Emotional Development Of Young Children On The Spectrum, Steven Glazier Ma

Annual Foundations Behavioral Health/La Salle University Autism Spectrum Disorders Conference

Neurobiological factors make it difficult for children on the spectrum to show and share their ideas, thoughts, and feelings. This can compromise their emotional development and social functioning. This workshop will highlight the challenges that our children face in this area and what we can do to support them.

This program is designed to help you…

1. Recognize the stages and themes of emotional development during the first 5 years of life.

2. Identify the special challenges children on the spectrum have in this process.

3. Learn specific strategies that caregivers and professionals can use to facilitate emotional development.

4. …

An Experimental Test Of Trauma-Relevant Cue Exposure And Desire For Alcohol Among Adolescents, Heidemarie Blumenthal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A burgeoning literature suggests a linkage between adolescent traumatic event exposure and problematic alcohol use. Research conducted with adults indicates that exposure to trauma-relevant cues elicits a desire to drink; however, no work has examined this association among adolescents. The current study was designed to build upon and extend this line of work. Participants were 72 community-recruited adolescents (Mage = 16.19; 34.7% girls). Trauma-exposed (n = 47) and non-exposed (n = 25) youth were assigned to either a 3-minute experimental (voluntary hyperventilation) or control task (low-arousal picture viewing). Desire to drink was assessed (1) prior to task assignment, and (2) …

Aging And Weight-Ratio Estimation, Jessica Marie Holmin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many researchers have explored the way younger people perceive weight ratios using a variety of methodologies; however, very few researchers have used a more direct ratio estimation procedure, in which participants estimate an actual ratio between two or more weights. Of the few researchers who have used a direct method, the participants who were recruited were invariably younger adults. To date, there has been no research performed to examine how older adults perceive weight-ratios, using direct estimation or any other technique. Past research has provided evidence that older adults have more difficulty than younger adults in perceiving small differences in …

Reported Experience Of Maltreatment In Adolescents Whose Mothers Have Borderline Personality Disorder, Chelsea R. Ennis

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

8. Child Witnesses And The Confrontation Clause., Thomas D. Lyon, Julia A. Dente

Thomas D. Lyon

Comparisons Of The Effects Of Monolingual And Bilingual Exposure On Executive Functioning Among Neurodevelopmentally Vulnerable Children, Teresa Hermodson-Olsen

Antonian Scholars Honors Program

The purpose of this study is to examine levels of executive functioning among a group of children who were referred to a pediatric neuropsychology outpatient clinic, and to compare these executive functioning scores between children living in bilingual homes with children living in monolingual homes. One-hundred and fifty children (61% male, mean age = 10.3 years) referred to a pediatric neuropsychology clinic were grouped into 1 of 2 groups based on parent report: English-only homes (N=121, 61% male, mean age = 10.5 years) and bilingual homes (N=29, 61% male, mean age = 9.4 years). Executive functioning was assessed using the …

27. Does Valence Matter? Effects Of Negativity On Children's Early Understanding Of Truths And Lies., Lindsay Wandrey, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Using The Fcb Grid To Evaluate A Failed Mental Health Levy: The Marketing Implications Of Stigma, Oscar T. Mcknight, Ronald Paugh, Steffi Liotta, Wenhui Jin

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This research found that using the FCB Grid to develop and evaluate a mental health levy campaign has merit. Likewise, stigma has both positive and negative impact on a mental health levy. Introduced is the ‘STIGMA’ planning model to help mental health professionals pass a public mental health levy.

Examining The Use Of Focus Groups In Economic Development Initiatives, Oscar T. Mcknight, Ronald Paugh, Brian Nestor, Shawn Yambor

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

City officials often use focus groups in economic development. However, findings indicate that group dynamics can threaten validity when seeking consensus. Data suggest a strong rebound effect for participants to return to their earlier pre-focus group assessment beliefs. Introduced is the ‘BUCKS’ Planning Model for facilitating city economic development initiatives.

Racial Disparity In The Diagnosis Of Conduct Disorder, Cortney R. Vanhook

Undergraduate Research Awards

African American youth are exposed to considerably more risk factors than their Caucasian counterparts, yet they are being diagnosed at comparably lower rates for Conduct Disorder (CD) in epidemiological studies. Empirical data supports the claim that African Americans are at greater risk of developing CD. However, the internal dysfunction benchmark of the Diagnostic Statistic Manual (DSM) discourages clinicians from diagnosing youth who display environmentally caused CD. The racial disparity in the diagnosis of CD is problematic for two reasons. First, African American youth who display antisocial personality are more likely to be referred to the justice system than to therapeutic …

11. Twenty-Five Years Of Interviewing Research And Practice: Dolls, Diagrams, And The Dynamics Of Abuse Disclosure., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Father Involvement As A Predictor Of Preschool Children's Academic Readiness And Socioemotional Competence, Travis Alexzander Goldwire

Wayne State University Theses

Predictors of father involvement (FI) were examined. Associations between learning encouragement (LE) and socioemotional support (SS) in relation to later school readiness outcomes were examined. A subsample of residential fathers (n = 6150) from the ECLS-B was used. Hierarchical linear regressions and conceptual path analysis were used to conduct statistical analyses. Child sex, paternal employment, and the mother-father relationship were significant predictors of LE at 9 months. The mother-father relationship predicted LE at 2 years and SS at 9 months. LE at 9 months was a significant predictor of academic readiness indicators at preschool. LE at 2 years significantly predicted …

Dsm-5: Rethinking Asperger’S Disorder, Lee A. Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Culture Ontogeny: Lifespan Development Of Religion And The Ethics Of Spiritual Counselling, Glen Milstein, Amy Manierre

Publications and Research

The counsellor has an ethical obligation to treat the whole person. Humans are cultural beings and the foundation of most cultures is religion. Religion and culture are received from our early relation~ ships and modified through later relationships across the lifespan. The paper introduces the term "culture ontogeny" to emphasize that this is a biological process wherein abstract ideas of culture and religion become material in the developing neurophysiology of each brain. A framework and methods are offered to examine the changing roles of religion in clients' emotional self~ structure, inclusive of those who describe themselves as spiritual, not religious. …

The Origin Of A Sense Of Self In Women, Kimberly Dewing Robbins

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This phenomenological study focuses on how a strong sense of self in women changes social precepts and gender stereotypes empowering women to define themselves instead of being defined by society. A sense of self may be defined as the ability to distinguish one’s own values from those of any outside persuasions, and to do so well enough to be able to protect those ideals from unwanted external influence. Is a sense of self, realized at a young age, an innate feeling or developed over time through adversity and the maturation process? This study will specifically look at what influences can …

Trust In The Mentor-Youth Relationship And Its Correlates With Frequency Of Contact, Parental Involvement, And Academic Improvements, Emily Jane Ness

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Community mentoring programs target at-risk youth with the aim of providing them with a positive, stable adult presence in their lives. Relationship quality of the mentors and mentees has been linked to multiple external factors and youth outcomes. This study investigated mentor-mentee relationship quality (i.e., youth's perceived trust in his or her mentor) and the associations between the amount of time the pair spent together per week, parents' level of involvement in planning activities between their child and their mentor, and youth's improvement in commitment to learning. The correlations between trust and time, and between trust and commitment to learning …

Early Adolescent Non-Suicidal Self-Injury And Sensory Preference Differences: An Exploratory Study, Jacquelyn Shea Christensen

CGU Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) occurs in 13% to 20% of adolescents, and is often indicative of deeper internal or social problems. A close review of current explanatory models of NSSI suggested that underlying individual sensory preferences may contribute substantial explanations for the self-regulatory functions of NSSI, as well as have implications for treatment approaches. In the context of integrating sensory processing models with prominent functional NSSI models, this dissertation research compared sensory preferences in youth who engaged in NSSI to sensory preferences of youth who did not engage in NSSI.

OBJECTIVE: NSSI-engaging youth were hypothesized to have lower threshold sensory …

Brief Report: Need For Autonomy And Other Perceived Barriers Relating To Adolescents’ Intentions To Seek Professional Mental Health Care., Coralie J. Wilson, Frank P. Deane

Coralie J Wilson

The current study examined the relationship between belief-based barriers to seeking professional mental health care and help-seeking intentions in a sample of 1037 adolescents. From early adolescence to adulthood, for males and females, the need for autonomy was a strong barrier to seeking professional mental health care. Help-seeking fears were weaker in the older age groups. Having lower perceived need for autonomy and believing that prior mental health care was helpful was significantly associated with higher intentions to seek future professional mental health care. Implications for prevention and overcoming barriers to seeking mental health care are suggested.

26. “How Did You Feel?”: Increasing Child Sexual Abuse Witnesses’ Production Of Evaluative Information., Thomas D. Lyon, Nicholas Scurich, Karen Choi, Sally Handmaker, Rebecca Blank

Thomas D. Lyon

Ohio Student Social Skills Training Program Is Very Successful, David Volosin, Oscar T. Mcknight, John Sikula

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This article reports on research conducted in the Parma City Schools, Ohio by The Society for Prevention of Violence (SPV). The SPV is dedicated to reducing the prevalence of violent acts and asocial behaviors of children and adults through education. It accomplishes this mission by teaching children and adults the use of the skills necessary to build their character. Findings suggest that the SPV program improves the ability of children within class to pay attention and be organized. The greatest improved social behaviors for participants were in helping others who are having trouble; increased ability to initiate positive interactions; and, …