Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Big Five Personality Traits, Pathological Personality Traits, And Psychological Dysregulation: Predicting Aggression And Antisocial Behaviors In Detained Adolescents, Katherine S. L. Lau

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study tested the utility of three different models of personality, namely the social and personality model, the pathological personality traits model, and the psychological dysregulation model, in predicting overt aggression, relational aggression, and delinquency in a sample of detained boys (ages 12 to 18; M age = 15.31; SD = 1.16). Results indicated that the three personality approaches demonstrated different unique associations with aggression and delinquency. The psychological dysregulation approach, composed of behavioral dysregulation, emotional dysregulation, and cognitive dysregulation, emerged as the overall best predictor of overt aggression, relational aggression, and delinquency. After controlling for the Big Five personality …

Socioeconomic-Status And Mental Health In A Personality Disorder Sample: The Importance Of Neighborhood Factors, Zach Walsh, M. Tracie Shea, Shirley Yen, Emily B. Ansell, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Robert L. Stout, Donna S. Bender, Andrew E. Skodol, Charles A. Sanislow, Leslie C. Morey, John G. Gunderson

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

This cross-sectional study examined the associations between neighborhood-level socioeconomic-status (NSES), and psychosocial functioning and personality pathology among 335 adults drawn from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. Participants belonged to four personality disorder (PD) diagnostic groups: Avoidant, Borderline, Schizotypal, and Obsessive Compulsive. Global functioning, social adjustment, and PD symptoms were assessed following a minimum two-year period of residential stability. Residence in higher-risk neighborhoods was associated with more PD symptoms and lower levels of functioning and social adjustment. These relationships were consistent after controlling for individual-level socioeconomic-status and ethnicity; however, the positive association between neighborhood-level socio-economic risk and PD symptoms was …

Examining The Inner Experience Of Four Individuals With Bipolar Disorder Using Descriptive Experience Sampling, Johanah Kang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mood disorder with diagnostic criteria that provide a description of expected experiences of individuals diagnosed with BD (e.g., elevated mood, sadness, difficulty concentrating). Despite these criteria, the inner experience of these individuals is largely unknown. Understanding the inner experience of individuals diagnosed with BD may prove essential in understanding and treating BD. The present study examined the inner experience of four individuals diagnosed with BD using the Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) method (Hurlburt 1990, 1993, 2011). Results revealed all our participants had clear and prevalent experiences of sensory awareness. They also had difficulties apprehending and …

Effects Of Anger Awareness And Expression Training Versus Relaxation Training On Headaches: A Randomized Trial, Olga Slavin-Spenny, Mark A. Lumley, Elyse R. Thakur, Dana C. Nevedal, Alaa M Hijazi

Psychology Faculty Research Publications

Background and purpose: Stress contributes to headaches, and effective interventions for headaches routinely include relaxation training (RT) to directly reduce negative emotions and arousal. Yet, suppressing negative emotions, particularly anger, appears to augment pain, and experimental studies suggest that expressing anger may reduce pain. Therefore, we developed and tested anger awareness and expression training (AAET) on people with headaches.

Methods: Young adults with headaches (N = 147) were randomized to AAET, RT, or a wait-list control. We assessed affect during sessions, and process and outcome variables at baseline and 4 weeks after treatment.

Results: On process measures, …

Convergent And Incremental Predictive Validity Of Clinician, Self-Report, And Structured Interview Diagnoses For Personality Disorders Over 5 Years, Douglas B. Samuel, Charles A. Sanislow, Christopher J. Hopwood, M. Tracie Shea, Andrew E. Skodol, Leslie C. Morey, Emily B. Ansell, John C. Markowitz, Mary C. Zanarini, Carlos M. Grilo

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

OBJECTIVE: Research has demonstrated poor agreement between clinician-assigned personality disorder (PD) diagnoses and those generated by self-report questionnaires and semistructured diagnostic interviews. No research has compared prospectively the predictive validity of these methods. We investigated the convergence of these 3 diagnostic methods and tested their relative and incremental validity in predicting independent, multimethod assessments of psychosocial functioning performed prospectively over 5 years.

METHOD: Participants were 320 patients in the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study diagnosed with PDs by therapist, self-report, and semistructured interview at baseline. We examined the relative incremental validity of therapists' naturalistic ratings relative to these other diagnostic …

Treatment Of Psychiatric Inpatients With Relationship Dysfunction Using A Short Term Cognitive Interpersonal Intervention: A Pilot Study, Tamra Rasberry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Relationship conflict for the psychiatric patient can have significant detrimental effects. There are specific types of interactions that can increase conflict and predict the potential for relapse; these have been identified by research and designated as components of Expressed Emotion (EE). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) have been very effective when targeting specific psychiatric diagnoses, but less effective when addressing relationship conflict. The majority of studies addressing relationship conflict have taken place in an outpatient, long-term setting. There is limited research that utilizes an inpatient short-term intensive therapy with relationship conflict as its sole focus, targeting areas …

Cognitive, Affective And Social Processes Involved In Help-Negation After Critical Suicidal Thoughts, Coralie Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Help-negation is defined as the process of help withdrawal or avoidance found among those currently experiencing clinical and subclinical levels of different forms of psychological distress, including low and critical levels of suicidal ideation (Wilson, Bushnell, Caputi, 2011). Understanding the determinants of help-negation in suicidal samples that have not yet come to treatment provides a potent opportunity to target prevention and early intervention strategies to facilitate appropriate and timely help-seeking. Over 20 help-negation studies have ruled out variables that might explain the withdrawal process associated with suicidal thoughts. These results now point to biological and neurological underpinnings working together with …

Preventing Help-Negation For Suicidal Ideation: Implications For Social Network Size And Frequency Of Social Interaction, Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Help-negation is seen when the severity of an individual’s suicidal ideation increases and they become less likely to seek help as a result of their condition. Research has implicated distorted affect regulation and perceptual processes related to social support in the development of help-negation among suicidal individuals (Wilson et al., 2013). Future research needs to focus on psycho-social factors that can be linked to neurological processes that differentiate suicidal individuals from controls and are directly implicated in the help-negation processes associated with suicidal ideation. As suicidal individuals have interpersonal needs rejected they may cease to seek or accept help. The …

Role Of Assertiveness In Telephone Crisis Supporter Well-Being And Service Provision, Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Help-negation (reluctance to seek help as distress levels increase) occurs among Telephone Crisis Supporters (TCSs) who are exposed to suicidal, depressed and anxious callers, and impacts both personal wellbeing and TCSs intention to use recommended skills with callers (Kitchingman, Wilson, Caputi, Woodward, 2013). Assertiveness is a key clinical skill that facilitates the capacity to effectively and confidently deliver telephone crisis support. Due to the highly specific nature of the telephone counselling context, TCSs face challenges in communicating assertively and establishing of boundaries which are important in effective service provision and the maintenance of counsellor-wellbeing. This paper presents results of two …

Help-Negation Among Telephone Crisis Support Workers: Impact On Personal Wellbeing And Worker Performance, Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Telephone crisis supporters (TCSs) provide front line mental health support to callers in crisis. TCSs often support callers with suicidal thoughts, depression and anxiety, and the caller’s experience of the call will influence whether they will seek help from a crisis support service in the future. Despite their important role, little information on TCSs’ mental health and help-seeking behaviour exists – a structured literature search returned only 2 studies. This paper presents the results of the first study in a national research program that is aiming to inform the future training, preparation, supervision, and support of frontline health professionals who …

Exploring Parental Experiences And Decision-Making Processes Following A Fetal Anomaly Diagnosis, Ramona L. Fernandez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Often the first indication that something may be wrong in a seemingly normal pregnancy occurs during the first detailed ultrasound appointment between 16 and 20 weeks gestation. Even the most tentative suspicions of fetal anomalies is jarring. Parent’s default reality of a normal pregnancy and a ‘perfect child’ changes to one of risk factors and the possibility of an ‘unhealthy child’. This study begins with the realization of this first loss in a series of losses that follow for parents as they grapple with diagnostic information to be able to make informed medical decisions regarding their fetus and pregnancy. The …

Individuals With Single Versus Multiple Suicide Attempts Over 10 Years Of Prospective Follow-Up, Christina L. Boisseaua, Shirley Yen, John C. Markowitz, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, M. Tracie Shea, Mary C. Zanarini, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, Leslie C. Morey, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Background: The study attempted to identify characteristics that differentiate multiple suicide attempters from single attempters in individuals with personality disorders (PDs) and/or major depression.

Method: Participants were 431 participants enrolled in the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders from July 1996 to June 2008. Suicide attempts were assessed with the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation at 6 and 12months, then yearly through 10years. Logistic regression was used to compare single attempters to multiple attempters on Axis I and II psychiatric disorders and personality trait variables.

Results: Twenty-one percent of participants attempted suicide during the 10years of observation, with 39 (9.0%) reporting …

Associations Of Childhood Family Adversity And Pubertal Timing With Depressive Symptomotology In Adulthood, Jeffrey P. Winer

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

To date, no prior research has examined the combined roles of childhood family adversity and pubertal timing in longitudinal pathways to depressive symptomatology in adulthood. The present study was conducted with 225 men and 225 women to explore the unique and combined roles of childhood family adversity and pubertal timing on depressive symptoms in a community sample of married adults. Results for both men and women indicated significant main effects of a cumulatively risky family environment on depressive symptoms, as well as main effects of families with higher levels of abuse and neglect, chaos and disorganization, and interpersonal family conflict. …

The Role Of The Chinese Personal Name In Identity Formation, Ronald W. Teague Phd, Abpp

Ronald W Teague PhD, ABPP

No abstract provided.

Get Rich U Or Get Transformed U: Reflections On Catholic Liberal Arts Education In The 21st Century, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Catholic liberal arts educators can proclaim boldly that we are in the business of formation and transformation of students at multiple levels and in multiple ways. We want our students to be competent, ethical, and compassionate global citizens who are thoughtful, savvy, deep thinkers who love learning and who love helping others. Research and best practices support the claim that the virtues cultivated by the liberal arts contribute to the flourishing of individuals and society as a whole. Catholic colleges and universities have a long history of promoting the liberal arts, and data from various sources suggest that we are …

The Relationship Of Teacher, Student, And Content In The Clinical Psychology Classroom, Hannah Lord

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The field of clinical psychology is in the midst of redefining graduate school education with a push for competency-based approaches and measurable learning outcomes. This dissertation explores the best-practice knowledge regarding the education of professional clinical psychology graduate students and uses cooperative inquiry to richly detail the educational approach of a thus far “silent stakeholder,” Dr. Colborn W. Smith, a long-time teacher and training director. This inquiry is intended to help me [Hannah Lord] understand an important personal educational experience, to explore the tangible art of teaching that made such an experience possible, and to contribute to the evolving discourse …

The Post-Combat Couple Adjustment Questionnaire: A Preliminary Validation, Valerie Maine

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation presents the results of a psychometric study regarding the preliminary validation of The Post-Combat Couple Adjustment Questionnaire (PCCAQ). This measure was designed to assess post-combat and post-deployment adjustment for male veterans and their female partners. The measure was created using existing literature on veterans, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and couples. The PCCAQ consists of four domains of couple functioning, including: (a) redefining roles, expectations, and division of household responsibilities; (b) managing strong emotions; (c) abandoning emotional constriction and creating intimacy in relationships; and (d) creating a sense of shared meaning surrounding the deployment experience. The PCCAQ was compared …

Existential Concerns Of Individuals Living With Chronic Mental Illness In Guam, Christina Maria B. Dela Cruz

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Individuals living with chronic mental illness experience a host of challenges associated with the symptoms of their illness. In an effort to help restore healthy functioning, mental health treatment for individuals with chronic mental illness thus focuses primarily on symptom reduction and management. Recent research exploring the lived experience of individuals with chronic mental illness suggests that apart from their symptoms, these individuals also encounter existential issues related to the self, relationships with others, temporality, making meaning out of the illness experience, and managing life with the illness. At the same time, however, this research has tended to focus on …

Expression Of Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms Across The Ovulatory Cycle: A Multilevel Investigation, Tory A. Eisenlohr-Moul

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a disabling condition characterized by chronic emotion dysregulation and behavioral impulsivity. Prospective studies that test proposed mechanisms of within-person change in BPD hold the key to improving symptom predictability and control in this disorder. A small body of evidence suggests that fluctuations in estradiol such as those occurring naturally at ovulation during the monthly female reproductive cycle may increase symptoms in women with BPD (DeSoto et al., 2003). Furthermore, there is preliminary evidence that both self-esteem and feelings of social rejection are highest at ovulation, when estradiol peaks (Durante and Hill, 2009; Eisenlohr-Moul et al., …