Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Suicidal Ideation And Community Connectedness In Lgbtq+ Adults: Can Emotion Regulation And Mindfulness Skills Help?, Samantha V. Jacobson

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Suicidal ideation disproportionally affects the LGBTQ+ community. Community connectedness and mindfulness can be protective against suicidal ideation, whereas emotion regulation difficulty is associated with increased suicidal ideation. Community connectedness, emotion regulation difficulty and mindfulness have demonstrated relationships to each other in the LGBTQ+ community and while they are each independently associated with suicidal ideation, their combined impact on suicidal ideation has not yet been examined. The present study examines moderating effects of emotion regulation difficulty and mindfulness on the relationship between community connectedness and suicidal ideation in LGBTQ+ adults. 141 LGBTQ+ adults completed self-report measures of suicidal ideation, community connectedness, …

Unhealed Wounds: From Complex Trauma Exposure To Wellbeing And The Role Of Coping, Mohammed K. Alsubaie

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (cPTSD) emerged as a theoretical construct reflecting symptoms beyond our current conceptualization of posttraumatic stress. Research examining its validity is still ongoing and cross-cultural research on the matter is emerging. An important risk factor to developing cPTSD is the experience of complex trauma, which constitutes experiences that reflect interpersonal violations of bodily boundary and integrity or betrayal (e.g., sexual assault and emotional abuse). There is still a gap in the literature linking complex trauma exposure to wellbeing or positive functioning in general. Survivors’ style of coping with trauma might influence later adjustment. With a sample of …

Sensory Processing Impacts On Sleep Patterns In Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Julianne M. Myers

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020 introduced a sudden disruption to the people’s daily routines, including changes to sleep schedules and, thus, sleep quality. Generally, children with developmental disabilities (DD), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), experience higher levels of sleep difficulties compared to typically developing youth. These sleep difficulties have been linked to social and emotional abilities, cognitive development, and adaptive functioning. One component found to impact sleep behaviors is sensory processing differences. Individuals with ASD and other DDs exhibit greater levels of these sensory concerns. The current study sought to understand how the sleep behaviors of ASD and …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Secondary Victimization And Resiliency Following Sexual Assault, Elena Cantorna

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Many individuals report negative experiences with the court system after experiencing a sexual assault (i.e., secondary victimization) and this leads to a belief that they are unable to cope with future stressors (i.e., resiliency). Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted individual’s lives and their overall well-being. In this dissertation, I examined a model predicting resiliency appraisals from positive experiences with the legal system, mediated by COVID-19 weekly metric case rate and the number of COVID-19 vaccines administered. Participants were 18 years and older, self-identified cis females, and were clients of a local legal advocacy clinic (N = 94) following …

Parental Attachment And Compassion As Predictors Of Distress Disclosure Among Young Adults, Ellie N. Wilde

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Distress disclosure is associated with perceived social support, so it is important to understand what supports our ability to disclose distress. This study examined relationships between distress disclosure, fear of others’ compassion, parental attachment, self-compassion, and perceived social support among young adults. I expected young adults with stronger parental attachment security to report greater capacity for distress disclosure and that this relationship would be mediated by fear of others’ compassion. I expected trait self-compassion to moderate relationships between these variables on all paths of the mediation, such that higher self-compassion would reduce the adverse impact of insecure parental attachment on …

Ableist Microaggressions And Well-Being: Investigating The Moderating Effect Of Coping Strategies, Whitney Morean

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Purpose/Objective: In prior research, ableist microaggressions have previously correlated with higher depressive symptoms in samples of members of the disability community. Since well-being is more than merely the absence of distressing mental health symptoms; the present study examines the relationship between ableist microaggressions and well-being and whether different coping strategies moderate the relationship. Research Method/Design: Adults (N = 132) who self-identified as having a disability or chronic health condition that significantly impacts one or more major life activities, were recruited online to complete a survey. Measures of well-being, ableist microaggressions, coping, and depression symptoms were administered via an online …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Telehealth Mindful Parenting Training On Executive Function In Autistic Children And Their Parents, Vanessa Zhou

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This randomized controlled trial study explored the effect of telehealth mindful parenting group intervention on executive function in autistic children and their parents. Participants included 83 caregivers (29-54 years) of autistic children (5-18 years) in the United States who were randomized into either the immediate (n = 40) or waitlist-control group (n = 43). Of the participants randomized, 55 caregivers (immediate = 33; waitlist = 22) followed the protocol and were included in the primary analysis. Caregivers in the sample (mean age of 42.97 years) were mostly white (73%), married (76%), female (80%), biological mothers (67%), from Washington …

School Related Criminal Acts, Interpersonal Problems, And Classroom Behaviors As A Function Of The Proportion Of Black Students And Black Teachers, Leanne Zaire

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to investigate school-level behavioral outcomes in relation to the proportion of Black teachers and students in U.S. schools. Negative school outcome and academic achievement gaps are well-documented. However, many of these studies utilized small, localized populations; my research used national data and focused on the problem behaviors in school. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, I hypothesized that a greater proportion of Black teachers would reduce school student problems and negative behaviors (e.g., student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms). After receiving a restricted-use license, I utilized data from 25,818 schools from the National Teacher …

Relations Of Eeg And Perceived Response To Methylphenidate Among Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Tara M. Rutter

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Methylphenidate (MPH) is a common stimulant medication that has demonstrated efficacy in treatment among individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as those with co-occurring oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms (Connor et al., 2002, Cortese et al., 2018). However, there are currently no known reliable markers to predict response to MPH (Kim et al., 2015) and current approaches rely on trial-and-error by patients. Electroencephalographic (EEG) methods show promise as one tool to identify and predict MPH response. The current study examined relations between EEG frequencies and perceived response to MPH across both ADHD and ODD symptoms utilizing caregiver …

The Role Of Coping Self-Efficacy, Coping Strategies, And Resiliency Following Sexual Assault, Lauren Hirsch

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Sexual assault is a pervasive problem in the United States that effects people of all genders and sexualities. Due to fears of negative consequences, many victims of sexual assault do not legally prosecute the perpetrator. Those who do risk experiencing secondary victimization. The use of legal advocates during prosecution can help to guide individuals through the legal process and add a layer of social support that can minimize feelings of secondary victimization and help increase resilience in the victims. In this dissertation I examined a model predicting resilience from coping self-efficacy, mediated by four coping strategies. Participants were at least …

Integrative Meaning, Mindfulness, And Traumatic Grief Among Bereaved Adults, Brandy Tidwell

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Traumatic Grief (TG) entails clinically significant expressions of grief and posttraumatic stress following bereavement. TG experiences are more likely following violent, sudden, or accidental losses, which has been largely explained by integrative meaning-making processes. In this study, I aimed to explore relationships between integrative meaning, mindfulness, and TG among a sample of adults (N = 237) bereaved by various circumstances. First, I sought to contribute to findings regarding the negative association between integrative meaning and TG experiences by investigating whether this relationship persists among individuals bereaved by varied circumstances. Second, I sought to explore the role of mindfulness in …

Parental Accommodation As A Mediator Of Parenting Style On Changes In Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptoms, Jennifer Cataldi

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often a debilitating psychiatric condition. Despite the established efficacy of exposure and response prevention (E/RP) alone or in conjunction with serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication, up to half of youth with OCD do not experience symptom remission or return to baseline functioning after either treatment. Family accommodation (i.e., accommodating compulsive behaviors) is one factor associated with poor E/RP response, but less is known about how parent factors might predict response to E/RP via accommodation. The current study is the first to examine how parenting styles predict accommodation and subsequent E/RP response, specifically in an intensive outpatient …

Attachment, Trait Mindfulness, And Expectations In Married Women: A Moderated Mediation Model, Elizabeth Larson

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Historically, the term marital satisfaction has been used to describe the subjective quality of marriage; however, some researchers have proposed that marital satisfaction as a construct overlooks fundamental relational components that could elucidate a more precise portrayal of marital functioning. Utilizing archival data, I examined individual differences in attachment orientation and trait mindfulness predicting marital expectations, a process that informs marital satisfaction. Using a moderated mediation model, I hypothesized that (a) attachment avoidance would negatively predict marital expectations, (b) trait mindfulness would mediate the relationship between attachment avoidance and marital expectations, (c) attachment anxiety would moderate the relationship between attachment …

Psychometrics Of A Measure Of Sexual Assault Coping Self-Efficacy: A Comparison Of Across Age Groups, Thomas Pankau

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Sexual assault affects people of all ages and is associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Coping self-efficacy (CSE) refers to how capable an individual feels they are able to handle stressors, including sexual assault, and it is a strong predictor of psychosocial outcomes. This dissertation assessed the psychometrics of the Sexual Assault Coping Self-Efficacy Measure (SACSEM), an instrument developed to measure sexual assault CSE across different age groups. Since the majority of research has focused on CSE following sexual assault in adults, I examined CSE across groups of adolescents, emerging adults, and adults (N = …

How Social Support Affects Career Adaptability Through The Academic Career, Megan Fox

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Emerging adulthood is a developmental period where individuals begin to learn about themselves, their interests and abilities, and begin to lay foundations for their adult occupations (Arnett, 2014). During this life stage, individuals are faced with increased challenges that they must navigate in order to launch into adulthood. Career adaptability refers to the ability for an individual to cope with these expected and unexpected challenges including career tasks, transitions, and traumas (Savickas, 2013). It has been shown that supportive networks can help individuals navigate these and move into a more successful career (Len, Hackett, and Brown, 1999; Creed et al., …

School Violence And Suicidal Ideation: The Mediating Roles Of Perceived School Safety And Substance Use Among Adolescents, Jordan Skalisky

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Substance use and suicidal ideation are prevalent among adolescents. An adolescent’s school environment, such as threatening or violence-related experiences at school, may influence their perceived sense of safety, thus influencing their substance use and potentially increasing suicidal ideation. The current study examined the mediating roles of perceived school safety and substance use (alcohol use, binge alcohol use, cannabis use, and vaping) on the relationship between experienced weapon threat/violence at school and suicidal ideation. Data was used from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey and participants were 13206 adolescents attending high school in the United States. Preliminary analyses indicated significant …

Shame Proneness As A Vulnerability Factor For Negative Emotions In The Context Of Interpersonal Stressors: An Experience Sampling Study, Oxana L. Stebbins

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Shame proneness is associated with psychopathology and may serve as a risk factor for experiencing distressing emotions at subclinical and clinical levels across diagnoses. Additionally, shame-prone individuals may have increased sensitivity toward interpersonal stressors and negative shifts in self-evaluations. However, little to no research has examined shame proneness as a prospective risk factor for distressed moods following interpersonal stressors using experience sampling methods. Furthermore, disagreement on theories of shame make it difficult to achieve consistent results in the literature. The purpose of this study was to assess whether shame proneness acts as a risk factor for distressed moods in the …

Posttraumatic Cognitions As A Pathway From Resilience To Sleep In First Responders, Emily Peterman Cabano

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Abstract

First responders experience repeated trauma exposure within a unique environment that subjects them to multiple personal and professional stressors, discourages vulnerability, and disrupts sleep (Chamberlin & Green, 2010; Vargas de Barros et al., 2013). First responders have been shown to have higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as more frequent negative effects of their symptoms including adverse effects on their personal and professional functioning (Cheng et al., 2018; Gayton & Lovell, 2012). While first responders face significant risks to their mental health in the line of duty, there is insufficient population-specific research focused on these unique risks, …

Predicting First Responder Resilience: Investigating The Indirect Effect Of Posttraumatic Cognitions Through Coping Processes, Michael Dolezal

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Psychological resilience, or one’s ability to return to their baseline biopsychosocialspiritual homeostasis following a stressor or potentially traumatic event (PTE), is protective against psychological distress and symptom presentations such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet little is known about what psychosocial factors influence resilience. Building upon theories of resilience, coping, and posttraumatic cognitions, this study investigated the indirect pathway from posttraumatic cognitions to resilience through coping processes among a sample of N = 117 first responders. Path analysis was used to test the parallel indirect effect model. Results from the path analysis suggested that only the hypothesized indirect effect from …

Investigating The Effects Of Endurance Of Marriage On The Relationship Between Attachment And Love Style, Melissa Caris

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Married individuals, like all other adults use the attachment styles they developed in childhood as part of their framework for how they experience loving relationships. Love can be experienced as commitment, passion, or intimacy or any combination of those styles. The degree of attachment related anxiety or avoidance a married person has can influence how they perceive the experience of different love styles in their close relationships. The present study aimed to evaluate how attachment style influences love style in a sample of married adults (N= 248). Participants ranged in age from 23 to 69 (M=38.6) …

Development Of The Sexual Shame Inventory, Jyssica Seebeck

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Researchers have speculated about the existence of sexual shame, both theoretically and clinically. It has been suggested that sexual shame is maladaptive and influences implications and treatment for shame. However, no valid measure existed to assess these claims. As such, I designed and tested the Sexual Shame Inventory (SSI)– a measure that assesses the domain-specific construct of sexual shame. An initial pool of 35 items were informed through a deductive approach. The scale was completed by a sample of individuals 18 years and older (N = 281). The majority of the sample identified as female, white, heterosexual, and married …

Detachment And Antagonism As Moderators Of Effects Of Psychosocial Stressors On Emotional Distress In Daily Life, Christina My Quach

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Psychological distress encompasses transdiagnostic symptoms of anxiety, depression, and anger, which all feature of emotional dysregulation and are often associated with interpersonal stressors. To understand these forms of distress as they occur in daily life, examination of both personality vulnerabilities and social situational context is needed. Interpersonal circumplex research and theory suggests human needs for agency and communion, and therefore others’ cold-dominant behavior is highly aversive and likely to cause psychosocial distress, but degree and type of distress (e.g., anxiety versus anger) may depend upon personality. Detachment and antagonism are the most interpersonal of the pathological personality traits (Southard et …

An Examination Of The Role Of Interpersonal Stressors And Attachment Style In Dissociative Experiences, Erin Verdi

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Dissociation is an involuntary stress response that has been linked to negative cognitive, emotional, and physical symptoms. Interpersonal stressors are associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes above and beyond stressors that are not interpersonal in nature, and therefore may be relevant to dissociation. Additionally, attachment anxiety or avoidance (i.e., insecure attachment) may put individuals at risk for dissociation in response to social stressors and might moderate their responses. However, extant studies have yet to investigate the relationship between daily interpersonal stressors and dissociation in the context of attachment anxiety and avoidance longitudinally, despite evidence that dissociation and attachment …

Moderation Of Effects Of Anxiety On Verbal And Visuospatial Short-Term Memory In Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rachael Arowolo

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit developmental differences in a number of domains, including memory. Short-term memory (STM) has been studied in children with ASD but the findings have been mixed. Children with ASD are also at increased risk of developing an anxiety disorder. Anxiety has been found to impact short-term (STM) and other cognitive functions in typically developing children. Limited research suggests that trait anxiety is associated with poorer STM in school-aged children with ASD. Given that STM develops throughout early childhood, understanding the impact of anxiety in younger children with ASD may be beneficial in providing the …

Parent Emotion Coaching And Affect Recognition In Theory Of Mind In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Audrey L. O'Connor

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with deficits in social communication and social interaction, as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities. Theory of Mind (ToM) has been identified as a key factor in social development in both typically developing (TD) children and children with ASD. One proposed explanation for the deficits in social development characteristic in ASD is that deficits in ToM, particularly the ability to infer the mental states of self and others, results in impairments in social development. Researchers have found that affect recognition is a precursor in the development of ToM which occurs …

Generalized Anxiety Symptoms And Interpersonal Self-Perceptions During Stressors: A Prospective Examination Of Psychological And Biological Stress, Jamie A. Lewis

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms endorse negative emotionality, psychosocial dysfunction, and biological dysregulation. Interpersonal dominance and affiliation have also been linked to GAD symptoms. Little research has examined individuals with GAD symptoms in terms of naturalistic stressors and chronic use of interpersonal behaviors. GAD symptoms, as well as lower dominance and affiliation, have been linked to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) dysregulation. However, no studies have examined the unique and interacting contributions of GAD symptoms and interpersonal processes to chronic cortisol levels and distress. College students completed baseline measures of GAD symptoms, measures of interpersonal self-perceptions and distress for five weeks, …

Posttraumatic Growth In The Context Of Grief: Testing The Mindfulness-To-Meaning Theory, Honey Williams

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The current study utilized a cross-sectional survey design to examine the role of mindfulness and meaning-making in the development of posttraumatic growth following the death of a loved one. Participants were 232 adults (77.2% female, 85% Caucasian), ages 18 to 67 years old (M = 35.7, SD = 12.5) who had experienced the death of a loved one in the last 10 years. Preliminary analysis indicated significant positive bivariate correlations between mindfulness and meaning making (r = .39 ) and mindfulness and posttraumatic growth (r = .20 ), as well significant negative bivariate correlations between mindfulness and …

An Integrated Analysis Of The Mechanisms By Which Parents Facilitate The Development Of Emotion Regulation In Young Adolescents, Andrew Fox

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Effective emotion regulation strategies are associated with adaptive outcomes in youth. While previous research has established parental socialization of emotion regulation as an important predictor of adaptive outcomes, the mechanisms by which parents contribute to young adolescents’ emotion regulation outcomes is poorly understood. The current study examined pathways between parenting style, parental socialization of emotion regulation practices, and adolescent negative affectivity to emotion regulation outcomes in adolescents cross-sectionally and prospectively over the course of a year. Participants were 150 young adolescents ages to 10 to 14 (M_age = 13.03, SD_age = .90; 51.33% female) and their parent/legal …

Trauma Exposure, Depressive Symptoms, And Responding To Positive Events And Affect In Young Adults, Jana Desimone Wozniak

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The relationship between trauma exposure and responding to positive affect and events is unclear. Depression may co-occur with trauma exposure, and may also independently predict responding to positive affect and events. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between trauma exposure, depressive symptoms, and responding to positive affect and positive life events among young adults. Participants were 277 (84.8% female, 56.3% Caucasian) undergraduates ages 18-39 (M = 19.67, SD = 2.22). At baseline, ANCOVAs were used to examine the relationships between trauma exposed/non-trauma exposed groups, as well as high/low depressive symptom groups, on responding to positive …

The Costs Of Covid-19: Loneliness, Coping, And Psychological Distress In The United States Population, Lauren Hammond

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The first reported cases of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) occurred in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, with the World Health Organization officially declaring the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic in March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a significant public health challenge, an important part of which is the effects of the outbreak and related efforts to contain the outbreak (e.g., social distancing) on mental health. As such, the current study sought to better understand the psychological impact of the outbreak on the United States population. Participants were 2,284 individuals (78.7% female, 78.7% Caucasian) 18 years of age and older. …