Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Aberrant Salience And Probabilistic Reasoning In Distressing Attenuated Positive Psychotic Symptoms: An Examination Of A Two Factor Model, Huw Green

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Theoretical psychological models of positive psychotic symptoms have increasingly emphasized the interaction of multiple cognitive factors. Research into delusions in particular has focused on the interaction of two factors; a perceptual anomaly that gives rise to a need for explanation, and a bias toward premature acceptance of a hypothesis. Recently this two factor approach has been applied to positive psychotic symptoms more broadly. Two candidate factors have received extensive theoretical and empirical interest. The aberrant salience hypothesis posits that salience regulation, mediated by dopamine, goes awry in psychosis, giving rise to a generalized sense of undue significance that is applied …

Dreams And The Maternal Imaginary: From Nostalgic Intersubjectivity To Mourning, Julie Ackerman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation concerns the history of psychoanalytic thinking about dreams. It is about both the psychic function of dreams and their theoretical function, or the function that they have served within psychoanalytic discourse. It begins with a consideration of the significance of the dream in classical thinking, where it was conceptualized as a psychic emergence in the context of maternal absence. It traces the way in which the rise of object relational paradigms led to the reconceptualization of the dream in relation to the presence of the maternal mind rather than the absence of the maternal body. It describes how …

Are You With Me? The Impact Of Losing A Conversation Partner’S Attention To A Mobile Device, Zachary A. Geller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the impact of a cell phone interruption on participants’ emotional experience during a conversation, using the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (Murray, 1943) as a measurement instrument. The study explored whether or not, after losing their conversation partner’s attention to a cell phone, subjects would: tell stories reflecting less adaptive representations of relationships with oneself and others, as measured using a social cognition and object relations rating, SCORS (Stein et al, 2011); tell stories containing more negative emotional words, as measured using a linguistic inquiry software, LIWC (Pennebaker, 2001); and tell stories containing fewer words total.

Methods: …

The Contributions Of Child And Romantic Attachment To Sleep Quality, Karen Estefane

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Little is known about the relation between attachment and sleep, although both develop around the first year of life and mutually influence each other. Furthermore, attachment styles and dimensions have been associated with sleep difficulties in both childhood and adulthood. However, these findings have not been consistent, especially among dismissing individuals. In addition, the specific contributions of both child and romantic attachment to sleep quality have not been investigated thus far. This cross-sectional study aims to examine the ways child and romantic attachment are associated with sleep quality. A sample of 671 heterosexual residents of the United States, aged 18 …

Psychoanalysis And Modernity: A Failure To Find Relief From Existential Terror, Erin Liat Claridge

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project considers the ways in which culture—the symbols and institutions that guide behavior and provide meaning to the individuals living within a community—serves a defensive function against conscious awareness of existential terror. The term existential terror refers to the cognitive and emotional experience of recognizing the inevitability of death, which is often accompanied by feelings of angst, isolation from others, and awareness of meaninglessness. In this dissertation, I will argue that the broad shift from traditional culture based on Judeo-Christian religious beliefs and communal forms of social life to modernity represents a slow but destabilizing deterioration of the defensive …

Criminal Responsibility: Meta-Analysis And Study Space, Lauren E. Kois

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Criminal responsibility (CR; i.e., sanity) has garnered significant research attention over the years. While some variables predicting insanity outcomes are consistent, others are not. Study-level characteristics, such as sample selection, variability in the operational definition of insanity, or other unknown influences may explain discrepant findings. It is critical to consolidate these variables and systematically assess differences in methodology to understand the state of the literature and to guide future research. As such, I conducted the first meta-analysis and study space analysis (see Malpass et al., 2008) in this area. Only 16 studies met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Summary effects …

Spatial-Relational Learning And Memory Deficits Associated With Nmdar Autoantibodies In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Brittany L. Bascetta

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Individuals with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) experience inflammation that may target any organ within the body, including the central and peripheral nervous systems. Additionally, these individuals often demonstrate psychological dysfunctions including emotional and cognitive deficits; however, research is inconsistent as to the nature and cause of these dysfunctions. While there are multiple factors that may increase risk for variability in cognitive function, such as population differences, socioeconomic status (SES), mood disorders (depression and anxiety), medication effects, and disease activity, these factors do not reliably predict the severity and extent of cognitive deficits. A growing body of animal research associates autoantibodies …

Who Am I To You? Using Function Words As A Measure Of Transference, Jon William P. Lentz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a gap in our understanding of transference resolution as an aspect of therapeutic process and its relation to observable changes in language. My hypotheses can contribute to this area by identifying whether there are detectible changes in pronoun use in a psychoanalysis that are related to the resolution of transference. Data: The de-identified transcripts of a young agoraphobic housewife in a four time a week then two time a week psychoanalysis from the 1970s. Method: The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software will be used to measure structural changes in language that may reflect intrapsychic changes in the …

Words Of Change: How Linguistic Shifts Over The Course Of A Short-Term Exposure Therapy Represent Movement Towards Psychological Health, Zachary A. Kahn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Exposure therapy is currently considered the “gold standard” in treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Though exposure therapy has been increasingly used and studied as an intervention for PTSD in recent years, little is known about the mechanisms of change in this type of treatment. The Trauma and Addiction Project at the City College of New York ran a clinical research trial for individuals with co-morbid PTSD and Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). Participants randomized into the experimental group, Concurrent Treatment with Prolonged Exposure (COPE), participated in a twelve-session therapeutic intervention that combined exposure therapy focused on the participant’s primary trauma with …

My Mother Needs Me! Is It Possible To Stay Connected While Being My Own Person? The Object Relations Of The Latina “Dutiful Daughter”, Juliana Martinez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Latinas are culturally expected to be “dutiful daughters” establishing strong attachments and adhering to the traditional values characterized by loyalty, cooperation, respect and interdependence within family members. Conventional Latina mother-daughter bonds, therefore, are expected to be exceptionally close. Healthy mother-daughter closeness can be a valuable source of support while closeness without differentiation from the mother may result in a lack of independence and poor interpersonal and personal growth. Mutuality of autonomy, a dimension of object relations (OR) theory, focuses on the progression of separation – individuation from developmentally normative fused representations in infancy to highly differentiated self-other representations as …

Social Cognitive Processes In The Priming Of Mental Illness Stereotypes By The Media, Ginny Chan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In high-profile violent incidents, there appears to be a disproportionate focus on the perpetrator’s mental health status in relation to the incident (Angermeyer & Matschinger, 1996). Several studies have highlighted the biased nature of the media in reporting news on mental illness and its negative impact on general consensus (Corrigan et al., 2013; Wahl, 1992, 2003). Researchers have also suggested that the media is a significant source of knowledge for the public (Jorm, 2000; Wahl, 2003). Based on a social cognitive perspective, pragmatic inference and stereotype priming provide a framework to understand the reader’s comprehension. The current studies aimed to …

Observational Assessment Of Empathy In Parent-Child Verbal Exchanges And Their Influence On Child Behavior, Patty Carambot

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Empathy, the ability to both experientially share in and understand others’ thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, is vital for human adaptation. Deficits in empathy development have implications across the lifespan for the development of prosocial behavior, social functioning, mental health disorders, and risk for antisocial behavior (e.g., Guajardo, Snyder, & Petersen, 2009; Moreno, Klute & Robinson, 2008). In light of these societal and individual burdens, it is imperative to foster and strengthen the development of this ability early in life to prevent or ameliorate such negative outcomes. This type of prevention can take a variety of forms, but parent and child …

Possible Underlying Mechanisms Of Hyperactivity In Children With Adhd, Nicole Feirsen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Conceptualizations of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have evolved significantly over the years. Historically, early conceptualizations of ADHD described hyperactivity as the core symptom of the disorder. However, when the third version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was published (1980), hyperactivity became a specific qualifier of the disorder and was no longer necessary for a diagnosis. Despite this shift in conceptualization of the disorder, there is an abundance of empirical evidence, both recent and historical, supporting the fact that hyperactivity is an enduring and clinically impairing symptom domain in ADHD. Despite having numerous validated instruments available to …

Traumatic Stress, World Assumptions, And Law Enforcement Officers, Douglas William Green

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study examined the presence of traumatic stress reaction symptoms among active law enforcement officers, and the relationship between potentially traumatic work related experiences, officers’ cognitive views of the world, and the expression of those symptoms. The range of police roles and responsibilities arguably subjects officers to a greater variety of potentially traumatizing experiences than any other population, and the literature reflects that police officers express traumatic stress related symptoms at a greater rate than the general population. This study differs from previous work in that it utilizes snowball sampling to anonymously identify officers willing to participate without involving …

Masculine Identities Among Asian American Men: Negotiating Varying Masculine Ideals For The Self And Others, Elisa J. Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The study examined the implications of varying masculine identities for Asian American men of East Asian descent. The study tested the hypotheses that compared to White men, Asian American men would endorse lower levels of Western hegemonic masculine ideals, see themselves as less masculine in terms of those ideals, and report lower levels of believing others perceive them as masculine by Western hegemonic standards. It also examined if the type of masculinity Asian American men endorsed moderated the psychological functioning (gender role conflict, psychological distress, and substance use) related to any discrepancies and synchronicities between self-perception and others’ perception (e.g. …

Examining Relationships Between Basic Emotion Perception And Musical Training In The Prosodic, Facial, And Lexical Channels Of Communication And In Music, Jamie Twaite

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has suggested that intensive musical training may result in transfer effects from musical to non-musical domains. There is considerable research on perceptual and cognitive transfer effects associated with music, but, comparatively, fewer studies examined relationships between musical training and emotion processing. Preliminary findings, though equivocal, suggested that musical training is associated with enhanced perception of emotional prosody, consistent with a growing body of research demonstrating relationships between music and speech. In addition, few studies directly examined the relationship between musical training and the perception of emotions expressed in music, and no studies directly evaluated this relationship in the facial …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Supervision On Trauma Training Outcomes For Assertive Community Treatment Teams, Sacha Zilkha

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Most individuals receiving mental health care do not have access to evidence-based psychological treatments, regardless of psychological disorder. Despite the development of effective evidence based treatments and available training, clinician uptake and adherence to such treatments has been low. In this study, the effectiveness of a trauma treatment training model was evaluated through a quasi-experimental design to better inform and address the gap between the existence of evidence based care and lack of evidence based treatment options available in the community. Specifically, data from 23 Assertive Community Treatment Teams in NYC that underwent a 1-day ICBT training along with 12-month …

Emotion Regulation In Relation To Cognitive Functioning In The Preclinical Stages Of Dementia, Erica P. Meltzer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Emotion regulation (ER) is essential for effective functioning in daily life. Research suggests that ER improves in older adulthood despite concomitant declines in cognition and the presumed neural substrates of ER. The current understanding of ER in older adulthood, and particularly of the relationship between ER and cognition in older adulthood, is limited. This is likely because the construct of ER is challenging to operationalize and, therefore, difficult to study.

The current study investigates ER in relation to cognitive functioning, specifically executive functioning and memory, in individuals with varying degrees of cognitive difficulties (i.e., in the preclinical stages of dementia). …

The Remembrance Of Things Past: Does Self-Report Moderate The Impact Of Childhood Sexual Abuse On Long-Term Psychiatric Consequences?, Christina N. Massey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has shown that the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and psychiatric symptoms is quite varied, with some victims experiencing severe and lasting symptoms and others appearing well-adjusted. Disclosure of childhood sexual abuse has been associated with reduced psychiatric symptoms. Thus, the current study sought to examine the potential moderating effects of disclosure. It was hypothesized that disclosure of childhood maltreatment would be associated with fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and alcohol- and drug-related disorders and that this relationship between disclosure and psychiatric symptoms would remain consistent over time. In addition, it was hypothesized that the moderating effects …

Role Of Humor In Emotion Regulation: Differential Effects Of Adaptive And Maladaptive Forms Of Humor, Lindsay Mathews

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Humor is widely believed to be an adaptive method of regulating emotions; however, the empirical literature remains inconclusive. One potential explanation for inconsistent results is that humor may be a multidimensional construct. Correlational research suggests that “adaptive” humor styles (Self-Enhancing and Affiliative) are more beneficial than “maladaptive” humor styles (Self-Defeating and Aggressive). The current study examined the effects of humor styles on positive and negative emotion in a sample of 146 young adults. In Part I of the study, participants were 1) randomly assigned to three conditions (adaptive humor, maladaptive humor, and distraction), 2) instructed to write about life events …

Real Gender: Identity, Loss, And The Capacity To Feel Real, Hannah Wallerstein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project concerns gender and feeling real. It begins with a seeming paradox: on the one hand, since Judith Butler (1999; 2011) we can no longer think gender as ontological in any simple sense; on the other, clinical experience and the voices of transgender and gender-queer individuals shows gender to function on the order of reality, and one exceeding the social. In other words, if feeling real depended entirely on being read as such, how would we account for the many who pass easily as “real” men or women and yet feel unreal, or come to feel more real by …

Providing Care For Many In The Context Of Few Resources: Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout And Moral Distress Experienced By Healthcare Providers In Rural Uganda, Lauren Michelle Dewey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the context of the global nursing shortage, and particularly in low-resource settings, nurses are at an increased risk for work-related stress problems like secondary traumatic stress (STS), burnout, and moral distress. These three work-related mental health consequences, sometimes associated with absenteeism and intent to leave the profession, could potentially contribute further to the shortage of nurses. This two-part study is a longitudinal examination of the work-related mental health consequences experienced by healthcare providers in rural Uganda. In Study 1, participants (n=208; 159 students and 49 experienced health workers) completed self-report, psychosocial measures at baseline and 134 of the students …

Vocal Rhythm Coordination And Preterm Infants: Rhythms Of Dialogue In A High-Risk Nicu Sample, Adrianne E. Lange

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The contemporary bio-psycho-social view of mother-infant relationships holds that early interactions form the foundation of the growing infant’s sense of himself and the world. Prior to the development of linguistically-based communication, nonverbal communication patterns foster the infant’s socio-emotional growth, cognitive capacity and the development of optimal regulatory patterns. Preterm birth significantly alters the typical developmental trajectory on multiple levels and disrupts normal neurobiological and socio-emotional maturational processes, including those that build on early interpersonal experiences with caregivers. The current study of vocal rhythm coordination in preterm mother-infant dyads is the first of its kind. Aspects of infant prematurity (degree of …

Early Relational Experiences And Poor Psychological And Social Outcomes As Mediated By Internalized Heterosexism In Sexual Minority Women: Illustration Of A Theoretical Model, Katharine Williams

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has indicated that LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) individuals are at elevated risk for psychopathology when compared with their heterosexual peers, a finding that was highlighted in the Institute of Medicine’s report on The Health of LGBT People (Cochran & Mays, 2000; Cochran et al., 2003; IOM, 2011; King et al., 2008). Sexual minorities and sexual minority couples also have been found to have greater romantic relationship difficulties than heterosexual peers (Balsam & Szymanski, 2005; Frost & Meyer, 2009; Mays, Cochran, & Roeder, 2003; Meyer & Dean, 1998; Otis et al., 2006; Spencer & Brown, 2007). Therefore, this study targeted …

Investigating The Construct Of Psychopathy In Lebanese And American Adults, Marie-Anne Issa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Psychopathy has been primarily investigated in forensic and psychiatric populations in North America. Cross-cultural studies, mainly conducted in Europe, have shown disparities in psychopathy scores and the measures’ psychometric properties, which raise the issue of cultural factors, such as individualism-collectivism, values, and different ways of emotional expression, and the impact of these cultural factors on the construct and its manifestation. Psychopathy has been rarely explored in Arab populations. This dissertation examines the construct of psychopathy among Lebanese adults, to assess its meaning, relevance, and utility among this population and compares the responses of Lebanese to American adults. The design of …

Perceptions Of Money: Relationships Between Remembered Parental Rejection, Extrinsic Life Aspirations And Maladaptive Attitudes Toward Money, Rebecca J. Smith

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the extent to which maternal rejection, paternal rejection, maternal care, and maternal overprotection predict extrinsic life aspirations as well as maladaptive money attitudes in young adults. Additionally, this study sought to determine if the Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire correlates with the Parental Bonding Instrument. The variable, extrinsic life aspirations, was examined to determine if it mediates between parental rejection and maladaptive money attitudes. Finally, the present study examined gender differences with regard to parental rejection, extrinsic life aspirations, and maladaptive money attitudes. A multiple regression analysis was conducted in a college sample of 366 participants using self-report …

Feminine Ideology, Relational Self-Concept, And Internalizing Symptoms In Women, Anjali George

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Investigators have theorized that women may experience internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety more frequently than men in part because of unique socialization processes that women undergo. One aspect of early socialization thought to contribute to women’s propensity for depression and anxiety is the way women are brought up to relate to themselves in relation to others, often placing greater importance on the needs, desires, and value of others, at times at a psychological cost to themselves. This study attempts to elucidate the relationship between gender socialization, relational self-concept, and internalizing symptoms in women.

Methods: Two hundred and …

Maternal History Of Neglect, Mind-Mindedness, And The Cycle Of Neglect, Karin N. Belser

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although links between history of maltreatment, attachment security, and maltreatment perpetration have been established, support for the intergenerational cycle of maltreatment remains weak due to definitional and methodological issues. In addition, less severe forms of child neglect that do not result in Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement have not been extensively studied. In order to expand our understanding of the cycle of neglect, the present study examined a model linking maternal mind-mindedness, maternal history of neglect, subthreshold neglect and child outcomes (physical, socioemotional, and intellectual).

Methods. The study participants were 96 mother-child dyads assessed at child ages of 4, 8, …

Boundaries And Belonging: Asian America, Psychology, And Psychoanalysis, Natalie C. Hung

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation addresses a vexing problem. In psychology and psychoanalysis, Asian Americans are more often understood as a collective Other than as individual Selves, more frequently an object of study than a subject. Through two overarching aims, my dissertation sheds light on neglected aspects of Asian American selves, the meanings of the invisibility surrounding them, and implications for clinical practice.

First, the project challenges extant psychological perspectives on Asian Americans, which often implicitly assume a wide gulf of difference between Asian American cultural values and the Western epistemologies of psychology and psychoanalysis. Through the examination of academic research, clinical literature, …

An Exploration Of The Paradox Of Bisexuality In Women: The Dawn Research Study, Anna Levy-Warren

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research on lesbian, gay and bisexual populations has reported higher levels of emotional distress among bisexual adults than their gay and lesbian peers. Findings also demonstrate substantial variability in distress levels within populations of bisexual adults. Little research has examined reasons for this variability. Theoretical explanations for distress among bisexuals include foundations in Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Minority Stress Theory, though these theories have not addressed the variability across outcomes. The current study proposes a new theoretical model to explain variability in levels of distress across bisexual women. According to this theory, levels of psychological distress in bisexual women are …