Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Water Intake And Adherence To Clear Fluid Goals In Children Receiving Treatment For Encopresis, Elizabeth Shannon Kuhl

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A six-session group intervention for treatment of retentive encopresis designed by Stark and colleagues yields high adherence for fiber (Stark et al., 1990a; Stark et al., 1997), but not fluid (Kuhl et al., 2009), recommendations. Children may also rely heavily on drinking juice to meet their clear fluid targets (Kuhl et al., 2009). This study examined the effectiveness of an enhanced intervention (EI) in improving children’s fluid goal adherence and modifying their daily fluid intake to include more water and less juice.

Data for 19 children who completed treatment previously served as the Non-Enhanced Intervention (NEI), and 18 children completed …

Acceptability Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Jacqueline Mezza Titus

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The behaviors associated with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and other disruptive behavior disorders constitute the most common reason for referral of young children to mental health services (Schuhmann, Durning, Eyberg, & Boggs, 1996). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is an empirically supported treatment for such disorders. However, families are frequently unable to maximize their use of such treatments. Barriers to treatment participation prevent families from entering or staying in treatment. While most of the treatment effectiveness research has been conducted with Caucasian families, African American families and Caucasian families experience these barriers to different degrees, resulting in varying treatment adherence and unclear treatment …

Qualitative Study Of Trauma Outcomes Among Acehnese Tsunami Survivors, Amrit Kaur

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study uses qualitative methods to understand trauma from an indigenous perspective and to assess the validity of the DSM-IV (APA, 2000) diagnosis PTSD and depression in a remote Asian population. Twelve individuals were interviewed about their post-tsunami difficulties in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Contrary to our expectations, participants reported significant numbers of almost all DSM-IV-TR symptoms of PTSD and depression. Although the expressions of illness symptoms were colored by the local language and customs, participants reported few symptoms that could be seen as unique to this culture. These finding suggest that Western developed DSM-IV-TR symptomatology may be largely …

Factors Related To Formal And Informal Help-Seeking For Perinatal Depressive Symptoms, Erin Henshaw

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Effective treatment for maternal depression improves overall maternal functioning and prevents the negative infant outcomes associated with maternal depression (Verduyn et al., 2003). Despite the clear benefits associated with treatment for perinatal depression, less than one third of depressed women seek any form of treatment (Flynn et al, 2006). The Health Belief Model (HBM) has received some support for other health-promoting behaviors, but its relevance for explaining mental health help-seeking has not been adequately tested. This study adds to the literature by simultaneously providing a more comprehensive and adequate test of the HBM in predicting mental health treatment for depression …

Adolescent Adherence To Orthopedic Brace Wear: A Behavioral Assessment Of High Risk Factors, Teresa J. Lynch

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

An important challenge physicians encounter when treating adolescent patients with moderate scoliotic curves is that the adolescents may not wear the brace as prescribed or long enough for the brace to be effective. The present investigation used electronic monitoring and temperature probes to investigate whether the adolescents were wearing their brace during events identified using a modified Daily Reconstruction Method for six randomly selected days over a 14-day period. It was hypothesized that environmental, interpersonal, and intrapersonal variables during the events would be predictive of objective brace-wear across and within participants, and patterns of significant variables would differ from subjective …

An Exploration Of The Relationships Among Religious Orientation, Object Relations, And Positive Adjustment, Scott Robert Brown

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Many studies have found positive relationships between religion and mental health. This study explored the relationships between Religious Orientations, Positive Adjustment, and Object Relations. Intrinsics live by their religion, whereas Extrinsics use their religion for other ends (Allport & Ross, 1967), and Questers explore religion (Batson & Schoenrade, 1991a, 1991b). Positive Adjustment, a latent variable, consisted of Life Satisfaction (Pavot & Diener, 1993), Hope (Snyder, Harris, et al., 1991), Optimism (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994), and Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975b, 1982). Object Relations refers to an individual’s interpersonal dynamics and attachment style (Rizzuto, 1979; Winnicott, 1971) and were posited to play …

The Neuropsychological Endophenotype Of Specific Language Impairments And Autism Spectrum Disorders: Category Or Continuum?, Heather M. Anson

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The primary goal of this investigation was to illuminate variables of the specific language impairment (SLI) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) neuropsychological endophenotypes and to clarify the nature of overlap between SLI and ASD. Group differences in cognitive functioning, epidemiological factors including proband comorbidity and health problems, and familial data in 39 SLI children and 89 ASD children who presented for clinical evaluation at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit were examined by retrospective chart review.

Cognitive data revealed that ASD probands performed more poorly on tests of perceptual-motor functioning and had higher rates of pragmatic language deficits than SLI …

Modeling Eating Pathology: The Role Of Gender, Sociocultural, And Individual Factors, Lindsay T. King

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Eating pathology is an increasing problem in the United States and other Western countries. This study examined gender differences and specific known psychological correlates of eating pathology. Sociocultural variables, such as thin-ideal internalization, and individual factors, such as perfectionism and experiential avoidance, were also evaluated. A sample of 257 female and 165 male undergraduates (n = 423) completed a battery of surveys online. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to model the relationships among the variables. The results show that the best fitting model included perfectionism rather than thin-ideal internalization leading to body dissatisfaction. There is support for experiential …

The Impact Of Adolescent Social Anxiety On Adulthood Adjustment Among Sexually Abused Girls, Madeline Anne Rakow Ivanchenko

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant social problem that has gained increased recognition since the 1980s. The increased attention has led to a substantial body of research that documents both the high prevalence and pervasive effects of CSA. CSA is associated with a wide range of adulthood psychopathology, including major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, substance use, suicidal behavior, alterations in self-concept, and disruptions in interpersonal relatedness (Beichtman, Zucker, Hood, DaCosta & Cassavia, 1992; Browne & Finkelhor, 1986; Cole & Putnam, 1992; Polusny & Follette, 1995; Russell, 1986; Wilson, 2006). Sexually abused children are also at a higher …

Psychometric Properties And Factor Structure Of The Computerized Ptsd Scale -Multimedia Version Among Adult Samples Reporting Trauma, Shawn Thomas Mason

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Computerized PTSD Scale-Multimedia Version (CPS-M: Richard, Mayo, Bohn, Haynes, & lll Kolman, 1997), a self-administered adaptation of the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS: Blake, Weathers, Nagy, Kaloupek, Klauminzer, Charney, & Keane, 1990). The sample included 161 participants from both a veteran's hospital and from a large urban outpatient HMO system who reported a history of trauma. Indices of internal consistency reliability (i.e., inter-item correlations, item-scale correlations, coefficient alpha) and temporal stability fell in satisfactory ranges. To assess convergent and discriminant validity, correlations were calculated between the CPSM and the following instruments: Purdue PTSD …

Long-Distance Assessment Of High-Risk Sexual Behavior: A Comparative Analysis Of Postal, Telephone, Electronic Mail And Internet Administrations, Trevor Allen Grice

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

With the continuing improvement and development of technology, research methods have struggled to keep up with the changing times in terms of demonstrating the utility of newer technology. The development and continued improvement of the Internet presents an opportunity to explore the utility of this mode of administration for the assessment of these sensitive behaviors. This study examined the use of long-distance methods of high-risk sexual behavior assessment and compared the more traditional methods of mailed surveys and telephone interviews to newer and more technological methods of electronic mail and Internet.

Seven hundred and eighty participants were randomly assigned into …

The Expectancy-Value Theory Of Achievement Motivation And The Enumeration Of Possible Selves: Evidence For Outcomes During Emerging Adulthood, Janet M. Roberts

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation (Eccles, Adler, Futterman, Goff, Kaczala, et al., 1983; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) posits that an “individual’s choice, persistence, and performance can be explained by their beliefs about how well they will do on the activity and the extent to which they value the activity” (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000, p. 68). Related research has focused on the enumeration of possible selves and how one’s hoped-for and feared possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986) influence motivation and engagement in activities related to goal choices. Most studies of motivation and achievement have focused on children and adolescents …

Parental Attributions Concerning The Causes And Controllability Of Adolescent Depression, Joan E. Mcdowell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between parental attributions concerning adolescent depression and levels of negative expressed emotion (EE) within the home by breaking down attributional beliefs into two dimensions: the etiology of the disorder and the controllability of the symptoms. This study included 154 parents of adolescents who filled out an online survey. Participants were predominantly female and identified themselves as White/non-Hispanic. Among the teens, each gender was relatively well-represented. Mean age of respondents was 44.7, and mean age of the adolescents was 16.0. Of the entire sample, 101 were identified as the clinical …

The Influences Of Identities And Social Connectedness On Self-Objectification, Melissa Grey

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

According to objectification theory, girls and women are socialized to adopt an external observer’s view of the self. Self-objectification occurs when there is an emphasis on physical appearance and a de-emphasis and devaluation of internal and physical competence features, all of which have been related to negative psychological consequences. Trait self-objectification is chronic preoccupation with physical appearance that occurs with little or no environmental appearance cues. While self-objectification has been demonstrated in diverse samples, research suggests self-objectification is particularly prominent for women. This study investigated the relationships between different feminist and sexual identities and trait self-objectification. A sample of 187 …

Understanding The Experience Of Teenage Parents: An Empirical Examination Of Attitudes And Expectations Among Education Professionals, Janet Lynn Pietrowski

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Approximately 10% of all adolescents between 15-19 years old in the United States become pregnant, with about half of these pregnancies resulting in birth. Several variables have been correlated with long-term outcomes for teenage mothers, including poor academic achievement, lower occupational attainment, poor mental health, and socioeconomic hardship. Social support is one factor that moderates these outcomes. This study employed the use of written vignettes to examine differences in expectations for success (educational, economic, and psychological) that educational professionals have for teenage mothers and non-mother adolescents (N=145). Vignettes were varied according to levels of social support and parenting status, with …

The Contribution Of Self-Determination Theory To An Understanding Of Psychological Distress Among Young Adults: Mediation Of Practical Involvement And Autonomy Support By Autonomy, Controlled, And Impersonal Orientations, Bradley D. Rockafellow

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The concept of autonomy, as conceptualized by SDT researchers, in relationship to the development of psychopathology has received little empirical attention. According to Selfdetermination theory (SDT; Ryan, Deci, & Grolnick, 1995), if parents facilitate, rather than undermine, the critical parenting dimensions of autonomy support, involvement, and structure, then children will develop as psychologically healthy adults. In addition, SDT would also predict that based on these critical parenting dimensions, children will develop differential inner motivational orientations (i.e., autonomy, control, and impersonal) representing varying degrees of autonomy (i.e., self determined behavior), which in turn should predict psychological distress or health. To test …

An Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Retrospective Memory Accuracy In Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Andrew T. Gloster

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Numerous studies have demonstrated the pervasiveness of inaccuracies in patients’ retrospective recall of their symptoms (e.g., Stone, Broderick, Shiffman, & Schwartz, 2004). Assessment methods that rely heavily on retrospective recall may lead to faulty clinical inferences should a patient’s recall be biased or inaccurate. Despite lingering concerns about the accuracy of retrospective recall in a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations, investigators have not studied individuals diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is troubling given findings from laboratory studies that OCD patients may have deficits in episodic memory (Muller & Roberts, 2005). This study investigated memory accuracy in OCD patients …

Family Functioning And Coping Behaviors In Parents Of Children With Autism, Matthew J. Altiere

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

We looked at how a child with autism affects the dynamics and coping behaviors of a family. A majority of studies on families with a child with autism collect information from the mother but not the father. Therefore, this study examined the involvement of both parents from a family systems theory approach, which compares relationships among different familial variables, to determine the contributions of each individual to the developmental outcomes of the family unit. It was hypothesized that moderate levels of cohesion and adaptability would be associated with higher levels of positive coping mechanisms. Further, the more coping strategies implemented …

Attributions Others Assign To Depressed Individuals And Their Relationship To Severity Of Depressive Symptoms, Amount Of Contact, And Familiarity With Depressed Individuals, Joan E. Mcdowell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

While there has been valuable research critical for furthering our understanding of how an individual's social network affects recovery from depression, we need to know more about the interplay of other people's attributions and their relationships with depressed individuals that may impact recovery from the disorder. This research investigated causal and controllability attributions that others assign to individuals with depression by distributing a questionnaire to faculty and administrative staff at Eastern Michigan University to obtain ratings of attributions for depression. The level of intimacy within a relationship and the severity of depression were related to others' beliefs about the controllability …

The Connection Between The Decision To Join A Secular Jewish-Oriented Group And Perceived Jewish Identity: A Comparative Study Between American And Israeli Joiners, Nirit Bayrach-Avraham

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The literature about self-identity views the self as socially constructed, constantly revised, and providing the individual with a narrative of continuity despite change (Shu-Fang Dien, 2000; McAdams, 1985). In this study, identity literature and the narrative approach were used theoretically and methodologically, to explore the connections between the decision to join a secular Jewish-oriented group (SJOG), and the joiner's perceived Jewish identity among joiners in Israel and in the U.S.

It was hypothesized that joining serves to reinforce, distinguish, and renegotiate a Jewish secular identity. Additionally, differences in the group's social context were expected to manifest through identity-negotiations content.

Results …

Feminist Identity And Social Tolerance Of Mental Illness: The Influence Of Gender-Role Deviance, Susan Eileen Hamilton

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the influence of feminist identity on social tolerance of mental illness, specifically, the extent to which people with gender deviant mental illnesses (i.e. men with depression, women with antisocial personality disorder) are socially tolerated. Male and female subjects (N=260) were given the Feminist Perspectives Scale and six character vignettes describing a person with a mental illness followed by a series of questions. Subjects received a score on six subscales of the FPS (conservative, liberal feminism, radical feminism, cultural feminism, socialist feminism, and woman of color feminism), which were compared to their social tolerance scores. Results suggested that …