Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Dimensions Of Grace, Rodger K. Bufford

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

No abstract provided.

Reformed And Biblical Counseling, Mark Christians

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"What is the difference between Biblical counseling and Christian counseling? In Reformed circles, is Biblical Counseling the norm or are people encouraged to seek professional counseling help?"

Posting about reformed and Biblical counseling from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/answering-your-question-reformed-and-biblical-counseling/

Held And Dropped: A Study Of Metaphor And Subjective Experience In A Psychoanalytic Treatment, Alison Michele Ferst

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study explores particular patterns of change that might unfold over the course of an intensive psychoanalytic treatment by mapping the forms of change that might take place in terms of a patient's subjective experience and the meaning that the patient attributes to it as reflected in the effort to express that experience in figurative language (i.e., metaphors). The data set was treatment session transcripts provided by P. A. Dewald over a period of 2 years and is partitioned by Dewald into three sequential phases.

Figurative language in general and metaphor in particular consists of essential forms of representation of …

Reflective Functioning In Patients With Panic Disorder With Or Without Agoraphobia: An Examination Of The Effects Of Comorbid Personality Disorders, Tempe Watts

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined reflective functioning (RF) in patients who experience a combination of panic and personality disorders (PD). Despite broadly accepted beliefs that comorbid personality and Axis I disorders indicate poor prognosis, limited research has examined how these two axes interact within a panic disorder population. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders typifies personality disorders as fitting different clusters categorization: cluster A referring to "odd" personality disorders, including schizoid, schizotypal and paranoid PDs; cluster B referring to "dramatic" personality disorders, including borderline, narcissistic, histrionic and antisocial PDs; and cluster C referring to "anxious" personality disorders, including avoidant, dependent …

Examining The Relationship Between Forgiveness And Subjective Well-Being As Moderated By Implicit Religiousness And Spirituality, Jessica Peterson

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Forgiveness is thought to contribute to subjective well-being (SWB), which has been associated with a variety of beneficial physical and mental health outcomes. However, it remains unknown whether the relationship between forgiveness and SWB may vary depending on types of forgiveness, and may be strongest for those who endorse religiosity/spirituality as important. The current study tested whether forgiveness of oneself, others, and situations predicted SWB, as well as whether these links were moderated by implicit religiousness/spirituality (R/S). A cross-sectional on-line survey was provided to interested students attending a small private liberal arts college. Participants (N = 134) were largely …

Do Masculinity And Perceived Condom Barriers Predict Heterosexual Hiv Risk Behaviors Among Black Substance Abusing Men?, A, Kathleen Burlew, Jerika Wilson, Latrice Montgomery, Bridgette Peteet, Candace Johnson, Mary Hatch-Maillette

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Although HIV prevention during substance abuse treatment is ideal, existing HIV risk-reduction interventions are less effective among Black and other ethnic minority substance abusers. The Sexual Health Model (SHM) and the Person, Extended Family and Neighborhood-3 model (PEN-3) both highlight the importance of increasing our understanding of the relationship of sociocultural factors to sexual-decision making as a step towards developing more HIV prevention interventions for ethnic minorities. However, few studies examine sociocultural factors in the sexual decision-making process of Black substance abusing men. This secondary analysis of data collected in an evaluation of Real Men Are Safe (REMAS), a HIV …

Undiscovered Meanings Of Minority Doctoral Students In Counselor Education Programs, Beronica M. Salazar

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

Higher education institutions aim at being more receptive to attract, recruit, and retain diverse students (“Diversity & the Ph.D.,” 2005). The increase of racial/ethnic diverse minority doctoral students in counselor education programs has created a need to understand their individual challenges. The dearth of research related to the in-depth experience of doctoral students in counselor education program affirms the need for exploration of minority doctoral student experience. This research proposal aspires to give voice to minority doctoral students’ stories of their challenging experiences, employing a reflexive process to discover the meanings connected to the experiences and identifying essential themes for …

The Caregiver–Child Relationship, Youth Mental Health, And Placement Stability In A Child Welfare Sample, Laura A. Rindlaub

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Healthy relationships between adolescents and their caregivers have been robustly associated with better youth outcomes in a variety of domains. Youth in contact with the child welfare system are at higher risk for worse outcomes including mental health problems and home placement instability. A growing body of literature points to youth mental health problems as both a predictor and a consequence of home placement instability in this population; the present study aimed to expand our understanding of these phenomena by examining the interplay among the caregiver-child relationship, youth mental health symptoms, and placement change over time. Method: The sample …

The Impact Of Prefrontal Cortex "Warm Up" On Immediate Cognitive Reappraisal Ability In Older Adolescents With Elevated Symptoms Of Depression, Emma L. Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive Reappraisal (CR) is a central component of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for adolescent depression. Yet, previous research indicates that a brain region highly associated with successful CR in adults, the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), is not fully developed until early adulthood. Thus, there is growing concern that CBT interventions directed at building CR abilities in depressed teens might be constrained by PFC immaturity. However, CR is an effective strategy for regulating affect. The current study evaluated an intervention aimed at enhancing CR performance through PFC “warm up” with a working memory task. Additionally, the study examined moderators of intervention response, as …

Internet Delivery Of Prep-Based Relationship Education For Older Couples, Benjamin A. Loew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Healthy marriage has been associated with increased longevity and better health in later life. At the same time, many older couples will confront age-related stressors that may result in relationship distress, such as declining health, decisions about retirement, and caring for elderly parents and/or adult children. Yet empirical knowledge of relationship dynamics among older couples is limited, and there appears to have been little development, provision, or assessment of research-based relationship services for this population.

In the current study, 93 individuals representing 61 older-adult couples participated in a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial of an online version of the Prevention and Relationship …

Ua66 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter, Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Risk For Engagement In Nonsuicidal Self-Injury In Children And Adolescents, Andrea Lee Barrocas Gottlieb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although NSSI engagement is a growing public health concern, little research has documented the developmental precursors to NSSI in longitudinal studies using youth samples. This study aimed to expand upon previous research on groups of NSSI engagement in a population-based sample of youth using multi-wave data. Moreover, this study examined whether chronic peer and romantic stress, the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR), parenting behaviors, and negative attributional style predicted the NSSI group membership as well as the role of sex and grade. Participants were 549 youth in beginning in the 3^rd, 6^th, and 9^th grades at …

Preliminary Analyses Of Three Measures Of Grace: Can They Be Unified?, Rodger K. Bufford, Amanda M. Blackburn, Timothy A. Sisemore, Rodney L. Bassett

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Grace is an interesting and potentially significant domain within positive psychology, but remains largely neglected. The present study examined the relationships among three known grace scales to evaluate the potential for creating a stronger single measure. It also explored their relationships to several other religious/spiritual measures to examine whether the three scales are measuring the same construct, to explore the implications for our understanding of grace, and to provide insights for further study. The three measures had moderately strong correlations with each other (r= .55 to .66), had similar relationships to other measures of religion/spirituality, and had distinct relationships to …

Is It Time To Consider The "Burnout Syndrome" A Distinct Illness?, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

The "burnout syndrome" has been defined as a combination of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment caused by chronic occupational stress. Although there has been increasing medical interest in burnout over the last decades, it is argued in this paper that the syndrome cannot be elevated to the status of diagnostic category, based on (1) an analysis of the genesis of the burnout construct, (2) a review of the latest literature on burnout-depression overlap, (3) a questioning of the three-dimensional structure of the burnout syndrome, and (4) a critical examination of the notion that burnout is singularized by its …

College Students’ Knowledge Of Suicide Risk Factors And Prevention Strategies, Joshua Mitchell

Departmental Honors Projects

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among college aged students (Hirsch & Barton, 2011). Several risk factors for suicidal ideation have been identified, but little work has focused on awareness of suicide prevention resources. The focus of this study is to assess a college population’s knowledge on suicide risk factors and determine whether they feel strongly about one method of prevention over another. This study is focused on assessing individual knowledge of risk factors and identification of appropriate prevention strategies. It was hypothesized that participants who are more successful at identifying risk factors will be more knowledgeable …

Toward Enhancing Treatment For Pregnant Smokers: Laying The Groundwork For The Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Approaches, Amy Michele Loree

Wayne State University Dissertations

Tobacco is the most widely used drug of abuse during pregnancy. Despite efforts to reduce perinatal tobacco use, its prevalence has remained steady over at least the past decade, suggesting that efforts to reduce smoking prevalence before and during pregnancy have not been effective. Although a range of effective treatments exist, most pregnant smokers neither seek nor receive any kind of treatment. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments may be ideal as alternative, low-cost approaches capable of reaching and assisting a greater proportion of pregnant women with smoking cessation. This study examined characteristics and treatment utilization practices of pregnant smokers …

The Effect Of Clinician Hardiness On Posttraumatic Growth And Trauma Based On Vicarious Trauma Exposure, Maria Anne Stevens

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

There is a gap in the literature that examines posttraumatic growth outcomes in clinical psychologists. Additionally, few studies have explored personality characteristics that can mitigate negative psychological outcomes and foster growth. This study examined if the same model of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) would be found in clinical psychologists who work with trauma as those who have experienced a traumatic event. Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) indicated moderate model fit. Additionally, the study assessed whether the relationship between cumulative Vicarious Trauma Exposure (VTE) and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), and cumulative VTE and PTG would depend on the moderator hardiness, but no significant …

Narratives Of Illness, Difference, And Personhood, John P. Mctighe

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Using narrative theory, the chapter examines how ideas and attitudes about mental disorder are shaped by cultural values and stereotypes, and how the experience of trauma can shatter the narrative of self and world. Placing the question of illness, differentness, and personhood within a social justice perspective, it challenges clinicians to consider how the vocabulary of illness is used to frame experience and, in many cases, to minimize, marginalize, or discount the individual's own lived experience.

Varying Levels Of Morality Awareness In Corrections Officers, William L. Hanna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Morality has been a focus in criminal justice with recent events involving officers. This quantitative study offered research in the criminal justice field regarding the moral awareness of corrections officers. The main research question investigated the relationship between the security level of the prison unit in which a corrections officer works and his or her level of morality awareness. The study surveyed corrections officers of prison units in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections and focused on morality awareness of corrections officers. The independent variable was the security level of the prison unit worked in. The dependent variables were …

The Effects Of Stress And Burden On Caregivers Of Individuals With A Chronic Illness, Betty Wilborn-Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Informal caregivers have played a significant social and economic role in the care and treatment of individuals diagnosed with chronic illness. However, caregiving can have harmful effects on a caregiver's physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. Using caregiver stress theory as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this archival research was to determine the predictive relationship of stress in relation to caregiver quality of life for 309 selected cases. Correlational and hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The independent variables examined were environment and context, stressors related to …

The Effects Of Competency On Job Satisfaction For Professional Counselors When Providing Court Testimony, Joshua David Francis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Professional counselors experience increasing levels of ethical complaints when they provide opinions in child custody cases; the complaints question their competency levels and potentially affect job satisfaction. The purpose of the study was to determine any relationship between competencies and job satisfaction for 277 counselors and 66 psychologists. The competence theory served as the foundation of the study. The quantitative study was a nonexperimental, correlational design using a closed-ended survey. A new, validated Professional Competence Standards Instrument (PCSI) measured both competency as the independent variable and job satisfaction as the dependent variable to assess if competency affected job satisfaction. E-mail …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Women With Spinal Cord Injury Who Undergo Urinary Diversion Surgery, Sukhpinder K. Dhillon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Following spinal cord injury (SCI), bladder management is of primary importance. As an activity of daily living (ADL), it affects community integration and quality of life (QOL). Women with SCI have neurogenic bladders that require self-catheterization, but they are unable to catheterize the native urethra, thus making bladder management physically and emotionally challenging. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of women with SCI who undergo urinary diversion surgery for bladder management. Qualitative data were collected using semistructured interviews from 10 women with SCI after urinary diversion surgery for bladder management. Qualitative Nvivo analysis of interview data …

Is Burnout Separable From Depression In Cluster Analysis? A Longitudinal Study, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Purpose: Whether burnout and depression represent distinct pathologies is unclear. The aim of this study was to examine whether burnout and depressive symptoms manifest themselves separately from each other or are so closely intertwined as to reflect the same phenomenon.

Methods: A two-wave longitudinal study involving 627 French schoolteachers (73 % female) was conducted. Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and depression with the 9-item depression module of the Patient Health Questionnaire.

Results: Burnout and depressive symptoms clustered both at baseline and follow-up. Cluster membership at time 1 (T1) predicted cases of burnout and depression at time 2 …

A Historical Review And Resource Guide To The Scholarship Of Teaching And Training In Psychology And Law And Forensic Psychology, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Bette L. Bottoms, Margaret C. Stevenson, Jennifer C. Veilleux

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The field of psychology and law, including forensic psychology, is an exciting concentration of research activity and student training and has grown rapidly, but to what extent have teaching and training efforts in the field been systematically catalogued and evaluated? We conducted a historical review and content analysis of the American and Canadian literature on the scholarship of teaching and training in the field. This review catalogs (a) information related to the development of training and teaching, (b) descriptions of programs and courses at various levels, and (c) articles on teaching resources or techniques in this field. We hope it …

Profiles Of Protective Factors In Urban African American Youth Exposed To Community Violence: A Prospective Study Of Resilience, Devin Colleen Carey

Dissertations

The broad purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between exposure to community violence and adjustment in an urban sample of African American youth living in Chicago. After years of research on community violence, there has been a call to understand the influences of all levels and systems on child adjustment, as well as to use research to promote positive outcomes and prevention of future violence (Aisenberg & Herrenkohl, 2008). With this in mind, this project used latent profile analysis to create profiles of protection based on individual, family, peer, and community factors, as well as evaluate the …

A Stress-Diathesis Model Of Depression: Examining Self-Compassion And Savoring, Justin Ford

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Depression is a prevalent public health problem, with approximately 6.4% of Americans suffering from the condition each year. Emerging adults are especially vulnerable to depression, as approximately 25% of individuals from age 18-25 have reported experiencing at least one depressive episode. Considering the literature is replete with studies examining etiological components of depression, it surprising that few studies have examined the role of intrapersonal resources in the onset and maintenance of depressive symptoms. The current study sought to investigate depression in the context of intrapersonal resources in two important ways. First, the study examined the protective qualities of intrapersonal resources …

Hypomania And The Effects Of Working Memory Load On Risk-Taking, Joseph B. Todd

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Hypomania is an episodic mood state that closely resembles mania, and it is characterized by irritability, euphoria, racing thoughts, and impulsivity. The present study focuses on risk-taking, a behavioral manifestation of impulsivity, and the potential working memory mechanisms responsible for eliciting this behavior in people affected by hypomanic symptoms. Specifically, research suggests that taxing working memory accelerates the process by which individuals with high levels of hypomanic symptoms engage in risk-taking. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects on hypomanic traits and working memory taxation on a behavioral measure of risk-taking. One hundred and forty-five participants …

Cues Of Colorism: The Psychological, Sociocultural, And Developmental Differences Between Light-Skinned And Dark-Skinned African-Americans, Tasia M. Pinkston

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Skin color biases, henceforth referred to as colorism, are the biased judgments, attitudes and behaviors toward an individual based on the lightness or darkness of their skin. Available research on the topic has examined a select group of variables, such as mate selection, self-esteem and perceived attractiveness. However, there is no single study on differences between African-Americans across several domains, including their psychological (skin color satisfaction and self-esteem), sociocultural (media influence on appearance and discriminatory events), and developmental (ethnic identity) well-being. Moreover, there is no research on differences in these variables between African-Americans reared in rural versus non-rural areas. To …

The Influence Of Normative Feedback On Stigma Of Mental Health, Carly A. Taylor

Honors Theses

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI; 2012) reports that the greatest barrier preventing college students from seeking help for a mental illness is stigma. Previous research has yet to develop an effective stigma reduction intervention targeting college students.Therefore, the purpose of the following research was to examine whether the administration of personalized normative feedback (PNF) could reduce personal stigma and correct the perception that others stigmatize mental illness. It was hypothesized that participants at baseline would expect others to hold more stigmatizing views compared to themselves. In order to correct this misperception and reduce stigma, half of the participants …

Is Unmitigated Communion Related To Depression And Anxiety?, Brett A. Vacek

Masters Theses

Unmitigated communion is the focus on others to the exclusion of the self. This innate principle has been linked to depression in numerous studies. However, this construct has yet to be linked with rumination, worry, or even social anxiety. This paper reviews the literature on unmitigated communion, including recent studies that have dissected the variable into separate components (UC-self and UC- other) that could help in the identification of its dysfunctional properties. Furthermore, this paper will seek to determine whether unmitigated communion is connected to receiving or providing instrumental or emotional support, and whether this acts as a moderator in …