Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Performance On The Texas Functional Living Scale In A Memory Disorder Clinic, Kathryn Kim Grueninger

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The present study examines the clinical utilization of an objective performance-based measure in a memory disorder clinic sample. Method: One year of archival cognitive testing data from a total of 176 Health First Memory Disorder Clinic patients was utilized for the current study. Participants were included in this study if they completed a brief neuropsychological evaluation which included the Texas Functional Living Scale (TFLS) and were also diagnosed with Normal Cognition (NC), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), or Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Patients’ psychosocial history regarding their self-reported or informant-reported abilities with performing instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) was obtained …

Exploring Mindfulness As An Illness Pathway Between Eating Disorder And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Emma G. Roberts, Brenna M. Williams, Cheri Levinson

Grawemeyer Colloquium Papers

Eating disorders (EDs) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have high rates of comorbidity. One shared protective factor for PTSD and ED symptoms is mindfulness. However, research on how mindfulness relates to ED-PTSD comorbidity is limited. Thus, the current study used network analysis to explore aspects of mindfulness as illness pathways bridging (i.e., connecting) symptoms among comorbid ED and PTSD symptoms. We hypothesized that mindfulness would negatively relate to ED and PTSD symptoms.

Participants (N=709 undergraduate students) completed self-report ED, PTSD, and mindfulness measures. Network analysis was conducted using R.

Five symptoms were identified as being the most central. …

The Human Instinct To Resilience: Clinical And Evolutionary Efficacy Of Intrinsically Motivated Stressor Exposure, Brady Barley

Ramifications

Environmental stressors threaten optimal behavioral functioning, and thus contribute to the development of psychopathology and exert evolutionary selection pressure. Voluntary stressor exposure has the efficacious effect of increasing resilience to future stressors in humans and other animals. This theoretical paper considers the hypothesis that intrinsic motivation toward behaviors requiring voluntary stressor exposure mitigates evolutionary selection pressure exerted by environmental stressors by inducing neural and neuroendocrine plasticity which results in increased resilience. In this view, intrinsically motivated stressor exposure is both efficacious and innate. Empirical and theoretical support for this hypothesis suggest that humans possess an instinct to resilience. Stress-related disorders …

Trust In Hospital Physicians Among Patients With Substance Use Disorder Referred To An Addiction Consult Service, Caroline King, Devin Collins, Alisa Patten, Christina Nicolaidis, Honora Englander

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Trust is essential in patient-physician relationships. Hospitalized patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) often experience stigma and trauma in the hospital, which can impede trust. Little research has explored the role of hospital-based addictions care in creating trusting relationships with patients with SUDs. This study describes how trust in physicians changed among hospitalized people with SUDs who were seen by an interprofessional addiction medicine service.

Methods: We analyzed data from hospitalized patients with SUD seen by an addiction consult service from 2015 to 2018. Participants completed surveys at baseline and 30 to 90 days after hospital discharge. Follow-up assessments …

Self-Reported Ptsd Symptoms And Social Support In U.S. Military Service Members And Veterans: A Meta-Analysis, Rebecca K. Blais, Vanessa Tirone, Daria Orlowska, Ashton Lofgreen, Brian Klassen, Philip Held, Natalie Stevens, Alyson K. Zalta

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

Background: The mental health burden of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is high in U.S. military samples. Social support is one of the most robust protective factors against PTSD and a recent meta-analysis indicates that this relationship is even stronger in military samples compared to civilian samples. Yet no meta-analyses have explored factors impacting this association in veterans and military service members (VSMs).

Objective: The current meta-analysis examined demographic, social support, and military characteristics that may moderate the relationship of PTSD severity and social support among U.S. VSMs.

Method: A search identified 37 cross-sectional studies, representing 38 unique samples with a …

Creating A Theoretical Framework To Underpin Discourse Assessment And Intervention In Aphasia, Lucy Dipper, Jane Marshall, Mary Boyle, Deborah Hersh, Nicola Botting, Madeline Cruice

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Discourse (a unit of language longer than a single sentence) is fundamental to everyday communication. People with aphasia (a language impairment occurring most frequently after stroke, or other brain damage) have communication difficulties which lead to less complete, less coherent, and less complex discourse. Although there are multiple reviews of discourse assessment and an emerging evidence base for discourse intervention, there is no unified theoretical framework to underpin this research. Instead, disparate theories are recruited to explain different aspects of discourse impairment, or symptoms are reported without a hypothesis about the cause. What is needed is a theoretical framework that …

Psychiatrist Burnout, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Renzo Bianchi

Publications and Research

We critique a paper published by Summers et al. (2020) and papers in general that, because of flawed methods, arrive at exceedingly high estimates of burnout in psychiatrists and other professionals.

Pledged Into Harm: Sorority And Fraternity Members Face Increased Risk Of Sexual Assault And Sexual Harassment, Melissa L. Barnes, Alexis Adams-Clark, Marina N. Rosenthal, Carly P. Smith, Jennifer J. Freyd

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The purpose of this manuscript is to examine the risk of sexual exploitation (both assault and harassment) associated with sorority and fraternity membership on U.S. college campuses. The results from this study come from data collected through an online survey. Participants (N=883) at a large Pacific Northwestern university provided information related to their sorority or fraternity membership, experiences of sexual violence (i.e., assault and harassment), and alcohol use. We both replicated and extended past research. Corroborating prior research, Greek-affiliated students experienced higher rates of sexual assault than non-affiliated students. We extended past research by focusing on sexual harassment …

Student Well-Being In The Time Of Covid: Survey Of Online Students’ Coping, Ellen Catherine Coble

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented the global population with a considerable stressor resulting in significant loss of life, impaired health, disrupted social practices, and economic atrophy. While many have been impacted and are currently being studied, a population less frequently considered in the literature is that of online college students. Previous research has indicated the influence of several factors on college students’ well-being when coping with stress under typical circumstances such as coping strategies (e.g., problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant/dysfunctional), experiential avoidance, and social support. Studies performed in the wake of large-scale crises highlight proximity to the crisis …

Adhd Performance On Nonverbal Measures Of Set Shifting And Working Memory, S. Hans Stoltzfus

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The relationship between language and cognition is an area of inquiry among many psychologists (Pellicano, 2010; Russel, 1996). The connection between thoughts, verbal language, and nonverbal communication turned researchers towards the relationship between language and executive functioning. Executive functioning (EF) is described as tasks involving working memory, inhibition, and set shifting (Miyake and Friedman (2012)). Despite studies demonstrating the correlation between language deficits and lower executive functioning there is not consensus on the directionality of the relationship (Kuhn, et al 2014; Boting et al., 2017). Data from the Leiter International Performance Scale, Third Edition (Leiter-3) (Roid, et al., 2013) were …

Smartphones And Somatizing, Jonathan Berkowitz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project explores the relationship between smartphone use, somatizing, and mentalized affectivity. The sample consisted of 511 iPhone users who completed an online survey that included scales measuring somatizing, mentalized affectivity, and general symptoms, as well as measures of smartphone engagement and addiction. Participants also provided data from their screentime application, and information about game-playing tendencies. A series of regression models were used to analyze data.

Results showed that smartphone addiction and game playing predicted somatizing, and did not interact with mentalized affectivity. Game-players somatized more than non-game players, and within the game-playing subgroup, those who reported spending more time …

How Psychotherapists Practice In The Digital Era, Josh Weinstein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The digital era, marked by digital devices connected via high speed data networks, has altered human experience in profound ways over the past 40 years. The potential for novel forms of human relating and fulfillment of desire has led to myriad changes in behavior, thought and unconscious activity. While many adapt or thrive in expanded reality, for some, the digital can be context, source and/or location for psychological affliction. When those who suffer seek psychological relief, how psychotherapists listen for, conceptualize and work with the effects of the digital matter a great deal. While theoretical and quantitative research literature exists …

The Integration Of Roman Catholic Traditions And Evidence-Based Psychological Services, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest, and most enduring continuous organization, secular or religious, of any kind in the world with a 2,000-plus-year history. It currently includes well over a billion people. Regardless of its size, scope, history, and impact, the Roman Catholic Church is often greatly misunderstood and people frequently maintain stereotypic and even discriminatory views about Catholics and their clerical leaders. The purpose of this article is to present the integration of the Roman Catholic tradition into psychological assessment and therapy and to provide several examples of this integration. The article highlights how this integration can be …

Effects Of A Mindfulness-Based Intervention On Psychological Outcomes Including Self-Compassion, Mental Health, And Behavioral Outcomes In Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Natalia Andrea Velásquez

Theses and Dissertations

The present study utilized a brief mindfulness-based intervention to examine the relationship between psychological/behavioral factors, such as mindfulness and self-compassion, in improving parental stress, psychological well-being, and behavioral outcomes in parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Four parents of children with ASD engaged in a 3-session mindfulness-based intervention that included psychoeducation on mindfulness and self-compassion skills, experiential exercises, and implementation of mindfulness and self-compassion skills in parenting vignettes. Measurements included the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Parental Stress Index-4 Short Form (PSI-4 SF), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), and behavioral mindfulness …

Assessing Homeless Mental Health Needs And Barriers To Seeking Treatment, Devyn Marie Varner

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that mental health difficulties are highly prevalent within the homeless population across the globe. Living on the street is shown to contribute to the development of mental health issues and the exacerbation of preexisting mental health conditions. Research studies also indicate that homeless individuals face limited access to healthcare and report negative healthcare experiences. However, there are few studies that specifically examine mental health care access within the homeless population. Therefore, this study aimed to identify specific mental health needs within the local homeless population, and examined barriers preventing homeless individuals from seeking mental health treatment. A total …

Antecedents Of Borderline Personality Disorder And Antisocial Personality Disorder: An Examination Of Gene X Environment Interactions, Amy L. Medina

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Current thinking suggests that genotypes associated with impulse-control disorders and negative emotionality, such as monoamine oxidase-a (MAOA), interact with negative early environmental factors like childhood maltreatment and develop into the disorders know as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Using existing data from a prospective cohort design study of the consequences of child abuse and neglect, participants (N = 896 represent individuals with documented histories of child abuse and neglect and a matched comparison group that were followed up into adulthood and interviewed. A subsample of 631 participants gave permission for DNA extraction and analyses during …

Assessing The Predictors Of On-Campus Student Wellbeing In The Time Of Covid-19, Victoria Lynn Hrzich

Theses and Dissertations

College students endure a great deal of stress and are one of the most vulnerable groups for mental health difficulties. Despite the stressors they face, a vast array of research highlights several factors that contribute to student wellbeing, such as social support, coping, and psychological flexibility. Similar trends have been found in the literature on student distress and wellbeing following large-scale crises. Due to the unprecedented nature of COVID-19, there is limited research on student distress levels during the pandemic and the effectiveness of these previously useful stress management factors during this unique crisis. Therefore, the current study assessed student …

Adolescent Healthcare Contacts In The Year Before Suicide: A Case Control Study, Ana Lanier, Jordan Braciszewski, Hsueh-Han Yeh, Gregory Simon, Rebecca Rossom, Frances Lynch, Stephen Waring, Christine Lu, Ashli Owen-Smith, Arbe Beck, Brian Ahmedani

Medical Student Research Symposium

Introduction: Suicide rates among adolescents have risen steadily since 2007, creating a dire need to expand prevention protocols. Healthcare systems have been identified as a key avenue for identification and intervention. To date, no comprehensive analysis has been done to understand adolescent-specific characteristics and healthcare utilization prior to suicide death.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted using records from eight healthcare systems nationwide. Data from 450 subjects aged 10-24 who died by suicide between the years 2000-2013 was matched with 4500 controls based on health system and time period of membership. We examined past-year health diagnoses and patterns of visit …

The Oq-45: The Structure Of Mental Health Symptoms During Psychotherapy, Lindsay Arader

Theses and Dissertations

The structure of the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45; Lambert et al., 2004b) was examined across three time points in a sample of 199 psychotherapy clients at an outpatient community clinic in the greater New York area. Five models—a one-factor model, two-factor (oblique) model, three-factor (oblique) model, two sub-factor bifactor model, and three sub-factor bifactor model—were tested at baseline, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks. The two sub-factor bifactor model fit the data best at baseline, and the three sub-factor bifactor model fit the data best at 8 weeks and 16 weeks. These results demonstrate that the OQ-45 items load onto one general …

Reflective Processing And Intimate Partner Violence, Rachel Zukerman

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a prevalent problem, especially among college students. The serious physical and psychological consequences of IPV highlight the need to better understand its correlates. Individuals tend to process information and make decisions in different ways; these styles of thinking and decision likely hold important implications for intimate partnerships. Using a sample of undergraduate students, the current study aims to better understand the thinking processes of those who engage in IPV. Furthering our understanding of the cognitive processes that predict IPV may hold important treatment implications, both from a preventive and therapeutic standpoint. Previous studies show that …

Effectiveness Of E-Health Interventions For Externalizing Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis, Celeste Sangiorgio

Theses and Dissertations

eHealth treatments vary widely from automated treatment protocols to professional-led treatment tools that are integrated into treatment protocols with therapists. This dissertation organized, coded, and submitted 33 eHealth treatment trials to meta-analytic study to assess eHealth treatment study effectiveness overall and for each type of eHealth treatment type. Systematic review and descriptive analyses revealed that eHealth treatments that target externalizing behaviors varied widely in study, sample, and design characteristics. eHealth treatments most frequently targeted externalizing behaviors in adolescent samples (n = 22), adapted cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to digital platforms (n = 11), and integrated digital tools into traditional treatment …

Food For Thought: An Exploration Of The Interplay Between Eating Disorder Recovery And Recovery Instagram Accounts, Allison Dashow

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Social media use is more widespread than ever, with over 800 million monthly active users on Instagram alone (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). The literature suggests an association between social media usage and mental health issues, specifically that it increases body image concerns, body comparisons, and disordered eating (Saunders & Eaton, 2018; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013). While multiple studies have investigated the type of content present and individuals’ experiences within pro-eating disorder (ED) communities, few studies to date have examined Instagram’s (IG) ED recovery communities. The aim of the current study was to explore the interplay between individuals’ ED recovery and …

A Multifaceted Approach To Understanding Schizoid Personality Across Behavioral, Intrapsychic, And Interpersonal Domains, Soo Hyun Cho Lee

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

The aim of the present study was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the interaction amongst the behavioral, intrapsychic, and interpersonal domains of schizoid personality. A sample of 227 Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) players, ages 18 to 30, completed online self-report measures concerning maladaptive personality traits and several aspects of interpersonal functioning. The sample also provided narratives for Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) cards that were coded by the Mutuality of Autonomy Scale for the TAT (MOA-TAT) to measure schizoid self-other representations. Results showed that schizoid personality could be understood as a dimensional construct, specifically as a constellation of …

Who’S Afraid Of Whiteness? White Privilege, White Racial Identity And The Motivated Defense Of White Supremacy, Michael Strupp-Levitsky

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Racial inequality pervades American society, yet this reality is largely denied or misattributed by many White people (Bonilla-Silva & Dietrich, 2011). Why are White Americans so resistant to acknowledging their privilege as unearned and therefore illegitimate? While some research suggests nominal benefit of raising awareness of White privilege (e.g., decreases in modern racist beliefs), other work indicates outright defensive reactions (e.g., increased hardship claiming). System Justification Theory conceptualizes these defenses as attempts to legitimize the current social order and resist change. In this dissertation, I sought to address the inconsistencies in the literature by identifying factors that affect the type …

Shame And Depression: Psychological And Cultural Factors In A Sample Of Middle Eastern Women, Amira Hanna

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Shame is a self-conscious emotion that has been frequently tied to psychopathology; however, despite its deep-rooted influence in the Arab culture, little research has been conducted on its effect on the mental health of this population. Thus, this study investigated the impact of shame proneness on depression severity in a sample of adult Middle Eastern women living in the United States. The study also explored other factors that are highly relevant for this population, including anger suppression, religiosity, interdependent self construal, and Middle Eastern ethnic identity. Specifically, the study investigated the role anger suppression plays in explaining the relationship between …

Alliance, Power Dynamics And Response Styles In The Clinical Supervisory Relationship, Kara Kathleen Norlander

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Supervisors provide evaluations, act as professional gatekeepers, and serve a central function to psychotherapy training, yet little is known about the impact of power dynamics on the supervisory relationship and the psychotherapy trainee. The present study offers a closer examination of Bordin’s (1983) concept of supervisory alliance, revealing a largely unappreciated emphasis on defusing tension associated with power. This study is the first to investigate how soft and hard power impact supervisory alliance, while also further validating the recently developed Power Dynamics in Supervision Scale (PDSS; Cook, McKibben & Wind, 2018). The Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (Luborsky & Crits-Christoph, 1998) …

Finding Agency In The Invalidating Environment: Sexism, Control, And Dialectical Behavior Therapy (Dbt), Wyatt D'Emilia

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Endorsing an external locus of control, the belief that luck, chance, and/or powerful others determine the outcomes of one’s behaviors, leads to myriad negative outcomes. Young women in the United States have been increasingly endorsing external loci, increasing their risk for psychopathology. Experiencing sexism, an unfortunately persistent stressor, notably decreases women’s sense of agency. There therefore is a clear need to identify means by which women can more effectively cope with sexism and the external locus that often follows. Secondary control (SC), a construct whereby people accept their circumstances and adjust their behavior to fit in with their environments, has …

A Comparison Of Clinic-Based And Telehealth Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Abigail Peskin

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the rich evidence for early intervention to prevent/treat emotional and behavioral disorders, a gap continues to exist between research and practice, and multitudinous barriers prevent families from accessing vital evidence-based services. Telehealth is an emerging area of research and clinical practice, often proposed as a solution for multiple barriers to service provision. However, despite scattered promising evidence translating in-person treatments to telehealth, many treatments still lack established effectiveness in a virtual format. Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a traditionally in-person behavioral parenting intervention uniquely well-suited to telehealth, as during typical clinic practice the clinician is not in the clinic …

Understanding The Influence Of Childhood Experiences On The Development Of Female Sexual Perpetrators Against Underage Individuals, Cassandra Marie Hershman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Females who are perpetrators of sexual offenses are an understudied population. Due to societies’ failure to recognize that female perpetrators exist and to recognize their abuse when it occurs, sexual abuse completed by females often goes unreported. As a result, females engaging in sexual offenses, particularly pedophilia, is seen as a rare occurrence. However, research suggests that the actual rate of female pedophilic behavior is occurring at a rate three-four times higher than what is actually reported (Cortoni, Babchishin, & Rat, 2017). This study used anonymous data from 2,828 adult females in the IRB approved study [127810-11] Effects of Recalled …

The Association Of Cultural Orientation With Identity Development And Psychological Adjustment, Madison M. Cooper

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The current study aimed to examine possible relationships between cultural orientation and identity formation. Late adolescent college students (N = 480) completed an anonymous survey online. Measures included the Cultural Orientation Scale, the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire, and the Identity Distress Survey. Contrary to predictions, neither identity exploration nor identity distress were found to be related to cultural orientation. However, identity commitment was significantly correlated with both individualism and collectivism. Further, a ONEWAY ANOVA suggested differences between identity statuses. An LSD post-hoc analyses found that the two committed statuses, Achievement (high in identity commitment after extensive identity exploration) and …