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2026

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Articles 331 - 360 of 387

Full-Text Articles in Clinical Psychology

The Language Of Vulnerable Narcissism: Linguistic And Thematic Patterns Among College Students, Bradly Mcginnis Jan 2026

The Language Of Vulnerable Narcissism: Linguistic And Thematic Patterns Among College Students, Bradly Mcginnis

Dissertations and Theses

Narcissistic personality disorder, as currently described within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), emphasizes grandiose narcissistic traits, such as a need for admiration and an inflated sense of self-importance. However, the current conceptualization of narcissistic personality disorder within the DSM-5-TR does not explicitly include vulnerable narcissistic traits. Vulnerable narcissistic traits may also be mistaken for depressive symptoms due to similarities in their presentation. The present study used a mixed-methods approach to examine linguistic differences among these constructs and explore whether patterns in language could help disentangle their overlap. Quantitative analyses examined differences in linguistic features, including …


The Effects Of Coping Motives On Alcohol Use Consequences, Madisyn E. Feliciano, Samantha Pelfrey Jan 2026

The Effects Of Coping Motives On Alcohol Use Consequences, Madisyn E. Feliciano, Samantha Pelfrey

Undergraduate Research Posters

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in alcohol use consequences between those who drink to cope with anxiety or depression symptoms and those who do not. Our research aimed to expand on earlier studies by placing emphasis on how coping with anxiety and depression influences alcohol consequences using constructs aligned with DSM-V symptom criteria. Research has consistently shown that those who drink to regulate distressing emotions experience more harmful consequences, making this an imperative area for prevention efforts. It was hypothesized that coping motivated drinking would be associated with an increased amount of alcohol related consequences. …


Experiences Of Title Ix Investigations For Bipoc Survivors Of Sexual Violence, Tiffini Vo Jan 2026

Experiences Of Title Ix Investigations For Bipoc Survivors Of Sexual Violence, Tiffini Vo

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Sexual violence is among the most common crimes on college campuses. Nearly one in four undergraduate women experience sexual violence during college, yet reporting remains low (Spencer et al., 2020). Some students avoided reporting because of fear of criticism, backlash, blame, and shame (Lorenz et al., 2023). These responses not only influence reporting decisions but can also contribute to persistent psychological harm. A common consequence of sexual assault is the survivor developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive and anxiety symptoms, and suicidality, demonstrating the severity of the crime perpetrated against them (Rothman et al., 2021). Even more so, those who …


How To Reduce Inpatient Violence: A Theory Synthesis From Four Models, Arthur Walker Jan 2026

How To Reduce Inpatient Violence: A Theory Synthesis From Four Models, Arthur Walker

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Working in an inpatient setting inherently involves an increased risk of violence. This violence can affect both staff and patients alike and can lead to psychological trauma, serious bodily injury, and even death. To mitigate this risk, many models for preventing inpatient violence have been proposed for hospitals to implement. However, the evidence for the efficacy of these methods is inconsistent, and the theoretical underpinnings are varied and slim. This dissertation seeks to improve these models by re-examining the theoretical structures for common themes of four models for inpatient violence reduction and proposing additional recommendations informed by this synthesis. First, …


Youth And Caregiver Expectations In Pediatric Concussion Recovery And Persisting Symptoms, Molly A. O'Reilly Jan 2026

Youth And Caregiver Expectations In Pediatric Concussion Recovery And Persisting Symptoms, Molly A. O'Reilly

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Concussions present complex diagnostic and treatment challenges, particularly for pediatric patients who may experience persisting symptoms. Psychological mechanisms, including patient expectations and beliefs about recovery and symptoms, play a critical role in shaping outcomes. However, there is limited research exploring these factors in pediatric populations, particularly using qualitative approaches. This study sought to address this gap by employing a qualitative phenomenological design with interpretive phenomenological analysis to examine the recovery expectations of pediatric patients with persisting symptoms following concussion, as well as caregivers’ perspectives. Using the nocebo effect as a conceptual framework, eight pediatric patients and their caregivers participated in …


Into Action: A Twelve Step-Informed Act Group Protocol For Outpatient Substance Use Treatment, Doug Hohenberger Jan 2026

Into Action: A Twelve Step-Informed Act Group Protocol For Outpatient Substance Use Treatment, Doug Hohenberger

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Substance use disorders remain a prevalent and costly public health concern. Despite this, efforts to disseminate evidence-based practices frequently encounter both practical and philosophical barriers. Language and practices from the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have permeated addiction treatment settings and have become the “common tongue” for addiction recovery discourse. Consequently, most substance use treatment programs feature tenets of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous in their clinical programming, even though the framework was designed for peer support settings. Twelve Step fellowships have made important contributions to the substance use treatment field and have guided individuals through personal recovery through …


Adverse Childhood Experiences Of Individuals Charged Or Convicted Of Homicide In Their Youth, Marcus Krodel Jan 2026

Adverse Childhood Experiences Of Individuals Charged Or Convicted Of Homicide In Their Youth, Marcus Krodel

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) represent a collection of distressful events occurring during childhood and have been shown to have a negative impact on future functioning. ACEs were utilized in the current study to increase our understanding of a unique population among court-involved individuals: juveniles charged or convicted of homicide. Court decisions have established that juveniles convicted of homicide are both distinct from their adult counterparts and present with dissimilar risk and protective factors. The current study explored a sample of 66 individuals who were charged or convicted of homicide while in their youth. Each participant was retroactively assigned an ACEs …


The Psychological Process Of Decolonizing The Colonized Self: A Grounded Theory Based On Hong Kongers’ Decisions After The 2019 Protests, Lai Kwan Shirley Lo Jan 2026

The Psychological Process Of Decolonizing The Colonized Self: A Grounded Theory Based On Hong Kongers’ Decisions After The 2019 Protests, Lai Kwan Shirley Lo

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Hong Kong, a British colony for over a century, was returned to China in 1997. In 2019, the proposal of an extradition bill sparked widespread outrage, leading to a year of unprecedented social unrest. The protests eventually dissipated with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chinese central government’s tightening controls. Although the state characterized its interventions as decolonization, a significant wave of Hong Kongers responded by leaving their homeland to cultivate new lives in the “Western world,” including Britain. How does a colonized population willingly return to their colonizer after decolonization? This study sets out to search for …


Understanding The Progression Of Borderline Personality Disorder During Adolescence: A Clinical Case Study, Anjali Chandak, Megha Sadashiv, Bhawna Sharma, Bhargav Mulpuru Jan 2026

Understanding The Progression Of Borderline Personality Disorder During Adolescence: A Clinical Case Study, Anjali Chandak, Megha Sadashiv, Bhawna Sharma, Bhargav Mulpuru

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) often emerges during adolescence, but remains relatively understudied in this population. This case report explores the sociobiological factors shaping symptom expression in an adolescent girl. Longitudinal clinical evaluation revealed hallmark features, including affective instability, identity disturbance, interpersonal relations, and self-harming behaviour. Early attachment disruptions, emotional regulation difficulties, and heightened sensitivity to relational stressors were identified as key developmental risk factors. Diagnostic and therapeutic considerations are presented, highlighting the need for prompt, developmentally informed, and evidence-based interventions. The case further emphasises how prognosis and chronicity may be significantly influenced by an adopting developmental approach, providing insight into …


Psychometric Evaluation Of The Treatment Integrity Instrument For Elementary School Classrooms - Observer Report: Preliminary Evidence For Construct And Discriminative Validity, Cristian J. Rivera Nales Jan 2026

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Treatment Integrity Instrument For Elementary School Classrooms - Observer Report: Preliminary Evidence For Construct And Discriminative Validity, Cristian J. Rivera Nales

Theses and Dissertations

Treatment integrity is the degree to which a program and its practices are delivered as intended. Treatment integrity measures are critical for evaluating the effectiveness of evidence-based programs (EBPs) in effectiveness research, but few are designed for research conducted in community settings, such as schools. The Treatment Integrity Instrument for Elementary School Classrooms – Observer Report (TIES-O) is an observational measure used to assess the treatment integrity of teachers implementing EBPs in their classrooms. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the TIES-O, which captures Adherence (frequency and thoroughness of delivery) Competence (skillfulness of delivery), and Differentiation (the extent to …


Internalizing Symptoms In Lgbtq+ Young Adults: Understanding The Roles Of Social Support And Resilience To Social Stigma, Chloe M. Sobolewski Jan 2026

Internalizing Symptoms In Lgbtq+ Young Adults: Understanding The Roles Of Social Support And Resilience To Social Stigma, Chloe M. Sobolewski

Theses and Dissertations

LGBTQ+ young adults are at increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes including internalizing symptoms. The current study seeks to better incorporate strengths when modeling internalizing symptoms outcomes in LGBTQ+ young adults. The present study is secondary analysis of data collected as part of a three-wave longitudinal study. LGBTQ+ young adults (N = 250) completed baseline questionnaires assessing resilience to social stigma, types of perceived social support (i.e., family, friend, significant other), and internalizing symptoms. Moderation models were not practically or statistically significant; however, covariates (i.e., age, socioeconomic standing, and childhood basic needs) stood out in their significant contribution in …


Examining Youth Ethnic Identity And Parental Familismo As Protective Factors Against Bicultural Stress And Internalizing Symptoms In Latino Youth, Daniella Olivares Jan 2026

Examining Youth Ethnic Identity And Parental Familismo As Protective Factors Against Bicultural Stress And Internalizing Symptoms In Latino Youth, Daniella Olivares

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by increased vulnerability to mental health challenges. For Latino adolescents living in the U.S., experiences of bicultural stress may heighten the risk for adverse mental health outcomes. However, cultural strengths–such as youth ethnic identity and parental familismo–may serve as protective factors. The current study examined whether youth ethnic identity and parental familismo moderated the relationship between bicultural stress and internalizing symptoms among a diverse sample of Latino youth in central Virginia. Latino adolescents (n = 60) completed measures assessing bicultural stress, ethnic identity, and internalizing symptoms, while parents (n = 60) reported on …


Conceptual Concerns Regarding The Content Validity Of The Construct Of Gender Dysphoria In The Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision, Waverley Vesely Jan 2026

Conceptual Concerns Regarding The Content Validity Of The Construct Of Gender Dysphoria In The Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision, Waverley Vesely

Theses and Dissertations

The diagnostic classification of gender dysphoria in the DSM-5-TR elicits a number of clinical, political, and philosophical concerns, ranging from those that are diagnostic and taxonomical in nature to those that fall within the domains of ontology, phenomenology, and hermeneutics. Part of the reason for the complexity of studying the diagnostic and nosological validity of gender dysphoria as an extant diagnostic classification is that, unlike many disorders, gender dysphoria is inextricably tethered to identity. While the recent change from gender identity disorder to gender dysphoria has nominally removed the status of disorder, in practice, both clinicians and the general population …


The Relationship Between Symptom Catastrophizing And Sociocultural Factors Among Adults With Persistent Sympathetic Activation Syndromes, Whitney M. Redemer Jan 2026

The Relationship Between Symptom Catastrophizing And Sociocultural Factors Among Adults With Persistent Sympathetic Activation Syndromes, Whitney M. Redemer

Theses and Dissertations

Persistent Sympathetic Activation (PSA) has emerged as a potential unifying mechanism underlying a range of complex chronic health conditions yet remains poorly characterized within biomedical and psychosocial research. Limited research has delineated how PSA manifests across diverse populations or how diagnostic and sociocultural factors shape lived experiences of this phenomenon; thus, the objective of the present study was to examine whether diagnostic certainty – operationalized as provider-confirmed versus self-suspected PSA-related diagnoses – is associated with symptom catastrophizing, and whether this relationship varies as a function of sociocultural factors. Drawing on data from a larger study aimed at characterizing the lived …


Survivors Of Historical Intergenerational And Familial Trauma Scale For Black American Descendants Of Enslaved People: A Development And Initial Validation Study, Loryn Chás Kimbrough Jan 2026

Survivors Of Historical Intergenerational And Familial Trauma Scale For Black American Descendants Of Enslaved People: A Development And Initial Validation Study, Loryn Chás Kimbrough

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Despite extensive research documenting cultural and racialized trauma, no validated assessment tool had previously captured the intrafamilial mechanisms of trauma transmission specific to the BADEP population, whose trauma lineage is rooted in slavery. The present study addresses this gap through the development and initial validation of the Survivors of Historical Intergenerational and Familial Trauma Scale (SHIFTS), a culturally grounded instrument designed to measure the transmission of historical trauma (HT) and ongoing intergenerational trauma (IGT) among Black American Descendants of Enslaved People (BADEPs). The SHIFTS examines how HT gives rise to the continued transmission of two interrelated legacies: survival-based and trauma-rooted …


Identifying Maltreatment Classes And Their Associated Psychological Outcomes From Childhood To Adolescence, Colleen Bartlett Jan 2026

Identifying Maltreatment Classes And Their Associated Psychological Outcomes From Childhood To Adolescence, Colleen Bartlett

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Previous research has consistently shown that experiencing maltreatment has significant, negative effects on youth’s psychological health; however, research on the psychological impact of maltreatment is often limited by challenges in accurately capturing children’s maltreatment experiences, as most children who are exposed to maltreatment experience multiple types of maltreatment. The present study utilized latent class analyses (LCAs), a person-centered, data-driven approach to empirically identify patterns in children’s maltreatment experiences at ages 3, 5, and 9. Maltreatment class indicators included frequency of behaviorally approximated emotional abuse, physical abuse, and neglect. Following the LCAs, associations between maltreatment class membership and youth internalizing and …


Hierarchical Analysis Of Predictors Of Public Speaking Anxiety, Ruimin Peng Jan 2026

Hierarchical Analysis Of Predictors Of Public Speaking Anxiety, Ruimin Peng

Masters Theses

Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is a prevalent type of phobia that shares many similarities with social anxiety. This paper examines factors related to social anxiety and PSA. Previous literature has identified self-efficacy, perfectionism, and fear of negative evaluation (FNE) as factors related to both social anxiety and PSA. However, less attention has been given to fear of positive evaluation (FPE) and international status, although these two factors are likely related to PSA. This study employed hierarchical regression analysis to investigate the predictive power of FPE and international status on PSA, while controlling for self-efficacy, perfectionism, and FNE. FPE, academic status, …


Personality-Based Clinical Predictors Of Transdiagnostic Suicidality In Emotional Disorders, Harshini Arun Jan 2026

Personality-Based Clinical Predictors Of Transdiagnostic Suicidality In Emotional Disorders, Harshini Arun

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.


Religiosity And Spirituality: The Mental Costs And Benefits Of Belief In A College Setting, Tyler Geis Jan 2026

Religiosity And Spirituality: The Mental Costs And Benefits Of Belief In A College Setting, Tyler Geis

Masters Theses

The relationship between religiosity and spirituality (R/S) with mental health has been widely discussed in more recent years. This thesis examines factors related to religiosity, spirituality, depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as how various stigmas toward mental health, mental health treatment, and mental health treatment seeking may relate to R/S and mental health. Previous literature has identified religious coping with hardship, positive and negative dimensions of sin and behavior, the structure of different religious groups, and overall spiritual wellbeing as factors related to R/S, mental health, and beliefs about mental health . However, most previous literature come to differing …


Suicidal Mental Imagery And Its Association With Suicide-Related Disclosure And Suicidal Severity, Elisheva S. Rosensweig M.S. Jan 2026

Suicidal Mental Imagery And Its Association With Suicide-Related Disclosure And Suicidal Severity, Elisheva S. Rosensweig M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

People utilize two different modes of cognition, experiencing thoughts as mental images or verbal thoughts. Mental imagery tends to be more emotionally arousing and vivid than verbal thoughts, and most suicidal individuals report experiencing suicidal imagery in addition to verbal thoughts. Increasing evidence suggests that suicidal mental imagery is associated with heightened suicide risk, including greater likelihood of prior suicide attempts (e.g., Lawrence et al., 2021). However, suicide risk assessments primarily focus on verbal suicidal thoughts and rarely assess suicidal mental imagery, potentially contributing to the low rates of suicide-related disclosure and challenges identifying individuals at risk. The present study …


Beyond The Identified Patient: Sibling Attachment, Burden, And Coping In The Context Of Mental Illness, Blaire Fauser M.S. Jan 2026

Beyond The Identified Patient: Sibling Attachment, Burden, And Coping In The Context Of Mental Illness, Blaire Fauser M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

A “mental illness” is defined as a condition that causes clinically significant disturbance in cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior. Mental illness is growing increasingly more prevalent and has been found to not only impact the affected individual but also the broader family system. This study examined the impact of having a sibling with a mental illness on the non-diagnosed sibling. Specifically, the study focused on the relationship between siblings’ (sibling attachment), coping mechanisms, and caregiver burden. Previous research has shown that siblings of individuals with mental illness are at a higher risk of developing psychiatric conditions themselves, which is due …


Secure Base Script Behaviors In Romantic Couples As Predictors Of Romantic Relationship Quality, Ben N. Zigelstein Jan 2026

Secure Base Script Behaviors In Romantic Couples As Predictors Of Romantic Relationship Quality, Ben N. Zigelstein

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Attachment representations guide expectations about the availability and responsiveness of attachment figures during times of need. These representations are shaped by early experiences of consistent, reliable caregiving and influence how individuals seek and receive support from close others across the lifespan. Secure base script knowledge, a temporal-causal sequence of events encompassing the essential elements of seeking and receiving support at times of need, is increasingly used to capture attachment representations. Research indicates that secure base script knowledge significantly predicts the quality of self-reported and observed romantic relationships. However, the extent to which secure base script behaviors (i.e., bidding for support, …


Ethnoracial Disparities In Treatment-Seeking Among Suicidal Adults: Stigma As A Mediator, Yiming Huang M.S. Jan 2026

Ethnoracial Disparities In Treatment-Seeking Among Suicidal Adults: Stigma As A Mediator, Yiming Huang M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Despite the disproportionate increase in their suicide risk in recent years, ethnoracially minoritized individuals utilize mental health treatment less frequently than their non-Hispanic, White counterparts. Understanding the underlying mechanisms is crucial to identify strategies to mitigate such disparities. While mental health-related stigma has received attention as a potential mechanism, select types of stigma have been examined in isolation, leaving it unclear which forms of stigma are most relevant to the observed ethnoracial disparities in treatment-seeking among suicidal individuals. The current study assessed and examined a range of stigma constructs as potential mediators of ethnoracial differences in treatment-seeking outcomes among suicidal …


Cross-Domain Identity Development In Bipoc Autistic Adults: A Grounded Theory Study, Ginnylyne Mariano Guisadio Jan 2026

Cross-Domain Identity Development In Bipoc Autistic Adults: A Grounded Theory Study, Ginnylyne Mariano Guisadio

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Racial and autistic identity development both involve navigating stigma, seeking community, and contending with dominant frameworks that constrain authentic self-expression, yet existing research has not examined how these processes interact for individuals holding both identities. These interactions unfold within structural conditions such as diagnostic disparities, culturally specific ableism, and racialized consequences of visible autistic expression, which shape how identity development proceeds for BIPOC autistic adults. This study investigated whether and how the core identity processes of exploration and commitment proceeded for this population. Nine BIPOC autistic adults participated in written interviews analyzed through constructivist grounded theory, with identity status theory …


Stressful Life Events And Ocd Treatment: A Thematic Analysis Of Patient Perspectives, Emily E. Fenlon Jan 2026

Stressful Life Events And Ocd Treatment: A Thematic Analysis Of Patient Perspectives, Emily E. Fenlon

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Trauma exposure, including interpersonal violence (IPV), is associated with increased risk and severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is the treatment of choice for OCD, yet research suggests a history of trauma and comorbid PTSD may adversely impact treatment outcomes. No studies have yet evaluated patient perspectives on the relationship between trauma, IPV and related sequelae and OCD treatment. The present study applies reflexive thematic analysis to interviews from individuals with a history of IPV who received exposure-based therapy for OCD. Interviews explored the influence of posttraumatic distress, impairment, and psychopathology on the treatment of OCD, …


The Relationship Between Estradiol And Progesterone Concentration Levels, Alcohol Consumption, And Inhibitory Control, Layne Elizabeth Robinson B.S. Jan 2026

The Relationship Between Estradiol And Progesterone Concentration Levels, Alcohol Consumption, And Inhibitory Control, Layne Elizabeth Robinson B.S.

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Alcohol use is increasing among women, with estimates for binge drinking having risen to levels similar to those seen in men. Despite this trend, sex differences regarding mechanisms of alcohol consumption have seldom been investigated. Our group and others have found evidence to suggest that ovarian sex hormones are associated with alcohol consumption and mechanisms that might be related to alcohol consumption, such as executive function deficits. The current study sought to extend this prior research in a larger sample with higher drinking rates and more rigorous methods, and to explore inhibitory control associations with drinking. Across the two samples …


Patient Perspectives Of Psychotherapy Duration And Treatment Outcomes, Doug Terrill Jan 2026

Patient Perspectives Of Psychotherapy Duration And Treatment Outcomes, Doug Terrill

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The duration of psychotherapeutic treatment is a longstanding and clinically consequential question in psychotherapy research. Premature dropout from therapy is common, indicating some patients do not receive adequate benefit. On the other hand, some patients remain in treatment beyond the point at which they receive significant benefit, which may delay care for those on patient waitlists. Researchers have proposed two contemporary models of the relation between treatment duration and symptom improvement; 1) the dose-effect (DE) model, which posits that patients improve at similar rates following a negatively accelerated symptom curve, suggesting treatment should end when sessions no longer provide significant …


Effects Of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On Urge During Cue-Exposure To Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, Hannah Rebecca Wild Jan 2026

Effects Of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On Urge During Cue-Exposure To Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, Hannah Rebecca Wild

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are unnecessary, repetitive grooming behaviors linked to abnormalities in sensory and reward processing, as well as top-down inhibition. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is implicated in these processes and plays a key role in cravings among individuals facing addiction. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the left dlPFC shows promise in reducing craving for addictive substances. Despite phenomenological similarities between BFRBs and addictive disorders, no controlled studies have examined tDCS’s effect on BFRBs. This study used a randomized, double-blind design to examine whether a single session of anodal multifocal tDCS targeting the left dlPFC reduced …


Comparing Domain- And Facet-Based Models Of Personality Disorder: Incremental Predictive Validity And Model Fit, Alexandra Hines Jan 2026

Comparing Domain- And Facet-Based Models Of Personality Disorder: Incremental Predictive Validity And Model Fit, Alexandra Hines

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Personality disorders (PDs) have historically been conferred using a categorical diagnostic framework (i.e., present versus absent). However, recent research supports a transition toward dimensional models of PDs wherein personality traits are measured along a continuum. Some dimensional models contain personality domains only, whereas other models contain both personality domains and facets of each of those domains. The leading models of each type are the PD model in the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), respectively. …


Let's Not Talk About Sex? Exploring Sexual Pain In Orthodox Jewish Women, Zehava Gros Schwartzblatt M.S. Jan 2026

Let's Not Talk About Sex? Exploring Sexual Pain In Orthodox Jewish Women, Zehava Gros Schwartzblatt M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Vaginismus, a genito-pelvic pain disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contraction that renders vaginal penetration painful or impossible, is estimated to affect between 1% and 7% of women worldwide (Laskowska & Gronowski, 2022). Although commonly conceptualized as a medical condition, growing evidence suggests that its etiology is significantly shaped by sociocultural and religious factors (Tugrul & Kabakci, 1997). In particular, belief systems that associate sexuality with immorality, sin, or shame (Cotter, 2015; Lewis et al., 2004), combined with limited sexual education, stigma, and misinformation (Nasserzadeh, 2015), may contribute to the development and maintenance of the disorder. These dynamics are especially salient …