Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Pediatric Asthma And Psychological Resilience: Examining Whether Family Functioning And Social Support Relate To Asthma Symptoms And Lung Function, Dalia Jaafar, Natasha H. Hikita, Pornchai Tirakitsoontorn, Azucena Talamantes, Anchalee Yuengsrigul, Eric Sternlicht, Brooke N. Jenkins

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Upwards of 6 million children in the United States are afflicted with pediatric asthma. While previous research has linked asthma to multiple contributing biological and environmental factors, recent research suggests that psychological and social factors may have an impact on physiological outcomes of asthma like lung function and lung inflammation. Therefore, we suggest the need to study the impact of positive psychological factors such as a well-functioning family environment and beneficial social support on symptoms and lung function of children diagnosed with asthma. In the present pilot study, we recruited a total of 15 children with a confirmed asthma diagnosis …

Impacts Of Motor And Sensory Impairment On Language In Young Children With Autism, Elizabeth A. Bisi

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with varying degrees of deficit in the broader areas of social communication and stereotyped behaviors, but emerging research proposes delayed motor skill and atypical sensory processing as additional factors worth closer examination. In the current study, I sought to investigate the impacts of visual motor skills and sensory differences on language ability in young children with autism. I hypothesized that young children with autism, atypical sensory processing (Short Sensory Profile, 2^nd Edition), and impaired visual motor integration (Beery VMI, 6^th Edition) would have the most impacted language ability scores (Differential Ability …

Social-Ecological And Protective Factor Approach To Managing Parental Incarceration, Jacquelyn Harris

Dissertations

Mass imprisonment does not only impact the incarcerated individual; it also affects approximately five million children in the United States. Researchers identified and compare the impact of parental incarceration on child development. They acknowledged the protective factors across the lifecycle from a social-ecological perspective and specifically related to parental incarceration. The comprehensive literature review inspired an innovative model, the social-ecological and protective factor approach to managing parental incarceration. The primary goal of this model is to combat the detrimental effects of parental incarceration by identifying protective factors across the lifecycle and throughout the microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem. This model is …

Exploration Of Factors That Influence The Use Of Psychological Testing In The Treatment And Evaluation Of Children: Development Of A Clinical Decision-Making Model, Joy Bui

Dissertations

Mental health disorders are on the rise among children. Within the field of clinical psychology, psychological testing is considered a professional competency and a formative diagnostic tool. Simultaneously, testing can help clarify differential diagnosis, guide treatment for both medical and mental health conditions, and provide accurate monitoring of treatment over time. Although there is substantial evidence supporting the use of testing in practice, there is limited scientific data linking these same benefits to the assessment process. One explanation for this is that studying psychological assessments is a challenging task, given the complexities of the process. Subsequently, many have described conducting …

Reactive And Regulative Temperament Dimensions, Emotion Regulation, And Concurrent Internalizing And Externalizing Pathology Among Youth With Adhd., Kirsten D. Leaberry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging research has increasingly identified the detrimental effect of internalizing and externalizing comorbidity on the functioning of youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Research in the broad child psychopathology literature has identified a variety of dispositional and developmental risk factors for psychopathology development in youth. However, a conceptual model of psychopathology development has yet to be developed and empirically evaluated in an ADHD sample. Children with ADHD may be particularly vulnerable to exhibiting high rates of psychopathology, given deficits in self-regulation prevalent in this population. The current study proposed and evaluated a theoretical model of distal and proximal risk factors for …

Methodological Proposal Of A 2gen Approach To Treating Trauma For Mothers With Substance-Use And Their Children, Rosa L. Boniface, Jenna A. Cummings, Seth Krier, Dylan Lisnow, Stevie N. Grassetti

Psychology Student Work

Background: Existing literature shows adverse environments are detrimental to a family’s overall health and wellbeing. Estimates from 2016 indicate 18 million children experienced at least one family stressor such as economic hardship, exposure to parental substance use or witnessing domestic violence. Women are three times more likely to pass intergenerational trauma, or trauma passed from caregiver to child. If left untreated, adults and children are at risk for developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and rupturing the parent child relationship. Current services typically treat the parent and child individually, despite research showing positive relational and therapeutic effects when they are …

Families First: Impact On Parent Knowledge, And Association Between Program Quality And Child Symptom Severity, Cibrian Johnson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Families First parenting workshops were developed for caregivers of children recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The primary site hosts inperson workshops, but webcasts the workshops to remote sites in different areas of the United States. The purpose of this study was to assess whether parents have an increase in knowledge after participating in Families First workshops at a remote site, and to assess whether program quality ratings and child symptom severity are associated with parent knowledge. The current study addressed the following research questions:

1. Do parents participating in the Families First workshops at a remote site …

Youth With Adhd : The Impact Of The Clinical Anxiety On Neuropsychological Functioning, Elisabeth Jeanne O'Rourke

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Children with ADHD demonstrate significant deficits in certain executive functions (EFs), including visual and verbal working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and sustained attention. Similar deficits have been observed in children with anxiety, however there is less evidence that inhibitory control is worse in these youth. More recently, research has examined the EF of children with comorbid ADHD and anxiety (ADHD + ANX). There is evidence that suggests that anxiety can play both a protective as well as harmful role for EF in these children. The current study sought to explore whether the performance of children with ADHD + ANX …

Integrated Psychological Services In Pediatric Primary Care: A Program Evaluation, Kristen Laprade Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many children and youth experience emotional and/or behavioral health difficulties and lack appropriate access to care. Access to care limitations are particularly relevant to rural populations such as Mississippi. Integrated care models could serve as an innovative solution to increasing access to care for children and youth. In particular, the Three World View model of integrated care asserts that attention should be given to the clinical world (i.e., provision of evidence based services), operational world (i.e., charting, scheduling, referrals, etc.), and the financial world (i.e., funding and reimbursement). The current study utilized program evaluation tools to develop and evaluate a …

Confusing Conversations: Assessing Traumatic Stress In Young Children, Jennifer Lela Moniz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Early detection and interventions are important for the prevention of negative long-term effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Current evaluations of PTSD in young children rely heavily on caregiver reports, and there are few self-report measures for children under 8 years old (Mash & Barkley, 2007). This study examined the construct validity of the Post Traumatic Symptom Inventory for Children (PT-SIC), a self-report measure of PTSD symptomatology for young children, through a comparison of results with the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC), an empirically supported caregiver measure of child PTSD symptomatology. Results of the Spearman correlation indicated that …

Be Kind To Your Mind: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing The Benefits Of Mindfulness And Self-Compassion Vs. Social Skills Training Among Children And Adolescents, Lindsey Feltis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Childhood and adolescence can be difficult for young people as they navigate a variety of significant transitions. Thus, it is imperative that researchers focus on programs that support children and adolescents during this time. Mindfulness and self-compassion are two such programs that may promote positive youth development. Mindfulness and self-compassion have been explored in the adolescent context, and mindfulness has been explored with young children, however research on self-compassion for children is currently lacking. The present studies were designed to examine the feasibility, acceptability and potential benefits of a combined mindfulness + self-compassion program for children and adolescents in the …

Key Expressions Of Posttraumatic Distress In Cambodian Children: A Step Toward Culturally-Sensitive Trauma Assessment And Intervention, Caleb J. Figge

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

More than half of all children in Cambodia experience direct abuse and over 70% other traumatic events, which significantly increase risk for a range of physical and mental health problems. Additionally, Cambodian children face longstanding sociopolitical, intergenerational, and cultural factors that compound the impact of direct victimization. As a result, rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms among Cambodian youth are high. However, care providers often rely on Western-based nosology that does not account for culturally specific expressions of trauma. Lack of knowledge surrounding the expressions of distress that best represent the experience of traumatized Cambodian children hinders diagnostic accuracy and treatment …

Treatment Considerations For Adoption-Related Complex Trauma, Jessica Reyka

Dissertations

The western culture holds many assumptions related to adoption; however, it is clear based on the research provided that adoption and the circumstances leading up to being adopted often leave the child traumatized. Many adopted individuals and adoptive families seek mental health services in order to help address some of the symptoms that have manifested through traumatic events. However, the services they are receiving are reportedly lacking in basic knowledge related to adoption and have, at times, done more harm than good. As clinicians, it is important to acknowledge one's scope of clinical competence and to only treat individuals that …

The Role Of Antecedent-Focused Emotion Regulatory Strategies On Emotionally Dysregulated Behavior Above And Beyond The Influence Of Adhd., Skyler C. Vanmeter

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Emotion dysregulation in children may contribute to poor interpersonal relationships and a variety of internalizing and externalizing psychopathological outcomes in children both with and without ADHD. This study serves to provide an examination of how emotional self-awareness and situationally appropriate emotional expression may affect an individual's ability to broadly regulate emotion and additionally provides an exploratory investigation of how these attributes may affect specific emotion regulation. The present study found that emotional self-awareness and emotion recognition may both contribute to emotion regulation through shared variance with each other rather than unique variance of either one. Exploratory analyses of regulation of …

An Exploration Of The Experience Of Adults With Learning Disabilities Through Art, Adi Greenboim-Zimchoni

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study employed arts-based research with phenomenological, qualitative inquiry to understand and explore the perspectives of adults with learning disabilities and their sense of self and support in inclusive and special education classrooms in Israel during their school years. In this study, the researcher attempted to take Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) one step further by examining the participants’ feelings and relationships with the people in their daily lives during childhood. The researcher met with 12 participants ages 18-31 diagnosed with learning disabilities between third and eleventh grade. Participants created drawings illustrating how they felt about teachers, parents, friends and …

Evaluating The Cognitive Profile Of Autism Spectrum Dsorder, Cortney Janicki

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Previous research on the cognitive functioning of individuals with autism spectrum disorder has mixed findings. It is generally understood that individuals with autism have a unique cognitive profile compared to their typically developing peers; however, capturing the special features of this cognitive profile has been difficult. The present study examines the cognitive profile of individuals with autism from multiple angles including overall Nonverbal and Verbal IQ score differences, differences in age, and differences in sex. The study evaluated data gathered from diagnostic evaluations for autism spectrum disorder performed in the Capital Region of New York. A total of 178 children …

Factors Influencing Success In Day Treatment Programs For Children Ages 5 To 10, Leah Morken

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Improving the success rates of children in mental health treatment is an important step to bettering lives. Day treatment programs are intermediate level treatment modalities that help children who are struggling with their mental health. Success rates differ for children in day treatment programs and several studies have been done evaluating various factors. This research addressed whether a child who had been exposed to trauma showed as much success in a program as a child that had not been exposed to trauma. Other variables were to determine if children have different levels of success based on their diagnosis. The study …

Teaching The Leisure Skill Of Photography To Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alicia Tsai

CMC Senior Theses

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often do not use their leisure time appropriately. Previous studies have shown that children with ASD tend to engage in inappropriate actions and maladaptive behaviors (such as engaging in stereotypy and tantrums) that decrease their quality of life. Establishing age-appropriate leisure skills is important for these children as these skills have been recognized as fulfilling habilitative needs, and can increase the quality of life and social acceptance and decrease the amount of stress for these individuals. The present study used a multiple baseline across-participants design to investigate whether children with ASD can learn and …

Parent Reported Executive Functioning Does Not Predict Memory Dysfunction In Pediatric Epilepsy And Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Nicole J. Norheim

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Epilepsy and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) children are vulnerable to executive functioning and memory difficulties. The interaction between EF and memory is important to consider as EF impairments may put children at risk for experiencing memory difficulties which can impact their academic performance and quality of life. However, the evidence for the impact of EF on memory is very limited with only two studies to date focusing on this association (Rzezak et al., 2012; Sepeta et al., 2017). This was the first study to research the impact of executive dysfunction on memory in the pediatric epilepsy and ADHD population. Method: …

Impact Of A School-Based Mindfulness Intervention On Children’S Self Regulation, Elizabeth Chaney

Doctoral Dissertations

When schools recognize the importance of social-emotional learning and support young children’s self-regulation skills, students are also likely to see improvements in their academic potential. Youth who encounter the stressors of toxic stress and thus, who may have more challenges developing self-regulation competencies, may particularly benefit from classroom environments where self-regulation and coping skills are emphasized. The current study examined the impact of a school-based mindfulness program on self-regulation and mindfulness skills of 42 children in two fourth grade classrooms that were assigned to either a Mindfulness Group (n = 30) or to a Control Group (n = 12). The …

Parental Mindfulness And Stress As An Influence On Clinically Referred Children’S Emotional Competence, Ahmad Baiyasi

Honors College Theses

Children acquire the skills of emotional competence in a variety of contexts, and demonstrate through their behavior the skills evident of emotional competence. Such skills include a sense of well-being, adaptive resilience in the face of stressful circumstances, and the ability to manage their own emotions (Saarni, 2000). Mindfulness, a relatively new construct in the study of human development, is nonjudgmentally paying attention to relevant aspects of our experiences, including our own emotions and thoughts (Ludwig & Kabat-Zinn, 2008). Stress is emotional or mental strain resulting from adverse or very demanding life circumstances, such as our living environment (Lunney, 2006). …

Social Work Trauma Interventions: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Kassie Baumann

Senior Honors Theses

According to Lynne Weilart (2013), in her article on the reasons why people seek out therapy, trauma is the number one reason people attend counseling. Many different trauma-informed approaches are designed specifically to address the consequences of trauma and to facilitate healing. Some of these approaches are as follows: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT);Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT); Trauma Systems Therapy (TST); Trauma Assessment Pathway (TAP); and Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC) (de Arellano, Danielson, Ko, & Sprauge, 2008). The effectiveness of each trauma intervention will be examined. DBT is one of these trauma interventions that is growing …

Sadomasochism: Descent Into Darkness, Annotated Accounts Of Cases, 1996-2014, Robert Peters

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

A collection of accounts of sadomasochistic sexual abuse from news reports and scholarly and professional sources about the dark underbelly of sadomasochism and the pornography that contributes to it. It focuses on crimes and other harmful sexual behavior related to the pursuit of sadistic sexual pleasure in North America and the U.K. It is intended to be a resource to educate people about how sadomasochism can lead to harmful and even deadly sadistic sexual behavior.

Parents' Emotional Experiences Of Their Transgender Children Coming Out, Meri Rule

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parents of transgender children face challenges when their children come out, including fear of negative reaction toward the parents and their transgender child by community members, concerns about social status in the community or religious organizations, and concerns about the inability of the transgender child to build his or her own family. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the emotional experiences of parents regarding their acceptance or rejection of their transgender child. Rohner's parental acceptance-rejection theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from parents (N = 13) who attended Parents and Friends of …

Latent Structure Of The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test In Psychiatrically Hospitalized Youth, Jane S. Studeny

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The aims of this study were to explore the latent factor structure of WCST performance in psychiatrically hospitalized youth, and to investigate associations between latent factors and various psychiatric, psychological, and neuropsychological variables. The results revealed a three-factor solution that is broadly attributed to executive abilities of problem solving, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. The resulting three-factor solution accounted for 96% of the variance in the present study’s sample, and was comparable to results from similar studies in adult populations. Latent factors were associated with performance on a brief test of intelligence as well as to several measures of executive …

The Roles Of Hpa Axis Activity And Attentional Bias In The Development Of Anxiety Symptoms In Low-Income Mexican-Origin Children, Stephanie Brewer

Dissertations

The overarching goal of this research is to increase understanding of the development of anxiety in children of low-income Mexican-origin immigrants. Mexican-origin children display disproportionately high rates of mental disorders such as anxiety, as they face many chronic stressors related to poverty and immigration. A likely mediator of this process is HPA axis activity, causing a buildup of cortisol in the body in response to chronic stress. There is a large amount of evidence indicating that HPA axis activity is a mechanism through which accumulated poverty-related stress causes mental illness, but this mediator has not been examined in relation to …

Cognitive Remediation Of Working Memory Deficits In Children With Chronic Health Conditions: Tailoring Cogmed Training To Address Barriers To Adherence, Kelsey Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) and cancer are at risk for working memory impairment due to the disease and treatment. However, inconsistency in adherence to cognitive training programs conducted with this population suggests that adaptations are necessary in order to improve the effectiveness of this intervention. In addition, it is unclear whether gains in working memory translate to improvement in classroom functioning.

Methods: Children engaged in cognitive training exclusively over the summer in order to improve adherence to Cogmed Working Memory Training. A total of 17 children ages 7- 17 with a diagnosis of SCD (n = 14) …

Bedtime Fading With Response Cost For Treatment Of Sleep Disturbances In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sela Ann Sanberg

Theses & Dissertations

As many as 82% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) experience numerous chronic sleep-related problems and at a much higher frequency and severity than their typically developing peers. Behavioral treatments are considered best practice and first-line treatment to address sleep problems. These treatments tend to address one specific sleep-related behavior at a time. Bedtime Fading with Response Cost (BFRC) is a promising intervention that targets a multitude of sleep problems concurrently and has yet to be replicated by more than one investigative team in the home setting with children on the autism spectrum. This study evaluated the effectiveness of …

Developing A Competency-Based Framework To Guide Elementary School Teachers' Efforts In Helping Bullied Children, Samantha Gregus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study aimed to develop a competency-based framework designed to assist elementary school teachers in their efforts to help bullied children. Drawing from extant research, Gregus and Cavell (2017) created an initial draft of the framework that contained 25 components representing a mix of knowledge, attitudes, and skills. In Study 1, I obtained input on the framework from practicing elementary school teachers (n = 26) and researchers who study school bullying (n = 14). Teacher input was gathered via a series of focus groups and researchers responded using an online survey. Both teachers and researchers viewed the framework positively …

The Effects Of Meditation On Brain Organization And The Implications For Treating Adhd, Talia Gibson

Honors Projects

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has recently become increasingly diagnosed for children and adolescents. As of now, the most common treatment method is medication, with the purpose of changing brain organization. Recently, however, there has been increasing interest in the use of mindfulness meditation to treat the symptoms associated with ADHD. In this paper, eleven different studies, which have introduced mindfulness meditation as a treatment method for ADHD, are analyzed. The studies measure the degree to which mindfulness meditation improves common symptoms associated with ADHD. These symptoms include attentional problems, reduced mindful awareness, externalizing and internalizing problems, reduced self-control, impaired social behavior, …