Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Minding The Baby®: Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences And Treatment Outcomes In A Mother-Infant Home Visiting Program, Jessica G. Albertson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in a sample of women participating in Minding the Baby® (MTB), a mother-infant home-visiting intervention known to have positive effects on mother-infant attachment. In addition to documenting maternal childhood trauma exposure within the sample, this study explored whether such exposure affected the intervention outcome or service delivery. We looked specifically at whether maternal childhood trauma exposure affected mother-child attachment or frequency of contact with home-visitors. We also examined the relationship between maternal early childhood trauma exposure and reflective functioning capacity (RF), a potential resiliency-promoting factor.

Methods: The study’s participants were 29 first-time …

The Impact Of Spirituality And Trauma On Appraisals Of Psychotic-Like Experiences, Kathleen Isaac

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: A substantial portion of the general population (2.5% to 31.4% internationally) reports psychotic-like experiences, which are paranormal, psychic or bizarre perceptual experiences such as voice hearing, or holding strong beliefs (i.e. superstitions) that are neither experienced as pathological nor indicative of a psychotic disorder. Cognitive models of psychosis suggest that the cognitive appraisal (i.e. personal interpretation) of the experience may help distinguish non-clinical psychotic-like experiences from clinical psychotic symptoms. This dissertation attempted to add to cognitive models by assessing whether cultural and personal factors such as spirituality and trauma inform the appraisals of anomalous experiences. This study used a …

Early Childhood Adversity And Chronic Illness: An Examination Of A High Risk- Forensic Inpatient Population, Courtney L. Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals exposed adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk of developing chronic illnesses in adulthood including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic pain. A relationship between ACEs and health risk factors contributing to chronic disease such as smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle has also been established in prior literature. There is evidence that higher that individuals in forensic inpatient mental health samples are disproportionally exposed to ACEs, which may increase odds of chronic disease development. Despite this evidence, little research has examined the prevalence of ACEs and relationships between ACEs and chronic health conditions and risky health behaviors in …

Two Questions, The Same Answer: The Role Of Demand In Prostitution And Sex Trafficking, Shamere Mckenzie

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Trauma And Well-Being: Moral Emotions In Sex-Trafficked Women, Gina M. Scarsella

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Cognitive models of PTSD implicate attention to threat, negative social cognition, and behavioral avoidance in perpetuating symptoms. In contrast, moral elevation and gratitude are positive socio-moral emotions theorized to facilitate attention to positive features of one’s social context and prosocial approach behavior. No research has examined the relevance of positive moral emotions in the well-being of sex-trafficked women, who may be prone to PTSD symptoms and low positive socio-moral emotions. I tested trait gratitude, elevation, and moral purity as predictors of well-being and moderators of PTSD symptoms on well-being. Participants included sex-trafficked (n = 16) and college (n …

Relations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Current Maladaptive Beliefs In A College Sample, Ilana Starr Berman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cumulative childhood trauma has been associated with both symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. However, few studies have examined these relations with normative young adult populations nor have they explored the relation between childhood adversities and cognitive distortions as an outcome variable. The current study aimed to: 1) replicate and extend research on the relations between cumulative adversity, using a broad measure of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; Felitti et al., 1998), which assesses both maltreatment (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect) and exposure to elements of household dysfunction (e.g., caregiver substance use, witnessing maternal abuse), and mental health …

Modeling The Trauma-Antisociality Relationship As Mediated By World Assumptions: Associations With Gender And Drinking Outcomes, Kathryn Fokas

Psychology ETDs

Previous research has established links between traumatic experiences and externalizing pathology including substance use and antisocial behavior, but little is known about potential mechanisms linking these phenomena. This study proposed a novel conceptual model linking these phenomena via the cognitive mechanism of negative world assumptions, or beliefs about the inherent dangerousness and unpredictability of life and others. Given previous mixed findings, this study also sought to explore potential interactions between gender and these phenomena. It was hypothesized that, within a sample of adults seeking alcohol treatment, world assumptions would mediate and gender would moderate the trauma-antisociality association. It also was …

Cognitive Functioning During Conflict In Intimate Partner Relationships Between Traumatized And Non-Traumatized Samples, Kylie N. Coleman

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Significant differences have been found in neural connectivity of the brain in frontal, central, temporal, and parietal areas of individuals who experienced childhood trauma compared to those who had not (Cook, Ciorciari, Varker, & Devilly, 2009). This study investigated the relationship between the number of distressing and traumatic life experiences and participants’ neural responses to observing simulated conflict in intimate relationship. Graduate students (n = 11) answered conflict resolution and emotional activation questions while watching a simulated, escalating marital conflict. The participants’ neural responses were recorded via EEG mean power data from frontal and temporal brain regions. Heart rate (bpm) …

A Visit To The Doctor: Preparation For Activism, Simone Watson

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

How Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (Emdr) Trained Therapists Stabilize Clients Prior To Reprocessing With Emdr Therapy, Edward H. Brendler

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Helping clients develop resources and stability required to tolerate reprocessing memories can be a considerable part of psychotherapy, particularly with clients who are suffering symptoms related to complex developmental trauma or cumulative multiple-event trauma. There is a paucity of research regarding how experienced EMDR Therapy practitioners experience helping their clients to develop resources required to tolerate reprocessing of trauma memories. This dissertation is an in-depth study of five participants, each a licensed mental health practitioner in the State of Washington, who are trained in EMDR and experienced working with clients who are suffering symptoms of trauma. Each participant was interviewed …

The Process Of Resolving Spiritual Struggle Following Adulthood Trauma, Aimee L. Keith

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Spiritual struggle has been described as a disruption in religious practice and spirituality resulting in questioning beliefs, experiencing discord within religious communities, decreasing spiritual practices, and experiencing painful cognitions such as the belief that one is being punished by God. This study used constructivist grounded theory to explore how women identifying as Protestant Christians at the time of the traumatic event resolve their spiritual struggles. Eleven conceptual categories, which are presented in a stage model, emerged from the data. The stages were Experiencing an Event Discordant with Beliefs, Emotional Reaction (following the traumatic event), Questioning (of beliefs, suffering and identity), …

Early Psychosis And Trauma-Related Disorders: Clinical Practice Guidelines And Future Directions, Casey A. Cragin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Despite very high rates of trauma-related disorders among individuals with early psychosis, no clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of comorbid early psychosis and trauma-related disorders exist to date. Indeed, the routine exclusion of individuals with past and current psychosis from participation in trauma research and practice has limited the accumulation of research evidence that could inform such clinical practice guidelines. While preliminary research evidence suggests that traditional, empirically supported treatments for trauma-related disorders can be safely and effectively employed to reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress and chronic psychosis, it remains unclear whether such treatments are appropriate for individuals in …

Primer On Perspectives And Practices Of Trauma, Trevor P. Haase

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

A large majority of the general population has endured at least one traumatic event in their lifetime and many will seek counseling services to process and resolve the impact from the traumatic experience. Counselors and mental health providers will likely encounter trauma survivors in a high frequency in the majority of therapeutic settings. Practicum and internship level counselors are often not prepared for navigating the complexities that arise working with trauma survivors. This paper outlines the various perspectives and practices of the works of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Narrative Therapy, and Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. These orientations were designed …

Fish, Christine Stark

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Traumatic Stress, World Assumptions, And Law Enforcement Officers, Douglas William Green

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study examined the presence of traumatic stress reaction symptoms among active law enforcement officers, and the relationship between potentially traumatic work related experiences, officers’ cognitive views of the world, and the expression of those symptoms. The range of police roles and responsibilities arguably subjects officers to a greater variety of potentially traumatizing experiences than any other population, and the literature reflects that police officers express traumatic stress related symptoms at a greater rate than the general population. This study differs from previous work in that it utilizes snowball sampling to anonymously identify officers willing to participate without involving …

Investigating The Construct Of Psychopathy In Lebanese And American Adults, Marie-Anne Issa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Psychopathy has been primarily investigated in forensic and psychiatric populations in North America. Cross-cultural studies, mainly conducted in Europe, have shown disparities in psychopathy scores and the measures’ psychometric properties, which raise the issue of cultural factors, such as individualism-collectivism, values, and different ways of emotional expression, and the impact of these cultural factors on the construct and its manifestation. Psychopathy has been rarely explored in Arab populations. This dissertation examines the construct of psychopathy among Lebanese adults, to assess its meaning, relevance, and utility among this population and compares the responses of Lebanese to American adults. The design of …

Ptsd From Childhood Trauma As A Precursor To Attachment Issues, Christy Owen

Fidei et Veritatis: The Liberty University Journal of Graduate Research

The past 20 years have been turbulent regarding Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), with conflicting research about its causes, effects, treatment, and prognosis. The current diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 fails to adequately address this disorder. A number of deviant and maladaptive behaviors common amongst children with RAD are not even mentioned in the diagnostic criteria. As such, the diagnostic definition is almost unidentifiable or incompatible with real-life conduct manifestations of the disorder. Rather, this author contends that RAD is foundationally a unique and extreme form of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from Early Childhood Trauma. The child endured unspeakable neglect and/or …

Cross Validation Of The Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire: Associations With Maternal History Of Maltreatment And Intimate Partner Violence, Maegan Calvert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disorganized caregiving has been associated with both maternal childhood history and current experiences of trauma. However, the methods by which disorganized caregiving has been studied have been time intensive and costly. The current study aimed to extend previous research with the Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire (CHQ; George & Solomon, 2011), which is a self-report measure designed to assess aspects of disorganized caregiving such as caregiving helplessness, role reversal, and frightened/frightening caregiving experiences. Participants (N = 156) were a community sample of mothers of children ages 5 to 10 who were primarily white and who reported a range of traumatic experiences. It …

Found Object/Readymade Art In The Treatment Of Trauma And Loss, Michal Bat Or, Orna Megides

Journal of Clinical Art Therapy

Found object/readymade art is a familiar expressive medium in art therapy that has been insufficiently explored. The present article theoretically and clinically examines Found object/readymade art as a progressive therapeutic intervention in the treatment of trauma and loss. It aims to show how creating found object/readymade art enables the client to encounter and contain damaged/disconnected memories and provides a space for integrating and meaning-making in the face of rupture and loss. This is discussed through a review of found object/readymade art medium in the history of art and in art therapy and by phenomenological observation of its creating process. Specific …

The Relationship Between Trauma-Related Shame, Disordered Behaviors, And Contextual Factors Of Sexual Trauma Beyond Trait-Shame And Sex-Guilt, Michele Laaksonen

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Relatively little is known about the effect of contextual factors of sexual trauma (age at trauma, type of trauma, perpetrator gender, tactics, and relationship) and trauma-related shame and risk-taking motivations. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine this relationship among a sample of 360 undergraduate women with histories of sexual trauma, hypothesizing that trauma-related shame and motivations for participation in extreme sports, drinking games, and sex would differ based on the contextual factors of sexual trauma and the past experience of non-sexual trauma. Age was related to the linear combination of trauma-related shame and risk-taking motivations. Furthermore, contact, relationship, and …

Vocational Implications Of Cult Involvement, Melissa Dawn Jones Wilkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, the majority of studies published on cult membership have been quantitative and have focused primarily on theories and trends about cult membership. These studies have been insufficient in shedding light on the individual’s experience. Qualitative studies are necessary to explore the individual’s accounts of their experiences with past cult involvement and the impact these experiences have on employment. Because of the potential vocational impacts of cult involvement, it is valuable to explore the psychoSocial aspects of work. A qualitative methodology informed by phenomenology was utilized to investigate the unique experience of individuals obtaining employment after leaving a cult. Seven …

Symptom Patterns Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Deaf Trauma Survivors, Melissa L. Anderson, Amanda Sortwell, Kelly S. Wolf Craig, Douglas M. Ziedonis

JADARA

Details about Deaf people’s pattern of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms remain relatively unknown due to inaccessible methods used in most epidemiological research. We conducted semi-structured American Sign Language interviews with 16 trauma-exposed Deaf individuals to explore their PTSD symptom patterns. Half met criteria for current PTSD, a rate higher than the general population. Underlying this disparity may be heightened rates of dissociation and psychogenic amnesia reported by many Deaf trauma survivors. Future research with large samples of Deaf survivors is needed to clarify this hypothesis, and to inform interventions that more accurately target Deaf people’s pattern of trauma symptoms.

Influence Of Self-Stigma, Distress Disclosure, And Self-Compassion On Post-Traumatic Stress Reactions In Deployment Veterans, June Marie Ashley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Military deployments can contribute to significant changes among the service members who experience them. Particularly regarding traumatic or highly stressful deployment experiences, the potential exists for posttraumatic stress reactions with both detrimental outcomes and beneficial influence. The present study explored this spectrum of reactions through the lenses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Given the well-researched presence of stigma within military culture toward psychological distress, consideration was given to how stigma may influence severity of PTSD and degree of PTG. Rather than focusing on public stigma, the present study explored the possible influence of internalized stigma, known …

Longitudinal Examination Of Family Violence, Posttraumatic Stress, Social Skills, And Aggression : An Exploratory Analysis, Shawn Wilson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Aggression in adolescence is associated with many negative outcomes both during adolescence and later in adulthood. In order to properly prevent and treat aggression, it is important to understand what factors are associated with the development of aggression. This study examined how exposure to family violence, posttraumatic stress, and social skills were related to both parent- and adolescent-rated aggressive behavior. This study was comprised of two components. First, a series of mediation models were examined using structural equation modeling. Second, exploratory analyses of the moderating effects of adolescent race and gender were conducted using multiple regression. The sample consisted of …

Testing A Brief Directive Intervention To Reduce Symptoms Associated With Trauma, Fernando Trivelli Alessandri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the relative efficacy of a brief directive protocol (DP) aimed at reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and an expressive writing protocol (EW), which has more than a 30-year history (Pennebaker & Chung, 2011) of research showing mostly positive effects. The DP included components with research support from studies of expressive writing, prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, and mindfulness-based therapies. Participants were primarily undergraduate students at a large public university in the southern United States who endorsed at least one traumatic experience and who manifested a minimal level of PTSD symptoms. The …

Identifying The Trauma Recovery Needs Of Maltreated Children: An Examination Of Child Welfare Workers' Effectiveness In Screening For Traumatic Stress, Adrienne Whitt-Woosley

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Children in the child welfare system comprise a group characterized by their exposure to trauma via experiences of maltreatment, under circumstances presenting multiple risk factors for traumatic stress. High rates of posttraumatic stress have been observed in this population. However, there is currently no standard for the universal screening of children in child welfare for trauma exposure and traumatic stress. The purpose of this study was to analyze the trauma experiences of a sample of maltreated children and examine whether child welfare workers are effective screeners of traumatic stress symptoms with children from their caseloads. Method: A sample of children …

How Therapists Use And Choose Mindfulness To Treat Trauma, Jessica M. King

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This qualitative study used the phenomenological method to examine how therapists use mindfulness therapies and interventions to address trauma-salient issues with their clients. Specifically, it explored therapists’ use of and choices about mindfulness-based treatments when addressing post-traumatic stress symptoms, and trauma-relevant emotion dysregulation and attachment injury. Informants were associate and fully-licensed local therapists, recruited using convenience sampling and snowball sampling by word-of-mouth referrals. Data was collected by semi-structured interviewing. Interview data was analyzed with Moustakas’ (1994) recommended procedures for analysis of phenomenological data. Results, Discussion, Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research are described at the end.

Saving Our Heroes: A Longitudinal Study Of Mental Disorders Within The Fire Service, Bailee Pelham

Scripps Senior Theses

Previous research on the mental health of firefighters has shown that they are at a greater risk than the majority of the population to develop various mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, very little research has been done on the repetitive cumulative exposure to trauma that is associated with their career, which may lead to elevated levels of mental disorders that may not be detected in one testing. In this study, a series of assessments will be given to a sample of urban firefighters every year for the entirety of their …

Demographic Characteristics And Trauma Symptomology In Juvenile Justice Residents At Echo Glen Children's Center, Britta L. Bergan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Exposure to traumatic and stressful events has become increasingly commonplace and the impact of such experiences has been well documented. Trauma events in childhood have been associated with a number of factors, including maladaptive emotional and behavioral responses, increased vulnerability for exposure to additional traumatic events, and adverse experiences later in life. Juvenile justice youth have been found to have higher rates of trauma exposure, when compared to community samples of same-aged peers. The population of youth residing at Echo Glen Children’s Center, in Snoqualmie, Washington, exhibit unique characteristics for a juvenile justice population, including age (the youngest juvenile offenders …

An Evaluation Of The Validity Of A Script-Driven Imagery Procedure Among Traumatic Event Exposed Adolescents, Emily Renae Mischel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Extensive research suggests script-driven imagery procedures employed with traumatic event-exposed adults produce reliable reactions that map onto contemporary models of posttraumatic stress, including increased physiological (Carson et al., 2000; Orr et al., 1998; Ramón et al., 2006) and negative affective (Pitman et al., 1987) responses to trauma scripts. Therefore, such procedures can be utilized in a controlled, laboratory-based setting, supporting mechanism-oriented research designed to better understand the nature, correlates, and consequences of traumatization and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Unfortunately, only one study has begun to evaluate the validity of script-driven imagery procedures for use with youth, making further investigation of …