Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Lived Experiences Of Pakistani American Women Who Sought Mental Health Treatment, Marriam Ashraf

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractDespite the research on how mental illness manifests in the United States, there is more to be known about mental health in the Pakistani American population. The goal of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of Pakistani American women who sought mental health treatment. Ecological theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews with 10 participants via telephone and face-to-face conversations. Data were analyzed using managing, reading, memoing, describing, classifying, interpreting, representing, and visualizing techniques. Findings indicated that seeking help for mental health played a positive role in participants being …

Workplace Stress And Coping In Us Virgin Island Police Officers, Isheba James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research indicates that policing is one of the most challenging and stressful professions worldwide regardless of the size of the police department, specialty area of service, or even geographic location. This study explored workplace stress and related coping strategies as described by police officers in the U.S. Virgin Islands through phenomenological inquiry. In addition to factors of stress and coping, components of culture and current local challenges received focus in the exploration. The research population consisted of 9 Virgin Islands police officers. Underpinning the study was the demand resources individual differences model and Lazarus and Folkman’s stress theory. The research …

Relationship Between Social Media Screen Time, Sedentariness, And Bmi Among Young Adults, Helen Golod

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity has quickly become an epidemic that affects adults and youth not only in the United States, but also increasingly elsewhere in the global community. Research suggests that most children and adolescents spend a significant amount of time indulging in screen-based leisure, especially on social media. Such behavior may also be linked to sedentary lifestyle, which can impact an individual’s body mass index (BMI). There is a lack of understanding concerning how sedentary behavior moderates the relationship between screen time spent on different types of social media and BMI among young adults in the United States. To address this research …

Motivational Interviewing In Vocational Rehabilitation: Why It Matters For People With Disabilities, Alicia Wein-Senghas

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is increasingly being trained within and integrated into public vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs based on its efficacy in related fields and yet research specific to the efficacy of MI in public VR programs is almost nonexistent. This study used a quantitative sequential design to explore relationships between MI training, MI proficiency, and VR customer outcomes within the State of Vermont’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VT DVR) program. The study occurred in two phases. In the first phase, 30 VR counselors were recruited, and their level of MI proficiency was established using the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Measure …

A Test Of The “Teachable Moment” Heuristic’S Relevance For Understanding Cancer Survivors’ Health Behavior Motivation And Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study, Gabriella Puleo

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Cancer diagnosis has potential to motivate health behavior changes to promote better health outcomes. The Teachable Moment Heuristic is a parsimonious, transtheoretical framework for understanding the conditions under which behavior change might occur, with constructs that include affective, cognitive, and social factors. This exploratory study aimed to measure the three primary constructs of the Teachable Moment, evaluate the extent to which they are associated with cancer survivors’ motivation to adopt favorable health behaviors, and explore their potential as a model for health behavior performance. Participants (n = 93) in this cross-sectional study were adult breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, and …

Trauma-Related Shame And Guilt As Prospective Predictors Of Daily Mental Contamination And Ptsd Symptoms In Survivors Of Sexual Trauma, Jesse P. Mccann

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Mental contamination–the experience of dirtiness or pollution in the absence of a physical contaminant–has established links with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emotions such as shame and guilt have well-documented relationships with PTSD symptoms and are suggested to play a role in the development and maintenance of mental contamination. The goal of the present study was to examine whether trauma-related shame and guilt prospectively predicted daily experiences of mental contamination and PTSD symptoms among women with sexual trauma history. Forty-one women with a history of sexual trauma completed baseline and twice-daily assessments of mental contamination and PTSD symptoms over a two-week …

Impact Of Ptsd On Hcv/Hiv Risk-Reduction Interventions Among Incarcerated Drug-Using Women In Rural Appalachia, Caitlyn Hood

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Justice-involved women in rural Appalachian Kentucky are a particularly vulnerable group in need of targeted risk-reduction interventions for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Compared to women in the general U.S. population, justice-involved women in rural Appalachia report dramatically higher rates of HCV/HIV risk behaviors (e.g., injection drug use and risky sex), interpersonal violence (IV; e.g., physical, sexual, or emotional abuse), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). IV and PTSD may exacerbate rural Appalachian women’s risk for contracting and transmitting HIV/HCV, indicating a need to approach HCV/HIV risk-reduction interventions from a trauma-informed perspective.

Brief motivational interviewing and psychoeducation …

Impact Of Violence Exposure On Children's Mental Health And Family Functioning: An Ecological-Transactional Approach, Rice Mary Dusing

Dissertations

N/A

Adherence To A Mindfulness App For College Students With Depression: Patterns, Predictors, And Outcomes, Brynn Marie Huguenel

Dissertations

National trends indicate that mental health concerns, particularly rates of depression, continue to rise on college campuses; however, treatment utilization remains low. Technology-based mental health interventions, such as mental health apps (MHapps), are a promising means of overcoming treatment barriers. MHapps are effective in improving psychological outcomes, but low rates of adherence are a noted limitation. The current study explored patterns of adherence to a MHapp, investigated the bidirectional relation between adherence and depression, and identified motivational predictors of adherence rates. Undergraduate students (N= 66) reporting clinically-elevated depressive symptoms completed a three-month trial using Headspace, a mindfulness MHapp. Patterns of …

Ethnic Racial Socialization, Ethnic Identity, And Internalizing Outcomes In The Context Of Stress Among Mexican Origin Families, Sarah Alicia Jolie

Master's Theses

Research demonstrates that it is important to study the impact of cultural factors on child development and well-being (Garcia Coll et al., 1996). Among Latino youth, ethnic racial socialization and ethnic identity have been associated with positive outcomes, such as academic competence and lower reports of internalizing problems (Liu & Lau, 2013; Berkel et al., 2010; Umaña-Taylor & Guimond, 2010). Additionally, there is evidence of ethnic identity mediating the association between ethnic racial socialization and child internalizing symptoms among Mexican-origin adolescents (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). However, more research is needed in examining these associations within stressful contexts relevant to Latino …

Menstrual Pain Trajectories And Their Psychological And Behavioral Predictors, Hannah Marie Alves Hagy

Master's Theses

Despite the high prevalence of menstrual pain (i.e., dysmenorrhea) and the negative impact on quality of life, there is a dearth of research on how menstrual pain changes over time. There is also a critical need to understand psychological and behavioral predictors of these menstrual pain trajectories because dysmenorrhea is a known risk factor for the development of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and chronic non-pelvic pain (CNPP). Given that current treatments for CPP and CNPP have had limited success, developing preventative strategies for dysmenorrhea is of high importance. Relying on longitudinal survey data collected as part of a larger investigation, …

Kinship Involvement And Strength Development In The Child Welfare System, Nicole Amper Hodgkinson

Master's Theses

For youth involved in the Child Welfare System (CWS), maltreatment and ecological losses pose enormous challenges to healthy development. Kin and fictive kin involvement, a current CWS priority, may have the potential to aid in strength development; however, little is known about its role in this process. The current study explored the following aims: (1) identify the role of kin and fictive kin in strength development (2) investigate the impact of maltreatment on initial strength levels and their development over time and (3) examine the extent to which kinship involvement interacts with prior maltreatment to buffer the impact of maltreatment …

Consensus Statement On Ethical & Safety Practices For Conducting Digital Monitoring Studies With People At Risk Of Suicide And Related Behaviors, Matthew K. Nock, Evan M. Kleiman, Melissa Abraham, Kate H. Bentley, David A. Brent, Ralph J. Buonopane, Franckie Castro-Ramirez, Christine B. Cha, Walter Dempsey, John Draper, Catherine R. Glenn, Jill Harkavy-Friedman, Michael R. Hollander, Jeffrey C. Huffman, Hye In S. Lee, Alexander J. Millner, David Mou, Jukka-Pekka Onnela, Rosalind W. Picard, Heather M. Quay, Osiris Rankin, Shannon Sewards, John Torous, Joan Wheelis, Ursula Whiteside, Galia Siegel, Anna E. Ordóñez, Jane L. Pearson

Psychology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: Digital monitoring technologies (e.g., smart-phones and wearable devices) provide unprecedented opportunities to study potentially harmful behaviors such as suicide, violence, and alcohol/substance use in real-time. The use of these new technologies has the potential to significantly advance the understanding, prediction, and prevention of these behaviors. However, such technologies also introduce myriad ethical and safety concerns, such as deciding when and how to intervene if a participant's responses indicate elevated risk during the study?

METHODS: We used a modified Delphi process to develop a consensus among a diverse panel of experts on the ethical and safety practices for conducting digital …

Do Gender, Anxiety Sensitivity Level, And Timing Of Anxiety Sensitivity Assessment Predict Heart Rate Variability?, Jordan Sieja

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or the fear/belief that anxiety symptoms and sensations will have negative outcomes, is a strong predictor of future psychopathology. AS is divided into three factors: physical, cognitive, and social. Reduced heart rate variability (HRV), or the variation in intervals between heartbeats, is associated with various psychological disorders. Current research findings disagree as to whether AS predicts HRV outcomes. The present study sought to examine data from a previous research project as results of relationships between AS and HRV were contrary to expectations. The current study examined potential predictors of HRV, such as the relationship between high-frequency (HF) …

Predominantly White Institution Or Historically Black College/University: Racial Composition Of School Environment And Perceived Racism On African American Students’ College Experiences, Taylor Garland

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The current study explored perceived racism, mental health, and coping to see how those concepts might influence how African American students evaluate their college experiences. Additionally, this study explored how school environment (i.e., predominantly White institution [PWI] vs. historically Black college/university [HBCU]) impacted the hypotheses. All participants completed an online questionnaire. Findings for the key hypotheses of this study were mixed. For example, regardless if African American students attended a PWI or HBCU, they were both likely to report similar experiences of perceived racism and negative affect. Despite these and a few other relevant hypotheses not being supported, two significant …

The Mediating Role Of Sensitivity To Criticism On The Relationship Between Vulnerable Narcissism And Negative Affect, Sneha Shankar

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have examined the interpersonal correlates of narcissistic traits through ego-threats precipitated by experiences of external rejection or criticism. However, few studies have empirically investigated the role of sensitivity to criticism in the relation between vulnerable narcissism and negative affect. This study sought to examine this relation through comparing the mediating and moderating effects of sensitivity to criticism to shame and psychological inflexibility within three feedback conditions (positive, negative, and none). Three samples were utilized to assess these trait and state associations. Sensitivity to criticism demonstrated only moderating effects on the relation between vulnerable narcissism and situational anger in the …

Parental Control: The Role Of Maternal Depression, Sleep, And Executive Function, Amanda Hicks

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Parental depression negatively impacts parenting practices, yet other factors such as sleep and executive function may also impact behaviors. Specifically, depression and sleep may impact behaviors through their influence on executive function. The current study examined both the mediating role of executive function on the relation between depression and sleep on parental control and the moderating role of sleep on the relation between depression and executive function on control with mothers of toddlers. Results showed that depression was positively associated with sleep problems and boys were more likely than girls to experience negative control. Socioeconomic status was positively associated with …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Best In Class Adherence And Competence Scale, Katrina A. Markowicz

Theses and Dissertations

It is critical to utilize treatment integrity instruments to support the evaluation of evidence-based programs in early classroom contexts. However, in the early childhood field, guidelines for collecting treatment integrity data are underdeveloped. Consequently, most treatment integrity instruments employed in the field solely assess adherence, vary in design features and have little psychometric evidence supporting their use. As such, this represents a gap in the field that might slow efforts to implement evidence-based programs. The current study examines the score reliability and validity of an observational treatment integrity instrument (The BEST in CLASS Adherence and Competence Scale [BiCACS]; Sutherland et …

E-Cigarette Use And Perceptions Among Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The Role Of Parental Messages About Tobacco, Mayra S. Ramos

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of using e-cigarettes compared to their neurotypical peers. Parent-adolescent communication about tobacco use and number of ADHD symptoms can influence adolescents’ perceptions of e-cigarettes and their e-cigarette use. Adolescents with ADHD (n = 80) completed questionnaires assessing parental messages about tobacco use; e-cigarette harm perceptions; susceptibility to use e-cigarettes; and e-cigarette use. Parents reported on messages about tobacco use, adolescent’s ADHD symptomatology, and completed demographic questionnaires. Twenty-percent of adolescents reported e-cigarette ever use. Adolescent girls were significantly more likely to report higher e-cigarette harm perceptions than boys. Parents reported providing messages …

Protective And Risk Factors Associated With Posttraumatic Growth And Psychopathological Symptoms Following Trauma, Jessica Henninger

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Most people experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetimes, yet only a small proportion of individuals develop posttraumatic stress disorder. Many studies have examined risk factors associated with psychopathological symptoms in individuals with trauma, but few have examined protective factors associated with posttraumatic growth, and even fewer have examined risk and protective factors concurrently. Factors that contribute to discrepancies between individuals who experience pathology and those who experience growth are unclear Recent studies suggest that mild stressful life events in childhood may impact the way in which an individual experiences later stress via a strengthening or “steeling” effect. …

Diabetes Training Camp: A Brief Intervention To Improve Self-Management And Physical Activity In Adults With Type 1 Diabetes, David Charny

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is less common than Type 2 Diabetes (T2D); however, its growing incidence, chronic prognosis, and increased self-management burden, produce unique psychosocial challenges for this population. Specifically, these individuals are atrisk for poor diabetes self-efficacy, and poor glycemic control, which can contribute to diabetes-specific mood alterations, or diabetes distress (DD), and an overall reduction in diabetes-specific health-related quality of life. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Diabetes Training Camp (DTC) 1-week intervention in mitigating psychosocial distress utilizing a repeated measures design to evaluate the impact of participation on measures of DD, diabetes quality of life (DQOL) …

Predictors Of Utilization Of Care In A Community Outpatient Mental Health Sample, Matthew F. Bloom

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The term superutilizer is used to classify individuals who frequent emergency departments and inpatient medical settings for preventable reasons. The exact criteria for this term are unclear, and there is dearth of literature on how it applies to the outpatient medical setting and to mental health utilization. The purpose of this study was to identify potential client demographic and clinical variables predictive of the utilization of mental health services/resources, as measured by number of sessions attended over the course of treatment in an outpatient mental health setting. It was hypothesized there would be a predictive relationship between being female, younger, …

Pediatric Health Care Providers’ Perceptions And Knowledge Of Caregiving Youth, Brianna Bliss

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Many young people younger than the age of 18 years are involved in providing care to family members who are unable to manage their own medical, physical, or mental illnesses. Youth caregivers are an understudied population in the United States. The small yet growing research base has illustrated the relationship between the caregiving role, academic performance, and an individual’s social and psychological well-being. Medical settings are uniquely positioned to identify caregiving youth and provide supportive resources. A survey was created and administered to pediatric health care providers who offered medical and psychosocial support to children and adolescents. Providers were recruited …

Circling The Wagons: A Re-Entry Program For Substance Use In Nh, Angela Leigh Walter

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation aimed to adapt Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) to a substance-involved population in New Hampshire (NH). CoSA is a volunteer-based community program that provides accountability and various forms of support to previously incarcerated individuals rejoining the community. Program recommendations were created through qualitative realist thematic analysis of a literature review and interviews. Recommendations were integrated with existing CoSA manuals to create the proposed program. NH CoSA, through the principles of narrative reconstruction, risk-need-responsivity, and the Good Lives Model, aims to help individuals successfully re-integrate into their community over a period of about a year. The program will …

The Student Experience Of Psychoeducational Assessment: A Phenomenological Study, Teresa Hoffman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Emerging adults with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are interviewed to understand the student experience of the psychoeducational assessment process that is codified by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA). The assessment practice is well established to qualify students for special education and related services (SERS) to ensure every child in the United States has the opportunity for free and appropriate education. An overview of the general psychoeducational assessment practice and specific assessment for SLD is supplemented by the literature regarding best-practices for psychological assessment with children/adolescents to set the context for a process that is encountered triennially …

Sickle Cell In A Poor Community In Haiti: Attention, Emotion, And Sleep, Sarajane Rodgers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Hemoglobin disorders or inherited blood diseases affect about 5% of the world population. One main category of these disorders is sickle-cell disease (SCD). SCD can cause many physical complications, such as kidney problems, leg ulcers, and chronic pain. Less frequently discussed symptoms include complications like attention problems and emotion regulation. The study looked at a small sample of pediatric and adult patients (N=22) with SCD at a primary care clinic in a very poor community in Haiti, researching sleep and emotion regulation, given their shared neurobiological systems. As these symptoms can influence attention, the relationships among attention, emotion, and sleep …

Construction Of A Developmental Social Privilege Integration Scale, Abigail M. Martin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The APA’s 2017 multicultural guidelines task psychologists with the aspirational goal of understanding the nuances of historical and contemporary systems of power, privilege, and oppression. Scholars such as Helms (1984) demonstrated the critical need to readjust psychology’s focus from oppressed groups to privileged groups. In her seminal 1988 article, McIntosh insisted that in order to “redesign social systems,” privileged groups must first acknowledge their “unseen dimensions” (p. 1). Similarly, Black and Stone (2005) and Johnson (2018) asserted the lack of social privilege awareness is part of American culture, which helps to maintain the invisibility of privilege and the status quo …

Adult Attachment Interview Classification: Comparing Two Coding Systems, Patricia M. Hastings

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Research on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) provides an opportunity to study the ways in which early childhood relational experiences might influence an individual over a lifetime. It is not yet clear, however, whether results from different coding systems for the AAI are equally useful. The first purpose of this study was to compare attachment classification distributions obtained from coding AAIs with the Berkeley and Dynamic-Maturational Model (DMM) coding systems. The second purpose was to explore whether AAI classifications derived from the Berkeley or DMM system were more strongly associated with mother and mother-child dyad outcome variables. Participants were a …

Examining The Ecological Validity Of The Power Of Food Scale, Lindsay M. Howard, Kristin E. Heron, Kathryn E. Smith, Ross D. Crosby, Scott G. Engel, Stephen A. Wonderlich, Tyler B. Mason

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose

Appetite for palatable foods may impact eating-related behaviors in everyday life. The present study evaluated the real-world predictive validity of the Power of Food Scale (PFS) using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

Methods

30 women who reported binge eating completed the PFS and related measures. Subsequently, during a 14-day assessment period, participants completed five daily EMA surveys of appetite and binge eating via text message and web.

Results

Results of generalized estimating equations showed that higher PFS scores were associated with higher momentary levels of hunger, eagerness to eat, and urge to eat but were unrelated to fullness, preoccupation with …

Influencing Legislation For Juveniles In The Adult Judicial System: A Phenomenological Examination Of Legal Advocates, Krista F. Franklin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

INFLUENCING LEGISLATION FOR JUVENILES IN THE ADULT JUDICIAL SYSTEM: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF LEGAL ADVOCATES Krista Franklin Antioch University Seattle Seattle, WA This phenomenological study explores the lived experience of Washington State lawmakers and legal activists regarding their involvement in passing Washington State Senate Bill 5064 in February 2014. In response to the 2012 landmark federal Supreme Court decision, Miller v. Alabama, Senate Bill 5064 reduced the number of crimes for which juveniles could be sentenced as adults to life without parole. Six interviewees were selected from those who testified in Olympia, WA. Individual interviews were conducted in an open-ended …