Health Psychology Commons^™

State Politics And Stress Amongst Lgbtq+ Students At Florida’S Private Colleges: A Psychological And Normative Analysis, Alise Fortune

Honors Program Theses

The recent wave of anti-LGBTQ+ politics and policies in Florida pose potential risks to the mental health and well-being of Florida’s LGBTQ+ students. The present study surveyed LGBTQ+ students attending private colleges in Florida to measure their self-reported stress levels in comparison to non-LGBTQ+ students, the level at which they believed specific sources of stress contributed to their stress levels, their level of distress upon experiencing discrimination, their sense of sexual identity distress, and their awareness of and involvement in advocacy against Florida’s anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Survey results suggested that anti-LGBTQ+ politics in Florida and the personal lives (social and family …

The Menstrual Cycle In Psychotherapy: Interventions, Therapist Engagement, And Blind Spots, Rozita Alaluf

Dissertations and Theses

There is a dearth of literature on psychotherapy and menstruation, except for the treatment and diagnosis of issues associated with premenstrual distress. This study aimed to bridge this gap by investigating the frequency and context of discussions about the menstrual cycle, the factors influencing therapists’ engagement with this topic, and the therapeutic approaches utilized to address the menstrual cycle within psychotherapy.

In phase 1, 118 psychotherapists from various theoretical backgrounds completed a survey on menstruation in clinical practice. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. In phase 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 psychotherapists, primarily identifying their theoretical orientation …

Acute Effects Of An Oral Nicotine Pouch In People Who Use Smokeless Tobacco, Alisha Eversole

Theses and Dissertations

People who use smokeless tobacco (SLT) are exposed to a variety of carcinogenic toxicants, yet, despite health risks, nearly 6 million people in the US use SLT. SLT contains and delivers nicotine, a psychostimulant that causes dependence and hinders cessation efforts. An orally-administered nicotine pouch marketed as “tobacco-free” recently has become available for purchase in the US. However, there are very few non-industry-sponsored studies regarding the effects of these oral nicotine pouches.

The current study used clinical laboratory methods to determine the acute effects of an oral nicotine pouch in people who use SLT. Participants completed four sessions (within subjects, …

Work Characteristics, Workplace Support, And Mental Ill-Health In A Canadian Cohort Of Healthcare Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicola Cherry, Anil Adisesh, Igor Burstyn, Quentin Durand-Moreau, Jean-Michel Galarneau, France Labrèche, Shannon Ruzycki, Tanis Zadunayski

Études primaires

Objective The aim of the study was to identify determinants of mental health in healthcare workers (HCW) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cohort of Canadian HCW completed four questionnaires giving details of work with patients, ratings of workplace supports, a mental health questionnaire, and substance use. Principal components were extracted from 23 rating scales. Risk factors were examined by Poisson regression. Results A total of 4854 (97.8%) of 4964 participants completed ratings and mental health questionnaires. Healthcare workers working with patients with COVID-19 had high anxiety and depression scores. One of three extracted components, 'poor support,' was related to …

Associations Between Positive Affect And Physical Activity From Young Adulthood To Midlife: A 25-Year Prospective Study, Farah Qureshi, Laura D. Kubzansky, Ying Chen, Jackie Soo, Eric S. Kim, Donald Lloyd-Jones, Julia K. Boehm

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Positive affect may influence health by promoting physical activity, but evidence evaluating this association is mostly cross-sectional and cannot discern directionality. This study used a counterfactual-based framework to estimate the causal effect of positive affect on physical activity patterns over 25 years, accounting for potential reverse associations. Method: Data were from 3,352 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Repeated assessments of positive affect and physical activity were collected from 1990 to 2016. Longitudinal associations were evaluated in two ways: (a) using baseline positive affect in traditional linear mixed models that accounted for reverse causal …

Moral Injury, Identity Dissonance, And Reintegration: A Compendium Of Reintegration And Survey Of United States Military Veterans, Thomas Hodges

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

How do military moral injuries affect reintegration? All service members leave the military eventually, but reintegration can be challenging, bringing changes in career, family life, and friendships, potentially prompting a loss of purpose, drive, and connection. Service members may also struggle with a crisis of identity upon separating from the military, feeling their military identity is incompatible with civilian life. While these difficulties are common for service members in reintegration, they may be worsened by moral injury, the adverse biological, social, psychological, and spiritual effects of experiencing an event that deeply offends a person’s sense of right and wrong. People …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Well-Being Of People Incarcerated In United States Prisons, Kimberly Rivera

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the population as a whole. However, the incarcerated population (which also experiences a variety of health disparities) has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Due to overcrowding, poor ventilation, and lack of resources, the incarcerated population already is at a heightened risk for negative health outcomes, made worse by the recent pandemic. To adapt to the rapidly changing conditions during the pandemic in 2020 and into 2022, new safety measures were implemented, but the unintended consequences associated with the implementation of these procedures have yet to be examined empirically. I conducted a qualitative content …

The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History And Perceptions Regarding Their Child’S Healthcare And Utilization Of Healthcare Services, Krishna Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

TITLE: The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History and Perceptions Regarding Their Child’s Healthcare and Utilization of Healthcare Services

Adverse child events (ACEs) have been associated with a number of physical and mental health problems and have also been linked to increased health care utilization. While parents who have an ACE history may tend to seek healthcare services for themselves, limited studies have examined the impact of their trauma history on seeking healthcare services for their child. Healthcare utilization may also depend on the parents’ level of health anxiety, as well as their anxiety about their child’s health status. This …

Benefits Of The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (Eras) Pathway With Quadratus Lumborum Blocks For Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Paul S Lee, Laurie L Brunette, Intira Sriprasert, Mohamed Eloustaz, Rasika Deshpande, Crystal Adams, Laila Muderspach, Lynda Roman, Shane Dickerson, Michael P Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the effect of the implementation of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol among patients receiving minimally invasive gynecologic surgery.

DESIGN AND SETTING: This retrospective cohort study was performed in a tertiary care hospital.

PATIENTS: A total of 328 females who underwent minimally invasive gynecologic surgeries requiring at least one overnight stay at Keck Hospital of University of Southern California (USC), California, USA, from 2016 to 2020 were included in this study.

INTERVENTIONS: The institutional ERAS protocol was implemented in late 2018. A total of 186 patients from 2016 to 2018 prior to …

Mental Health And Experiences Of Pregnancy Among Black Women And Birthing People With Type 1 Diabetes (T1d), Madeleine E. Marcus

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explored the potential effects of intersections of oppression (i.e., anti-Black racism, diabetes discrimination, and sexism) on mental health and pregnancy experiences among Black women and birthing people with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Previous studies about pregnancy and T1D have included mainly white, cisgender women. Three participants qualified for inclusion in the present study and participated in semi-structured interviews, which the researcher analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework. Participants described feeling uncertain about whether aspects of their pregnancy experiences were related to obstetric and/or medical racism. Similarly, participants sometimes seemed uncertain about how racism may affect their …

Dog Tired: Examining The Relation Between Dog And/Or Cat Ownership And Owners’ Sleep, Courtney J. Bolstad

Theses and Dissertations

Sleep is an essential part of life, and obtaining quality sleep is important for various areas of functioning. Behaviors to promote sleep include physical activity, managing stress, reducing anxiety symptoms, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, and obtaining bright light exposure. Many of these behaviors overlap with benefits observed from pet ownership (PO). The present study aimed to examine the relation between PO and sleep as well as moderators and mediators of this relation. Four research questions were examined: 1) Is PO significantly related to sleep? 2) Does gender moderate the relation between PO and sleep? 3) Do sleep-promoting behaviors (i.e., …

Identifying Associations Between The Family Environment And Anxiety And Depression Among Children Ages 0-17 In The United States, Reagan A. Richardson, Nicole M. Holt

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This study analyzes whether physical, emotional & neurological, family environment, or community-related factors display the strongest association with anxiety and depression among children ages 0-17 in the United States.

Using IBM SPSS v. 27, we conducted a univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis on data from the 2017 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) with a sample size of 21,599. Our independent variables included 30 questions from the NSCH which were compared to a mental health index score.

Our study shows that about 10.6% of children suffer from either anxiety, depression, or both, and the univariate model found that 19 …

Effects Of Daylight On College Students’ Physical And Mental Well-Being, Sathya Thenappan

Quantitative Social Science Undergraduate Senior Theses

While existing literature predominantly deals with the impact of daylight on adults in general and more specifically at the workplace, less is known about its impact on the college student demographic and daylight exposure levels at college residences. Given its considerable impact on both the physical and mental well-being of individuals, daylight has been used in the treatment of an assortment of diseases from seasonal affective disorder to depression. With college students constituting the majority of today’s people who suffer from mental health issues in society, uncovering the link between daylight exposure and its impact on the physical and mental …

Patient Engagement In A Multimodal Digital Phenotyping Study Of Opioid Use Disorder, Cynthia I. Campbell, Ching-Hua Chen, Sara R. Adams, Asma Asyyed, Ninad R. Athale, Monique B. Does, Saeed Hassanpour, Emily Hichborn, Melanie Jackson-Morris, Nicholas C. Jacobson, Heather K. Jones, David Kotz, Chantal A. Lambert-Harris, Zhiguo Li, Bethany Mcleman, Varun Mishra, Catherine Stanger, Geetha Subramaniam, Weiyi Wu, Christopher Zegers, Lisa A. Marsch

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Multiple digital data sources can capture moment-to-moment information to advance a robust understanding of opioid use disorder (OUD) behavior, ultimately creating a digital phenotype for each patient. This information can lead to individualized interventions to improve treatment for OUD.

Objective: The aim is to examine patient engagement with multiple digital phenotyping methods among patients receiving buprenorphine medication for OUD.

Methods: The study enrolled 65 patients receiving buprenorphine for OUD between June 2020 and January 2021 from 4 addiction medicine programs in an integrated health care delivery system in Northern California. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA), sensor data, and social media …

Measurement Models Matter: How Retrospective Calendar Versus Global Reports Yield Different Estimates Of Treatment Outcome, Margaret L. Paul Bs, Maria E. Meinerding Ms, Jeremiah Weinstock Phd, Meredith K. Ginley, James P. Whelan Phd, Rory A. Pfund

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract: Retrospective reports are less accurate than objective measures of behavior and must be interpreted with consideration of the amount of distortion and error introduced by this methodology. The Gambling-Timeline Followback (G-TLFB) method is the gold standard retrospective assessment tool that is designed to minimize such error by asking for a specific recall of precise gambling behavior day-by-day using recall aids as compared to a global summation over time (e.g., how many gambling days in last month, how much money gambled in the last month). It remains an empirical question whether this difference in measurement format, G-TLFB versus global reports, …

Examining The Use Of Expressive Arts Therapies In Neurorehabilitation Treatment Planning, Rebecca J. Horner

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Those undergoing neurorehabilitation after stroke and traumatic brain injury report a diminished sense of overall wellness. This paper examines the conceivable benefits of introducing expressive arts therapies, which is the therapeutic use and combination of the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other intermodal creative processes, into physical therapy and neurorehabilitation treatment planning. Expressive arts therapies have the capacity to engage with an individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual states concurrently. They simultaneously offer the ability to promote an increased sense of well-being, address mind-body disconnects, and process trauma non-verbally.

The sections of this narrative literature review focus on …

Protocol For The Promoting Resilience In Stress Management (Prism) Intervention: A Multi-Site Randomized Controlled Trial For Adolescents And Young Adults With Advanced Cancer, Alison O’Daffer, Liam Comiskey, Samantha R. Scott, Chuan Zhou, Miranda C. Bradford, Joyce P. Yi-Frazier, Abby R. Rosenberg

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Background

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer are at high risk of poor psychosocial outcomes, and evidence-based interventions designed to meet their psychosocial and communication needs are lacking. The main objective of this project is to test the efficacy of a new adaptation of the Promoting Resilience in Stress Management intervention for AYAs with Advanced Cancer (PRISM-AC).

Methods/design

The PRISM-AC trial is a 2-arm, parallel, non-blinded, multisite, randomized controlled trial. 144 participants with advanced cancer will be enrolled and randomized to either usual, non-directive, supportive care without PRISM-AC (“control” arm) or with PRISM-AC (“experimental” arm). PRISM is a manualized, …

Tf-Cbt Training Augmented With A Self-Care Focus: Understanding Facilitators And Barriers To Treatment Implementation., Julie P. Harrison, Esther Deblinger, Elisabeth Pollio, Beth Cooper, Robert A Steer

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Clinicians working with youth exposed to trauma may be at increased risk for experiencing elevated levels of stress and symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, which can negatively impact clinician wellbeing and ultimately contribute to reduced access to quality care for clients. An innovative Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) training incorporating self-care practices (i.e., Practice What You Preach; PWYP) was developed to help facilitate the implementation of TF-CBT and to enhance clinicians' coping and decrease stress. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether the PWYP-augmented training met three Objectives: (1) increase clinicians' feelings of TF-CBT competency; (2) improve …

Adverse Effects Of Early Exposure To Pornography And The Utilization Of Art Therapy, Meghan Potts

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Pornography is not a new phenomenon in our culture or world. With the expansion of the affordability, accessibility, and anonymity of pornography, demand and consumption rates have also escalated, along with the adverse impact associated with this growth (Coopersmith, 2006 as cited by Dines, 2017). This two-year grant proposal seeks to focus its efforts on serving children, the population being exposed to this widespread phenomenon (Wright, Paul, et al., 2021). The full-time art therapist will carry out trauma-informed prevention and intervention methods to advocate for the mental and physical health of children in individual, relational, and community contexts. This will …

An Investigation Of Resistance Training Behavior, Non-Specific Psychological Distress, And Perceived Barriers To Resistance Training In Self-Identifying Female Undergraduate Students, Jody Sobel

Master's Theses

The prevalence and severity of depression symptoms amongst college students, specifically female identifying undergraduate students, is worrisome. There is a great deal of research that suggests a relationship between exercise, specifically resistance training (RT), and mental health. That said, current literature suggests that many female identifying students are not engaging due to perceived barriers. This, perhaps because of the plethora of barriers one can perceive. The purpose of this study was multifold 1) to examine the prevalence and severity of non-specific psychological distress; 2) to determine if there were differences between Kessler 6 Non-Specific Psychological Distress Scale (K6) categories (i.e., …

Inner Portraits, Bethany Salisbury

Graduate Theses

This paper investigates the many interconnected layers of women’s mental health through portraiture and how animal and plant symbolism can represent the way women's hormones and bodily health affect their mental health. I reveal how the artwork created presents these connections and inner mental health narratives to the viewer, creating a space of empathy, destigmatization, and self-reflection. This body of portraiture art connects five women through a series of both two-and three-dimensional portraits based on interviews using my own adaptation of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoots’ (1983) portrait methodology.

Women and non-binary individuals have always dealt with difficult interactions of bodily and mental …

On Versus Off-Campus Living: An Exploration Of College Students' Mental Well-Being, Sameer Siddiqui

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community” (“Mental Health,” 2022). Risk and protective factors can be used to predict mental health outcomes. Both positive and negative outcomes can be predicted, respectively. The categories of these include individual, relationship, community, and societal. When examining college students, it is most reasonable to study the relationship and community factors. This study examined whether living on or off campus impacts predicted mental health outcomes in …

Therapeutic Approaches To Working With Perinatal Loss Clients: A Grounded Theory Study, Heather H. Olivier

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Perinatal loss (i.e., miscarriage, stillbirth, termination, and infant death) is commonly referred to in the literature as an invisible loss, non-loss, and even medical event. It is an ambiguous loss exhibiting the dialectical contradiction between the physical absence and psychological presence of the baby accompanied by disenfranchised grief, a reaction to a loss that is unacknowledged by society. Despite the likelihood of mental health clinicians working with clients who have experienced perinatal loss, there has yet to be a therapeutic model designed specifically for the unique grief and trauma reactions presented in this population. Existing grief models do not address …

The Effect Of Minority Stress On Sexual Minority College Students' Mental Health: The Role Of General Social Support And Sexuality-Specific Social Support, Lee A. Golembiewski

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority (SM) college students continue to face greater mental health problems relative to their heterosexual peers (Woodford et al., 2014; Wilson & Liss, 2022). According to minority stress theory, SM individuals face distal (e.g., heterosexist discrimination) and proximal (e.g., expectations of rejection, internalized homophobia, and concealment) stressors related to their SM identity which can have negative effects on their mental health (Douglass & Conlin, 2020; Meyer, 2003). However, social support has been hypothesized to help protect against the effects of minority stress experienced by SM individuals (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Moody & Smith, 2013). Most of the existing research …

Dental Fear, Anxiety, And Phobia – Behavioral Management And Implications For Dentists, Nadya Tsetsova Avramova

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Clinical management of patients with dental fear, anxiety, and phobia could be a major challenge to daily practice of dental professionals. The aim of the current review was to expand the modern consideration with respect to these issues, and therefore to discuss basic approaches and psychological techniques for management of oral health behaviors that should be employed in dentistry. This paper presents detailed description of the characteristics of dentist-patient therapeutic relationship as well as the most used techniques to cope with dental fear, anxiety, and phobia - relaxation techniques, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), hypnosis and melotherapy. We can still argue that …

Peer-Supervision Of Nursing Professionals: A Shield Against Burnout, Kyle Gamache, Sarah Gamache, Joseph Robillard

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Burnout is a major risk in healthcare professions and is a significant contributor to the current nursing shortage. Strategies to combat burnout of healthcare professionals are in desperate need. The purpose of this project is to introduce the clinical peer supervision model as a method to alleviate burnout in nursing professionals.

Approach: Eight nurses from in-patient settings participated in a peer-supervision support group, modeled after existing European nursing and mental health provider-support protocols. To assess the effect of this intervention, qualitative data analysis was conducted on the transcripts of session and the results described. All participants reported statistically high …

Musculoskeletal Pain Latent Classes And Biopsychosocial Characteristics Among Emerging Adults, Kaitlin M. Gallagher, Erin K. Howie, Makayla Carney

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Emerging adults (aged 18–29) report high levels of musculoskeletal pain; however, it is unknown if body location and intensity patterns are related to different biopsychosocial characteristics. This study identified patterns of self-reported musculoskeletal pain among emerging adults and assessed if there were differences in their lifestyle and psychological characteristics.

Methods

Data from survey responses from a large public university and a large medical university in the United States were used (n = 1,318). Self-reported pain location and intensity at five body regions were assessed, and latent class analysis identified classes separately for men and women. Mental health, physical activity, …

Childhood-Onset Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Exacerbates Opioid Use Disorder Consequences: Mediation By Impulsive Phenotypes, Liam R. Browning, Ciara Cannoy, Tabitha E. H. Moses, Leslie H. Lundahl Phd, David M. Ledgerwood Phd, Mark K. Greenwald Phd

Medical Student Research Symposium

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly prevalent and associated with opioid use disorder (OUD). Yet, little is known about the mechanisms by which ADHD (which is a heterogeneous construct/diagnosis) might alter the trajectory of OUD outcomes.

Aim: This cross-sectional study examines relationships between childhood ADHD (inferred as predating substance use) and the extent to which the effects of ADHD on lifetime heroin-use consequences are mediated by foreshortened time perspective and drug-use impulsivity.

Methods: Individuals who report heroin use (N=214) were screened using the Assessment of Hyperactivity and Attention (AHA), Impulsive Relapse Questionnaire (IRQ), Stanford Time Perception Inventory (STPI), …

Interventions To Modify Psychological Well-Being: Progress, Promises, And An Agenda For Future Research, Laura D. Kubzansky, Eric S. Kim, Julia K. Boehm, Richard J. Davidson, Jeffrey C. Huffman, Eric B. Loucks, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Rosalind W. Picard, Stephen M. Schueller, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Tyler J. Vanderweele, Katey Warran, David S. Yeager, Charlotte S. Yeh, Judith T. Moskowitz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Psychological well-being, characterized by feelings, cognitions, and strategies that are associated with positive functioning (including hedonic and eudaimonic well-being), has been linked with better physical health and greater longevity. Importantly, psychological well-being can be strengthened with interventions, providing a strategy for improving population health. But are the effects of well-being interventions meaningful, durable, and scalable enough to improve health at a population-level? To assess this possibility, a cross-disciplinary group of scholars convened to review current knowledge and develop a research agenda. Here we summarize and build on the key insights from this convening, which were: (1) existing interventions should continue …

Examining The Effect Of Physician Language On Physician Impressions, Kathleen L. Hopps, Anna H. Rini, Maggie E. Williams, Gina A. Paganini, E. Paige Lloyd

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Previous research provides evidence that stigma can be perpetuated through language with consequences for well-being and quality of care. For example, providers who use stigmatizing language transmit bias toward patients with implications for care provided by other healthcare professionals. The current work extends upon this research by investigating perceptions of physicians who use stigmatizing or humanizing language. The current work sought to document the negative consequences of providers’ indelicate language on impressions of the provider, thereby motivating thoughtful language choices. To this end, the current work experimentally manipulated the language (stigmatizing, identity-first and destigmatizing, person-first) that hypothetical providers used to …