Health Psychology Commons^™

The Application Of The Lamaze Method In The Management Of Acute Pain: A Comparison Of Non-Pharmacological Pain Management Techniques, Emily Marie Selby-Nelson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Pain is a primary concern in health care. Considering the limitations of pharmacological interventions, identifying the effectiveness of alternative pain management is crucial. Utilizing a pre-post design, different psychological approaches to acute pain management were tested. Participants included 85 college females who were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (Long Lamaze, Brief Lamaze, Acceptance of pain, and a Control group). Participants first underwent an Algometer pain task, then received training or control interactions once a week for four weeks, and were tested again on the pain task. Amount of time participants were able to withstand the pain administered in …

The Effect Of Priming A Thin Ideal On The Subsequent Perception Of Conceptually Related Body Image Words, Conor T. Mclennan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Our research examined the effects of thin ideal priming on the perception of body image words in participants without an eating disorder. Half of the participants were primed by viewing thin models, and half were primed with gender-neutral shoes. Subsequently, all participants (N=56) completed a Stroop task for three categories of words: neutral (BOOKS), shoe (CLOGS), and body (THIGHS). Lastly, all participants completed a body dissatisfaction questionnaire. We predicted that body dissatisfaction scores would be correlated with the Stroop effect. We found a significant correlation between body dissatisfaction and the body effect of slower color naming times for the body …

The Experience Of Grief And Loss In Persons Affected By Long Qt Syndrome, David Haynes-Weller

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Exercise Partner Attractiveness On Mood, Enjoyment, And Exertion, Thomas G. Plante, Sarah Gregg, Jaclyn Rubbo, Thomas Favero, Ashley Morisako, Jessica Cuadra

Psychology

Social comparison theory was used to examine if males exercising with a female research confederate posing as either attractive or unattractive would alter their exercise mood, exertion, and enjoyment. A total of 101 college students (51 males and 51 females) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: biking alone, biking with an attractive female confederate, or biking with the same female confederate appearing unattractive. All participants were instructed to complete 20 minutes of exercise at 60%-70% of their maximum target heart rate. Standard exercise mood measures (e.g., Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List) were administered immediately prior to and immediately following …

What Qualitative Research Has Taught Us About Occupational Stress, Joseph J. Mazzola, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Paul E. Spector

Publications and Research

While many reviews of job stress and the stressor–strain relationship have been conducted, such reviews typically focus exclusively on quantitative data. In the current paper, we review qualitative studies on occupational stress that met two criteria: (1) the studies employed qualitative methods; (2) the stressors, strains and/or coping strategies were grouped into identifiable, higher-order categories. Results indicated that the nature of the stressors experienced varied by (a) occupation, (b) country, (c) seniority and (d) gender. The review further revealed that organizational constraints, work overload and interpersonal conflict were relatively universal stressors. Anger and annoyance were the most frequently reported psychological …

Does The Quality Of The Patient-Physician Relationship Moderate Predictors Of Poor Adherence In Urban, Underserved And Vulnerable Patients With Chronic Illness?, Laura Russo-Innamorato

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Escalating prevalence rates and rising economic costs of chronic illnesses necessitate a better understanding of factors affecting patient adherence in the primary care setting. Despite technological advances and evidenced-based treatments, clinical outcomes are often poor. Data drawn from archival data of the “A Healthier You” wellness program designed to serve a predominately underserved population were examined to assess whether or not positive predictors of adherence could moderate the impact of negative predictors such as depression. Limitations of the study methodology precluded significant interpretations but suggested significant discrepancies between patient and physician perceptions of trust in the relationship and the satisfaction …

The Claremont Autism Center, Alex E. Mitchell Mr.

CMC Senior Theses

The Claremont Autism Center is a 23 minute documentary on the strengths and benefits the Center brings to Claremont McKenna students, as well as children and families from the Inland Empire that deal with Autism on a daily basis.

Short-Term Nicotine Abstinence And Decision Making, Gabriel D. Searcy

Dissertations

Research has shown that acute drug administration may affect impulsivity (i.e., choice for small, immediate rewards over large, delayed rewards) on laboratory delay-discounting tasks. Few studies have investigated how drug abstinence affects impulsivity. Investigating how drug abstinence affects impulsivity may be relevant to preventing relapse. Two previous studies have investigated the effects of short-term nicotine abstinence on impulsivity using delay-discounting tasks. The results were mixed, one study suggested that choices became more impulsive (i.e., delayed money was devalued) under nicotine deprivation. One goal of the present research was to further investigate how nicotine deprivation affects delay-discounting for money rewards. In …

Examination Of Anxiety And Substance Use Symptoms In Trauma Exposed Versus Environmentally Stressed College Students, Theresa M. Souza

Dissertations

Anxiety is a common problem among the college population, which rarely occurs in isolation. Oftentimes, an individual abuses substances in an attempt to eliminate the short term affect of these conditions. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is the most persistent and severe type of anxiety disorder. It has been a long-standing belief within the psychological community that in order for PTSD to develop, the individual must first experience a traumatic event which meets certain criteria and must evidence a definable emotional response during the event. A recent study found PTSD in individuals who had not experienced the type of trauma …

Exploring The Experiences Of Living With A Controversial Illness In Patients With Fibromyalgia, Samantha L. Wheeler

Dissertations

Fibromyalgia is an illness of great controversy estimated to affect approximately 4% of the US population. There are no widely accepted etiological causes or clear physiological explanations of fibromyalgia. Only a few research studies have addressed the concept of illness uncertainty in patients with fibromyalgia. There are no current studies that examine how fibromyalgia patients experience, perceive, and understand their illness in terms of having a syndrome with an unknown etiology.

This qualitative study, using phenomenological methods, explored the concept of unknown etiology as one factor in illness uncertainty. Ten participants, diagnosed with fibromyalgia from 2-15 years were interviewed. The …

The Influence Of A Personal Practice Of Meditation On One’S Therapeutic Practice, William W. Fitzgerald

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to examine counseling professionals’ personal experience with meditation and how it influences their clinical work, including the formation of a therapeutic relationship. Using phenomenological methods, data were gathered from 10 psychotherapists and then analyzed.

There has been a great deal of effort devoted to investigating what contributes to positive counseling outcome for clients. One constant in the therapeutic process is the person of the therapist. While the person of the therapist is frequently mentioned in the literature, much less attention has been given to the examination of personal development paths of the therapist. Little …

The Effect Of Biological Versus Environmental Causal Explanations On The Stigmatization Of Major Depression And Anorexia Nervosa, Briana Borenstein

Psychology Honors Papers

This study investigated how biological and environmental causal explanations affect the stigmatization of college students described to have major depression and anorexia nervosa.  Participants (38 male and 87 female college students) read a vignette about a college student with either major depression or anorexia nervosa that provided either a biological or environmental causal explanation for the disorder. Then, they completed a Social Distancing Scale; a Treatment Recommendations Scale; a Personal Responsibility Beliefs, Pity, and Anger Questionnaire; a Causal Attributions Scale; a Familiarity with Mental Illness Questionnaire; and a Demographics Questionnaire. Results indicated that participants stigmatized the target with anorexia more …

Anxiety In Individuals Affected By Long Qt Syndrome As Experienced By Members Of An Online User Group, Abigail Janney

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is a cardiac condition that affects approximately 1 in 2,500 persons. This condition has been vastly understudied with regard to psychosocial aspects. LQTS patients have the potential for experiencing life threatening cardiac events and prevention requires significant lifestyle modifications. Although there has not been a significant amount of research on this specific syndrome, other research on chronic illnesses suggests that many individuals experience significant psychosocial aspects after diagnosis. This study specifically examined anxiety within the LQTS population through a qualitative research design. An archived database from a LQTS user group involving approximately 780 members was used …

Work Intensity And Substance Use Among Adolescents Employed Part-Time In Entry-Level Jobs, Jessica Samuolis

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study investigated the relationship between number of hours worked, or work intensity, and substance use in a sample of adolescent employees of a supermarket chain. Employees working half-time or more per week (high-intensity hours) were over three times as likely to smoke compared to those working an average of 10 hours or less per week (low-intensity hours). Males working a high intensity number of hours were more than twice as likely to drink compared to males working at low intensity. Utilizing participants drawn from a uniform employment setting, the research findings add to the growing body of evidence linking …

Work Interrupted: A Questionnaire Assessing The Relationship Between Work-Related Distress And Psychological Adjustment To Cancer, Betsy A. Bates Freed

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Cancer is an increasingly survivable disease that significantly impacts the ability of individuals to negotiate successfully the developmental task most distinctly affiliated with middle adulthood: creating meaning through achievement, creativity, and service. For many adults, these goals are accomplished through employment. When cancer intrudes, patients may be deprived of the ability to participate fully in the “generativity” that developmental psychologist Erik Erikson deemed essential to a healthy adulthood. In qualitative studies, patients’ narratives speak of many work-related losses — of routine, normality, economic stability, social connection, purpose, and identity. While psychosocial issues and quality of life are viewed with increasing …

A Prospective Study Of Positive Psychological Well-Being And Coronary Heart Disease, Julia K. Boehm, Christopher Peterson, Mika Kivimaki, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Research suggests that positive psychological well-being is associated with cardiovascular health. However, much of this research uses elderly samples and has not determined the pathways by which psychological well-being influences cardiovascular disease or whether effects are similar for men and women. This study investigates the association between two aspects of well-being (emotional vitality and optimism) and coronary heart disease (CHD) in a sample of middle-aged men and women, and considers potential mediating factors.

Method: Between 1991 and 1994, well-being and coronary risk factors were assessed among 7,942 individuals without a prior cardiovascular event from the Whitehall II …

Development Of A Positive Psychology Intervention For Patients With Acute Cardiovascular Disease, Jeff C. Huffman, Carol A. Mastromauro, Julia K. Boehm, Rita Seabrook, Gregory L. Fricchione, John W. Denninger, Sonja Lyubomirsky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The management of depression and other negative psychological states in cardiac patients has been a focus of multiple treatment trials, though such trials have not led to substantial improvements in cardiac outcomes. In contrast, there has been minimal focus on interventions to increase positive psychological states in cardiac patients, despite the fact that optimism and other positive states have been associated with superior cardiovascular outcomes. Our objective was to develop an 8-week, phone-based positive psychology intervention for patients hospitalized with acute cardiac disease (acute coronary syndrome or decompensated heart failure). Such an intervention would consist of positive psychology exercises adapted …