Health Psychology Commons^™

Findings Of An Effect Of Gender, But Not Handedness, On Self-Reported Motion Sickness Propensity, Ruth E. Propper, Frederick Bonato, Leanna Ward, Kenneth Sumner

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Discrepant input from vestibular and visual systems may be involved in motion sickness; individual differences in the organization of these systems may, therefore, give rise to individual differences in propensity to motion sickness. Non-right-handedness has been associated with altered cortical lateralization of vestibular function, such that non-right-handedness is associated with left hemisphere, and right-handedness with right hemisphere, lateralized, vestibular system. Interestingly, magnocellular visual processing, responsible for motion detection and ostensibly involved in motion sickness, has been shown to be decreased in non-right-handers. It is not known if the anomalous organization of the vestibular or magnocellular systems in non-right-handers might alter …

Putting The Patient Back In Patient Care: Health Decision-Making From The Patient’S Perspective, Bill R. Garris, Amy J. Weber

The Qualitative Report

This research explored health decision-making processes among people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Our analysis suggested that diagnosis with type 2 was followed by a period of intense emotional and cognitive disequilibrium. Subsequently, the informants were observed to proceed to health decision-making which was affected by three separate and interrelated factors: knowledge, self-efficacy, and purpose. Knowledge included cognitive or factual components and emotional elements. Knowledge influenced the degree of upset or disequilibrium the patient experienced, and affected a second category, agency: the informants’ confidence in their ability to enact lifestyle changes. The third factor, purpose, summarized the personal and …

Donne, Emigrazione E Prostituzione In Europa: Non Si Tratta Di “Sex Work”, Anna Zobnina, Chiara Carpita

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Long-Term Impact Of Lifelong Fitness: Examining Longitudinal Exercise Behavior In College Students, Garrett Drake

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Over time, the United States population has gradually shifted to an increasingly inactive lifestyle, and there has been a decline in health behavior. Only 50% of the population meet the recommended guidelines for weekly physical activity. With this glaring increase of inactive lifestyles, programs designed to increase health behavior change have become crucial. One solution to this problem has been a required Lifelong Fitness class at George Fox University where new college students learn knowledge and skills to implement for healthier lifestyles during this transformative time. A multiple regression model predicting long-term exercise by pre-minutes of exercise, post-minutes of exercise, …

Practice-Based Conundrums And Existentialist Quandaries Of A Professional Code Of Ethics, Izaak L. Williams

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Ethical codes have long been considered indispensable tools in defining the proper conduct of counseling professionals. Revisions reflect the ideals of the industry to accommodate the evolving needs of clients and trends in treatment models, but the essence of the code is to convert principles befitting of the profession into concrete actions or considerations that abet professional decision-making. Acculturation into the profession involves ethics training intended to improve professionals’ ability to apply the code to situations that might arise in their practices, resulting in the most ethically appropriate action. However, such assumptions may be problematic. The idea of ethical competency …

Adult-Child Sexual Contact: Examining Mental Health Trainees’ Perception Of The Impact On Adult Psychological-Emotional Status, Robbie J. Steward Ph.D., Shavonne J. Moore Ph.D., Lisa P. Petersen M.A., L.P.C., Sharea Ayers M.A., Kristin A. Hinze M.A., L.P.C.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Thirty-eight graduate students enrolled in mental health-related programs completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) indicating anticipated impact of adult-child sexual contact on the psychological status of a young adult woman from positive family environment and one from a negative family environment. BSI subscale scores were significantly higher than the BSI general population’s mean scores in both cases. Multiple regression analyses found that: in the healthy family scenario, practitioners’ background variables (parent education, family of origin climate, prior childhood sexual contact with an adult, and education) did not contribute significantly to the variance in their prediction of expectation of client’s overall …

Associations Between Positive Health Behaviors And Psychological Distress, Marlaine Monroig

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Research examining the relationship between psychological distress and health behaviors is limited, as most such studies examine specific types of psychological distress and specific types of health behaviors. To address this limitation, the current study assessed a broad range of health behaviors (Health Behavior Checklist) and psychological symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory) in 762 undergraduate students. Results revealed that the total BSI score showed statistically significant negative correlations with the HBC total score and three of the four HBC subscales (Wellness-Maintenance, Substance Risk, Traffic Risk ). Thus, participants reporting more overall psychological distress engaged in fewer positive health behaviors across all …

Patient Perspectives On Adherence To The New Hepatitis C Antiviral Medications: ‘A New Lease On Life’, Nicole M. Giordano, Anthony J. Brinn, Guadalupe Garcia-Tsao, Steve Martino

The Qualitative Report

This study explored patients’ perspectives about taking the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for the treatment of Hepatitis C (i.e., sofosbuvir, simeprevir, ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, ombitasvir/paritraprevir/ritonavir and dasabuvir) to identify facilitators of medication adherence. The project was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 12 Veterans who successfully completed a treatment course on the new DAAs. The Veterans were recruited using purposive sampling. The data collected from the semi-structured interviews was analyzed using an adapted open coding method outlined by Auerbach and Silverstein (2003), with identification of relevant text sub-grouped into repeating ideas, and then creation of overarching themes and constructs. Results obtained provide insight …

Emotion Regulation And Positive Affect In The Context Of Salivary Alpha-Amylase Response To Pain In Children With Cancer, Brooke N. Jenkins, Douglas A. Granger, Ryan J. Roemer, Ariana Martinez, Tara K. Torres, Michelle A. Fortier

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Children with cancer routinely undergo painful medical procedures invoking strong physiological stress responses. Resilience to this pain may be conferred through resources such as emotion regulation strategies and positive affect.

Procedure

This study measured dispositional positive affect in children with cancer (N = 73) and randomly assigned participants to one of three emotion regulation strategy conditions (distraction, reappraisal, or reassurance). Children applied their assigned strategy during an experimental pain procedure (the cold pressor task [CPT]) and provided saliva samples before, immediately after, and 15 min after the CPT. Saliva samples were later assayed for salivary alpha amylase (sAA)—a surrogate …

Longitudinal Relationship Between Onset Of Physical Symptoms And Functional Impairment, Lisa M. Mcandrew, Drew A. Helmer, Shou-En Lu, Helena K. Chandler, Sarah Slotkin, Karen S. Quigley

Educational & Counseling Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Patients with chronic physical symptoms (e.g., chronic pain) often have significant functional impairment (i.e., disability). The fear avoidance model is the dominant theoretical model of how the relationship between chronic physical symptoms and functional impairment develops and proposes a cyclical/bidirectional relationship. There has never been a definitive test of the proposed bi-directional relationship. The current study followed 767 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom soldiers from pre-deployment, when they were relatively healthy, to one year after deployment, when it was anticipated that symptoms would increase or develop. Over the four assessment time points, physical symptom severity consistently predicted worse functional impairment …

An Analysis Of Personality On Legal Substance And Behavioral Addictions, Elise Stephanie Edwards

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This dissertation examined the relationship between personality traits and addiction to legal substances and behaviors. Speranza et al. (2012) found that people who were addicted to illegal substances had similar personality traits, such as impulsivity and sensation-seeking. In addition, substance addiction has also been found to have a relationship with negative affect (Davis, Cohen, Davids, & Rabindranath, 2015). This study applied these findings to addictions of legal substances and behaviors. Caffeine and Internet addiction were specifically analyzed due to their common excessive use in this modern world (Marsh, Snell, Allen, & Wakefield, 2001; Karim & Chaudhri, 2012). Participants were selected …

The Relationship Between Instruction Specificity And Resistiveness To Care During Activities Of Daily Living In Persons With Dementia, Jeffrey Buchanan, Britta Dejager, Sandra Garcia, Daniel Houlihan, Carolina Sears, Kathleen Fairchild, Adam Sattler

Psychology Department Publications

It is common for persons with dementia to display resistant behaviors during activities of daily living (ADLs) and caregiver communication skills can influence the likelihood of these behaviors. Previous research suggests that the type of instructions issued by caregivers is related to rates of compliance during ADLs in persons with dementia. It is unclear, however, if these instruction types affect the likelihood resistiveness to care (RTC) during ADLs. The purpose of the current study was to examine how the use of different types of instructions relate to instances of RTC during ADLs. Results indicated that vague and ambiguous instructions (i.e., …

What Women Want: A Study Of Communication, Sex And Personality, Landon C. Morley

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Sexual communication is important in overall sexual and relationship satisfaction.Women, in particular, report lower psychological well-being when sexual dysfunction occurs (Davison, Bell, LaChina, Holden & Davis, 2009). This study was designed to uncover precisely how important sexual communication is in relation to sexual satisfaction, whether there are any discrepancies between women’s desired sexual acts verses the acts they actively take part in, and to what degree personality has an effect on sexual communication and activity. Participants were 428 women from the psychology pool at University of Central Florida. The average age of the sample was 20.7 years (SD = 5.24). …

An Assessment Of Health Disparities Among A Community Sample Of Lgbq College Students, Ashlee Sawyer, Paul Perrin, Eric Benotsch

Psychology Publications

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) individuals are a marginalized population in the United States, and this status places them at a greater risk for adverse health outcomes, such as tobacco and substance use, obesity, cancer, sexually-transmitted infections, violence, mental health issues, and suicide. The present study used individual- and microsystem-level data from the American College Health Association (ACHA)-National College Health Assessment (NCHA) to compose a risk assessment for LGBQ students at a mid-Atlantic university. The study incorporated various levels of the ecological social model in an analysis of potentially influential factors on the development of LGBQ health disparities. 856 …

Concordance Of Illness Representations: The Key To Improving Care Of Medically Unexplained Symptoms, Lisa M. Mcandrew, Myrna L. Friedlander, L. Alison Phillips, Susan L. Santos, Drew A. Helmer

Educational & Counseling Psychology Faculty Scholarship

How can effective patient-provider relationships be developed when the underlying cause of the health condition is not well understood and becomes a point of controversy between patient and provider? This problem underlies the difficulty in treating medically unexplained symptoms and syndromes (MUS; e.g., fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome), which primary care providers consider to be among the most difficult conditions to treat.¹ This difficulty extends to the patient-provider relationship which is characterized by discord over MUS.¹ In this article, we argue that the key to improving the patient provider relationship is for the patient and provider to develop congruent …

Well-Being, Meaningful Activity, And Social Closeness For Persons With Disabilities: Findings From The American Time Use Survey (Atus), Ari B. Silverman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Persons with disabilities (PWD) constitute close to one fifth of the U.S. population and tend to experience both mental and physical health disparities when compared to the general populace. Improving well-being is paramount to enhancing the health status of these individuals. Two areas that have demonstrated promise in facilitating increases in global well-being in the general population are 1) engagement in meaningful activity and 2) experiences of social closeness. Although previous research has examined the global assessment of meaningful activity and social closeness on well-being over longer time frames, few studies have investigated the direct and short-term influence of these …

A Longitudinal Study Of Adolescent Identity Development And Harmful Alcohol Use Within A Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample, Richie A. Kubilus, Alan Meca

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

The development of a clear sense of identity is a key developmental task in adolescence, and recent studies have found that identity synthesis and confusion are associated negatively and positively, respectively, to alcohol use. One alcohol expectancy - tension reduction - coincides with the hypothesis that identity development may prove to be a stressful developmental process, and may thereby serve as a motivator for adolescents to drink when a belief exists that stress can be reduced through alcohol use. In the present study, we examined the mediational effects between identity synthesis and confusion and later alcohol risk via alcohol expectancies …

Effects Of Electronic Cigarette Liquid Solvents Propylene Glycol And Vegetable Glycerin On User Nicotine Delivery, Heart Rate, Subjective Effects, And Puff Topography, Tory Spindle

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) are a class of tobacco products that use a heating element to aerosolize a liquid, typically containing nicotine, allowing for user inhalation. Despite their rapid growth in popularity, little is known about ECIGs including how certain device and liquid factors influence nicotine delivery, user physiological and subjective responses, and puffing behavior (puff topography). Limited pre-clinical research has demonstrated that the ratio of two solvents commonly found in ECIG liquids, propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG), may have an influence on the nicotine content of ECIG aerosols. However, the extent to which PG:VG ratio in ECIG liquids …

Marital Factors Associated With Weight-Related Behavior In Bariatric Surgery Patients, Jenna Ellison

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a major health concern in the United States. Whereas bariatric surgery is effective, 10-40% of post-operative patients struggle to reach or maintain their goal weight (Elder & Wolfe, 2007). The current study investigated the within-person relations between marital quality and weight-related behaviors using a daily diary design. Length of relationship, time since surgery, and participant sex were explored as moderators. Participants were 94 post-operative bariatric surgery patients. Eligible participants completed an online baseline questionnaire, followed by a one-week online daily diary in which they responded to questions about the quality of their marriage, whether they engaged in physical …

From Blacker The Berry To Darker The Flesh: Gendered Racial Microaggressions, Ethnic Identity, And Black Women’S Sexual Behaviors, Chelsie E. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

Race- and gender-related contextual factors influence Black women’s sexual behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes. Contextual factors of Black women’s sexual behaviors include stereotypes, microaggressions, ethnic identity, and self-concept. Little to no research has examined race- and gender-specific microaggressions (i.e., gendered racial microaggressions; GRM) impact on Black women's sexual health. Responsively, using an intersectional approach, this study hypothesized that ethnic identity’s influence on the relationship between GRM and sexual behavior (i.e., condom use, lifetime sexual partners) is conditional on self-conceptualization moderated effect on ethnic identity and sexual behavior. Participants included 124 unmarried Black women, recruited from mTurk, a southeastern university and community. …

Students Perspective Of Healthy Living In College, Andrea Coxey

Masters Theses

Using qualitative methodology, the researcher studied what participants definition of a healthy lifestyle as compared to how they actually live. Through conducting six one on one interviews with participants, it was found that physical health was the most widely recognized aspect of health, and that each participant had a unique definition of health. Mental health was not initially recognized by participants but was shown to be an important connection to all aspects of health including physical health, emotional health, sleep and nutrition. Participants recognized the importance of involvement and their transition to college as impacting their definition of health and …

Occupational Health Psychology, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Occupational health psychology (OHP) is a cross-disciplinary subspecialty within psychology. OHP derives from two disciplines within applied psychology, health psychology and industrial/organizational psychology. OHP is also linked to disciplines outside of psychology, such as occupational medicine and public health. The discipline has roots in eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century thinkers, including Adam Smith, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, and Max Weber. These thinkers were concerned with the impact of the organization of work and the business cycle on human life. Later research by Elton Mayo, Marie Jahoda, Walter B. Cannon, Hans Selye, and investigators at the University of Michigan’s …

Behavioral Factors Related To Weight Change In A Health Promotion And Weight Control Intervention, Bethany M. Hartsell

UNF Undergraduate Capstone Projects and Honors Theses

This study explored whether body weight was affected by certain lifestyle behaviors and if these behaviors were affected by a brief, self-directed weight control intervention. The behavioral factors assessed in this study included: meal regularity, fast-food eating, television viewing and eating/sedentary time, dietary modifications (e.g., portion control, reducing fat intake), self-monitoring (tracking diet and exercise), self-weighing, and physical activity. Participants were randomly assigned to intervention groups or a minimal contact control group. The intervention groups completed a 1-hour education session at baseline and received bi-weekly emails. Participants completed online questionnaires at baseline and 3 months, and body measurement sessions at …

Discrimination, Mental Health, And Preparedness For Aging In Trans(Gender)/Gender-Nonconforming Adults, Richard S. Henry

Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional study examined relationships among discrimination, mental health (i.e., depression and anxiety), preparation for aging (i.e., familiarity and planning), social support, death attitudes, and aging anxiety among TGNC adults (N = 154). Neither discrimination nor mental health predicted preparation for aging familiarity or planning. Discrimination did, however, predict both anxiety and depression, although only the non-affirmation subscale was a unique predictor of both. As discrimination and mental health were not a significant predictor of preparedness for aging in the previous regressions, the hypothesized mediation model and subsequent moderated mediation models were not conducted. Additional exploratory multiple regressions were …

Examining The Cross-Cultural Differences In Affect Valuation: Whites, East Asians, And Third Culture Kids, Joey Yamada

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the cross-cultural differences in affect valuation, emotion regulation, and the relationship between affect valuation, emotion regulation and subjective well-being across White Americans, Asians, and Third Culture Kids (TCKs). Emotional experiences shape every facet of our lives, yet understanding the extent to which emotional experiences are universal is still poorly understood. This is particularly the case among individuals with diverse cultural experiences. In the current study, we look at TCK individuals, a group composed of White-identifying individuals who spent a significant time of their childhood in East Asian countries. Through a questionnaire that was distributed via email and …

The Effect Of Fast Food Restaurants On Type 2 Diabetes Rates, Grace Bailey

CMC Senior Theses

This paper conducts an analysis of county level data to determine the effect of fast food restaurants on type 2 diabetes rates. Due to endogeneity concerns with respect to the location of fast food restaurants, this paper follows the work of Dunn (2010) and uses the number of interstate exits in a given county to serve as an instrument for fast food restaurants. The strength of the instrument, which is theoretically and empirically tested in this paper, imposes some restraints on the interpretation of the findings. Using the Two-Stage Least Squares estimation method, I find that the presence of fast …

Stressed Out And Fed Up: The Effect Of Stress On Maternal Feeding Behaviors And The Moderating Role Of Executive Functioning, Isabel Mendiola

CMC Senior Theses

Stress is associated with a range of unhealthy eating habits. However, no previous studies have used experimental design to take an intergenerational perspective in the examination of how stress may influence parental feeding behavior, nor have they examined potential protective factors. The current study tests the effects of stress on maternal feeding behaviors and explores the potential protective role of maternal executive functioning (EF). We manipulated maternal stress with the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST) in a community sample mothers (N = 61, Mage = 33.45 years). We measured maternal EF with a series of computerized tasks. Maternal …

Black Males, Trauma, And Mental Health Service Use: A Systematic Review., Robert Motley, Andrae Banks

Brown School Faculty Publications

Objective: To systematically review the evidence of and synthesize results from relevant studies that have examined barriers and facilitators to professional mental health service use for Black male trauma survivors ages 18 and older.

Methods: A thorough search of selected databases that included EBSCO, ProQuest, and Web of Science Core Collection and careful consideration of inclusion and exclusion criteria yielded a final six studies for detailed review.

Results: Black male trauma survivors were significantly less likely to be utilizing mental health services than other sex-ethnic groups. High levels of daily crises, a lack of knowledge of steps to …

Racial And Cultural Minority Experiences And Perceptions Of Health Care Provision In A Mid-Western Region, Stephane M. Shepherd, Cynthia Willis-Esqueda, Yin Paradies, Diane Sivasubramaniam, Juanita Sherwood, Teresa Brockie

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: Disparities across a number of health indicators between the general population and particular racial and cultural minority groups including African Americans, Native Americans and Latino/a Americans have been well documented. Some evidence suggests that particular groups may receive poorer standards of care due to biased beliefs or attitudes held by health professionals. Less research has been conducted in specifically non-urban areas with smaller minority populations.

Methods: This study explored the self-reported health care experiences for 117 racial and cultural minority Americans residing in a Mid-Western jurisdiction. Prior health care experiences (including perceived discrimination), attitudes towards cultural competence and satisfaction …

Predicting Patients' Trust In Physicians From Personality Variables, Ethnicity, And Gender, Zoreed A. Mukhtar

Digital Repository: Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence

No abstract provided.