Health Psychology Commons^™

The Color Ceiling: African Americans Still Fighting For Equity And Equality, Osaro Airen Ph.D, Lpc, Ncc

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

There currently exists a unique ceiling-effect that has plagued the African American community for a number of years but due to the group being placed under the Glass Ceiling umbrella, the true nature of their issues have been vastly overlooked. To bring to light the true nature of these issues, the author created the term, Color Ceiling. The Color Ceiling refers to the invisible barriers that impede financial equity, employment equity, and promotional advancement for African Americans in the workplace specifically higher education.

Approaching Stressful Situations With Purpose: Strategies For Emotional Regulation In Sensitive People, Amy D. Nagley

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate strategies for emotional self-regulation (EMSR) in highly sensitive people (HSPs) under pressure. Specifically, a model of EMSR was evaluated through a moderated-mediation design with two manipulations across two experiments. A total of 445 individuals participated in the current study (52% female), all of which were US citizens. Results suggested that the relationship between sense of purpose (SoP) and EMSR was moderated by focus on potential (FoP). Specifically, SoP significantly impacted FoP, b = .89, t = 5.23, p < .01, FoP significantly impacted EMSR, b = 1.11, t = 5.88, p < .01, and the Sobel test suggested a significant indirect effect, z = 3.91, p < .01.

The hypothesis that …

The Relationship Between Gratitude And Health Behaviors, Jacob Lowen

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Gratitude interventions lead to significant increases in subjective, psychological, spiritual, and physical well-being. These benefits may be because grateful individuals are better able to form social bonds, better able to utilize coping skills to defer stress, better able to maintain positive affect, and are more creative in problem solving. It remains unclear what mechanism(s) are responsible for the positive benefits associated with gratitude and whether the link between gratitude and health enhancement is bidirectional. The current study seeks to explore the link between gratitude and health behaviors by measuring the increase or maintenance of gratitude over time in response to …

Religious/Spiritual Coping In Older African American Women, Danice B. Greer, Willie M. Abel

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to identify religious/spiritual coping behaviors of African American women with hypertension (HTN) and explore how religious/spiritual coping influences adherence to high blood pressure (HBP) therapy in older African American women. A mixed-method research design guided this study. Twenty African American women with primary HTN were enrolled in this study using a mixed methods concurrent triangulation design. Data collection included physiologic, descriptive, and sociodemographic data. Adherence was measured using the Hill-Bone Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy scale (Kim, Hill, Bone, & Levine, 2000), and religious/spiritual coping was evaluated with the Brief Religious/Spiritual Coping scale. …

Beliefs About Savoring In Older Adulthood: Aging And Perceived Health Affect Temporal Components Of Perceived Savoring Ability, Paul Jefferson Geiger, Jennifer N. Morey, Suzanne C. Segerstrom

Psychology Faculty Publications

The ability to savor positive life events is associated with higher emotional well-being; however, few studies have examined savoring ability in older adults. The present study used a longitudinal design to examine changes in perceived savoring abilities and associations with perceived health in older adulthood. Older adults (N=131) reported on beliefs about savoring and perceived health at baseline and 2½ years later. Perceived anticipation (savoring the future) and reminiscing (savoring the past) abilities declined from baseline to follow-up. Better perceived health at baseline predicted greater perceived reminiscing and anticipation abilities at follow-up. Greater perceived ability to savor the …

Sociocultural Risk Factors For Elevated Perceived Stress Among African American Smokers, Monica Webb Hooper, Noella A. Dietz, Joseph C. Wilson

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Introduction: African Americans experience unique stressors that may inhibit smoking cessation and enhance relapse rates. Few studies, however, have focused on risk factors for perceived stress among treatment seekers. Because African Americans are less likely to quit compared to the larger community, understanding factors associated with perceived stress among smokers has the potential to improve intervention outcomes. This study examined psychosocial and cultural correlates of stress in a sample of African American participants in a randomized controlled trial.

Methods: At baseline, participants reported demographic factors and completed assessments of smoking history, alcohol use, friend and household smoking, weight concerns, acculturation, …

Depressive Symptoms And Sleep Disturbances In Korean American Women, Eunjung Kim, Sinhye Kim, Kevin Cain

Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances among Korean American women. Forty-nine women completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and revised Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II. Overall, participants scored 12.56 (SD = 9.93) on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, 5.31 (SD = 3.01) on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and -2.27 (SD = 1.64) on the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II. Approximately 29% of the women (n = 14) scored 16 or higher on the Center …

Research Methods In Occupational Health Psychology, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Chu-Hsiang Chang

Publications and Research

http://www.springerpub.com/occupational-health-psychology.html

Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field that focuses on the science and practice of psychology in promoting and developing workplace health- and safety-related initiatives. This comprehensive text for undergraduate and graduate survey courses is the first to encompass a wide range of key issues in OHP. It draws from the domains of psychology, public health, preventive medicine,nursing, industrial engineering, law, and epidemiology to focus on the theory and practice of protecting and promoting the health, well-being, and safety of individuals in the workplace and improving the quality of work life.

The text addresses key psychosocial …

High Healthcare Utilization At The Onset Of Medically Unexplained Symptoms, Lisa M. Mcandrew, L. Alison Phillips, Drew A. Helmer, Kieran J. Maestro, Charles C. Engel, Lauren M. Greenberg, Nicole Anastasides, Karen S. Quigley

Educational & Counseling Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Objective: Patients with medically unexplained syndromes (MUS) often do not receive appropriate healthcare. A critical time for effective healthcare is the inception of MUS. The current study examined data from a prospective longitudinal study of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans to understand the relationship of increasing physical symptom burden to healthcare utilization.

Methods: Data was examined from a prospective study of OEF/OIF veterans assessed before and one year after deployment (n=335). Physical symptom burden was measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15). Analyses were conducted with polynomial regression and response surface analysis (RSA).

Results: Increases in physical symptom …

Burnout-Depression Overlap: A Study Of New Zealand Schoolteachers, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Mayor, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We examined the overlap of burnout with depression in a sample of 184 New Zealand schoolteachers. Burnout and depressive symptoms were strongly correlated with each other (r = .73; disattenuated correlation: .82) and moderately correlated with dysfunctional attitudes, ruminative responses, and pessimistic attributions. All the participants with high frequencies of burnout symptoms were identified as clinically depressed. Suicidal ideation was reported by 36% of those participants. Three groups of teachers emerged from a two-step cluster analysis: “low burnout-depression,” “medium burnout-depression,” and “high burnout-depression.” The correlation between the affective-cognitive and somatic symptoms of depression was similar in strength to the burnout-depression …

Telephone-Based Versus In-Person Delivery Of Cognitive Behavioral Treatment For Veterans With Chronic Multisymptom Illness: A Controlled, Randomized Trial, Lisa M. Mcandrew, Lauren M. Greenberg, Donald S. Ciccone, Drew A. Helmer, Helena K. Chandler

Educational & Counseling Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Background:The goal of this randomized clinical trial was to examine the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral stress reduction treatment for reducing disability among veterans with chronic multisymptom illness (CMI).Method: Veterans (N=128) who endorsed symptoms of CMI were randomized to: usual care (n=43), in-person (n=42) or telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral stress management (n=43). Assessments were conducted at baseline, three months, and twelve months. The primary outcome was limitation in roles at work and home (i.e., ‘role physical’). Reductions in catastrophizing cognitions were evaluated as a mechanism of action. Results: Intent-to-treat analyses showed …

Reliability And Validity Of The Hd-Pro-Triadtm, A Health-Related Quality Of Life Measure Designed To Assess The Symptom Triad Of Huntington's Disease., Nicholas R Boileau, Julie C Stout, Janes S Paulsen, David Cella, Michael K Mccormack, Martha A Nance, Samuel Frank, Jin-Shei Lai, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Huntington's disease (HD), is a neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments that diminish health related quality of life (HRQOL). The HD-PRO-TRIADTM is a quality of life measure that assesses health concerns specific to individuals with HD. Preliminary psychometric characterization was limited to a convenience sample of HD participants who completed measures at home so clinician-ratings were unavailable.

OBJECTIVES: The current study evaluates the reliability and validity of the HD-PRO-TRIADTM in a well-characterized sample of individuals with HD.

METHODS: Four-hundred and eighty-two individuals with HD (n = 192 prodromal, n = 193 early, and n …

The Common Sense Of Counseling Psychology: Introducing, Lisa M. Mcandrew, Jessica L. Martin, Myrna L. Friedlander, Katherine Shaffer, Jessica Y. Breland, Sarah Slotkin, Howard Leventhal

Educational & Counseling Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The goal of therapy is typically to improve clients’ self-management of their problems, not only during the course of therapy but also after therapy ends. Although it seems obvious that therapists are interested in improving client’s self-management, the psychotherapy literature has little to say on the topic. This article introduces Leventhal’s Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation, a theoretical model of the self-management of health, and applies the model to the therapeutic process. The Common-Sense Model proposes that people develop illness representations of health threats and these illness representations guide self-management. The model has primarily been used to understand how people self-manage …

How The Sohp Newsletter Got Started And Got Going, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

This article describes the origins and early history of the newsletter serving the research organization known as the Society for Occupational Health Psychology.

Less Engagement In Pleasure Activities Is Associated With Poorer Quality Of Life For Veterans With Comorbid Post-Deployment Conditions, Lisa M. Mcandrew, Held F. Rachel, Abbi Bhavna, Karen S. Quigley, Drew A. Helmer, Radhika V. Pasupuleti, Helena K. Chandler

Educational & Counseling Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Objective: The presence of multiple comorbid conditions is common after combat deployment and complicates treatment. A potential treatment approach is to target shared mechanisms across conditions that maintain poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL). One such mechanism may be decrements in pleasurable activities. Impairment in pleasurable activities frequently occurs after deployment and may be associated with poorer HRQOL.

Method: In this brief report, we surveyed 126 Veterans who had previously sought an assessment at a Veterans Affairs post-deployment health clinic and assessed pleasurable activities, HRQOL, and post-deployment health symptoms.

Results: Forty-three percent of Veterans met our criteria for all three …

Gender Differences In Drinking Habits Among College Students, Margaret Anne Demayo

Student Research Posters

Binge drinking is a common problem found among college students. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six U.S. adults binge drink about four times a month, consuming about eight drinks per binge." Over time, binge drinking in college can cause negative factors for students such as, poor academics and health problems.

The purpose of my study is to evaluate how stress factors such as environment and peer relationships affect drinking habits in male and female college students. Students experience stress factors such as environment (e.g. housing), peer relationships (e.g. peer pressure, relationships), school (e.g. …

Burnout Or Depression: Both Individual And Social Issue, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Éric Laurent

Publications and Research

In view of the profound problems attached to the construct of burnout, we recommended in our that occupational health specialists focus on (job-related) depression rather than burnout to help workers more effectively. The phenomena of interest (burnout or depression) should not be confused with the perspectives (individual or social) adopted to elucidate those phenomena. Both burnout and depression are best explained through the interaction of social or external conditions with individual or internal dispositions.

Yoga And The Ability To Counteract Negative Effects Of Stress And Trauma, Allison R. Steinwand, Staci L. Born

Counseling and Human Development Faculty Publications

Many individuals today struggle with the effects of chronic stress, whether due to social and environmental factors or as a result of trauma embedded in their psychophysiology. Research has demonstrated that once an individual endures a traumatic event, there are undesirable changes that occur in the brain and body It is of the utmost importance that mental health counselors consider the relationship between the body and mind. The purpose of this paper is to describe the negative impact traumatic experiences and chronic stress has on the brain and body. Furthermore, the ways in which yoga practice can mitigate trauma symptoms …

Women’S Decisions About Mental Health Treatment In The Perinatal Period, Marina G. Green

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

This study examined a mother’s decision-making process in regards to mental health treatment for emotional difficulties during pregnancy and/or in the postpartum period. The literature shows that different factors influence a woman’s ability and willingness to seek services, including demographic factors, cultural factors, and interactions with healthcare providers and acquaintances. A sample of women who experienced emotional difficulties in the perinatal period was recruited through social media. Participants answered an anonymous electronic survey; the quantitative data was analyzed through SPSS, and the qualitative data was aggregated by themes. Quantitative findings indicate that age might be an influencing factor for women …

Developing The Family Involvement Questionnaire (Fiq): A Measure Of Family Involvement In The Lives Of Residents At Long-Term Care Facilities, Christopher Thomas Fast

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Intro: One factor that has been shown to improve long-term care facility resident’s quality of life is family involvement (Gaugler, 2005). Despite this, the measures that currently exist to measure family involvement in the lives of older adults residing in longterm care facilities are rather simplistic, using visitation frequency as the prominent gauge of involvement and a situation specific fashion (Port et al., 2005). The purpose of this study was to design a measure of family involvement that could be used to gauge more aspects of family involvement than visitation alone and be useful in a variety of settings. Methods: …

A Hierarchical Linear Modeling Approach To Predicting Trajectories Of Posttraumatic Growth In Veterans Following Acquired Physical Disability, Lisa Goldberg Looney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine potential predictors of PTG across time in Veterans with acquired physical disabilities. Specifically, this study aimed to understand how various demographic and injury characteristics, coping styles, appraisals of injury, and social support might predict trajectories of PTG from discharge from inpatient rehabilitation through 12 months after baseline. Initial curvature analyses suggested that a cubic polynomial trend best fit the movement of PTG over time, generally conforming to an initial increase, decrease, and then plateau or slight increase. Four HLMs were run to examine whether demographic and injury characteristics, coping styles, appraisals of …

Play It Again! Individualized Music Improves Social Interaction Of Women, But Not Men, With Dementia, Emily Farrer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Dementia is tragic both for patients with the disease and for their family members. As this neurodegenerative disorder progresses, cognitive functions deteriorate, agitation and aggression increase, and mood worsens (McDermott, Orrell, et al., 2014; Spiro, 2010; Vasionyté & Madison, 2013). Non-pharmacological approaches, such as active music therapy or passive music listening, can be effective in reducing these symptoms. However, no past studies have examined how music listening affects the social interactions of patients with dementia. As such, this study examined whether nursing home residents with dementia are more engaged and interactive if they listen to individually selected music for 15 …

The Third Tier In Treatment: Attending To The Growing Connection Between Gut Health And Emotional Well-Being, Joseph Verdino

Publications and Research

The microbial environment of the human gut has powerful influence on immunity, metabolism, and obesity. There is now emerging evidence that the microbiome of our gastrointestinal system may also be a key factor impacting our emotional and behavioral health. The purpose of this article is to elucidate how this emerging area of science can further educate and encourage mental health professionals to explore an additional means to treatment. Since much of this research is found in the biological and neuroscientific literature, it can be quite cumbersome for clinicians to digest and apply, who would critically benefit from a concise discussion …

Relationship Of Stress, Sleep, Physical Activity, And Food Insecurity On Eating Behaviors And Obesity, Amy Lee Richards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an urgent need to find effective interventions to prevent and reduce obesity as it is associated with chronic disease and decreased quality of life. Gaining a better understanding of how modifiable variables such as stress, sleep, physical activity, and food insecurity are related to eating behaviors associated with obesity is essential to guide the direction of future interventions and research. Interventions that hold promise need to be tested to determine if they have merit or not. This dissertation presents three papers. Two papers are cross-sectional studies evaluating associations between eating behaviors, obesity, and modifiable variables (stress, sleep, physical …

Acculturation And Filial Piety As Mediators Of The Relationship Between Caregiver Burden And Gender-Role Expectations In Hispanic-American Rehabilitation Services Students, Roy K. Chen, Bryan S. Austin, Chien-Chun Lin

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Hispanic-Americans are the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. The need to care for older Hispanics has become an important issue as they now enjoy longer life expectancies due to better access to healthcare and less labor participation in hazardous occupations. The present study examined whether the association between caregiver burden and gender-role expectations is mediated by acculturation and filial piety. Method: The sample consisted of 93 Mexican-American rehabilitation services students enrolled at a large public university in Texas. The four instruments used in the study were the Zarit Burden Interview, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Acculturation …

Perceptions Of Body Image Among College Men, Colton David Janes

Masters Theses

This study sought to better understand what influences male body image perceptions among college men attending a mid-sized Midwestern university. A qualitative research approach was utilized to better establish a better understanding on how college men construct their body image perceptions. Nine male undergraduate students in their third year or greater participated in one-on-one interviews. These participants self-identified as a member of a single-gender student organization including a social Greek letter fraternity, university athletic team, and/or other student organization(s) on-campus. Results of this study revealed that one of the most influential forces of body image perception among participants was the …

The Role Of Body Image, Dieting, Self-Esteem And Binge Eating In Health Behaviors, Neha M. Tamhane

Masters Theses

Society’s obsession with an idealized thin body type has led to many individuals to seek several different, often harmful, methods to reach their body goals. Current research shows links between body image and self-esteem as well as that between dieting and binge eating-with many researchers finding that extreme dieting can lead to binge eating. The aim of this research was to assess the relationships between body image, dieting, binge eating and self-esteem to understand the ways these factors interact with each other. For this purpose, 60 female participants aged 18-26 years were recruited from Eastern Illinois University and asked to …

Associations Between Personality Style, Perceptions Of Health Coaching And Percent Of Starting Weight In Meal Replacement Program Participants, Anne E. Sawyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To determine if personality style and an individual’s perception of their health coaching experience impact their ability to lose weight and/or maintain weight loss. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to 20,000 current and past meal replacement program participants. Personality style was assessed via the Ten Item Personality Inventory, providing individual perceptions of each of the Big Five personality domains (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience). The Working Alliance Inventory (Short Revised) was used to assess three key perceptions of health coaching: 1) agreement on the goals of coaching (goal), 2) agreement on the tasks of …

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

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study examined variables related to the doctor-patient interaction that can predict college students’ trust in their physicians. Specifically, I examined if five personality variables, ethnicity, and gender were associated with attitudes toward physicians. A second aim of the study was to determine if there was a difference in the level of trust in physicians between pre-medical and non-pre-medical students. Surveys were administered to UCF students containing a series of questions compiled from the Interpersonal Physician Trust Scale, Interpersonal Trust Scale, Illness Attitude Scale, Big Five Inventory, Martin-Larsen Approval Motivation Scale-Short Form, Almost Perfect Scale-Revised and Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale-Short …

A Systematic Review Of Weight-Related Communication Trainings For Physicians: What Do We Know And How Can We Inform Future Development Of Training Programs?, Jean M. Reading, Morgan Snell, Jessica G. Larose

Graduate Research Posters

It is reported that physicians lack training to address weight-related concerns with patients. To overcome this, training programs have been implemented in medical settings to prepare physicians to have conversations with patients. However, it is unclear the degree of consistency among existing training programs and factors associated with better outcomes. The objective of this study was to systematically review the existing literature in this area to determine differences in content, outcomes, and implementation of existing studies that test weight-related communication training programs for physicians.

A systematic literature review of online databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, and Proquest was conducted with the …