Personality and Social Contexts Commons^™

Indirect & Displaced Aggression: The Role Of Comparison Based Traits And Cognitive Vulnerabilities, Niki M. Knight

Dissertations

The present study explored the relationships of contingent self-esteem, dispositional envy, and two cognitive vulnerabilities (i.e., anger rumination and fear of negative evaluation) to indirect aggression (IA) and displaced aggression (DA) in a college student sample (N = 346). Despite the theoretical relevance of these personality and cognitive factors to aggression, there is little empirical evidence linking them to the perpetration of IA and DA. Bivariate correlations and hierarchical multiple regression were used to test the utility of these constructs in accounting for unique variance in IA and DA and to assess the potential role of participant gender. Participants …

A Dance/Movement Therapy Method For Improving Mood States Of Adolescent Girls In A Residential Treatment Center, Selena Coburn

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine dance/ movement therapy (DMT) sessions as a method of intervention, through observing with Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP) and recording shifting mood states in participants living in a residential treatment center. The participants are adolescent female clients age 13-17 years old. They have co-morbid diagnoses including depression, eating disorders, ADHD, histories of abuse and neglect, and oppositional defiant disorder. Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and verbal check-ins are used to determine mood states before, during, and after a DMT session. Data is collected via observations made using a designated …

Social Work Trauma Interventions: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Kassie Baumann

Senior Honors Theses

According to Lynne Weilart (2013), in her article on the reasons why people seek out therapy, trauma is the number one reason people attend counseling. Many different trauma-informed approaches are designed specifically to address the consequences of trauma and to facilitate healing. Some of these approaches are as follows: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT);Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT); Trauma Systems Therapy (TST); Trauma Assessment Pathway (TAP); and Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC) (de Arellano, Danielson, Ko, & Sprauge, 2008). The effectiveness of each trauma intervention will be examined. DBT is one of these trauma interventions that is growing …

Dancing, Mindfulness, And Our Emotions: Embracing The Mind, Body, And Sole, Alisha M. Collins

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project examines dance, as an intervention and mindfulness practice that assists with managing our emotions. There is a need for dance therapy in social institutions such as, healthcare facilities, schools, and community centers. Dance therapy has the potential to reduce negative emotions, create mindfulness, improve self-expression, and promote a healthy well-being. I am proposing that dance therapy is applied as a regular practice in social institutions to develop mindfulness and promote emotional stability.

In this study, I argue that dance therapy can contribute to our well-being long term. In addition to this written thesis, a visual component of …

Examining The Relationship Between Genetic Counselors’ Implicit Attitudes To Ward Disability And Their Practice Methods, Helen W. Gould

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Genetic counselors serve as a link between the medical community and the disability community as they are regularly the first exposure families have following a new diagnosis in a pregnancy, infant or child. This role requires genetic counselors to be responsible and compassionate when approaching conversations about disability. With a lack of research on how the specific attitudes of genetic counselors toward disability impact clinical practice, we aimed to understand these attitudes, what factors affect implicit attitudes toward disability, and how these attitudes affect counseling. Case scenarios involving disability were used to examine different counseling content preferences within a genetic …

Complicated Grief And Art Therapy, Rachel Brandoff

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

Complicated grief (CG) has come to be a common enough occurrence in mental health treatment to warrant research, literature, and discussion of markers, causes, prevalence, symptoms, measures, and treatment protocols. Art therapy presents one possible mode of treatment for individuals suffering from CG, and yet few art therapists know about CG or have training in this area. A systematic review of art therapy programs and educational requirements showed no current standards or training requirements for grief or CG. Art therapists are master’s trained clinicians who work with people with a variety of mental health challenges, and training in CG may …

The Relationship Between Resilience, Coping, And Social Media, Lillian N. Hurley

Masters Theses

This study was designed to explore relationships between measures of resilience, coping strategies, social media usage, and depression. Resilience refers to one's ability to endure and recover from adversity. Many theories about what contributes to the development resilience have been explored without a clear consensus. Taormina (2015) argued that adult personal resilience is comprised of four dimensions - determination, endurance, adapatability, and recuperability. Coping, a construct related to resilience, is the process of regulating emotions, cognition, behavior, physiological responses, and the environment in response to stressful events. Past research indicated those with poorer mental health have the tendency to use …

Criminological Self-Efficacy: Increased Or Hindered From Crime Tv Shows, Dorothy Moore

All Master's Theses

There is an age-old question that surrounds whether or not media have an effect on its viewers. There is substantial evidence that supports the claim that violent content in media may increase relational, physical, and/or overall aggression levels. The aim of the current study is to explore the relationship between several factors that may be related to one’s belief in one’s ability (self-efficacy) to commit and get away with murder. These factors are the amount of crime TV a person watches, aggressive tendency, recklessness tendency, and potential protective factors. It is hypothesized that the more crime TV watched, the higher …

Interpretation Bias Toward Ambiguous Information In Burnout And Depression, Renzo Bianchi, Eric Laurent, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Jay Verkuilen, Chantal Berna

Publications and Research

Burnout has been defined as a job-related syndrome combining pervasive fatigue and loss of motivation. In recent years, evidence has mounted that burnout may reflect a depressive condition. In this study, we expanded on past investigations of burnout-depression overlap by focusing on interpretation biases toward ambiguous information among the two entities. We conducted a web-based study involving 1056 participants (83% female; mean age: 42.87). Burnout symptoms were assessed with the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure and depressive symptoms with the PHQ-9. The Ambiguous Scenarios Test (AST), a measure of interpretation bias validated among dysphoric individuals, was the outcome of interest. The AST …

The Imprint Of Childhood Abuse On Trauma-Related Shame In Adulthood, Joan A. Reid

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Research has consistently linked residual trauma-related shame among child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors to sexual revictimization, health risk behaviors, and poorer response to mental health treatment. However, questions remain regarding the imprint of childhood maltreatment on trauma-related shame including which CSA characteristics or types of childhood maltreatment contribute to residual shame in adulthood. Using data drawn from a prospective study of 174 primarily African American women with histories of CSA and a matched comparison group, this study explores whether specific characteristics of CSA (familial CSA, CSA with penetration, force used by CSA perpetrator), repeat sexual victimization in adolescence, childhood physical …

Penalized Mixed-Effects Ordinal Response Models For High-Dimensional Genomic Data In Twins And Families, Amanda E. Gentry

Theses and Dissertations

The Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study (BLTS) was being conducted in Australia and was funded by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Adolescent twins were sampled as a part of this study and surveyed about their substance use as part of the Pathways to Cannabis Use, Abuse and Dependence project. The methods developed in this dissertation were designed for the purpose of analyzing a subset of the Pathways data that includes demographics, cannabis use metrics, personality measures, and imputed genotypes (SNPs) for 493 complete twin pairs (986 subjects.) The primary goal was to determine what combination of SNPs and …

Neighborhood Cohesion, Neighborhood Disorder, And Cardiometabolic Risk, Jennifer N. Robinette, Susan T. Charles, Tara Gruenewald

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Perceptions of neighborhood disorder (trash, vandalism) and cohesion (neighbors trust one another) are related to residents’ health. Affective and behavioral factors have been identified, but often in studies using geographically select samples. We use a nationally representative sample (n = 9032) of United States older adults from the Health and Retirement Study to examine cardiometabolic risk in relation to perceptions of neighborhood cohesion and disorder. Lower cohesion is significantly related to greater cardiometabolic risk in 2006/2008 and predicts greater risk four years later (2010/2012). The longitudinal relation is partially accounted for by anxiety and physical activity.

The Public Health Harms Of Pornography: The Brain, Erectile Dysfunction, And Sexual Violence, John D. Foubert

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Twisting Masculinity: Harms Of Pornography To Young Boys And Men, Gabe Deem

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Down Syndrome, The Image Of God, And Personhood, Paris Webb

Dialogue & Nexus

People with Down syndrome help Christians understand what being made in the image of God truly means. After describing Down syndrome, we will examine the different views of the image of God and how these relate to people with Down syndrome. Another approach will be to define personhood in light of God’s image and relate it to Down syndrome. We will use the principles held by the L’Arche community as an exemplar in this discussion to demonstrate that those with Down syndrome encourage us to expand our understanding of the image of God. Consequently, Down’s persons allow us to apply …

Attachment As Affirmation To Inhibit Health Risk Information Avoidance, Elizabeth C. Mccrary

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research on information avoidance has revealed that people choose to avoid negative health information, but that this effect is interrupted by self-affirmation (Howell & Shepperd, 2013). The current study aimed to contribute to the field’s understanding of the conditions under which self-affirmation reduces information avoidance by using a unique affirmation: secure attachment figures. I hypothesized that activating a secure attachment would serve as the affirmation necessary for participants to choose to view their risk information for a fictitious enzyme deficiency. However, when given a choice, participants in both the experimental and control conditions chose to view this information. At …

Personality, Motivation, And Internet Gaming Disorder: Understanding The Addiction, Kristy L. Carlisle

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examined the relationships among personality traits, motivation for play, and Internet gaming disorder in a diverse sample of Internet gamers, using a group correlational design and path analysis. The researcher sampled participants who self-identify as Internet gamers by posting invitations to participate in the study on Internet forums, as well as by accessing the gaming population at Pokémon Go hotspots. The study used valid and reliable instruments: The Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-10), the abbreviated form of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), and the Motivation to Play Online Games Questionnaire (MPOGQ). Data analysis included descriptive statistics related …

Being While Doing: An Inductive Model Of Mindfulness At Work, Christopher Lyddy, Darren J. Good

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness at work has drawn growing interest as empirical evidence increasingly supports its positive workplace impacts. Yet theory also suggests that mindfulness is a cognitive mode of “Being” that may be incompatible with the cognitive mode of “Doing” that undergirds workplace functioning. Therefore, mindfulness at work has been theorized as “being while doing,” but little is known regarding how people experience these two modes in combination, nor the influences or outcomes of this interaction. Drawing on a sample of 39 semi-structured interviews, this study explores how professionals experience being mindful at work. The relationship between Being and Doing modes demonstrated …

Expanding Intersectionality Praxis: Informing Culturally-Responsive Programming For Black And Latino Gay And Bisexual Young Men, Justin T. Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men face a multitude of health disparities caused by various determinants of health. However, despite the awareness of the gaps, health intervention research rarely explores the impact of current health intervention strategies on Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men’s overall health and well-being. Traditional health interventions are deficit-based, health condition-specific, and often limited in their cultural-specificity. As health-related fields move toward holistic, evidence-based practices, new primary prevention approaches need to emerge. Using qualitative investigation strategies, this study included primary analysis of participatory workshop artifacts, and secondary analysis of survey and focus group data. This study identified critical factors necessary …

The Effect Of Clinician Competence And Religiosity On The Trainee Clinician’S Ability To Identify Problematic Sexual Behavior, Cody Butcher

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Models in psychology do not consider the concept of sex addiction the same way as other substance or behavior addictions. For example, sex addiction, which is not a DSM-5 disorder, is often assigned as a label to clients based off of high frequency of sexual behavior. Despite sex addiction not being a diagnosable disorder, sex addiction therapists are conducting treatment with people who identify as sex addicts. Due to this lack of a definition, previous research has found that clinicians may identify sex addiction in clients based on their own preconceived worldviews of what types of sexual behaviors or frequencies …

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 …

The Implications Of Attachment Orientation And Personality Pathology For Detecting Deception, Madeline Luedke

Global Tides

This study investigated the implications of attachment orientations and personality dimensions for accuracy in detecting deception from emotionally-based statements. Thirty individuals (M age = 25.33, range = 18-52) completed a survey that included the Personality Inventory for DSM-V-Brief Form and the Relationship Styles Questionnaire to measure the individual differences in question. To measure deceit, 7 mental health counselors volunteered to participate in a video-recorded mock interview concerning their current romantic partner—3 individuals provided false responses, and the remaining 4 offered true answers. The audio-visual vignettes were imbedded in the survey and subjects viewed each, then responded a question asking …

Just World Beliefs, Identity Development, And Social Justice Advocacy Of Counselor Trainees, Sara Rundlett

All Master's Theses

This was the first study exploring the relationship between the belief in a just world, identity development, and social justice advocacy (SJA). A mixed methods design was conducted using a nationwide sample of ninety-seven counselor-in-training participants. Hypotheses included positive correlation between identity development and SJA, negative correlation between belief in a just world and SJA, and negative correlation between belief in a just world and identity development. Results were not significant but provided implications for future research and counselor training programs.

Tobacco Use, Cessation, And Locus Of Control Among College Students, Bernard Ambe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to (a) determine the locus of control among American college students (b) determine if tobacco use or cessation correlate with any demographic variables to better understand the efficacy of tobacco interventions and help design an intervention most effective in the prominent LOC of college students.

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) was modified for the purposes of this study and used to determine demographic factors and tobacco usage status. The modified GATS survey also included the LOC questionnaire which yielded the data. Seventy-four responses were recorded. The mean locus of control scores were …

Subjective Well-Being And Cardiometabolic Health: An 8-11 Year Study Of Midlife Adults, Julia K. Boehm, Ying Chen, David R. Williams, Carol D. Ryff, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Individuals who are satisfied and experience frequent positive emotions tend to have reduced risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, conflicting evidence exists and little research has investigated whether well-being is associated with early-warning indicators of biological risk that precede CHD. We investigated whether life satisfaction and positive emotions longitudinally predicted reduced risk of incident cardiometabolic conditions and healthier cardiometabolic risk scores, which may provide insight into underlying mechanisms and novel prevention targets.

Methods: Initially healthy men and women (N=754–854) reported their baseline life satisfaction and positive emotions. During follow-up, presence of manifest cardiometabolic conditions was assessed …

Psychological Abuse, Mental Health, And Acceptance Of Dating Violence Among Adolescents, Jeff R. Temple, Hye Jeong Choi, Joanna Elmquist, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day, Gregory L. Stuart, Meagan Brem, Caitlin Wolford-Clevenger

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

Existing literature indicates that acceptance of dating violence is a significant and robust risk factor for psychological dating abuse perpetration. Past work also indicates a significant relationship between psychological dating abuse perpetration and poor mental health. However, no known research has examined the relationship between acceptance of dating violence, perpetration of dating abuse, and mental health. In addition to exploring this complex relationship, the present study examines whether psychological abuse perpetration mediates the relationship between acceptance of dating violence and mental health (i.e., internalizing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hostility).

Methods

Three waves of longitudinal data were obtained from …

“My Logic Is Undeniable”: Replicating The Brain For Ideal Artificial Intelligence, Samuel C. Adams

Senior Honors Theses

Alan Turing asked if machines can think, but intelligence is more than logic and reason. I ask if a machine can feel pain or joy, have visions and dreams, or paint a masterpiece. The human brain sets the bar high, and despite our progress, artificial intelligence has a long way to go. Studying neurology from a software engineer’s perspective reveals numerous uncanny similarities between the functionality of the brain and that of a computer. If the brain is a biological computer, then it is the embodiment of artificial intelligence beyond anything we have yet achieved, and its architecture is advanced …

Relationship Of Optimism And Suicidal Ideation In Three Groups Of Patients At Varying Levels Of Suicide Risk, Jeff C. Huffman, Julia K. Boehm, Scott R. Beach, Eleanor E. Beale, Christina M. Dubois, Brian C. Healy

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Optimism has been associated with reduced suicidal ideation, but there have been few studies in patients at high suicide risk. We analyzed data from three study populations (total N=319) with elevated risk of suicide: (1) patients with a recent acute cardiovascular event, (2) patients hospitalized for heart disease who had depression or an anxiety disorder, and (3) patients psychiatrically hospitalized for suicidal ideation or following a suicide attempt. For each study we analyzed the association between optimism (measured by the Life-Orientation Test-Revised) and suicidal ideation, and then completed an exploratory random effects meta-analysis of the findings to synthesize this data. …

Adult Relationships In Multiple Contexts And Associations With Adolescent Mental Health, Gordon Capp, Ruth Berkowitz, Kate Sullivan, Ron Avi Astor, Kris T. De Pedro, Tamika D. Gilreath, Eric Rice

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: Adult relationships provide critical support for adolescents because of their potential to foster positive development and provide protective influences. Few studies examine multiple ecological layers of adult relationships in connection with well-being and depression. This study examines the influence of relationships from multiple contexts for adolescents and their mental health.
Method: Data from the 2011 California Healthy Kids Survey was used for this analysis; a sample of 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students (N = 14,931) was drawn from 6 school districts in Southern California.
Results: Regression analyses revealed that parent, teacher, and community adult support were …

16pf® Traits As Predictors Of Emergency Medical Service Worker Tenure, Beverly J. Paschal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States is experiencing a severe shortage of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) paramedics. The job outlook for paramedics (EMT-P) for the years 2012-2022 is predicted to increase by 23%-33%, which is much faster than the 4% average increase of other first-response professions. The average tenure of paramedics is less than 4 years. There is a significant gap in the literature concerning paramedic personality traits and tenure. The primary objective of the current study is to provide empirical data on the personality traits possessed by long-term paramedics (5+ years), and compare them to those with shorter tenure (< 5 years). Using Allport's Trait Theory, I predicted that personality would affect paramedic longevity. The 6 personality traits tested were warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, liveliness, social boldness and openness to change. A socio-demographic questionnaire, determined the length of their EMS career, while the 16PF® Assessment, tested their personality traits. Using t tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and a set of regression analyses, data were examined to determine if length of career and personality traits predicted paramedic tenure. The research sample consisted of long term paramedics and former paramedics. The results showed that of the 6 personality traits, only warmth was a significant predictor of paramedic tenure. A logistic regression showed for every additional point in warmth, the odds of leaving EMS prior to 5 years increased by a factor of 2.77. This study provides support for positive social change by helping EMS to learn how to increase recruitment and tenure. It also helps by advising EMS agencies to attend to the mental and emotional health of their paramedics by being aware of the level of their warmth personality trait.