Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons^™

Folate As An Adjunctive Therapy For Treatment Resistant Depression, Katherine Mcfarland

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

Numerous medications are available to treat depression, yet many patients do not achieve remission or recovery of their symptoms with traditional therapies alone. Folate supplementation has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of depression when used in addition to traditional prescription therapy. A literature review was conducted to determine the effect of low folate levels on depression and if supplementation with either folic acid or L-methylfolate benefits this patient population. Key search terms including folate, folate deficiency, methylfolate, nutrition, and depression were used to perform searches of multiple databases and journals including PubMed, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and the American …

Treatment Options For Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome & Comorbid Depression, Elizabeth Morton

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

• Irritable bowel syndrome & depression are common comorbidities, however there is a wide variability regarding the appropriate treatment regimens for these patients.

• IBS is classified as a functional bowel disease in which patients suffer from recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort associated with alterations in bowel habits.

• While the cause of IBS is multifactorial, studies have revealed that the dysfunction of the brain-gut pathways are a culprit to disease appearance and progression, as seen in the biopsychosocial model of IBS. This model proposes that abdominal symptoms secondarily impact anxiety & depression symptoms and that psychological factors influence physiologic …

Posttraumatic Growth As It Relates To Family Environment, Brian Keller

Online Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to explore the relationship between one's family environment and reported posttraumatic growth. Participants were 197 EKU undergraduate intro to psychology students. They voluntarily took an online survey for course credit. Types and frequency of trauma was recorded using the Life Events Checklist. The Posttraumatic Growth Index was used to measure posttraumatic growth, the Family environment scale was used to assess qualities of family life, and the Big Five Inventory was used to control for personality traits. Results did not support the hypothesis, however, significant correlations with the Moral Religious subscale of the FES as well as …

Preclinical Assessment Of Immunocal® As A Preventative Treatment For Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi) In A Mouse Model Of Closed Head Injury, Elizabeth Eugenia Ignowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past three decades, traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been considered a "silent epidemic" and recognized as an emergent public health problem by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). TBI is defined as a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Due to the debilitating effects and prevalence of TBI, novel preventative treatment regimens are highly desirable in at risk populations. According to the CDC groups disproportionately affected by TBI include athletes, people aged 75+, and service men and women, among others. Here, we investigated a unique whey protein …

Relationship Between Individual Differences In Functional Connectivity And Facial Emotion Recognition Abilities In Traumatic Brain Injury, Arianna Rigon, Michelle W. Voss, Lyn Siobhan Turkstra, Bilge Mutlu, Melissa Duff

Communication Disorders Faculty Research

Although several studies have demonstrated that facial-affect recognition impairment is common following moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), and that there are diffuse alterations in large-scale functional brain networks in TBI populations, little is known about the relationship between the two. Here, in a sample of26 participants with TBI and 20 healthy comparison participants (HC) we measured facial-affect recognition abilities and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) using fMRI. We then used network-based statistics to ex-amine (A) the presence of rs-FC differences between individuals with TBI and HC within the facial-affect processing network, and (B) the association between inter-individual differences in emotion recognition …

Preparing To Parent: Mindfulness In Expectant Parents Exposed To Adversity, Laurel Marie Hicks

Wayne State University Dissertations

Expectant parents who have been exposed to psychosocial risk encounter deleterious psychological (Ashley et al., 2016), and physiological (V. H. Pereira, Campos, & Sousa, 2017) effects. This not only affects the parent-to-be, but also may affect the developing fetus (E. P. Davis et al., 2011) and is linked to poorer infant development (Lefmann & Combs-Orme, 2014). However, not all risk-exposed individuals experience this, many are resilient and still thrive in the face of adversity. Understanding potential risk and resiliency factors in expectant parents is advantageous, so tailored interventions can be devised to improve outcomes. One potential resiliency factor, mindfulness, is …

Depression In Low-Income Adolescents: Guidelines For School-Based Depression Intervention Programs, Gopika Hari

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Adolescent depression is growing in interest to clinicians. In addition to the estimated 2 million cases of adolescent major depressive episodes each year, depressive symptoms in youth have become indicators of mental health complications later in life. Studies indicate that being low-income is a risk factor for depression and that socioeconomically disadvantaged teenagers are more than twice as likely to develop mental illnesses. Only an estimated 1 in 4 children with mental illnesses receive adequate help and 80% of these resources come through schools. Thus, this study focuses on establishing the importance of depression intervention programs in low-income high schools …

Professionals' Perspective On Mental Health Courts, Martha M. Amos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In recent years, the percentage of incarcerated individuals with mental illness has dramatically increased. It is very hard to provide treatment and care for these defendants in jails or prisons. Currently, there are more mentally ill individuals incarcerated than in psychiatric hospitals. Furthermore, as budget cuts are being decided, urban and rural communities in America are looking at ways to help the mentally ill by initiating a mental health court (MHC) or continuing to fund an already existing MHC. Guided by the therapeutic jurisprudence theory, the purpose of this study was to elicit the opinions from MHC professionals regarding the …

The Development Of Mental Illness Stigma: The Role Of Perceived Social Support, Social Proximity, And Help-Seeking Behavior, Emily Kathryn Reed

Online Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to explore the relationships mental illness stigmatization may have with perceived social support, proximity, and help-seeking behavior. Based on findings from previously conducted studies, hypotheses were formulated in order to further analyze how perceived social support, proximity, and help-seeking behavior may impact an individual's tendency to stigmatize mental illness. 203 Eastern Kentucky students participated in this study to test these hypotheses. These participants took part in an online study that measured their perceived social support based on their family environment, their proximity to those with a mental illness or mental illness in general, their attitudes regarding …

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Characteristics And How Social Support Plays A Role, Stephanie Smith-Kellen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

NSSI affects many young adults and is associated with suicidal ideation, as well as numerous mental health disorders and other psychological variables. There were a total of 59 participants that participated in this study from an undergraduate college sample who endorsed self-injuring. An online platform for research was used to recruit participants and provide them with the online survey link. Self-injuring more than one bodily location may result in feeling more stigma than individuals who self-injure one bodily location. Self-stigma and self-injuring multiple bodily locations both significantly predicted suicidal ideation, but gender and social support did not predict suicidal ideation. …

A Clinical Practice Guideline To Reduce Behavioral Outbursts In Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Mary Adejumoke Badru

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital on the East Coast of the United States, behavioral outbursts result in 2 out of 10 veterans dismissed from a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) unit prior to completing the 6-week program. The purpose of this evidence-based quality improvement project was to create a clinical practice guideline (CPG) based on social cognitive theory (SCT) to provide new strategies for managing veterans with PTSD and to improve the confidence of the nurses in managing outbursts. The Star Model guided the project development with the Delphi method to achieve participant consensus, the AGREE II to assess …

Associations Of Suicidal Ideation With Opioid/Prescription Drug Use, Violence, Food Insecurity, And Community Factors Among New Hampshire High School Students, Emily R. Carbonara, Semra Aytur

Honors Theses and Capstones

Purpose: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for New Hampshire (NH) youth. Evidence-based public health emphasizes the use of data for translating research into practice/policy. We utilized data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to support community-academic partnerships and inform suicide prevention interventions. Methods: Data from the 2011 NH YRBS, a cross-sectional survey of 9th-12th grade students, were analyzed. Gender-stratified, adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression models (SAS 9.4, ProcSuveylogistic) to evaluate associations between suicidal ideation (seriously considering attempting suicide within the past 12 months), violence (e.g., physical bullying, …

Exploring The Role Of Escapism In The Dsm-V Criteria For Internet Gaming Disorder : A Meta-Analytic Investigation, Yeonggeul Lee

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been included in the DSM-5 in a preliminary endorsement of excessive video gaming as a behavioral disorder. Further research is required to validate IGD because some criteria are controversial in diagnostic accuracy. Escapism is one such criterion. Despite some research evidence of escapism as the strongest motivational predictor of IGD, recent investigations found that the escapism criterion is highly questionable. Because of the inclusion of escapism in initial IGD measures, previous studies have produced evidence of escapism as a predictor of IGD owing to a tautology. Thus, the present study examined the effect of gaming …

Does What You Think You Feel, Impact What You Actually Eat? : An Examination Of Alexithymia, Interoceptive Awareness, And Loss Of Control Eating In Young Women, Lisa Marie Anderson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Affect regulation theories posit that loss of control (LOC) and binge eating are maintained via an emotion regulation process, through which eating relieves negative affect and aversive mood states. LOC has been identified as a key binge eating characteristic associated with psychopathology and poor psychological outcomes. As such, maladaptive emotion regulation has been identified as a central risk factor for binge eating, as theories posit that individuals binge eat in response to negative mood states. However, empirical studies testing the link between induced negative mood and subsequent food intake in people with LOC and binge eating have yielded inconsistent findings. …

A Brief Motivational Intervention For Marijuana Use In College Students, Vivian S. Hwang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The prevalence of marijuana use has risen among young adults, and marijuana is

Mediating And Moderating Factors Of The Relationship Between Sexual Orientation And Eating Pathology And Body Satisfaction In Sexual Minority And Heterosexual Men, Andrea Denae Murray

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Most research on body image and disordered eating has focused largely on women, as women are at higher risk than men for eating disorders. In recent years research has revealed that men are at increasing risk for these outcomes, especially as the ideal male body represented in media images and therefore frequently internalized among men is becoming so lean and muscular as to make it very difficult for most men to realistically achieve. Sexual minority men in particular have been found to be at increased risk for body dissatisfaction, body shame, and disordered eating than their heterosexual counterparts. The research …

Factors Asociated With Mental Health Help-Seeking Attitudes Among University Students In South Korea, Hee Chul Kim

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The current study investigated factors associated with mental health help-seeking attitudes among university students in South Korea. In particular, the study examined the moderating effects of culturally relevant factors (religiosity, social support, social stigma, and self-stigma) on the relationship between psychological distress and help-seeking attitudes and the mediating effect of stigma (social and self) on the association between psychological distress and help-seeking attitudes. A total of 240 students at 4 universities in South Korea completed in-class surveys in Spring 2016. Data was analyzed using a series of multiple regressions, hierarchical moderated multiple regression, and 3-step mediation regression. Results indicated that …

Vitamin D Deficiency And Suicide, Miriam Salamon

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Vitamin D deficiency, in an increasingly modernized world, is a major global health issue and so is major depressive disorder (MDD) and its high fatality risk. Studies suggest that there may be a connection between the two. Several studies have found a connection between low levels of vitamin D and higher rates of major depressive disorder, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Specifically, lower concentrations of vitamin D was seen in the subgroup of patients with suicidal thoughts when comparing with non-suicidal depressed patients. A likely reason for this may be the well- researched role vitamin D plays in regulation of …

Parental Understandings Of The Meaning Of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Kylara Leyva

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines how parents understand autism, their child's behavior and development. Parents can understand their child's behavior and development through a medical model perspective, which sees the childâ??s autism as a series of deficits and deviations. However, a growing number of parents understand their child's behavior and development through a neurodiversity perspective, where a child is seen as having differences in behavior, instead of deficits. Parents' understandings of autism can influence how they see their child's behavior and development and be a driver for seeking diagnosis. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents of children with autism to probe for …

Filmmaking As Artistic Inquiry: An Examination Of Ceramic Art Therapy In A Maximum-Security Forensic Psychiatric Facility, Serena Duckrow

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This Art-Based Research (ABR) illuminates the power of creativity to inspire and heal people living in a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital. The study comprises: the individual and group artwork from the Collaborative Ceramic Art Therapy Studio with thirteen participants; a culminating thirteen-minute film found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PytlFZVvlig, Conversations in Clay: Creativity, Collaboration, and Community; an artistic inquiry and examination of the project footage; and a discussion of how the therapeutic filmmaking process helped capture the essential therapeutic elements of clay, filmmaking, and the art therapy studio environment.