Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons^™

Religiosity, Spirituality, And Depressive Symptoms In Older Adults In An Active Living Community, Monica D'Adrianne Solomon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The population of older adults in the United States is steadily rising. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a call to reduce mental distress in older adults. Research shows that mental distress is associated with depressive symptoms, which are significantly related to many chronic medical conditions, functional impairment, suicide, and all-cause mortality. Depression is a major public health concern. There is an interest in gerontology research on the buffering role of engagement against depressive symptoms such as volunteering, social activities, and religion. Certain religious beliefs and behaviors contribute to maintaining or improving mental health and research …

Resources Matter: The Role Of Social Capital And Collective Efficacy In Mediating Gun Violence, Jennifer Lynne Dean

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This study explains how community activists make use of available social capital and collective efficacy while attempting to mediate gun violence. It specifically focuses on twelve in-depth interviews of activists' perspectives, processes and rationales to alleviate community gun violence, based on informal social control models. Findings suggest activists must establish trust and respect with youth they work with before mediation begins, which is established through similar life experiences or backgrounds. Once a strong bond is established with youth, activists identified five core processes to reduce violence: 1) improve the mindset, 2) provide life skills, 3) assist youth as their …

What Does Performance Theory Have To Teach Us About The Treatment Of Severe And Persistent Mental Illness (Spmi) In Prison?, Kaley Joanne Raskin

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Deinstitutionalization of psychiatric hospitals, which occurred in the 1970's, led to an overwhelming number of mentally ill individuals within jails and prisons. In fact, correctional facilities have become the mainline providers of mentally ill inmates; however, these facilities' primary form of intervention is psychotropic medication. Although beneficial in some instances, when viewed through the lens of Goffman's theories of performance and stigma, simply providing medication promotes the role of mental patient. Arguably, within correctional facilities, medication management assists in maintaining security in the institution (i.e., external change); however, this prohibits the inmate from internal change, which might otherwise be facilitated …

Accuracy Of Educators In Identifying Middle School Students With Elevated Levels Of Anxiety Or Depression, Cheryl Gelley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Schools need accurate and efficient ways to identify youth with mental health problems, in part to provide services to such students whose mental health concerns pose barriers to learning. The present study involved an investigation of the accuracy of one method--relying on educators (teachers, a team of school-based mental health professionals, and a school nurse) to identify early adolescents who self-report elevated levels of anxiety or depression. With respect to teachers as screening agents, the possible variability in rates of accurate identification as a function of number of teachers involved in the process (i.e., pooling nominations from multiple subject area …

Mental Health In Mississippi: Analysis And Recommendations, Harvard Law School Mississippi Delta Project

Delta Directions: Publications

Thousands of Mississippians struggle with some type of mental illness, and their experiences illustrate that mental health is more than just a medical issue. Mental health has a profound impact on Mississippi’s economy and overall standard of living; it is deeply connected to education, unemployment rates, crime, drug use, and public assistance. Given the far-­‐reaching impact of mental health, it is important that all stakeholders (e.g., mental health professionals, state legislators, local policymakers, educators, attorneys), have access to detailed information about the current state of Mississippi’s mental health system as well as an in-­‐depth analysis of the system’s most pressing …

Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy An Effective Treatment For Autism? A Review, Daniel Dunleavy, Bruce A. Thyer

Journal of Adolescent and Family Health

Objectives: We review outcome studies regarding the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Method: Studies were identified through electronic bibliographic databases and manual searches of article reference lists. Results: A total of 8 studies met eligibility criteria, consisting of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs), one quasi-experimental study involving a comparison group, two pre-experimental one-group pretest–posttest studies, and two single-system designs. Studies reviewed did not offer credible evidence to suggest that HBOT is an effective treatment for autism. Conclusion: It is premature to call HBOT an effective treatment for Autism and ASD. Individuals clinically treated with …

Relationship Between Altitude And Lithium In Groundwater In The United States Of America: Results Of A 1992–2003 Study, Rebekah S. Huber, Namkug Kim, Carl E. Renshaw, Perry F. Renshaw, Douglas Kondo

Dartmouth Scholarship

Therapeutic dosages of lithium are known to reduce suicide rates, which has led to investigations of confounding environmental risk factors for suicide such as lithium in groundwater. It has been speculated that this might play a role in the potential relationship between suicide and altitude. A recent study in Austria involving geospatial analysis of lithium in groundwater and suicide found lower levels of lithium at higher altitudes. Since there is no reason to suspect this correlation is universal given variation in geology, the current study set out to investigate the relationship between altitude and lithium in groundwater in the United …

A Pilot Study On The Effects Of Exercise On Depression Symptoms Using Levels Of Neurotransmitters And Eeg As Markers, Timothy H. Barclay, Scott Richards, James Schoffstall, Chad Magnuson, Christine Mcphee, Josh Price, Stephen Aita, Audrey Anderson, Dan Johnson, Jerry Price

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context: The prescribing of exercise by physicians has become a popular practice, yet the effectiveness of exercise on symptoms of depression is difficult to determine due to a lack of randomized controlled trials with clinical populations. Reports also indicate that only a small percentage of physicians advise their patients regarding exercise and confusion still exists as to how much and what types are best. Aims: To understand the mechanisms that make exercise a viable treatment in depression. Settings and Design: This study employed a six‑week, two group, single‑level trial, pre‑ and posttest design using self‑report of symptoms, blood …

An Introduction To Drugs And The Neuroscience Of Behavior, Adam J. Prus

Books

This up-to-date text provides an introductory overview of the nervous system actions and behavioral effects of the major classes of psychoactive drugs, using pedagogy unique among pharmacology texts to make the topic approachable.

A Neurobiological Model For Pathways Of Transition To Psychosis Due To Cannabis, Amresh Srivastava

Data and Test Instruments

Cannabis has been implicated as a risk factor for the development of schizophrenia, although the exact biological mechanisms remain unclear. Purpose of this presentation is to explore trajectory for psychosis due to cannabis based upon a neurobiological model. A selective Pubmed search was carried out to construct a model of pathway based upon our hypothesis. The hypothesis for this conceptual paradigm is that neurobiological changes exist and cannabis metabolites modulate these changes in a sequential manner from genetic expression, environmental and biological interaction and neurochemical dysfunctions leading to cognitive dysmatria. Dopamine remains a final common pathway which leads to core …

Disseminating An Evidence-Based Course To Teach Self-Management Of Auditory Hallucinations, M Buffum, Robin Buccheri, L Trygstad, G Dowling

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

This multi-site project extended course dissemination of the 10-session Behavioral Management of Auditory Hallucinations Course to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health outpatient settings. The VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) model and Rogers' theory of diffusion of innovations served as the theoretical framework. The course was taught to mental health professionals using teleconferencing, electronic media, and monthly conference calls across 24 VA mental health outpatient sites. Twenty course leaders provided feedback. One hundred percent reported being better able to communicate with patients about their voices and 96% reported improved understanding of the voice-hearing experience. Thirty-three course participants …

Do You Believe He Can Fly? Royce White And Reasonable Accommodations Under The Americans With Disabilities Act For Nba Players With Anxiety Disorder And Fear Of Flying, Michael Mccann

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the legal ramifications of Royce White, a basketball player with general anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, playing in the NBA. White's conditions cause him to have a fear of flying, thus making it difficult to play in the NBA. This subject is without precedent in sports law and, because of the unique aspects of an NBA playing career, lacks clear analogy to other employment circumstances. This dispute also illuminates broader legal and policy issues in the relationship between employment and mental illness.

This Article argues that White would likely fail in a lawsuit against an NBA …

Reliability/Validity Of The Self-Stigma Of Mental Illness Scale (Ssmis), Amy Sickel, Jason D. Seacat Ph.D., Nina A. Nabors Ph.D.

2010-2016 Archived Posters

Most individuals diagnosed with mental illness are mild-moderate in severity. Research on the Self- Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (SSMIS) has traditionally focused on stigma associated with severely mentally ill individuals using clinical samples, leaving the psychometric properties of the SSMIS questionable when used with less severely ill individuals. Data from a non-clinical sample of 423 adults indicates the SSMIS scales are reliable. Correlations between the SSMIS scales and mental health scales provide convergent validity for the SSMIS. Findings suggest the SSMIS scales are reliable and valid when used within this population and suggest future directions for mental health stigma …

Coping Similarity And Psychosocial Risk Factors In Couples With Chronic Pain, Amy M. Williams

Wayne State University Dissertations

Chronic pain is an important public health problem that is associated with a host of negative individual and relationship outcomes. Chronic pain is a chronic stressor that both the individual in pain and their spouse must cope with. The current study examined how pain coping similarity within the couple predicted not only patient adjustment, but also spouse adjustment in a longitudinal study. Participants were 108 heterosexual couples in which one partner had chronic pain. The participants completed measures at 3 time points at 6 month intervals. Both the patient and spouse individually completed questionnaires pertaining to their marriage, mood, pain …

Advanced Nurses' Perspectives On The Drug Addiction Treatment Act, 13 Years Later, Dorothy L. Were

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States experiences opioid addiction at epidemic levels. In 2012, the National Institute of Drug Abuse reported that 23.1 million Americans were in need of addiction treatment services, although only 2.5 million were enrolled in treatment. Following an amendment to the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-310), advanced practice nurses were qualified as providers who could bridge the healthcare gap in treatment access. The purpose of this project was to determine the interest of advanced practice nurses in (a) prescribing buprenorphine and (b) establishing guidelines that would allow them to do so. This quantitative project used …

Prevalence And Prevention Of The Female Athlete Triad, Elizabeth Dachenhaus

Honors Projects

A study was composed to analyze the three components of the female athlete triad: disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. The cyclic behavior of these three components and determination of which of the pillars of the triad is the most dangerous was also focused on. In order to test the prevalence of disordered eating among women’s collegiate teams, a brief survey was distributed and analyzed among athletes at Bowling Green State University. In addition to confirming that women in aesthetic sports experience a greater amount of disordered eating on the team, the survey also identified women that participated in sports perceived …

Child Sexual Abuse Leads To Psychological Disorders: Literature Review, Savera Aziz Ali, Sumera Aziz Ali

School of Nursing & Midwifery

This scholarly paper explains the relationship between child sexual abuse and psychological disorders. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a forceful sexual contact with a child who is incapable of consenting. The impact of sexual abuse can range from physical to very severe psychological effects. Psychological disorders caused by child sexual abuse include panic disorder, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress disorder. The phenomenon of child sexual abuse is shaped by some important theories like behavioral, psychodynamic, attachment, cognitive and integrated theory. These theories may help to develop a sound empirical base through which cost effective strategies can …

Present Futures: Possibilities For Selfhood At A Community Mental Health Center In Detroit, Michigan, Talia Gordon

Wayne State University Theses

Since the 1990s, recovery-oriented approaches to mental illness have become the dominant paradigm in contemporary U.S. non-clinical institutional settings. Central to the recovery paradigm is a discourse of self-determination that separates psychiatric pathology from personhood and expects those diagnosed to enact and manage themselves as autonomous subjects - as empowered, responsible, independent, and transformable. For many individuals, however, everyday experiences of illness are at odds with expectations for recovery, defined as a "process of change" through which the self is continuously worked upon and improved (SAMHSA 2011). One particularly popular non-clinical recovery modality is the Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation …

Caffeinated Alcohol Use And Expectancies For Caffeine Versus Alcohol, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Ashley N. Linden

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background- Caffeinated alcoholic beverage (CAB) use is related to alcohol-related risk. Limited research has examined outcome expectancies and CAB consumption.

Objectives- This study tested the predictive utility of caffeine and alcohol expectancies in CAB use outcomes (i.e. quantity, frequency, and alcohol-related harms).

Methods- Participants were 419 (302 women) alcohol and caffeine users from a mid-sized urban university. Data collection occurred between August 2010 and December 2011. Participants completed measures of caffeine and alcohol expectancies, alcohol problems, alcohol use, and CAB use.

Results- Caffeine and alcohol expectancies contributed uniquely to approximately 12% of the variability in quantity, 8% in frequency, and …

Contributions Of Personality, Acculturation/Enculturation And Perceived Racial Discrimination To Social Anxiety Among Chinese Immigrants : A Context-Specific Assessment, Ke Fang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Previous studies have documented that Asian immigrants tend to report higher levels of social anxiety than do their White American counterparts. However, little is known about the sources and predictors of social anxiety under the context of cultural change.