Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons^™

Training Non-Board Certified Behavior Analyst (Bcba) Behavior Specialists To Conduct Trial-Based Functional Analyses In Residential Settings, Devon S. Millington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated a process for identifying the reasons why a person with an intellectual disability has problem behaviors. This process is called a trial-based functional analysis (TBFA). The researchers wanted to know if a person who was not an expert behavior analyst could be trained to perform the TBFA and if the results obtained from the TBFA could be used to create a program to reduce the problem behavior of a person with an intellectual disability living in a community-based group home for persons with disabilities. The results of this study show that a person who is not an …

Pharmacy Staff Perspectives On Alcohol And Medication Interaction Prevention Among Older Rural Adults, Faika Zanjani, Hannah Allen, Rachel Vickers Smith, Demetra Antimisiaris, Nancy E. Schoenberg, Catherine A. Martin, Richard Clayton

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Older adults are at high risk for alcohol and medication interactions (AMI). Pharmacies have the potential to act as ideal locations for AMI education, as pharmacy staff play an important role in the community. This study examined the perspectives of pharmacy staff on AMI prevention programming messaging, potential barriers to and facilitators of older adult participation in such programming, and dissemination methods for AMI prevention information. Flyers, telephone calls, and site visits were used to recruit 31 pharmacy staff members who participated in semistructured interviews. A content analysis of interview transcriptions was conducted to identify major themes, categories, and subcategories. …

Measuring Novel Antecedents Of Mental Illness: The Questionnaire Of Unpredictability In Childhood, Laura M. Glynn, Hal S. Stern, Mariann A. Howland, Victoria B. Risbrough, Dewleen G. Baker, Caroline M. Nievergelt, Tallie Z. Baram, Elysia P. Davis

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Increasing evidence indicates that, in addition to poverty, maternal depression, and other well-established factors, unpredictability of maternal and environmental signals early in life influences trajectories of brain development, determining risk for subsequent mental illness. However, whereas most risk factors for later vulnerability to mental illness are readily measured using existing, clinically available tools, there are no similar measures for assessing early-life unpredictability. Here we validate the Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) and examine its associations with mental health in the context of other indicators of childhood adversity (e.g., traumatic life events, socioeconomic status, and parenting quality). The QUIC was …

Treating Comorbid Ptsd And Bpd: A Dialectical Approach, Meredith Pescatello

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

According to the Biosocial Developmental Model for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), individuals with a biological vulnerability (i.e., heightened emotional sensitivity and impulsive tendencies), plus an invalidating environment may develop BPD (Crowell, Beauchaine, & Linehan, 2009). Individuals with BPD are especially difficult to treat, because of their “extreme emotional, behavioral, and cognitive dysregulation” (Crowell, Beauchaine, & Linehan, 2009). Though challenging to treat, BPD can be successfully treated using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) (Linehan, 1993; Linehan 2015). Similarly, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is complex and often burnout inducing to treat, because of the intensity of the emotional content related to traumatic events …

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation For Online Gamers: A Prospective Single-Arm Feasibility Study, Sang Hoon Lee, Jooyeon Jamie Im, Jin Kyoung Oh, Eun Kyoung Choi, Sujing Yoon, Marom Bikson, In-Uk Song, Hyeonseok Jeong, Yong-An Chung

Publications and Research

Aim: Excessive use of online games can have negative influences on mental health and daily functioning. Although the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have been investigated for the treatment of addiction, it has not been evaluated for excessive online game use. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and tolerability of tDCS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in online gamers. Methods: A total of 15 online gamers received 12 active tDCS sessions over the DLPFC (anodal left/cathodal right, 2 mA for 30 min, 3 times per week for 4 weeks). Before and after tDCS sessions, all …

A Translational Evaluation Of Potential Iatrogenic Effects Of Single And Combined Contingencies During Functional Analyses Of Target Responses, Billie Retzlaff

Theses & Dissertations

The interview informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) is controversial, with some extolling its benefits relative to traditional functional analysis (FA; e.g., efficiency; Slaton, Hanley, & Raftery, 2017) and others focusing on its shortcomings (e.g., false-positive outcomes; Fisher, Greer, Romani, Zangrillo, & Owen, 2016). One limitation of prior comparisons is investigators could not ascertain with surety the true function(s) of the participants’ problem behavior for use as the criterion variable. In Chapter 1, we developed a translational study to circumvent this limitation by training a specific function for a surrogate destructive behavior prior to conducting an FA and synthesized contingency analysis …

Prompts To Increase Physical Activity At Points-Of-Choice Between Stairs And Escalators: What About Escalator Climbers?, John Belletierre, Ben Nguyen, Sandy Liles, Vincent Berardi, Marc A. Adams, Paddy Dempsey, Yael Benporat, Jacqueline Kerr, Andrea Z. Lacroix, Melbourne Hovell

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Since 1980, many studies have evaluated whether stair-use prompts increased physical activity by quantifying changes in stair use. To more completely evaluate changes in physical activity, this study addressed the often-overlooked assessment of climbing up escalators by evaluating the degree to which stair-use sign prompts increased active ascent—defined as stair use or escalator climbing. Over 5 months, at an airport stairs/escalator point of choice, we video-recorded passersby (N = 13,544) who ascended either stairs or escalators, on 10 days with signs and 10 days without signs. Ascenders using the stairs, standing on the escalator, and climbing the escalator were …

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 Multimodal Assessment Of Disgust In Response To Traumatic Event Reminders Among Adolescents, Teah-Marie R. Bynion

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The majority of youth will report traumatic event exposure by the time they reach adulthood. Research suggests exposure to such events is linked to myriad negative outcomes. Not all traumatic events are alike, however; evidence suggests that, compared to non-interpersonal events, interpersonal events in which another person intentionally perpetrates harm are linked to elevations in the likelihood of negative outcomes, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One reason for this discrepancy is that interpersonal traumatic events may elicit greater levels of disgust. However, this is a very under-developed research base, no study has examined this question among youth. The current study …

A Markov Approach For Increasing Precision In The Assessment Of Data-Intensive Behavioral Interventions, Vincent Berardi, Ricardo Carretero-González, John Belletierre, Marc A. Adams, Suzanne C. Hughes, Melbourne Hovell

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Health interventions using real-time sensing technology are characterized by intensive longitudinal data, which has the potential to enable nuanced evaluations of individuals’ responses to treatment. Existing analytic tools were not developed to capitalize on this opportunity as they typically focus on first-order findings such as changes in the level and/or slope of outcome variables over different intervention phases. This paper introduces an exploratory, Markov-based empirical transition method that offers a more comprehensive assessment of behavioral responses when intensive longitudinal data are available. The procedure projects a univariate time-series into discrete states and empirically determines the probability of transitioning from one …

Identifying Clinical Distinctions Between Nonsuicidal Self-Injury And Eating Disorders In Adolescents, Natalie Marie Perkins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Eating disorders and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are pervasive behaviors that typically begin in early to mid-adolescence. They commonly co-occur, resulting in increasingly negative psychological and physical outcomes than either behavior alone. Emotion reactivity and family functioning have been studied in relation to both eating disorders and NSSI. Both constructs have demonstrated strong relationships to these behaviors, but emotion reactivity appears to be more strongly associated with NSSI, while family functioning appears to be more strongly related to eating disorders. The current study sought to determine whether emotion reactivity and family functioning could differentiate between adolescents with only an eating disorder, …

A Stress Management App Intervention For Cancer Survivors: Design, Development, And Usability Testing, Elin Børøsund, Jelena Mirkovic, Matthew M. Clark, Shawna L. Ehlers, Michael A. Andrykowski, Anne Bergland, Marianne Westeng, Lise Solberg Nes

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background: Distress is prevalent in cancer survivors. Stress management interventions can reduce distress and improve quality of life for cancer patients, but many people with cancer are unfortunately not offered or able to attend such in-person stress management interventions.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop an evidence-based stress management intervention for patients living with cancer that can be delivered electronically with wide reach and dissemination. This paper describes the design and development process of a technology-based stress management intervention for cancer survivors, including the exploration phase, intervention content development, iterative software development (including design, development, and formative …

Using Mhealth To Increase Treatment Utilization Among Recently Incarcerated Homeless Adults (Link2care): Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez, Michael S. Businelle, Darla Kendzor, Michele Staton, Carol S. North, Michael Swartz

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background: There is a significant revolving door of incarceration among homeless adults. Homeless adults who receive professional coordination of individualized care (ie, case management) during the period following their release from jail experience fewer mental health and substance use problems, are more likely to obtain stable housing, and are less likely to be reincarcerated. This is because case managers work to meet the various needs of their clients by helping them to overcome barriers to needed services (eg, food, clothing, housing, job training, substance abuse and mental health treatment, medical care, medication, social support, proof of identification, and legal aid). …

"Understanding Lgbtq+ Intimate Partner Violence & Challenges In, Dr. Juanita Yates

Dissertations

This research project is a focus on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) within LGBTQ+

community and the challenges associated with seeking family support. IPV is defined as a violent

or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of an intimate spouse

or partner. However, IPV can happen on the street, in one’s home or even in a public place. Those

exposed to IPV can be children, men and women. IPV is a prevalent issue in our society (Bright

2008). According to Ristock (2005), violence in LGBTQ+ relationships may be referred to as

partner violence, relationship violence, or LGBTQ+ …

The Composition Of Worldviews: The Relationships Between Conservatism, Religiosity, Empathy, Dogmatism, And Psychological Flexibility, Kyle Tackett

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science by Kyle Tackett on May 17, 2018.

Perceived Importance Of Substance Use Prevention In Juvenile Justice: A Multi-Level Analysis, Jessica M. Sales, Gail Wasserman, Katherine S. Elkington, Wayne Lehman, Sheena Gardner, Larkin Mcreynolds, Tisha Wiley, Hannah K. Knudsen

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background: Youth under juvenile justice (JJ) supervision are at high-risk of adverse outcomes from substance use, making prevention important. Few studies have examined prevention-related attitudes of JJ employees, yet such attitudes may be important for implementing prevention programs. Attitudes toward prevention may reflect individual characteristics and organizational contexts.

Methods: Mixed effects regression was used to analyze data from 492 employees in 36 sites participating in the Juvenile Justice-Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System (JJ-TRIALS) cooperative agreement. JJ employees' perceived importance of substance use prevention was measured. Staff-level variables included attitudes, job type, and demographic characteristics. Site-level …

Mate Preferences Among Single Mothers, Carol Yvette Franco

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As individuals become parents, they shift time and energy towards parenting to ensure the survival and wellbeing of their offspring. However, it is not uncommon for a romantic partnership between parents to dissolve, which may lead a single mother to pursue a new partner in the future. But how does having a dependent child influence whom she will choose for her new partner? And how will resource availability and assistance from family influence the decisions she makes? A significant amount of research has been conducted on female mate preferences in the United States and elsewhere, yet little is specifically focused …

The Effect Of Choice On Throwing Speed In Baseball Players, Brooke Andrea Boyd

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Incidental choices have been identified as one way to support the need for autonomy. The purpose of this study was to determine if choice in type and color of wrist tape would influence throwing speed in baseball players. Participants were experienced male baseball players from a local high school. All participants performed 10 throws under choice and no-choice conditions. Throwing speed did not differ as a function of choice versus no choice. Possible explanations and limitations of the present study are discussed.

Psychological Well-Being And Restorative Biological Processes: Hdl-C In Older English Adults, Jackie Soo, Laura D. Kubzansky, Ying Chen, Emily S. Zevon, Julia K. Boehm

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Rationale

Psychological well-being is associated with better cardiovascular health, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear.

Objective

This study investigates one possible mechanism by examining psychological well-being's prospective association with lipid levels, focusing on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).

Methods

Participants were 4757 healthy men and women ages ≥50 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing with clinical data from three times, three to five years apart. Psychological well-being was assessed at baseline using the Control, Autonomy, Satisfaction, and Pleasure scale; HDL-C, triglycerides, and total cholesterol were assayed from blood samples. Descriptive statistics and linear mixed models were used to examine associations …

Variables Affecting Latency Of Rats Running On A Maze, Divya Subramanian

Honors Scholar Theses

When rats are running on a maze, what factors affect their latency? This project examines how time of day of training and hunger levels of the rats affect how long they take to complete the sessions of a behavioral task. A training day consists of three sessions, each with 20 runs. I hypothesize that the rats’ performance will improve if they are trained later in the day, if they are hungrier, and in successive sessions.