Mental Disorders Commons^™

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Look Into The Cause, Gender Differences, And Treatment, Barbara Wallen

McNair Poster Presentations

Posttraumatic stress disorder, better known as PTSD came to light during the Vietnam Era. Throughout history, this stress disorder has been called various things in the 150 years since it was first recognized. However, each new word had several characteristics in common, such as re-experiencing, numbing and physiological arousal.

The process of Darwinian “natural selection” corroborated the evolution of people with highly developed stress responses. Those pre-historic people with the most useful “fight or flight” reflexes became our ancestors. An example of this is that during the 19^th Century, PTSD was called “Railway Spine” and was associated with what …

An Overview Of Avoidant Personality Disorder, Kristin Dehrkoop

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Avoidant Personality Disorder presents very similarly to other disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV). What separates Avoidant Personality Disorder (APD) to other disorders that present similarly?

Using The Scrambled Sentences Test To Examine Relationships Between Cognitive Bias, Thought Suppression And Borderline Personality Features, Paul Jefferson Geiger

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Cognitive bias and thought suppression are two maladaptive patterns of thinking that have been associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Negative cognitive biases related to BPD include thoughts that they are bad, powerless, or vulnerable and that the world is dangerous. Thought suppression is a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy where unwanted thoughts are intentionally pushed out of one’s consciousness. However, previous research has connected thought suppression and cognitive biases to BPD only via self-report measures. The present study examined whether a laboratory task meant to measure cognitive bias and thought suppression (Scrambled Sentences Test) would predict BPD features over and …

Genome-Wide Association Analysis Of Major Depressive Disorder And Its Related Phenotypes., Nagesh Ramarao Aragam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a complex and chronic disease that ranks fourth as cause of disability worldwide. Thirteen to 14 million adults in the U.S. are believed to have MDD and an estimated 75% attempt suicide making MDD a major public health problem. Recently several genome-wide association (GWA) studies of MDD have been reported; however, few GWA studies focus on the analysis for MDD related phenotypes such as neuroticism and age at onset of MDD. The purpose of this study is to determine risk factors for MDD, identify genome-wide genetic variants affecting neuroticism and age at onset as quantitative …

Smoking Cessation Outcomes Among Individuals With Substance Use And/Or Psychiatric Disorders, Milan Khara, Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli

Nursing Faculty Publications

Objectives: The population of individuals with substance use (SUD) and/or psychiatric disorders (PD) has a high prevalence of smoking and a consequent increase in tobacco-related morbidity and mortality when compared to the general population. The aim of this study is to examine the outcomes of a program in a real-life setting which takes a tailored approach to smoking cessation among individuals with SUD and/or PD.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of tailored tobacco dependence treatment was performed on individuals with histories of SUD and/or PD attending a Tobacco Dependence Clinic (TDC) program in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Participants of the …

Horticulture Group Therapy With Mentally Ill Older Adults, Kristen J. Hill

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

With a greatly increasing number of older adults due to advances in medical care, aU baby boomers in the United States will be 65 or older by 2029. As the number of older adults grows, so does the number of those with severe mental illness. Treatments are needed to address older adults with severe mental illness that include the negative side effects of medications. Due to the nature of severe mental illness, lower levels of required cognitive processing allows for those admitted to inpatient psychiatric settings to participate, including those with dementia. Horticulture therapy has proven useful to address severe …

Evidence Based Treatment Of Schizophrenia: Do We Know Enough, Faheem Khan, Haider A Naqvi

Department of Psychiatry

No abstract provided.

The Hormonal Correlates Of Stress And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms In Female Veterans, Meghan Pierce

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the increase of female veterans serving in the military, a better understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder is needed to provide comprehensive treatment. This study examines salivary cortisol in female veterans with PTSD, female veterans without PTSD, civilian females with PTSD and healthy controls. The Posttraumatic Stress and Beck Depression Inventory-II were used to assess posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms. Saliva samples were collected at bedtime and awakening, as well as in response to the Trier Social Stress Test. Significant results were not found for diurnal cortisol levels [ F (3, 11)= .979, p < .05] or stress cortisol levels (F (3,12) = 1.140, p >.05). …

Clark County Mental Health Court: An Outcomes-Based Evaluation Model Of Residential And Treatment Programs Beyond Recidivism, Mark J. Nichols

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

The number of America’s mental health courts has grown significantly over the course of the past 15 years. Mental health courts can be seen as a form of therapeutic jurisprudence where the court implements therapeutic interventions, case management and treatment (Palermo, 2010). A mental health court was established in Clark County during 2003. Its mission is to promote engagement in treatment, improve quality of life, decrease recidivism, and increase community safety and awareness (Glass, 2008).

The focus of the evaluation of the Clark County Mental Health Court, limited to performance measures related to the decreased recidivism by its clients and …

Psychological Behaviorism Theory Of Bipolar Disorder, Helmut P.R. Riedel, Elaine M. Heiby, Stephen Kopetskie

The Psychological Record

This review addresses the etiology of bipolar disorder and
presents the literature within a psychological behaviorism
framework (Staats, 1996; Staats & Heiby, 1985). The proposed
theory attempts to provide an integrative developmental approach
that is grounded in established behavioral principles. The bipolar
theory posits 15 hypotheses based on past and concurrent
biological and situational factors as well as their interactions with
an individual's basic behavioral repertoires. Implications for
subclassification and treatment research are noted.

Ethnicity And Cultural Issues, John E. Zeber, Jodi M. Gonzalez, Richard Van Dorn, Alejandro Interian

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Depression Care Management: Can Employers Purchase Improved Outcomes?, Kathryn Rost, Donna Marshall, Benjamin Shearer, Allen J. Dietrich

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

Fourteen vendors are currently selling depression care management products to US employers after randomized trials demonstrate improved work outcomes. The research team interviewed 10 (71.4%) of these vendors to compare their products to four key components of interventions demonstrated to improve work outcomes. Five of 10 depression products incorporate all four key components, three of which are sold by health maintenance organizations (HMOs); however, HMOs did not deliver these components at the recommended intensity and/or duration. Only one product delivered by a disease management company delivered all four components of care at the recommended intensity and duration. This “voltage drop,” …

Conflicts Of Interest In Clinical Practice Guidelines, Lisa Cosgrove, Allen F. Shaughnessy

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

Clinical practice guidelines are used increasingly across medical specialties and settings, making evaluation of their utility and validity a critical public health issue. In this paper, we describe some of the challenges that specialty organizations face as they try to ensure that their guidelines are trustworthy and useful. We examine the practice guidelines for Major Depressive Disorder recently published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), identify five sources of potential bias that may affect the guideline development process and offer suggestions based on our review. For example, even for mild depression, this guideline privileges pharmacotherapy over other interventions, despite questions …

What Is The Safety And Efficacy Of Tarenflurbil (R-Flurbiprofen) In Mild To Moderate Alzheimer’S Disease?, Lauren Viscount

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this systematic review is to determine what is the safety and efficacy of Tarenflurbil (R-flubiprofen) in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease.

Does Beta Amyloid Immunization Reduce Amyloid Plaques And Preserve Cognitive Function In Patients With Alzheimer’S Disease?, Andrea Sasin

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to examine the efficacy of beta amyloid immunization in reducing amyloid plaques and preserving cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Does Fish Oil Supplementation (Omega-3 Pufa) Cause Mood Improvement In Adults With Depression, Lauren Cabana

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to determine whether or not “Does fish oil supplementation (omega-3 PUFA) cause mood improvement in adults with depression?”

Does High Intensity Treadmill Therapy In Infants With Down Syndrome Contribute To Attaining Motor Milestones At An Earlier Age?, Rebekah E. Bennett

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this systematic review is to determine whether or not high intensity treadmill therapy is effective in helping children with Down syndrome attain motor milestones at an earlier age.

Effective Professional Development For Teachers Of Students With Autism, Erin Marie Torruella

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The number of students with autism is on the rise. The main treatment for children with autism is their education. It is essential that teachers are prepared to work with students with autism. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a teacher training workshop held by Area Education Agency 267. Fifty-one participants of the workshop training responded to a survey regarding their implementation of strategies learned, their understanding of the content and strategies learned, the change in their planning and delivery of instruction, and the impact on their students' achievement.

The study found that the training …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Positive Psychological Functioning And Depression, John Forbes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

With unipolar depression one of the most disabling illnesses in the world, it is important to appropriately conceptualise this disorder in order to inform research, diagnosis, and treatment. While many psychological theories of depression include constructs of polarity, most research and diagnostic criteria have focused on a single dimension that concentrates on the presence of negative symptomatology. This is reflective of an illness model of mental health that predominantly considers the presence of negative symptoms in terms of mood, cognitions, behaviours, and overall functioning. Nevertheless, there is strong research evidence indicating that positive and negative aspects of psychological functioning are …

Using Led Lights As Prompts To Teach Receptive Identification To Preschool Children With Autism, Allison Pavlicek

Honors Theses

The purpose of the study "Using LED Lights as Prompts to Teach Receptive Identification to Preschool Children with Autism" is to implement a different prompting procedure than traditional least-to-most prompting procedures in teaching. One prompting procedure commonly used in discrete trial training classrooms involves least-to-most prompting in the form of gestural and physical prompts to guide children to make correct responses during teaching procedures. To specifically teach receptive identification skills, an apparatus with LED lights was used as a prompting device to vary light intensities on stimuli that the child will choose from. This alternate method of prompting may enable …