Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Kinship Diversion In The District Of Columbia: A Review Of Local Practice To Inform National Policy, Marla P. Spindel, Beth A. Stekler, Stephanie Ridgway Mcclellan

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

This article addresses a practice commonly known in the child welfare community as “kinship diversion,” where a child welfare agency informally places children with relatives as an alternative to foster care. While evidence predominantly shows that abused and neglected children have better outcomes when they are placed with relatives when they cannot remain safely at home, serious concerns about these children’s safety and well-being arise when the placement with relatives is informal. Indeed, it is often not understood that these same relatives can be approved as foster parents and can receive essential financial assistance and supportive services to help safely …

Palatable Food Dampens The Long-Term Behavioral And Endocrine Effects Of Juvenile Stressor Exposure But May Also Provoke Metabolic Syndrome In Rats, Eliza Fatima Ali, Jennifer Christine Mackay, Samantha Graitson, Jonathan Stewart James, Christian Cayer, Marie-Claude Audet, Pamela Kent, Alfonso Abizaid, Zul Premji

Brain and Mind Institute

The juvenile period is marked by a reorganization and growth of important brain regions including structures associating with reward seeking behaviors such as the nucleus accumbens (NA) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). These changes are impacted by stressors during the juvenile period and may lead to a predisposition to stress induced psychopathology and abnormal development of brain reward systems. Like in humans, adult rodents engage certain coping mechanisms such as increases in the consumption of calorie-rich palatable foods to reduce stress, but this behavior can lead to obesity and metabolic disorders. In this study, we examined whether stressors during the juvenile …

Negative Voice-Content As A Full Mediator Of A Relation Between Childhood Adversity And Distress Ensuing From Hearing Voices, Cherise Rosen, Simon Mccarthy-Jones, Nev Jones, Kayla A. Chase, Rajiv P. Sharma

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

A key predictor of whether or not an individual who hears voices (auditory verbal hallucinations; AVH) meets criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis is the level of negative content of the voices (e.g., threats, criticism, abuse). Yet the factors that contribute to negative voice-content are still not well understood. This study aimed to test the hypotheses that levels of childhood adversity would predict levels of negative voice-content, and that negative voice-content would partially mediate a relation between childhood adversity and voice-related distress. These hypotheses were tested in a clinical sample of 61 patients with formally diagnosed psychotic disorders (48 schizophrenia …

What’S Your Story? Assessing Childhood Maltreatment Using The Thematic Apperception Test In An Adult Inpatient Population., Thachell C. Tanis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a robust evidence that childhood maltreatment contributes to the development of adult psychopathology (Brown & Anderson, 1991; Johnson, Cohen, Brown, Smailes, & Bernstein 1999; Johnson, Smailes, Cohen, Brown, & Bernstein, 2000; Ruggiero et al., 1999). However, the identification of childhood maltreatment remains a methodological problem that results in inconsistencies in the reported incidence and psychological sequelae of maltreatment. A primary method for identifying histories of childhood maltreatment among adults is retrospective self-report measures which are susceptible to multiple biases (Briere, 1992; Cicchetti & Rizley, 1981; Shaffer, Huston, & Egeland, 2008). This present study suggests that childhood maltreatment can …

Diagnosing The Will To Suffer: Lovesickness In The Medical And Literary Traditions, Jane Shmidt

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Throughout Western medical history, unconsummated, unreturned, or otherwise failed love was believed to generate a disorder of the mind and body that manifested in physiological and psychological symptoms. This study traces the medical and literary history of lovesickness from antiquity through the 19^th century, emphasizing significant moments in the development of the medical discourse on love. The project is part of the recent academic focus on the intersection between the humanities and the medical sciences, and it situates literary texts in concurrent medical and philosophical debates on afflictions of the psyche. By contextualizing the fictional works within the scientific …

Behavioral Health Consultants In Rural Integrated Healthcare: A Systematic Replication And Program Evaluation, Laurie M. Meguro

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

As the healthcare demand in the United States increases, the strain on available healthcare resources becomes more evident, marked by limited access to services and physician shortages. To meet growing patient demands, the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model focuses on improving clinical outcomes, fiscal expenses, patient satisfaction, and provider satisfaction in primary care settings through the integration of behavioral health consultants (BHCs; Sandoval, Bell, Khatri, & Robinson, 2018). The present study was a systematic replication of a previously conducted program evaluation examining the impact of BHC services within a primary care practice in a rural Oregon county, focusing on …

Casualties Of Racism: Racial And Ethnic Discrimination And Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among Racial And Ethnic Minority Emerging Adults, Lillian Anais Polanco

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The evidence demonstrating that experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination is detrimental to the mental health of racial/ethnic minority youth is unequivocal. What remains unclear, however, is whether racial/ethnic discrimination increases vulnerability for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in particular, and if so, what are the underlying mechanisms to explain this relation. Drawing upon the Race-based Traumatic Stress Theory (Carter, 2007), which suggests that some individuals may experience racial/ethnic discrimination as a traumatic stressor, and thus, eliciting a traumatic stress response, the present study examined posttraumatic stress reactions (i.e., posttraumatic stress, depression, dissociation, stress sensitivity) as mediators in the relation between racial/ethnic discrimination …

Underlying Contribution Of Executive Functioning To Cognition And Academic Achievement In Individuals With Dystrophinopathy, Robert Fee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Dystrophinopathy is a genetic disorder that results in the lack of or abnormal expression of the protein dystrophin. It is a disorder that alters cell structure and function, impacts the developing brain and brain function, presents with multi-domain cognitive deficits, and influences both mood and behavior. Cognitive impairments appear to be more localized to specific areas of functioning rather than a global deficit; however, deficits have been identified across multiple cognitive domains including language and aspects of executive functioning. A careful examination of the cognitive phenotype and its association to mutations affecting CNS isoforms is necessary to clarify the neuropsychological …

How Can Developmental Transformations Address Culture Shock To Those Moving From Collectivist Societies Into Individualistic Ones, Such As, Chinese Immigrants Into The United States?, Fabiola Valdivia

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Immigration has always existed, and lately with the heyday of social networks and media, we have witnessed high rates of immigration due to different social and political contexts that have forced people to leave their homes looking for a better situation. Many of these individuals have emigrated and continue to emigrate to the United States of America, in search of, what in some cases they believe will be, the American dream.

This document explores the implementation of developmental transformations (DvT), originally a drama therapy approach, with an immigrant population coming from a collective society such as the Asian into an …

The Effect Of Exercise On Symptoms Of Depression In Adults Diagnosed With Clinical Depression: An Integrative Literature Review, Tibil Felix

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Background: While many healthcare providers are currently looking for alternative methods such as exercise to treat depression, there are limited studies to report how exercise effects symptoms of depression in adults diagnosed with clinical depression and whether an ideal exercise prescription exists.

Objective: The purpose of this integrative literature review was to evaluate the effect of exercise on adults with clinical depression.

Method: An integrative literature review was used. The tidal model of mental health as proposed by Dr. Phil Barker and Poppy Buchanan-Barker was used as a basis for this review. The keywords “clinical depression, exercise, adults, depression treatments, …

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 …

Tributyltin Inhibits Neural Induction Of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Shigeru Yamada, Yusuke Kubo, Daiju Yamazaki, Yuko Sekino, Yoko Nomura, Sachiko Yoshida, Yusunari Kanda

Publications and Research

Tributyltin (TBT), one of the organotin compounds, is a well-known environmental pollutant. In our recent study, we reported that TBT induces mitochondrial dysfunction, in human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) through the degradation of mitofusin1 (Mfn1), which is a mitochondrial fusion factor. However, the effect of TBT toxicity on the developmental process of iPSCs was not clear. The present study examined the effect of TBT on the differentiation of iPSCs into the ectodermal, mesodermal, and endodermal germ layers. We found that exposure to nanomolar concentration of TBT (50 nM) selectively inhibited the induction of iPSCs into the ectoderm, which is the …

Evaluation Of An Anaesthesia Automated Record Keeping System : A Human Factors Approach, Man Kei Tse

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Anaesthesia Information Management System (AIMS) is an automated record keeping system that imports and stores patient’s vital signs information from a physiological monitor in real-time. However, only a handful of studies have examined the effect of automated record keeping system on anaesthetists’ cognitive performance. Therefore, the current thesis aims to evaluate AIMS in terms of anaesthetists’ attitude (Study 1) and its effect on their cognitive performance (Study 2). Study 1, a questionnaire study examined anaesthetists’ trust and acceptance of AIMS. Forty-two anaesthetists at Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) and Po Oi hospitals (POH) have completed a self-reported questionnaire. Results found that …

The Myth Of Promiscuity: Examining Black Male Sexual Narratives And Sexual Identity, Seth Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black masculinity and sexuality are common topics across areas of philosophy, psychology, cultural studies and others. Yet, these topics are dedicated to the racial narrative of hypersexual Black male, the sexual objectification of Black men, and their presumed promiscuity. While such topics are important, there is little qualitative research that looks at the complexity and emotionality of African American men’s sexual experiences. Using the theoretical research on black masculinity and sexuality as its backdrop, this dissertation explores how heterosexual, African American men experience their sexuality. The study incorporates narrative inquiry and in-depth, semi-structured interviews to gather stories of five African …

A Dance/Movement Therapist's Perspective On Self-Regulation With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Intellectual Disability, Nicole Louise Anderson

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This clinical case study explores my understanding of self-regulation and the impact it had on my clinical decision-making while in dance/movement therapy (DMT) sessions with a client diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). I was motivated by the interactions I had at my internship while working with this client. For the purpose of this study, I chose the theoretical lens of Daniel Siegel’s theory of self-regulation. Self-regulation is a process that organizes the mind and the body in space (Siegel, 2015). Currently, there is research on working with self-regulation and adults with ASD and ID, but …

Therartpist: An Artisitc Inquiry On The Interplay Of Identities, Alisha Sue-Yi Jihn

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This thesis is an embodied artistic inquiry focused on thoughtfully engaging in self reflection through movement, with the intention of discovering how the identities of emerging dance/movement therapist and dance artist inform and interplay with one another. Data was collected through six Authentic Movement sessions with a trained Authentic Movement practitioner. Data analysis occurred through arts-based creative synthesis, which included freeassociation drawing, writing, and movement improvisation. Main themes of bodily knowing and relationship developed from data analysis. Culmination of artistic inquiry occurred through a dance film focused on above-mentioned themes. The dance film can be viewed from the link in …

Developing Cultural Awareness Throught Body-Based Skills And Movement With Children In The Catholic Charities Of Joliet Head Start Classroom, Natiya M. Reggans

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this project was to develop a program for Catholic Charities Diocese of Joliet Head Start that cultivates social-emotional development in children. Cultural intelligence and pro-social skills are fostered through the methods of creative movement, body-based skills, and art-making. Using the Delphi Method as a guide, I employed two round of interviews. The first round was an open-ended questionnaire for the purpose of brainstorming about cultural difference, and a follow-up informal interview for open dialogue about any questions, comments, or concerns from the collaborators. The logic model was used for data analysis and resulted in the following themes: …

Past, Present, Future: A Program Development Exploring Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (Ptss) Using Experimental Learning And Dance/Movement Therapy Based Approaches, Bria Campbell

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this program development project was to create a program that utilizes dance/movement therapy concepts integrated with Dr. Joy DeGruy's Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS) theory, specifically with suggestions for healing PTSS, to help African American Adolescents in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood understand, explore and heal from PTSS. The Delphi Methods was used to gather information from collaborators via individual interviews and follow up surveys. Collaborators, all experienced community leaders with African American adolescents in the Roseland neighborhood and similar neighborhoods, included one African American dance/movement therapist, one program developer, an arts and education director and an arts education …

Effectively Integrating Dance/Movement Therapy And Restorative Justice Into High School Programs, Tia Vegemast

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of the thesis is to develop a stand-alone program that has added dance/movement therapy informed interventions to an existing restorative justice program for high schools to implement. The high school program is designed to support youth in repairing damaged relationships caused by different behavioral issues. As schools are transitioning from punitive punishment to a more restorative approach to discipline, this program provides a new way of incorporating a more holistic approach to restorative justice and the healing process using movement of the body to further empathic understanding. Students will be able to learn from their mistakes and understand …

A Heuristic Inquiry: Engaging With Spirituality As Self-Care, Meredith E. Weissert

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This heuristic inquiry explored effective self-care practices, specifically engaging with spirituality, for emerging dance/movement therapists. Guided by a pragmatic paradigm and heuristic methodology, I was the only researcher and participant and I engaged in meditation within nature as a spiritual practice. Data collection methods included completing a semi-structured self-interview after each spiritual practice, creating embodied experiences of spirituality as self-care and filming them, and recording themes from this footage in relation to Laban’s body, effort, shape, and space categories (Moore, 2014). Moustakas’ (1990) data analysis method and creative synthesis were used. Findings revealed that engaging in spiritual self-care fostered increased …