Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Terror Management Theory: Interplay Between Mortality Salience, Death-Thoughts, And Overall Worldview Defense, Sharon R. Shatil

Dissertations (1934 -)

This study examines both the generalizability of Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the mechanisms by which individual difference variables work in the TMT model. A plethora of research exists to support TMT, a theory that explains much of human behavior as attempts to buffer the potential for anxiety provoked by being aware of one's own inevitable mortality (Pyszczynski et al., 2003). This dissertation investigated the generalizability of Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the mechanisms by which individual difference variables work in the TMT process. In order to do so, an operationalization of the variable "overall worldview" was provided. Participants consisted …

Impression Management And Psychological Reactions Of Living Kidney Donors, Lee Hildebrand

Dissertations (1934 -)

This report describes the findings of a mixed-methods study that examined the psychological reactions and use of impression management by individuals who had donated a kidney. It focused on the use of impression management and concealing information during the pre-donation psychological evaluation that is conducted to help determine the donor’s appropriateness for a donation, and the psychological reactions of living kidney donors post donation. A search of the literature found no study that has empirically investigated the prevalence of impression management and concealing information by living kidney donors during their pre-donation psychosocial evaluations. The mixed methods design utilized both a …

Research Brief: "Psychiatric Status And Work Performance Of Veterans Of Operations Enduring Freedom And Iraqi Freedom", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study examines the relationship between psychiatric status and work impairment among OEF/OIF veterans enrolled in VA healthcare. In practice, mental health services are a high priority for the Veterans Administration, which is now focused on integrating behavioral health services into primary care so OEF/OIF veterans face fewer obstacles in obtaining and sustaining psychiatric care. In policy, policymakers should integrate veterans’ health programs with systematic assessment functioning, and develop treatment geared towards addressing impaired job performance. Suggestions for future study include focusing on whether workers with depression and other psychiatric conditions participate fully in the labor market and function effectively …

Relationships Between Social Self-Esteem, Media Influence And Drive For Thinness, Sofia Fernandez, Mary E. Pritchard

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although media exposure is known to relate to drive for thinness and social self-esteem in women, less is known about how media affects drive for thinness and social self-esteem in men. The present study examined the relationships between drive for thinness, social self-esteem, and media influence among men and women. Two hundred ninety-four college students completed the Texas Social Behavior Inventory, the Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Scale-3, a self-constructed questionnaire measuring the influence of media models, and the Drive for Thinness scale of the EDI-3. We expected to find an association between drive for thinness and media influence and between …

The Prevalence And Characteristics Of Suicidality In Hiv/Aids As Seen In An African Population In Entebbe District, Uganda, Eugene Kinyanda, Susan Hoskins, Juliet Nakku, Saira Nawaz, Vikram Patel

Dartmouth Scholarship

Suicidality in HIV/AIDS is not only a predictor of future attempted suicide and completed suicide, it is also associated with poor quality of life and poor adherence with antiretroviral therapy. This paper examines the prevalence and correlates of suicidality in HIV/AIDS in the African nation of Uganda.

Social Skills Training For Adolescent Youth: Measurement Of Skill Acquisition, Shannon Koehler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a classroom based training in teaching social skills to four adolescent females between the ages of 13–17 years old and residing in foster care. The training took place over a three week period, one night a week, for three hours at a time and utilized a Behavioral Skills Training format. The assessments were conducted via role play scenarios; pre- and posttraining. The results show each participant demonstrated an overall increase in skills from pretraining to posttraining indicating that youth in foster care were capable of learning the skills taught.

Neurological Soft Signs In Persons With Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment And The Relationships To Neuropsychological Functions, Hui-Jie Li, Peng-Yun Wang, Yang Jiang, Raymond C.K. Chan, Hua-Li Wang, Juan Li

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Neurological abnormalities have been reported in people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). The current study aimed to examine the prevalence of neurological soft signs (NSS) in this clinical group and to examine the relationship of NSS to other neuropsychological performances.

METHODS: Twenty-nine people with aMCI and 28 cognitively healthy elderly people were recruited for the present study. The NSS subscales (motor coordination, sensory integration, and disinhibition) of the Cambridge Neurological Inventory and a set of neuropsychological tests were administered to all the participants.

RESULTS: People with aMCI exhibited significantly more motor coordination signs, disinhibition signs, and total NSS …

An Evaluation Of The Implementation Of "The Happiest Toddler On The Block" Parenting Strategies By Young Mothers, Amye Elizabeth Bock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Young parents and their children are considered a high-risk population as they are more likely to lack social support networks, have limited access to opportunities to enhance parenting skills, and are often financially dependent. Young children whose mothers have poor parenting skills are more likely to have persistent problem behavior. Three young mothers living in a transitional housing facility participated in this study. The purpose of this study was to determine if these mothers could implement parenting strategies that are a part of a commercially available parenting book and DVD. This study found that: (1) mothers were able to correctly …

Training And Assessment Of Toothbrushing Skills Among Children With Special Needs, Rachel A. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The success of applied behavior analysis (ABA) interventions relies heavily on adherence to measures of social importance. One area identified by caregivers, educators, and researchers as having social importance is the area of daily living skills; particularly in populations of children with special needs. A number of studies employed the use of a task analysis to objectively measure toothbrushing, with various training procedures utilized. Behavioral Skills Training (BST) is an effective procedure used to train a variety of skills. Further, research indicates the addition of an in situ assessment promotes generalization of trained skills. The current study examined the use …

Research Brief: "Employment Outcomes And Ptsd Symptom Severity", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study investigates how the severity of PTSD symptoms relates to employment and earnings. It found that veterans with more severe symptoms of PTSD were more likely to work part-time or not at all rather than have full-time work. In practice, treating PTSD, even if some symptoms remain, could result in better employment outcomes for veterans. In policy, policymakers should consider providing previously successful programs focused on veterans with PTSD for individuals with other mental health conditions. Suggestions for future research include a large, controlled, longitudinal survey that would allow researchers to investigate more thoroughly how PTSD symptoms relate to …

Genetics Of Schizophrenia And Smoking: An Approach To Studying Their Comorbidity Based On Epidemiological Findings, Jose De Leon, Francisco J. Diaz

Psychiatry Faculty Publications

The association between schizophrenia and tobacco smoking has been described in more than 1,000 articles, many with inadequate methodology. The studies on this association can focus on: (1) current smoking, ever smoking or smoking cessation; (2) non-psychiatric controls or controls with severe mental illness (e.g., bipolar disorder); and (3) higher smoking frequency or greater usage in smokers. The association with the most potential for genetic studies is that between ever daily smoking and schizophrenia; it may reflect a shared genetic vulnerability. To reduce the number of false-positive genes, we propose a three-stage approach derived from epidemiological knowledge. In the first …

Staff Perceptions Of Risk For Prison Rape Perpetration And Victimization, Valerie M. Gonsalves, Kate Walsh, Mario J. Scalora

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2012 SAGE Publications, http://tpj.sagepub.com Used by permission.

Linking Outcomes From Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Forms Using Item Response Models, Lesa Hoffman, Jonathan Templin, Mabel L. Rice

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The present work describes how vocabulary ability as assessed by 3 different forms of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT; Dunn & Dunn, 1997) can be placed on a common latent metric through item response theory (IRT) modeling, by which valid comparisons of ability between samples or over time can then be made.

Method: Responses from 2,625 cases in a longitudinal study of 697 persons for 459 unique PPVT items (175 items from Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised [PPVT–R] Form M [Dunn & Dunn, 1981], 201 items from Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—3 [PPVT–3] Form A [Dunn & Dunn, 1997], and …

The Role Of Engagement Across Conceptually Distinct Treatment Elements For Social Anxiety Disorder, Timothy M. Emge

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There are currently several efficacious treatments for social anxiety disorder (e.g. exposure therapy and cognitive therapy). Each of these treatments is thought to reduce symptoms of social anxiety by disrupting maintenance mechanisms of the disorder, yet mechanism of change research has not supported this view. The current study compared components from each therapy modality in order to better understand why symptoms reduce similarly between conceptually distinct treatments. Participants with high social anxiety were randomly assigned to give a speech with cognitive restructuring and engagement-enhancing procedures, cognitive preparation and video feedback, or a speech alone. Self-ratings of speech performance, confidence in …

Dimensions Of Individuals' Judgements About Sexual Attraction, Romantic Attachment, And Sexual Orientation, Luis F. Morales Knight

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Despite 150 years of scientific interest in sexual orientation, contemporary investigators grapple with a number of serious difficulties. A precise, unified definition of sexual orientation appropriate for scientific use continues to elude researchers, most likely because there is still no single coherent theory of sexual orientation. This lack impedes research into the measurement of sexual orientation. Existing measurements of sexual orientation rely on partial or incompletely empirical research. The present study identified promising avenues for development of credible definitions, theories, and measurements of sexual orientation: (a) mate-selection tasks; (b) the idea that bisexually-identified individuals place a lower priority on partner …

Stress, Coping And Suicide Ideation In Chinese College Students, Xiaoyun Zhang, Haiping Wang, Yan Ruth Xia, Xiaohong Liu, Eunju Jung

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The study was to examine 1) whether stress and coping styles could significantly predict the probability of suicide ideation; 2) and whether coping styles were mediators or moderators on the association between life stress and suicide ideation. The survey was conducted in a sample of 671 Chinese college students. Approximately twenty percent students reported having suicide ideation. Life stress, active coping styles, and passive coping styles all had independent effect on the probability of suicide ideation. Passive coping styles, especially fantasizing, mediated the relation between life stress and suicide ideation. Moderation hypotheses were not supported. Implications of the findings and …

Narrative Health Communication And Behavior Change: The Influence Of Exemplars In The News On Intention To Quit Smoking., Hyun Suk Kim, Cabral A. Bigman, Amy E. Leader, Caryn Lerman, Joseph N. Cappella

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

This study investigated psychological mechanisms underlying the effect of narrative health communication on behavioral intention. Specifically, the study examined how exemplification in news about successful smoking cessation affects recipients' narrative engagement, thereby changing their intention to quit smoking. Nationally representative samples of U.S. adult smokers participated in 2 experiments. The results from the 2 experiments consistently showed that smokers reading a news article with an exemplar experienced greater narrative engagement compared to those reading an article without an exemplar. Those who reported more engagement were in turn more likely to report greater smoking cessation intentions.

Communication-Based Assessment Of Developmental Age For Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Shari L. Deveney, Lesa Hoffman, Cynthia J. Cress

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Purpose: In this study, the authors compared a multiple-domain strategy for assessing developmental age of young children with developmental disabilities who were at risk for long-term reliance on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with a communication-based strategy composed of receptive language and communication indices that may be less affected by physically challenging tasks than traditional developmental age scores.

Method: Participants were 42 children (age 9–27 months) with developmental disabilities and who were at risk for long-term reliance on AAC. Children were assessed longitudinally in their homes at 3 occasions over 18 months using multiple-domain and communication-based measures. Confirmatory factor analysis …

Posttraumatic Stress And Myocardial Infarction Risk Perceptions In Hospitalized Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients, Donald Edmondson, Jonathan A. Shaffer, Ellen-Ge Denton, Daichi Shimbo, Lynn Clemow

Publications and Research

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is related to acute coronary syndrome (ACS; i.e., myocardial infarction or unstable angina) recurrence and poor post-ACS adherence to medical advice. Since risk perceptions are a primary motivator of adherence behaviors, we assessed the relationship of probable PTSD to ACS risk perceptions in hospitalized ACS patients (n = 420). Participants completed a brief PTSD screen 3-7 days post-ACS, and rated their 1-year ACS recurrence risk relative to other men or women their age. Most participants exhibited optimistic bias (mean recurrence risk estimate between "average" and "below average"). Further, participants who screened positive for current PTSD (n …

Linguistic Devices, Emotionality, And Memorability Of Computer Mediated Communication, Angela M. Mion

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

I examined whether college students use shortcuts, pragmatics, and errors in text messages differently depending on their gender and the emotionality of the message. Results indicate that the prevalence of particular shortcuts differed across happy, sad, and angry messages, but gender did not influence use of linguistic devices. In a second study, I examined the emotionality and memorability of text messages versus voicemails. Results indicate that texts may be remembered better than voicemails, and happy, sad, and angry messages may be remembered differently by men and women.