Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

In The Words Of Early Adolescents: A Novel Assessment Of Positive Psychological Well-Being Predicts Young Adult Depressive Symptoms, Julia K. Boehm, Farah Qureshi, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

Methods

How Does Information Overload Through News Consumption Impact Users’ Mental State?, Agaretha Kosasih

D.U.Quark

With the rise of technology and its accessibility, people have an increased ability to access information, which consequently escalates the chances to be more prone to information overload. However, despite the frequent use of technology and the internet, there is still a lack of awareness about the effects of information overload. One issue that arises in discussing information overload is the abundant research that confirms the negative impacts compared to those that provide positive solutions for the issue. This review discusses the way information overload impacts our mental health through our cognitive processes, influencing our mental state, and examines our …

Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Realconsent2.0: A Web‑Based Intervention To Promote Prosocial Alcohol‑Involved Bystander Behavior In Young Men, Laura F. Salazar, Dominic J. Parrott, David Dilillo, Sarah J. Gervais, Anne Marie Schipani‑Mclaughlin, Ruschelle Leone, Kevin Swartout, Lauren Simpson, Renita Moore, Tiffany Wilson, Nyla Flowers, Haley Church, Amanda Baildon

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background Sexual violence (SV) is a significant, global public health problem, particularly among young adults. Promising interventions exist, including prosocial bystander intervention programs that train bystanders to intervene in situations at-risk for SV. However, these programs suffer from critical weaknesses: (1) they do not address the proximal effect of alcohol use on bystander decision-making and (2) they rely on self-report measures to evaluate outcomes. To overcome these limitations, we integrate new content specific to alcohol use within the context of prosocial bystander intervention into an existing, evidence-based program, RealConsent1.0. The resulting program, RealConsent2.0, aims to facilitate bystander behavior …

Learning From Women Veterans Who Navigate Invisible Injuries, Caregiving, And Reintegration Challenges, Nicholas A. Rattray, Diana Natividad, Katrina Spontak, Marina Kukla, Ai Nghia L. Do, Leah Danson, Richard M. Frankel, Gala True

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: As women comprise a greater proportion of military service members, there is growing recognition of how their experiences in the early phase of military to civilian transitions have an important influence on their health and reintegration outcomes. Qualitative accounts of women veterans can inform programs that support transitioning service members. Objectives: We examined narratives of civilian reintegration among women veterans to understand their experiences of adjusting to community life while coping with mental health challenges. Methods/Participants: We interviewed 16 post-911 era women who were within 5 years of separating from military service and developed a case study based on …

Reconceptualizing Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis And Clinical Guide, Jessica Livingston

Doctoral Projects

Conflicting models of how trauma manifests into identifiable symptoms have been a source of controversy and perplexity among practicing mental health clinicians and diagnosticians. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is now an internationally recognized diagnosis since its inclusion in the 11^th version of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in 2018. The American Psychological Association (APA) does not share this recognition of CPTSD as an individual diagnosis and instead opted to update the diagnostic criteria for PTSD to include DSO and a 4^th category of dissociative features rather than include CPTSD as a separate …

Cm-Ii Meditation As An Intervention To Reduce Stress And Improve Attention: A Study Of Ml Detection, Spectral Analysis, And Hrv Metrics, Sreekanth Gopi

Master of Science in Computer Science Theses

Students frequently face heightened stress due to academic and social pressures, particularly in de- manding fields like computer science and engineering. These challenges are often associated with serious mental health issues, including ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), depression, and an increased risk of suicide. The average student attention span has notably decreased from 21⁄2 minutes to just 47 seconds, and now it typically takes about 25 minutes to switch attention to a new task (Mark, 2023). Research findings suggest that over 95% of individuals who die by suicide have been diagnosed with depression (Shahtahmasebi, 2013), and almost 20% of students …

Effects Of Independent Versus Dependent Stressful Life Events On Major Symptom Domains Of Schizophrenia, Andrew Van Der Vaart, Samantha Lightner, Jane Endres, Akram Yusuf, Alexa Yuen, Samantha Narvaez, Danny Campos-Saravia, Peter Kochunov, L Elliot Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We evaluated two models to link stressful life events (SLEs) with the psychopathology of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). We separated SLEs into independent (iSLEs, unlikely influenced by one's behavior) and dependent (dSLEs, likely influenced by one's behavior). Stress-diathesis and stress generation models were evaluated for the relationship between total, i- and d- SLEs and the severity of positive, negative, and depressive symptoms in participants with SSD. Participants with SSD (n = 286; 196 males; age = 37.5 ± 13.5 years) and community controls (n = 121; 83 males; 35.4 ± 13.9 years) completed self-report of lifetime negative total, i- and …

Integrating Stakeholder Feedback Into The Design Of A Peer-Delivered Primary Care Wellness Program: A Rapid Qualitative Study, Emily M. Johnson, Kyle Possemato, Matthew Chinman, Gala True, Jacob Hedges, Brittany N. Hampton, E. Jennifer Edelman, Stephen A. Maisto

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Individuals seen in Primary Care with behavioral health concerns who decline behavioral health treatment may benefit from the support of peers (consumers in recovery from behavioral health concerns employed to support other consumers). Whole Health STEPS is a new intervention for Veterans in Primary Care with behavioral health concerns which combines essential elements of peers’ role and the Whole Health model using a stepped-care design. We incorporated stakeholder feedback in the Whole Health STEPS design to improve fit with Veterans, peers, and primary care settings. Methods: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with VA staff using questions derived from the …

Hand-Use Preferences For Reaching And Object Exploration In Children With Impaired Upper Extremity Functioning: The Role Of Environmental Affordances, Iryna Babik, Michele A. Lobo

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Infants and young children with weakened or impaired upper extremity functioning often develop a strong hand-use “preference” for reaching and object manipulation. While “preferring” their stronger hand, they often partially or completely ignore their “non-preferred” hand. Such manual lateralization might impede complex object exploration, which would negatively affect children’s cognitive development. The question is whether environmental affordances would significantly affect children’s manifested hand-use “preferences” by promoting the use of the “non-preferred” hand. The current sample included 17 children (5 males; 13.9 ± 8.7 months at baseline) with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (arthrogryposis). The reaching and object exploration of the children were …

‘Things That You Can’T Really Suppress’: Adverse Childhood Experiences In The Narratives Of People With Opioid Use Disorder, Sydney Silverstein, Josef Rivera, Danielle Gainer, Raminta Daniulaityte

Psychiatry Faculty Publications

While numerous studies have established relationships between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and adult substance use, few qualitative studies have explored the differing ways in which experiences of childhood adversity are emplotted into narratives of drug use and recovery. This paper analyzes qualitative data collected as part of a mixed-methods longitudinal study of people with opioid use disorder. Narratives of adverse childhood experiences emerged unprompted. After coding qualitative data for mention of ACEs, we thematically analyzed coded data using a framework of critical phenomenology and constructed a four-part typology to differentiate the ways that ACEs were emplotted into narratives. Our …

Demographic And Clinical Associations To Employment Status In Older-Age Bipolar Disorder: Analysis From The Gage-Bd Database Project, Amulya Mallu, Carol K. Chan, Kaylee Sarna, Joy Yala, Farren B.S. Briggs, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: The current literature on employment in older adults with bipolar disorder (OABD) is limited. Using the Global Aging and Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder Database (GAGE-BD), we examined the relationship of occupational status in OABD to other demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: Seven hundred and thirty-eight participants from 11 international samples with data on educational level and occupational status were included. Employment status was dichotomized as employed versus unemployed. Generalized linear mixed models with random intercepts for the study cohort were used to examine the relationship between baseline characteristics and employment. Predictors in the models included baseline demographics, education, …

Moving Toward An Integrated Model Of The Father–Daughter Relationship During Adolescence, Rachel S. Blickman, Cynthia G. Campbell

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective

This study offers a structural model of father–daughter relationships from the perspective of adolescent daughters and identifies relational constructs that promote closeness in the dyad.

Background

The relationship between fathers and daughters is important to daughters' healthy development yet is vulnerable to tension and distance, particularly during adolescence. Drawing on areas of father involvement that make positive contributions to the lives of adolescent daughters, we propose a relational framework of the father–daughter dyad.

Method

Undergraduate females (N = 206) retrospectively reported on their relationship with their biological father during adolescence using an assessment tool developed for this study. …

Implementing A Systematic Depression Screening In The Primary Care Setting, Cassandra Moore

Doctoral Projects

The Advanced Practice Nurse is responsible for providing quality care and treatment for the whole person. 3 John 1:2 KJV states, “I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers” (King James Bible, 2023, para. 2). To prosper and be in health refers to a holistic approach in which the mind, body, and spirit of an individual is considered. Mental health care is an integral part of the holistic health approach.

Mental illness affects approximately one in five adults (52.9 million) in the United States alone (National Institute of Mental Health …

Self-Reflections Through A Screen: Self-Identity, Social Media, And Psychological Well-Being, Jeremy J. Serio

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Social media use among emerging adults is assumed to be related to a variety of negative psychological outcomes and has, in recent years, become a widely studied phenomenon (Kim, 2017, Pew Research Center, 2018). Despite the widespread assumption, the results from empirical studies of the effects of social media use on mental health in this population have been inconsistent and inconclusive (Keles et al., 2020, Yang et al., 2021). Several meta-analyses (e.g., Keles et al., 2020) demonstrate these inconsistent results across studies and point to the need to consider individual difference factors when researching this issue. Different self-identity styles have …

Moral Distress In Critical Care Nursing: A Literature Review, Anna Tindell

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Moral distress is a pressing concern in the healthcare field with significant implications for all areas of nursing and patient outcomes. However, those within the specialty of critical care nursing experience moral distress more frequently than those in other specialties. It arises from the complex ethical dilemmas nurses in critical intensive care units face as they work in these high-pressure environments. The purpose of this literature review is to discuss moral distress in critical care nursing and how it affects a nurse’s ability to provide quality care. Furthermore, this review will determine factors contributing to moral distress and potential interventions …

Anxiety Screening At A Psychiatric Inpatient Facility: A Quality Improvement Project, Irene Akwitti

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background. Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent anxiety and uncontrollable worry occurring more days than not for a minimum of 6 months (Patriquin & Mathew, 2017). Presently, anxiety screening and evidence-based practice treatment for adults are suboptimal. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of early diagnosis and prompt treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in patients. Purpose. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) screening tool, a validated, evidence-based instrument, in a psychiatric inpatient facility to improve early detection and treatment of anxiety disorders in patients. Methods. Staff members were educated …

Consent Searches And Underestimation Of Compliance: Robustness To Type Of Search, Consequences Of Search, And Demographic Sample, Roseanna Sommers, Vanessa K. Bohns

Articles

Most police searches today are authorized by citizens' consent, rather than probable cause or reasonable suspicion. The main constitutional limitation on so-called “consent searches” is the voluntariness test: whether a reasonable person would have felt free to refuse the officer's request to conduct the search. We investigate whether this legal inquiry is subject to a systematic bias whereby uninvolved decision-makers overstate the voluntariness of consent and underestimate the psychological pressure individuals feel to comply. We find evidence for a robust bias extending to requests, tasks, and populations that have not been examined previously. Across three pre-registered experiments, we approached participants …

Crushing The Contents Of Valbenazine Capsules For Potential Addition To Soft Foods Or Administration Via Gastrostomy Tube, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: One-capsule, once-daily valbenazine is approved for tardive dyskinesia and under evaluation for chorea associated with Huntington's disease, conditions in which patients often experience dysphagia. In vitro studies were conducted to assess the suitability of crushing the contents of valbenazine capsules (40 and 80 mg) for mixing with soft foods or liquids or administration via a gastrostomy tube (G-tube). Methods: In study 1, the dissolution of whole valbenazine capsules and crushed capsule contents were measured serially for 1 hour. In study 2, valbenazine recovery was evaluated after crushed contents were mixed with soft foods, buffer solutions (pH range, 1.2–6.8), and …

A Quality Improvement Project To Screen For Food Insecurity In Adults With Anxiety Or Depression, Kelsie Evelyn Kroll

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background Food insecurity is the limited availability and inconsistent accessibility of healthy foods (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2022a). Food insecurity contributes to mental health problems. Individuals with food insecurity have greater odds of screening positive for depression and anxiety (Wolfson et al., 2021). The Hunger Vital Sign™ screening tool is a 2-questions evidence-based tool used to identify food insecurity (Hager et al., 2010). Purpose. Implement the Hunger Vital Sign™ tool at a non-profit behavior health clinic to identify food insecurity in adults who screened positive for anxiety or depression, offer resources for them to obtain nutritious food, and provide additional information …

Evaluating The Effects Of Ketamine On Cognitive Flexibility In Rats Using A Probabilistic Reversal Learning Task, Anthony N. Nist

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Depression is one of the most debilitating and widespread mental health conditions in the world today. Drugs that are traditionally prescribed to combat depression are flawed in several ways, and because of this, new treatments are needed. One drug that seems capable of overcoming the limitations of traditional antidepressants is ketamine. In clinical research, a single dose of ketamine can significantly reduce symptoms of depression quickly, its effects may last for weeks to months, and its side effects appear to be limited and relatively harmless. However, clinical research is ongoing, and more research is needed to fully understand ketamine's beneficial …