Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Assessing The Functions Of Prescription Stimulant Abuse Among College Students, Matthew J. Dwyer

Theses and Dissertations

Non-medical prescription stimulant use (NMPSU), such as using medications like Ritalin, Adderall, and Concerta without a prescription or at a higher dosage than prescribed, is a rising trend in American adults. Use is most prevalent among college age adults (18-25 years old). Survey research among experienced users has identified several reasons college students are engaging in NMPSU, including enhancement of cognitive, athletic, and social performance, but less is known about how the relative reinforcing value differs based on the reasons of use. Behavioral economic drug purchase tasks have been used to capture reinforcer strength and motivation related to use of …

Exploring Construct Validity And Measurement Invariance Of The Cyberbullying Experiences Survey, Kendall Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Given recent calls for advancing valid instrumentation in the field of cyberaggression, the present study evaluated construct validity and measurement invariance for the Cyberbullying Experiences Survey (CES) in a high school and college student sample. A series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), reliability analyses, and a nomological net evaluation were conducted to address these aims. The data did not provide support for the hypothesized four-factor model for cyberaggression or cybervictimization (i.e., unwanted contact, malice, deception, and public humiliation). Upon implementing suggested and theoretically supported modification indices, support for a four-factor solution for both cyberaggression and cybervictimization was provided.

To subsequently …

Internalized Homonegativity And Alcohol Use As Predictors Of Intimate Partner Violence Among Cisgender Sexual Minority Men, Andrew Thomas Schramm

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has found that sexual minorities (i.e., individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or who are attracted to or have had sexual experiences with members of the same sex) are at heightened risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) as compared to heterosexuals. Although understanding risk factors that place sexual minorities at risk is a crucial step in the prevention of IPV in this population, little is known about such factors. Some have proposed that internalized homonegativity, a component of minority stress, may place individuals at heightened risk for IPV perpetration. Internalized homonegativity is also associated with greater alcohol …

Examining The Effects Of Stress And Age On Neural Reward Processing: Considerations For The Role Of Individual Differences In Autonomic Reactivity, William Mccuddy

Dissertations (1934 -)

Acute stress is unavoidable and may hinder basic reward processing underlying adaptive decision-making. Additionally, older adults may be at an increased risk of poor decision-making after exposure to acute stress due to age-related changes in cognitive and autonomic functioning. The current study assessed the influence of acute stress, autonomic reactivity, and age on a simple behavioral task during fMRI. Specifically, old and young adults completed a basic reward processing paradigm (i.e., where participants received monetary rewards and punishments) after exposure to acute stress (i.e., social evaluative cold pressor) or control procedure between-subjects. In the young group, differential responses for monetary …

Longitudinal Prediction Of Delinquent Behavior In Early Adolescence, Kathleen Watson Macdonell

Theses and Dissertations

Childhood behavioral problems have consistently been reported as an antecedent for later problem behavior, including delinquency in adolescence and into adulthood. Parenting behaviors are an important influence on the potentially negative behavioral trajectory from childhood behavior problems to delinquency in early adolescence. The current study sought to provide further understanding of the relationship between teacher-reported third grade childhood behavior problems and two outcomes: ninth grade teacher-reported and ninth grade self-reported delinquency. Additionally, the moderating impact of parental monitoring and parental school involvement, assessed in fifth grade, was explored. Using a longitudinal sample of 556 participants, hypotheses were assessed separately for …

The Survey Of Attitudes Toward Homeless People: The Validation Of A New Instrument Assessing Negative Attitudes Toward Homeless People, Nyssa L. Snow-Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Homeless individuals are often the targets of negative stereotypes and significant stigmatization, which can contribute to restrictive and punitive approaches to ending homelessness. Many researchers and policymakers have sought to understand and change attitudes toward the homeless to allow for consideration of a broader range of responses to addressing homelessness. Despite attention paid to understanding attitudes, a lack of reliable and valid measurement creates methodological barriers to assessing people’s attitudes and comparing those attitudes across studies and populations.

Attitudes toward homeless persons have been demonstrated to be quite complex, which has likely impeded the development of valid and reliable measurement …

Co-Occurrence And Non-Overlap Among Behavioral And Health-Related Problems In Preschool Children, Chandni Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Integrating mental health and healthcare services increases the reach of healthcare while reducing costs and stigma associated with seeking mental health services. To provide such services for preschool aged children we must first understand how behaviors related to healthy lifestyle and mental/behavioral health overlap. This study examined the relationship between behavior problems, sleep duration, screen time, and eating patterns and assessed the frequency of co-occurring problems in these areas. Because of the importance of parenting across these domains, the association between parent disciplinary strategies and the co-occurrence of behaviors in the different problem areas was assessed. MANOVAs revealed that there …

A Mixed Methods Psychometric Validation Of The Microaggression Experiences Among University Women Of Color Scale, Kinjal Pandya

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to develop a measure of gender and racial microaggressions among university women of color (WOC). Microaggressions are conceptualized as verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights that can be intentional or unintentional, but communicate derogatory messages towards a group of marginalized people. Despite many qualitative, legal, and narrative reports of microaggressions against university WOC, there are no validated measures specific to the experiences of WOC in academic settings. This study attempts to fill that gap by creating and testing the factor structure of a measure of microaggressions experienced by university WOC. Phase I of …

Risk And Resistance Factors For Depression And Anxiety Among Youth With Sickle Cell Disease, Laura Reinman

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Depression and anxiety are common problems for adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD). It is important to understand both risk and resiliency factors contributing to psychological outcomes among youth with SCD in order to prevent and effectively treat such problems. To better elucidate contributing factors to depression and anxiety among youth with SCD selected risk and resiliency factors from the risk-and-resistance model adapted for SCD were examined (Barakat, Lash, Lutz, & Nicolaou, 2006). The risk factor of fatigue and resistance/resiliency factors of cognitive appraisal of stress and self-concept are of focus because they have been understudied, and their temporal …

What Black College Students Say About Race: An Exploration Of Peer Racial Socialization, Alexandrea R. Golden

Theses and Dissertations

In addition to the normative tasks of emerging adulthood and stressors of transitioning into the college environment, Black undergraduate students must also contend with race-related stressors (i.e., racial discrimination, racial stereotypes). Studies suggest that parent-child communications preparing youth for encounters of racism and instilling pride about their race (i.e., parent racial socialization) protect youth from the ramifications of racial discrimination (Harris-Britt, Valrie, Kurtz-Costes, & Rowley, 2007). Although peers have been identified as another important resource in the racial socialization process (Lesane-Brown, Brown, Caldwell, & Sellers, 2005) as well as youth’s ability to cope with discrimination (Datnow & Cooper, 1997; Butler-Barnes, …

The Influence Of Adhd Symptoms And Social Functioning On Anxiety And Depression Symptoms In College Students, Danielle Willis

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with impaired social functioning in children and adolescents. ADHD and poor social functioning have been shown to be separately associated with increased anxiety and depression symptoms as well. However, little research has examined these associations among college students. College is a transitional period of increased stress and exposure to new social situations for all students, but may be even more challenging for those with ADHD, who are already at risk for increased internalizing problems and impairment in social functioning. The current study aimed to examine the influence of ADHD symptoms …

Longitudinal Effects Of Social Norms, Social Support For Physical Activity, Neighborhood Satisfaction, And Self-Efficacy On Light And Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity In African American Adults, Lauren Huffman Law

Theses and Dissertations

Few adults meet physical activity (PA) guidelines, and low rates of PA have been linked to negative physical and mental health outcomes including overweight status, chronic disease, cancer risk, depression, and decreased cognitive functioning. Both light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) have been linked to health outcomes, yet few studies have examined LPA associations in underserved and overweight populations. The neighborhood social environment, which includes social norms for PA, social support for PA, and neighborhood satisfaction, has been cited as an important factor of influence on PA behaviors. The current study aimed to integrate social cognitive theory and bioecological …

Intersectional Identities And Microaggressions: The Experience Of Transgender Females, Cory Daniel Gerwe

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Historically, attention given to privileged LGBT minorities such as white LGBT individuals, renders those who experience multiple minority identities as unacknowledged. There is a scarcity of research exploring the intersectional experiences of transgender individuals and how these experiences impact their mental health and well-being. For that reason, the intent of this study was to learn more about transgender females who hold additional minority statuses, their transition experiences, their circumstances, and the nature of their social environment. Specifically, I investigated trans female experiences of transitioning with a specific focus on the intersection of gender identity, race, socioeconomic status (SES), and age. …

16pf Couples Counseling Report: Predictors Of Marital Satisfaction, Personality Similarity, And Relationship Adjustment Among Spouses Of Male Combat Veterans Following Deployment, Harley Cassandra Dungee

Theses and Dissertations

A majority of research regarding military populations focuses on service members solely and often ignores spousal difficulties. The current study utilizes the 16 Personality Factor Couple’s Counseling Report (16PF CCR) variables to assist in clarifying factors that impact relationship functioning among female spouses of male combat veterans post-deployment. Results of the present study demonstrated a positive significant relationship between Overall Marital Satisfaction and one of the nine Individual Satisfaction areas. A significant and negative relationship was found between Overall Marital Satisfaction scores and one of the sixteen Primary Personality factors. Personality Similarity had a significant negative and a significant positive …

Improving The Sensitivity Of The Vrin-R Scale On The Mmpi-A-Rf, Stefan E. Latulip

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

When respondents to self-report measures fail to answer in accordance with item content it distorts the accuracy of obtained test scores, degrading the ability of clinicians to use results to make accurate diagnoses and recommendations. The Variable Response Inconsistency (VRIN) scale was created for the MMPI-2 and was later revised as the VRIN-r scale for the MMPI-2-RF and MMPI-A-RF in order to detect and invalidate protocols over saturated with random responding. Analyses conducted by Pitta (2016) revealed that the VRIN-r scale for the MMPI-A-RF was not ideally sensitive to the detection of random responding in protocols. This study explored adding …

The Impact Of Diet And Psychosocial Factors Post Bariatric Surgery, Eva Rani Panigrahi

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Bariatric surgery is a medical procedure that has been found to be an effective option for weight loss. Despite the benefits of bariatric surgery, little is known about the psychosocial factors that may impact weight outcome. The present study attempted to examine patients’ level of perceived stress, depressed mood, and diet, and the association of these factors with percent weight loss in the first 6-months after surgery. Eighty patients completed pre- and 6-months post-operative depressed mood assessment (Patient Quality Health Questionnaire – 7 [PHQ-7]), a perceived stress measure (Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale – 10 [PSS-10]), and dietary measures (Block Dietary …

Linking Trait-Based Influences With Proximal, Contextually Driven Processes To Understand The Relationship Between Alcohol Use And Risk Behavior, Patrick M. Logan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Impulsivity-related traits explain a significant and meaningful level of variance in the prediction of drinking behavior. Previous research has demonstrated that although risk taking propensity has been conceptualized as a "trait-like" construct, there are contextual and situational factors that affect an individual's likelihood of engaging in risk taking behavior, including drinking behavior. Despite the well-established relationship between alcohol use and risk behavior (e.g., risky sexual behavior, physical assault, etc.), it is unclear how alcohol-related context influences risk taking on a computerized behavioral task. Grounded in alcohol expectancy theory (which holds that information processing about the rewarding effects of alcohol mediates …

Linking Sleep And Aggression: The Role Of Response Inhibition And Emotional Processing, Melanie L. Bozzay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although shorter sleep duration is theorized to increase the risk of engaging in aggressive behavior, experimental studies examining this relationship yield conflicting findings. Since sleep serves in part to regulate the functioning of prefrontal brain regions, insufficient sleep may deleteriously impact the individual’s ability to inhibit rash action and alter emotional processing, which could in turn increase aggressive tendencies. However, no studies have examined the extent to which naturally occurring insufficient sleep is linked to aggression or potential mechanisms of this relationship, limiting understanding of and the generalizability of extant findings. Thus, the present study examined whether cognitive (deficits in …

Psychological Correlates Of Diverse Coerced Sexual Experiences: Clarifying Classes And Severity Continuums Of Sexual Act And Coercive Tactic, Sara Kern

Dissertations

Although different coerced sexual experiences have been associated with different psychological symptoms (e.g., Davis et al., 2014), many limitations have plagued previous classification systems and severity continuums of coerced sexual experiences. The present study aimed to uncover meaningful differences across classes of coerced sexual experiences for the dimensions of sexual act and coercive tactic to inform future classification systems and severity continuums. Participants with a history of coerced sexual experiences (N = 402) completed an online survey about their worst or only coerced sexual experience, identifying the worst (or only) sexual act and the worst (or only) coercive tactic that …

Schizotypy As A Predictor For Social Media Use And Internet Addiction Behaviors In Emerging Adults, Devin Massaro

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the unique domains/symptom clusters within schizotypy as they relate to Facebook use and internet addiction behaviors, while controlling for co-morbid disorders such as depression and anxiety. Using an online survey, this study measured electronic media use, internet addiction behavior, and schizotypy in 270 undergraduate students (aged 18-30). We expected mood symptoms of anxiety and depression to predict both internet addiction and Facebook use in this sample, and controlled for these variables accordingly. We hypothesized that schizotypy would contribute significantly to the prediction of internet addiction and Facebook use above and beyond anxiety, depression, and demographic variables and …