Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Project Palmms (Physical Activity Levels And Family Medical Histories): An Undergraduate Sample, Pierre Alexander Leon

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Physical inactivity has garnered significant attention as it is considered an emerging worldwide young adult problem. There is empirical evidence on predictors of low levels of physical activity (PA), such as an individual’s sex and/or socio-economic status. There are also other possible reasons for the decline in PA, such as an individual’s motivations and/or barriers for participation in physical activity and an individual’s understanding of their predisposition to chronic illnesses. This study seeks to identify perceptions of benefits/barriers to PA and motivating factors needed to increase physical activity in college populations. Methods: A survey gathering information on demographics, PA, …

Contextually Modulated Avoidance Behavior In Rats Post-Pavlovian Extinction, Lauren Branigan

Theses and Dissertations

The following study sought to examine the psychological substrates of renewal (e.g.., context dependent extinction processes) for conditioned avoidance behaviors in rats. Using signaled active avoidance conditioning, rats acquired two-way shuttle responding, to two different auditory stimuli. These behaviors were then extinguished through exposure to the auditory stimuli where shuttling behavior was now without consequence. Subjects were then tested for renewal of avoidance in three distinct renewal sequences (e.g., ABA vs ABB, AAB vs AAA, and ABC vs ABB) in three separate groups of rats. It was found that subjects showed more responding to a stimulus presented outside of its …

The Obstacles To Receiving Grace In A Substance Abuse Population, Bradley Johnson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Grace has been important throughout the history of Christianity, and it is also relevant in the contemporary positive psychology movement. Nonetheless, the construct of grace has been left relatively unexplored through theoretical or empirical investigation in the social sciences. The few psychological explorations of grace found in the current literature can be roughly divided into four categories: advocating for grace, theoretical development, measuring grace, and empirical studies of grace. The current study examined the obstacles to grace experienced by patients in a substance abuse recovery program. Seven obstacles were first identified by a group of 25 participants through the use …

Emotional And Spiritual Well-Being As Predictors Of Burnout Among Doctoral Clinical Psychology Trainees, Garret L. Blankenship

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

It has been observed in prior studies that student spiritual engagement and attribution tends to decline throughout graduate clinical training in psychology (Eisele, 2016; Fisk et al., 2013). This is problematic considering the inverse relationship between spirituality and stress (Calicchia & Graham, 2006) and the protection it provides against burnout. Also protective against burnout, and correlated with spirituality, is Emotional Intelligence (EI; Kaur, Sambasivan, & Kumar, 2013). Both EI and spirituality are related to lower burnout, less depression, and greater life-satisfaction (Kroska et al., 2017). Despite burnout being a common experience for graduate students in medical school (Amir, Kumari, Olivetta, …

미투 운동은 성매매도 포함하여야 한다 (#Metoo Must Include Prostitution), Melissa Farley

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Abortion In The United States: Identifying Populations That Perceive The Most Abortion-Related Stigma, Megan Layne Cheatham

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately three million pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended, and about half of the women who experience an unwanted, unintended pregnancy obtain an abortion to terminate their pregnancy. However, despite abortion being a common and safe gynecological procedure, it is publicly controversial and highly stigmatized. Available research is in agreement that abortion does not lead to long-term mental health problems; however, there is a strong and significant association between abortion-related stigma and pre-abortion depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Furthermore, stigma is suspected to vary based on demographic factors, and understanding these differences may help further prevent and …

Wounded Heroes And Heroic Vocations: Heroism And The Storied Lives Of Therapists, Peter Bray

Heroism Science

For many the world can be a dangerous place. Life is random. Survival is conditional, and individuals inevitably sustain physical and psychological wounds along the way. Challenged by change, human beings seek meaning in the making and remaking of personal myths that acknowledge both failure and the heroic achievement to endure and flourish. Revealing the heroic character of their creators, this impulse to make and share stories also elevates prosaic, day-to-day struggles into inspirational tales that can transcend context and speak into others’ lives. The sharing of stories permits others to purposefully consider their own struggles and can inspires them …

Cancer Blog Narratives: The Experience Of Under-Fifty Women With Breast Cancer During Different Times After Diagnosis, Maria Luisa Martino, Anna Gargiulo, Daniela Lemmo, Giorgia Margherita

The Qualitative Report

The recent literature shows an increase of breast cancer in women under 50, however still few are the studies which analyse the impact of the disease in this specific target age. This study aims at exploring the most prevalent topics in Italian cancer blogs of women who have received a breast cancer diagnosis before the age of 50, in order to understand their experience of illness and the characteristics of women’s narrations at different times after diagnosis (1 year, 2 years, 3 years). We collected the textual corpus of 4 Italian breast cancer blogs and performed a thematic analysis. Five …

Discrimination, Victimization, And Suicidality In The Lgbtq Population: The Role Of Psychological Pain And Perceived Connectedness, Amanda L. Peterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) are at a higher risk for suicide compared to the general population, but little is known about why this is. Many LGBTQ individuals face some form of discrimination or victimization in their lifetime, and some evidence suggests these experiences may contribute to this group’s higher suicide risk. Unfortunately, research has only examined the impact of direct discrimination/victimization on suicidality and has neglected to examine how ambient discrimination/victimization relates to suicidality. Additionally, although some links exist between discrimination, victimization, and suicide, the mechanisms by which these are related are unknown. …

Coping With Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms: The Role Of Illness Beliefs And Behaviors, Lisa M. Mcandrew, Nicole Sullivan, L. Alison Phillips, Wilfred R. Pigeon, Karen S. Quigley, Fiona Graff, David R. Litke, Drew A. Helmer, Joseph F. Rath

Educational & Counseling Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Background: Medically unexplained syndromes (MUS) are both prevalent and disabling. While illness beliefs and behaviors are thought to maintain MUS-related disability, little is known about which specific behavioral responses to MUS are related to disability or the way in which beliefs and behaviors interact to impact functioning. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between illness beliefs and disability among patients with MUS, and assess the extent to which behaviors mediate this relationship. Methods: The study examined data from the baseline assessment of a multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants were 248 veterans with MUS. Illness …

Examining Effects Of Parental Sexual Abuse On Female Juvenile Delinquency Using A Social Developmental Perspective, Michelle Nagle

Theses and Dissertations

Delinquency has traditionally been viewed as a male phenomenon, often defined in androcentric terms, and neglecting females in studies regarding delinquent behavior. However, females are the fastest growing subpopulation of the correction population, which amplifies the importance of understanding the nature and etiology of their offending. Recent research has suggested that predictors of male juvenile delinquency do not adequately explain delinquency in females, because the androcentric research ignores the damaging impact of sexual childhood abuse and other prominent family factors on female juvenile delinquents. This study aimed to examine the impact of childhood parental sexual abuse on female juvenile delinquency …

Perceptions Of Female Defendants As A Function Of Pregnancy Status, Rachel A. Silverthorn

2019 Symposium

Given the impact pregnancy has in other areas of life it makes sense that when a woman is brought into the criminal justice system pregnancy will play a role in how others perceive her. While research exists on the implications of pregnancy on incarceration, there is a gap regarding the trial phase and the effects of pregnancy on the adjudication process.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether pregnancy status impacts jury perception of female defendants. It was hypothesized that a pregnant defendant would evoke sympathy in a trial situation and consequently a pregnant woman would be judged …

The Effect Of Self-Compassion In The Experience Of Anxiety And Fear During An Interpersonal Stressor, Arishna Agarwal

ETD Archive

At its core, Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is an intense fear where an individual is afraid of being rejected, humiliated, embarrassed, or negatively judged by others in social situations. Due to these feelings, those affected by SAD avoid interpersonal situations, which maintain and worsen the disorder. SAD affects 15 million adults and impairs daily functioning in countless aspects. Through various research studies, evidence has shown that individuals who suffer from SAD have difficulty managing their emotional states such as fear and anxiety and are less willing to accept and forgive themselves than their healthy peers. Willingness to accept, be kind, …

Brief Behavioral Health Intervention Program For Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease, Chelsea Wiener

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Healthy eating, physical activity, stress management, and smoking cessation are widely recognized as essential for preventing and treating coronary artery disease (CAD). Research on lifestyle programs for patients with CAD has largely focused on long-term interventions (e.g., several months to one-year in duration). Further, many studies have recruited patients immediately post-cardiac event. By contrast, evaluation of brief lifestyle interventions for stable patients treated in outpatient cardiology is lacking. The present study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a 3-session behavioral health lifestyle program for patients with stable CAD being treated in an outpatient cardiology clinic. Thirty-three patients were randomized …

Cognitive And Vascular Risk Factors For Depression: Testing An Integrated Theoretical Framework, Rosanna Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Theoretical models that have guided the study of later-life depression include the vascular depression hypothesis, depression-executive dysfunction syndrome, and the CaR-FA-X model. Evidence suggests these can be integrated into a single developmental model of disordered mood (and its associated overgeneral memory feature) in later-life to delineate a mechanism of the vascular depression effect and identify modifiable intervention targets. Methods: In older adults, four serial mediation models evaluated the relationships between (1) vascular burden and depressive symptoms via executive control and rumination, and (2) vascular burden and autobiographical memory specificity (AMS) via executive control and rumination. In younger adults, four …

Syllabus And Lecture Slides For A Revised Social Work Practice Course On Diagnosing With The Dsm-5 Using Case Studies And Active Learning Techniques To Enhance Student Engagement., James D. Simon

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

Syllabus and lecture slides for a revised social work practice course on diagnosing with the DSM-5 using case studies and active learning techniques to enhance student engagement.

The following syllabus and lecture slides were completed as part of the Newer Faculty Learning Center (NFLC) grant to increase the use of high-impact content and pedagogy among new faculty. The syllabus and lectures slides provide an example of how to embed case studies, an evidence-based teaching (EBT) strategy (Herreid, 2011), into a social work foundation practice course on diagnosing with the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This particular EBT was implemented primarily …

Oneness In Everyday Life: Nonduality, Wholeness And Human Life After Awakening, Gibbons, Tom

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

In Advaita Vedanta a distinction is made between an experience of oneness and permanent awakening. The author argues that a nondual philosophy such as Advaita - as opposed to a direct experience of oneness – contains significant theoretical difficulties, which in turn are reflected in problems with actualizing nonduality in everyday human life. Alternative spiritual conceptions that might be more helpful in guiding the nondual aspirant in her spiritual life are examined, including the concept of “wholeness.” In the place of a reliance on an exclusive doctrine of nonduality, Jorge Ferrar’s concept of “Participatory Spirituality” and A. H. Almaas’s idea …

Categorical Modelling Of Conscious States, Baruss, Imants

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

In the last several decades, there has been an explosion of research concerning consciousness with some efforts at mathematical modelling. The purpose of this paper is to model conscious states using categorical constructions. In particular, this modelling captures temporality, the intentional structure of consciousness, and meaning fields, which provide the templates for occurrent events. The architecture of conscious states naturally lends itself to applications of category theory, more specifically to sheaf-like constructions in which the stacks over a site are topoi whose germs are the objects of the topoi. Each topos represents the potential experiential content of an individual where …

Psychotherapy In The Dream: A Phenomenological Exploration, Bustos, Nick

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

Post-materialist ontologies offer a transformed worldview whose implications point toward the illusory nature of the separate self, or ego. Aligned with the literature of mysticism and perennialist spiritual models, this portends a significantly altered backdrop for the practice and discipline of psychotherapy, the underlying premises of which assume a strict existential dichotomy between patient and therapist. Kenneth Wapnick, preeminent scholar of the twentieth-century spiritual document of A Course in Miracles, provides a relevant model toward integrating spiritually-based, ego-negative states within psychotherapy practice. The author studied the lived experiences of eight psychotherapists, both practicing and retired, who practice according to this …

The Impact Of Early Social Factors On Trajectories Of Internalizing Behavior Problems Within Maltreated Foster Care Youth, Ethan Michael Paschall

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Children who experience maltreatment are at an increased risk for developing internalizing problems. Little is known about long-term symptom trajectories of children placed in foster care following maltreatment. This study used contemporary growth mixture modeling to assess symptom trajectories of 322 youth from the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect Southwest site placed in foster care due to maltreatment. Internalizing symptom trajectories were assessed using Child Behavior Checklist caregiver reports. This study examined the relationship between early social factors (i.e., social support, unpopularity, aggression, cognitive ability, trauma exposure) and trajectories of future internalizing symptoms. Results indicate a …