The Association Between Increase In Maternal Education And Child Behavioral And Academic Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of The Home Learning Environment And Positive Parenting,
2019
Northern Illinois University
The Association Between Increase In Maternal Education And Child Behavioral And Academic Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of The Home Learning Environment And Positive Parenting, Samantha R. Awada
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Research on maternal educational attainment has shown associations between higher levels of maternal education and positive child outcomes, such as greater academic proficiency and fewer externalizing problems. Most studies examine maternal education as a stable construct, measuring it at one point in time; however, a sizeable minority of mothers pursue education after the birth of a child. As such, it is important to investigate whether an increase in maternal education is a protective or a risk factor for child outcomes. Further, few have explored the processes through which the association between increases in maternal education and child outcomes exist. The …
Assessment Of “Meaning Made”: An Empirical Examination Of Factorial Structure And Measure Validity,
2019
Northern Illinois University
Assessment Of “Meaning Made”: An Empirical Examination Of Factorial Structure And Measure Validity, Andrea M. Despotes
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Meaning-making theory posits that appraisal of a stressful event leads to distress if it is discrepant with one’s sense of “global meaning,” and such distress stimulates meaning-making processes aimed at eliminating the discrepancy. If meaning making leads to new meaning (i.e., “meaning made”), the stress-induced discrepancy is reduced, which generally is expected to result in positive adjustment. This study investigated the factorial structure of the meaning made construct using a sample (N = 372) of Amazon Mechanical Turk workers in the United States having “Masters” status and a minimum approval rating of 95%. Participants reported an average age of about …
Examining The Utility Of A Brief Self-Compassion Intervention For Emotion Regulation In Individuals With Exposure To Trauma,
2019
San Diego State University
Examining The Utility Of A Brief Self-Compassion Intervention For Emotion Regulation In Individuals With Exposure To Trauma, Sara Jean Himmerich
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Research suggests that abilities to moderate and process trauma-related emotions may predict symptoms of posttraumatic stress, with the overuse of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies presenting a potential vulnerability to experiencing difficulties following trauma exposure. Self-compassion has been associated with the acceptance of negative emotions, with research finding evidence for positive associations between self-compassion and adaptive emotion regulation. Additionally, research suggests an inverse relationship between self-compassion and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Self-compassion has been conceptualized and studied as a skill that can be learned, with studies finding support for improved abilities following targeted interventions. However, more research is needed to establish …
An Experimental Examination Of Religious Teaching And Thought-Action Fusion,
2019
Northern Illinois University
An Experimental Examination Of Religious Teaching And Thought-Action Fusion, Johanna Anita Younce
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Scrupulosity is an understudied symptom dimension of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that involves moral- and religious-based obsessions and compulsions. There are several different underlying cognitive beliefs that have been shown to be related to the development and maintenance of OCD, but one—moral thought-action fusion (TAF-moral)—has been highly associated with scrupulosity. TAF-moral is the belief that thoughts are morally equivalent to actions, including thoughts that are intrusive in nature. It has been found that individuals from different religious traditions display different levels of TAF-moral and display different strengths of association between TAF-moral and religiosity. However, these differences have not been examined experimentally …
Trauma Memory: The Role Of Alexithymia And Emotion Regulation,
2019
Northern Illinois University
Trauma Memory: The Role Of Alexithymia And Emotion Regulation, Jennifer Milliken
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Alexithymia is a clinical term used to describe individuals who struggle to connect to their emotional experiences. Alexithymia is observed among individuals with a variety of mental health problems (Taylor, 2000; Taylor, Bagby, & Parker, 1997), and may characterize more severe clinical presentations (e.g., Frewen, Dozois, Neufeld, & Lanius, 2008). In addition, alexithymia seems to be related to adverse treatment outcomes (Kosten, Krystal, Giller, Frank, & Dan, 1992; Ogrodniczuk, Piper, & Joyce, 2011). This study adds to the current literature by examining the effect of alexithymia and emotion regulation (i.e., emotion suppression; emotion acceptance) on variables associated with trauma memory …
Cognitive Bias Modification For Negative Sexual Assault Disclosure Experiences: Examining A Mechanism For Improving Post-Disclosure Well-Being,
2019
Northern Illinois University
Cognitive Bias Modification For Negative Sexual Assault Disclosure Experiences: Examining A Mechanism For Improving Post-Disclosure Well-Being, Caitlin Mary Mcnamara Pinciotti
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Following a sexual assault, many survivors choose to disclose the experience to others. More commonly, these conversations occur between friends, family members, or significant others, but survivors may also disclose to professionals, such as law enforcement and medical professionals. Unfortunately, support providers often do not respond supportively to disclosing survivors, and unsupportive acknowledgement and turning-against reactions are common. Extant literature has overwhelmingly indicated that these negative reactions have lasting detrimental effects on survivors, including leading to increased symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other adverse outcomes. Although social support and PTSD theories converge to suggest that negative disclosure experiences …
Exploring The Relationship Between Facets Of Mindfulness And Emotion Regulatory Flexibility,
2019
Northern Illinois University
Exploring The Relationship Between Facets Of Mindfulness And Emotion Regulatory Flexibility, Anthony Nicholas Reffi
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Emotion dysregulation can often be attributed to an inability to employ a range of regulatory strategies across varying stressful situations (i.e., regulatory flexibility). Therefore, it remains clinically relevant to determine the mechanisms that facilitate regulatory flexibility. Although mindfulness and regulatory flexibility have been linked, relations between mindfulness facets and regulatory flexibility have not yet been considered. This study aimed to determine which facets of self-reported trait mindfulness are related to regulatory choice flexibility. Using a previously validated performance-based emotion regulation choice paradigm, undergraduates (N = 78; 62.8% female; Mage = 19.82, SD = 2.03) chose to use either reappraisal or …
Further Exploration Of The Relationship Between Worry And Contrast Avoidance,
2019
Northern Illinois University
Further Exploration Of The Relationship Between Worry And Contrast Avoidance, Anna E. Snyder
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
The Contrast Avoidance Model of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) proposes that individuals with GAD are sensitive to negative emotional contrasts (i.e., sharp shifts from neutral or positive emotional states to negative emotional states). These individuals prefer to remain in a negative emotional state to avoid these negative contrasts. They stay in this state by worrying. The present study aimed to directly test the Contrast Avoidance Model of GAD by using an experimental manipulation and also to further develop the literature on the relationship between contrast avoidance, worry, and GAD. Results of this study showed mixed support for the model overall; …
The Influences Of Social Media: Depression, Anxiety, And Self-Concept,
2019
Eastern Illinois University
The Influences Of Social Media: Depression, Anxiety, And Self-Concept, Emily Baker
Masters Theses
The current study examined correlations between social media use and its effects on depression, anxiety, and changes in self-concept through quantitative and qualitative data. Variables included in the analysis of Study 1 were depression, anxiety, time spent using social media, number of platforms used, perception of addiction, and type of use. Study 1 showed no significant correlations between social media used and depression or anxiety, however observational analyses of correlation tables revealed a relationship between time spent using and number of platforms used; time spent using and perception of addiction; time spent using and perception of addiction; time spent using …
Parental Involvement And Academic Success During Emerging Adulthood,
2019
Eastern Illinois University
Parental Involvement And Academic Success During Emerging Adulthood, Michael V. Mendez
Masters Theses
Emerging adults are posited to experience their own life stage that differs from adolescents and adults in a variety of ways. This study explored the interaction between the parent-child relationship and emerging adult academic success. Participants were 275 university students who completed measures of their self-perception of adulthood including actual parental involvement and ideal parental involvement. These factors were examined among students who were academically at-risk and academically in good standing. Regardless of academic status, students indicated moderate to high levels of parental involvement, desired more parental involvement, and identified with the emerging adulthood stage more than any other life …
Relationship Of Self-Construal To Perceived Availability And Seeking Of Social Support By International Students Studying Abroad In The United States,
2019
Eastern Illinois University
Relationship Of Self-Construal To Perceived Availability And Seeking Of Social Support By International Students Studying Abroad In The United States, Yue Zhang
Masters Theses
This study was created to examine the relationship between different self-construals and the behavior of seeking social support or the perceived availability of social support. We recruited 84 international students who currently study abroad in the United States. Participants completed the Singelis Self-construal Scale (SCS; Singelis,1994) and a Social Support Scale created for the current study. The SCS measured the degree to which participants’ self-construals are Independent (IND) or Interdependent (INT). The Social Support Scale presented five different scenarios and asked participants to rate activities responding to two types of social support (tangible support and emotional support). I predicted that …
Success And Failure Of Drug Rehabilitation: Pets Accompanying Clients To Treatment,
2019
Walden University
Success And Failure Of Drug Rehabilitation: Pets Accompanying Clients To Treatment, Rikki Schwab
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
This research addresses the use of canine animals in substance abuse treatment. There is research that addresses the importance of animals regarding therapy and mental illness, as well as research on the comorbidity of severe mental illness and substance abuse disorder. However, there is no research that looks at utilizing canines in substance abuse therapy. The purpose of this research was to examine the utilization of canine animals in rehab for those with substance abuse issues. The theoretical foundation for this study is the theory of contextualism. This theory focuses on humans with animals. To address the gap in research, …
Clinicians' Attitudes Toward Sex Offender Treatment,
2019
Walden University
Clinicians' Attitudes Toward Sex Offender Treatment, Vallerie Hancock
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Clinician attitudes toward a client have a significant influence on outcomes for that client's treatment. Exploring the attitudes of clinicians toward sex offenders can provide additional insights into methods to improve treatments for this population. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to examine the attitudes of clinical professionals who work with sex offenders to identify the specific ways that these attitudes influenced professional behaviors and client interactions. Grounded theory was used to move beyond a general description of the issue to formulate a theory regarding clinician work with sex offenders and its implications. The sample comprised 10 …
An Evaluation Of A Tobacco Control Network Along The Us/Mexico Border,
2019
University of Texas at El Paso
An Evaluation Of A Tobacco Control Network Along The Us/Mexico Border, Dessaray Gorbett
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States (U.S.), killing more than 480,000 people per year. Public health networks and coalitions have shown to be able to promote health behavior change. More specifically, coalitions and networks emphasizing tobacco control issues have proven to be effective in recent years. The Paso del Norte Tobacco Control Network (Network) grew out of a coalition in El Paso, TX and currently includes representatives from west Texas, southern New Mexico, and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. The current project evaluated the Network's collaborations amongst organizations, internal organizational structure, and knowledge on tobacco …
The Experience Of Pregnant Women In Remission From Anorexia Nervosa,
2019
Antioch University of New England
The Experience Of Pregnant Women In Remission From Anorexia Nervosa, Meghan Butcher
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
This qualitative study explored the subjective experience of pregnant women in remission from Anorexia Nervosa (AN). This subject matter is of importance due to the high relapse rates of AN, the ability for women to become pregnant while in remission from AN, the significant physical and emotional tolls of pregnancy, and the known dangers of AN behaviors during pregnancy. Prior to this study, minimal research had been conducted pertaining to the experience of women who became pregnant while in remission from AN. This study utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to inform interpretation of narrative responses collected through semi-structured interviews. Participants …
Aces Wild: Making Meaning Out Of Trauma Through Altruism Born Of Suffering,
2019
Antioch University, New England
Aces Wild: Making Meaning Out Of Trauma Through Altruism Born Of Suffering, Jessica Gibson
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Childhood exposure to early adverse experiences is prevalent—affecting almost one-half of children from birth to 17 years old—and brings with it the potential for the long-lasting detrimental effects of traumatization. At the same time, a growing body of compelling evidence also suggests that many survivors of trauma exhibit more resilience and prosocial behaviors than individuals who have never experienced a traumatic event. This phenomenon has been coined altruism born of suffering (ABS); it is a relatively new concept in trauma research that seeks to better understand the possible positive outcomes of trauma. Building further beyond the concepts of resilience and …
Veterans’ Help-Seeking And Spousal Support For Ptsd: A Preliminary Study,
2019
Antioch University of New England
Veterans’ Help-Seeking And Spousal Support For Ptsd: A Preliminary Study, Kimberly S. Sollows
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Continued engagement in military conflicts and known underutilization of mental health services by veterans necessitates understanding of factors influencing veterans’ attitudes about mental health treatment and decisions to seek services. The present study examined relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, perceived support from spouse, and attitudes toward mental health help-seeking among married U.S. veterans. Participants (N =39) were recruited using social media outreach, an online gaming platform, and through print fliers. First, it was hypothesized that perceived spousal support would be significantly positively correlated with attitudes toward treatment seeking, which was supported to a moderate degree (r=.345, p=.031). …
Polyamorous Millenials In Therapy: Interpreting Experiences To Inform Care,
2019
Antioch University Seattle
Polyamorous Millenials In Therapy: Interpreting Experiences To Inform Care, Rebecca Calhoun-Shepard
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Polyamory (poly) refers to a way of loving involving multiple concurrent romantic relationships. It has been suggested that consensual non-monogamies are becoming increasingly visible, particularly in the millennial generation. This warrants exploration of cultural considerations and the unique needs of this population to inform care and minimize potential for harm. The present study used interpretative analysis to explore the phenomenon of polyamorous millennials in therapy as described across semi-structured interviews with therapists and poly clients. Three primary themes emerged from aggregate data, including Idiographic Experiences in Therapy, Therapy with Polyamorous Millennials, and information about Polyamory and Millennials beyond a therapy …
Striving For Credibility In The Face Of Ambiguity: A Grounded Theory Study Of Extreme Hardship Immigration Psychological Evaluations,
2019
Antioch University Seattle
Striving For Credibility In The Face Of Ambiguity: A Grounded Theory Study Of Extreme Hardship Immigration Psychological Evaluations, Susan M. Burke
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Psychological evaluations are frequently used in extreme hardship immigration cases in the United States. These evaluations are complex; they are inherently ambiguous, and they require extensive training and specialized knowledge. General guidance for mental health professionals is available from professional organizations, the federal government, and articles in the legal and mental health literature. However, there is a lack of detailed guidance, best practices, training, and supervision so many evaluators learn on their own. Unfortunately, this has resulted in assessment processes and evaluation reports that vary widely in terms of professionalism and quality which negatively impacts the vulnerable families seeking these …
Helping Animals, Helping Ourselves: Reciprocal Benefits Of Prosocial Behaviors Directed Toward Animals,
2019
Antioch University of New England
Helping Animals, Helping Ourselves: Reciprocal Benefits Of Prosocial Behaviors Directed Toward Animals, Casey A. Culligan
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
This is a dissertation project on the reciprocal benefits—to volunteers and animals—of volunteering at animal shelters, rescues, and sanctuaries. I have provided a brief literature review on the relationship between prosociality and helper/recipient wellbeing, highlighting the current scarcity of research on the human enactment of prosocial behavior with animal recipients of help. I then further supported the need for continued research in this regard by examining the emerging body of research on the suggested wellbeing-benefits of human–animal interaction. An ecopsychological framework was utilized to emphasize the potential therapeutic affects (to both humans and animals) of engaging in prosocial behaviors directed …
