Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Working Mothers, Work-Life Balance, Locus Of Control, And Perceived Supportive Factors, Natashia Gridiron

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 1948 to 2015, there was a dramatic increase of mothers in the workforce. The literature demonstrates that mothers tend to work outside of the home while also maintaining most of the domestic roles. However, the literature does not address how these women are able to balance their roles. There is a gap in the literature concerning the relationship between locus of control, perceived supportive factors, income size, and work-life balance for working mothers. The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to fill that gap as measured by Rotter's Internal- External Control Scale, Satisfaction with Work and Family Balance …

Relationship Between Mental Health Facilities' Pre-Intake Practices And Children's First Appointment Attendance Rates, Christine Marie De Santis-Collis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 20% and 57% of patients at community mental health centers miss their first mental health appointment, resulting in wasted resources and longer wait times for other patients. To date, only one peer-reviewed quantitative study examined the relationship between appointment reminder practices and children's and adolescents' first appointment attendance rates for community mental health centers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between first appointment wait times, electronic appointment reminders, phone appointment reminders, and first appointment attendance for U.S. community mental health centers, along with the potential moderating effects of age, ethnicity, and gender. Blumer's symbolic …

The Development Of Narcissism Among Lawyers And Farmers: A Quantitative Study, Steve Murdock Murdock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Narcissism has been identified as a threat to society and the individual. Individuals with high levels of narcissism (narcissistic personality disorder) struggle to maintain jobs, stable relationships, and healthy life perspectives. Without knowledge about the origins of narcissism, mental health professionals may only be treating the symptoms of narcissism and not the factors that perpetuate its development. The purpose of this study was to measure narcissism in farming and law careers and to determine whether career is a factor in the development of narcissism. It was predicted that career would be an important developmental event and process that would have …

Examining Differences Between Foster Parents Who Continue To Foster Children And Those Who Do Not, Jacqueline L. Farris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Foster parents are often not equipped to address the difficulties and challenges they face with their foster children. Research has identified the importance of providing foster children with a safe and secure environment. Guided by the theory of adoption and attachment, the purpose of this study was to identify the differences between foster parents who continue with foster child placements and those who do not by examining their perceptions of foster parenting behaviors and their foster parent/child relationships. Participants were recruited using online foster parent forums and foster care agencies. A total of 31 foster parents participated: 13 licensed and …

Pk11195 Increases Anxiety Like Behaviors In The Open Field, Audrey Donald, Dustin Hines

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses in the US. Signaling between regions of the brain can be corrupted causing stress related behaviors. Medications that help treat these behaviors target GABA receptors in an inhibitory manner. However, these medications only work for a period of time. The likelihood of being free of these medications becomes uncertain. Another approach is a protein called translocator protein. TSPO, once known as peripheral benzodiazepine receptor is known to mediate anxiety related behaviors through the synthesis of neurosteriods. While TSPO may mediate these behaviors, its mechanism is not well known. Ligand PK11195 was …

Domestic Parent-Child Interaction Problems And Working Memory: The Mediating Role Of Inattentive Adhd Symptoms, Svetha Mohan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore the mediating effects of ADHD Inattentive symptoms on domestic parent-child interaction problems and working memory. Inattentive symptoms in children with ADHD are known to cause forgetfulness, slow processing speed, and negative parent-child interactions. Working memory deficits in phonological short term memory and the central executive are also well-established in children with ADHD. However, it is currently unknown to what extent inattentive symptoms are responsible for home behavior problems in conjunction with phonological working memory deficits. The aims are tested using two validated, common clinical questionnaires: The Teacher Report Form and the Home …

Consumers, Clergy, And Clinicians In Collaboration: Ongoing Implementation And Evaluation Of A Mental Wellness Program, Glen Milstein, Dennis Middel, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

As a foundation of most cultures, with roots in persons’ early development, religion can be a source of hope as well as denigration. Some religious institutions have made attempts to help persons with mental health problems, and some mental health professionals have sought to engage religion resources. These programs have rarely been sustained. In 2008, the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) developed a program to assess the utility of religion resources within mental health care. In response to positive feedback, MHCD appointed a director of Faith and Spiritual Wellness who facilitates community outreach to faith communities and spiritual integration …

Assessing Parent Invovlment In Applied Behavior Analysis Treatment For Children With Autism, Krista Marie Clancy

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare two groups of parents whose children participated in ABA on their levels of stress, self-efficacy, treatment acceptability, and parents’ level of involvement in their children’s treatment, and to assess variables that may explain variance in parent involvement. Parents in the treatment group participated in a voluntary parent training (n=18) and the comparison group were parents who elected not to participate in the voluntary training (n=22). This was a quasi-experimental design study where parents and their therapists completed a survey regarding parents’ involvement in their children’s treatment programs. Additional parent measures collected as …

The Effects Of Chinese Calligraphy On Reducing Anxiety And Comorbid Depression Levels Among Breast Cancer Patients In Hong Kong, Anna Liu

Dissertations

Problem

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Anxiety is a prevalent psychological concern in breast cancer patients and has negative impact on the course of their disease, treatment and recovery. This study was to investigate the effects of Chinese calligraphy on reducing the anxiety and comorbid depression levels among Hong Kong breast cancer patients with an intention to support the needs of breast cancer patients by providing alternative therapy that is culturally receptive. The primary objective of the study was to examine to what extent Chinese calligraphy intervention can reduce the anxiety and comorbid depression levels …

Social Support And Well-Being Among Foster Care Youth: Self-Concept As A Mediator, Anne Kathleen Fuller

Dissertations

Youth in the child welfare system frequently undergo a variety of adverse experiences, including maltreatment, living in poverty, placement changes, school changes, and relationship disruptions. As a group, these youth exhibit poorer psychosocial functioning (e.g., elevated rates of mental health difficulties, poorer social and academic competence) than their peers, yet there is also evidence that a number of youth in foster care are functioning relatively well and can be perceived as demonstrating resilience. The present study examined self-concept as a mediator of hypothesized associations between social support and four domains of psychosocial functioning: internalizing problems, externalizing problems, social competence, and …

Sleep-Wake Disturbances In Adolescents With Spina Bifida: Prevalence And Associations With Bio-Neuropsychosocial Functioning, Caitlin Beth Murray

Dissertations

Sleep is a critical component of healthy development during adolescence, and when disrupted, has been linked to difficulties with physical status, psychological health, family functioning, neuropsychological symptoms, and academic performance. The overarching goal of this project was to examine sleep-wake disturbances in association with bio-neuropsychosocial functioning in a vulnerable pediatric population of adolescents with spina bifida (SB). Specifically, this study aimed to 1) examine sleep-wake patterns in adolescents with SB using a multimodal sleep assessment, 2) identify daily temporal associations between sleep and pain as well as sleep and mood, and 3) identify the relationship between sleep-wake disturbances and bio-neuropsychosocial …

Friendship Selection Patterns Among Low Income Minority Girls/Adolescents: Links To Obesity Risk, Kimberly Anne Rosania

Dissertations

Research suggests interventions for pediatric obesity fail because they do not consider the broader social context in which adolescents spend their time: the adolescent friendship network. A critical step to address friendship network barriers to reducing child obesity is understanding contexts that promote friendship network patterns that promote healthy weight (i.e., social inclusion of overweight youth, friendship clusters that are diverse in weight status). This study sought to understand whether community-based summertime programming could facilitate healthier selection patterns for a demographic disproportionately at risk for obesity: low-income girls of color. Participants were 42 African American and Latina adolescent females (M …

Parental Health, Parenting Behavior And Externalizing Behavior Problems Among Low-Income African American Preschool Children, Cassandra Lynn Esposito

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Externalizing behavior problems are highly prevalent in the preschool years. These behaviors are particularly common and problematic among children who are from low-income, minority backgrounds. There is evidence in the literature that describes parental health and parenting problems as risk factors for child externalizing behavior problems. The primary objective of this study was to better understand the relationship between parental health factors, parenting, and child behavior problems. Utilizing data from a low-income African American population, this study examined whether observed measures of parenting behaviors mediated the relationship between measures of parental health (e.g., depression, stress, and BMI) and child externalizing …

Adult Attachment Style And Inter-Parental Discrepancy On Pediatric Behavior Assessment Scales, Laura Beliech Harris

Doctoral Dissertations

The process of diagnosing pediatric psychopathology is an important and sometimes complex endeavor. Diagnoses are useful for facilitating communication among providers, setting therapy goals, and intervention selection. However, beyond their utility, diagnoses potentially can influence client-therapist rapport, therapeutic alliance, and therapy outcomes in a negative manner, as well as leading to stigma and discrimination against the client (child). Best practice for pediatric psychological evaluations includes obtaining data regarding the child's behavior in multiple settings and from multiple respondents. This is most often accomplished through administration of standardized objective pediatric behavior assessment instruments. However, collecting data from multiple respondents in this …

Impact Of Child Sexual Abuse On Non-Abused Siblings: A Review With Implications For Research And Practice, Alayna Schreier, Jessica K. Pogue, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Research has widely supported the numerous negative outcomes for victims of child sexual abuse (CSA), but little attention has been paid to the experiences of non-abused, non-offending siblings following the victim's disclosure. This review presents evidence indicating that this overlooked sibling population merits both clinical and research attention. Siblings may experience significant emotional and behavioral responses to the victim's disclosure due to changes within the family system. A sibling's internalizing and externalizing behaviors can increase family distress post-abuse, while a supportive sibling can contribute to the victim's recovery. The current state of clinical services for siblings is described. Services including …

The Effect Of Clinician Competence And Religiosity On The Trainee Clinician’S Ability To Identify Problematic Sexual Behavior, Cody Butcher

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Models in psychology do not consider the concept of sex addiction the same way as other substance or behavior addictions. For example, sex addiction, which is not a DSM-5 disorder, is often assigned as a label to clients based off of high frequency of sexual behavior. Despite sex addiction not being a diagnosable disorder, sex addiction therapists are conducting treatment with people who identify as sex addicts. Due to this lack of a definition, previous research has found that clinicians may identify sex addiction in clients based on their own preconceived worldviews of what types of sexual behaviors or frequencies …

Examining Anxiety Schemas Through The Context Of A Stress-Intrapersonal Model, Kayla M. Leleux-Labarge

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Explicating vulnerability factors to anxiety difficulties is important as the National Comorbidity Study (NCS) lists anxiety as the most common and costly class of mental health disorders in the United States. Maladaptive schemas, as theorized by Young (1990), perpetuate anxiety pathology by hindering the individual’s ability to alter behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and overall approach to adverse events. Previous research indicates that intrapersonal resources can stymie the development of psychopathological features, even in the context of adverse life events (Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Song, 2013). The main purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship among adverse life events …

The Effect Of Loving-Kindness Meditation On Physiological And Psychological Reactions To Violent Stimuli, Joseph A. Garcia

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In the past, meditation research has focused primarily on mindfulness meditation, but little research has examined Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM). LKM may be an important addition to treatment or preventative programs for people at risk of exposure to violence or aggression in their lives or work. The current research aims to add to the currently growing body of literature concerning LKM and compassion based meditation practices. The researchers sought to determine if a 12-week course in LKM would have any effect on galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate in beats per minute (BPM) during the presentation of a video containing …

The Influence Of Family Composition On Adolescent Problem Behavior: The Moderating Roles Of Gender And Adult Support, Jasmine Coleman

Theses and Dissertations

There is convincing support for the link between family composition and adolescents’ problem behaviors. What is less clear is the extent to which these relations exist for African-American adolescents. Previous studies have demonstrated that this relation varies by gender. However, there is limited evidence to suggest the potential moderating influence of adult support. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of family composition on adolescents’ physical aggression, delinquency, and substance use. The study comes from secondary analyses of a larger study that evaluated the effectiveness of a violence prevention program. The current study included 1,116 African-American middle …

Examining Preference Of Home-Based Telemental Health Among Rural Veterans, Paige Dixon

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Rural veterans face significant disparities to health care that have resulted in lower physical and mental health related quality of life when compared to their urban counterparts (Weeks et al., 2006). Such disparities are further complicated by the six-fold increase in prevalence of mental health diagnoses among Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans (Seal et al., 2009). These rising rates are particularly relevant to rural veterans as they represent 41% of the overall Veteran Health Administration enrollees, but only 19% of the general population (U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012; U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). Rural veterans face three …