Clinical Psychology Commons^™

The Recovery Of Cognitive And Social Cognitive Functioning In Response To Social Cognition Interaction Training Administered In Community Settings: A Longitudinal Study, Lena Reddy

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Psychosocial rehabilitation for persons with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) encompasses recovery of functioning in a broad array of domains, including neurocognitive, social cognitive, interpersonal, occupational, and self-care abilities. There is extensive evidence that improvements in these domains are possible as a result of targeted interventions, and that these improvements may generalize to other areas of daily functioning. The current study explored rehabilitative change over time among adults with SMI that were attending outpatient day centers. Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT), a cognitive-behavioral skills-training modality, was implemented during the time period in which the data was collected. Forty adults participated …

Craving Effect Of Unintentional Smoking Cues In Antismoking Images In Light Smokers, Francisco Isaac Salgado-Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tobacco use is considered the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the nation. According to cue-reactivity models, environmental stimuli associated with smoking may elicit cravings in smokers. Antismoking advertisements, may also elicit cravings in smokers because of unintentional use of smoking cues, which may promote smoking maintenance and hinder quitting attempts. The purpose of this study is to assess if cue-reactivity elicits cravings in light and intermittent smokers and if impulsivity serves as a moderator. Data from 155 participants who reported smoking at least once in the past week to 10 cigarettes per day were collected. …

The Nature And Impact Of Cyberbullying On The Middle School Student, Jacqueline K. Pilkey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cyberbullying is harassment through the Internet or other technologies. Forty-two percent of youth nationally have experienced cyberbullying and 53% admitted to being the cyberbully. A lack of understanding by adults of cyberbullying logistics and impact causes cyberbullying to remain a serious issue that has not yet been appropriately addressed within schools. A sequential, mixed methods study was implemented to investigate the prevalence of cyberbullying in one middle school and to determine the nature and impact of the experience in order to inform site-based interventions. Bandura's social learning theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework, and Agnew's strain theory provided this investigation's theoretical foundation. …

Psychiatric Disorders As Potential Predictors In Medical Disease Development, Linda Kay Taliaferro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Millions of individuals suffer disability or death from immune-based inflammatory diseases. If psychiatric disorders could be empirically linked to the prediction of immune-based inflammatory diseases, there would be a basis for promoting disease prevention measures for individuals diagnosed with one of four psychiatric disorders. Psychoneuroimmunology provided the theoretical base for understanding emotionally induced medical disease development. In this quantitative study, a parallel archival research design was used to investigate the degree to which generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, major depression recurrent, and dysthymic disorder predicted the presence of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and type II diabetes. …

Understanding Psychosocial Rehabilitation Workers' Perceptions Of Difficult Psychiatric Situations, James B. Arnold

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) is a community-based service that addresses the challenges faced by people diagnosed as having psychiatric disabilities. While working with co workers and clients, PSR workers may harbor perceptions that could lower the effectiveness of their work and hinder recovery by their clients. Although cognitive-behavioral theory has suggested an association, research has not yet connected PSR worker attitudes about psychiatric situations to their feelings and behavior. In this nonexperimental factorial design, 196 PSR workers were surveyed about the frustrations presented by stressful interpersonal job situations using the Psychiatric Situations Scale to identify whether occupation (case workers, residential workers, …

The Impact Of Canine Companion Service Animal (Csa) Use On Social Behaviors Between Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders Who Use Csa And Those Who Do Not, Melanie D. Hoffman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to theory of the mind, individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are unable to interpret the social cues of others, which results in anxiety and social behavior deficits . Individuals with ASD are currently using canine Companion Service Animals (CSAs) in order to practice developing attachment bonds ; however, no known quantitative studies have demonstrated the efficacy of CSA in improving social behaviors in ASD populations. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the extent to which exposure to CSA impacts social skills and social interaction in children and adolescents with ASD as measured by the parent …

How Adult Children Experience Parent Dependency In A Caregiving/Care-Receiving Dyad, Anna C. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite plentiful research on the physical, psychological, and emotional demands on adult child caregivers, there are few studies that highlight developmental issues in the adult child/dependent parent dyad. This study was designed to highlight the dependency factor in this dyad, thus addressing the gap in the literature. With family systems theory, attachment theory, and role conceptualizations constituting the bases for the study, research questions addressed how adult child caregivers experience parental dependency and how dependency affects the caregiving/care-receiving dynamic. Ten volunteer participants were interviewed, and the results were analyzed using a variation of the van Kaam method of data analysis …

Discrete Trial Instruction: Comparing The Abbreviated Performance Feedback And Lecture Test Models, Tammy J. Dobbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Growing media attention and a high diagnosis rate of autism places significant demand on the service industry to provide qualified staff to work with individuals who have autism. Discrete trial instruction (DTI) is one of the most sought-after treatment approaches for those individuals. However, there is a gap in research regarding the efficacy of training methods for those who train direct staff to implement DTI. This quantitative study used an applied behavior analysis basis, deriving from foundations of behavior theory, to compare the abbreviated feedback form (AFF) to the lecture test model (LTM) to understand which will improve direct staff's …

Testing The Effectiveness Of An Interactive Multimedia System To Train Clinicians In Behavioral Activation, Suzanne E. Decker

Dissertations

Although many treatments for mental health disorders have been found to be effective in research, community clinicians may not receive training in such empirically supported treatments, and therefore, individuals suffering from disorders may not have access to empirically supported treatment in the community. This study examined the use of an interactive multi-media computerized therapy program, Building a Meaningful Life through Behavioral Activation, as a training tool for mental health clinicians (N=21) using a pre-post study design. Participating clinicians were invited to complete this computer program over the course of several weeks, and to complete knowledge quizzes and written responses …

Using Environmental Sounds To Initiate Receptive Language Training For Children With Autism, Woan Tian Chow

Dissertations

A pre-test showed that three pre-school children with autism had difficulty learning to match spoken words to objects (receptive identification). Therefore, they were first taught to match environmental sounds to objects (e.g., to touch a tambourine, when they heard the sound of the tambourine) and then to match spoken words to other objects while continuing to match the mastered environmental sounds to the original objects.

For all three children, simply learning the environmental-sound/object matching did not facilitate learning spoken-word/object matching; however intermixing the training of spoken-word/object matching with the previously mastered environmentalsound/ object matching did result in the mastery of …

Evaluating The Effects Of Camera Perspective In Video Modelingfor Children With Autism: Point Of View Versus Scene Modeling, Courtney Cotter

Dissertations

Video modeling has been used effectively to teach a variety of skills to children with autism. This body of literature is characterized by a variety of procedural variations including the characteristics of the video model (e.g., self vs. other, adult vs. peer). Traditionally, most video models have been filmed using third person perspective (i.e., scene models), where the viewer is watching the actor perform in a scene. Recently, studies have successfully incorporated the use of first person perspective into video models (i.e., point of view models), where the view is directly from the actor's point of view. Currently, no studies …

The Claremont Autism Center, Alex E. Mitchell Mr.

CMC Senior Theses

The Claremont Autism Center is a 23 minute documentary on the strengths and benefits the Center brings to Claremont McKenna students, as well as children and families from the Inland Empire that deal with Autism on a daily basis.

Identifying Component-Processes Of Executive Functioning That Serve As Risk Factors For Alcohol-Related Aggression, Aaron John Godlaski

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The present investigation determined how different component-processes of executive functioning (EF) acted as risk factors for intoxicated aggression. Participants were 512 (246 men and 266 women) healthy social drinkers between 21 and 35 years of age. EF was measured using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning – Adult Version (BRIEF-A; Roth, Isquith, & Gioia, 2005) that assesses nine EF components. Following the consumption of either an alcohol or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (Taylor, 1967) in which mild electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a …

Adolescent Depression And Social Support, Religiosity And Spirituality In A Faith-Based High School, Angela P. Ekwonye

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Experience Of Grief And Loss In Persons Affected By Long Qt Syndrome, David Haynes-Weller

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Web Of Distortion: How Internet Use Is Related To Cognitive Distortion, Personality Traits, And Relationship Dissatisfaction, Alexandra Morris

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Internet use is a growing trend among every segment of the population. There are many positive aspects of internet use, such as increased information sharing, communication, business opportunities, and education. However, excessive internet usage has been shown to have a number of deleterious effects on individuals, families, and relationships. Pathological internet use is a growing concern that can have numerous negative outcomes. This study has demonstrated the fact that specific types of internet use were associated with cognitive distortion, personality traits, and relationship satisfaction. Moreover, the number of hours of internet use by type was related to average, weekly, total …

Healthy Aging And Self-Objectification The Impact Of Empowerment And Feminist Attitudes On Body Image, Eating Behavior, And Aging Satisfaction, Karen P. Grippo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to contribute to women’s healthy aging across the adult lifespan by empirically examining potential protective factors (e.g., empowerment and feminist attitudes) in maintaining positive body image, healthy eating behavior, and aging satisfaction. Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) provided a theoretical framework for understanding the connections between sexual-objectification experiences, media influences, and self-objectification, and the resulting negative psychological consequences for women in Western society. This study was the first to examine empowerment in relation to Objectification Theory. Additionally, a developmental perspective was gained by using a diverse sample of young, middle-aged, and older women …

The Influence Of A Personal Practice Of Meditation On One’S Therapeutic Practice, William W. Fitzgerald

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to examine counseling professionals’ personal experience with meditation and how it influences their clinical work, including the formation of a therapeutic relationship. Using phenomenological methods, data were gathered from 10 psychotherapists and then analyzed.

There has been a great deal of effort devoted to investigating what contributes to positive counseling outcome for clients. One constant in the therapeutic process is the person of the therapist. While the person of the therapist is frequently mentioned in the literature, much less attention has been given to the examination of personal development paths of the therapist. Little …

A Conceptualization Of Treatment Stigma In Returning Veterans, Jason B. Flick

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The dissertation project combines three theoretical models that inform conceptualizations of the origins, manifestations, and consequences of stigma: the Social Psychological model (SPM), the Sociological model (SM), and the Cognitive-behavioral model (CBM). These models merge into a single, integrative lens, through which stigma can be examined on both cultural and individual levels. This lens is then applied to the cultural and individual manifestations of the stigma of seeking psychological treatment experienced by veterans who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Through this lens, an understanding of the inception, maintenance, and effects of this treatment …

A Self-Psychological Exploration Of Multiple Sclerosis In Its Biopsychosocial Context, Elisabeth Anne Parrott

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical dissertation constructs a new frame of reference for understanding relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) using self psychology to develop a biopsychosocial formulation of the illness in order to better inform the medical treatment of patients. After conducting a critical exploration of MS in its historical context and providing a brief overview of the etiology of MS, this paper examines the phenomenology of the illness using the concepts of self psychology to further develop the theory of Engel’s (1977) biopsychosocial model. The relationship among biological, intrapsychic, and social factors and coherent conceptualization and medical treatment of multiple sclerosis is addressed. …