Clinical Psychology Commons^™

The Relationship Between Adult Attachment And Trauma, Lauren Earls

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Prior research has suggested a complex relationship between childhood interpersonal traumas perpetrated by attachment figures and the experience of trauma in adulthood. Very little is known, however, about how various forms of childhood interpersonal abuse and neglect affect trauma sequelae and adult romantic attachment in women during the childbearing years. Using a sample of postpartum women (N = 104), this study examined the associations between a history of attachment-related traumas (operationalized as childhood interpersonal abuse and neglect) and complex trauma sequelae believed to be unique to victims of interpersonal traumas; the possible role that adult romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance …

Relationship Education For Low Income Couples And Individuals: New Research Directions, Lindsey Einhorn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study implemented and evaluated an adapted version of the Within Our Reach program called FRAME. Participants were 173 low-income couples in committed relationships and caring for at least one child together. Participating couples were randomly assigned to one of the four study conditions (couples group, female group, male group, or control group). The impact of the program was investigated on a range of relationship and mental health outcomes. The present findings suggest that the FRAME workshop was helpful in reducing negative communication and improving positive bonding for our sample. Couples were able to benefit in some areas when …

Willingness Of Individuals To Seek Mental Health Treatment: The Impact Of Gender And Parent Therapy Experience, Amanda Kristin Mcclure

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether parent therapy experience and gender influenced men's and women's attitudes toward seeking mental health treatment. Participants included 207 women and 212 men ages 18 to 30 years attending Western Kentucky University. Participants completed a demographics survey and the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Treatment. Results indicated that more favorable attitudes toward seeking mental health services were exhibited by participants who reported that a parent attended therapy. Additionally, a gender difference in attitudes toward mental health services was uncovered, in that women were found to display more positive attitudes toward …

Social And Educational Functioning In College Students With A Chronic Physical Health Condition, Natalie Truba

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the current study is to examine the academic and social functioning of college students with a chronic physical health condition (CPHC). For the current study, chronic physical health condition will be defined as follows: “A physical [or mental] health condition that has lasted or is expected to last at least 6 months and interferes with their activities,” (Varni & Limbers, 2008, p. 107). The sample consisted of 174 participants attending Western Kentucky University. Two groups (CPHC vs. Healthy) were comprised based on the participants’ self-reported health status. Participants were solicited through Western Kentucky University’s department of Psychology …

Exploring The Phenomena Of Inner Experience With Descriptive Experience Sampling, Janell M. Mihelic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study provides a survey of the phenomena of normal, everyday inner experience using the Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) method. Results demonstrated that five types of inner experience (sensory awareness, feeling, unsymbolized thinking, inner seeing, and inner speech) occurred in approximately one-quarter of sampled moments and that there were significant individual differences regarding the frequency with which subjects experienced these phenomena. Three new dimensions (richness of inner experience, the number of experiences present, and the overall valence of the experience) along which inner experience could be characterized were identified and used reliably to characterize moments of experience. Finally, although there …

Is Everyone Rated Equal? An Examination Of Factors Related To Sexual Risk In Ethnically Diverse Male Adolescents Who Have Sexually Offended, Veronica Chavez

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As the juvenile justice system has evolved, there has been a need for clinicians to make judgments about risk posed by adolescents who have committed sexual offenses. There are inherent difficulties in attempting to assess risk for violence among adolescents due to the developmental changes taking place and the absence of well-validated instruments to guide risk prediction judgments. With minority groups increasing in numbers in the U.S., it is likely that professionals will encounter minority individuals when conducting risk assessments. Overall questions regarding race/ethnicity have been neglected and there are few if any published research that explores risk factors with …

Predicting Problematic Approach Behavior Toward Politicians: Exploring The Potential Contributions Of Control Theory, Douglas Owen Cacialli

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The potential merits of Carver and Scheier's (1981) control theory in the prediction of targeted violence are reviewed and several novel indicators of risk that are consistent with this theory are suggested for study. It was hypothesized that: (a) similarity between inappropriate contact with politicians and extremist group literature and writings; (b) the temporal proximity to violent or otherwise criminal actions and notable anniversaries of such groups; (c) detailed specification of a plan to engage in problematic approach behavior, and; (d) self-focus, will be significant predictors of problematic approach behavior. A sample of 506 individuals who engaged in threatening or …

Testing The Efficacy Of A Computerized Behavioral Activation Treatment Of Depressive Disorders, Alyssa H. Kalata

Dissertations

The present study sought to examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a computerized behavioral activation treatment for depressive disorders (IMMBA), while also investigating potential mechanisms of action involved in the treatment of depression through the use of behavioral activation. Nine adults who met criteria for either Major Depressive Disorder or Dysthymic Disorder were recruited from Kalamazoo, Portage, and surrounding areas in Southwestern Michigan. All participants received ten sessions of IMM-BA treatment. Symptoms of depression and related information were assessed at pretreatment and one-week, onemonth, three-month, and six-month follow-up through the use of the Beck Depression Inventory - II (BDI-II), …

Neuropsychological And Emotion Processing Abnormalities In Bipolar Disorder I And Ii, Carol Randall

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bipolar disorder illness is marked by emotional lability and mood disturbance, as well as various neuropsychological deficits, and the neuroanatomical correlates of many of these deficits are beginning to be identified. Numerous studies have implicated specific cortical and sub-cortical abnormalities in areas associated with executive function, memory, motor function, and the processing of emotion. Although a large body of research has been devoted to the investigation of cognitive and emotion-processing deficits in bipolar disorder, relatively few studies have been devoted to the investigation of how these deficits differ among bipolar disorder subtypes. This is surprising in light of known symptomatological …

Verbal And Visual Learning And Memory Deficits As Trait Markers For Psychosis In Bipolar Disorder, Griffin P. Sutton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The presence of neurocognitive deficits in the affective and psychotic psychiatric disorders (i.e., bipolar disorder with psychotic features, bipolar disorder without psychotic features, and schizophrenia) has been well documented, with such these deficits having been found to overlap across these diagnostic categories to a degree. Along with other types of evidence reported, these findings suggest that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may not be isolated disorders as suggested by the current diagnostic criteria outlined in the DSM-IV (APA, 1994), but rather may be related disorders on a spectrum marked by bipolar disorder without psychosis on one end and by schizophrenia on …

The Advisor-Advisee Relationship: A Qualitative Study Of Advisee Perspectives, Paula M. Emke-Francis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Attempts to understand the nature and course of advising relationships in clinical psychology doctoral training have been limited in number and scope. Furthermore, they have almost universally applied theoretical models derived for the explanation of different types of relationships, with very little empirical inquiry aimed at examining the advising relationship as it actually exists. The present study sought to better understand advisory relationships in clinical psychology doctoral training and propose a theoretical model related to the dimensions of the relationship that emerged.

This was accomplished via semi-structured interviews with 18 clinical psychology Ph.D. candidates from training programs across the United …

The Effect Of Victim Status And System Threat On Rape Myth Acceptance, Kristine M. Chapleau

Dissertations (1934 -)

This study examined how rape myths are used to protect the perpetrator, particularly high-status perpetrators. Participants read a date-rape scenario. The status of the victim and perpetrator were manipulated as well as the threat the victim posed to the perpetrator as depicted by whom the victim would tell about the rape. Participants with a strong system justification orientation reported lower rape myth acceptance when a low-status victim decided to tell no one about a high-status perpetrator raping her compared to when she decided to report him to the police. This suggests that rape myth acceptance is malleable and that the …

Initial Development Of A Healthy Living Curriculum Within Family Behavior Therapy For Substance Abuse, Holly B. Lapota

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A mother referred for child maltreatment and substance abuse treatment after her son tested positive for methamphetamines at birth participated in an in-home Family Behavior Therapy-Healthy Lifestyle intervention to eliminate substance use, improve parenting behaviors, lose weight, and develop better exercise habits. Twenty sessions were completed in 6 months that targeted familial communication, self-control, goal setting with contingency management, job getting skills, and stimulus control techniques. Upon termination from treatment, the participant’s self-report and urine testing was consistent with substance cessation, and she evidenced substantial improvements in her level of stress, family communication and relationships, and child maltreatment potential. She …

The Experience Of Feelings In Depression, Noelle L. Lefforge

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Emotions, such as sadness, guilt, and irritability, are at the core of depressive symptoms and suggest a need for an in-depth understanding of feelings, the experiential component of emotion, during depression. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe the experience of emotion in depressed participants and find out if these experiences are similar to those of nondepressed participants. Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) was used to sample five depressed and four nondepressed participants for four days and then in a controlled setting while watching positive, negative, and neutral film clips. Due to the limited sample size, this study was …

The Influence Of Childhood Abuse On Longitudinal Course Of Recovery In Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Kee-Hong Choi

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Background: Empirical outcome studies have identified specific symptomatic, cognitive, emotional and functional sequelae of childhood abuse in people with severe mental illness (SMI). These findings illuminate the need for an integrated understanding of biological, psychological, environmental, and developmental aspects of SMI. Purpose: The purpose of the present study includes the following: 1) to examine reliability and validity of the comprehensive child abuse rating system in a sample of individuals with SMI, 2) to examine the influence of childhood abuse severity on recovery of psychotic symptoms, neurocognition and social-cognition, and social functioning in people with SMI during 12 months of inpatient …

Examining The Interrater Reliability Of The Comprehensive Inventory Of Mental Health And Recovery And Rehabilitation Services (Cimhrrs), Robert W. Johnson

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation is one step in the continuing development, evaluation, and validation of the Comprehensive Inventory of Mental Health and Recovery and Rehabilitation Services (CIMHRRS). The CIMHRRS is an instrument to guide comprehensive assessment of programs that provide integrated services to people with serious mental illness (SMI).

The project described in this dissertation evaluated three key aspects of its performance in real world application: practical feasibility, internal consistency and reliability, and ability to distinguish between different programs. Investigators utilized a combination of principles and methods, associated with psychometric scale development, field methods, and program evaluation. Using a structured site review …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Among Online Social Network Usage, Intimacy, Social Comparison Tendencies, And Relationship Satisfaction, Matthew Hand

Doctoral Dissertations

The popularity of online social networks prompts an examination of the effects these websites have on intimate relationships. While these networks have received a considerable amount of attention in mainstream media, peer-reviewed research examining the effects these websites have on users is sparse. By their very nature, online social networks involve the creation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships. As such, the effect of these networks on relationships may be profound and with the paucity of research on the topic, the relationship between online social networks and interpersonal relationships is an important area of study. The present study sought to examine …

Socially Desirable Responding On The Mmpi -2, Mcmi-Iii, And Pai In A Substance Abuse Treatment Setting, James Brian Rutland

Doctoral Dissertations

Objectively scored measures of psychopathology are increasingly relied upon to aid in the diagnosis of mental disorders and treatment planning, and three commonly used measures are the MMPI-2, MCMI-III, and PAI. A difficulty with such measures, however, is that response sets are subject to both intentional and unintentional distortion by examinees. Underreporting of psychopathology and attempts to present oneself in an overly favorable light can be particularly difficult to detect. Therefore, scales and other indices have been developed to identify underreporting and defensiveness. Paulhus (2002) has developed and refined a model for this phenomenon of underreporting, which he calls Socially …

Exploring Online Sexually Explicit Material: What Is The Relationship To Sexual Coercion?, Valerie Gonsalves

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

With the popularity of the Internet, it is easy to access sexually explicit material. Past research has demonstrated that exposure to sexually explicit material in traditional formats (i.e. magazines and videos) may have an influence on male attitudes and behaviors towards females, but these effects appear to be minimal and dissipate over the long term. Though the body of literature examining Internet sexually explicit material is smaller, researchers have found little to no effects on attitudes or aggressive behaviors immediately after exposure. However, research regarding exposure to online sexually explicit material has not included forensically relevant variables.

Previous research has …

Fat Talk Between Friends: Co-Rumination About Physical Appearance, Jonathan A. Rudiger

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the study of social and interpersonal factors that influence emotional adjustment and body image. Co-rumination is a new construct in the friendship literature which refers to discussing problems excessively and sharing negative feelings within the context of a close relationship. However, there is a lack of research with regard to the specific content of co-ruminative dialogues. In the body image literature, the term "fat talk" was coined to describe a negative, appearance focused dialogue that takes place in the context of female social circles. There have been no studies examining …