Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Development Of Optimal Cut Scores For Within-Normal-Limits Mmpi-2-Rf Profiles Of Sex Offenders, Ilona Iikhtman

Theses and Dissertations

Alleged and convicted sex offenders are generally required to undergo forensic evaluations that frequently include a psychological assessment to answer a wide range of psycho-legal questions. A critical component of the psychological assessment of sex offenders is the evaluation of personality and psychopathology. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and its subsequent editions have been the most widely used personality assessment measures in forensic evaluations, including sex offender evaluations, and in research conducted with sex offenders. The previous literature demonstrates that a subgroup of sex offenders often produce test scores reflective of the general population, which is referred to as …

Sun Protection Behaviors And Skin Cancer Risk Among Children Of Color, Williana Magloire

Theses and Dissertations

Sun protection is beneficial for children of color as it decreases the risk for sunburns, hyperpigmentation, and most importantly, skin cancer. Invasive melanoma is commonly seen in children of color due to inadequate sun protection. Parental and caregiver modeling of sun protection behaviors may decrease the likelihood of skin cancer among children of color. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP, 2011) has suggested that pediatricians adopt the role of informing parents about the benefits of using sun protection products for their young children. They recommended that providers discuss sun protection behaviors with both the parent/child beginning at the age of …

The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History And Perceptions Regarding Their Child’S Healthcare And Utilization Of Healthcare Services, Krishna Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

TITLE: The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History and Perceptions Regarding Their Child’s Healthcare and Utilization of Healthcare Services

Adverse child events (ACEs) have been associated with a number of physical and mental health problems and have also been linked to increased health care utilization. While parents who have an ACE history may tend to seek healthcare services for themselves, limited studies have examined the impact of their trauma history on seeking healthcare services for their child. Healthcare utilization may also depend on the parents’ level of health anxiety, as well as their anxiety about their child’s health status. This …

A Comparison Of Defensiveness In Mmpi-2-Rf Profiles Of Male Sex Offenders And Child Custody Litigants, Kyla M. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Clinical evaluations have had a long-standing role in criminal and civil legal proceedings due to the intersection between various legal criteria and aspects of psychological functioning. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) and its subsequent versions have been among the most commonly utilized and empirically supported measures of personality and psychopathology in assessing forensic populations. One application for which MMPI instruments have been particularly useful is in the evaluation of sex offenders. This is in part due to the tests’ built-in validity scales, as MMPI underreporting scales are found to be effective in assessing sex offenders’ …

Perceived Stress And Religious Coping Among Pakistani-Origin Emerging Muslim Adults Living In Pakistan And The United States: A Cross-Cultural View, Amna Khan, Kiran Bashir Ahmed

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

This study explored the relationship between Perceived Stress and Religious Coping levels among Muslim emerging adults of Pakistani origin living in Pakistan and Muslim emerging adults of Pakistani origin living in the United States (US). Participants (Pakistani Origin Muslims Living in Pakistan, n= 103; and Pakistani Origin Muslims Living in the US, n=50) were between 18-25 years old. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Brief R-Cope scale were administered using an online format. Results indicated that negative religious coping strategies were associated with higher perceived stress in both groups while positive religious coping strategies showed a weaker association with lower …

Zimbardo’S Time Perspective And Binge Drinking Patterns In Alcohol Consumption Among Black African International University Students In China, Alice Nguni, Houchao Lyu, Ravi Paul, Xiaobao Li

Psychological Research on Urban Society

Addictive alcohol use among university students in China is a growing public health concern. This study examines Binge drinking and time perspective among Black African students from Southwest University in China. While the Time Perspective focuses on the past, present, or future that may predict alcohol abuse, its relationship with Binge drinking among Black Africans in China remains unexplored. Among 370 participants, data was gathered using the Time Perspective Inventory and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Regression analysis indicated a positive association between the present (fatalistic, hedonistic), future, and past-positive TP and binge drinking, while the Future time frame showed …

Suicidal Ideation And Community Connectedness In Lgbtq+ Adults: Can Emotion Regulation And Mindfulness Skills Help?, Samantha V. Jacobson

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Suicidal ideation disproportionally affects the LGBTQ+ community. Community connectedness and mindfulness can be protective against suicidal ideation, whereas emotion regulation difficulty is associated with increased suicidal ideation. Community connectedness, emotion regulation difficulty and mindfulness have demonstrated relationships to each other in the LGBTQ+ community and while they are each independently associated with suicidal ideation, their combined impact on suicidal ideation has not yet been examined. The present study examines moderating effects of emotion regulation difficulty and mindfulness on the relationship between community connectedness and suicidal ideation in LGBTQ+ adults. 141 LGBTQ+ adults completed self-report measures of suicidal ideation, community connectedness, …

Problem Recognition In Culturally Diverse Parent Mental Health Help Seeking, Grace Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There is evidence of a disparity between mental health prevalence rates in children and service utilization. Thus, many children are not receiving support for their mental health needs despite prevalent symptoms and high levels of psychopathology. This disparity is even greater for children from culturally diverse families who face unique stressors in comparison to their White peers. Given the known positive and preventative effects of early intervention, this places culturally diverse children at disproportionate risk for adverse mental health outcomes. Parents are gatekeepers responsible for responding to their child’s mental health needs. Thus, it is necessary to study the unique …

Survivor Experiences Of Male Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Literature Review, Elizabeth Burch B.S., Joseph T. Kenneally Psy.D., Stephanie Zepeda Phd

Psychology from the Margins

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes childhood sexual abuse (CSA) as a global health issue. CSA is a human violation that affects both female and male children and has a stronger detrimental impact on mental health than other traumatic childhood experiences. Despite a growing awareness of male survivors of CSA, male survivors are a marginalized group as most CSA research focuses on females. In addition, masculine norms can keep male adults from disclosing further, which can delay support and increase mental health issues. This meta- analysis reviews the current literature on this group of marginalized people and concludes with a …

The Importance Of Caregivers, Family, And Context For Child Welfare Involved Youth And A National Child Sample: A Structural Equation Modeling Perspective, Nathan Michael Lutz

Dissertations

This bundled, three-study dissertation examines how the relationships that children have with adult family members impact mental health outcomes, including internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors. The first study examines the moderating effect of relationship satisfaction on the relationship between kin involvement and child psychopathology. The second study uses data from the 2017 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), examining the mediating effect of the parent-child relationship on the associations across various systems in which children are embedded and mental health diagnoses. The third paper examined the interactions between both family strengths and caregiver involvement with the parent child relationship and …

Examining The Bidirectional Associations Between Parenting And Adolescent Coping In The Context Of Exposure To Community Violence, Jenny Phan

Dissertations

Coping refers to all the strategies and processes that an individual uses to eliminate, reduce or tolerate stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Rosario et al., 2003). Within the general coping literature, research has observed that use of approach-oriented coping strategies is associated with positive psychosocial outcomes, and avoidant-oriented coping strategies is associated with negative psychosocial outcomes (e.g., Compas et al., 2001; Wadsworth & Compas, 2002). However, most of these studies have focused exclusively or predominantly on middle-class White participants (e.g., Compas et al., 2001; Wadsworth & Compas, 2002) which may limit the generalizability of these findings to other groups. Further, …

Institutional Experiences Of Justice-Involved Adolescents: Profiles, Predictors, And Post-Release Associations, Elizabeth Sargent

Dissertations

Experiences within juvenile justice placements have long been a topic of concern amongst researchers and policy makers, with institutional violence exposure and harsh treatment being two such reasons for concern. The majority of adolescents who enter the justice system already have extensive violence exposure, which can continue while they are detained through victimization and witnessed violence. One’s adjustment to justice settings is influenced by characteristics and experiences prior to placement, and institutional experiences may also have influences on mental health and behavior after release. In the current study, reports from justice-involved adolescents were used to 1) identify profiles of institutional …

Warmth And Support: The Importance Of Parenting Behaviors On Child Symptoms Among Mexican Immigrant Families, Yvita Bustos

Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to expand research regarding warmth and support among low-income, Latino immigrant families, specifically families of Mexican-origin, and how these parenting behaviors impact child internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors. The first study titled, “Effects of Familism, Parenting, and Family Cohesion on Child Internalizing Symptoms among Mexican Immigrant Families” explored how familism may promote warmth and support, in addition to family cohesion, and how these factors may impact child internalizing symptoms during middle childhood among Mexican immigrant families. The second study, titled “Stress and Child Internalizing Symptoms: Examining the Moderating Role of Latino Fathers' Warmth and Support using Mixed …

Psychotropics Prescription In Primary Care, Ruthzaine Lopez Bolano

Research Colloquium

Background: The study aimed to measure the prevalence of psychotropic prescriptions in primary care at four UTRGV clinical sites. Based on the results, this paper serves to inform and educate primary care providers of their current practices and treatment options when diagnosing mental health disorders and prescribing psychotropics.

Methods: This study used EMR data from January to March 2021 in four primary care clinics affiliated with the UT Health RGV system. Primary care patients from January to March 2021 and who were diagnosed with mood disorders (including Depression, Anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder) were included in this quality improvement study.

Results: …

Caregiver Emotional Support Following Child Sexual Abuse: Links With Child Adjustment Problems, Melissa Sitton

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Emotional support is theorized to be beneficial to youth after experiences of sexual abuse. However, meta-analytic and systematic reviews of the literature indicate inconsistent evidence of relations between caregiver emotional support and youth functioning after sexual abuse. The current study addressed several methodological factors that may have contributed to inconsistent findings in this literature (i.e., small samples, poor measurement of emotional support, collection of data from only one source) and examined relations between caregiver emotional support and youth functioning after sexual abuse. Participants were 460 youth (M_age = 13.78, SD = 1.77) who presented at a child advocacy …

Incremental Validity Of The Mmpi-A-Rf And Maci In A Clinical Outpatient Setting, Madison Smart-Mccarthy

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

With the persistent rise of depression and suicide in adolescents, it is imperative that clinicians select empirically supported measures that accurately assess these conditions (Van Orman, 2022; Sellbom & Suhr, 2020). One empirical method used to evaluate measures is incremental validity. Incremental validity examines the level of improvement in predicting a phenomenon when adding a test or procedure to a combination of other instruments (APA, 2020). Experts regard the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—Adolescent Version—Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF; Archer et al., 2016) and the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI; Millon et al., 1993) as psychometrically sound measures often used in clinical practice. …

The Impact Of Mandatory Substance Abuse Counselor Reporting Requirements On Child Maltreatment Reporting Outcomes, Bilgé Özgé Yilmaz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study sought to examine how state-level mandatory reporting policies are associated with child maltreatment reporting through analysis of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN, 2021). This study aimed: 1) to examine how the implementation of substance abuse counselor reporting requirements is associated with the reporting process, including the disposition of reports and the presence of substance abuse; and 2) to examine differences in the above outcomes based on associations between non-specific reporting requirements and specific requirements that mention substance use counselors. A quasi-experimental approach with repeated cross-sectional data was utilized, as it is a …

Fiqws 10008 Syllabus Fall 2023, Hayley M. Hancock

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus outlines the Fall 2023 Freshman Inquiry Writing Seminar (FIQWS) course Psychopathology in Literature. In the topic section, students learn about the history, research, ethics, and practice of psychopathology. This topic course is accompanied by a composition course in which students will apply their understanding of psychopathology to creative and research writing assignments.

Validation And Clinical Utility Of The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 And Center For Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale As Depression Screening Tools In Collegiate Student-Athletes, Lindsey Keenan, Yvette Ingram, Branden Green, Rachel Daltry, Sebastian Harenberg

Sports Medicine Faculty Publications

Context: The National Athletic Trainers' Association recommends including mental health screening measures as part of the preparticipation examination for all student-athletes (SAs). Despite this recommendation, most mental health screening tools have not been validated in the SA population. Objective: To validate and examine the clinical utility of 2 depression screening tools in the collegiate SA population. Design: Cross-sectional mixed-methods study. Setting: Two Northeastern United States university athletics programs. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 881 (men = 426, 48.4%; women = 455, 51.6%; mean age = 19.7 6 1.4 years) National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II collegiate SAs completed …

The Influence Of Tiktok And Social Media On Body Dissatisfaction And Disordered Eating Behavior In College-Aged Women, Ariana R. Faraci

Senior Theses

This thesis aims to evaluate the impact of social media, especially TikTok, on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior in college-aged women. Previous research established connections between increased social media usage and body dissatisfaction and between the type of content viewed on social media and body dissatisfaction. In addition, several studies showed a connection between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior. To investigate the impact of social media on body image and body dissatisfaction in college-aged women at the University of South Carolina, I collected data using a self-report survey that asked participants questions about which social media platforms they …