Health Psychology Commons^™

Pilates, Mindfulness And Somatic Education, Karen Caldwell, Marianne Adams, Rebecca Quinn, Mandy Harrison, Jeffrey M. Greeson

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

The Pilates Method is a form of somatic education with the potential to cultivate mindfulness – a mental quality associated with overall well-being. However, controlled studies are needed to determine whether changes in mindfulness are specific to the Pilates Method or also result from other forms of exercise. This quasi-experimental study compared Pilates Method mat classes and recreational exercise classes on measures of mindfulness and well-being at the beginning, middle and end of a 15 week semester. Total mindfulness scores increased overall for the Pilates Method group but not for the exercise control group, and these increases were directly related …

Who Done It? Rurality Vs. Ses As Critical Factors In Evaluating The Prevalence Of Child Psychosocial Concerns In Primary Care, Robert M. Tolliver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of child psychosocial concerns in rural primary care, hypothesized to be greater than national averages due to lacking mental health services in rural areas. This study was an examination of the role of SES, various definitions of “rural,” and the interaction of SES and rurality, in predicting parent-reported child psychosocial concerns in Appalachian primary care clinics. Caregivers presenting with their child at one of 8 pediatric primary care sites (n=2,672) were recruited to complete a measure assessing demographics and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC). Results showed that while rural status …

Perceived Barriers And Facilitators To Mental And Behavioral Health Screening And Treatment In Primary Care For Women In Northeast Tennessee, Sarah K. Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Between one quarter and one third of all primary care patients meet criteria for at least one mental disorder. However, many women are not screened for mental disorders as recommended by the literature. Some studies suggest even lower rates of screening and treatment in rural areas. This researcher sought to identify barriers and facilitators to mental and behavioral health screening and treatment for women in primary care and solicit feedback on how to ameliorate perceived barriers. Given the limited extant data describing rural Appalachian women’s perceptions of barriers and facilitators to receiving mental health services an exploratory qualitative analysis was …

Increased Risk And Related Factors Of Depression Among Patients With Copd: A Population-Based Cohort Study, Tzung-Yi Tsai, Hanoch Livneh, Ming-Chi Lu, Pang-Yau Tsai, Pei-Chun Chen, Fung-Chang Sung

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Depression is a common and mostly undertreated problem in patients with chronic diseases. However, population-based studies on the association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and subsequent depression are limited in Asian populations. This study evaluated the incidence and risk factors of depression for patients with COPD in Taiwan.

Methods

Using the claims data from the National Health Insurance of Taiwan, we identified 38,010 COPD patients newly diagnosed in 2000–2004 and 38,010 subjects without COPD frequency, matched by sex, age and index date. The incidence rate and hazard ratio for depression were estimated by the end of 2008.

Results …

The Cognitive Processes Underlying Affective Decision-Making Predicting Adolescent Smoking Behaviors In A Longitudinal Study, C. Anderson Johnson, Lin Xiao, Gilly Koritzky, Antoine Bechara

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This study investigates the relationship between three different cognitive processes underlying the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and adolescent smoking behaviors in a longitudinal study. We conducted a longitudinal study of 181 Chinese adolescents in Chengdu City, China. The participants were followed from 10th to 11th grade. When they were in the 10th grade (Time 1), we tested these adolescents’ decision-making using the IGT and working memory capacity using the Self-ordered Pointing Test (SOPT). Self-report questionnaires were used to assess school academic performance and smoking behaviors. The same questionnaires were completed again at the 1-year follow-up (Time 2). The Expectancy-Valence (EV) …

Reinforcement Learning In Individuals At Risk For Alzheimer's Disease, Christina Marie Figueroa

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Explicit memory is the hallmark of impairment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) while implicit memory has mixed task-dependent results. Models of memory processes have posited that hippocampal function is sensitive to reinforcement learning (RL), which involves both explicit and implicit memory. The hippocampus is also vital for the transfer of learned associations to novel situations. Nevertheless, RL paradigms have been underutilized in assessing memory processes in individuals at risk for AD, which may aid in early identification of cognitive decline. Thirty-six apolipoprotein-E (APOE) genotyped older adults (Male n=8; Mage=80; Meducation=15 years) performed word stem completion, word recognition, and RL tasks. The …

The Relationship Between Self-Presentation Concerns And Pre-Game Affect Among Adolescent Football Players, Leslie W. Podlog, Marc Lochbaum, Jens Kleinert, James Dimmock, Maria Newton, Stefanie Podlog (Nee Schulte)

Athletic Training Collection

Background:

The influence of self-presentation concerns on the adolescent sport experience has received scant empirical attention. The purpose of this investigation was to prospectively examine the relationship among self-presentational concerns and pre-game affective states among middle and high school aged football players.

Methods:

American football players (n = 112; mean age = 15.57 years) completed a measure of self-presentational concerns (SPSQ, McGowan, et al., 2008) a week prior to the measurement of selected pre-game affective states (i.e., attentiveness, self-assurance, serenity, and fear).

Results:

Regression analyses revealed that concerns about appearing athletically untalented negatively contributed to the significant prediction ( p …

Predicting Health Trajectories, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

With data going back to pre-World War II, the HRS paints a picture of how we will age . As people age, men are less likely to have physical disabilities than women, but die earlier. Those with higher socio-economic status and education levels have less physical disabilities as they grow old. Less educated single women are often the least financially prepared for retirement.

Those are the main findings of the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS), described as "the mother ship" of statistics on aging by Michael Hurd, Principal Senior Researcher and Director at the RAND Center for the …

The Relationship Between Sex-Typing And Help-Seeking Behaviors In Adults, Joshua Juvrud

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The process of expressing what is masculine promotes attitudes and behaviors that can discourage men from seeking help, contributing to numerous health issues in males. The purpose of this study was to explore how personally endorsed gender stereotypes vs. gender stereotyped attitudes impacted help-seeking behavior. In the current study, female and male adults completed challenging puzzle tasks, recalled previous health help-seeking behavior, and completed sex-typed measures. Females utilized personally endorsed gender stereotypes more during the puzzle tasks, while males utilized both personally endorsed gender stereotypes as well as gender stereotyped attitudes. When males recalled health-related events, however, personally endorsed feminine …

Unpacking The Temperament Weight Relationship: The Mediating Role Of Food Preferences, Sarah A. Berry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the mediating role of possible food preferences on the temperamentweight relationship among 18-month-old toddlers. Parents of 37 typically developing toddlers completed the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ). During a lab visit toddlers’ weight and recumbent length were measured and recorded. Toddlers also completed a sequential touching task to examine their ability to categorize a healthy group of foods and an unhealthy group of foods. The only temperament measure found to associate with both child weight status and food categorization was inhibitory control. Toddlers’ food categorization was not found to mediate the relationship between inhibitory control and …

The Problem With Adhd: Researchers' Constructions And Parents' Accounts, Bora Pajo, David Cohen Dr.

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

An enduring controversy over the nature of ADHD complicates parents’ decisions regarding children likely to be diagnosed with the condition. Using a fallibilist perspective, this review examines how researchers construe ADHD and acknowledge the controversy. From a systematic literature search of empirical reports using parents of ADHD-diagnosed children as primary informants, 36 reports published between 1996 and 2008 (corresponding to 30 studies) were selected. Data on the studies’ characteristics and methodologies, definitions of ADHD, and extent of the acknowledgment of the ADHD controversy were extracted, as were data on a wide range of parental concerns and experiences. Researchers in 27 …

Child Emotional Abuse And Its Relationship To Obesity, Kelly Anderson Driscoll

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Over the past 30 years in the United States childhood obesity has more than tripled (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). In 2008, 18.5% of adolescents of the age 12-18 years old were obese in the United States (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). With the increase of obesity Americans have spent approximately 9% of their total medical costs on obesity-related illnesses (Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, &Wang, 2003). Previous research documented the relationship between virtually every form of child abuse and subsequent obesity. Restricting focus to child emotional abuse, while studies have linked emotional abuse to the long-term consequence of …

The Identification And Classification Of Flow Disruptions In The Operating Room During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy And Open Hernia Repair Procedures, Sacha N. Duff

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The operating room is one of the most complex work environments in healthcare; it is estimated that at least 7% of adverse events due to medical error occur in the operating room. Flow disruptions are events that cause a "break" in the primary surgical task, or the loss of any team member's situational awareness. An empirical link between flow disruptions and surgical errors in the OR has been established; therefore, identifying and classifying the specific flow disruptions present during different types of procedures should facilitate the development of evidence-based interventions. The goal of this study was to identify and classify …

Loss Of Sustained Activity In The Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex In Response To Repeated Stress In Individuals With Early-Life Emotional Abuse: Implications For Depression Vulnerability, Lihong Wang, Natalie Paul, Steven J. Stanton, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Moria J. Smoski

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Repeated psychosocial stress in early-life has significant impact on both behavior and neural function which, together, increase vulnerability to depression. However, neural mechanisms related to repeated stress remain unclear. We hypothesize that early-life stress may result in a reduced capacity for cognitive control in response to a repeated stressor, particularly in individuals who developed maladaptive emotional processing strategies, namely trait rumination. Individuals who encountered early-life stress but have adaptive emotional processing, namely trait mindfulness, may demonstrate an opposite pattern. Using a mental arithmetic task to induce mild stress and a mindful breathing task to induce a mindful state, we tested …

A Narrative Review Of Yoga And Mindfulness As Complementary Therapies For Addiction., Surbhi Khanna, Jeffrey M Greeson

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

This paper reviews the philosophical origins, current scientific evidence, and clinical promise of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction. Historically, there are eight elements of yoga that, together, comprise ethical principles and practices for living a meaningful, purposeful, moral and self-disciplined life. Traditional yoga practices, including postures and meditation, direct attention toward one's health, while acknowledging the spiritual aspects of one's nature. Mindfulness derives from ancient Buddhist philosophy, and mindfulness meditation practices, such as gentle Hatha yoga and mindful breathing, are increasingly integrated into secular health care settings. Current theoretical models suggest that the skills, insights, and self-awareness …

The Effect Of Visual Suggestion On Exercise Motivation And Outcomes, Thomas G. Plante, Ashley Morisako, Justine Folk, Elizabeth Kay, Caroline Read, Ashley Dunn, Angel Perez, Eleanor Willemsen

Psychology

Theories of suggestion and motivation were used to examine if college students exercising in an environment with low or high motivation posters would affect mood, perceived exertion, and exercise workload (i.e., RPM and speed). A total of 134 students (62 males, 72 females) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions while exercising: relaxing posters (i.e., tropical nature), motivational posters (i.e., competitive bikers), or no posters (i.e., control). Participants completed 20 minutes of exercise at their own pace. Measures of mood were taken immediately prior to and following exercise. Exercise workload was recorded throughout. Results indicate that participants in the …

The Olive Branch Program : A Proposal For Outreach To Survivors Of Trauma Highlighting The Restorative Potential Of Nature-Based Cultural Settings, Mariana I. Swick

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Addresses the long-term implications of sexual assault-related trauma on the lives of women survivors and demonstrates how nature-based cultural institutions can support the needs of this population throughout recovery. The study proposes the adoption of The Olive Branch Program (a hypothetical outreach program) by local nature-based cultural institutions in light of the long term needs of women survivors on various pathways towards recovery. In addition, the study proposes ways for cultural institutions to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration, address issues of accessibility, and offer socially relevant programming.

The Effect Of Skeletal Muscle Mass On Basal Metabolic Rate In College-Age Males 2013, Chase Vaughn

Master's Theses

There are many misconceptions within the fitness community. One such misconception is that an increase in muscle mass will have a large increase in basal metabolic rate, yet this may not be the best way for successful weight loss. The purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the correlation between skeletal muscle mass and basal metabolic rate. The hypothesis tested was that basal metabolic rate is strongly correlated with skeletal muscle mass. The participants were college-aged males (n =17). Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) was estimated using the skin-fold circumference model (SFCM): SMM (kg) = Ht (0.00744 CAG2 …

An Investigation Of Preferred Versus Imposed Exercise, Personality Traits, And Motivation On An Exercise Dependent College Aged Sample 2013, Chelsea M. Norton

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate personality traits and motivation among an exercise dependent sample by using and examining theoretically based assessment tools and (b) measure feeling states under different types of physical activity among those who were considered to be exercise dependent. Four hundred twenty-three college students (54.4% male, 45.6% female) who met the inclusion criteria completed the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R; Symons Downs, Hausenblas, & Nigg, 2004), Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI; Terry, Szabó, & Griffiths, 2004), Exercise Identity Scale (EIS; Anderson & Cychosz, 1994), Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2; Markland & Tobin, 2004), and …

The Role Of Appearance In Perceptions Of Personal Trainers 2013., Patrick R. Boerner

Master's Theses

The field of personal training in the United States is believed to have begun in the late 1970‟s and the early 1980‟s (Brooks, 2004). Today, personal training is a healthy profession that, according to the United States Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012), is expected to grow 24% (60,400 jobs) between 2010 and 2020. In comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012) predicts the average growth rate for all occupations within the U.S. to be only 14% during the same ten-year span. Rapid growth within the field of personal training has brought an increased scrutiny on …