Other Psychology Commons^™

Mental Health Stigma And Law Enforcement Officers, Moses Park

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research was to describe the perception of law enforcement officers (LEOs) about the stigmatizing behavior they experienced from fellow officers in their organization, after they sought mental health services, following a traumatic event they were involved in.

Methodology: The methodology for this research study will be qualitative from a phenomenological perspective. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 12 active and retired LEOs who served in southern California.

Findings: After the analysis, seven major findings were yielded. The major findings of the study are: (a) Within the law enforcement …

Drama Therapy Interventions That Support Students With Asd During Covid-19, Olivia Reyes

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that began in December 2019, many people experienced traumatic losses, environmental stressors, and overall daily challenges. One of the populations most at risk during this time were those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Those with mental health illness and developmental differences are experiencing the pandemic in different ways. Individuals with ASD tend to have both developmental differences and mental health challenges that motivate individuals to seek medicinal and therapeutic help, along with other services to support their daily needs. This literature review addresses the negative and positive impacts COVID-19 has had on the …

Building Nature: A Nature-Based Drama Therapy Method In An Urban Program, Courtney Bennett Mcduffee

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Finding a mental health center that fits the needs of an individual can take time. Some individuals must travel to different states and enter large metropolises to find the specific type of support they need for their mental health journey. This can mean that for extended periods of time, as individuals go through residential treatment, partial hospitalization programs (PHP), and/or intensive outpatient programs (IOP), they can not only find themselves in a completely new community, but also entirely removed from nature. For this reason, my thesis focused on creating a method to reconnect humans ‘trapped’ in an urban setting with …

Healing Our Connection With Nature: An Expressive Arts Community Engagement Project, Meghan Mccrillis

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

A community engagement project was created and implemented, comprised of two events for which the author facilitated nature-based expressive arts experiences to explore the integration of nature and expressive arts therapy. The events were offered to two different groups of community members, one for nature-curious adults held outdoors on the trails of a local conservation trust, and another for young children at a local library. The healing impact of nature connection and nature connection experiences are explored through a literature review, event methods, and the author’s personal experiences of the project via artmaking. The results include an emphasis on nature …

From Mission To Competition: The Experiences Of 10 Lds Missionary Student-Athletes Returning To Competition In The National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, Matthew J. Moore, Leslee A. Fisher, Lindsey A. Miossi, Zach T. Smith, Jacob C. Jensen,

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

The purpose of the current study was to explore the experiences of LDS missionary student-athletes returning to competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (DI). Using Consensual Qualitative Research methods (CQR; Hill, 2012) including a semi-structured interview guide, 10 DI student-athletes/returned LDS missionaries were interviewed regarding their experience (i.e., mean age of 25 years; baseball, cross-country/track and field, football, and swimming). A research team with five members constructed four domains and 16 categories representing DI student-athlete/returned LDS missionary chronological identity changes during this experience: (a) the development of an LDS missionary identity; (b) challenges associated with returning …

Reaching For The Stars: A Constructivist Investigation Of Astrology As A Tool For Self-Discovery In A New Age Of Leadership, Cameron Martin

Dissertations

To fully understand leadership in today’s world, we need a radical reconceptualization of the developmental process required to lead. Changing paradigms demands new perspectives on leadership; these new paradigms suggest leaders must turn inward and develop knowledge of their inner selves to realize their full potential as leaders.

Astrology is an ancient way of knowing and making sense of the world and one’s place in it that provides benefits to many people in our modern world, despite fervent academic, religious, and scientific criticism. Astrology is more than a divination tool. It is an entire epistemology of self in relation to …

The Practice Of Traditional Grading: A Site For Inquiring Into Teacher Identity Friction In A U.S. High School, Sarah Emily Dutton-Breen

Dissertations and Theses

High school teachers' identities and agency are often affected by systems that require their compliance if the teachers are to maintain employment. Sometimes when teachers perform an expected task, they experience identity friction, a term created to explain the residual effect of performing an institutional obligation that is misaligned with a teacher's identity and agency. Considering the potential impact of grades on students' academic opportunities and perceptions of themselves, one teacher obligation that creates identity friction is assigning student grades. And yet, scant research has been done on the impact identity friction -- resulting from working within the traditional grading …

Fear Of Failure, Mindfulness, And Procrastination, Jose M. Parlade

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Procrastination is a complex behavior with often negative consequences. Prior studies have found a positive correlation between procrastination and various negative emotional states, such as fear of failure. Conversely, specific mindfulness techniques, have been negatively associated with procrastination in prior research. The current study set out to examine the correlations of fear of failure and procrastination as well as those of mindfulness and procrastination. A sample of university students (n=310) were assessed using three scales: the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI), the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS), and the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS). Results indicated a significant positive correlation …

U.S. Extremism And Media: How The New Age Of Politics Speaks To Media Usage, Josephine R. Haneklau

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

On January 6th, 2021, the nation watched from their television screens as a group of extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. An interesting emotion fell over the U.S. public – it was both shocking and not shocking at all. The attack on the Capitol was a by-product of years of internal division, catapulted by Trump’s presidency. Between racial divisions and the progression of Black Lives Matter, the advancement of COVID and its governmental policies, and Trump’s divisive nature of president at a peak, it seemed almost inevitable that an offense like this would occur.

As political conversations …

Does Optic Flow Provide Information About Actions?, Hannah Masoner

Dissertations

Optic flow, the pattern of light generated in the visual field by motion of objects and the observer’s body, serves as information that underwrites perception of events, actions and affordances. This visual pattern informs the observer about their own actions in relation to their surroundings, as well as those of others. This study explored the limits of action detection for others as well as the role of optic flow. First-person videos were created using camera recordings of the actor’s perspective as they performed various movements (jumping jacks, jumping, squatting, sitting, etc.). In three experiments participants attempted to detect the action …

Behavioral, Cognitive, And Socioemotional Pathways From Early Childhood Adversity To Bmi: Evidence From Two Prospective, Longitudinal Studies, Jenalee R. Doom, Ethan S. Young, Allison K. Farrell, Glenn I. Roisman, Jeffry A. Simpson

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Childhood adversity is associated with higher adult weight, but few investigations prospectively test mechanisms accounting for this association. Using two socioeconomically high-risk prospective longitudinal investigations, the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA; N = 267; 45.3% female) and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS; n = 2,587; 48.5% female), pathways between childhood adversity and later body mass index (BMI) were tested using impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, and overeating as mediators. Childhood adversity from 0 to 5 years included four types of adversities: greater unpredictability, threat/abuse, deprivation/neglect, and low socioeconomic status. Parents reported on child impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, …

An Examination Of Working Memory In Subtle And Mild Cognitive Impairment, Kara Eversole

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is abnormal cognitive decline that may be indicative of an insidious process such as dementia. Individuals with MCI are largely independent in their daily functioning but are at risk of further decline. To more deeply understand the working memory deficits associated with age-related cognitive decline, Lamar and colleagues developed a working memory task with no discontinuation rule: the Backwards Digit Task (BDT). Prior BDT research has demonstrated that individuals with mild cognitive impairment have lower overall scores on this task, and that different subtypes of MCI are more prone to certain errors. Research has not been …

Training Packages For The Use Of Child Development Tools In Low/Middle-Income Countries: A Review, Maria Neocleous, Katelyn Hepworth, Vanessa Cavallera, Melissa Gladstone

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background We are now moving beyond the focus of ’child survival’ to an era which promotes children thriving and developing rather than simply ’surviving’. In doing so, we are becoming more aware of the large variation of child development screening tools available globally, but in particular, those in low/middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods This narrative review identifies 24 child development tools used in LMICs. We aimed to identify information on training accessibility and training design, assessment methods and cost of training. For those tools with no training information identified or for any tools identified as providing online training, the tool author …

Is Tai Chi A Beneficial Treatment For Anxiety In The Elderly Community?, Carolyn Kenney

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

This study attempted to explore the relationship between tai chi practice and anxiety in the elderly population. The mental health disorder that I looked at was anxiety, as the elderly often experience anxiety related to contributing factors such as mental and physical decline. Anxiety among the elderly is a great concern as there is an increase in the world’s population of individuals aged 65 years or older. This will directly impact health care prices as more resources will have to be distributed to this age population. One solution to this problem is tai chi. Tai chi is a cost-effective way …

Effects Of Induced Optimism On Subjective States, Physical Activity, And Stress Reactivity, Ruijia Chen, Kareena Del Rosario, Alee Lockman, Julia Boehm, Kelb Bousquet Santos, Erika Siegel, Wendy Berry Mendes, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

This study examined effects of experimentally-induced optimism on physical activity and stress reactivity with community volunteers. Using an intervention to induce short-term optimism, we conducted two harmonized randomized experiments, performed simultaneously at separate academic institutions. All participants were randomized to either the induced optimism intervention or to a neutral control activity using essay-writing tasks. Physical activity tasks (Study 1) and stress-related physiologic responses (Study 2) were assessed during lab visits. Essays were coded for intensity of optimism. A total of 324 participants (207 women, 117 men) completed Study 1, and 118 participants (67 women, 47 men, 4 other) completed Study …

Stability And Flexibility In Psychotherapy Process Predict Outcome, Giulio De Felice, Alessandro Giuliani, David Pincus, Andrea Scozzari, Vincent Berardi, Leonhard Kratzer, Wolfgang Aichhorn, Helmut J. Schöller, Kathrin Viol, Günter Schiepek

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Ten good outcome and ten poor outcome psychotherapy cases were compared to investigate whether or not the temporal stability and flexibility of their process variables can predict their outcomes. Each participant was monitored daily using the Therapy Process Questionnaire (TPQ), which has 43 items and seven sub-scales, and responses over time were analyzed in terms of correlation robustness and correlation variability across the TPQ sub-scales. “Correlation robustness” and “correlation variability” are two basic characteristics of any correlation matrix: the first is calculated as the sum of the absolute values of Pearson correlation coefficients, the second as the standard deviation of …

The Impact Of Fluorescent Light On Shelter Dog Behavior (Canis Lupus Familiaris), Kristiina J. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Fluorescent lighting is used in a wide variety of applications, however, the flicker that accompanies fluorescent light can be aversive. This thesis examines the impact of fluorescent lighting on the behavior of shelter dogs at New York City’s Animal Care and Control Centers.

A Mixed-Methods Examination Of Transgender Youth Desistence, Mirae J. Fornander

Research Days

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Background: Access to gender-affirming medical care (GAMC) for transgender/gender diverse (TGD) individuals is one of the most pressing social justice issues of our time. Research has begun to identify the benefits of GAMC. However, little is known about the healthcare needs of TGD youth, especially those who discontinue GAMC. Available literature lacks clear and consistent terms to define TGD youth who stop care. Further, a significant criticism of current research is the assumption that discontinuing care is equivalent to detransitioning. There are no studies, to our knowledge, that differentiate between TGD youth who choose to …

Self-Reported Sexual Behavior In A Pediatric Gender Clinic Sample, Mirae J. Fornander

Research Days

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Background: Previous studies of transgender/gender diverse (TGD) youth indicate differences in rates of sexual behaviors between TGD youth and their cisgender peers. However, few studies have reported the sexual behavior and preferences of TGD youth in a large clinic sample, and no studies, to our knowledge, have utilized questionnaires that do not assume the sex or gender of one’s sexual partner.

Objectives/Goal: The current study aims to explore the self-reported sexual behavior of TGD youth presenting for gender-affirming medical care.

Methods/Design: Retrospective chart review of 589 patients (ages 12-22, M= 15.92, SD= 1.54; 72.9% assigned …

Exploring Social Media Usage And Its Effects On College Students' Mental Health: A Mixed-Methods, Intervention Study, Kimanh Le

Health and Kinesiology Theses

Background: Social media can cause detrimental effects to college students’ mental wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to examine UT Tyler students’ social media usage and its effects on mental health such as depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and the fear of missing out (FoMO). The researcher wanted to see if one specific social media site, Instagram, had more deleterious effects compared to other social media platforms and if reducing time usage would help improve mental health.

Methods: A mixed-methods, intervention design was used. An online quantitative survey link, which contained questions about demographics, social media usage, and mental health …