Search Results

open access

Neuropsychological Functioning in Active Duty Soldiers with Physical and/or Psychological Trauma

Description: This quasi-experimental study investigates neuropsychological functioning differences between 63 active duty soldiers who were placed into three groups (MTBI, PTSD, control) to provide better information for differentiating PTSD and MTBI. The ANAM and MicroCog were utilized to measure psychomotor speed, memory, and attention. Participants with PTSD performed worse on most measures of psychomotor speed and attention, and endorsed more symptoms of depression and anxiety when compared to MTBI and … more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Klein, Robert S.
open access

Correlates of Video Game Addiction

Description: Video game addiction often leads to a tremendous burden on those afflicted with the condition, draining their time, resources, and life away until they have nothing left. To further elucidate the problem of video game addiction, the current research examines the level of video game addiction of 111 participants, along with their motivation for their addictive behaviors, the quality of life of addicted individuals, and possible relations between video game addiction and other forms of addiction.… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Langley, Alex
open access

Pediatric Feeding Disorders: A Controlled Comparison of Multidisciplinary Inpatient and Outpatient Treatment of Gastrostomy Tube Dependent Children

Description: The efficacy of multidisciplinary inpatient and outpatient treatment for transitioning children with severe pediatric feeding disorders from gastrostomy tube dependency to oral nutrition was investigated utilizing caloric and fluid intakes as an outcome measure. The study involved 29 children ages 12 months to 5 years of age with gastrostomy tube dependency. Treatments were provided by speech therapists, occupational therapist, dietician and psychologist for a 30 day period. Four treatment grou… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Cornwell, Sonya L.
open access

Depression in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Individuals: Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Diet

Description: About 8.3% of individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM) are diagnosed with comorbid depression, a higher rate than the general adult population. This project examined the differences of depression symptoms experienced between diabetic and matched non-diabetic individuals and the relationship of daily activity and nutrition behaviors with depression between these groups. The 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was utilized to assess: depression symptoms, d… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Edwards, Kate G.
open access

Benefits and Costs of Social Interactions Among Firefighters

Description: Despite high levels of exposure, firefighter posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates are unclear. Likewise, questions remain regarding how social interactions and beliefs about emotion might interact to influence PTSD in firefighters. In this study, U.S. urban firefighters (N = 225) completed measures of social support, negative social interactions, and fear of emotion which were then used via regression analyses to predict PTSD symptoms. Each independent variable predicted PTSD beyond varia… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Farnsworth, Jacob
open access

Demographic and Psychosocial Contributions to the Expression of Schizotypal Personality Traits.

Description: Previous research suggests there are a number of variables that are associated with the expression of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) symptoms. Such variables include childhood trauma, depression and anxiety, substance use, normal-range personality traits, ethnicity, and gender. However, research to date has not examined all of these variables in a single study to determine how they may be interrelated or differentially related to SPD symptom domains. Of particular interest is the associ… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Hernandez, Nikki
open access

Evaluating Social Factors in Diabetes Management by Mexican American Ethnicity

Description: Differences in Mexican American ethnicity, family and friend social support, and importance of diabetes self-management as related to diabetes management in the older adult population were evaluated with the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study (HRS) 2003 Diabetes Study. Comparisons were made between Mexican Americans with Type II diabetes and similar non-Hispanic Caucasian and African American individuals with Type II diabetes. Neither family/friend social support nor importanc… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Huerta, Serina
open access

Adult Attachment Patterns, Mental Representation of Self, and Faith: Mediators of Childhood Trauma and Affect-Behavior Regulations in Adulthood

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate psychological mechanism by which four intra- and inter-personal characteristics of an individual (anxious and avoidant adult attachment patterns, images of self, and religious faith) mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and each of three affect-behavior regulation problems in adulthood (symptoms of depression, disordered eating behaviors, and substance abuse). A total of 401 college student participants completed a packet of 18 surveys i… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Han, GiBaeg
open access

Methodological Issues in Malingering Research: The Use of Simulation Designs

Description: The accurate determination of malingering relies on the use of validated and clinically relevant assessment measures. Simulation design is the most often-used research design to accomplish this. However, its external validity is sometimes questioned. The goal of the thesis was to systematically evaluate these major elements: situation, incentives, and coaching. The situation in simulation studies can vary from relevant (academic failure in a college population) to irrelevant (capital murder) fo… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Gillard, Nathan D.
open access

The Role of Attachment in the Intergenerational Transmission of Abuse: From Childhood Victimization to Adult Re-Victimization and Distress

Description: Research indicates that victims of childhood abuse are at increased risk for transmitting violence in adulthood-a phenomenon known as the intergenerational transmission of abuse (ITA). Adult survivors of childhood victimization (i.e., child abuse or witnessed parental violence) are at increased risk for becoming abusive parents, perpetrators of intimate partner violence, and victims of intimate partner violence. The current study examined the latter form of ITA, in which a survivor of childhood… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Austin, Aubrey A.
open access

Parent Psychopathology, Marital Adjustment, and Child Psychological Dysfunction: The Mediating Role of Attachment and Sibling Relationship

Description: This study is part of a larger research project examining family attachment processes. The current study tests a family process model that postulates the mediating role of parent-child attachment and sibling relationship quality in the associations of parent psychopathology or marital adjustment to children's psychological dysfunction. A community sample of 86 families with at least one school-aged (8-12 years) child was recruited from area schools and organizations. Families came to the UNT Fa… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Hindman, Jason M.
open access

Anxiety, Depression, and Sleep Disorders: Their Relationship and Reduction with Neurotherapy

Description: This study investigated the relationship among anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances and the treatment of these three disorders through neurotherapy. Research suggests that these conditions commonly co-occur in the general population and that central nervous system (CNS) arousal may play a primary role in the development and maintenance of these disorders. Several recent studies suggested that neurotherapy, a biofeedback-based treatment for CNS dysregulation, might be an effective treatme… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Fisher, Christopher, Alan
open access

Is Mattering what Matters: A Validation Study of the Meta-Valuing Measure of Flexible Valuing

Description: Freely choosing a life direction, or flexible valuing, is a core component of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Initial research suggests that valuing behavior may contribute to psychological well-being, but has been stymied by a lack of an efficient measure. The current study examined the psychometric characteristics of a new measure of flexible valuing, the Meta-Valuing Measure (MVM), in a sample of 532 undergraduates. Exploratory factors analysis revealed 3 orthogonal factors, Valuing… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Taravella, Cicely C.
open access

The Relationship between Physical Activity and Sleep

Description: The current study aimed to examine the naturalistic relationship between physical activity and sleep by exploring frequency, type, and timing of exercise and their association with a variety of sleep variables (e.g., sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency). Young adults (n = 1003) completed a variety of self-report questionnaires, including a week-long sleep diary and a survey of typical frequency, type, and timing of exercise completed in the past week. Increased frequen… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Tatum, JoLyn Inez
open access

Optimism, Delay Discounting, and Physical Exercise: The Role of Delay Discounting on Individual Levels of Exercise

Description: Deciding to exercise requires trade-offs between immediate and delayed benefits. These momentary decisions may be moderated by personality such that patterns of individual behavior emerge. The aim of the current study was to determine if higher levels of optimism and lower levels of delay discounting were related to exercise frequency. A sample of 360 undergraduate students completed a survey study related to understanding the choices made by undergraduates and how other factors relate to their… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Smith, Lauren Marie
open access

The Impact of Training on the Frequency of Internal Promotions of Employees and Managers

Description: In this study, the relationship between formal training opportunities and internal promotions in organizations was examined in order to support the value of organizations investing in employees through training opportunities, as training is often seen as an expense to be cut in difficult times. Differences between general and specific training topics on the impact of frequency of promotion in an organization were addressed, as well as assessing differences between employees and managers. Trai… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: West, Lindsey Straka
open access

The Utility of the Spatial Span from the Wechsler Memory Scales in a Geriatric Population with Cognitive Impairments

Description: Performance on the Spatial Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale has been viewed as an indicator of working memory and visuospatial processing. A number of factors including age and gender have been posited to effect performance on Spatial Span by older adults. The current study examined the impact of various forms of cognitive impairment and severity of impairment on Spatial Span performance. Five hundred thirty-eight individuals between the ages of 65 and 89 were evaluated in a university… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Wiechmann, April
open access

Differences Among Abused and Nonabused Younger and Older Adults as Measured by the Hand Test

Description: The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of participants' abused or nonabused status as it interacted with their age and gender in producing different patterns of Hand Test responses as a function of the age or gender of the card. Participants, 61 young adults (M age = 23) and 60 older adults (M age = 73), were presented with the original Hand Test cards, as well as four alternate versions (e.g., young male, young female, older male, and older female). Expected effects varying by ag… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Sergio, Jessica A.
open access

The Relationship Between Sleep Variables and Headache

Description: Headache pain impacts most of the population at some point in life, at an enormous cost to day-to-day functioning. Determination of the variables that are associated with prevalence and severity of headaches has been inconsistent. One area that deserves more attention is the relationship between headaches and sleep. For instance, several sleep parameters may precipitate or exacerbate headaches, but previous research often used inconsistent and limited assessments of both headaches and sleep, ma… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Grieser, Emily Ann
open access

The Relationship Between Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorder Symptomatology: An Examination of Moderating Variables

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine whether Psychological Well-Being (comprised of self-esteem, optimism, satisfaction with life, and self-determination), perfectionism, body surveillance, and neuroticism moderated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms after controlling for social desirability and actual physical size. 847 female undergraduate students participated in the study. Participants completed an online questionnaire packet. An exploratory factor analys… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Brannan, Megan E.
open access

Organized Semantic Fluency and Executive Functioning in an Adult Clinical Sample and a Community Sample

Description: The study investigated an organized semantic fluency task, (the Controlled Animal Fluency Task - CAFT) as a measure of executive functioning (EF) in adults, and the relationship with instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Participants (N = 266) consisted of a clinical sample (n = 142) utilizing neuropsychological assessment data collected at an outpatient psychological center, and a community sample (n = 124). The clinical sample was a heterogeneous mixed neurological group including a… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Chlipala, M. Linda
open access

Validation of the Spanish SIRS: Beyond Linguistic Equivalence in the Assessment of Malingering among Spanish Speaking Clinical Populations

Description: Malingering is the deliberate production of feigned symptoms by a person seeking external gain such as: financial compensation, exemption from duty, or leniency from the criminal justice system. The Test Translation and Adaptation Guidelines developed by the International Test Commission (ITC) specify that only tests which have been formally translated into another language and validated should be available for use in clinical practice. Thus, the current study evaluated the psychometric propert… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Correa, Amor Alicia
open access

Effects of Adult Romantic Attachment and Social Support on Resilience and Depression in Patients with Acquired Disabilities

Description: The acquirement of a disability (e.g., spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, amputation, multi trauma) is a risk factor for psychological disturbance (e.g., depression). Research has established that social support and secure attachment are protective factors against psychological disturbance. Attachment patterns have also been associated with differences in perceived social support. Secure attachment and higher perceived social support have been implicated in greater levels of resilie… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Dodd, Zane
open access

Factors Affecting Revictimization in Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Description: Structural equation modeling was used to examine how childhood sexual abuse (and other associated variables, such as family functioning and experiencing multiple forms of abuse) relates to revictimization and psychological distress. Participants were women who participated in Project HOW: Health Outcomes of Women interviews, a longitudinal study that spanned six waves of interviews. Only women with a history of childhood sexual abuse were included in the present study (n=178). Experiencing nons… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Ericksen, Stephanie J.
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