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Exploring Psychological Intimate Partner Violence Using Brief Expressive Writing Essays: Non-physical intimate partner violence (NPIPV) is the most pervasive type of abuse, yet literature has predominantly focused on physical IPV victimization. This study employed a mixed-methods design utilizing archival expressive writing data previously collected to identify the presence of NPIPV victimization. Participants wrote about their experience after a relationship dissolution using the expressive writing paradigm. They were asked to share their deepest thoughts and feelings across two sessions. A constructivist grounded theory approach established the theoretical framework for coding the presence of NPIPV acts between romantic partners. Four themes of NPIPV were established (degradation, isolation, control, and jealousy). Disclosure of NPIPV and other themes were also evident in these data. Quantitative analyses assessed changes in participants' psychological distress after completing a brief writing intervention. The intervention increased the likelihood of NPIPV victimization being mentioned from Time 1 to Time 2 writing sessions. This study increases clinical awareness regarding NPIPV by providing insights into this longest-sustained IPV subtype. All participants reported a reduction in avoidance symptoms after completing the writing intervention. Finally, gender continues to complicate this field as researchers must acknowledge both the existence of men's victimization experiences and the greater severity of women's victimization. Clinical implications demonstrate a strength in narrative therapy when processing relationship dissolution particularly when NPIPV victimization is present.
Protective Factors for Eating, Shape, and Weight Concerns across Diverse Gender Identities: We ran three MANOVAs in a sample of 422 young adults to examine differences in eating, shape, and weight concerns (i.e., ESW concerns) between gender diverse individuals, ciswomen, and cismen. Additionally, we examined the effects of self-esteem and sense of belonging on ESW concerns. We also tested for interaction (moderation) effects between gender and self-esteem and gender and sense of belonging. Findings indicated that gender diverse individuals experience ESW concerns at a significantly higher rate than cisgender men. There were no differences, however, in ESW concerns between gender diverse people and ciswomen. Self-esteem and sense of belonging significantly predicted ESW concerns, but no interaction effects were observed. Limitations of the current study include using one large gender diverse group rather than exploring each individual gender identity as well as limited recruitment. Future studies should recruit more participants across the gender spectrum in order to better understand the unique experiences of each gender group as it relates to eating, shape, and weight concerns and expand recruitment across broader regions of the United States.
Development and Preliminary Validation of the Comprehensive Trauma and Stressors Checklist: To assess a wide range of stressors and traumas, we developed a trauma and stressors exposure checklist for adults to capture a wide variety of potential trauma exposure. This study details the extensive development and validation process of the Comprehensive Trauma and Stressors Checklist (CTSC). Study 1 consisted of item pool generation, review of existing trauma measures, content analysis, and expert review and input. Study 2 analyzed reliability and validity of the updated checklist. Participants were recruited from college and community samples (N = 200) and completed the CTSC along with five additional measures. The CTSC demonstrated high internal consistency (α =.96). Good temporal stability was established with a subset of participants (n = 28) who completed the survey twice for test-retest reliability (r = 0.86, p < .001). Significant correlations between scores on the CTSC and the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire, Life Events Checklist for the DSM-5, Intersectional Discrimination Index, and Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire are evidence of strong convergent validity. Finally, the lack of significant correlations between CTSC scores and theoretically unrelated constructs supported the discriminant validity of the CTSC. This study provides preliminary evidence that the CTSC is a reliable and valid measure of exposure to traumas and stressors. Future studies with the CTSC will examine measurement invariance, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and reading level.
The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Attachment Security and Psychological Well-Being: Socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to reliably predict parenting practices, family well-being, and psychological outcomes throughout the lifespan. The current study employed a cross-sectional, quantitative design in which adult participants (N = 336) completed an online survey measuring demographic variables, financial stress, attachment security, and psychological well-being. The study results suggest that (a) both current and family history of financial stress negatively predicted attachment security, (b) SES positively predicted general psychological well-being, although individual SES factors (e.g., income, subjective SES, financial stress) demonstrated nuanced relationships with well-being, life satisfaction, and resilience, (c) family history of financial stress and attachment security mediated the relationship between calculated social status and psychological well-being, and (d) the mediated relationship between calculated social status and psychological well-being via the pathway of attachment security was significant for racial/ethnic minorities, but not for White participants. The present findings contribute to the current literature by (1) including multidimensional measurements of SES, (2) addressing nuances in the relationship between SES and attachment, (3) emphasizing the role of financial stress on attachment security, and (4) providing initial cross-cultural considerations in the relationships among SES, attachment, and psychological well-being. Future researchers are encouraged to conduct longitudinal analyses, amplify sample recruitment efforts, and expand SES, attachment, and racial/ethnic identity measurement. Lastly, the current study has significant clinical implications regarding multiculturalism and social justice, relational schemas developed in context of financial stress, and cognitive appraisal regarding subjective SES.
Effects of Impaired Verbal Abilities on Miranda Comprehension and Reasoning: "Do You Understand Your Rights?": In Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Supreme Court of the United States required that custodial arrestees be informed of their constitutional and continuous rights to silence and to legal counsel. Moreover, the ruling mandated that waivers be considered valid only if they were made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. However, in the decades that followed, evidence from both caselaw and empirical scholarship clarified that, for many vulnerable populations, these rights are in jeopardy. Among these vulnerable populations, those with limited cognitive capacities (LCCs) have been functionally excluded from research which primarily focused on persons with intellectual disabilities. This thesis offers a novel exploration of the role of specific cognitive impairments on Miranda comprehension and reasoning, with a focus on verbal intelligence (VIQ). Using a large archival sample of pretrial defendants (N = 820), current results suggest that defendants struggled with Miranda abilities regardless of other, individual characteristics. However, verbal intelligence emerged as a very strong predictor of Miranda comprehension such that those with lower VIQ were considerably more vulnerable to impaired comprehension. More so, data suggest that several compounded vulnerabilities (i.e., minoritized racial/ethnic identity status, limited academic achievement, illiteracy) are essential to understanding the extent of vulnerability in the criminal legal system in addition to the negative impacts of cognitive impairments. Several crucial implications for clinical practice and legal decision-making are explored. Finally, essential areas for future research are presented.
The Competency Pipeline: Examining the Association of Doctoral Training with Early Career Outcomes: Participants from earlier nationwide studies on predictors of internship match were contacted 7-10 years after obtaining their doctoral degree to gather additional data concerning their attained early career competencies and benchmarks (e.g., scores on the national licensing exam). In this sample (N = 190), licensure exam scores were significantly positively associated with scores obtained on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), family of origin socioeconomic status, and student debt load. However, obtained licensure scores were not found to be significantly associated with any pre-doctoral training variables (e.g., intervention/ assessment hours, number of integrated reports, number of publications, rank order of matched internship site) or most post-doctoral early career activities. Weak positive associations between licensures scores and engaging in teaching / supervision / consultation services were observed. Few self-reported early career competencies were found to be weakly positively associated with scores on the national licensing exam (i.e., integrity, seeking supervision, scientific mindedness, evidence-based practice). Significantly inverse associations were found between national licensing exam scores and self-reported competencies in the areas of management and systems change. Findings are discussed and implications for the national licensing exam considered.
Examination of Potentially Morally Injurious Events and Moral Injury in Medical Professionals: The current study examined the nature and extent of endorsement of PMIEs, the nature and severity of MI symptoms related to endorsement of a PMIE, and the relations between extent of endorsement of PMIEs and MI symptoms. We hypothesized that (1) PMIEs perpetrated by others would be endorsed to a greater extent than PMIEs perpetrated by oneself; (2) medical professionals who endorsed a PMIE would report significantly greater severity on all MI symptoms compared to medical professionals who did not endorse a PMIE; (3) experiencing PMIEs (perpetrated by oneself and/or others) to a greater extent would predict higher levels of MI symptom severity, and MI symptom severity would specifically be most strongly predicted by PMIEs perpetrated by oneself. Hypotheses were examined using t-tests, Pearson's r correlations, and multiple multivariate regression analyses. First, the current study found that PMIEs perpetrated by others were endorsed to a greater extent than those perpetrated by themselves; second, greater exposure to PMIEs was associated with significantly greater severity of 10 of the 14 outcomes. Third, PMIEs perpetrated by oneself predicted more MI symptomatology than PMIEs perpetrated by others, indicating that while PMIEs perpetrated by others are more common, PMIEs perpetrated by oneself are more strongly associated with MI outcomes. This study highlights the widespread and harmful impact of PMIEs among medical professionals.
The Impostor Phenomenon as a Threat to Professional Resilience and Profession-Wide Diversity in the Psychology Trainee to Workforce Pipeline: Racial and ethnic diversity representation in the field of health service psychology is neither equitable nor reflective of the increasingly diverse population nationwide. This discrepancy is endemic to widespread problems associated with mental health care: Minorities are severely underrepresented in the workforce, in psychology training programs, and in treatment populations. The longstanding lack of diversity among trainees in doctoral programs and among professionals in the workforce is associated with poorer mental health outcomes among minority patients; however, the specific contributors that facilitate and maintain racial/ethnic diversity constriction appear to be understudied. Based on the extant literature, a reasonable hypothesis might be that admission of qualified underrepresented minorities to doctoral training is constricted by ineffective and/or outdated recruitment and admissions practices. The proposed study sought to investigate whether impostor feelings or self-reported resilience might be predictive of intent to apply to graduate programs among underrepresented minority students earning their bachelor's degree in psychology. Results indicated that resilience was the most impactful variable in undergraduate students' intent to apply to graduate programs. Hypothesized ethnic differences in impostor feelings and self-perceived resilience were not observed in the study sample. The larger implications of these findings underscore the need for more culturally informed measures that accurately represent the experiences of underrepresented minorities in psychology's training-to-workforce pipeline. A representative workforce via is integral to optimizing treatment outcomes for underserved communities long-term and, as such, necessitates more research into problematic points on representation constriction in the training-to-workforce pipeline.
An Examination of Communication Patterns, Relationship Satisfaction, and Mental Health Symptoms in IPV-Exposed Women With and Without a History of Child Abuse: Extant research suggests communication styles (CS) such as constructive communication (CC) to be associated positively with relationship satisfaction (RS) and negatively with mental health (MH) whereas self-demand / partner withdraw (SD/PW) communication is associated negatively with RS and positively with MH. Research also suggests child abuse (CA) to be associated with poorer CS, lower RS, and poorer MH. Further, RS has been differentially associated with MH and CS in adult intimate relationships. However, no study has examined these associations simultaneously. The current study aimed to (1) assess these associations in IPV-exposed women and (2) assess differences between those with and without a history of CA. Data (n = 412; Mage = 36.77, SD = 12.54) come from a larger data collection project (N = 676). I hypothesized that: (1) higher CC and RS would be associated with lower severity of MH symptoms; (2) higher SD/PW and lower RS would be associated with higher severity of MH symptoms; (3) women with a history of CA will report less CC, lower RS, and higher severity of MH symptoms; and (4) women with a history of CA will report more SD/PW, lower RS, and higher severity of MH symptoms. Results did not support hypotheses. Results suggest that CS and RS do not together predict MH in this population and do not differ for those with or without a history of CA. Future research should quantitatively and qualitatively investigate these associations in dyads in order to thoroughly assess the everyday nature of the relationship.
NCAA College Coaches' Attitudes and Perceptions of LGBQ+ Student-Athletes: A Qualitative Analysis: Due to their influential roles in the lives of their players, understanding coaches' attitudes and perceptions toward LGBQ+ student-athletes is essential for assessing how safe collegiate sport environments are for LGBQ+ athletes. However, the research in this area has been limited. The present study aims to address this gap by investigating coaches' perceptions of LGBQ+ athletes to inform policy and education for promoting inclusive sport environments for these athletes. Participants were 1,533 collegiate coaches (Mage = 39.65 years; women = 41.3%; White = 83.7%; non-Hispanic = 86.4%; heterosexual = 74.9%) drawn from all three NCAA Divisions. In an open-ended, text response question, coaches were asked to identify the extent to which they would support and accept athletes on their teams being open about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and to describe the reasoning for their beliefs. Through reflexive thematic analysis, six higher order themes capturing coaches' rationales were identified: (a) levels of acceptance, (b) i coach, therefore i am…, (c) supportive environments are essential, (d) as a queer coach…, (e) limiting queerness, and (f) sexual orientation does not provide a competitive advantage. Analyses illuminate avenues for LGBQ+ athlete inclusion policies and training for coaches.
Relations among Involuntary Stress Responses, Social Support, and Cortisol Output during Acute Social Stress among Adolescent Girls: This investigation utilized data from a previous laboratory-based study to examine the interactive contributions of trait involuntary stress responses (ISRs, e.g., rumination) and perceived familial social support (SS) on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA; as indexed via salivary cortisol) response to acute stress in a sample of 128 adolescent girls ages 12 to 16. Participants completed a modified Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and physiologic stress response was indexed via six salivary cortisol samples. Dimensions of ISRs and familial social support were entered into regression models to predict total cortisol circulation defined by area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCG; Pruessner et al., 2003) following the TSST. Neither ISRs or SS were associated with cortisol AUCG, nor was there an interactive effect of SS on relationships between ISRs and AUCG. Implications of present results and methodological recommendations for future investigations are discussed. This may be the first investigation to consider the interactive effects of ISRs and social support on adolescent girls' HPA responses. Greater understanding of these factors in this understudied demographic will improve translational science as well as inform risk assessment and intervention development.
Adult Attachment, Racial-Ethnic Identity, Racial-Ethnic Socialization, and Subjective Wellbeing: The current study aimed to explore the direct effect of insecure adult attachment on subjective wellbeing and its indirect effect via racial-ethnic identity. Additionally, the present study examined the extent to which racial-ethnic socialization practices may moderate adult attachment and racial-ethnic identity link. The final sample included 213 emerging adults (M = 20.94; SD = 2.96) with diverse racial-ethnic backgrounds. PROCESS Model 4 and 1 were used to examine the direct and indirect effect of insecure attachment on subjective wellbeing via racial-ethnic identity variables and the interaction effect between insecure attachment and racial-ethnic socialization on racial-ethnic identity variables. Results indicated the direct effect of insecure attachment on subjective wellbeing but did not support hypotheses for the indirect effect of insecure attachment on subjective wellbeing via the racial-ethnic identity variables. Additionally, results indicated that overt socialization buffered the negative impact of attachment avoidance on racial-ethnic identity exploration. Furthermore, racial-ethnic identity variables and subjective wellbeing significantly differed across racial-ethnic groups and socioeconomic statuses. Findings provide insight on the distinct concepts of attachment and racial-ethnic identity as they highlight inter- and intra-personal components, respectively. Mental health professionals may utilize overt socialization to help clients develop a sense of purpose and meaning related to their identity. Limitations, future research directions, and counseling implications are discussed.
Burnout and Psychological Wellbeing among Taiwanese and American Graduate Students in Mental Health Services: Role of Adult Attachment, Emotion Regulation, and Self-Compassion: Graduate students in mental health service training programs are at risk of experiencing burnout. Using adult attachment theory as the guiding framework, this study examined a conceptual model which depicted the direct and indirect effect of attachment insecurity on burnout and the subsequent psychological distress via low self-compassion and emotion regulation difficulty with two cultural samples recruited from the U.S. and Taiwan, respectively. The final sample included 216 U.S. mental health graduate trainees and 201 Taiwanese trainees. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings from the final models best supported by the data revealed that in both cultural groups, attachment anxiety contributed to lower self-compassion which subsequently resulted in greater burnout and that emotion regulation did not play a mediational role in the models. Results also demonstrated cultural differences in several paths of the research model. For the U.S. sample, only higher attachment anxiety indirectly contributed to more psychological distress through low self-compassion and burnout was best positioned as an outcome variable similar to psychological distress, instead of being a mediator. For the Taiwanese sample, on the other hand, both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance demonstrated significant indirect effects on higher psychological distress through lower self-compassion and burnout was a 2nd tired mediator through which attachment anxiety indirectly contributed to higher psychological distress. These findings advanced our understanding of the role of adult attachment insecurity in the development of burnout and psychological distress for graduate trainees in mental health fields, as well as the possible cultural differences in the observed variables and their relations. Counseling implications, limitations, and future research directions were discussed.
A Qualitative Investigation of Resilience among Collegiate Athletes Who Survived Childhood Maltreatment: The purpose of the current study was to understand the lived experiences and perspectives of high-functioning survivors of moderate or severe childhood maltreatment (CM) as related to the role of athletic participation in the development of their resilience. We emailed and screened Division I student-athletes from universities across the U. S. who did not meet criteria for a traumatic stress disorder. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach and constant comparison methodology, we obtained and analyzed interview data from 13 participants. The pathways through which participation in childhood athletics supported their coping include receiving social support from coaches and teammates, being present and engaged in their athletic participation, feeling relatively safe in their athletic environment, and spending time away from the main perpetrators of the CM. After applying concepts from existing literature to our data, we developed hypotheses to explain the processes by which participation in youth sport fosters resilience. For example, sport participation may provide opportunities for corrective emotional experiences that help young athletes heal. In addition, based on self-determination theory, maltreated elite athletes may benefit from sport participation because it meets their three basic needs (i.e., autonomy, mastery, and relatedness). We conclude this study with suggested implications for researchers and clinicians, as well as recommendations related to the training and education of coaches in terms of CM.
On the Frontline of Athlete Mental Health: The Mental Health Literacy of NCAA Coaches: Coaches' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about mental health – the construct of mental health literacy (MHL) – affects teams' mental health (MH) climates and the early detection, referral, and treatment of athletes' MH concerns. Thus, assessing collegiate coaches' MHL, and the factors related to its presence, is critical. Using the Mental Health Literacy Scale, I surveyed 1,571 NCAA coaches (Mage = 37.5 years, SD = 11.8; 51.4% cisgender female; 85.9% White) regarding their MHL and related demographic and MH-experience factors, including their belief regarding MH and sport performance. Overall, 99.9% of the coaches believed that athletes' MH affected their sport performances. Through hierarchical regression analyses, I found that coaches' exposure to MH treatment, their perceived helpfulness of MH treatment, their gender (i.e., woman), number of years coaching (i.e., fewer years), and NCAA Division in which they currently coach (i.e., DIII) were related significantly to their MHL, explaining 15.5% of variance. Coaches' race/ethnicity was not related to MHL. These findings provide insight on hiring and educating coaches, and hiring appropriately trained and licensed MH and sport psychology professionals. Specifically, coach education should be focused and practical: signs and symptoms of common MH concerns disorders; the ubiquity of MH concerns among athletes; how to talk to athletes about MH and suicide; and how to make timely, efficient, and respectful referrals following that system's specific procedures. Such education would be particularly beneficial for male coaches or those who have been coaching longer.
A Grounded Theory of Resilience among Elite Musicians Who Survived Childhood Maltreatment: While experiencing childhood maltreatment (CM) increases the risk for negative lifetime outcomes, protective factors can lessen the harmful impact of stressful experiences and contribute to one's overall resilience. Musical engagement may operate as a protective factor by facilitating creative expression, increasing feelings of mastery, and providing a sense of belonging. It may also present stressors due to the unique demands of music performance (e.g., time constraints, competitiveness, scarce career opportunities). Due to the limited current research looking at musicians that have experienced trauma, we used a constructivist grounded theory approach to understand how the experience of engaging in music education and performance as children influenced resilience among adult survivors of CM. We invited thirteen students from prestigious music performance programs to participate based on their demonstrated resilience to perform at elite levels, despite reports of severe CM. Participants reflected on their experiences with CM, music education and performance, their identities as musicians, and the concept of resilience. Our analysis of interview transcripts supported the positive influence of social support, self-efficacy, and time and space away from their primary perpetrators of CM. Participants also consistently noted challenges present within organized music education, including ineffective instructors, pressure to perform well, and music used as a form of maltreatment which hindered their abilities to cope with CM. Implications based on key findings support making trauma-informed music instruction available equitably to all children and increased awareness among professionals of instructors' influence to facilitate or impede the coping process.
The Examination for the Professional Practice of Psychology (EPPP): An Examination of Criterion Validity: The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) is a requirement for licensure as a psychologist across the entire United States as well as in numerous territories and provinces. Despite many longstanding criticisms and findings of bias, the EPPP is being expanded (adding a second, putatively competency-based, portion to the overall exam) and rebranded as the Enhanced EPPP. A review of literature reveals strong skepticism surrounding these developments, particularly with respect to the issue of criterion validity. The current study sought to examine the criterion validity of the EPPP by (1) drawing archival competency assessment data from existing measures (convergent validity) and (2) gathering new neurocognitive and emotional intelligence data, along with demographic data (discriminant validity), with copies of EPPP score reports from individuals who have recently taken the EPPP. Competency ratings did not significantly positively correlate with EPPP scores and, instead, indicated the opposite trend. Analyses also revealed a significant relationship between ethnicity and exam scores, with White individuals scoring higher than other ethnicities. Finally, performance on neurocognitive tests significantly positively correlated with exam scores, indicating that general test taking abilities play a larger role than abilities and competencies unique to the psychology field. Given the gatekeeping role the EPPP plays in the profession of psychology, external validation of the EPPP is of vital importance and was not supported in this study. Implications for the exam and the field are discussed.
A Cultural and Systemic Model of Sibling Aggression and Its Impact: Sibling aggression is one of the most frequently occurring forms of aggression within the family and has been associated with socioemotional problems. Guided by the cultural context perspective and family systems theory, a conceptual model depicting the direct and indirect effects of cultural orientation values, traditional gender role attitudes, parental differential treatment, and parent-child conflict on sibling aggression and psychosocial functioning (i.e., psychological distress and interpersonal difficulties) was developed. It was hypothesized that perceptions of cultural values and gender role attitudes endorsed by primary caregivers would be associated with family dynamics factors (i.e., parental differential treatment and parent-child conflict) that contributed to sibling aggression and resulting impaired psychosocial functioning. A total of 272 participants completed the online questionnaire that measured the variables of interest. Structural equation modeling (SEM) methods were used to analyze the data. Findings of the final models lent clear support to the indirect effects of cultural values and gender role attitudes on sibling aggression and resulting psychosocial functioning through differential treatment and parent-child conflict although the results also yielded some unexpected nuances regarding the indirect effect paths. Specifically, lower levels of independent cultural values contributed to greater levels of sibling aggression and impaired psychosocial functioning through more differential treatment and parent-child conflict, while higher levels of traditional gender role attitudes contributed to the outcome variables only through differential treatment. Findings are discussed from the cultural context and family systems framework. Limitations, future directions, and clinical implications are also discussed.
Differences in Socio-Cognitive Processes among Individuals Exhibiting Characteristics of Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissism: A Multimethod Approach: This study explored how well specific socio-cognitive processes (i.e., interpersonal problems, empathy, hostile attributional biases, envy/jealousy) predicted the manifestations of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Additionally, we explored the impact of both forms of narcissism on the presence of maladaptive social behaviors (i.e., the perpetration of psychological abuse). We found that domineering interpersonal behaviors and a propensity to fantasize predicted significant unique variance in grandiose narcissism; envy of others, hostile attributional biases, and a propensity to fantasize predicted significant unique variance in vulnerable narcissism. Additionally, while domineering interpersonal behaviors and hostile attributional biases predicted significant variance in psychological abuse perpetration, only vulnerable narcissism added significant unique variance to its regression model. Lastly, only domineering interpersonal behaviors, envy of others, and hostile attributional biases predicted significant unique variance in psychological abuse victimization; narcissism was nonsignificant. The results of our study will contribute to an increased understanding of the nature of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism and the impacts these personality styles have on an individual's ability to function effectively in interpersonal relationships.
Intergenerational Differences in Barriers that Impede Mental Health Service Use among Latinos: Research has extensively documented the mental health disparities that exist for ethnic and racial minorities living in the United States. With respect to Latinos, such disparities are marked by less access to care and poorer quality of mental health treatment. Studies on Latino mental health have found differences in mental health service utilization among ethnic subgroups and among different generations of Latinos. However, empirical data examining specific attitudes and barriers to mental health treatment among different generations of Latinos are limited. This study explored the relationships between Latino generational status, mental health service utilization, psychological distress, and barriers to mental health treatment. An online survey (N = 218) included samples of first-generation (n = 67), second-generation (n = 86), and third-generation or beyond Latinos (n = 65). Results indicated first-generation Latinos had the lowest rate of mental health service utilization and reported greater linguistic and structural knowledge barriers, however, they had lower perceived social stigma of mental health services when age at migration was considered. Implications of these findings for research, mental health service providers and mental health policy are discussed.
Graduation, Sport Retirement, and Athletic Identity: Moderating Effects of Social Support on Collegiate Athletes' Life Satisfaction and Alcohol Use: Retirement from sport is a process that unfolds over time in which athletes have varied experiences, ranging from seamless transition to psychological distress. Researchers have sought to understand the variables (i.e., athletic identity, social support) that contribute to successful or unsuccessful transitions, with athletic identity being one of the most frequently mentioned. Athletes who strongly identify with the athlete role at the time of retirement are more at risk for adverse retirement outcomes (i.e., mental health concerns, identity concerns, substance use). To date, few studies have examined the moderating effect of coping resources, such as social support, on athletic identity at the time of retirement. The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, we found that student-athletes who graduated and retired had lower athletic identity, higher alcohol use, and less perceived social support than their peers who continued competing four months after graduation. Second, we longitudinally examined the relationship of athletic identity and social support to the psychological well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and binge drinking) of collegiate student athletes who retired from sport. Neither T1 athletic identity nor T1 social support, nor their interaction, were related to T2 life satisfaction or T2 alcohol use in the retired student-athletes after controlling for gender and the respective T1 variables. Further, being female and T1 life satisfaction were the only significant predictors for T2 life satisfaction; T1 alcohol use was the only predictor of T2 alcohol use. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.
Self-Compassion, Body Satisfaction, and Eating Disorders in Male Collegiate Athletes: A Longitudinal Analysis: Research identifies male athletes as a subpopulation at risk for developing eating disorders and disordered eating (ED/DE). Petrie and Greenleaf's sociocultural model proposes that various correlates contribute to the etiology of ED/DE in athletes. Among the correlates, body satisfaction has been identified as a direct precursor to ED/DE symptomatology in male and female athletes. Recent research has noted self-compassion's utility in alleviating the outcomes of poor body image and ED/DE through several pathways. However, researchers have yet to examine self-compassion in relation to body satisfaction and ED/DE in male athletes or the temporal relationship between these variables. This study longitudinally examined the direct and indirect effects of self-compassion on body satisfaction and ED/DE symptomatology in a mixed-sport sample of 452 male collegiate athletes by testing the cross-lagged, temporal relationships among self-compassion, body satisfaction, and ED/DE symptomatology across a four-month time frame. Time 1 self-compassion was neither directly related to Time 2 body satisfaction (β = 0.02, p = .755), nor indirectly to Time 2 ED/DE (β = -0.002, 95% BCaCI [-0.028, 0.014]) when controlling for Time 1 scores. Recent research supports my finding and suggests that the effects of self-compassion on body satisfaction and ED/DE symptomatology may be dependent on gender. In contrast, Time 2 body satisfaction was directly related to Time 2 ED/DE (β = -0.12, p < 0.05), which adds to a substantial body of research in that body satisfaction is a primary antecedent to ED/DE.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Trait vs Occasion Unipolar Depression: Unipolar depression is a leading cause of disability and overall burden of disease for millions of individuals across the world. Depressive symptoms (e.g., depressed mood, anhedonia, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, difficulties concentrating, etc.) can drastically affect an individual's life leading to occupational, social, and personal impairment. Past research shows significant ethnic and racial differences in depression rates and treatment. Moreover, previous literature has also begun to explore the multidimensional nature of depression, investigating its occasion-like (or episodic) and trait-like (or stable) factors. However, prior studies have not explored differences in occasion and trait depression by race or ethnicity, nor have they explored these questions in nurses, a group that faces substantial workplace stressors. To redress these gaps, the current study investigated trait and occasion depression in a large sample of nurses (N = 390) tracked across 12 months and aimed to understand whether trait versus occasion rates of depression differed by racial and ethnic minority status. Findings indicated substantially more trait depression (65.93%) than occasion depression (34.11%) across the year in nurses. However, there were no significant differences based on racial and ethnic minority status. Results highlight the importance of understanding depression as a much more stable aspect of an individual's personality, instead of merely viewing it as a direct response to changes in an individual's external environment. Additionally, findings suggest that focusing on adaptation of more long-term skills to target trait-like depression may be more helpful for nurses experiencing depression.
Examining the Links between Narcissism Domains and Self-Concept Clarity, Self-Esteem, Attachment, Emotion Regulation, and Aggression: Narcissism is currently being redefined as a multidimensional construct. While some researchers hold that narcissism remains a unidimensional phenomenon, others have suggested that bi- and tridimensional conceptualizations may better represent the construct as well as align more succinctly with the experiences of individuals with varying levels of narcissistic traits. Also, since the latter conceptualizations offer a broader assessment of narcissistic tendencies, they may provide greater accuracy in identifying differing narcissistic phenotypes (e.g., malignant vs vulnerable). Given the variety in conceptualizations of narcissism, it remains an open area as to how their respective domains are associated with various risk factors and behavioral outcomes, particularly within antagonistic forms of narcissism. This thesis explored the multidimensional approaches to defining narcissism and examined the associations between narcissistic traits and attachment style, self-concept, self-esteem, emotion regulation, and aggression. Also, the current study explored how differences in college degree (business vs. psychology) and gender may influence the expression of narcissism and associations with attachment style. Overall, the study provides results relevant for a tridimensional view of narcissism and adds to the literature on narcissism's link with factors involved in personality pathology, gender, and choice of college degree.
Survivor vs. Victim: Self-Labeling of Trauma Victims and Its Implicit Impact on Resilience and Recovery: Past research demonstrates that participants who label themselves as ‘victims' experience worse trauma-related outcomes than those who label themselves as ‘survivors.' Self-labeling in trauma research is typically measured using a dichotomous measure where participants choose either victim or survivor, but this construct may be better conceived as more continuous. The current study assessed self-labeling as a possible continuous construct and explored its predictive validity. To capture self-labeling as a continuous construct, we created and utilized a new scale, the Trauma Self-Labeling Measure. Two hundred eleven participants completed a battery of questionnaires to measure self-labeling and four trauma-related outcomes: posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, anxiety, and resilience. When tested on the continuous trauma self-labeling measure, an overwhelming number of participants chose in-between victim and survivor (78.9%) which suggests self-labeling is better assessed using a continuous measure than dichotomous. However, correlation analyses revealed that the continuous self-labeling measure was not significantly correlated to the four trauma-related outcomes, whereas the dichotomous self-labeling, continuous victim, and continuous survivor measures were. When conducting post-hoc analyses, we found an unexpected positive correlation between the continuous victim and survivor self-labeling measures. This unexpected positive correlation suggests that self-labeling is not a singular construct, as previously assumed, but rather is composed of separate victim and survivor constructs. In conclusion, the current study provides the first empirical evidence to support the idea that self-labeling is more continuous than dichotomous and composed of two separate constructs of victim and survivor.
Moderating Variables on the Relationship between Parent-Child Bonds and Mature Decentering: Developmental psychology aims to elucidate how children's early relationships influence their interactions with the world. Piaget's cognitive development theory is often noted when discussing development, and although his cognitive descriptions of decentering (i.e., perspective taking) were compelling, they neglected interpersonal contexts. Accordingly, Feffer conceptualized decentering within a social context. To expand on Feffer's consideration of the social context, the current study explored early parent-child bonds and their impact on child development, specifically interpersonal decentering, in adolescence. In the present secondary analysis of data from the Institute of Human Development longitudinal Guidance Study at the University of California, Berkeley, I hypothesized that, for both boys and girls, conflict with relatives and a parent's nervous instability would moderate the association between early strong parental bonds and more mature decentering at ages 12.5 and 18 years, and that more imaginative play, introspection, and better physical health would moderate the relationship between strong father-son bonds at age 21 months and the son's more mature decentering at age 12.5 and 18 years. The findings revealed that the association between strong father-son bonds at 21 months and the son's more mature decentering at age 12.5 was strongest when the son was less introspective compared to when the son was more introspective. When sons were in better health at ages 5-10 years and 11-17 years, their father-son bonds at age 21 months were more strongly related to more mature decentering at age 18 compared to sons who were in fair to poor health. The current study expands on the impact parental bonds, particularly paternal for sons, have on a child's social cognitive development.
Testing Family Functioning and Psychosis Risk Across Race and Ethnicity: Family functioning has long been a focus of research in psychopathology. Decades of research has shown that family factors are associated with symptom severity, relapse, functional outcomes, and conversion to psychosis among at-risk individuals. Previous studies suggest family functioning varies across cultures, which raises the possibility that associations between family factors and psychopathology may also differ by culture. Furthermore, family functioning assessment generally involves instruments that have not been systematically validated for use with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. The current study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (N = 11,138) to: (1) evaluate three family functioning scales (i.e., Family Environment Scale, Child's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, Parental Monitoring Survey) and the Prodromal Questionnaire – Brief Child version for measurement invariance across racial/ethnic groups; (2) investigate the relations between family factors and psychosis; and (3) compare relations derived from Step 2 between racial/ethnic groups. Full scalar invariance was tenable for the CRPBI and the PQ-BC, providing statistical support for mean comparisons across groups. The FES and the PMQ lacked scalar invariance, which suggests mean comparisons across groups may not be appropriate. The CRPBI and the PMQ are significantly associated with the PQ-BC, and all three family scales had equivalent relations with the PQ-BC across groups. The current study highlights the importance of evaluating assessment instruments for measurement invariance across racial/ethnic groups. Results also help to connect specific family factors to the etiology of psychotic disorders among US children and adolescents.
Multicultural Training and Program Climate in Masters Sport Psychology Programs: Little is known about the current state of multicultural training within sport psychology master's programs. The study explored students' perceptions of their multicultural training and program climate. Importantly, differences in perceptions were investigated based on students' demographic factors, given that students with marginalized identities tend to report less favorable perceptions of and experiences in graduate training. Participants (N = 107) consisted of students and recent graduates of master's level sport psychology programs. Participants reported moderate levels of feeling safe, valued, and comfortable within their master's program, low to moderate levels of multicultural training integration within their curriculum and supervision, and low to moderate satisfaction with their multicultural training. Asian, Asian American, bi/multiracial, Black, African American, Hispanic, and Latino/a/e students, compared to their White peers, reported less satisfaction with their multicultural training, felt less safe, comfortable, and valued within their programs, and perceived less integration of multiculturalism into curriculum and supervision. A multiple regression analysis revealed that, for all students, perceptions of multicultural training integration and reports of feeling safe, comfortable, and valued was significantly related to students' satisfaction with their multicultural training. Discussion focuses on possible explanations for these findings, training implications, and future research directions.
Interplay of Race, Gender, Competition Level, Athletic Identity, and Psychological Distress: The Moderating Roles of Social Support and Self-Compassion: The current study consisted of 4,116 student-athletes (Mage = 19.84; women = 66.9%; White = 78.2%) to achieve two purposes when considering the disrupting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of collegiate sports. First, I examined the relationship between gender, race/ethnicity, competition level, and athletic identity. Though there were no significant differences across NCAA Divisional levels, I found a significant gender by race interaction with Black male athletes reporting stronger athletic identities compared to White male and female athletes as revealed by post-hoc analyses. Second, I examined the relationship between athletic identity and psychological distress and found that when social support and self-compassion are both low, there is a moderate, positive relationship between athletic identity and psychological distress for the White female athletes. Additionally, there were main effects for self-compassion and social support where higher levels were related to lower psychological distress among the White female athletes and Latino/a athletes. For the Black male athletes, there was a main effect for only self-compassion. There was a significant self-compassion by social support interaction for the Black female athletes and White male athletes, suggesting that when self-compassion is low, or high, there are higher levels of psychological distress experienced when social support is low. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.
Elementary School Teachers' Responses to Potential Child Abuse: This study was designed to evaluate: (a) teachers' behavior when they are confronted with potential cases of child abuse and (b) the information teachers require to make accurate decisions regarding the reporting of suspected child abuse. Teachers were presented with three vignettes describing cases of varying levels of suspected maltreatment, and different amounts of additional information. They were then asked to indicate how likely they would be to report the case to Child Protective Services (CPS). It was expected that reporting behavior would increase as available information increased. The results generally did not support this hypothesis. No significant impact on reporting behavior was found when teachers were presented with either the symptom list or the legal interpretation; however, there was a trend toward an interaction with the level of abusive indications in the case. These results are discussed in the context of the need for further training.
Mending Broken Hearts: Contributions of Attachment Style, Decentering, and Meaning Making for Breakup Adjustment during Emerging Adulthood: Breakups within emerging adulthood (EA) are associated with heightened distress because of individuals' tendency to be preoccupied by and prioritize romantic relationships. Global narrative scoring systems, such as Boals et al.'s meaning making (MM) and Feffer et al.'s interpersonal decentering, can be a useful for analyzing the activated cognitive processing in narratives about stressful events and have been linked to positive adjustment from those events. Attachment may moderate the benefits of processing a breakup. While avoidantly-attached people report lower breakup distress because of their tendency to suppress attachment-related thoughts and emotions, anxiously-attached individuals report prolonged distress due to their tendency to ruminate about the past relationship and to experience continued attachment to their ex-partner. The current study assessed the cross-sectional effects of MM and decentering on depression and breakup non-acceptance, as well as how attachment moderates the relationship between decentering and breakup adjustment. Results found higher MM was associated with higher depression and non-acceptance. More mature decentering was related to lower non-acceptance, but was unrelated to depression. Initial MM efforts may evoke more distress as individuals focus on distressing thoughts or emotions previously avoided. Initial decentering maturity may help with breakup adjustment as one effectively reflects on their own and their ex-partner's thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Attachment style did not moderate the relationship between decentering, depression, and non-acceptance. The present study contributes to the literature on processing relational stressors during EA.
An Uncivil Student and an Antagonistic Professor Walk into a Classroom: How Instructor Behavior During Class Conflict Impacts Learning: Exceptional classroom management (CM) for face-to-face and online classes is vital to instructor success, and importantly, directly impacts students' ability to learn. Classroom conflict may disrupt an instructor's CM and can occur when a student is uncivil (e.g., sidetracks from lecture) or when an instructor misbehaves (e.g., antagonizes students). A small but meaningful line of work suggests that uncivil students and misbehaving teachers negatively impact the learning environment. However, no work has examined how the interaction between an uncivil student and misbehaving teacher impacts learning. As such, the purpose of the current study is to empirically investigate how teacher responses to student incivility impact cognitive learning in an online learning environment. The project evaluated approximately 252 undergraduate students via an online study. Participants watched a video of an online class in which the professor responds to an uncivil student in one of three different ways: antagonistically, positively, or neutrally. Participants then took a cognitive learning quiz based on the lecture and answered questions about their perception of the instructor, uncivil student, and the learning environment. Results of the one-way ANOVA suggest that how an instructor responded to student incivility did not significantly impact cognitive learning. Secondary analyses also indicated that participant perceptions of the instructor, uncivil student, and learning environment did not significantly relate to cognitive learning. Results of the current study evidence both convergence and divergence with prior work, highlighting the importance of continued experimental investigation of the impact instructor reactions to student incivilities has on learning.
The Intersection of Miranda and Race/Ethnicity: Effects of Perceptions of Police Officers and Stereotype Threat: The decision of the landmark United States Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona (1966) established procedural safeguards to protect custodial suspects' 5th and 6th Amendment rights through requiring provision of what is now known as the Miranda warnings prior to interrogation. Suspects may elect to waive their rights once informed; however, research indicates that many individuals have inadequate knowledge and appreciation of their Miranda rights and consequences of waiving them. Miranda abilities and individual factors are critical factors in determining the validity of Miranda rights waivers. Researchers implicated many factors as influencing waiver decisions (e.g., intellectual ability, psychopathology, age); however, the differential impact of racial/ethnic identity is relatively unexplored. The importance of the investigation of race/ethnicity in Miranda abilities and decisions is underscored by the established differences in perceptions of police officers for racial/ethnic groups. Additionally, scholars have identified a potential presence of stereotype threat contributing to detrimental interrogation decisions. The current study advances previous research through examining the influence of racial/ethnic identity on Miranda abilities and waiver decision. This study also seeks to further the understanding of the effects of perceptions of police officers and presence of stereotype threat through investigate the role of those variables in Miranda abilities and decisions. Using a diverse sample via MTurk, the purpose of the study is to investigate these relevant factors in the intersection of Miranda and race/ethnicity to help inform researchers, forensic practitioners, and policy-makers.
Emotion Regulation in Bipolar Disorder: A Meta-Analytic Review: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious mental illness characterized by dramatically differing mood states and marked costs for the individual and society, making it important to find factors associated with the condition. Deficits in emotion regulation have been found across a wide range of mental health disorders and may represent an important risk factor for BD. Literature in this area has large methodological inconsistencies and many conclusions are mixed. Therefore, the current study sought to conduct a meta-analytic review of literature related to emotion regulation in BD. Results suggest that people with BD broadly report more frequent use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and less frequent use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies than healthy controls. Of these strategies, the largest effect sizes were found for risk-taking, rumination, impulsivity, catastrophizing, and self-blame. Comparisons to other clinical groups suggest that emotion regulation in BD is largely similar to major depressive disorder and less severely impaired than borderline personality disorder. Moderator analyses of BD samples in different mood states suggest mood state plays a limited role in emotion regulation strategy usage, although some maladaptive strategies may be more common in samples with depressive symptoms. Among emotion regulation strategies, increased positive rumination and suppression may be uniquely characteristic of BD. Findings of this review support the importance of targeting emotion regulation in assessment and treatment of BD. Notably, psychotherapeutic interventions focused on emotion regulation, such as cognitive therapies, may be a key factor in reducing BD risk and episode recurrence.
The Role of Affiliative and Aversive Personality Traits in Predicting Social Attitudes: Interpersonally aversive, antagonistic, or "dark" traits have been the focal point of research for decades. In more recent personality research, affiliative, prosocial, or "light" traits have become an area of emerging interest. Examining both domains may allow for a more comprehensive perspective to understanding behaviors and social attitudes involved in human nature related to social dominance and authoritarianism. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations among aversive versus affiliative personality traits with social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). Both SDO and RWA are robustly tied to prejudice and discrimination, as well as other negative interpersonal characteristics. In this way, the current study will help address if expression of SDO and RWA are primarily linked with presence of a negative (aversive traits) or more so with the absence of a positive (affiliative traits) The current study involved a large general population sample of males who were assessed with Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Short Form (SRP-SF), subscales from the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4), and the Light Triad Scale (LTS), along with variables tapping the multifaceted domains involved in SDO and RWA. In addition to a series of multiple regression analyses, an exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) was tested to uncover the structure and predictive value of aversive and affiliative traits. The findings of this study may help to further understand individual differences in aversive and affiliative dispositions and their link to critical external correlates.
Barriers and Facilitators of College Athletes Seeking Mental Health Services: The data surrounding barriers to student-athletes seeking mental health care are limited, but show that stigma is one of the most frequently reported barriers. Further, the effect of sharing demographic identities (i.e., race, gender) between a student-athlete and their mental health treatment provider has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of reported barriers and facilitators to mental health as well as the importance of sport psychologist characteristics as a facilitator of mental health treatment. Participants consisted of student athletes from an NCAA Division I university, representing 11 sports. A series of two-way, repeated measures ANOVA analyses were conducted to determine within-subjects differences in overall reporting of barriers and facilitators, as well as between groups differences in race and gender. Significant differences were found in the rating of barriers and facilitators. Female student-athletes rated sharing a gender identity with their mental health treatment provider as more important than did male student-athletes. The findings of the study may aid athletic departments in developing targeted interventions to lower barriers and increase use of mental health resources to promote psychological well-being among student-athletes.
Suicidality Among Service Members and Veterans: Moral Injury, Attachment, and Social Support: Since 2009, the suicide completion rate for military service members and veterans (SMVs) has exceeded rates in civilian populations, with risk highest among young, male veterans. Suicide risk factors include psychiatric illness, low social support, and repeated or prolonged exposure to traumatic events. Recent research further suggests that the experience of unresolved morally injurious events (MIEs) may create lasting feelings of guilt and shame that contribute to psychiatric illness. Additionally, adult attachment plays an important role in coping responses and relational strategies and may influence the degree to which SMVs experience helplessness and isolation that foster suicidal ideation. Protective factors such as social connectedness are important mitigating factors, substantially reducing the risk of suicidality. In the present sample of 206 combat SMVs, higher suicidal ideation was directly correlated with more MIEs, higher attachment avoidance and anxiety, and lower social support. Although neither social support nor attachment anxiety moderated the link between MIEs and suicidal ideation, a significant interaction between attachment avoidance and MIEs emerged, suggesting that higher attachment avoidance increases the risk for suicidal ideation among SMVs reporting more experiences of moral injury. Additionally, findings suggest that higher levels of social support buffer the detrimental effects of attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, on suicidal ideation.
Elucidating the Effects of Pre-Treatment Expectation Measures on Therapeutic Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis: Client pre-treatment expectations have a significant impact on psychotherapy outcome, therapeutic alliance, and attendance. Client expectations are thought to account for approximately 11-14% of variance in premature termination from psychotherapy. However, measures that conflate treatment beliefs and distinct measurement techniques for the same outcome construct obscure the relationship between expectations and psychotherapy outcomes. Clarifying these associations is necessary to support development of useful methods and processes that support client retention in evidence-based treatments. With drop-out rates of approximately 20% across treatment settings, and as high as 69.4% in psychology training clinics, risk of attrition is a significant liability to effective treatment. The meta-analytic findings presented herein clarify the association of pre-treatment expectations with psychotherapy outcome, considering competing definitions for client expectations and discrepant psychotherapy outcome measurement. Implications for attrition, treatment outcomes, and therapeutic alliance are discussed.
Impact of TAT Card Selection on Evaluation of Object Relations Functioning Following Childhood Physical Abuse: The purpose of this study is to show principles of TAT card pull are applicable to object relations theory, and card pull effects are greater in subjects with greater impairments. Stories of physically abused and control child and adolescent subjects were evaluated on object relations scales of the SCORS (Westen et al., 1985). Scores varied systematically as a function of card stimulus characteristics. Analysis of scales assessing internalization of self supported stimulus inhibition interpretation while scales measuring views of others or individual affective experiences advanced stimulus pull explanation. Abused individuals' response patterns were similar to controls except on CR. Results of this study may increase TAT utility for evaluating object relations functioning by guiding card selection.
The Effect of a Free-Time Contingency on Arithmetic and Problem Behavior in the Classroom: This investigation is concerned with demonstrating the effects of an easily managed classroom contingency-management treatment package on increasing arithmetic performance while decreasing disruptive behavior for whole classes of students. The study proposed, among other things, that programs differ in the degree to which each student must depend upon other students for reinforcement
Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, and COVID-19 Impacts among South Asians: South Asians are the third fastest growing racial/ethnic minority group in the United States with distinct cultural characteristics. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately impacted racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S, including South Asians, across several life domains: work, home life/education, social activities, economic, emotional and physical health, infection, quarantine, and positive changes. The COVID-19 pandemic may have critically impacted South Asians with traumatic event experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity across several life domains. Limited work suggests high rates of interpersonal traumas and substantial PTSD symptom severity in the South Asian community. Uniquely, the current study examined which life domains impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic associated with a greater count of traumatic event types, interpersonal vs. non-interpersonal traumas, and PTSD symptom severity. Results revealed that negative experiences in social activities, as well as distress in economic, emotional, and physical health domains, were significantly associated with the count of traumatic event types. Negative social activity experiences, and distress in the economic and emotional health domains, were also significantly associated with PTSD symptom severity. Quarantine and physical health domains significantly associated with the count of interpersonal traumas, while COVID-19-related experiences (in social, quarantine, and infection domains) significantly associated with the count of non-interpersonal traumas. Findings inform clinically relevant pandemic research in a vulnerable population and provide trauma and PTSD prevalence estimates in the South Asian community.
Common Strategies for Regulating Emotions across the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) Model: The hierarchical taxonomy of psychopathology (HiTOP) is a novel classification system that adopts both a dimensional and hierarchical approach to psychopathology to address shortcomings. However, the HiTOP framework is descriptive in nature and requires additional research to consider potential mechanisms for the onset and maintenance of psychopathology, such as cognitive-behavioral emotion regulation strategies. To redress this gap, a sample of 341 adults who endorsed ongoing mental health concerns completed self-report measures of emotion regulation strategies and psychopathology. The data revealed a three-spectra HiTOP model consisting of internalizing, thought disorder, and antagonistic externalizing. Results found that psychopathology was most strongly associated with avoidance, catastrophizing, expressive suppression, and self-blame. In contrast, adaptive strategies were generally unrelated to the HiTOP spectra. This pattern was strongest for internalizing, distress, and detachment. Fewer, yet noteworthy unique relationships between the strategies and specific spectra/subfactors were also found. These findings suggest that psychopathology may be best conceptualized as an overutilization of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. Furthermore, the results indicate there is added benefit to considering these strategies within a hierarchical approach to psychopathology. These associations alert clinicians to potential treatment targets and contribute to an ongoing literature that seeks to identify underlying mechanisms of the structure of psychopathology.
Queer Resilience: A Mixed Methods Examination of LGBTQ+ Positive Identity, Community Connectedness, and Mental Health Outcomes in Sexual Minority Emerging Adults: Despite significant progress in the acceptance and celebration of LGBTQ+ individuals, there is overwhelming evidence that sexual minorities still face disproportionate levels of health inequity compared to their heterosexual peers. Relative to their heterosexual peers, LGBTQ+ emerging adults may encounter unique challenges with discrimination, stigma, and limited social support as they navigate changes in their educational and occupational environments. Additionally, within the broader public health and LGBTQ+ mental health literature, little is known about the mental health service utilization of sexual minority emerging adults. To address these empirical gaps, a sample of 98 LGBTQ+ emerging adults completed self-report measures of heterosexist discrimination experiences, mental health symptoms, LGBTQ+ positive identity, LGBTQ+ community connectedness, and mental health service utilization. The present study found that LGBTQ+ positive identity and LGBTQ+ community connectedness did not attenuate the significant positive relationship between discrimination and negative mental health outcomes. The present study also found that LGBTQ+ positive identity predicted greater likelihood of mental health service utilization, whereas LGBTQ+ community connectedness did not. Finally, exploratory qualitative analyses yielded deeper understanding of relationships between LGBTQ+ positive identity, LGBTQ+ community connectedness, mental health service utilization, and resilience among sexual minority emerging adults. Implications and future directions for empirical research and clinical practice with LGBTQ+ emerging adults are discussed.
Some Things Change and the News Stays the Same: Contextual Factors of Mainstream News Viewing and Racial Attitudes: Considerable media research has established that much of mainstream, United States based news is historically rife with content that both implicitly and explicitly reinforces popular cultural norms. Combined with a history full of inequities towards marginalized groups, many of which were based on race, consumption of mainstream news has been linked to increased hostility and more negative attitudes towards non-Whites in the United States. That said, much of this work views news from a monolithic perspective of news programming, irrespective of the differences in political orientation or broadcast integrity. By using quantitative assessments of how various mainstream news programs score on both left/right and fact/opinion-based dichotomies, the purpose of the present study is to address these gaps. As models for how mainstream news consumption is related to existing race-related attitudes, theoretical foundations of cultivation theory (how long viewers watch), the motivation and opportunities model (if viewers are motivated in their viewing) and social ecology theory (who viewers are), were used in relation to these dichotomies. However, overall results suggest that, while time spent with news, race, and gender appear to affect news consumption's relationship with race-related attitudes, preference for left vs. right wing news and fact vs. opinion-based was less relevant, with marginal effect sizes at best. Implications and future directions considering these results are discussed.
The Development and Validation of a Comprehensive Stereotypicality Measure: Racial stereotypicality refers to the degree to which an individual looks like a "typical" member of their ethnic or racial group by considering multiple phenotypical features such as skin tone and nose width. Prior studies have utilized real and photoshopped images to assess perceptions of individuals high in racial stereotypicality. However, no known studies have allowed participants to engage in the self-assessment of their own facial features outside of skin-tone. In the present study, I develop and investigate the underlying structure of a scale which allows Black individuals to self-assess their perceived degree of racial stereotypicality. I accomplished this by developing items, soliciting expert feedback, conducting cognitive interviews, disseminating the proposed scale, and conducting an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on a sample of 308 Black adults. EFA results produced a three-factor structure influenced by item wording and reverse coding. Findings also indicated that items which assessed one's overall degree of stereotypicality loaded onto a singular, separate factor as originally theorized. Results suggest that reverse coding, item wording, and response labeling may influence factor structure and negatively impact scale validation procedures. Additionally, items assessing overall stereotypicality may address something distinctly different from other items which assess individual features. Therefore, perceived overall racial stereotypicality should be further tested and considered in future research since it performed fairly during exploratory analysis, aligns with proposed theory, and ultimately homes in on perceptions that may have major implications for understanding how Black phenotypical features impact the lives, outcomes, and experiences of Black individuals.
Untangling Relational Trauma: A Symptom Network Model of Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder within a Relational Framework: The recent inclusion of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) within the International Classification of Diseases, eleventh edition (ICD-11) prompted scholars to re-evaluate treatment guidelines for traumatic disorders. The present study aimed to conceptualize dyadic, community, and systemic connections within the context of ICD-11 traumatic disorders and investigate unique associations between factors capturing relational quality. The current study additionally utilized a novel network modeling approach to explore the CPTSD symptom network structure using a college sample of trauma survivors. Consistent with generations of theory and research, relational quality factors associated with the disturbances in self-organization (DSO) symptom cluster, and anticipated discrimination associated with both relational disturbance and sense of threat. Affect dysregulation, re-experiencing, and relational engagement emerged as most central within the CPTSD symptom network, providing evidence towards the role of affect regulation in relational functioning, while intersectional discrimination associated with both the PTSD and DSO symptom clusters. Findings from the present study provide context to the potential application of a relational and systems focused intervention.
Experiences of Black Student Athletes in the Advent of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic: A Qualitative Study: On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a public health emergency of international concern. In March 2020, the United States government imposed impactful safety and confinement measures issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all over the country to prevent community transmission of COVID-19. Institutions of higher education rapidly transitioned to online learning and eliminated in-person engagements in the spring of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) followed a similar trajectory by shutting down all athletic activities due to the global pandemic. While college students in general notably experienced increased pandemic related distress and mental health concerns (e.g., depression, anxiety) during the early stages of the global pandemic, the disruption of collegiate sport competitions and seasons uniquely and significantly impacted collegiate student athletes and their overall well-being. In this qualitative study, I sought to document and understand the narrative of Black student athletes' experiences of stress and coping during the first two months of the COVID-19 global pandemic and cancellation of collegiate sports. Through reflexive thematic analysis, I found that psychosocial resources such as avoidance, acceptance, mindful self-compassion, health and wellness, and social support, emerged as important coping skills for the athletes in the present sample. Practical implications for athletes, coaches, support staff, mental health providers, and administrative leaders within college athletics are identified and discussed.
Cognitive States while Mind Wandering and Associated Alterations in Time Perception: Time perception is a fundamental aspect of consciousness related to mental health. One cognitive state related to time perception is mind wandering (MW), defined as having thoughts unrelated to the current task. Little research has directly assessed the relationship between these two constructs, despite the overlap in clinical significance and the shared importance of attention for healthy functioning. In the present study, I addressed this by having a sample of 40 adults in the United States complete an online sustained attention to response task remotely while answering thought probes related to thought type and time perception. Multilevel modeling results indicated that cognitive factors were related to the judgements of passage of time (JOPOTs; the feeling that time is passing quickly or slowly) while they had little relation to the estimated duration or the accuracy of those estimations. Specifically, JOPOTs were related to attention to task and emotional valence, and the addition of MW, intentionality, and fixed/dynamic thoughts to the models explained additional variance. Duration estimations and JOPOTs were unrelated to each other, suggesting JOPOTs and duration estimations have different relationships to cognitive factors and should be studied as separate constructs. Additionally, results suggested that the heavy use of dichotomization in the MW literature should be shifted in favor of conceptualizing attention to task as a continuous variable. The difference in effects of MW on estimation durations and JOPOTs specifically is novel finding. This is the first study to evaluate the relationship between MW and both duration estimations and JOPOTs, thus it may advance mechanistic and phenomenological understanding of MW which could in turn inform clinical theories of time perception in disorders including ADHD and depression.
Executive Functioning Processes in Simple and Complex Theory of Mind Tasks: Using a multimethod-multimodal approach, this study compared the contributions of executive function (EF) abilities (Go No-Go, Visual Search, 2-Back task, and Task Switching) to narrative comprehension tasks (False Belief, Strange Stories, Self-Reported Theory of Mind Inventory [TOMI-SR]) and a narrative production task (interpersonal decentering) in a sample of young adults. Separate regression models were conducted for each theory of mind (ToM) measure with EF measures as predictor variables and empirically selected demographic variables controlled. As expected, in this college student sample (N = 110), False Belief demonstrated a ceiling effect and was not associated with any EF ability. Task Switching and 2-Back accounted for significant variance in Strange Stories. No EF task significantly predicted performance on TOMI-SR or interpersonal decentering. Both story comprehension tasks (False Belief and Strange Stories) were significantly associated, but these tasks were not correlated with either self-reported ToM or interpersonal decentering. Several unanticipated demographic associations were found; having more siblings and English proficiency accounted for significant variability in Strange Stories; education, presence or absence of self-disclosed autism diagnosis and mental health diagnosis explained a large portion of variance in TOMI-SR; interpersonal decentering maturity differed significantly between cisgender men and cisgender women. Lastly, interpersonal decentering number of interactions demonstrated an advantage for individuals without diagnosed or suspected autism diagnosis. This study raises critical concerns regarding measurement method error variance and variability of task demands in explaining cognitive mechanisms relevant to social cognitive processes.
Moral Injury Development and Repair in Service Members and Veterans: The Roles of Self-Forgiveness, Perceived Social Support, and Causal Attributions: Moral injury (MI) among military personnel is a harmful condition caused by perpetrating, failing to prevent, or witnessing atrocities that violate one's deeply held morals or values. The current study built on the existing literature by exploring predictors of MI, specifically trait self-forgiveness (TSF), state self-forgiveness (SSF), perceived social support (PSS), and causal attributions (CA) following potentially morally injurious experiences (PMIEs) in service members and veterans. Participants were 92 U.S. military service members and veterans. The main findings were that TSF and PSS were both significantly negatively associated with MI in bivariate and multivariate analyses. Further, TSF and PSS were examined as potential moderators of the relationship between PMIEs and MI, but these moderation analyses were not significant. Given that some studies provide evidence for different symptom profiles between categories of PMIEs (i.e., PMIE-Self, PMIE-Other, and PMIE-Betrayal), the relationship between the different categories and TSF were explored. Of the three PMIE types, only PMIE-Betrayal was a significant negative predictor of TSF. Finally, CA was explored as a potential mediator of the relationship between TSF and MI outcomes, but this mediation analysis was not significant. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for clinical practice are included for discussion.

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