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open access

Benefits and Costs of Social Interactions Among Firefighters

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

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Measuring attention: An evaluation of the Search and Cancellation of Ascending Numbers (SCAN) and the short form of the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS)

This study found a relationship between the Search and Cancellation of Ascending Numbers (SCAN), Digit Span, and Visual Search and Attention Test (VSAT). Data suggest the measures represent a common construct interpreted to be attention. An auditory distracter condition of the SCAN did not distract participants, while the measure exhibited ample alternate forms reliability. The study also found that the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS) short form poorly predicted performance o… more

Date: May 2000

Creator: Greher, Michael R.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Exploring Relationships Between Recalled Parenting and Anaclitic and Introjective Depression

This study related college students' remembered early relationships with parents to their depression symptoms and to dependent and self-critical subjective feelings. Undergraduates (N = 217, 118 female, 99 male) provided information regarding their current level of depression, overall functioning, subjective feelings of depression (Depressive Experiences Questionnaire), negative thoughts, interpersonal functioning, and recollections of their parents' behavior and attitudes. Depression symptoms … more

Date: May 2000

Creator: Weisz, Adriana V.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Phases of Change in Psychotherapy Across Levels of Clinician Training

Given the alarmingly high rates of premature termination in training clinics, research aimed at understanding the course of change and treatment outcomes in training clinics deserves considerable attention. Additionally, more research is needed to understand the effectiveness of psychotherapy training and whether more training is actually associated with better client outcomes. Thus, this study sought to investigate whether clinicians' level of training and experience were related to a variety … more

Date: August 2016

Creator: Connor, Dana R.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Assessment of Competencies among Doctoral Trainees in Psychology

The recent shift to a culture of competence has permeated several areas of professional psychology, including competency identification, competency-based education training, and competency assessment. A competency framework has also been applied to various programs and specialty areas within psychology, such as clinical, counseling, clinical health, school, cultural diversity, neuro-, gero-, child, and pediatric psychology. Despite the spread of competency focus throughout psychology, few stand… more

Date: August 2017

Creator: Price, Samantha

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Depression, Activities of Daily Living, and Retirement

Depression is a common clinical and subclinical psychiatric disorder in the middle-age to older adult population. This study examined the relationship between depression and activities of daily living (ADLs) in middle-age to older adults. This study examined longitudinal data from the 1998, wave 4, and 2000, wave 5, of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a National Panel Study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. A negative cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between highe… more

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Date: May 2006

Creator: Jackson, Lauren Innes

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

The Effects of Multicultural College Courses on Intercultural Experiences and Attitudes.

This study examined college undergraduates' intercultural experiences and attitudes at the beginning and the end of a semester-long course on multicultural issues. Participants were 290 undergraduate college students at the University of North Texas , 202 of whom were enrolled in one of the university's core global studies, cross-cultural, or diversity courses for the fall 2001 semester, and 88 of whom were enrolled in courses outside the core. It was hypothesized that the multicultural g… more

Date: December 2004

Creator: Soule, Amy

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Gender differences in a prototypical analysis of psychopathy.

Psychopathy research has focused primarily on characteristics of male offenders. With little empirical knowledge on psychopathy in women, gender differences within psychopathy are not well understood. To gain a better understanding of these differences, the current study used prototypical analysis to compare ratings of 242 forensic experts when considering their most representative case of male or female psychopathy. The present study investigated gender differences for psychopathic traits and … more

Date: August 2006

Creator: Hazelwood, Lisa L.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Interpersonal Decentering and Psychopathology in a University Clinic Sample

This study examined the relationship between interpersonal decentering and symptoms of psychopathology among 48 clients from the Psychology Clinic at the University of North Texas. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R®) instrument were administered to clients along with demographic packets. Interpersonal decentering was assessed using Melvin Feffer's Interpersonal Decentering Scoring System for the TAT. It was hypothesized that higher scores of … more

Date: May 2008

Creator: Burkman, Summer D.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Longitudinal Study of Loneliness and Depression as Predictors of Health in Mid- to Later Life

The longitudinal relationship between loneliness and depression as predictors of chronic health conditions in middle-aged to older adults was investigated utilizing data collected by the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a national representative longitudinal study of health, retirement, and aging, conducted by the Institute for Social Research (ISR) Survey Research Center (SRC) at the University of Michigan, funded by the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration. The… more

Date: May 2008

Creator: Chlipala, M. Linda

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Readiness for change as a predictor of treatment effectiveness: An application of the transtheoretical model.

Clinical research suggests that adolescent offenders often do not view their criminal behaviors as problematic and, therefore, are not motivated for treatment. Although customarily defined as a static characteristic, the transtheoretical model (TTM) proposes treatment amenability is dynamic and can be achieved through tailored interventions that motivate individuals for treatment. The current study examines the predictive validity of TTM measures for adolescent offenders at a maximum security c… more

Date: August 2008

Creator: Jordan, Mandy J.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Examining the Clinical Utility of Research Domain Criteria in an Outpatient Sample

This study examined the clinical utility of the recently released National Institute of Mental Health's (NIMH) research domain criteria (RDoC) by replicating and extending earlier work by using a demographically novel sample. Information retrieval and natural language processing of archival clinical records was used to achieve two main objectives: (1) estimate how well the RDoC domains match language used by clinicians by creating domain scores and (2) examine the differences between the DSM's … more

Date: May 2018

Creator: Love, Patrick K.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Using Pre-Session Mindfulness to Improve Session Presence and Effectiveness: A Randomized-Controlled Trial

While a significant amount of research illustrates the overall positive effects of therapists' general use of mindfulness, very few studies have addressed whether therapists' use of mindfulness translates to improved psychotherapy outcomes. The present study utilized a randomized-controlled design to test whether a brief mindfulness training program and pre-session mindfulness practice could have a positive impact on therapy; in particular, we hypothesized that mindfulness training and practic… more

Date: August 2016

Creator: Dunn, Rose

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

The relationship between interpersonal dependency and therapeutic alliance: Perspectives of clients and therapists.

Both interpersonal dependency and the importance of the therapeutic alliance to successful psychotherapy outcomes have been widely studied. However, these two areas of study rarely have been viewed conjointly despite the reportedly large number of clients with dependency who present for treatment. This study elucidated the relationship between interpersonal dependency and the therapeutic alliance. Additional hypotheses explored client-therapist agreement on alliance strength in relation to c… more

Date: August 2008

Creator: Mitchell, Jessica L.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Parent training Protocol Based on an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Philosophy of Parenting

Thirty-four parents were referred by their CPS caseworkers to participate in one of two ACT for Parenting workshops. These workshops followed a 12 hour treatment protocol based on an acceptance and commitment therapy philosophy of parenting. Briefly, an ACT philosophy of parenting maintains that effective parenting requires awareness and acceptance of thoughts and feelings as they occur in the context of the parent-child relationship. An ACT philosophy of parenting also relies heavily on the id… more

Date: August 2011

Creator: O'Brien, Karen M.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Deficits in Miranda Comprehension and Reasoning: The Effects of Substance Use and Attention Deficits.

Each year, an estimated 318,000 defendants who do not comprehend the Miranda warnings waive their rights and provide incriminating evidence without the protection of counsel (Rogers, 2008), which make Miranda-related competencies one of the most pervasive pretrial issues. A wide range of issues could potentially affect an individual's capacity to provide a knowing and intelligent waiver. Previous Miranda research has focused narrowly on the effects of cognitive and developmental factors. The cu… more

Date: August 2009

Creator: Hazelwood, Lisa L.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

A Comparison of Miranda Procedures: The Effects of Oral and Written Administrations on Miranda Comprehension

Millions of custodial suspects waive their rights each year without the benefit of legal counsel. The question posed to psychologists in disputed Miranda waivers is whether this waiver decision was, knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. Mental health professionals must be aware of potential barriers to Miranda comprehension to provide expert opinions regarding a defendant's competency to waive rights. The current study examined how Miranda warning reading level, length, and method of administrat… more

Date: August 2009

Creator: Blackwood, Hayley L.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

A Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Study of Adolescents and Religion: Views of Risk and Resiliency

The research literature within the past decade has documented the importance of religiosity and spirituality in helping many adults around the world cope with major life stressors and events. Still, the role of religiosity and spirituality in adolescence is not well-known as research during this developmental period has been limited by sample size, homogeneity of samples, ethnic restrictions, and use of scales with few items. The goal of the current study is to identify and understand adolesc… more

Date: August 2009

Creator: Miesse, Colette Ann

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Metabolic Syndrome and Psychosocial Factors

Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of risk factors, including abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose, that commonly cluster together and can result in cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and the components that comprise the syndrome vary by age and by racial/ethnic group. In addition, previous research has indicated that the risk factors contributing to metabolic syndrome may be exacerbated by expos… more

Date: August 2009

Creator: Tweedy, Maureen P.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Variations in Suicidal Ideation Among Substance Users

Research suggests that substance use is a risk factor for increased suicidal ideation. This study explored the relationship between substance use, suicidal ideation, and impulsivity in a sample of college students and individuals seeking outpatient treatment. Participants were interviewed for information on severity of suicidal ideation and substance use. Participants completed the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire, the substance use section of the Structured Clinical Interview for… more

Date: December 2012

Creator: Nichols, Erica

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Using Pre-session Mindfulness to Improve Therapy Presence

While a significant amount of research illustrates the positive effects of therapists’ use of mindfulness, few studies have addressed whether therapists’ mindfulness actually improves psychotherapy outcomes. Additionally, no existing research has examined whether therapists’ use of a mindfulness exercise immediately before meeting with a client could also have a positive impact on the following session. The purpose of this study was to test whether engaging in a centering exercise 5-10 minute… more

Date: August 2012

Creator: Dunn, Rose A.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Acculturation and Depression in Older Mexican American Adults: the Role of Social Support

Despite socioeconomic disadvantages, less acculturated Mexican Americans tend to exhibit better mental health than their more acculturated counterparts. However, in the case of older Mexican American adults, research has demonstrated the opposite to be true (Gonzalez, Haan, & Hinton, 2001). A variable of interest potentially responsible for this difference is social support. Thus, the current study proposed to investigate the mediation and moderation effects that social support has on the relat… more

Date: August 2012

Creator: Caballero, Daniela

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Affective Forecasting: the Effects of Immune Neglect and Surrogation

Studies of affective forecasting examine people’s ability to predict (forecast) their emotional (affective) responses to future events. Affective forecasts underlie nearly all decisions people make and the actions they take. However, people engage in systematic cognitive errors when making affective forecasts and most often overestimate the intensity and duration of their emotional responses. Understanding the mechanisms that lead to affective forecasting errors (e.g., immune neglect) and exami… more

Date: August 2012

Creator: Burkman, Summer Dae

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Event Centrality: Debunking the “Bad Science” Myth That Self-reported Posttraumatic Growth Does Not Reflect Positive Change

Despite strong evidence supporting the existence of posttraumatic growth (PTG), some investigators question whether the construct measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) is that of perceived growth or “actual” growth. In a replication of a recent investigation, the present study sought to refine the methodology used by employing the construct of event centrality. Due to its limited sample size, the results of this analysis did not provide strong evidence in support of the hypoth… more

Date: August 2012

Creator: Johnson, Stephanie Feil

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries