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open access

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

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

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

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

Benefits and Costs of Social Interactions Among Firefighters

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

Correlates of Video Game Addiction

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

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

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

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

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

The Determinants and Consequences of Empathic Parenting: Testing an Expansion of Belsky's Model of Parenting Using SEM

Description: An understanding of factors that enhance empathic parenting behaviors is of considerable importance to the study of child development and to the development of parenting interventions to promote child adjustment. Moreover, gaining a better understanding of the factors that predict empathic parenting with older children is of interest since most research examining parental empathy focuses on infants. These were the goals of the current study. Guided by Belsky's 1984 process model of the determ… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Morse, Margaret K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

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

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

The Effect of a Brief Acceptance-Based Protocol on Health Related Relational Framing

Description: Behavior analysts who study verbal behavior theorize that people derive relationships between stimuli - forming stimulus classes such that psychological functions transfer among stimuli and therefore affect behavior. Verbal processes are thought to play a role in cancer patients' behavioral flexibility. The current study examined if an analogue intervention produced changes in relations between health-relevant stimuli from pre- to post-test in patient and student samples. A matching-to-sample (… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Madrigal-Bauguss, Jessica A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Effect of Loneliness on Older Adults' Death Anxiety

Description: Previous research, as well as theory, has supported the existence of a relationship between death anxiety and loneliness in older adults but a causal examination has not been possible until now. A hypothesized model was developed which states that loneliness will lead to death anxiety mediated by cultural worldview. Longitudinal data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling in order to more fully explore this potentially causal relationship. The primary model was supported suggesting tha… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Pinson, Melissa Ward
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

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

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

The Effects of Positive Emotion, Negative Emotion, Flourishing, and Languishing on Cardiovascular Risk

Description: Positive psychology has led a movement that concentrates on positive characteristics. The current study examined the relationship between positive emotions, negative emotions, flourishing, languishing, and cardiovascular functioning. The study uses guided imagery to help participants recall a negative emotional event and positive emotional event in a counterbalanced order. The reverse order allowed us to examine the differential contributions of stress buffering versus facilitated recovery effe… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Purdum, Michael B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Evaluating Social Factors in Diabetes Management by Mexican American Ethnicity

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

Factors Affecting Revictimization in Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

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

Identifying the Level of Prognostic Information Desired by People with Cancer

Description: The study explored whether certain factors might be used to distinguish between people with cancer who do or do not want detailed information about their disease progress, do or do not want to be informed if their disease is no longer considered curable, and who do or do not want an estimation of life expectancy if their disease is no longer considered curable. The factors included whether an individual has an internal versus external locus of control, uses an active coping strategy or a planni… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Mallory, Laurel J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

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

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

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

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

Measuring Male Body Dissatisfaction: Factorial and Construct Validity of the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale for Men

Description: Given the centrality of body dissatisfaction in the manifestation of health risk behaviors (e.g., eating disorders, muscle dysmorphia) and psychological distress in men, the ability to measure it accurately is essential. Across two studies, the psychometric properties and factor structure of a new measure of male body satisfaction were established. The Body Parts Satisfaction Scale for Men (BPSS-M) was found to have three scores: full body muscularity and leanness (18 items), upper body (12 ite… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: McFarland, Michael Blaine
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Methodological Issues in Malingering Research: The Use of Simulation Designs

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

Natural Course of Adolescent Insomnia: Patterns and Consequences

Description: Approximately 2-11% of adolescents report chronic insomnia. The study used an archival data set from ADDHealth that assessed adolescent health and health-related behaviors. Adolescents (N = 4102) provided data at baseline (Time 1) and at 1-year follow-up (Time 2). Participants were excluded if no ethnicity, gender, or insomnia data were given at Time 1 or 2. Females were more likely to report insomnia than males at Times 1 and 2. In addition, adolescents with remitted insomnia were significantl… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Roane, Brandy Michelle
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overgeneral Memory and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults Exposed to Family Violence

Description: Childhood exposure to familial violence increases risk for adult pathology, namely posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Primary PTSD symptoms of hyperarousal and avoidance are implicated in overgeneral memory (OGM) theory in prior research. Individuals with trauma history tend to report OGMs, or non-specific autobiographical memories, perhaps to avoid unpleasant arousal elicited by recalling specific events. OGM, PTSD, depression, and arousal were assessed in adults with and wit… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Amador, Amy R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
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