Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
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Description
The use of bias indicators in psychological measurement has been contentious, with some researchers questioning whether they actually suppress or moderate the ability of substantive psychological indictors to discriminate (McGrath, Mitchell, Kim, & Hough, 2010). Bias indicators on the MMPI-2-RF (F-r, Fs, FBS-r, K-r, and L-r) were tested for suppression or moderation of the ability of the RC1 and NUC scales to discriminate between Epileptic Seizures (ES) and Non-epileptic Seizures (NES, a conversion disorder that is often misdiagnosed as ES). RC1 and NUC had previously been found to be the best scales on the MMPI-2-RF to differentiate between ES and NES, with optimal cut scores occurring at a cut score of 65 for RC1 (classification rate of 68%) and 85 for NUC (classification rate of 64%; Locke et al., 2010). The MMPI-2-RF was completed by 429 inpatients on the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) at the Scottsdale Mayo Clinic Hospital, all of whom had confirmed diagnoses of ES or NES. Moderated logistic regression was used to test for moderation and logistic regression was used to test for suppression. Classification rates of RC1 and NUC were calculated at different bias level indicators to evaluate clinical utility for diagnosticians. No moderation was found. Suppression was found for F-r, Fs, K-r, and L-r with RC1, and for all variables with NUC. For F-r and Fs, the optimal RC1 and NUC cut scores increased at higher levels of bias, but tended to decrease at higher levels of K-r, L-r, and FBS-r. K-r provided the greatest suppression for RC1, as well as the greatest increases in classification rates at optimal cut scores, given different levels of bias. It was concluded that, consistent with expectations, taking account of bias indicator suppression on the MMPI-2-RF can improve discrimination of ES and NES. At higher levels of negative impression management, higher cut scores on substantive scales are needed to attain optimal discrimination, whereas at higher levels of positive impression management and FBS-r, lower cut scores are needed. Using these new cut scores resulted in modest improvements in accuracy in discrimination. These findings are consistent with prior research in showing the efficacy of bias indicators, and extend the findings to a psycho-medical context.
ContributorsWershba, Rebecca E (Author) / Lanyon, Richard I (Thesis advisor) / Barrera, Manuel (Committee member) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / Millsap, Roger E (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, and a variety of other comorbid physiological and psychological characteristics, including a deficit of positive affect. Recently, the focus of research on the pathophysiology of FM has considered the role of a number of genomic variants. In the current manuscript, case-control analyses did not support the hypothesis that FM patients would differ from other chronic pain groups in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1) genotype. However, evidence is provided in support of the hypothesis that functional single nucleotide polymorphisms on the COMT and OPRM1 genes would be associated with risk and resilience, respectively, in a dual processing model of pain-related positive affective regulation in FM. Forty-six female patients with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of FM completed an electronic diary that included once-daily assessments of positive affect and soft tissue pain. Multilevel modeling yielded a significant gene X environment interaction, such that individuals with met/met genotype on COMT experienced a greater decline in positive affect as daily pain increased than did either val/met or val/val individuals. A gene X environment interaction for OPRM1 also emerged, indicating that individuals with at least one asp allele were more resilient to elevations in daily pain than those homozygous for the asn allele. In sum, the findings offer researchers ample reason to further investigate the contribution of the catecholamine and opioid systems, and their associated genomic variants, to the still poorly understood experience of FM.
ContributorsFinan, Patrick Hamilton (Author) / Zautra, Alex (Thesis advisor) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study examined whether cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness interventions affect positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) reports for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) before, during, and after stress induction. The study also investigated the effects of a history of recurrent depression on intervention effects and testing effects due to the Solomon-6 study design utilized. The 144 RA patients were assessed for a history of major depressive episodes by diagnostic interview and half of the participants completed a laboratory study before the intervention began. The RA patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: cognitive behavioral therapy for pain (P), mindfulness meditation and emotion regulation therapy (M), or education only attention control group (E). Upon completion of the intervention, 128 of the RA patients participated in a laboratory session designed to induce stress in which they were asked to report on their PA and NA throughout the laboratory study. Patients in the M group exhibited dampened negative and positive affective reactivity to stress, and sustained PA at recovery, compared to the P and E groups. PA increased in response to induced stress for all groups, suggesting an "emotional immune response." History of recurrent depression increased negative affective reactivity, but did not predict reports of PA. RA patients who underwent a pre-intervention laboratory study showed less reactivity to stressors for both NA and PA during the post-intervention laboratory study. The M intervention demonstrated dampened emotional reactions to stress and lessened loss of PA after stress induction, displaying active emotion regulation in comparison to the other groups. These findings provide additional information about the effects of mindfulness on the dynamics of affect and adaptation to stress in chronic pain patients.
ContributorsArewasikporn, Anne (Author) / Zautra, Alex J (Thesis advisor) / Davis, Mary C. (Committee member) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
In rehabilitation settings, activity limitation can be a significant barrier to recovery. This study sought to examine the effects of state and trait level benefit finding, positive affect, and catastrophizing on activity limitation among individuals with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of either Osteoarthritis (OA), Fibromyalgia (FM), or a dual diagnosis of OA/FM. Participants (106 OA, 53 FM, and 101 OA/FM) who had no diagnosed autoimmune disorder, a pain rating above 20 on a 0-100 scale, and no involvement in litigation regarding their condition were recruited in the Phoenix metropolitan area for inclusion in the current study. After initial questionnaires were completed, participants were trained to complete daily diaries on a laptop computer and instructed to do so a half an hour before bed each night for 30 days. In each diary, participants rated their average daily pain, benefit finding, positive affect, catastrophizing, and activity limitation. A single item, "I thought about some of the good things that have come from living with my pain" was used to examine the broader construct of benefit finding. It was hypothesized that state and trait level benefit finding would have a direct relation with activity limitation and a partially mediated relationship, through positive affect. Multilevel modeling with SAS PROC MIXED revealed that benefit finding was not directly related to activity limitation. Increases in benefit finding were associated, however, with decreases in activity limitation through a significant mediated relationship with positive affect. Individuals who benefit find had a higher level of positive affect which was associated with decreased activity limitation. A suppression effect involving pain and benefit finding at the trait level was also found. Pain appeared to increase the predictive validity of the relation of benefit finding to activity limitation. These findings have important implications for rehabilitation psychologists and should embolden clinicians to encourage patients to increase positive affect by employing active approach-oriented coping strategies like benefit finding to reduce activity limitation.
ContributorsKinderdietz, Jeffrey Scott (Author) / Zautra, Alex (Thesis advisor) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Barrera, Manuel (Committee member) / Okun, Morris (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Multiple health-related benefits have been associated with adherence to plant-based diets, including vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian dietary patterns. Despite a consistent body of evidence on the importance of healthy diets, Americans continue to find difficulty in establishing and adhering to dietary goals that could elicit long-term health benefits. Recent research suggests an important role for goal-setting strategies in health behavior change attempts, with some success shown in dietary behavior change, specifically. The current study thus aimed to explore whether having multiple goals alongside one primary goal of following a vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian diet would increase the achievability of that goal. Participants of this study were broken into two groups: currently following a plant-based diet (ADHERE) and striving to follow a plant-based diet (STRIVE). Researchers hypothesized that the number of health and/or diet related alternative goals set by participants would differ between the two groups, that the ADHERE group would report that their alternative goals were more helpful and less interfering in achieving their dietary goal than the STRIVE group, and that a higher rank of importance of the dietary goal would predict being in the ADHERE group. Results showed that the number of health and/or diet related alternative goals did not differ between groups. The ADHERE group and STRIVE group did not have significantly different helpfulness and interference reports. Although, in an exploratory analysis, it was shown that those participants who reported at least 2 health/diet related alternative goals found those goals to be significantly more helpful than those who reported 0 or 1 health/diet goal. Results showed that rank of dietary goal did not predict group assignment. Overall, the results from this study showed that the type of alternative goal was very important when pursuit of multiple goals was in effect. Type of alternative goal seemed to be a higher predictor of the perceived helpfulness of the alternative goals than previous achievement of goals.
ContributorsShilling, Katy (Author) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Thesis advisor) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The rates of anxiety, depression, and attempted suicide for transgender individuals are extremely elevated relative to the general population. Yet, little research has been conducted about the transgender population regarding social transition (an individual presenting as their authentic/true gender, one different than the gender they were assigned at birth, in the context of everyday life) and parental acceptance. Both of which have been shown to impact the mental health of transgender individuals. The purposes of this study were: (1) To characterize a sample of transgender adults on their age of awareness of their authentic gender identity and their age of social transition. (2) Examine whether age of social transition, (3) parental acceptance, and (4) the gap in time between age of awareness and age of social transition (awareness-transition gap) were related to mental health. (5) Examine whether parental acceptance was related to age of social transition or to awareness-transition gap. (6) Examine whether age of social transition or awareness-transition gap interact with parental acceptance as correlates of mental health. The sample consisted of 115 transgender adults, ages 18 to 64. Measures were separated into 7 subheadings: demographics, transgender
on-cisgender identity, age of awareness, age of social transition, primary caregiver acceptance, secondary caregiver acceptance, and mental health. Hypotheses were partially supported for age of social transition with mental health, parental acceptance with mental health, and awareness-transition gap with parental acceptance. This study investigated under studied concepts of social transition and parental acceptance that appear to have an effect on the mental health of transgender adults.
on-cisgender identity, age of awareness, age of social transition, primary caregiver acceptance, secondary caregiver acceptance, and mental health. Hypotheses were partially supported for age of social transition with mental health, parental acceptance with mental health, and awareness-transition gap with parental acceptance. This study investigated under studied concepts of social transition and parental acceptance that appear to have an effect on the mental health of transgender adults.
ContributorsRosenberg, Beth Ann (Author) / Gonzales, Nancy (Thesis director) / Saenz, Delia (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / College of Public Service and Community Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The goal of my study is to test the overarching hypothesis that art therapy is effective because it targets emotional dysregulation that often accompanies significant health stressors. By reducing the salience of illness-related stressors, art therapy may improve overall mood and recovery, particularly in patients with cancer. After consulting the primary literature and review papers to develop psychological and neural mechanisms at work in art therapy, I created a hypothetical experimental procedure to test these hypotheses to explain why art therapy is helpful to patients with chronic illness. Studies found that art therapy stimulates activity of multiple brain regions involved in memory retrieval and the arousal of emotions. I hypothesize that patients with chronic illness have a reduced capacity for emotion regulation, or difficulty recognizing, expressing or altering illness-related emotions (Gross & Barrett, 2011). Further I hypothesize that art therapy improves mood and therapeutic outcomes by acting on the emotion-processing regions of the limbic system, and thereby facilitating the healthy expression of emotion, emotional processing, and reappraisal. More mechanistically, I propose art therapy reduces the perception or salience of stressors by reducing amygdala activity leading to decreased activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The art therapy literature and my hypothesis about its mechanisms of action became the basis of my proposed study. To assess the effectiveness of art therapy in alleviating symptoms of chronic disease, I am specifically targeting patients with cancer who exhibit a lack of emotional regulation. Saliva is collected 3 times a week on the day of intervention: morning after waking, afternoon, and evening. Stress levels are tested using one-hour art therapy sessions over the course of 3 months. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) assesses an individual's perceived stress and feelings in past and present situations, for the control and intervention group. To measure improvement in overall mood, 10 one-hour art sessions are performed on patients over 10 weeks. A one-hour discussion analyzing the participants' artwork follows each art session. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) assesses overall mood for the intervention and control groups. I created rationale and predictions based on the intended results of each experiment.
ContributorsAluri, Bineetha C. (Author) / Orchinik, Miles (Thesis director) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Essary, Alison (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Sibling interactions are natural contexts for learning about the appropriate expression of emotions. The emotionally charged nature of sibling interactions creates a convenient context to explore emotional reactivity and regulation. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among parent-reported sibling relationship quality, observed sibling prosocial and antisocial behaviors displayed when playing a competitive marble game, and children's emotions coded from videotape. The sample consisted of 58 twin children who are currently participating in the longitudinal Arizona Twin Project. Parents completed the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire online at 5 and 8 years. Additionally, a competitive marble game interaction between the siblings took place in the home at 8 years and was videotaped for objective coding of prosocial, antisocial, and control behavior. Facial expressions were also coded from videotape using Emotient FACET software across the marble game interaction. Three mean composites of emotion were created, including positive and negative emotional facial expressions. Results showed that parent reported warmth did not predict the occurrence of positive emotions during the sibling interaction. However, siblings with high conflict showed less fear during the interaction. Parent reports of warmth predicted the extent to which siblings differed on emotion expression, however conflict did not. Parent ratings of conflict and warmth did not predict the extent to which the sibling dyad was emotionally intense. Findings regarding genetic and environmental effects were in line with previous reports of genetic influence on prosocial behavior and negative emotion, and expressions of joy being influenced by the environment. This study investigated noteworthy aspects of the sibling relationship that appear to promote children's adaptive development.
ContributorsGanase, Anaelle Shelina (Co-author) / Oro, Veronica (Co-author) / Roth, Winter (Co-author) / Doane, Leah (Co-author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Co-author, Thesis director) / Miadich, Samantha (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
It is a well-established finding in memory research that spacing or distributing information, as opposed to blocking all the information together, results in an enhanced memory of the learned material. Recently, researchers have decided to investigate if this spacing effect is also beneficial in category learning. In a set of experiments, Carvalho & Goldstone (2013), demonstrated that a blocked presentation showed an advantage during learning, but that ultimately, the distributed presentation yielded better performance during a post-learning transfer test. However, we have identified a major methodological issue in this study that we believe contaminates the results in a way that leads to an inflation and misrepresentation of learning levels. The present study aimed to correct this issue and re-examine whether a blocked or distributed presentation enhances the learning and subsequent generalization of categories. We also introduced two shaping variables, category size and distortion level at transfer, in addition to the mode of presentation (blocked versus distributed). Results showed no significant differences of mode of presentation at either the learning or transfer phases, thus supporting our concern about the previous study. Additional findings showed benefits in learning categories with a greater category size, as well as higher classification accuracy of novel stimuli at lower-distortion levels.
ContributorsJacoby, Victoria Leigh (Author) / Homa, Donald (Thesis director) / Brewer, Gene (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Prior research has identified that clinicians in the treatment of eating disorders often do not adhere closely to empirically-supported treatments (EST), and are particularly likely to modify Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT). Several reasons for this phenomenon, dubbed "clinician drift", have been identified, including level of clinician training, education, and type of patient care. In addition to the phenomenon of clinician drift, there has been a growing controversy within the field of clinical psychology about the compatibility of ESTs and multiculturalism. Some argue that the standardization inherent to EST resists the concept of cultural adaptability; while others have countered that cultural adaptability is essential in order for empirically supported treatments to remain relevant, ethical, and effective. In order to shed more light on this issue, this study examined how clinicians tend to drift from CBT in the treatment of Latinos suffering from eating disorders, in order to accommodate Latino culture and elements of eating behavior specific to Latino populations. We both attempted to replicate prior findings regarding predictors of clinician drift, as well as build upon the little existing research into the "culturally-motivated clinician drift." It was discovered that no therapist characteristics or client characteristics were predictive of drift. However, the majority of the sample still adapted or abandoned at least part of the CBT treatment. Their responses regarding the weaknesses of CBT for their Spanish-speaking clients can provide insight into how the treatment can be modified for more diverse clients.
ContributorsJosephs, Jamie Elise (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis director) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12