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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- Creators: Luecken, Linda
- Creators: Oro, Veronica
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
The ability to regulate emotions, attention, and behavior develops early in life and impacts future academic success, social competency, behavioral problems, and psychopathology. An impairment in regulation is known as dysregulation. Past research shows that children of mothers with postpartum depression are more likely to show impairment in regulatory abilities. There is an established link in the literature between family support and maternal depression, which in turn can impact child behavior. However, further research is needed to explore the impact of family support on early childhood dysregulation in the context of maternal depression. Using a sample of 322 Mexican-American, mother-child dyads, two models were examined. Model one hypothesized family support would buffer the effects of maternal depression on child dysregulation at 24 months. Model 2 hypothesized that family support is related to child dysregulation through its effect on maternal depression. Results showed that increased family support was related to more child dysregulation when there were high levels of maternal depression. There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that maternal depression mediated the relationship between family support and child dysregulation.
ContributorsRodrigues, Samantha Jean (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis director) / Benitez, Viridiana (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (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
Description
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects nearly 10% of adult women in general population samples. In populations of impoverished ethnic minority women, those lifetime prevalence rates may possibly exceed national averages due to lack of mental health resources. Mothers with PTSD are more likely to exhibit negative parenting styles and experience higher levels of perceived parenting stress, both of which are associated with poor child outcomes. However, there is a lack of evidence on how maternal PTSD may affect parenting for ethnic minority mothers. This study evaluated the prevalence of lifetime PTSD and its effects on parenting stress and infant problem behaviors in a sample of 322 low-income Mexican-American mothers (mean age = 27.8; 86% born in Mexico). Lifetime PTSD diagnoses were assessed at a prenatal home visit (24-36 weeks gestation) using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Mothers reported parenting hassles at 24-weeks postpartum (PDLH; Crnic & Greenberg, 1990), and child problem behaviors at infant age one-year (BITSEA; Briggs-Gowan et al., 2004). I hypothesized that 1) women with PTSD would report more parenting stress than women without PTSD, 2) women with PTSD would report more infant problem behavior symptoms than women without PTSD, and 3) parenting stress mediates the relationship between PTSD and infant problem behavior. Results found that 16.5% of women met criteria for past or present PTSD. Compared to women without PTSD, women with PTSD reported more parenting stress but a similar level of infant problem behaviors. Parenting stress significantly mediated the relationship between maternal PTSD and infant problem behaviors. Study findings suggest a need for mental health screenings during prenatal care in order to promote the healthy development of high-risk children.
ContributorsPreves, Ashley Maria (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis director) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Mauricio, Anne (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and classic risk factors only predict half of the variance of cases. In this study, parental overprotection and temperamental negative affectivity both significantly correlated with blood pressure and heart rate, which suggests the importance of examining early life factors when determining one's risk for CVD.
ContributorsCarter, Steven Cross (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Pediatric chronic pain is pervasive and associated with myriad adverse consequences, yet due consideration has not been given to the mental health disturbances that often present alongside chronic pain and the etiological mechanisms that potentially underlie both. The current study examined the etiology underlying chronic pain and internalizing symptomology in middle childhood, considering both independent and co-occurring symptom presentations. Phenotypic parent-offspring associations across chronic pain and internalizing symptomology were also examined. Lastly, nuclear twin family models were tested to determine the extent to which genetic and environmental factors underlie parent-offspring transmission. The sample comprised 795 children (399 families; Mage= 9.7 years; SD = 0.92) and their parents drawn from the Arizona Twin Project. Results indicated that chronic pain was highly heritable (78%), whereas internalizing symptomology was modestly heritable (32%) and further subject to moderate shared environmental influence (50%). Moreover, 9% of the variance in chronic pain was explained by additive genetic factors shared with internalizing symptomology. Maternal chronic pain and internalizing symptomology were positively associated with both child chronic pain and internalizing symptomology. The association between maternal chronic pain and child chronic pain was more pronounced for girls than boys, whereas the association between maternal internalizing symptomology and child internalizing symptomology was more pronounced for boys than girls. Paternal chronic pain was not significantly associated with child chronic pain but was unexpectedly associated with lower child internalizing symptomology. The negative association between paternal chronic pain and child internalizing symptomology was more pronounced for boys than girls. Paternal internalizing symptomology was not significantly associated with child chronic pain but was positively associated with child internalizing symptomology. Lastly, the best fitting reduced nuclear twin family models for both chronic pain and internalizing symptomology retained additive genetic, sibling-specific shared environmental, and nonshared environmental parameters, where parent-offspring transmission was solely explained by shared genetics and sibling-specific shared environmental factors further accounted for co-twin resemblance. Results provide novel insight into common liabilities underlying chronic pain and internalizing symptomology in middle childhood, parent-offspring associations across chronic pain and internalizing symptomology, and the etiological mechanisms that explain symptom aggregation across generations.
ContributorsOro, Veronica (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Chassin, Laurie (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Su, Jinni (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Prior research has established a relation between parenting behaviors and symptoms of child psychopathology, and this association may be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Gene-environment correlation, or the influence of a child’s genes on the environment they receive, represents one possible mechanism through which genes and environment combine to influence child outcomes. This study examined evocative gene-environment correlation in the relation between parenting and symptoms of child psychopathology in a sample of 676 twins (51.5% female, 58.5% Caucasian, 23.7% Hispanic/Latinx, primarily middle class, MAge=8.43, SD=.62) recruited from Arizona birth records. Using univariate ACE twin biometric models, genetic influences were found to moderately contribute to internalizing symptoms (A=.47, C=.25, E=.28), while externalizing (A=.86, E=.14) and ADHD (A=.84, E=.16) symptoms were found to be highly heritable. The genetic influences for positive (C=.54, E=.46) and negative (C=.44, E=.56) parenting were smaller and found to be nonsignificant. The correlations between parenting and types of psychopathology were examined and bivariate Cholesky decompositions were conducted for statistically significant correlations. Negative parenting was moderately positively correlated with externalizing and ADHD symptoms; the relation between externalizing symptoms and negative parenting was found to be due to shared genetics, whereas the relation between negative parenting and ADHD symptoms was due to the shared environment. The mixed results regarding the role of gene environment correlation in relations between parenting and child psychopathology indicate that further research on the mechanisms of this relation is needed.
ContributorsCarrizosa, Mya Grace (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Oro, Veronica (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05