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- Genre: Academic theses
Description
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), is a conversion disorder thought to be linked to unresolved emotional distress. While some studies suggest that PNES patients do not attribute their somatic symptoms to severe psychological experiences (Stone, Binzer, & Sharpe, 2004; LaFrance & Barry, 2005), it is unclear what PNES patients do think causes their seizures, and the psychological consequences of those attributions. The aim of the present study was to investigate PNES patients' attributions for their seizures, and to determine how these attributions relate to stress and emotion regulation. It was hypothesized that participants who attribute their seizures to something (i.e., have an explanation for their seizures) will have lower perceived stress and less difficulty with emotion regulation than those who are unsure of the cause of their seizures. Twenty-four PNES participants completed a questionnaire assessing seizure diagnosis, characteristics of seizure impact, perceived stress, psychological symptoms, emotion regulation, attributions for seizures, and coping resources. Contrary to the hypothesis, having an explanation for seizures, rather than being “unsure” of seizure cause, was related to greater perceived stress. While it would seem that attributing unpredictable seizure events to a cause would lower perceived stress and emotion regulation difficulty, this study indicates that an attribution to an unknown cause may be more beneficial for the individual.
ContributorsBarker, Mallory (Author) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Thesis advisor) / Miller, Paul A. (Committee member) / Burleson, Mary H (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Female infertility can present a significant challenge to quality of life. To date, few, if any investigations have explored the process by which women adapt to premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), a specific type of infertility, over time. The current investigation proposed a bi-dimensional, multi-factor, model of adjustment characterized by the identification of six latent factors representing personal attributes (resilience resources and vulnerability), coping (adaptive and maladaptive) and outcomes (distress and wellbeing). Measures were collected over the period of one year; personal attributes were assessed at Time 1, coping at Time 2 and outcomes at Time 3. It was hypothesized that coping factors would mediate associations between personal attributes and outcomes. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), simple regressions and single mediator models were utilized to test study hypotheses. Overall, with the exception of coping, the factor structure was consistent with predictions. Two empirically derived coping factors, and a single standalone strategy, avoidance, emerged. The first factor, labeled "approach coping" was comprised of strategies directly addressing the experience of infertility. The second was comprised of strategies indicative of "letting go /moving on." Only avoidance significantly mediated the association between vulnerability and distress.
ContributorsDriscoll, Mary (Author) / Davis, Mary C. (Thesis advisor) / Aiken, Leona S. (Committee member) / Luecken, Linda J. (Committee member) / Zautra, Alex J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The present study examined whether a history of childhood sexual abuse would be related to attachment to mother, to father, and to friends, mattering to parents and to friends, and coping behaviors. In addition, whether use of force, duration of abuse, and severity of abuse were related to perceived negative impact of childhood sexual abuse was examined. Gender differences among survivors were also investigated. Specifically, from the initial sample of 258 young adults, 186 who met the age requirement were included in the tests of the hypotheses. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 25. Compared to those with no history of childhood sexual abuse (n = 109), survivors (n = 77) reported lower attachment to father and less mattering to parents. There were no differences in attachment and mattering to friends or in emotion-focused and problem-focused coping. When gender differences were examined among survivors, females reported greater use of problem-focused coping and perceiving their childhood sexual abuse experiences as more negative than did the male survivors. There were no differences among male and female survivors of childhood sexual abuse on emotion-focused coping. Force and severity, but not duration, were linked to more negative perceptions of the childhood sexual abuse. Attachment to mother emerged as a key variable in that attachment to mother was positively related to attachment to friends, mattering to friends, and the use of problem-focused coping. Stronger attachment to mother and attachment to father, but not a history of childhood sexual abuse, were related to more perceived mattering to parents. These results highlight the importance of attachment to caregivers in developing peer attachment and a sense of mattering to friends, problem-focused coping skills, and perceiving childhood sexual abuse as having a less negative impact on their lives. Clinical and research implications and suggestions for future directions are discussed.
ContributorsStaley, Sarah Katheryn (Author) / Robinson Kurpius, Sharon E (Thesis advisor) / Cabianca, William A (Committee member) / Homer, Judith (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Despite some prevailing attitudes that bullying is normal, relatively innocuous behavior, it has recently been recognized as a serious problem in schools worldwide. Victimized students are more likely to evidence poor academic and semi-academic outcomes, experience social difficulties, and drop out of school in comparison to their non-victimized peers. Although anti-bullying programs have proliferated during the last decade, those aimed at helping children cope with bullying often suffer from a lack of basic research on the effectiveness of children's responses to bullying. The focus of this study was to delineate the ways in which elementary school-aged children typically cope with peer victimization, then to examine which strategies reduce future risk for harassment and associated adjustment problems to inform prevention and intervention program development. A cohort-sequential design was used to examine the effectiveness of children's strategies for coping with peer victimization. The sample included 317 children (157 boys; 49.5% Caucasian, 50.5% Hispanic; M age =10 years 5 months at T1) who were surveyed in the Fall and Spring of two academic years. Confirmatory factory analysis was used to validate the factor structure of the coping measure used and internal reliability was verified. Comparison of means indicated differences in children's coping based upon sex and age. For example, girls tend to cope more emotionally and cognitively, while boys are more behavioral in their coping. Regression results indicated that a number of specific relationships were present between coping, victimization, loneliness, and anxiety. For example, support seeking behavior was effective at decreasing victimization for younger children (fourth graders) who experienced high initial victimization. In contrast, revenge seeking behavior was predictive of increased victimization for both girls and highly victimized students. Problem solving was effective at reducing adjustment problems over time for younger students and, although results for older students were non-significant, it appears to be a promising strategy due to a lack of association with negative future outcomes. Results highlight the importance of identifying influential characteristics of individual children in order for prevention and intervention programs to successfully decrease the incidence and adverse impact of bullying behavior.
ContributorsPolasky, Sarah Anne (Author) / Kochenderfer-Ladd, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Moore, Elsie G. J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
This study examined whether the New Beginnings Program (NBP), a preventive parenting intervention, led to changes in coping strategies and coping efficacy in emerging adults whose families had participated in the program 15 years earlier. Gender and baseline risk were examined as moderators of these relations. Participants (M = 25.6 years; 50% female) were from 240 families that had participated in an experimental trial (NBP [mother-only, mother-child] vs. literature control). Data from the pretest and 15-year follow-up were used. Multiple regression analyses revealed that pretest risk interacted with program participation in the mother-only condition of the NBP such that offspring entering the program with higher pretest risk reported significantly less avoidant coping 15 years later. There was a marginal effect of participation in the NBP on problem-focused coping; emerging adults who had participated in the NBP had marginally higher levels of problem-focused coping. There were no significant main effects nor interactive program by risk or program by gender effects on support coping or coping efficacy. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for implementation of preventive interventions and research on pathways of coping.
ContributorsRhodes, Charla Aubrey (Author) / Wolchik, Sharlene A (Thesis advisor) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Committee member) / Leucken, Linda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This study was designed to examine the associations between food skills, resilience, and coping during the Covid-19 pandemic. Between April and June of 2020, a sample of 154 students, faculty, and staff from Arizona State University were surveyed. Each respondent was administered a survey containing demographic questions, a food skill questionnaire, and the 14-item Resilience Scale (RS). Results indicate that food skill was correlated with resilience (p<0.001) at an r=0.364 and r2=0.1243 and that resilience was correlated with coping during the Covid-19 pandemic (p<0.001) at an r=0.455. Correlations were also run between resilience score and the separate domains of food skill score: all domains remained significantly associated with resilience score (p<0.001) with a r=0.340 and r2=0.1173 for ‘Food Selection and Planning,’ r=0.312 and r2=0.0958 for ‘Food Preparation,’ and r=0.294 and r2=0.0767 for ‘Food Safety.’ Data seems to be consistent with contemporary research suggesting positive associations between diet quality and physiological resilience and positive associations between resilience and coping during the Covid-19 pandemic.
ContributorsPhares, Savanna Julene (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis advisor) / McCoy, Maureen (Committee member) / Irving, Andrea (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020