ETD Search Results: instcode:bgsu

1. Abraham, Kristen M. HOW EMPLOYABLE ARE PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS? CASE MANAGERS’ AND UNDERGRADUATES’ EXPECTATIONS.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2007, Bowling Green State University

► This study examines 107 case managers' and 159 undergraduates' employment-related expectations for… (more)

Keywords: Serious Mental Illness; Employment; Expectations

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2. Abraham, Kristen M. When Mom has a Serious Mental Illness: The Mother-Young Adult Relationship, Caregiving, and Psychosocial Adjustment.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2010, Bowling Green State University

► This study compares the reports of 52 young adults with mothers with… (more)

▼ This study compares the reports of 52 young adults with mothers with mental illness to reports of 64 young adults without mothers with mental illness. Young adults' perceptions of their relationships with their mothers, as defined by self-reported levels of affection, felt obligation, role reversal, and reciprocity, were examined in association with young adults' reports of caregiving for mothers and young adults' self-reported psychological adjustment. For young adults who reported a mother with mental illness, the assessed aspects of the young adult-mother relationship were examined in association with young adults' reports of personal growth. Findings indicated that maternal mental health status (i.e., having a mother with mental illness nor not) moderates the association between felt obligation and young adults' self-reported provision of caregiving for mothers. In general, for young adults who have a mother with mental illness, higher levels of felt obligation were associated with more caregiving for mothers. However, for young adults without mothers with mental illness there was no association between felt obligation and caregiving. Results also suggested that role reversal mediates the association between having a mother with mental illness and psychological symptoms, such that having a mother with mental illness was associated with higher levels of role reversal, which in turn was associated with higher levels of psychological symptoms. Findings regarding self-reported personal growth in young adults who had mothers with mental illness indicated that none of the assessed young adult-mother relationship factors were associated with self-reported personal growth. Findings are discussed in the context of a life course perspective that honors young adults' current life course stage, illustrates how a family member's mental illness can disrupt typical life course expectations, and highlights the association between disruptions to the life course and adverse psychological experiences. Implications for clinical and community practice as well as directions for future research are offered. Advisors/Committee Members: Stein, Catherine.

Subjects: Mental health; Personal relationships; Psychology

Keywords: Maternal mental illness; Caregiving; Life course; Young Adult- mother relationship; Role reversal; Emerging adulthood

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3. Abu Raiya, Hisham. A Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness: Evidence for Relevance, Reliability and Validity.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2008, Bowling Green State University

► The purpose of the current investigation was to further develop the Psychological… (more)

Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Keywords: Islam; Religiousness; Measure; Psychology; Mental health

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4. Aguirre, Rosa M. PERSONAL LOSS AND MENTAL ILLNESS: CAN SOCIAL NETWORKS HELP YOUNG ADULTS AND PARENTS COPE?.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2007, Bowling Green State University

► The importance of social relationships in the lives of adults coping with… (more)

▼ The importance of social relationships in the lives of adults coping with serious mental illness and their families has been well documented. Social network characteristics have been related to fewer hospitalizations, reduced symptom severity and improved quality of life for individuals with serious mental illness. Research has described the types of personal losses that result from mental illness such as the loss of valued social roles and daily routine, loss of one’s former self, loss of relationships, and a sense of loss of the future. Studies also suggest that parents experience a variety of losses as a result of coping with their son’s or daughter’s illness. The present study investigates the role of social network ties in describing the experience of personal loss due to mental illness for young adults and their parents. Using a multiple perspectives design, the research examined relationships between network characteristics and reports of four types of personal loss in a sample of young adults diagnosed with schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder and their parents from 30 families. For the most part, families described similar network characteristics. Although parents reported significantly more network members in their total network than did young adults, both reported significantly more family members in their total and helping network than friends or others. No differences in network content and network function were found. Few differences surfaced after accounting for feelings of loss. Both adults and their parents reported higher levels of loss of former self as compared to loss of roles and routine, loss of former relationships, and loss of the future. Only in the adult sample was ‘number of others’ in the total and helping network, and frequency of telephone contact related to higher levels of loss. Whereas for the parents, receiving emotional support was related to higher levels of loss, but receiving both tangible and emotional support was related to lower levels of loss. Implications of findings for community research and action are discussed. Advisors/Committee Members: Stein, Catherine H.

Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Keywords: Serious Mental Illness, Social Networks, Personal Loss

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5. Anderson, Gail M. “A Me Dis”: Jamaican Adolescent Identity Construction and its Relations with Academic, Psychological, and Behavioral Functioning.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2006, Bowling Green State University

► Although the idea of identity construction from component parts into an integrated… (more)

▼ Although the idea of identity construction from component parts into an integrated whole was theorized decades ago by Erickson (1968), it has only recently begun to be studied. Susan Harter’s extensive work on the construction of the self attests to the fact that adolescents do perceive and evaluate themselves differently in different domains of life, and that these self-representations differ substantially from early to late adolescence (e.g., Harter, 1999). However, most of the research in this area has tended to focus on adolescents’ self-evaluations (i.e., How good am I?) instead of valence-free adolescent self-descriptions (i.e., Who am I?). Not only is more research on adolescent self-descriptions warranted, but there also needs to be more research done on how adolescents actually go about integrating their multiple “selves” into whole identities, or “theories of self,” as defined by Marcia (1987). Therefore, the present study aimed to add to the current body of knowledge on adolescent identity construction by investigating how Jamaican adolescents comparatively valued six major life domains (academic, social, sexual, religious, family, and friends). A new graphical measure of relative domain valuing, the “Identity Pie”, was adapted from Cowan, Cowan and colleagues work (e.g., Cowan and Cowan, 1988) and validated for use in this study. The relations between particular self-identification profiles and life adjustment were explored in addition to gender and developmental stage differences. Overall, Jamaican adolescents reported comparable levels of domain valuing, and academic, psychological and behavioral functioning to U.S. adolescents. The Identity Pie proved to be a valid measure of domain valuing and identity construction. The total sample valued life domains in the following order: schoolwork/family > religion/friends > sports > dating. Many expected gender and grade differences emerged; however, the similarities across gender and grade were overwhelming. Adolescents of both genders and all grade levels valued schoolwork and family among the highest domains and sports and dating among the lowest. Further, results revealed that relatively high valuing of the dating domain and having a strong peer-orientation were related to negative academic, psychological and behavioral outcomes. Implications and limitations of the current findings are discussed with special consideration of cross-cultural issues, and suggestions are made for future research in this area. Overall, this study provides a detailed sketch of the Jamaican adolescent, which can be interesting and informative to anyone working with this population. Advisors/Committee Members: Dubow, Eric F.

Keywords: Jamaican; Jamaica; Adolescent; Identity; Adolescent Identity; Identity Construction; Identity Formation; Caribbean; West Indian; Academic; Academic Functioning; Behavioral; Behavioral Functioning; Psychological; Psychological Functioning

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6. Backus, Lisa N. Establishing Links Between Desecration, Forgiveness, and Marital Quality During Pregnancy.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2009, Bowling Green State University

► Both academic and religious communities have long considered forgiveness a salient aspect… (more)

Subjects: Psychology

Keywords: desecration; forgiveness; marital quality; transition to parenthood

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7. Baker, Tracie R. Adolescents' Perceptions of Rejection Status and Potentially Rejecting Situations.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2011, Bowling Green State University

► The peer rejection literature’s focus on sociometric measurement has neglected the… (more)

▼ The peer rejection literature’s focus on sociometric measurement has neglected the potential relevance of how adolescents interpret rejection information. Part 1 of this study explored peer rejection from the viewpoint of 315 adolescents (M age = 17.14, SD = .70) in terms of 1) how often they perceived they were the recipients and initiators of rejection, and 2) the behaviors that communicated rejection. Rejecting and accepting behaviors were compared to not nice and nice behaviors to obtain a better understanding of the nature of peer rejection from the perspective of adolescents. Categories accounting for the rejecting behaviors listed were Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Social Aggression, Negative Impression, and Social Hierarchy, with socially aggressive behaviors being listed most frequently. There was both similarity and distinction in the behaviors that were listed as rejecting versus not nice. Additionally, rejecting and not nice behaviors were consistently reported as occurring less frequently than accepting and nice behaviors. A series of 2 (gender of participant: male or female) X 2 (recipient: participant or peer) X 2 (recipient gender: boy or girl) mixed ANOVAs were conducted; dependent variables included rates of rejection (and acceptance, not nice, and nice behaviors) and whether each behavioral category was mentioned. Main effects and interactions including gender, recipient, and recipient gender are discussed. Part 2 explored individual and contextual differences in the processing of rejection information. Specifically, participants were given one of three scenarios that involved an intentional, unintentional, or ambiguous exclusion. They responded to items about how the characters would be impacted emotionally. A series of 3 (scenario type: ambiguous, intentional, unintentional) X 2 (gender: male or female) X 3 (rejected status: never rejected, sometimes rejected, often rejected) ANOVAS were conducted. Adolescents perceived greater emotional impact when the exclusion appeared intentional. Contrary to expectations, often rejected participants did not differ on perceived emotional impact from less frequently rejected participants in the ambiguous condition. There was evidence that adolescents who felt more frequently rejected expected that the recipient would be sadder when the exclusion appeared intentional. Additional findings, limitations, directions for future research, and clinical implications are discussed. Advisors/Committee Members: Tisak, Marie S.

Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Counseling Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Psychology; School Counseling; Social Psychology

Keywords: rejection; acceptance; prosocial; aggression; adolescents; rejected; accepted

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8. Baker, Tracie Renee. Romantic Dissolution and Social Support during Adolescents' Transition to College.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2006, Bowling Green State University

► This study attempts to advance our understanding of the links between romantic… (more)

Keywords: Romantic; Dissolution; Social Support; Breakup; Transition to College; Emotional Adjustment

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9. Bannon, Erin. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY INTERVENTION FOR WORK STRESS ON INNOVATION.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2010, Bowling Green State University

► Work stress is a major concern in today’s workplace. Highly stressed workers… (more)

Subjects: Psychology

Keywords: ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY; WORK STRESS; INNOVATION; INTERVENTION

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10. Barnhart Miller, Amy Michelle. Motivated Stereotyping of Women: Sources of Justification for Derogating Female Therapists.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2008, Bowling Green State University

► Previous research (Sinclair and Kunda, 2000) suggests that students and employees may… (more)

▼ Previous research (Sinclair and Kunda, 2000) suggests that students and employees may rate female professors and managers who deliver negative feedback more negatively than their male counterparts. This finding is thought to result from participants’ applying the stereotype that women are less competent than men to protect their threatened self-esteem. In the current research, I examined the potential for motivated stereotyping of women to occur within the context of psychological therapy. I expected female, more than male, therapists (portrayed through typed stimulus materials and a photograph) to be derogated by participants after providing negative feedback because doing so: a) activates participants' motivation to protect their self-esteem, b) allows for use of readily available negative stereotypes about women, and c) violates the expectation that females will be kind. However, negative feedback can be provided in a relatively kind manner and, therefore, not violate the female-gender-role expectation of kindness. Therefore, in the current research I varied the type of feedback (positive or negative) and the manner in which negative feedback (e.g., blunt, negative feedback or negative-but-kind feedback) was presented. In addition to the primary dependent variable of derogation, I also assessed stereotype activation in order to examine the aforementioned process thought to underlie the derogation of professional women who provide negative feedback. Using a role-play methodology, 176 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of six conditions within a 3 [Type of Feedback: (positive, blunt negative, negative-but-kind)] x 2 [Sex of Therapist: (male, female)] between-subjects factorial design. Five hypotheses were proposed; partial support was found for 2 of the 5 hypotheses. To the extent that the methodology allowed for a clear test of these hypotheses, it is possible that the role of psychotherapist may represent a context to which previously proposed theory and results do not apply. Thus, consistent with role congruity theory, females may avoid the previously documented patterns of motivated derogation within certain female-dominated professions (Eagly & Karau, 2002). Advisors/Committee Members: Gordon, Anne.

Subjects: Psychology

Keywords: Motivated Stereotyping; Role Congruity Theory; Women; Psychotherapist

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11. Baylen, Chelsea A. Impact of Vividness of Smoking Imagery and Complexity of a Task on Intensity of Nicotine Craving.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2007, Bowling Green State University

► Based on the Elaborated Intrusion theory of desire (Kavanagh, Andrade, and May,… (more)

Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Keywords: craving, vividness, elaborated intrusion, smoking

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12. Bonar, Erin E. Effect of Injecting Drug Users' HIV Status on Treatment Providers' Acceptance of Harm Reduction Interventions.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2007, Bowling Green State University

► The current study was designed to examine the degree to which injecting… (more)

▼ The current study was designed to examine the degree to which injecting drug clients' HIV status influenced substance abuse treatment providers’ acceptance of educational harm reduction interventions and traditional treatment interventions. A nationwide sample consisting of 131 substance abuse treatment agency directors (or staff with similar responsibilities)completed an internet-based procedure in which they were presented with a fictitious vignette describing the educational, occupational, legal, and drug history of an injecting drug user (IDU) who was described as either HIV-positive, HIV-negative, HIV status unknown, or no information was presented on HIV status. I also varied vignette clients’ gender (male or female), age (25-years-old or 35-years-old), and ethnicity (Caucasian or African American). Participants rated the acceptability of five harm reduction interventions (i.e., non-injecting routes of administration, site rotation, reduced use as an outcome goal, muscling, and cleaning needles with bleach) and four traditional treatment interventions (i.e., group therapy, a self-help group, complete abstinence as an outcome goal, and learning about the disease model of addiction) for the fictitious vignette client. Participants’ acceptance ratings of both harm reduction and traditional treatments did not differ as a function of the vignette client’s gender, ethnicity, or age. Acceptance of harm reduction interventions varied as a function of HIV status, with significantly higher acceptance for clients who were HIV-negative compared to those whose HIV status was not known. There was no impact of HIV status on traditional treatment ratings, but traditional treatments were significantly more acceptable than harm reduction treatments combining across all HIV conditions. Future research should address whether education about the value of harm reduction interventions increases acceptance and use of such interventions with drug clients, and other client characteristics and counselor attitudes and values that might influence acceptance of harm reduction interventions. Advisors/Committee Members: Rosenberg, Harold.

Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Keywords: harm reduction, substance abuse treatment, HIV, community attitudes toward mental illness

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13. Bonar, Erin Elizabeth. Using the Health Belief Model to Predict Injecting Drug Users' Use of Harm Reduction.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2011, Bowling Green State University

► Based on the Health Belief Model (Rosenstock, 1966), the current study was… (more)

▼ Based on the Health Belief Model (Rosenstock, 1966), the current study was designed to examine whether injecting drug users' (IDUs) beliefs about two injecting-related health conditions (i.e., non-fatal overdose and bacterial infections) and two harm reduction behaviors that prevent these conditions (i.e., injecting test shots and pre-injection skin cleaning) predicted their short-term intentions to engage in those two health behaviors. Ninety-one current IDUs recruited from needle exchange programs in Ohio and Michigan completed a series of questionnaires. Specifically, participants answered questions about their perceived susceptibility to and the perceived severity of the two health conditions, the perceived benefits and barriers of engaging in these two harm reduction behaviors, their self-efficacy to use these harm reduction behaviors, perceived social network norms regarding use of the harm reduction behaviors, and their recent use of and short-term intentions to use the behaviors in four drug-use situations (i.e., in withdrawal, not in withdrawal, alone, with others). Participants also completed a brief interview about their health promotion behaviors and perceived barriers to using the two harm reduction behaviors. Results indicated that recent past use of these two harm reduction behaviors consistently and positively predicted short-term intentions across all four situations. Only two constructs of the Health Belief Model also predicted intentions to engage in harm reduction, depending on the drug-use situation. Specifically, perceived susceptibility to non-fatal overdose and perceived benefits of test shots were significant positive predictors of intentions to engage in test shots, but only if injecting when not in withdrawal; perceived susceptibility was a significant positive predictor of intentions to do test shots, but only when injecting if alone. Participants' rating of how often other injectors in their network use test shots was also a significant and positive predictor of doing test shots, but only if injecting with others or injecting alone. Analysis of open-ended interview responses also revealed that participants engage in behaviors to preserve their health in general and specific to injecting, and that they identify a variety of barriers to engaging in harm reduction behaviors. Based on these results, future research could evaluate whether discussing susceptibility to non-fatal overdose, listing the benefits of test shots, and encouraging IDUs to inject with others who engage in harm reduction behaviors may be valuable additions to interventions designed to increase these two harm reduction behaviors. Future research should explore whether the HBM predicts actual use of harm reduction interventions in addition to behavioral intentions and what other non-cognitive factors predict the use of harm reduction. Advisors/Committee Members: Rosenberg, Harold.

Subjects: Psychology

Keywords: health beliefs; harm reduction; injecting drug use; substance abuse

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14. Burmeister, Jacob M. Media Use and Internalized Weight Stigma in a Weight Loss Treatment-Seeking Sample.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2012, Bowling Green State University

► Despite the fact that more than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, many… (more)

Subjects: Health Sciences; Mental Health; Public Health; Social Psychology

Keywords: internalized weight stigma, bias, media, obesity, overweight, television

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15. Cacciapaglia, Holly M. A STEPPED-CARE APPROACH to SMOKING CESSATION and HARM REDUCTION.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2006, Bowling Green State University

► Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the US (American… (more)

▼ Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the US (American Cancer Society, 2004). Despite a significant public health need for effective cessation interventions, the efficacy of smoking cessation interventions has declined over the past 15 years (Piasecki and Baker, 2001; Irvin and Brandon, 2000). The purpose of this study was to examine a stepped-care approach to smoking cessation and harm reduction. Stepped-care has been proposed as a promising, yet relatively unexplored approach to smoking cessation (Piasecki and Baker, 2001). In a stepped-care program, participants who are not responding therapeutically to the current level of treatment (i.e. experience significant difficulties or failure) are stepped-up to a more intensive form of treatment. In this study, individual problem solving therapy (PST) was used as the stepped-care component. The participants in this study were 40 smokers from the community. While all participants were engaged in an 8-session cognitive-behavioral group smoking cessation program, half of the participants were eligible to be stepped-up to individual PST when they experienced difficulties meeting their smoking reduction goals. Alternative measures of success (i.e., harm reduction) included progression along the stages of change model as measured by the Stages of Change Algorithm, Processes of Change Inventory, Decisional Balance Inventory, Self-Efficacy/Temptation Inventory, and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SEQ-12), as well as reductions in nicotine exposure and the ability to achieve a 24-hour quit attempts. Results revealed that 56% of all participants were able to quit by the end of the intervention and participants made significant progress along the stages of change as measured by the processes of change and self-efficacy. Participants were also able to achieve significant reductions in nicotine exposure and an increase in 24-hour quit attempts. No significant differences were found between the treatment and control groups or the treatment group participants who received PST (Treatment + PST) and those matched on stepped-care eligibility in the control group (Control + PST eligible). Despite the lack of significant findings, effect size estimates revealed a moderate to large effect size for self-efficacy/temptation, achieving a 24-hour quit attempt, and abstinence in favor of the treatment group. Implications and future directions are discussed. Advisors/Committee Members: Carels, Robert A.

Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Keywords: smoking cessation; harm reduction; tobacco; stepped-care; intervention

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16. Capuano, Angela M. Empathy and Cognitive Distortion: Examining Their Relationship with Aggression in Adolescents.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2007, Bowling Green State University

► The relationship between empathy and aggression has been widely studied and this… (more)

Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Keywords: aggression; empathy; cognitive distortions; adolescents

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17. Capuano, Angela M. Examining Empathy, Cognitive Distortions, and Social and Physical Aggression in Delinquent and Non-Delinquent Adolescents.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2011, Bowling Green State University

► In this study, relationships among empathy, cognitive distortions, social, physical, and violent… (more)

Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Keywords: empathy; cognitive distortions; social aggression; delinquency

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18. Chiros, Christine E. The Role of Acceptance in Appraisal and Coping with Migraine Headaches.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2007, Bowling Green State University

► Acceptance and chronic pain is an emerging topic both for research and… (more)

▼ Acceptance and chronic pain is an emerging topic both for research and intervention. Initial studies have demonstrated acceptance is correlated with higher quality of daily emotional, social, and physical functioning in various chronic pain populations. The purpose of the present study was to clarify the nature of the relationship between acceptance, appraisals that are common and relevant in chronic pain populations (i.e., control and catastrophizing), and coping among migraine headache sufferers, and to determine whether the relationships conform to the same pattern observed in other chronic pain populations. Seventy four participants with migraine headaches completed self report measures assessing appraisal, coping strategies, acceptance, and pain related disability. Sixty three participants also completed a 28-day daily dairy assessing headache activity, catastrophizing, control, acceptance, and coping strategies. Hierarchical regression and multilevel modeling were used to examine the relations between these variables. Overall, results indicate acceptance is a relevant construct in the experience of migraine pain. Higher levels of pain-related acceptance were associated with lower levels of catastrophizing and pain-related interference, and increased perceived control. Participants who endorsed higher levels of pain related acceptance reported engaging in a higher level of activity overall, and indicated they use fewer coping strategies. Though many of the primary hypotheses had partial support, it is clear that a different pattern of relationships was observed between acceptance, coping, and appraisal among migraine headache sufferers. Unlike previous studies with other chronic pain populations, pain severity was significantly related to many of the constructs tested. This could have important implications in developing appropriate acceptance-based treatment with headache sufferers. This highlights the importance of replicating and extending research with new populations. Acceptance continues to show promise as a way of viewing pain that lessens the detrimental impact of certain types of thoughts (i.e., catastrophizing), and leads to increased participation in daily life. Advisors/Committee Members: O'Brien, William H.

Subjects: Psychology, Behavioral

Keywords: migraine; acceptance; catastrophizing; coping

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19. Coit, Carissa Beth. THE STABILITY OF LOCUS OF CONTROL AND SELF-EFFICACY DURING AND AFTER A WEIGHT REDUCTION INTERVENTION AND THEIR RELATION TO WEIGHT LOSS AND REGAIN.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2006, Bowling Green State University

► Research indicates that locus of control (LOC) and self-efficacy affect numerous health… (more)

Keywords: Locus of Control; Self-efficacy; Weight loss

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20. Cullman, Ellen P. ATTACHMENT TO PARENT AND PEERS AS A MODERATOR OF THE RELATION BETWEEN PARENT/PEER RELIGIOUS COPING AND ADOLESCENT RELIGIOUS COPING.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2006, Bowling Green State University

► The goal of this study was to advance the understanding of the… (more)

▼ The goal of this study was to advance the understanding of the role of parents’ and friends’ religious coping in predicting college students’ religious coping. The concordance hypothesis predicted a significant relation between student religious coping and parent/friend religious coping. The moderator hypothesis predicted that student attachment quality to parent/friend would moderate that relation, resulting in a stronger positive relation between parent/friend religious coping and student religious coping for those students with higher as opposed to lower levels of parent/friend attachments. A sample of late adolescent college students was surveyed about their own and a selected parent’s and friend’s religious coping and about their attachment relationship with that selected parent and friend. In addition, the selected parent and friend were mailed surveys that assessed their own religious coping. Zero order correlations assessed the concordance hypothesis. Four sets of hierarchical regression analyses assessed the moderation hypothesis. The concordance hypothesis was supported in regards to positive religious coping and partially supported in regards to negative religious coping. Specifically, the parent’s and friend’s actual positive religious coping was significantly related to the student’s actual coping, but concordance was between parent/friend actual negative religious coping and student negative religious coping was not significant. The student’s perceptions of their parent’s and friend’s positive and negative religious coping were significantly related to the student’s actual positive and negative religious coping, respectively. As predicted, concordance rates were higher for students’ perceptions of parent/friend religious coping than for actual parent/friend religious coping. The attachment as moderator hypothesis was largely unsupported. It is speculated that because students generally reported higher as opposed to lower levels of attachment to parents and friends, it was difficult to test adequately the moderator hypothesis in this sample. The results are discussed in terms of Bandura’s concept of mental models and Bowlby’s attachment theory in the context of Pargament’s theory of the Psychology of Religion and Coping. Advisors/Committee Members: Dubow, Eric F.

Keywords: attachment; late adolescence; late adolescents; college students parent peers; religious coping; mental models

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21. Cummings, Jeremy P. Spiritual Identity Formation: Testing a Model of Religious Conversion Processes.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2012, Bowling Green State University

► Religious conversion has long fascinated both the faithful and social scientists. However,… (more)

Subjects: Psychology; Religion; Spirituality

Keywords: religious conversion; identity development

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22. Cummings, Jeremy Patrick. Spirit or Psyche? Religiousness in Undergraduate Psychology Majors.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2008, Bowling Green State University

► In light of religious and worldview differences between psychologists and the general… (more)

▼ In light of religious and worldview differences between psychologists and the general population of the United States (i.e., psychologists are generally less religious and endorse more non-traditional religious views), the researcher sought to determine whether such differences are evident at the level of undergraduate education. Using data from questionnaires administered to 3,680 undergraduate students in their junior year, the researcher compared psychology and all non-psychology majors in terms of scientism, irreligiousness, normative religiousness, humanism, spiritual struggle, and religious embeddedness. MANCOVA and ANCOVA statistical analyses suggested that psychology majors were higher on humanism and spiritual struggle than were students in all other majors; the two groups did not differ with respect to the other four variables. Psychology majors were also compared to more specific subsets of majors, including students of the natural sciences, humanities, theology/religion, business, education, engineering, and health professions. In this case, education and theology/religion majors scored lower on scientism and higher on normative religiousness and religious embeddedness than did psychology majors. On spiritual struggle, psychology majors scored higher than students of business, education, and engineering. Psychology majors were also higher on humanism than all majors except the humanities and theology/religion. These results indicate that the differences between undergraduate psychology majors and their peers are subtle, with psychology majors tending slightly toward humanism and spiritual struggle. Two forces may further lead psychologists-in-training down their divergent religious path. First, those with greater humanism and spiritual struggle may be selectively attracted to graduate education and a career in psychology. Second, additional educational and professional socialization may cultivate humanism and spiritual struggle, contributing to the abandonment of normative religiousness and general religious involvement in favor of either humanistic religiousness or scientism and irreligiousness. Advisors/Committee Members: Pargament, Kenneth.

Subjects: Higher education; Psychology

Keywords: religion; values; psychology; college major; career choice

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23. Davis, Alan Kooi. Development and Initial Evaluation of an Ecstasy Craving Questionnaire.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2012, Bowling Green State University

► Numerous questionnaires have been published to assess craving for a wide variety… (more)

▼ Numerous questionnaires have been published to assess craving for a wide variety of drugs, but no such instrument has been developed to assess craving for MDMA/ecstasy. Therefore, this study was designed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of such a questionnaire. First, I developed a pool of 19 potential items by modifying questions from other instruments assessing craving for other substances and writing new items that applied specifically to MDMA/Ecstasy. Next, using three websites (bluelight.ru, pillreports.com, facebook.com), I recruited 217 regular users of MDMA/ecstasy to complete a series of ecstasy-related questionnaires. Following an initial rating of their agreement with 19 craving items, participants watched one of two 3-minute cue-exposure videos: (a) dancing plus music at a club/rave with interspersed photos of ecstasy pills or (b) marching band on a football field and music with interspersed photos of peanuts. Following cue-exposure, subjects re-rated their agreement with the same 19 items, and completed questionnaires to assess their motivations for using ecstasy, refusal self-efficacy, obsessive/harmonious engagement in ecstasy use, drug/alcohol use and problems, and demographic information. Based on a conceptualization of craving that emphasized current desire, intention to consume and loss of control, I eliminated 11 potential items that appeared redundant or assessed outcome expectancies to yield the final 8-item version of the Ecstasy Craving Questionnaire-Current Craving (ECQ-CC). None of these 8 items were “unbalanced” (i.e., 80+% agreed or disagreed) nor were any pairs of the 8 items highly inter-correlated (r > 0.70). Internal reliability consistency across the 8 items was high (α = 0.93). The criterion validity of the ECQ-CC was supported by significant positive correlations of craving scores with motives for use, number of problems related to drug use, frequency of ecstasy use, and levels of obsessive/harmonious engagement in ecstasy use. I also found a significant negative correlation with self-efficacy to refuse ecstasy. As one element of construct validity, I also found a statistically significant interaction between time (pre vs. post cue exposure) x condition (rave/pills video vs. band/peanuts video), F(1, 215) = 5.276, p = .023. I plan to conduct further testing with different samples of drug takers to evaluate the generalizability of these initial findings. Advisors/Committee Members: Rosenberg, Harold.

Subjects: Psychology

Keywords: craving, MDMA, ecstasy, psychometric

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24. Delaney, Eileen. The Effects of Monitoring and Ability to Achieve Cognitive Structure on the Psychological Distress of HIV Testing.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2005, Bowling Green State University

► HIV is a significant health concern and millions of people are tested… (more)

Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Keywords: monitoring; ability to achieve cognitive structure; AACS; psychological distress; HIV testing

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25. Delaney, Eileen. The Association between Acceptance and Health for Individuals who are HIV-Positive.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2010, Bowling Green State University

► Given the increase in number of individuals infected with HIV and the… (more)

▼ Given the increase in number of individuals infected with HIV and the prevalence of stressors and mental health problems among these persons, researchers continue to examine which appraisals and coping responses may be related to better mental health and physical health for HIV populations. Research shows that negative appraisals and avoidance coping are consistently associated with less adaptive functioning. As an alternative, acceptance may be a type of appraisal that precludes the need to engage in coping strategies, especially non-adaptive coping strategies (e.g., avoidance coping). Acceptance refers to the willingness to experience thoughts, feelings, and physical symptoms without engaging in efforts to avoid or control them. Furthermore, research demonstrates that higher levels of acceptance are associated with better functioning for persons living with chronic illnesses. However, the role of acceptance has yet to be empirically examined within HIV-positive populations. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationships between acceptance, negative appraisals (i.e., threat appraisals), avoidance coping, psychological health (i.e., depression, quality of life, perceived functioning), medication adherence, and physical health (i.e., immune functioning). Analyses were conducted to examine both direct relationships and mediated relationships. Results indicated that levels of acceptance were related to better mental health. However, acceptance was not significantly associated with medication adherence, and medication adherence did not mediate the relationships between acceptance and mental health. Results also indicated that threat appraisals were associated with worse mental health, threat appraisals were related to some types of avoidance coping, and avoidance coping mediated the relationship between threat appraisals and depression. Overall, the present study suggests that acceptance and threat appraisals are important variables that impact mental health for those who are living with HIV and experiencing difficulties adjusting to the illness. Advisors/Committee Members: O'Brien, William.

Subjects: Health; Psychology

Keywords: acceptance; HIV; appraisals; mental health

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26. Desai, Kavita. Understanding the Relationship between Spiritual Struggles and Physical Health: A Physiological Study.

Degree: PhD, Psychology/Clinical, 2009, Bowling Green State University

► Psychological research has demonstrated links between religion and physical health and well-being.… (more)

▼ Psychological research has demonstrated links between religion and physical health and well-being. Although religion is generally beneficial for individuals, spiritual struggles can be detrimental for physical health. Studies have linked spiritual struggles with poor physical health, such as declines in somatic recovery (Fitchett, Rybarczyk, DeMarco, and Nicholas, 1999) and increased risk of mortality (Pargament, Koenig, Tarakeshwar, and Hahn, 2001). Given that spiritual struggles have been tied to harmful health consequences, it is important to understand the biological mechanisms underlying this relationship. Research has demonstrated that life stress causes cardiovascular reactivity, which in turn, is related to cardiovascular problems. The present study explored whether the same mechanism holds true for spiritual struggles and health problems; specifically, whether spiritual struggles were associated with increased cardiovascular reactivity. In addition, the study investigated whether the experiences of spiritual and life struggles were associated with different levels of cardiovascular distress.Undergraduate students experiencing both spiritual and life struggles were identified. Using a counter-balanced experimental design, participants (n = 80) were prompted to talk about neutral topics, spiritual struggles, and life struggles. Cardiovascular distress, heart rate and blood pressure, were monitored continuously during the study while mood and subjective distress were assessed after each condition. The results partially supported the hypotheses, though significant order effects made it difficult to interpret the differences between spiritual struggles and life struggles. Nevertheless, the results suggest that spiritual struggles were related to increased cardiovascular reactivity, particularly blood pressure, when compared to baseline functioning. Implications for future studies and limitations of this study are discussed. Advisors/Committee Members: Pargament, Kenneth.

Subjects: Health; Mental health; Psychology; Religion

Keywords: struggles; spiritual struggles; religious coping; physiology; health

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27. Desai, Kavita M. Predictors of Growth and Decline Following Spiritual Struggles.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2006, Bowling Green State University

► Studies have demonstrated links between spiritual struggles and growth and decline. However,… (more)

Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Keywords: Spiritual struggles; Growth; Decline

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28. Domoff, Sarah E. The Role of Texting Motivations in Moderating the Relation between Compulsive Texting and Adolescents' Adjustment.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2010, Bowling Green State University

► Over the past several years, text messaging has dramatically increased among youth,… (more)

▼ Over the past several years, text messaging has dramatically increased among youth, but there is limited research on how compulsive texting relates to children's adjustment. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relation of compulsive texting to adjustment indices drawn from literature on internet addiction (e.g., academic adjustment, aggression, internalizing symptoms) and, based on the Uses and Gratifications Model, examine how motivations for texting (e.g., efficiency, escapism, intimacy, perceived control over social interactions) moderated the relation between compulsive texting and the adjustment variables. For exploratory purposes, sex was examined as an additional moderator. Survey data were collected from 403 students in the 8th and 11th grades in a rural Midwestern community. Correlational analyses supported the hypothesis that higher levels of compulsive texting would relate to higher levels of aggression and internalizing symptoms and lower levels of academic adjustment. Sex differences were found on the relation between compulsive texting and internalizing symptoms and on the relation between compulsive texting and academic adjustment. For these relations, significant correlations were found only for females. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses supported the hypotheses that the escapism motivation for texting and the perceived control over social interactions motivation for texting moderated the relation between compulsive texting and internalizing symptoms, for both males and females. These motivations strengthened the relation between compulsive texting and internalizing symptoms, suggesting that they could serve as vulnerability factors. Although the study is correlational and causality cannot be determined, the findings have implications for theory and practice. For example, it could be that deficits in coping skills (escapism motivation) or discomfort in face-to-face social interactions (perceived control over social interactions motivation) relate to the etiology of compulsive texting. Awareness of youth's motivations for texting can inform parents and educators about the nature of problematic texting and directions to take to restrict excessive use. Advisors/Committee Members: Dubow, Eric.

Subjects: Psychology

Keywords: texting; text message; text messaging; cell phones; cellular phones; adolescent; academic; depression; loneliness; addiction

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29. Drummond, Jason A. The Relation Between Playing Violent Single and Multiplayer Video Games and Adolescents' Aggression, Social Competence, and Academic Adjustment.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2009, Bowling Green State University

► Over the past 20 years video games have grown in popularity and… (more)

▼ Over the past 20 years video games have grown in popularity and come to include “modes” that allow players to play with others who are either present or connected by the internet. Although research has found links between solitary violent video game play and indices of maladjustment (e.g., increases in aggressive behavior, decreased GPA), little research has examined the correlates of playing violent video games with others. The present study examined not only the extent to which children and adolescents are playing violent video games with others in multiple contexts (i.e., alone, with others present, and with others online), but also the relation between play in these contexts and aggressive and prosocial behavior, social adjustment, and academic adjustment. Participants included 484 participants in the 7th, 9th, and 11th grades who completed surveys about their video game play habits, aggressive and prosocial behavior, social competence, and academic adjustment. The majority (60%) of participants indicated that they played violent video games, with 56%, 50%, and 30% indicating that they play alone, with others present, and with others online, respectively. Male participants played in each context more often than females, and younger participants generally spent greater amounts of time playing than older participants. Higher frequencies of violent video game play were found to be related to more aggressive and less prosocial behavior, lower ratings of social competence, and poorer academic adjustment. Participants' primary context of play (i.e., primarily playing alone, with others present, or with others online) did not relate to outcomes. These relations generally held even when gender and grade level were accounted for, and these relations generally were not moderated by gender or grade level. In general, higher frequencies of violent video game play, rather than the context of game play, were related to negative adjustment. Limitations of the study included those generally accepted regarding self-report data such as reporter bias and possible errors in retrospective reporting, limited generalizability due to a sample with restricted age and ethnic diversity, and lack of longitudinal data. Finally, implications of the results and ideas for future research were discussed. Advisors/Committee Members: Dubow, Eric.

Subjects: Education; Personal relationships; Psychology

Keywords: Computer Games; Academic Adjustment; Social Adjustment; Aggressive behavior; Adolescent

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30. Faigin, Carol Ann. Filling the Spiritual Void: Spiritual Struggles as a Risk Factor for Addiction.

Degree: MA, Psychology/Clinical, 2008, Bowling Green State University

► Research has provided robust evidence that religious/spiritual variables can serve as protective… (more)

Subjects: Psychology

Keywords: Religious coping; spiritual struggles; spirituality; addiction; substance use; risk factors

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