Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2021, Psychology - Clinical

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are mental health conditions that often co-occur. The complexity of this comorbidity is well documented, often resulting in a more difficult clinical course, poorer treatment outcomes, and more severe physical and social health consequences overall when compared to either disorder alone (McCauley et al., 2012; Stewart, 1996). These problems underscore the importance in attaining a more comprehensive understanding of the role of malleable cognitive-affective factors in PTSD/AUD in order to structure evidence-based interventions to include specific additional treatment targets. Extant examinations of cognitive-affective factors that impact emotion regulation highlight unique associations of reappraisal, suppression, and rumination in anxiety and mood disorders (Aldao et al., 2010; Aldao & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2010) and are strongly associated with PTSD. We examined the differential effects of these factors in trauma- exposed individuals by first empirically examining latent subgroups of PTSD/AUD in trauma-exposed individuals, then modeling these cognitive-affective factors to elucidate their role in specific profile patterns of PTSD/AUD symptom typologies. Our results support a four-class model of PTSD/AUD symptoms, with unique predictive effects of expressive suppression, problem-focused thoughts, repetitive thoughts, and anticipatory thoughts on latent class status. We discuss acceptance-based intervention techniques to reduce these cognitive-affective patterns, and how they may be incorporated to augment current empirically-supported interventions for PTSD/AUD.

Committee: Jon Elhai Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Matthew Tull Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jason Levine Ph.D. (Committee Member); Rebecca Lusk Psy.D. (Committee Member); Andrew Geers Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

BS, Kent State University, 2017, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Anger often plays a large role in facilitating aggression. Additionally, the cognitive mechanisms behind anger can play a large role in how anger is expressed. Anger rumination, one of the cognitive components of anger, involves repeatedly thinking about an anger-provoking event and can often increase anger and aggression. Our particular study examined the role of anger rumination in anger and aggression when provoked. We found that provocation did not make participants angry, but it did decrease happiness. However, participants that were provoked were more likely to retaliate against the provocateur. Anger rumination did not moderate this effect right after being provoked, but it did increase negative affect after a ten-minute waiting period. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Committee: Jeffrey Ciesla (Advisor); Shannon Ciesla (Committee Member); Alexander Seed (Committee Member); Timothy Owens (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Psychology

Research has identified two aspects of rumination labeled brooding and reflective pondering (i.e., reflection). According to Treynor et al. (2003), brooding involves “a passive comparison of one's current situation with some unachieved standard” (p. 256) whereas reflection refers to “purposeful turning inward to engage in cognitive problem solving to alleviate one's depressive symptoms” (p. 256). Although research has consistently linked brooding to depression, research investigating the relationship of reflection and depression has produced conflicting results. Some studies have found that reflection, like brooding, is positively correlated with depression (Roelofs et al., 2008; Rudeet al., 2007; Verhaeghen, Joormann, & Khan, 2005) whereas others have either found reflection to be unrelated to (Burwell & Shirk, 2007; O'Connor & Noyce, 2008) or even negatively correlated with (Treynor et al., 2003; Crane, Barnhofer, & Williams, 2007) depressive symptoms. In the present study, I sought to better understand the construct of reflection and investigated two potential pathways to explain inconsistent research surrounding this topic within the construct validation paradigm outlined by Cronbach & Meehl (1955). First, I investigated the possibility that the current measures of reflection do not make adequate contact with the construct of reflection. Secondly, I investigated the possibility that these discordant findings are the result of a problem with the definition of construct of reflection itself. Following both lines of reasoning, new questionnaire items were created in an attempt to better measure and understand the construct of reflection. Consistent with expectation, I found evidence that reflection may be most accurately conceptualized in terms of two largely independent factors; one adaptive and one maladaptive. In fact, the Adaptive Factor performed better than any of the currently available measures of reflection in terms of discriminant validity. Addition (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Vasey (Advisor); Julian Thayer (Committee Member); Steven Beck (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Research has consistently demonstrated the relationship between peer victimization and internalizing symptoms. More recently, there has been emphasis on distinguishing between other forms of victimization, such as relational victimization and cyberbullying. The purpose of the current study was to further examine relational victimization and internalizing symptoms in adolescents and to examine potential variables (rumination, co-rumination, and gender) that may moderate this relationship. One hundred twenty seven adolescents completed measures of relational victimization, depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, rumination, and co-rumination at two time points that were six months apart. A new measure of relational victimization, the Relational Victimization Questionnaire, was developed. Multiple regression analyses indicated that cyberbullying was predictive of higher levels of depressive symptoms over time and that social manipulation was predictive of higher levels of general social avoidance and distress over time. Further, there was a significant interaction between cyberbullying and gender in the prediction of depressive symptoms, general social avoidance and distress, and social avoidance and distress of new situations. Thus, these findings add to the limited extant literature on the longitudinal negative effects of cyberbullying and the distinct negative effects of social manipulation on adolescents.

Committee: Jeffrey Ciesla Ph.D. (Advisor); Christopher Flessner Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kathryn Kerns Ph.D. (Committee Member); Manfred van Dulmen Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2011, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Co-rumination has been related to both high quality friendship and depressive symptoms. However, little is known regarding the extent to which co-rumination may be detrimental, its distinction from depressive rumination, and any potential gender differences in co-rumination. The present study used a modified version of Rose's (2002) Co-rumination Questionnaire to examine daily co-rumination, stress, and negative affect among adolescents. Hypotheses investigated whether daily levels of co-rumination predicted negative affect, tested a diathesis-stress model of co-rumination, and investigated incremental utility of co-rumination over depressive rumination. Additionally, we explored whether females report higher levels of daily co-rumination than males, and whether co-rumination has a greater effect on females than males. Results demonstrated that co-rumination did not have a main effect in predicting negative affect, but did evidence a significant interaction with life stress. Co-rumination predicted negative affect only when stress was high. Additionally, co-rumination demonstrated incremental utility above that of depressive rumination. Finally, gender differences in mean levels of co-rumination were not supported, nor did gender moderate the relationship between co-rumination and negative affect. In conclusion, this investigation supported the theory that co-rumination exacerbates the effects of life stress and is predictive of increased internalizing symptoms.

Committee: Jeffrey Ciesla PhD (Advisor); Janis Crowther PhD (Committee Member); Angela Neal-Barnett PhD (Committee Member); Kathryn Kerns PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1956, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2024, Psychology

Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT), or repeated, automatic, negative thoughts, are important risk factors for psychopathology. The current studies aimed to identify subgroups of individuals based on their tendencies to respond to different emotions with RNT (anger, sadness, anxiety) and to validate these profiles by examining group differences in psychopathology symptoms. Then, we tested how individual differences in trait (habitual) RNT predicted two well-studied consequences of state (in-the-moment) RNT: increased negative affect and decreased social problem-solving ability. For Study 1, latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted with a sample of undergraduates (N = 447) and revealed 3 profiles of RNT (High, Medium, Low), none of which were emotion specific. Participants in the High RNT groups generally reported the highest levels of depression, anxiety, and aggression. Results were replicated in a second sample of undergraduates (N = 311). In Study 2 (N = 123 undergraduates), sadness and anger rumination were induced, and participants were subsequently asked to engage in a social problem-solving (SPS) task, reporting their state affect throughout. Results revealed that participants who reported higher trait RNT endorsed experiencing higher levels of anger immediately after the anger rumination induction and higher levels of anger and sadness immediately after the sadness rumination induction, but this elevation in affect did not persist over time. Trait rumination was not related to change in SPS after the sadness rumination induction, but predicted a slight improvement in SPS after the anger rumination condition. Overall, trait RNT tends to generalize across negative emotions, with higher RNT relating to higher levels of psychopathology. However, the impact of high levels of trait RNT (on state affect and SPS) varies depending on the type of state RNT being engaged in (anger vs. sadness rumination).

Committee: Aaron Luebbe (Committee Chair); Joseph Rode (Committee Member); Nadia Al-Dajani (Committee Member); Elizabeth Kiel (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Experimental Psychology; Psychology

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2024, College of Sciences and Health Professions

Despite extensive research highlighting elevated rates of suicidality among people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), the underlying factors that contribute to this risk remain less understood. Theory-driven research elucidating pathways to suicidality may inform the development of targeted treatments to mitigate this risk. Prior studies have established a strong link between BPD features and use of ineffective emotion regulation strategies, especially rumination (Bud et al., 2023). Additionally, prior studies suggest attention disengagement difficulties may underlie rumination (Koster et al., 2011). Therefore, these studies investigated longitudinal and cross-sectional components of the emotional cascade model (Selby et al., 2008). Study 1 investigated the intervening role of rumination and potentiating role of eye-tracking attention disengagement from sad facial content on the relationship between BPD and suicide-related rehospitalization among inpatient adults (N = 95). The results confirm a robust relationship between elevated BPD features and ruminative tendencies; however, the hypothesized mediating and moderating roles were not supported. Study 2 investigated an extension of the emotional cascade model by testing the relationships between mindfulness, rumination, and their sequential effects on suicidogenic cognitions among diverse community adults diagnosed with BPD (N = 81). This study found support for the hypothesized intervening role of rumination between BPD features and suicide cognitions. Although BPD and difficulty employing mindfulness were strongly related, the mediation was not supported. Collectively, these studies provide partial support for ruminative cycles as an intervention target to alleviate suicide-related outcomes for BPD. Additionally, these results provide thought-provoking insights into study limitations. They also suggest considerations for the conceptualization of BPD and the incorporation of attention paradigms in future r (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ilya Yaroslavsky (Committee Chair); Amir Poreh (Committee Member); Kelsey Pritchard (Committee Member); Eric Allard (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2024, Experimental Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Prior work has demonstrated prolonged hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation during ruminative episodes. However, research into rumination and diurnal cortisol is limited as it pertains to prolonged HPA activation and particularly with respect to gender differences in this relationship. Diurnal cortisol slope (DCS) is related to many psychosocial phenomena and may be used as a proxy for daily HPA activation, which measures circadian cortisol decline throughout the day. This study extrapolated laboratory evidence of prolonged HPA axis activation—particularly in women higher in trait rumination—in a naturalistic setting among otherwise healthy undergraduate students (n = 116) to examine the relationship between DCS, stressor-related and brooding rumination, and gender; stressor-related rumination reflects the tendency to ruminate over prior and current stressful events, whereas brooding rumination captures the tendency to ruminate over depressive symptoms and emotional reactions to events. Participants were prompted to provide multiple cortisol samples throughout the day over five-days. I hypothesized that higher trait rumination would be related to flatter DCS throughout the day, particularly in women higher in trait rumination. Contrary to my main hypotheses, trait rumination was not related to flatter DCS throughout the day. However, there was a non-significant trend in the expected direction for stressor-related rumination suggesting men and women have different neuroendocrine profiles as it relates to rumination. Exploratory analyses revealed flatter DCS for women higher in stressor-related rumination compared to men higher in stressor-related rumination and women lower in stressor-related rumination, when controlling for brooding rumination. In conclusion, there was limited support for my hypotheses. Implications, interpretations, and future directions are discussed.

Committee: Peggy Zoccola (Advisor); Dominik Mischkowski (Committee Member); Brett Peters (Committee Member) Subjects: Physiological Psychology; Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Major depressive disorder is ranked among the top leading causes of disability worldwide, impacting millions of individuals each year. Despite existing research implicating both distress tolerance and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) as influential factors in the exacerbation of depressive symptoms, there has been limited investigation into the relationships among these constructs within mediational and longitudinal frameworks. To address this gap, the present study examined the relationships between an individual's perceived ability to tolerate emotional distress, their patterns of negative and repetitive thinking, and changes in depressive symptoms over both a four-week and three-month period. As hypothesized, poorer distress tolerance was associated with greater engagement in patterns of repetitive negative thinking (i.e., worry and rumination) and greater depressive symptoms. Moreover, RNT was found to be a significant mediator in this relationship at both a four-week interval and three-month interval, even when accounting for the baseline depression. Theoretical and practical implications and limitations of the current study are discussed.

Committee: Jeffrey Ciesla Ph.D. (Advisor); William Lechner Ph.D (Committee Member); Amy Sato Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jennifer Taber Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Mental Health; Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2023, Experimental Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Repetitive Negative thinking (RNT) is the process of repeated cognitions that are negatively valenced and difficult to control. RNT is theorized to contribute to the etiology and maintenance of mental disorders, notably major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in the forms of rumination and worry, respectively. Previous research suggests that resting-state alpha power (8-13 Hz) may be a potential neural correlate of trait RNT, as it has been linked to sensory suppression, areas of the default mode network, and disorder-specific forms of RNT. Despite this, few studies have examined the potential association between tendencies to engage in RNT and resting-state alpha power. Therefore, the present study examined the relationship between content-independent trait RNT and global resting-state alpha power in a community sample using previously collected data (n = 77). The relationship between brooding rumination and alpha power, as well as worry and alpha power were also explored. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. There was no significant association found between RNT and alpha power, controlling for sex (p = .14). There was however, a significant association found between sex and alpha power, such that on average, female participants demonstrated higher alpha power than male participants (β = 0.23, t(75) = 2.09, p = .04). The association between sex and alpha power became marginally significant with the inclusion of general depressive symptoms (β = 0.24, t(75) = 2.12, p = .037). No significant associations between rumination and alpha nor worry and alpha were found, controlling for sex (ps > .44). Future studies should continue to investigate the relationship between trait RNT and resting-state alpha power in a larger sample, as well as examine the potential influence of disorder-specific symptoms.

Committee: Peggy Zoccola (Advisor); Brett Peters (Committee Member); Nicholas Allan (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Rumination is a well-established contributor to the severity of depression and anxiety. It is unknown, however, whether individual differences in the temporal dynamics of rumination over time predict longitudinal increases in depression or anxiety. Using an ecological momentary assessment design, the current study sought to determine whether the dynamic indices of ruminative inertia, or the degree to which rumination is resistant to change across time, and ruminative variability assessed over a 14-day assessment period predicted change in symptoms of depression, general anxiety, and social anxiety at 2-week (n = 131) and 90-day (n = 115) follow-ups. Controlling for ruminative variability, baseline levels of the dependent variable, sex, and mean levels of momentary rumination, ruminative inertia did not predict change in symptoms of depression, general anxiety, or social anxiety at either the 2-week or 90-day follow-ups. In contrast, greater ruminative variability predicted increases in depressive symptoms at the 2-week follow-up even after correcting for multiple comparisons. Both ruminative inertia and variability were associated with baseline levels of depressive symptoms such that individuals endorsing higher levels of depressive symptoms demonstrated greater amounts of inertia and variability in their momentary rumination. Furthermore, greater ruminative variability but not inertia was also associated with higher baseline levels of general anxiety and social anxiety. These results suggest that ruminative variability may be a risk factor for increases in symptoms of depression over time and a potentially useful target for clinical intervention.

Committee: Jeffrey Ciesla (Committee Chair); Jennifer Taber (Committee Member); Susan Roxburgh (Committee Member); Kristen Marcussen (Committee Member); William Lechner (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2022, Experimental Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Co-rumination is an interpersonal emotion regulation strategy conceptualized as a fusion of self-disclosure and rumination and is characterized by extensive, cyclical conversations with close others regarding the causes and consequences of problems and their associated negative emotions. Theory posits that the interpersonal benefits of co-rumination such as emotional closeness and intimacy serve to reinforce the behavior, outweighing the resulting negative intrapersonal impacts on mental health. Despite the popularity of this trade off hypothesis, no study to date has directly tested interpersonal benefits as perpetuating factors of co-rumination. The present study aims to integrate the self-disclosure, emotion regulation, and close relationship literatures to assess the interplay of co-rumination and responsiveness in determining downstream co-rumination and the role of partner perceptions in how these processes unfold. Accomplishing these aims will facilitate our understanding of the intra- and interpersonal processes that occur during co-rumination. To do this, I utilized a self-disclosure paradigm wherein one individual (the discloser) disclosed and discussed their most stressful, ongoing problem with a close friend (the responder). Results revealed that co-rumination is accurately perceived by partners, but perceptions are also subject to projection biases. Additionally, co-rumination is a reciprocal process that occurs within dyads and elicits responsive behavior from responders. Although greater perceived partner responsiveness did not significantly predict downstream co-rumination within the conversation as predicted, co-rumination was perceived as responsive by disclosers, highlighting the interplay between these processes during co-rumination. Overall, findings enhance our understanding of how co-rumination unfolds within conversations between close friends. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Committee: Brett Peters (Advisor) Subjects: Experimental Psychology; Psychology; Social Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2021, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are among the most prevalent forms of psychopathology in the United States. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that these disorders tend to co-occur frequently (e.g., Kessler et al., 2005). The hierarchical model of cognitive vulnerability proposes that higher order risk factors such as negative affect (NA) explain why these two disorders co-occur, whereas lower order risk factors, such as intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and rumination explain why an individual may develop one disorder but not the other. We attempted to replicate and extend previous research on the hierarchical model of cognitive vulnerability by testing if depressive rumination explains the association between NA and symptoms of internalizing disorders. Moreover, we investigated if IU or depressive rumination explain the association between positive affect (PA) and symptoms of MDD. NA was positively associated with depressive rumination, IU, symptoms of MDD, and symptoms of GAD. PA was negatively associated with depressive rumination and symptoms of GAD, but not symptoms of MDD. In addition, IU did not explain the associations NA symptoms of GAD and MDD, or PA and symptoms of GAD. Moreover, there was no association between PA and symptoms of MDD. These findings extend previous research examining lower order risk factors as explanatory variables for the association between affect, GAD, and MDD symptoms. We identified depressive rumination as a cognitive risk factor that specifically explains the association between NA and symptoms of MDD, but not symptoms of GAD.

Committee: Nicholas Allan (Advisor); Christopher France (Committee Member); Peggy Zoccola (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2021, Psychology-Industrial/Organizational

Empirical research in emotion regulation have tended to show that emotional acceptance and reappraisal are adaptive emotion regulation strategies that can positively impact emotional well-being. Interestingly, the two strategies differ quite dramatically in terms of what they try to accomplish and how they go about doing so. For instance, while reappraisal involves changing a current emotional state (Gross, 2015), acceptance involves willfully experiencing an emotional state without any effort to change it (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2012). Despite their seemingly opposite nature, empirical studies to-date have produced little in the way of differences. The primary goal of the present investigation was to address multiple shortcomings of these past empirical studies in an attempt to show how the acceptance and reappraisal do indeed differ. I contend that an appropriate contrast of the two strategies requires both a more precise measurement approach, a long time-course of measurement, and consideration of cognitive-related outcomes. Through a call center simulation in which acceptance and reappraisal were experimentally manipulated, participants received calls from aggressive customers during two different sessions. Affect and physiological arousal, via skin conductance level, were continuously measured within the customer episodes. The study took a resource allocation perspective to examine how acceptance and reappraisal may impact attention when dealing with customer mistreatment. Integrating emotion regulation theory with goal progress theory (Martin & Tesser, 1996), the study also examined rumination as a consequence of aggressive customer behavior and antecedent of state anxiety. Results showed few differences between acceptance and reappraisal, yet indicated the clear negative emotional consequences of rumination. Rumination was shown to be a relatively immediate outcome of aggressive customer behavior that can quickly impact state anxiety prior to a subsequent (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Diefendorff Dr. (Advisor); Paul Levy Dr. (Committee Member); Jennifer Stanley Dr. (Committee Member); Andrea Snell Dr. (Committee Member); Maria Hamdani Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2020, Psychology

Treatment individualization is a promising approach to improving treatment outcomes. However, in order to facilitate the individualization of treatments, there is a need for further research into patient characteristics that might suggest differential response to specific treatment approaches and components. In this study, moderators of the effects of two treatment analogs were assessed. Participants were randomized to a cognitive or mindfulness analog intervention, and then completed a sad mood induction. Moderators of the effect of analogs on overall mood and negative affect following mood induction were of primary interest in this study. This study also sought to assess if simply being told that the intervention one was assigned was reflective of one's relative strength (vs. relative weakness) impacts mood and affect following the intervention. To test this, participants were also independently randomized to being informed that the intervention they were assigned targeted a skill that was a relative strength or weakness. For negative affect, the reflection component of rumination moderated intervention effects. Specifically, elevated rumination was associated with negative affect more strongly in the cognitive (vs. mindfulness) condition. Relative skillfulness in cognitive (vs. mindfulness) skills did not moderate the relation between intervention assignment and any intervention effects examined. However, overall skillfulness significantly moderated the effects of intervention assignment on mood recovery, with skillfulness associated with more rapid mood recovery in the mindfulness and slower mood recovery in the cognitive condition. Intervention framing did not lead to differences in negative affect, but did lead to changes in mood recovery, with mood recovery being more rapid in the strengths (vs. weakness) framing condition.

Committee: Strunk Daniel Dr (Advisor); Cheavens Jennifer Dr (Committee Member); Wagner Laura Dr (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2019, Experimental Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Background: Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death. To improve cessation rates, a better understanding of relapse antecedents is needed. Initial research indicates stress during quit attempts increases cravings and decreases smoking latencies, but these studies are limited in number and by the stressors used (i.e., primarily negative imagery). Similarly, initial research indicates trait rumination is positively associated with smoking relapse. However, no study has assessed the effects of state rumination on smoking relapse. So, the present study assessed the effects of a socially-evaluative stressor and state rumination on indicators of relapse (e.g., craving, smoking latency, ad-libitum smoking) among nicotine-deprived smokers. Methods: Following a nicotine-satiated baseline, 28 daily smokers underwent nicotine deprivation (M = 14.05, SD = 1.38 hrs). Afterwards, participants completed an acute psychosocial stressor. Next, participants were randomized to either Ruminate (n = 12) or to be Distracted (n = 16) before completing a laboratory smoking latency task. Craving was assessed after each task. Lastly, participants completed a 24-hour follow-up survey about latency to smoke and number of cigarettes smoked. Results: Stress significantly increased craving. However, the Rumination and Distraction groups did not differ in cravings, smoking latencies, or ad-libitum smoking. Conclusions: These findings replicate a small number of prior studies' findings that socially-evaluative stressors increase nicotine-deprived smokers' cravings. However, there was no effect of Rumination relative to Distraction on indicators of relapse. These findings are informative about the effects of adverse states on smoking relapse.

Committee: Peggy Zoccola PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Experimental Psychology; Psychology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2019, Psychology, Clinical

The current study sought to understand the mediators and moderators of the relationship between stalking victimization and both trauma-related symptoms and depression. Research has suggested that stalking victimization may contribute to the development of depression (Mechanic, Uhlmansiek, Weaver, & Resick, 2000) and PTSD (Basile, Arias, Desai, & Thompson, 2004). What remains unclear are the mechanisms by which stalking victims might develop symptoms of psychological distress, as well as what factors might provide a buffering effect against negative psychological outcomes for stalking victims. Past research has suggested that numerous variables, such as self-blame, avoidant coping, event-specific attributions, and rumination, contribute to the development and maintenance of trauma-related symptoms and depression. In the current study, these variables were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between stalking victimization and both trauma-related symptoms and depression. Finally, self-compassion was expected to act as a moderator of the relationship between stalking victimization and the proposed mediators (i.e., avoidant coping, rumination, event-specific attributions, and self-blame). Participants were randomly assigned to either a self-compassion or special place condition to examine the effect of condition on a self-compassion measure. Before the manipulation, participants completed two measures assessing stalking victimization and Time 1 self-compassion. After the manipulation, they completed measures assessing demographics, the proposed mediators, the outcomes, and Time 2 self-compassion. The results failed to support either hypothesis, suggesting that the proposed model was incorrect. However, several limitations of the methodology used in the current study should be considered before drawing any final conclusions about the model.

Committee: Catherine Lutz-Zois (Advisor); Lee Dixon (Committee Member); Erin O'Mara Kunz (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2019, College of Sciences and Health Professions

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent disorder of a recurrent nature that enacts a high burden across many domains. MDD has been conceptualized as a disorder of emotion regulation deficits in the frequent use of maladaptive ER responses as opposed to adaptive ER responses. While adaptive ER responses have been generally found to be efficacious in reducing distress within laboratory settings, they often fail to predict depression symptoms, do not differentiate those at high- from low-risk for MDD, and do not prognosticate risk for new MDD episodes. Given the preponderance of evidence suggesting a reliance on maladaptive ER among depressed persons and those at risk for the disorder, it is feasible maladaptive response deployment precedes and undermines the effectiveness of adaptive ER responses. The present study sought to test this possibility in a sample of 59 adults who following a negative mood induction either deployed an adaptive ER response (recalling a Positive Autobiographical Memory, PAM) or maladaptive ER (engaging in rumination) that preceded PAM. Contrary to expectation, neither rumination, participants' depression levels, nor their interaction undermines PAM's mood repair effects. An interaction between ER response sequence and depression levels was observed regarding the negative affect endorsed post-PAM. Moderation analysis revealed that those who immediately recalled PAM following mood induction endorsed higher negative affect compared to those who ruminated prior to PAM.

Committee: Ilya Yaroslavsky Ph.D (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Goncy Ph.D (Committee Member); Eric Allard Ph.D (Committee Chair) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Rumination is thought to play a central role in affective disorders such as social anxiety disorder (SAD). Past research indicates that rumination tends to exacerbate negative emotions and increase the risk of engaging in maladaptive coping behaviors, e.g., avoiding social activities. However, little is known on how to effectively protect against the negative outcomes of rumination. Previously, Zaki, Coifman, Rafaeli, Berenson, and Downey (2013) found that negative emotion differentiation (NED) protected against rumination and non-suicidal self-injury in borderline personality disorder. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether this protective effect would extend to other populations and behaviors. Therefore, the present investigation sought to replicate and extend Zaki et al. (2013)'s findings in the context of SAD. In two studies, we examined if NED would moderate the relationship between rumination and the frequency of social avoidance. Study 1 involved 29 individuals who met criteria for SAD with or without major depressive disorder, while Study 2 involved 190 college students who responded to a self-report measure of social anxiety. All participants completed a dispositional measure of rumination and an experience-sampling diary, which provided indices of NED and frequency of social avoidance. The results from both studies were unanimous: NED significantly moderated the relationship between rumination and social avoidance such that the positive association between rumination and social avoidance remained significant only for low NED. Overall, the findings provide a conceptual replication of Zaki et al. (2013) and further evidence for the protective effects of NED against the maladaptive consequences of rumination across populations.

Committee: Karin Coifman (Advisor); Jeffrey Ciesla (Committee Member); John Updegraff (Committee Member); Christopher Was (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology