Psychology Doctoral Work

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Browsing Psychology Doctoral Work by browse.metadata.program "Psychological Clinical Science"

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    Does a Brief Mindfulness Intervention Improve Distress Tolerance among Athletes?
    (North Dakota State University, 2019) Siyaguna, Tharaki
    Trait mindfulness has been found to be a beneficial characteristic of athletes. However, the research on mindfulness interventions has been limited, poorly described, and poorly designed. The current study sought to determine whether a brief mindfulness intervention improves distress tolerance among athletes. In addition, this experiment tested the impact of cultivating mindfulness on psychological variables that may be important for sport such as anxiety, happiness and capacity for stress. Athletes were randomly assigned to one of the three intervention conditions (brief mindfulness, sham mindfulness and no-intervention control). All participants completed distress tolerance measures, a motor performance measure under distressing conditions, and self-reported psychological measures. These measures were administered at pre- and post-intervention. Results indicated that the brief mindfulness intervention did not result in significant improvements in the primary outcome variables, in comparison to the sham mindfulness and no-intervention control groups. Strengths and limitations of the study, as well as future directions are provided.
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    The Effects of Reattribution Training and Behavioral Activation on Cognitive Vulnerabilities to Depression Among College Students
    (North Dakota State University, 2018) Myhre, Samantha Kathleen
    Depression among adolescents and college students comes with significant negative impacts on multiple areas of functioning as well as burdens on society. It is important to understand what makes young people vulnerable to experiencing depression as well as how to prevent it. This study intended to compare cognitive and behavioral skills training to determine their effect on cognitive vulnerabilities to depression. Participants who have never been depressed were recruited based on high levels of cognitive vulnerabilities to depression. They were randomized to a cognitive condition, a behavioral condition, or a waitlist condition. Pre-, post-, and follow-up measures were collected including cognitive vulnerabilities, symptoms of depression and anxiety, areas of general functioning, and the credibility of the workshops. Overall, participants in all conditions demonstrated decreases in dysfunctional attitudes and state anxiety overtime as well as increases in sleep quality, satisfaction with life, perceived social support, and academic self-concept. Individuals in the both the cognitive and behavioral conditions demonstrated decreases in level of rumination from pre-workshop to the time of follow-up. Decreases in dysfunctional attributional styles were found for those in the cognitive condition. Lastly, individuals in both workshop conditions demonstrated significant increases in behavioral activation whereas those in the waitlist condition demonstrated a significant decrease. This study provides us with inconclusive evidence regarding whether brief skills training workshops may be of use when attempting to reduce cognitive vulnerability to depression.
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    An Examination of the Link Between Weight Stigma and Binge Eating
    (North Dakota State University, 2019) Douglas, Valerie Jane
    Past research shows that weight-related teasing is linked to binge eating, but little is known about the individual risk factors that render certain people more vulnerable than others. The current study examined three potential risk factors for binge eating in response to weight-related teasing: weight stigmatization experiences, weight bias internalization, and emotion dysregulation. The current study empirically investigated how these factors interacted to predict concurrent binge eating behavior through a self-report questionnaire and eating behavior in a laboratory following exposure to a weight stigma vignette. First, it was hypothesized that higher levels of weight stigmatization and emotion dysregulation would be associated with higher levels of binge eating, which was consistent with the results of a multiple linear regression analysis. Second, it was predicted that higher levels of weight stigmatization and emotion dysregulation would predict greater quantities of cookie consumption during a bogus taste test following exposure to a weight stigma vignette. The hypothesis was not supported by a multiple linear regression. Third, we posited that weight bias internalization would moderate the relationship between weight stigmatization and emotion dysregulation on disordered eating, such that higher levels of weight bias internalization would be associated with higher levels of binge eating. This was not supported by a hierarchical regression analysis. Overall, the results highlight variables pertinent to the relationship between weight stigma and binge eating. Future research should test the model in clinical samples to see if it is more relevant to people with more severe levels of eating pathology.
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    Perceived Burdensomeness: Exploring Potential Vulnerability Factors
    (North Dakota State University, 2019) Saxton, Brandon T.
    Suicide affects hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year. Despite many coordinated efforts to address this problem, in multiple domains, these numbers have risen over the last decade. The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide is a relatively recent theory that has received considerable attention and investigation. Perceived burdensomeness is one of the constructs from this theory. The belief that you are a burden on others is a robust predictor of suicidal ideation and, to a less understood extent, suicidal behavior. To my knowledge, few studies have looked at the factors that lead to perceived burdensomeness. This study was conducted to begin to address this gap in the literature. Attributional style, hopelessness, socially-prescribed perfectionism, and self-esteem were identified as potential vulnerability factors for perceived burdensomeness. One hundred twenty individuals were surveyed about these constructs and perceived burdensomeness. Participants were also asked to read three vignettes based on interviews with individuals with lived experiences related to suicide attempts. Following each vignette, participants were asked to report the level of perceived burdensomeness that they anticipated that they would feel in that situation as an additional analogue measure of perceived burdensomeness. It was found that attributional style, socially-prescribed perfectionism, and self-esteem predicted current levels of perceived burdensomeness. Self-esteem was the only variable that predicted analogue levels of perceived burdensomeness, beyond current levels of depression. This exploratory study has the potential to contribute to the literature by guiding and informing future research related to better understanding or reducing perceived burdensomeness.
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    The Relationship Between Appearance Comparisons and Disordered Eating Behaviors: A Proposed Model and a Test of an Intervention
    (North Dakota State University, 2017) Minnich, Allison
    One sociocultural factor that has been implicated as a risk factor in the development of eating disorders is a tendency to compare one’s appearance to others’ (appearance-related comparisons). The aims of the current study were to propose a detailed model of the relationship between appearance comparisons and disordered eating behaviors based on a review of previous literature and to experimentally test an intervention generated from this model. Previous research reports inconsistent findings regarding the potential differential impact of comparisons to universalistic (i.e., distant sources of influences) and particularistic (i.e., close sources of influence) targets. The intervention aimed to alter appearance comparisons to either media targets or peer targets to determine if there is a differential impact of a peer-target intervention and a media-targeted intervention on body dissatisfaction, frequency of comparisons, and the relevance of the comparison target. The intervention was designed to help participants view themselves as dissimilar to their comparison targets, lowering their likelihood of making appearance comparisons and increasing appearance esteem and body image. Participants, undergraduate females, were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: peer-targeted intervention, media-targeted intervention, or a control group. Results revealed that both the media-targeted and peer-targeted interventions reduced the relevance of the comparison target, increased appearance esteem, and increased state body image. However, neither of the interventions reduced the frequency of appearance comparisons to peer or media targets in the week following the intervention. Theoretically, the current paper extends the literature by providing a comprehensive model of factors that link appearance comparisons to disordered eating behaviors. Clinically, the study provides a promising intervention for reducing the negative impact of appearance comparisons on body image, and potentially, eating behaviors.