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Publication AN EXAMINATION OF THE ROLES OF DISTRESS, SELF-STIGMA, CAREGIVER ROLE IDENTITY, AND SELF-COMPASSION IN CLERGY HELP-SEEKING ATTITUDES(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Sager, KristenClergy comprise an essential subpopulation of caregivers, providing spiritual guidance and emotional support to many community members. The intense occupational demands for clergy result in burnout and mental health concerns causing them to seek support through a variety of private and intrapersonal resources, however clergy may underutilize professional psychological services when dealing with distress. A review of literature on mental health stigma, caregiver role identity, and self-compassion provides a framework for examining clergy help-seeking attitudes and understanding its various influencers. This study examines the relationships among distress, self-stigma of help-seeking, caregiver role identity, self-compassion, and attitudes toward psychological help-seeking in a majority Christian clergy sample using a quantitative method and a descriptive correlational design. Goals of this study were to examine whether caregiver role identity and self-compassion predict levels of self-stigma and whether self-stigma predicts attitudes toward help-seeking. Results revealed rates of depression in this clergy sample that resemble previous research, and showed that the stigma associated with mental health help-seeking predicts help-seeking attitudes in clergy. Clergy self-compassion predicted self-stigma of help-seeking and was significantly associated with levels of distress, caregiver role identity, and help-seeking attitudes. Findings also revealed that caregiver role identity did not relate to clergy self-stigma in ways originally hypothesized, however caregiver role identity salience was associated with higher levels of distress in clergy. Findings from this study inform future research and practice recommendations for the field of psychology in supporting the mental health of this population, and for congregations and organizations invested in clergy mental health.Publication Examination of Cognitive Processing Therapy Outcomes in Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, with or without Chronic Pain and with or without Pharmacological Treatment for Pain(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Farley, Kathryn ElizabethPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain are two of the most prevalent conditions affecting the veteran population, with approximately 20% of veterans holding a PTSD diagnosis (Fisher, 2014) and roughly 55% suffering from a chronic pain condition (National Institute of Health, 2015). It is estimated that over 60% of veterans with PTSD also hold a chronic pain diagnosis (Asmundson, 2014). Scholars have theorized about the unique relationships between PTSD and chronic pain, including a mutual maintenance model (Sharp & Harvey, 2001) and a shared vulnerability model (Asmundson et al., 2002). Given this rising comorbid prevalence and associated theoretical foundation, the present study aimed to examine treatment outcomes of cognitive processing therapy (CPT), in Veterans with PTSD, with or without chronic pain, and with or without pharmacological treatment for pain, in the reduction of both PTSD and depression symptoms, utilizing the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) and Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II). A retrospective chart review resulted in a sample of 94 veterans across three distinct cohorts; Cohort 1: veterans with a chronic pain condition and pharmacological treatment for pain, Cohort 2: veterans with a chronic pain condition and no pharmacological treatment or any other identified treatment for pain, and Cohort 3: veterans without a chronic pain condition. A MANOVA was conducted using the sample’s pre-treatment and post-treatment PCL and BDI-II scores to examine the symptom reduction across and among the three cohorts. Significant differences were observed between pre-treatment and post-treatment measures of both the PCL and BDI-II, across all cohorts. Significance in between-group differences on PCL score change across CPT was not significant, however demonstrated marginal significance. Between-cohort differences on BDI-II score changes were significant through the MANOVA analysis, however the post-hoc cohort mean comparison failed to reach significance. The study discusses the significance of results in the context of existing literature as well as future directions for research.Publication Understanding Spirituality among Chinese College Students: Xin-Yang (信仰) and its Assessment(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Li, ShengnanIn spite of the effort researchers have made, there still seems to be a lack of cultural appropriateness when it comes to the concept of spirituality. Therefore, the current author considers the cultural appropriateness in the process of developing a scale that measures Chinese college students’ level of spirituality. Three focus groups and face-to-face interviews were conducted to help understand the concept of spirituality among Chinese college students. Xin-Yang 信仰 is the Chinese word the current author decided to use and study among Chinese college students. After the pool of items is developed, a fourth focus group was held among the current researcher and a panel of experts in the field of psychology that enabled the researcher to establish face validity for the current scale. A pilot study was conducted to modify the pool of items. A sample of 2,307 college student participants were recruited online from five different provinces, autonomous regions, and direct-controlled municipality in China. Confirmatory factor analysis, item factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were performed with the data. The final Xin-Yang scale has three factors: characteristics, mental guidance, and relationship to others. Xin-Yang scale is a sound and helpful measurement. Xin-Yang seems to be an important construct to these Chinese college students in relationship to their psychological well-being. Specifically, Xin-Yang is significantly and positively related to hope, self-esteem, and self- efficacy. Xin-Yang is significantly and negatively related to psychological symptoms. In addition, Xin-Yang is significantly and positively related to spirituality. Relationships among these constructs were discussed. Limitations and implications were also discussed.Publication Relationships Among White Supervisor Cultural Humility and Cultural Missed Opportunities and Minority Supervisee Self-Efficacy, Supervisory Working Alliance, and Racial Identity(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Vandament, MarcyThe purpose of the present study is to examine how perceived supervisor cultural humility and cultural missed opportunities relate to supervisory working alliance and counselor self-efficacy in clinical supervision relationships where the supervisor is White and the supervisee is a racial minority. Cultural humility is defined as respect to and a lack of superiority toward another person’s culture and background. A cultural missed opportunity is defined as an opportunity to engage in cultural conversations being overlooked, avoided, or otherwise not discussed. Participants included supervisees who were: students/professionals from a mental health field (i.e. counseling psychology, clinical psychology, social work), who self-identified as a racial minority, and who had at least one clinical supervision experience with a White supervisor (N = 87). Using four hierarchical linear regressions the predictor variables (cultural humility and cultural missed opportunities) were used to examine the amount of variance predicted within the criterion variables (supervisory working alliance and counselor self-efficacy). Additionally, the moderating effect of racial identity was examined through each of the four regressions. The results indicated that perceived cultural humility and cultural missed opportunities account for a significant amount of variance in both supervisory working alliance and counselor self-efficacy. Racial identity accounted for a significant amount of variance in counselor self-efficacy. However, there was not a significant interaction between racial identity and either cultural humility or cultural missed opportunities in each of the four regression analyses.Publication When Jesus Takes the Wheel: An Investigation of Distraction in Autonomous Vehicles(University of Kansas, 2019-12-31) Wise, Ashleigh Victoria TranAutonomous vehicles have been suggested to be a solution to the problem of distracted driving. However, because autonomous vehicles are still developing, little is known about how drivers interact with them. Today’s autonomous vehicles still require drivers to be available to take control quickly. If drivers are engaged in secondary tasks, they are less able to safely take control or detect system notifications to take control. Using the delay discounting method, the cognitive underpinnings of the human decision-making process can be understood to inform us of the extent to which drivers are willing to engage with a distraction. The current work found a distinct group of high impulsivity group who were more willing to engage with distraction sooner, opposed to the low impulsive group. Regardless of impulsivity group, willingness to engage with distraction decreased after driving a partially autonomous vehicle. This timing effect was present in subsequent analyses for the high impulsive group but not the low impulsive group. However, there was an interaction for timing and vehicle driven among both the high and low groups in which the high impulsive group generally became less willing to engage with distraction after driving the most vehicles, and the low impulsive group became more willing to engage with distraction. Also, the overall group was less willing to engage with distraction when hypothetically driving a standard vehicle than a fully autonomous vehicle. This effect was also found among the high impulsivity group but not the low impulsivity group. Finally, only the low impulsivity group reported less willingness to respond when the message was on the phone’s screen rather than the vehicle voice system. However, there was an interaction with the message modality and timing. After driving, both the overall sample and low impulsivity group were less willing to respond to a message via the phone but more willing to respond via voice system. Examining driver behavior and cognitive demand in autonomous vehicles has critical implications for understanding how drivers interact with these vehicles. As autonomous vehicles become more mainstream, it becomes increasingly necessary for our safety to understand driver behavior in varying circumstances.Publication Auto-Regressive Latent Variable Modeling: A General Framework for Bayesian Spatial Structural Equation Models(University of Kansas, 2019-12-31) Roman, Zachary JosephSpatial analytic approaches are classical models in econometric literature (LeSage & Pace, 2009). Recently, the behavioral sciences have seen an increase in their application, but spatial effects are generally still ignored (Stakhovych et al., 2012; Musafer et al., 2017; Oud & Folmer, 2008; Hogan& Tchernis, 2004). Spatial analysis models are synonymous with social network auto-regressive models which are also gaining popularity in the behavioral sciences. Structural Equation Models (SEM) are widely used in psychological research for measuring and testing multi-faceted constructs (Bollen, 1989). While SEM are widely used limitations remain, in particular latent interaction/polynomial effects are troublesome (Brandt et al., 2014). Recent work has produced methods to account for these issues (Brandt et al., 2018). Further, recent work has established methods to account for spatial and network effects in SEM (Oud & Folmer, 2008). However, a cohesive framework which can simultaneously estimate latent interaction/polynomial effects and account for spatial effects, has not been established. To accommodate this I provide a novel model, the Bayesian Spatial Auto-Regressive Structural Equation Model (SASEM). In the first chapter of this dissertation I review existing literature relevant to spatial analysis and latent interaction effects in SEM. In the next chapter I present a new modeling framework which can accommodate these effects. In the next chapter I investigate model performance with a series of Monte-Carlo studies. Results are promising particularly for one sub-model of the SASEM. I provide an empirical example using the spatially dependent extended US southern homicide data (Messner et al., 1999; Land et al., 1990) to show the rich interpretations made possible by the SASEM. Finally, I discuss results, implications, limitations, and recommendations.Publication A Meta-Analysis of Psychosocial Interventions for Siblings of Youth with Chronic Medical Conditions(University of Kansas, 2019-12-31) Amaro, Christina MarieSiblings of youth with chronic medical conditions may be at risk for psychological adjustment concerns, and interventions targeting the psychosocial needs of siblings are important to address. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis examining psychological interventions for siblings of youth living with chronic illnesses, with specific attention to improving their adjustment and distress. To identify articles that met inclusion criteria, literature searches were conducted using several search engines including PsycINFO, PubMed, ERIC, and ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source. Fifteen articles across 14 studies (826 participants) were included within the current review; studies included treatment and comparison group as well as pre-test post-test designs. Study characteristics were coded and risk of bias was assessed. Interventions primarily targeted siblings of youth diagnosed with cancer. Overall, findings from the current meta-analysis revealed aggregate effect sizes that were small but significant for both distress (g = 0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.32, 0.67]) and adjustment (g = 0.23; 95% CI [0.10, 0.36]).However, findings should be viewed cautiously in light of several limitations including small sample sizes, less rigorous study methodologies (e.g., pre-test post-test designs), and potential high risk of bias. The current meta-analysis elucidates the need for further sibling intervention development, including randomized controlled trials as well as larger and more diverse samples.Publication Sex Differences in the Relationship Between Light Physical Activity and Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors in Older Adults(University of Kansas, 2019-12-31) Losinski, Genna MLight physical activity (LPA) is associated with improved metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors and research has demonstrated sex-associated differences in MetS and LPA. The present study explored differential associations between LPA and MetS risk factors. Participants were 107 older adults (M = 74.78 years, SD = 6.29) without cognitive impairment (CDR = 0) that wore accelerometers (Actigraph GT9X) during 7 consecutive days. Activity intensity was categorized as sedentary, light, and moderate based on Freedson Adult Vector Magnitude cutpoints. Participants completed a medical history that collected ATP-III defined MetS risk factors. Women had a higher mean moderate physical activity (28.81%) than men (22.86%, t (86.02) = -3.51, p = <.001) and men had a higher mean sedentary behavior (27.98%) than women (24.27%), t (87.80) = -2.12, p = .034). However, light physical activity did not differ by sex (t (81.05) = -1.49, p =.138). Binomial logistic regressions demonstrated that the interaction between sex and time in light physical activity did not predict the presence of any of the metabolic syndrome risk factors, adjusting for age, education, Apolipoprotein E status, and medication use. The current sample was composed of highly educated (M = 16.37) primarily Caucasian and non-Hispanic older adults who were more active than average U.S. older adults. (light M = 47.91%, moderate M = 27.77%). These findings suggest that higher amounts of LPA may not demonstrate sex-associated differences in MetS risk factors. Future studies should explore these associations in a less active and less educated population of older adults.Publication The reflection of meaning : using personal constructs to train counselors in empathic responding(University of Kansas, 1986-05-31) Long, Richard J.This training study assessed the impact of a newly conceptualized microcounseling skill, the reflection of meaning, on counselor empathy. A further purpose was to determine the impact of counselor empathy on client perceptions of counselor expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. Twenty-four beginning master's level trainees, twelve each in two microcounseling training conditions utilizing randomly assigned treatments with intact groups, underwent either a microcounseling or a microcounseling plus reflection of meaning training condition. Following a pre-training role-played interview, participants received twelve hours of training, followed by a post-training roleplayed interview. Counselor empathy was evaluated from three perspectives: self-perceived empathy, client-perceived empathy, and empathy as rated by trained raters. No effects for sex or baseline empathy were detected although a treatment effect for age was found. Hypotheses were evaluated by two-tailed t tests for independent groups. No significant main effects were found. Ad hoc correlation and covariance analyses were performed. Implications, limitations of the study, and future research directions were presented.Publication Nostalgia for Ex-partners and Perceived Current Relationship Quality(University of Kansas, 2019-12-31) Ai, TingThinking about one’s ex-romantic-partners is typically regarded as detrimental to people’s current romantic relationship. However, thinking about past events and relationships in a nostalgic way is suggested to result in beneficial outcomes. In the current work, I examined whether nostalgia for an ex-partner influenced people’s perception of current relationship quality and the underlying mechanism. In Study 1, I found that recalling nostalgic events about an ex- partner led people to report higher relationship quality, compared to recalling day-to-day ordinary events. In Study 2, I improved methodological limitations of Study 1, and further showed that recalling nostalgic memories about an ex-partner increased perceived current relationship quality, compared to neutral memories that either involved or not one’s ex-partner. Additionally, I found that the positive effects of nostalgia for ex-partner on perceived current relationship quality was mediated by growth mindset.Publication Neurocognitive Processes Associated with Reduced Inhibitory Control of Prepotent Eye Movements in Autism Spectrum Disorder(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Kelly, Shannon ElizabethImpairments in inhibitory control (IC), or the ability to suppress a dominant behavioral response, are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Multiple psychological and neurophysiological processes contribute to successful IC, though the extent to which these distinct processes are affected in ASD is not known. We previously have documented that individuals with ASD show a reduced ability to proactively delay response onset during a manual stop-signal task which contributes to failures inhibiting contextually inappropriate responses. Relative to manual movements, eye movements are highly automated, more difficult to inhibit, and more closely linked to discrete neurophysiological processes. Characterizing IC of eye movements in ASD may provide key insights into spared and affected psychological and neurophysiological processes. Sixty individuals with ASD aged 5-29 years and 63 age- and gender-matched typically developing controls completed an oculomotor stop-signal task (i.e., countermanding). During this task, the majority of trials were GO trials, on which participants made rapid eye movements (i.e., saccades) toward peripheral targets (12 degrees to the left or right of center). The remaining trials were STOP trials, on which a stop signal appeared at variable intervals following the peripheral target (i.e., stop signal delays) to cue the participant to inhibit the saccade. Stopping accuracy (i.e., the percent of STOP trials successfully inhibited), estimated reaction time of the stopping process (SSRT), and reaction time slowing on GO trials (GO RT slowing) compared to a baseline reaction time task were examined. Individuals with ASD exhibited reduced stopping accuracy and GO RT slowing and faster SSRTs compared to controls. For both groups, stopping accuracy was positively related to GO RT slowing and not related to SSRT. Increased age was associated with higher stopping accuracy and GO RT slowing, and these relationships did not differ across groups. The results indicate that individuals with ASD show a reduced ability to inhibit and proactively delay prepotent eye movements, while reactive stopping abilities are unaffected. Impaired IC was strongly and selectively associated with deficits in their ability to strategically delay response onset rather than reactively inhibit responses. These findings implicate reduced top-down control via fronto-striatal inhibition of brainstem circuitry in ASD, provide new targets for addressing clinical issues of IC, and suggest that tests of proactive control of eye movements may be useful for testing treatment efficacy and clarifying neurophysiological mechanisms of key clinical outcomes in ASD.Publication Precision Sensorimotor Control in Aging Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 Gene Premutation Carriers(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) McKinney, Walker StuartIndividuals with premutation alleles of the FMR1 gene are at risk of developing Fragile X-associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS), a neurodegenerative condition affecting sensorimotor, cognitive and psychological function. There is limited information on quantitative symptom traits in aging premutation carriers to assist in identifying neurodegenerative processes and understanding neurodegenerative mechanisms. 26 FMR1 premutation carriers ages 44-77 years and 31 age-matched healthy controls completed a visually guided precision gripping task in which they pressed with their thumb and forefinger against load cells while receiving visual feedback. Individuals maintained a constant force for 2- or 8- seconds. During initial pressing, reaction time, the rate at which individuals increased their force, and force accuracy were measured. During sustained gripping, the complexity of the force time series, force variability, and mean force were examined. At the end of each trial, the rate at which individuals decreased their force was measured. During initial pressing, premutation carriers, relative to controls, showed longer reaction times, particularly at younger ages. They also showed reduced rates of force generation and reduced accuracy relative to controls. During sustained force, premutation carriers demonstrated reduced force complexity, though this effect varied as a function of age and hand; it was reduced across ages for the non-dominant hand but was more severely reduced at younger ages for the dominant hand. Lower sustained force complexity was associated with greater cytosine-guanine-guanine (CGG) repeat length. Increased reaction time, increased sustained force variability, and increased rates of force relaxation each were associated with more severe clinically rated FXTAS symptoms. Findings of increased reaction time in premutation carriers implicate neurodegenerative processes affecting the ability to rapidly prepare the motor system for action. Premutation carriers also showed reduced accuracy of their initial force output indicating impairments precisely planning rapid motor behavior. Reduced complexity of sustained motor output suggests deficits in reactively adjusting motor behavior in response to sensory feedback. Overall, these results indicate that sensorimotor issues in aging premutation carriers affect multiple motor systems, and quantitative tests of precision visuomotor ability may serve as key targets for monitoring FXTAS risk and progression.Publication Male Allies Decrease Negative Effects of Tokenism for Women in Male Dominated Workplaces(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Moser, CharlottePrevious research has examined the antecedents and consequences of tokenism, and recent research has begun to address the utility of interventions for coping with these experiences. This is of particular importance for women in in science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM) as they are likely to find themselves in token contexts due to their minority status. Research has yet to identify the impact that dominant group “allies” may have in reducing the negative effects of tokenism. In Study 1, we test the protective effects of the presence (vs absence) of male allies in token and gender-balanced contexts. We asked White women (N=194) to imagine applying for a job at a STEM related company, manipulated the gender composition of their coworkers, and the existence of a male coworker ally, and to respond to several dependent measures related to tokenism. The expected two-way interaction emerged on most dependent measures, with an ally in token conditions being protective compared to all other conditions. In Study 2, we assessed whether the gender of the ally matters. We asked White women (N = 204) to imagine working with either a male, female, or no ally. As expected, participants exposed to a male ally reported decreased effects of tokenism. In Study 3, we rule out the possibility that a friendly coworker would be as helpful as an ally. White women (N = 329) were asked to imagine working in a company while manipulating the gender of a coworker who was either an ally or a friend. Only participants who were shown a male ally showed decreased negative effects of tokenism. The results of this study present a possible novel intervention to help retain women in male dominated fields.Publication Developing Empirical Decision Points to Improve the Timing of Adaptive mHealth Physical Activity Interventions in Youth(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Ortega, AdrianCurrent digital health interventions primarily utilize interventionist-defined rules to guide the timing of intervention delivery. As new temporally dense datasets become available, it is possible to make decisions about intervention delivery and timing empirically. The purpose of this study was to explore the timing of physical activity in youth to inform decision points (e.g., timing of support) for future digital physical activity interventions. This study was comprised of 113 adolescents between the ages of 13-18 (M = 14.64, SD = 1.48) who wore an accelerometer for 20 days. Using a special case of logistic regression, multilevel survival analyses were used to estimate the most likely time of day (via odds ratios and hazard probabilities) when adolescents accumulated their average physical activity. Additionally, odds ratios for the interacting effects of physical activity timing and moderating variables were calculated by entering predictors, such as gender, Body Mass Index (BMI), sports participation, school day, self-efficacy, social support for exercise, and motivation, into the model as main effects and tested for interactions with time of day to determine conditional main effects of these predictors. On average, the likelihood that a participant would accumulate their own average MVPA increased and peaked between the hours of 6pm-8pm before decreasing sharply after 9pm. There were differences in the timing of exercise for boys, adolescents involved in sports, on non-school days, individuals with lower physical activity self-efficacy, and participants with lower autonomous motivation. Hazard and survival probabilities suggest that optimal decision points for digital physical activity programs should occur between 5pm and 8pm. Overall, findings from this study support the idea that the timing of physical activity can be empirically-identified to determine when users are receptive to exercise and potentially used as markers to signal intervention delivery for JITAIs.Publication Math is Language: A Metaphor-Based Intervention to Promote Women's Interest in Math(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Washington, Cory DDespite STEM’s growth, women are vastly underrepresented in STEM employment. Women fill almost half of all jobs in the US, yet they only occupy 25 percent of all STEM employment (Beede et al., 2011). This discrepancy between the number of women in the US workforce and the number of women currently in STEM employment is referred to as the STEM gender gap. Researchers have identified many barriers to women’s pursuit of STEM in academic settings, including instructor expectations of fixed intelligence; a lack of female role models; gender stereotyping; and perceived values mismatch (Beede et al., 2011; Ginther & Kahn, 2015). The goal of the current research is to highlight an overlooked barrier to STEM—women’s conceptions of math —and create a metaphor-framing intervention to address it. Conceptual metaphor theory posits that metaphor is a tool for thought and not just a tool for speech. Metaphors help us understand abstract concepts by relating them to other, more concrete, concepts (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). The present study used the metaphor “Math is language” to make math feel more approachable by reducing math anxiety among all students. Additionally, metaphor helped students see the potential for math to be a flexible tool for thought and expression; reflecting how language is often thought of (Haave, 2015; Manery, 2007). Surprisingly, both the “Math is language” metaphor and the “College math is high school math” metaphor displayed these benefits. This research suggests that metaphor can help make math more approachable for all students, not just women.Publication Rate of Perceived Exertion and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Older Adults with and without AD(University of Kansas, 2018-08-31) Bevan, AndreaExercise has many benefits for physical and cognitive health. However engagement in and adherence to exercise is challenging. There are many barriers to exercise in older adults including subjective exercise difficulty, or rate of perceived exertion (RPE) independent of objective cardiorespiratory fitness, measured by peak oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange (VO2 peak). Subjective perception of exercise difficulty may especially be a barrier to exercise in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). RPE is the most commonly used measure in exercise research, yet the relationship between RPE and objective fitness is not fully understood in older adults with and without AD. This relationship is important in understanding how to best support initiation, engagement, and maintenance of exercise in this population and is a first step in understanding appropriateness for use in this population. Multilevel modeling (MLM) statistical analyses were performed to explore the relationship between objective and subjective measures of fitness in older adults with and without AD during a multi-stage graded exercise test. Results indicate a negative relationship between objective fitness and subjective effort. Independent of cardiorespiratory fitness, older age, female gender, cognitive impairment, and use of heart medications each predicted greater self-reported effort (RPE) during exercise. Results are discussed in terms of social psychology phenomena and potential neuropsychological deficits leading to increased subjective feelings of effort. These findings establish the relationship between actual fitness level and perceived effort, highlight ways to support exercise behavior, and direct future exploration of barriers to exercise among older adults with and without AD.Publication Associations between child maltreatment types and past month substance use among emerging adults: The role of self-reported alexithymia and impulsivity(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Brown, ShaquannaChild maltreatment has emerged as an important risk factor for substance use. However, despite evidence consistently demonstrating that substance use peaks during emerging adulthood, less is known about the specificity of maltreatment effects on substance use during this critical developmental period. Further, the factors that might play a role in these associations are not well understood. The current study examined the associations between child maltreatment types (i.e., physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect) and past month marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco use among emerging adults, and tested whether levels of alexithymia and impulsivity accounted for these associations. Participants were 500 emerging adults ranging in age between 18 and 25 years old (M = 18.96, SD = 1.22, 49.6% male). Tests of indirect effects suggested that associations between emotional abuse and past month marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco use were accounted for by impulsivity. Levels of alexithymia, however, did not account for any associations between the child maltreatment and substance use types. Current findings provide further support for impulsivity as a mechanism linking childhood emotional abuse to substance use among emerging adults, highlighting the need for targeted screening and intervention.Publication Parenting and Child Competence in Aggressive Youth: Bidirectional Associations and the Role of Parental Depression(University of Kansas, 2018-08-31) Frazer, Andrew LewisPrevious research has established associations between parenting factors and children’s competence, though these studies have been limited in their reliance on parenting styles and their examination of these associations cross-sectionally. The current study examined longitudinal growth trajectories and associations between two parenting practices (i.e., parental supervision and avoidance of discipline) and two dimensions of children’s self-perceived competence (i.e., academic and social competence) across six years spanning the transition from elementary school to middle and high school among aggressive youth. Associations and bidirectional influences across time were evaluated. Parental depressive symptoms were also examined as a moderator of these associations. Latent growth models suggested that child perceived competence and parenting practices showed significant variability and no stable growth trajectories. GEE analyses revealed that parental avoidance of discipline negatively predicted perceived academic competence, which, in turn, negatively predicted parental avoidance of discipline. Likewise, when depressive symptoms were low, similar bidirectional associations between parental supervision and perceived academic competence were evident. At low levels of parental depressive symptoms, avoidance of discipline also negatively predicted perceived social competence. Results lend support to developmental models that evaluate the nature of youth competence and parenting factors uniquely and in the context of other salient factors, such as parental psychopathology. Implications and future directions are discussed.Publication Reward Processing and Inhibitory Control in Women with Bulimia Nervosa(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Hagan, KelseyIntroduction: Theoretical models and empirical research support the role of negative affect in bulimia nervosa (BN). However, treatments that target negative affect in BN have not outperformed traditional, eating-disorder-focused treatments for BN. An alternative mechanism of BN is dysfunctional positive affect (i.e., reward processing). The present study aimed to understand associations among dysfunctional reward processing, affect, and eating-disorder symptom expression by testing an interactive model of reward-based processes (reward learning, effort valuation, delay discounting, inhibitory control) in women with BN. Method: Participants were community-recruited medication-free adult women aged 18-30 with BN (n=20) or healthy controls (HCs; n=20). Behavioral tasks and self-report measures were used to assess reward learning, effort valuation, delay discounting, inhibitory control, BN symptom frequencies, and affect. Results: Women with BN did not differ from HCs on effort valuation and inhibitory control; however, women with BN showed less delay discounting and demonstrated slower reward learning compared to HCs. Frequency of fasting and excessive exercise episodes increased as inhibitory control decreased. Slowed reward learning was associated with increased self-induced vomiting frequencies in BN. Conclusions: Results suggested a modified model of reward dysfunction in BN, with delay discounting, reward learning, and negative urgency as central features. Given the associations of reward learning, delay discounting, and negative urgency, clinicians working with persons with BN may introduce strategies, such as pleasant activity scheduling, as a means to promote positive affect, regulate negative affect, and potentially decrease symptom expression in BN.Publication Childhood Adversity and Systemic Inflammation in Preschool-Aged Children: The Role of Family Cohesion(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Huffhines, Lindsay PaigeSystemic inflammation is a critical physiological mechanism that appears to link exposure to early childhood adversity to later disease. However, some children exposed to adversity have low levels of inflammatory proteins and do not go on to develop health problems. Thus, understanding what factors contribute to less inflammation in some (but not in others) is key to environmental effects on youth health. Family cohesion is one potential contributor to the differences in inflammation levels among adversity-exposed children. This study aimed to test the association between adversity and systemic inflammation, and the role of family cohesion as a moderator of this relation in 145 3- to 6-year-old children recruited from Head Start and the state Department of Social Services. Parents completed the Childhood Experiences Measure and the Cohesion subscale of the Family Environment Scale. Biomarkers linked to systemic inflammation (i.e., IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α, and CRP) were collected via saliva. Using path modeling, the results indicated that increases in adversity exposure were associated with increases in inflammation; adversity explained 27% of the variance in inflammation. The model testing family cohesion as a moderator was nonsignificant. Although family cohesion did not serve as a buffer as expected, dosage and frequency of adversity emerged as important factors influencing systemic inflammation in young children. These findings may suggest a need for a sharpened awareness of early adversity’s impact on biology among professionals who work with families exposed to adversity. Otherwise, the presence of these potential future disease indicators may go unnoticed in young children.