<p> How well an athlete copes with his/her injury can improve their quality of life on and off of the playing field. Previous research has suggested that personality traits might be linked to an individual&rsquo;s preferred coping method (Johnson, 1997; Karimzade &amp; Besharat, 2011; Nicholls &amp; Polman, 2007). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to gather insight into a female basketball player&rsquo;s dominant personality traits and coping methods while undergoing knee rehabilitation. The study included a Big Five personality assessment and a semi-structured interview. The participant was an 18-year-old female Division 1 basketball player rehabilitating an anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus repair. Agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience received equal dominance scores, and the transcript revealed four major themes: Aids to coping, inhibitors to coping, challenges, and positive characteristics. Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping were of almost equal use. The study revealed a trait combination that literature has yet been discussed. </p>

<p> Increasingly, e-cigarettes are being used and claimed to be an effective means of smoking cessation. Clinical studies have been limited to the aspects of use pertaining to chemical dependence, yet little addiction research has examined the psychology of smoking cessation behavior utilizing e-cigarettes. Health behaviors, such as harm reduction in smoking through the use of nicotine replacement therapies, have been previously studied and several dispositional traits have been found to be highly related to these behaviors. These personality factors include Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, Self-Efficacy, Grit, and Hardiness. The present study aimed to determine psychological traits related to successful smoking cessation utilizing e-cigarettes using measures of NEO-FFI-3, GSE, DRS-II, and Grit-S. Results indicated that Self-Efficacy was a noteworthy factor associated with cessation with 6 months or more of e-cigarette use. A majority of the study participants did not concurrently smoke and use e-cigarettes. These findings support the potential of e-cigarettes as a replacement therapy and provide some insight into formulating interventions toward this end; however, smoking cessation attempts appeared to be inhibited from full success as a result of the efficacy of the replacement.</p>

The capacity to report subjective quality of life inventory (CapQOL) is a brief screening tool designed to evaluate ability to appraise subjective QOL, complete related QOL measures and assess cognitive impairment. The purpose of this study was to assess the CapQOL’s test-retest reliability, internal consistency and associations with cognitive impairments (memory and executive functioning) and negative symptoms in a sample of people with chronic schizophrenia that reside on care facilities. The CapQOL, cognitive and schizophrenia symptom assessments were administered to 23 participants (mean age = 43, s.d. = 9.7, male = 13). The CapQOL had good test-retest reliability (rs (21) = .868, p < .01) and internal consistency (α=.850). 43% of the chronic schizophrenia sample were identified by the CapQOL as having the ability to complete a subjective QOL measure (a significantly smaller percentage than a prior study with an early psychosis patient sample). The CapQOL demonstrated a poor agreement with the cognitive assessments (κ-<.40) and a non-significant correlation with negative symptom scores (p>0.05). The main limitation of the study was the sample size that may have affected the range of scores on the measures, the resulting associations with the CapQOL and the number of factors that could be assessed. Further validation studies of the CapQOL are indicated.

This study aimed to explore clients‟ experiences of receiving eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) as an intervention for trauma-related symptomatology, consistent with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Seven outpatients who had experienced EMDR as an intervention for trauma-related symptomatology were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule, from which the verbatim transcripts provided the raw data for an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The themes that were extracted from the data were considered under five superordinate headings which were: „living with trauma‟, „doubt and apprehension; „making safe and making sense‟, „the process of „processing‟ and „change‟. Both active and passive processes were identified within participants‟ descriptions of the process of EMDR and change. Discussion focuses on the themes in relation to previous literature and further, in respect of the unique understanding of EMDR that a qualitative phenomenological study provides. Implications for future clinical and theoretical research are suggested and the limitations and theoretical underpinnings of the study are made explicit. The conclusions drawn from the study suggest that EMDR should be viewed as a holistic approach with elements such as the development of the therapeutic alliance given equal investment to the search for the active mechanism of the bi-lateral component. Additionally, it is argued that the bi-lateral element potentially involves more than a single mechanism, particularly in relation to the enhancement of positive affect and that this would benefit from further exploration.

Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex disorder, characterised by instability of affect, interpersonal relationships, self image and behaviour. Recurrent self-harming and suicidal behaviour are common amongst individuals with the diagnosis, and the literature has historically placed an emphasis on parents‟ role in the development of the disorder. Despite this, with the emphasis on community support for individuals with a diagnosis of BPD, parents are frequently relied on to provide a significant level of care to their child and to manage their self-harming and suicidal behaviour. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore parents‟ experiences of self-harm and attempted suicide as displayed by their daughters, who have a diagnosis of BPD. Method: A qualitative approach was adopted and seven parents (five mothers, two fathers) were interviewed. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to conduct an in-depth analysis of the verbatim interview transcripts. Results: Three super-ordinate themes were identified, including lack of control, blame and burden, and loss and isolation. These themes, along with their associated sub-themes, were identified through analysis and interpretation of the parents‟ narratives and are discussed in detail. Conclusions and Recommendations: The analysis indicated that parents‟ felt powerless in response to their daughters‟ behaviour, and that this sense of powerlessness was compounded by healthcare professionals‟ obligations to maintain patient confidentiality. Exclusion from their daughters‟ treatment and care led parents‟ to feel they lacked the necessary skills and knowledge to support their child, and many spoke about feeling angry, frustrated or exhausted. Parents‟ accounts suggested that over time they felt that health professionals increasingly involved them, with many accessing available services. Relationships with friends and family appear to have been affected, as have parents‟ life plans. To cope with the difficulties faced, parents‟ described using multiple coping methods. Despite the majority of parents‟ voicing that their daughters‟ were self-harming and attempting suicide less often, if at all, ongoing worry and self blame was evident. Although the findings are specific to the sample, they provide an insight into parents‟ experiences and emphasise the importance of collaborative working and parents receiving up-to-date information and practical advice, as promoted by modern policy documents. Additionally it appears that parents would benefit from health professionals being proactive in involving them and signposting available services and organisations. It is hoped that the findings will act as a driver for future research, for instance, little is known about the experiences of parents from other cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, exploration of parent and child experiences, and health professionals‟ attitudes towards parents, is needed.

The positive psychology movement has grown out of recognition of an imbalance in medically oriented clinical psychology that focuses on studies of disorder and psychological damage. The movement aspires to encourage research in neglected areas of positive human experience. Also, the beginning of the positive clinical psychology faction has been announced. It aims to extend the scope of positive psychology research and practice onto individuals with psychological difficulties. Understanding and facilitating happiness is the core objective of positive psychology. In the present research, a correlational study examined the suppositions of the four-dimension model of happiness and psychological distress amongst people experiencing psychosis. The study‟s objective was to check how emotional distress resulting from psychosis affects the individuals‟ satisfaction with life. Forty-seven individuals with diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia completed self report measures of psychoticism, paranoid ideation, depression and anxiety (Brief Symptom Inventory), positive affect (Bradburn‟s Affect Balance Scale), and life satisfaction (Satisfaction With Life Scale). Correlational patterns of the four-dimension model of subjective wellbeing and psychological distress were replicated with people with experiences of psychosis. However, although the levels of depression and anxiety were clearly elevated in comparison with general population norms, the levels of positive affect remained similar to those in general public, and the average life satisfaction appeared only slightly decreased. Extended statistical analysis was conducted and the series of mediation analyses were carried out to examine whether the levels of depression, anxiety, and positive affect mediated the relationship between psychosis related distress and the individuals‟ satisfaction with life. The data were consistent with the dominant, indirect-only mediating role of depression. Possible explanations for the findings are proposed, and clinical and ethical implications from the applied positive psychology perspective are suggested. Study limitations are discussed and recommendations for future research are made.

Background: Up to 70% of stroke patients experience cognitive impairment in at least one cognitive domain. Guidelines currently recommend that stroke patients be screened as soon as is reasonably practicable for potential cognitive impairment. For a screening test to be diagnostically valid it needs to demonstrate adequate levels of sensitivity and specificity. Cognitive impairment can be identified globally or as an impairment in a specific cognitive domain. Research into commonly used screening tests for cognitive impairment has failed to identify a test with adequate levels of sensitivity and specificity for cognitive impairment in an acute stroke population. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) has demonstrated adequate diagnostic validity in differing diagnostic groups and has shown to be appropriate for use with acute stroke patients. However, the RBANS has not yet been evaluated for sensitivity and specificity for cognitive impairment following stroke. Aims: The aim of this pilot study was to establish whether an extended study of the diagnostic validity of the RBANS as a sensitive and specific screening test of post stroke cognitive impairment was justified. The study objectives were to compare the RBANS scores with full neuropsychological test battery overall conclusions for cognitive impairment and non-impairment, to compare the RBANS with measures of impairment in specific cognitive domains, and to identify RBANS optimum cut-off scores for discrimination of cognitive impairment / non-impairment in an acute stroke population. Methods: This study used a cross sectional design. Stroke patients admitted to a large city hospital were considered as potential participants. Patients were excluded if they had language impairment as identified by the Sheffield Screening Test, were aged over 80 years old, had had a previous stroke or neurological impairment, and had hearing or sight difficulties that precluded them from completing cognitive testing. Recruited participants completed the RBANS and a ‘gold standard’ battery of neuropsychological tests. Comparison of the two tests were made to identify levels of sensitivity and specificity on global and domain specific cognitive impairment. Analysis was completed to identify RBANS optimum cut of scores for identifying global and specific cognitive impairment. Results: 40 participants were recruited. The RBANS demonstrated poor levels of sensitivity (52%) and good levels of specificity (100%) for global cognitive impairment when using the manual recommended cut off scores. Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis identified an optimum cut off score for RBANS Total scale of 102.5 that provided excellent sensitivity (100%) and adequate specificity (83%), and index scores that showed adequate levels of sensitivity and specificity to domain specific cognitive impairment with the exception of Attention. Discussion: It was tentatively concluded that the RBANS demonstrated acceptable diagnostic validity, though problems were highlighted with the Attention index and the use of a test of visual memory within the full battery that placed a heavy burden on motor skills. Recommendations were made for potential improvements to the study design and procedure, and it was suggested that further research into the evaluation of the RBANS as a sensitive and specific screening test of post stroke cognitive impairment justified and potentially feasible.

Schema therapy was developed as a treatment for chronic and entrenched psychological difficulties, and has progressed to be used as an offence focused intervention that addresses dynamic risk factors. This thesis investigated the lived experiences of people with diagnoses of personality disorder who had offended and who had used the technique of imagery in schema therapy. This was explored because although the literature around schema therapy demonstrates some support for the effectiveness of schema therapy holistically, the individual components of this therapy have not been explored. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis is felt to be an appropriate methodology to address this gap in the literature as it explored imagery from the perspective of those who had experienced it and also acknowledged the researcher‟s influence in co-constructing the understanding of the experience. This methodology allowed for a starting point of knowledge by beginning to develop an understanding of this area which could potentially inform future research. Semistructured interviews were conducted with six people diagnosed with Personality Disorder, who had offended and who had used imagery in schema therapy. Their experiences were explored using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Throughout analysis a metaphor of life as a journey on which one carries carry emotional baggage resonated and themes were named accordingly. An overarching theme of the life journey (as temporal) enveloped three super-ordinate themes of opening the suitcase (revisiting trauma), unpacking and ordering the contents (therapeutic processes), and closing the suitcase (therapeutic outcomes). The super-ordinate theme of opening the suitcase incorporated a subordinate theme of reconnecting with the childhood self which overlapped with the super-ordinate theme of unpacking and ordering the contents. The super-ordinate theme of unpacking and ordering the contents included three subordinate themes, 1) emotional control (i.e. attempts to control emotions isolate people from others, but losing control of emotions during imagery leads to interpersonal connectedness with the therapist), 2) moving on versus being stuck in the past and 3) the therapeutic relationship as characterized by trust, and meeting needs. The second of these subordinate themes was felt to overlap with the super-ordinate theme of closing the suitcase. The super-ordinate theme of closing the suitcase was felt to contain two subordinate themes of healing the fractured self and applying what has been learned. All three super-ordinate themes were penetrated by another theme; distancing from the trauma (protection from emotional pain). This theme was felt to be embedded within descriptions of revisiting the trauma, re-connecting with the childhood self, emotional control, the therapeutic relationship, healing the fractured self and applying what has been learned. Two other minor themes were also identified relating to use of professional language and avoidance. It was concluded that for the six participants in this study, imagery was described as a process that enabled them to close the suitcase and put it away without fear that its contents would be unintentionally disgorged. These results represent the first qualitative exploration of people's lived experiences of imagery in schema therapy. The results add to the literature around both schema therapy and imagery separately. Although these results are not generalisable, they may be transferable to other groups that have topographically similar experiences and therefore they offer a new way to understand imagery in schema therapy.

Theories of implicit cognition suggest that behaviour is partly influenced by automatic processes of perception and memory (implicit cognition). An important implication of these theories is that patient self−report may not capture influential processes in psychological disorders (as some of these processes may not be available to self-report). For example, a patient may report that they are no longer anxious (based on their current awareness or willingness to disclose) but may retain implicit/hidden processing biases (e.g., in sensitivity to threat) that leave them vulnerable to relapse in the future. Evidence suggests that, for various psychological disorders, relapse following temporarily successful treatment is not uncommon; the literature around implicit cognition may help to improve understanding of relapse processes. Investigation of implicit cognition has further clinical implications: for enhancing our comprehension of how existing treatment may be effective (e.g., through implicit and/or explicit processes) and of how to develop treatment that influences implicit (in addition to explicit) cognition. Researchers have now developed a number of methods for accessing/measuring implicit processes and these have been shown to predict behaviour in various psychological disorders. An important question arising from the literature around implicit cognition and its potential role in psychopathology is: do existing treatment interventions affect implicit processes? More broadly, how malleable are implicit processes? Can implicit processes be changed in a way that supports desired functioning? Research to date is limited and contradictory in its findings. The present research contributed to knowledge by examining the effects of two treatment−analogue interventions on implicit relational processes. The two interventions (exposure and acceptance/defusion) examined in the present research were based on existing clinical treatments. Spider fear was examined as a test construct in this research. The present research applied an implicit assessment procedure, intervention, and interpretive framework deriving from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (and the underlying Relational Frame Theory). In this way, the present research attempted to draw together theoretically coherent aspects of basic and applied psychology to better understand the constructs of interest. Towards the aim of testing the impact of brief exposure and acceptance interventions on implicit verbal relations in spider-fear (in addition to spider-fear-related self-report and behavioural indices), three specific objectives were identified: 1. To examine effects of exposure and acceptance interventions on implicit (and explicit) measures of spider fear 2. To test the predictive relationship between implicit (and explicit) spider fear and spider-approach behaviour 3. Combining the above, to examine intervention effects on behaviour (directly and/or via fear measures). 48 participants (from a non-clinical sample) were randomly allocated to receive one of the two interventions. Participants completed pre− and post−intervention measures of implicit (and explicit) spider fear and a post−intervention behavioural approach test. Implicit fear incrementally predicted behaviour over explicit fear, replicating previous findings. However, neither intervention appeared to affect implicit fear. Interventions did have differential effects on explicit fear and overt behaviour; notably, defusion facilitated greater approach behaviour than exposure. Discussion centres on clinical and theoretical implications of the research, considering limitations and directions for future research.

Gay Irish men over 55 grew up in the 1950s and 1960s when homosexuality in Ireland was illegal, the Catholic Church was an unquestioned dominance within society and the heterosexual family was seen as the basic unit of the Catholic state. The power of the Catholic Church, homophobia and repressive laws combined to create an atmosphere that made many people unable or unsafe to admit their sexuality. Gay men constructed their identity under a cloak of secrecy and negotiated any identity threat and conflict between their multiple identities alone. Evidence suggests that gay and lesbian individuals with religious identities face greater social and psychosocial challenges due to their identity configuration. Furthermore, the challenges faced within identity construction, and the obstacles of threat and conflict, have shown to affect an individual’s mental health. Using the interpretive lens of Identity Process Theory (IPT) the present study used a qualitative design to explore how older gay Irish men (over the age of 55) understand and construct their sexual identity and investigate the strategies they used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven older gay men to explore their experiences, perceptions and understanding of being an older gay person in Ireland and the UK. Thematic analysis identified three themes i) experiences of sexual awareness and identity conflict; ii) the dilemma of ‘staying in ‘ vs. ‘coming out’; iii) dealing with identity conflict. The results suggested that many men faced challenges and barriers to constructing a stable identity. Religious and cultural experiences played a central role in Irish men’s identity acquisition and how they made sense of it. The results show ways in which identity conflicts were created and how the men developed strategies to minimise these conflicts. The study has implications for professionals working therapeutically with sexual minority clients. Recommendations are provided for improved understanding of sexuality issues concerning minority clients within therapeutic work. Health practitioners need to be willing to engage in discussion about the effect that religious and cultural influences have on a client’s well-being, as this will help support patients, reduce psychological distress and improve therapy outcomes.