Maternal smoking during pregnancy has often been associated with numerous adverse outcomes for the offspring. However, its long-term effects are not well established. Given the high prevalence of maternal smoking during pregnancy, an understanding of these effects is essential. Therefore, the aim of the present dissertation was to shed light on the long-term neurophysiological effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on three different executive functioning processes by assessing participants in young adulthood, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants imaged were members of the Ottawa Prenatal Prospective Study, a longitudinal study that collected a unique body of information on participants from infancy to young adulthood, which allowed for the measurement of an unprecedented number of potentially confounding drug exposure variables. The dissertation consists of three separate original manuscripts. In manuscript 1, participants completed a response inhibition task, in manuscript 2 participants completed a verbal working memory task and in manuscript 3 participants completed a visuospatial working memory task. Taken together, results from all three manuscripts showed that prenatal nicotine exposure leads to altered neural functioning during executive functioning processing that continues into young adulthood. These significant results highlight the need for education about the repercussions of women smoking during pregnancy.

The purpose of this study was to implement and assess the efficacy of a novel social skills intervention (First Friends; Graham, 2000, 2006) on improving social cognitive skills, social behaviours, and executive functions in an early childhood population of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Early school years are a critical developmental period to intervene to facilitate social competency and reduce problem behaviours. Children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds are at-risk as many suffer from behavioural problems and begin school without the social maturity and behavioural regulation skills needed to succeed in an academic environment. First Friends is an 8-week preventive intervention designed to promote critical areas of social-emotional development including problem solving, conflict resolution, planning, identification of emotions, empathy, assertiveness, anger management, verbal communication, creativity and cooperation. In addition to examining intervention effects, another goal for this study was to examine the mediational role of improvements in different latent EF components (i.e., working memory, inhibition, set-shifting/mental flexibility) on intervention outcomes. Executive functions (EF) have been linked to social-emotional competence. The First Friends program teaches social skills that are suggested to require EF to learn, as well as implement, during social interactions. The social skills taught and practiced also utilize overlapping brain pathways. Therefore, the First Friends intervention was hypothesized to impact both social-emotional functions and EF, given that 1) EF appears to be required in learning and developing several social and emotional skills, and 2) brain pathways utilized in carrying out these functions overlap. Eighty-seven kindergarten children (41 controls, M = 5.42 years; 46 intervention, M = 5.40 years) from socio-economically disadvantaged areas of the Greater Victoria region in B.C. participated in this study. Children's EF and social-emotional and social-cognitive skills were assessed and their social skills and behaviours were rated by parents, teachers, and observers before and after the intervention. Results provided support for the efficacy of the intervention with children who participated in the intervention demonstrating significantly stronger socio-emotional and social cognitive abilities, more prosocial behaviours, and less negative behaviours compared to a control group. Parent and teacher reports did not reveal significant changes. In addition, significant intervention effects on working memory and set-shifting/mental flexibility were found. Contrary to hypotheses, intervention effects were not revealed for inhibition. In addition, none of the EF latent constructs were found to mediate intervention outcomes. Overall, the First Friends program shows promise with regard to improving both social and executive functioning skills, and continued research and implementation with this program is warranted. These findings highlight the importance of not only assessing for social outcomes, but also examining the development of other cognitive processes that appear to be involved in social development. The results of this study can facilitate understanding of the scope of social intervention outcomes on cognitive processes and guide the selection and implementation of effective prevention programs with early childhood populations in the future. / Graduate

Recent neuropsychological research has stressed the sensitivity of the Prefrontal Cortex, mostly the Dorsolateral region, in relation to aging (Darowski et al., 2008). Prefrontal Cortex functions, such as Inhibitory Control (IC), are thought to wane steadily after the ages of 60-65 (Craik & Bialystok, 2006). Little is known about what changes occur between the stages of prefrontal optimal performance (i.e., ages 20-25), and the later periods of functional decline. The present study aimed to investigate performance differences between younger (ages 30-40; n=9), middle-aged (ages 50-60; n=10), and older adults (ages 70 and up; n=13), on five tasks of Executive Functions (EFs); specifically, assessing the abilities of problem representation, shifting, updating working memory, inhibition, and integrating valence and rewards into pursuing a goal. It was hypothesized that (a) quantitative age trends differentiating the three groups on the tasks would be found, (b) IC would be particularly targeted by the hypothesized age trends, and (c) the devolution of IC across the adult lifespan would be linear. MANOVA tests with all tasks of EFs representing the Dependent Variables and age serving as the Independent Variable revealed no significant main effect. Follow-up separate ANOVA tests however, suggested a statistically significant difference between the means of Groups 2 and 3 for the Updating Working Memory task, F(2,29)=5.374, p=.010, Scheffe (p=.012) and Bonferroni (p=.010). The contributions of interactions among EFs to the present results, recruitment challenges, and potential age effects are discussed. / Graduate / 0622 / emiliecq@uvic.ca

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Introduction: A systematic review was undertaken to identify any psychological predictors of treatment dropout for individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder, to help inform psychological therapy and reduce attrition. An empirical study was conducted to understand developmental psychological mechanisms at play in the aetiology and maintenance of eating disordered symptomology by assessing reflective functioning and attachment from a trans-diagnostic perspective. Methods: Twenty-one papers were identified through a systematic search of databases using predefined extraction criteria, identifying psychological predictors of treatment dropout in eating disorders. Fourteen female adolescents with a diagnosis of an eating disorder were recruited to the empirical study from CAMHS inpatient and outpatient departments in NHS Scotland, as well as eighteen same age controls from local secondary schools. Participants completed questionnaires regarding eating behaviour, difficulties in emotion regulation, reflective functioning and were interviewed using the Adult Attachment Projective. Results: The systematic review revealed varied psychological predictors of dropout falling onto a continuum ranging from maturity fears to interpersonal difficulties. Results did not significantly differ for inpatient or outpatient treatment or diagnosis. The empirical study found adolescents with an eating disorder to have significantly more difficulties with their emotion regulation and reflective functioning as well as a more insecure attachment style when compared to controls, none of which were weight dependent. Conclusion: Further research is required to operationalise a definition of dropout. Although eating disorders can be seen as a defence mechanism to control and avoid emotional distress, this actually exacerbates them and causes disengagement from treatment. Clinical interventions need to focus on therapeutic rapport from the outset of treatment in order to reduce interpersonal difficulties leading to attrition. The results of the empirical study support the use of early intervention and person centred therapies for adolescents with an eating disorder, even when acutely starved. Specifically therapies that target reflective functioning and take insecure attachment styles into account may improve psychological efficacy and engagement.

Contact sport athletes can experience thousands of repetitive head impacts (RHI) in their career. Retired NFL players have been found to be suffering from depression, mood/behavior changes, and cognition deficits that are linked to underlying neurological impairment from RHIs, including the neurodegenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine received funding from the National Institutes of Health to create the DETECT study to examine methods of diagnosing CTE during life and to examine the possible risk factors for CTE and other long-term consequences of RHI. This study examined the association between change in body mass index (BMI) and cognitive impairment in retired NFL players. The cohort was 95 retired NFL players between the ages of 40-69 who have a minimal 12 years of football experience and minimal 2 years in the NFL. The participants underwent a 2-3 hour neuropsychological battery. Change in BMI was from the time of retirement (height and weight available on the NFL website archive of historical players) and from time of the DETECT study visit (height and weight recorded by nurses on digital scales). The results found significance between greater change in BMI and decline in psychomotor speed/executive functioning (p=0.038). There was also significance between WAIS Digit symbol coding test and BMI change (p=0.043). The results show that greater positive change in BMI have negative consequences on retired NFL player’s cognitive functioning.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Substance use amongst youth in Grabouw has been recognised as a concern by the community. Essentially parenting styles and family functioning are important contributors to adolescents‘ engagement in substance use. Adolescence is a sensitive time for youths as they are faced with many developmental changes; consequently it is vital for positive parenting styles and healthy family functioning to be present to ensure healthy development. However, previous research shows that families of substance users do not function in a healthy manner and tend to have negative parenting styles. The aim of this study is to compare family functioning and parenting styles within the families of substance users and non-users in Grabouw. The study used a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional, correlational comparative design. The sample consisted of 300 adolescents between the ages of 15-17 years in schools in Grabouw. The participants completed the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) and the Parenting Styles Dimension Questionnaire (PSDQ). Descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation were used to analyse the data. A t-test was used to determine the differences between groups. The findings of the study show that there is no difference in family functioning between the user and non-user groups. Notably, findings reveal that authoritative and permissive parenting styles are the prevalent parenting styles in both user and non-user groups. Furthermore the results indicate that the authoritarian parenting style was higher in the substance using group. The findings also show that there is no correlation between family functioning and the authoritative parenting style.

The present study measures the effect of ACT on 3 children with high functioning autism. In a multiple probe design, the 3 participants received 15-20 minute ACT sessions over 20 days. The children completed a variety of worksheets, games, and activities stretched across the main components of ACT (cognitive defusion, values, commitment to action, acceptance, self as context, and being present). The frequencies of maladaptive target behavior were tracked daily for each participant. The success of ACT sessions was also measured by the AAQ (K), AAQ-II, and ACT self-report. Results are discussed regarding the scores of the assessments, longevity of the ACT sessions, and the frequency of target behaviors. The discussion looks the limitations of the currents study as well as how research can be extended in the future.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Human Ecology-Personal Financial Planning / Martin Seay / Guided by Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional theory of stress and coping as the theoretical framework, the objective of this research was to determine the association between financial stressors and the outcomes of health, morale, and social functioning. Additionally, the impact of the individual and environment, and the appraisal and coping process were examined. A literature review was conducted based on the theoretical constructs of the individual and environment, stressful events, the appraisal and coping process, morale, social functioning, and health. The sample consisted of 811 individuals age 50 and older, evenly split between males and females, from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Respondents were mostly white, married, and retired. The majority had at least some college and owned a home. Respondents were mainly under the age of 69 and had a mean income of $95,753. The sample reported better than the median scores for morale, social functioning, subjective health, and objective health. Likewise, respondents’ control of finances and mastery scores were also better than the median. However, lower than median scores for financial stressors were reported. OLS regression was utilized to model morale and social functioning while cumulative logistic regression analysis was used to model subjective and objective health. In an effort to model subjective and objective health, morale, and social functioning as one unit, an ad hoc composite measure for all three outcomes was developed which was modeled utilizing cumulative logistic regression. Either full or partial support for some of the hypotheses was indicated. As it pertains to the financial stressor construct, there were some significant relationships with social functioning and morale as theoretically anticipated and hypothesized. Namely, ongoing financial strain was the most frequent variable of significance. However, as a whole, financial stressors were as not as significant under the models as were some of the other variables when modeling the outcomes. Mastery, control over one’s finances, coping behaviors, and positive or negative social support were more frequently significant in the modeling. Control variables of significance often included marital status, gender, education, employment status, income, age, and homeownership status. This research fills a gap by examining the influence of financial stressors individually and simultaneously on physical health, well-being, and social functioning based on a large dataset of secondary data robed in a theoretical framework. By understanding the relationship between financial stress and these outcomes, financial practitioners and educators can develop interventions to promote positive adaptations.