The purpose of the current study was to examine an ACT based intervention and its effects on problem behaviors and impulsivity rates displayed by individuals diagnosed with Mild Intellectual Disabilities. In a multiple baseline design with 2 experiments, 6 participants completed the 27-item monetary choice questionnaire weekly throughout the 9-week study. Impulsivity rates were calculated, and behavior data was collected throughout each phase of the study. During the intervention phase of the study brief ACT sessions were conducted 3 times a week during one-on-one sessions with each participant. Sessions were held face-to-face or via phone call. A stacked multiple baseline design was computed, and the data was inputted, indicating that ACT may effectively reduce problem behaviors in participants diagnosed with Mild Intellectual Disabilities. The current study suggests that ACT interventions have no effect on impulsivity. Implications of the findings and future research are discussed. Keywords: ACT, Impulsivity, Delay Discounting, Intellectual Disability, Monetary Choice Questionnaire

Faced with an intertemporal choice, an organism that chooses a “smaller-sooner” reinforcer over a “larger-later” reinforcer is said to behave impulsively. Individual differences in intertemporal choice are effectively modeled by generalized matching law and delay discounting equations that incorporate parameters corresponding to behavioral processes such as sensitivity to reinforcer amount or delay. By simulating changes in these processes and identifying conditions under which impulsive choice is likely to result, researchers are in a position to anticipate and examine potential behavioral mechanisms underlying clinical instances of impulsivity. Pramipexole, a dopamine agonist medication, is associated with reports of impulsive behavior in populations prescribed the drug, as well as in experimental subjects administered the compound prior to intertemporal choice sessions, although the latter findings are mixed. The present set of experiments was designed (a) to systematically replicate conditions under which pramipexole increased impulsive choice, but also nonspecifically disrupted behavior, and (b) to elucidate behavioral mechanisms of pramipexole-induced impulsivity in rats. In Chapter 2, a behavioral task used previously by researchers reporting a nonspecific effect of pramipexole was modified to include procedural controls common in the intertemporal choice literature (centering response, no-delay sessions). In accord with previous findings, acute pramipexole nonspecifically disrupted choice behavior, while chronic pramipexole partially remediated elements of the disruption (i.e., decrease in initial-block choice). In Chapter 3, three experiments targeted behavioral processes critical for intertemporal choice. Experiment 1 evaluated the acute and chronic effects of pramipexole on rats’ sensitivity to relative reinforcer delays in a concurrent-chains procedure. Contrary to the predicted effect, the drug decreased this measure, indicating the possibility of impaired stimulus control. Experiments 2 and 3 assessed the drug effect on discrimination of response-reinforcer contingencies and of reinforcer amounts, respectively, and revealed deficits in accuracy of similar magnitude across both preparations. Collectively, the results of these experiments suggest that previous findings of pramipexole-induced impulsivity and nonspecific disruption of behavior can be explained as impairments in discrimination processes required for intertemporal choice. Although the generality of the present findings may be limited to experimental settings with nonhumans, they demonstrate the utility of quantitatively modeling impulsivity.

Many problematic behaviors can be conceptualized as choosing a smaller, immediate outcome over a larger, delayed outcome. For example, drug abuse involves choosing between the immediate euphoric effects of the drug and the delayed health and legal consequences of drug abuse. Individuals that consistently choose the smaller outcome are said to behavior “impulsively.” The goal of this dissertation was to understand how to change impulsive choice. Chapters 2 and 3 successfully demonstrate that impulsive choice can be altered by reframing how the choice is presented. For example, framing a delayed outcome using a specific date instead of a duration of time (e.g., 1 year) reduced impulsive choice. However, these findings do not explain why impulsive choice changed. The goal of Chapter 4 was to identify the underlying processes that result in impulsive choice with the hopes that by understanding these processes, impulsive choice can be reduced. Latent factor modeling was used to understand the role if three proposed processes in impulsive choice: marginal utility, cardinal utility, and nonlinear time perception. The results of the latent factor model indicated that nonlinear time perception does relate to how delayed outcomes are valued but not marginal utility and cardinal utility.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Previous research has identified impulsive personality traits as significant risk factors for a wide range of risk-taking behavior, substance use, and clinical problems. Most work has been conducted in primarily White samples, leaving it unclear whether these patterns generalize to racial and ethnic minorities, who have higher rates of negative consequences of substance use behavior. The most widely used assessment of impulsive traits is the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior scale, which has strong psychometric properties across demographic subgroups, such as gender and age; however, data supporting its use in racial and ethnic minorities is less well-developed. The aims of this study are to 1) examine the measurement invariance of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale-Short Form (Cyders et al., 2014) across racial minority groups and 2) determine if impulsive personality traits differentially relate to substance use outcomes across racial groups. Participants were 1301 young adults (ages 18-35, fluent in English), recruited through an online survey for both college students at a large public university and Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing online platform. Measurement invariance was assessed using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Differential validity was assessed using a structural equation modeling framework. I established model fit for each racial group (White group: RMSEA= .067, CFI= .94; Black group: RMSEA= .071, 90% CFI= .952; Asian American group: RMSEA= .073, CFI= .94; Hispanic group: RMSEA=.081, CFI=.934). Based on change in CFI/RMSEA indices, I concluded strong measurement invariance of the Short UPPS-P as a valid scale of impulsive behavior across racial groups. In the White group, findings indicated significant relationships between multiple SUPPS-P traits and alcohol and substance use. In the Asian American group, positive relationships were found between sensation and alcohol use (p=.015) and negative urgency and drug use (p=.020). I found that there were no differences in the relationships between the Short UPPS-P traits and substance use outcomes across White and the racial and ethnic groups studied (p’s>.06).

Excessive video play has been well documented over the course of the last decade. So much so that newest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; APA, 2013) has included excessive video gaming as disorder categorized as internet gaming disorder. To date, several researchers have designed assessments to evaluate excessive video game play based on the previous editions and current editions of the DSM. However, these assessments primarily measure the criterion established in these manuals, instead of measuring the maintaining function of the video game play. The field of applied behavior analysis has been utilizing functional assessments for the last 30 years and has showed evidence of effective results across different populations and environments. Therefore, the purpose of this proposed study is to validate an indirect functional assessment entitled the Video Game Functional Assessment-Revised (VGFA-R) by means of conducting content, construct and criterion related validity.

The development of multiple theoretical models and measures of impulsivity has led to inconsistent use of this term and disagreement regarding the most salient predictors of alcohol-related outcomes. The present study examined whether self-report and behavioral measures of impulsivity measure the same construct and how eight conceptually distinct facets of impulsivity relate to alcohol-related outcomes. Participants completed measures and tasks to assess alcohol use, alcohol problems, trait impulsivity, and behavioral impulsivity. The UPPS-P and behavioral measures of impulsivity were largely uncorrelated with each other. Negative urgency and alcohol use emerged as direct predictors of alcohol-related problems. Lack of premeditation demonstrated an indirect effect on alcohol-related problems. Results support previous research suggesting behavioral and self-report measures of impulsivity do not assess the same construct. Further, results suggest that negative urgency may be the most predictive of alcohol-related problems when accounting for self-report and behavioral components of impulsivity.

Parental discipline behaviors and trait impulsivity are related to the development of psychological problems in children. Less research has examined these relations during emerging adulthood, despite the continued importance of parenting and increases in impulsivity during this time. Thus, the current study examined the association of impulsivity with current parental discipline practices and psychological problems as reported by college-attending emerging adults. Specifically, paternal and maternal discipline practices were examined as moderators between impulsivity and psychological problems with gender as an additional moderator. Participants (N = 911, 38.2% women, 78.0% White, aged 18 to 25) completed self-report measures on current discipline behaviors by parents, the five facets of trait impulsivity, and internalizing and externalizing psychological problems. Path analysis revealed that impulsivity facets (sensation seeking and positive urgency) and parental discipline behaviors were associated with reported internalizing problems particularly in emerging adult college-attending women. Gender moderated the relation between sensation and internalizing problems, with men reporting less problems in the context of high sensation seeking. Women reported more internalizing problems compared to men in the context of low positive urgency and low perceived positive paternal discipline. Results imply that contextual factors (e.g., positive college experience expectancies and gender role belief) may relate to less psychological problems in men, and disappointment and lack of approval from fathers may relate to emotion regulation problems and more internalizing problems in women. Interventions aimed at providing parents education on emerging adults’ mental health factors and improving parent-child communication during this period may improve emerging adults’ psychological well-being.

abstract: Obesity is associated with many well-established health risks as well as high annual public health costs. Intervening in the trajectory of obesity becomes significantly more difficult after a child has reached obesity. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the processes that influence weight early in life. Parents serve as one of the main influences on child health, have a significant impact on the weight of their offspring, and are often incorporated into childhood obesity prevention programs. However, the mutual influence that parents and children have on each other is not accounted for. Using an Actor-Partner Interdependence model, the current study 1) examined the effect of children’s and mother’s temperament (e.g., negative affectivity, effortful control, and impulsivity) on their own weight as well as the weight of the other dyad member, 2) explored the effect of the interaction between mother and child temperament on both members’ weight, 3) assessed the effect of mother’s approach to food on mother and child weight, and 4) investigated how temperament might moderate the relationships between mother’s approach to food and mother and child weight. The sample consisted of 220 mother-child dyads. Children ranged from 4 to 6 years of age. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires on their own temperament and approach to food as well as their child’s temperament. Weight measures were assessed in the laboratory for both mother and child. Results indicated children’s impulsivity was related to their mother’s higher weight. The interaction between mother and child temperament was not significantly associated with weight. However, the interaction between child impulsivity and mother’s approach to food was significant; the effect of the mother’s approach to food on her own weight depended on their child’s impulsivity behaviors. Specifically, mothers’ approach to food on her own weight was nonsignificant when her child showed higher levels of impulsivity. The association of mother’s approach to food with her own weight was stronger when her child exhibited average to low impulsivity levels. This investigation of the influence of mother and child on each other’s weight is well-placed for translation into later obesity preventative and intervention efforts for family systems. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2021

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