Background: College students are at increased risk for general sleep issues as well as specific disorders, including Behaviorally Induced Insufficient Sleep Syndrome (BISS) and insomnia. These disorders can have deleterious daytime consequences, which can be compounded by exacerbating depression. The present study aims to establish college prevalence of BISS/insomnia, to characterize sleep characteristics in this sample, and to compare depression across BISS/insomnia. Methods: Data from a college risk behaviors and health study (n=989) was used. Insomnia and BISS were defined as mutually exclusive disorders, using ICD-10/DSM-5 criteria, and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index items. Results: Overall, the results of this study characterize sleep in college students as commonly insufficient, with moderate sleep quality, normal sleep latency, and high levels of daytime sleepiness. A majority (~68%) of students were categorized as normal sleepers, followed by insomnia (~22%), and BISS (~10%). Insomnia was associated with the most depression, followed by BISS, and normal sleep, after controlling for gender and ethnicity. BISS and insomnia predicted depressive symptoms over and above potent risk and demographic factors, including ethnicity, gender, binge drinking, anxiety, and interpersonal trauma exposure. Conclusion: These findings reinforce the importance of incorporating sleep screening into depression treatment (and vice-versa) in college students. Future research can extend the present study’s findings by utilizing a longitudinal design, including additional measures, and evaluating screening/clinical interventions for this population.

Compulsive pornography use (CPU) is generally defined by the inability to control the use of pornography and the resulting negative effects on quality of life or general functioning including damaged relationships, loss of productivity, impaired performance at work or school, job loss, financial expenses, guilt/shame, and personal distress. Statistics indicate that CPU may be as common as other psychological disorders and that the effects of the behavior can be just as severe. It is estimated that 1.5% to 3% of the adult population of the United States meets the criteria for compulsive pornography use. A review of the literature found no randomized controlled investigations of psychosocial treatments for this problem. This study reports the results of a randomized clinical trial of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for the treatment of compulsive pornography use comparing an active treatment condition (n = 14) with a waitlist control (n = 14). The results showed a significant 93% decrease in self-reported hours viewed per week from pretreatment to posttreatment compared to the control condition, which experienced a 21% decrease. In a 20-week follow-up assessment, the treatment group did not change significantly from posttreatment to follow-up with an 84% decrease, indicating relative maintenance of the treatment gains. The control condition received the active treatment after the waiting period and was combined with the treatment group to calculate an overall effect size from pretreatment to posttreatment of 1.86. This is supported by clinical effectiveness data that shows 54% of the participants completely stopped viewing at posttreatment and another 39% of participants reduced viewing by at least 70% of pretreatment levels by posttreatment. Additional measures of quality of life, sexual compulsivity, and negative outcomes of sexual behavior were also completed and support the behavioral self-report results. These results are significant because they provide the first randomized group evidence of an effective treatment for compulsive pornography use. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Sixteen women who had had hysterectomies and eighteen women who had had mastectomies were mailed the Oregon Sex Inventory to see if any significant differences in sexual behavior occurred before or after surgery. The mastectomy group showed a greater degree of change in their sexual behavior than the hysterectomy group. The mastectomy group reported a decrease in the importance of the breast during the sexual act after surgery and a decrease in their desire for intercourse after surgery. The hysterectomy group reported lowered sexual satisfaction after surgery. The changes reported in this study although relatively small are statistically significant. The sample, because of the high income and education level may reflect some bias. The questionnaires were randomly sent but the women in both groups who responded seem to represent a definite socio-economic class of our society. It is of interest to note that this is the first research study done on mastectomies that used a control group.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Göttingen, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (p. i-ix).

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Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies utilizing exposure are considered the gold standard in anxiety disorder treatments. Despite their success, relapse remains problematic, especially over long-term follow up periods. Basic researchers traditionally conceptualize the mechanism of exposure as Pavlovian extinction, but this may overlook the important role of operant processes in the treatment and relapse of anxiety. Resurgence, in which a previously extinguished behavior returns following the extinction of another behavior that has replaced it, is a promising model of operant relapse. Nonhuman research on resurgence has shown that, while higher rates of alternative reinforcement result in faster and more comprehensive extinction of target behavior, they also result in greater resurgence. This somewhat paradoxical finding could have important implications for clinicians treating anxiety, as higher rates of alternative reinforcement may have the unintended side effect of producing greater relapse of avoidance if access to positive reinforcement later becomes unavailable. The current study took a translational approach to investigating the effects of rich and lean rates of alternative reinforcement on extinction and magnitude of resurgence in typically developing humans using a computerized task. Three groups (Rich, n = 18; Lean, n = 18; Control, n = 10) underwent acquisition of a target response. Target responding was then placed on extinction while varying rates of reinforcement for an alternative behavior were delivered. Resurgence was assessed under extinction conditions for all groups. Results indicated that the rich rate of alternative reinforcement facilitated extinction while the lean rate ultimately had a detrimental effect on extinction. Within groups, Rich and Lean experienced significant resurgence, while Control did not. Effect sizes were large. Between groups, Rich resurged more than Lean and Control. Effect sizes were again large. There was no significant difference in resurgence between Lean and Control. Implications for the treatment of anxiety disorders and future research directions are discussed.

This thesis combines a theoretical perspective and a methodological technique in order to clarify the concept of negotiation. The theoretical perspective represents a merging of a formal analysis as suggested by Georg Simmel and Erving Goffman and an interactional emphasis upon reciprocity of actions as proposed by Herbert Blumer. Accordingly, a methodological scheme was constructed to examine negotiations in terms of their forms and content.

In this study, we examine the relationship between having a support system and the stigma individuals face with depression and anxiety symptoms. The aim of this study was to examine if having a support system acts as a buffer between perceived stigma and mental health symptoms. For this study, I conducted an online survey to measure symptoms of depression and anxiety, experiences with both perceived and internalized stigma, and social support. While 93 total participants engaged in the survey, only 52 fully completed the survey and passed two attention-check questions to ensure no invalid participation (e.g., BOTS) were present. In order to test the study hypothesis, two moderated regression analyses were conducted. Results revealed that both perceived stigma and internalized stigma were significantly and positively related to anxiety and depressive mental health symptoms. However, social support was significantly and negatively related to mental health symptoms only in the model with perceived but not internalized stigma. Finally, no significant interactions between either stigma and social support were found, indicating that social support did not buffer the negative impact of either forms of stigma. Importantly, this study was limited by a small sample size that could have prohibited finding significant results.