Thesis (M.D.)--Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, 1990. / Typescript (Photocopy). Includes bibliographical references.

This study examined the interaction of age, attitude, and performance within the context of an interactive computer testing experience. Subjects were 13 males and 47 females between the ages of 55 and 82, with a minimum of a high school education. Initial attitudes toward computers, as measured by the Cybernetics Attitude Scale (CAS), demonstrated overall equivalence between these older subjects and previously tested younger subjects. Post-intervention scores on the CAS indicated that attitudes toward computers were unaffected by either a "fun" or a "challenging" computer interaction experience. The differential effects of a computerized vs. a paperand- pencil presentation format of a 20-item, multiple choice vocabulary test were examined. Results indicated no significant differences in the performance of subjects in the two conditions, and no interaction effect between attitude and performance. These findings suggest that the attitudes of older adults towards computers do not affect their computerized testing performance, at least for short term testing of verbal abilities. A further implication is that, under the conditions presented here, older subjects appear to be unaffected by mode of testing. The impact of recent advanced in technology on older adults is discussed.

Risky sexual behavior (RSB) is the number one transmission method of HIV among adolescents. Reducing the rates of HIV among adolescents is of dire importance considering the rises in rates during the last several years. Minority adolescents are disproportionately affected by HIV, and a majority of the individuals living in Miami-Dade County (location of the proposed project) are minorities. RSB, externalizing disorders and cannabis use commonly occur together, such that both greater externalizing disorder symptoms and greater amounts of cannabis use have predicted engagement in more RSB. In addition, decision-making (a neurocognitive function) has found to be associated with cannabis use, externalizing disorders, and RSB. Little research has been conducted on these factors among adolescents. No study has evaluated externalizing disorders, cannabis use and decision-making together to determine the unique contribution of each factor to RSB among a sample of adolescents. The current study used the infrastructure and participants of an existing project examining how decision-making abilities and memory performance are impacted by cannabis use during adolescence. Structural equation modeling and multiple linear regression were used to analyze how externalizing disorders, cannabis use, and decision-making predict RSB. Results suggest that externalizing symptoms, cannabis use and some decision-making tasks predict RSB. Several interactions effects emerged between externalizing symptoms and decision-making tasks, cannabis use and decision-making tasks as well as externalizing symptoms and cannabis use to predict RSB. The results of the study will help future prevention and intervention efforts such that interventions can be tailored to address the areas that contribute the most to RSB among adolescents. Furthermore, cognitive skill building is one possible intervention that may be beneficial to adolescents with poorer decision-making performance.

Misophonia is a decreased sound tolerance condition (DST) that is not yet well-established in the literature. However, the existing research on misophonia shows that it is occurring at substantial levels in the population. The majority of the existing literature has focused on the clinical correlates of misophonia. Although the correlates have been investigated, there is no accepted mechanism behind misophonia etiology or maintenance. The present study examined three hypotheses in order to start to identify potential mechanisms behind misophonia: how emotional predilections are related to the emotional response, how obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and misophonia are related, and the possibility that the relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and misophonia may be explained in part by the presence of OCD symptoms. Data were collected by Cash (2015) using both undergraduate students (N=451) and community participants (N = 377) using Amazon’s MTurk. Participants completed an online cross-sectional survey assessing for a number of decreased sound tolerance conditions, individual differences variables, and clinical variables. The current study specifically used measures of anxiety sensitivity, OCD, misophonia symptom severity, trait anger, and trait anxiety. Consistent with the literature on state-trait theory, trait emotion was predictive of state levels, such that trait anger was most predictive of an angry misophonic response and trait anxiety was most predictive of an anxious reaction to misophonic stimuli. Misophonia was more strongly related to obsessive than to compulsive components of OCD, consistent with case reports of obsessive thoughts in misophonia. Lastly, OCD symptoms partially mediated the relationship between AS symptom severity and misophonia symptom severity. These results supported our hypotheses, and align with the theorized role of anxiety sensitivity in OCD and in misophonia. Although the data are cross-sectional in nature, and causality cannot be confirmed, the current study provides a strong basis for future research into the mechanisms of misophonia.

No description available.

Although the negative associations between marital conflict and children’s adjustment are well documented, less is known about how marital conflict styles (e.g., engagement, withdrawal, problem solving and compliance) are related to children’s developmental outcomes. The present study seeks to determine what types of parents’ conflict styles, during the child’s first year of life, are related to children’s behavioral outcomes in the first grade. Analyses examine the hypothesis that more conflictual conflict resolution styles of parents during a child’s infancy will predict poorer child outcomes over time. In addition, given the growing literature documenting the first year of life as a particularly sensitive period in children’s development, the proposed study will explore the effect of parents’ conflict resolution styles in the child’s first year of life on child outcomes at age six, controlling for concurrent levels of conflict. Lastly this study will explore the interaction of parents’ conflict resolution style in predicting children’s outcomes. Conflict resolution style and children outcomes were examined in a sample of 153 working-class, first-time parents and their children. Participants were recruited through prenatal classes at hospitals and birth clinics, as well as through Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) offices in Western Massachusetts.

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have atypical sensory processing and behaviors including sensory sensitivity and low registration of sensory stimuli as well as sensory seeking and avoiding behaviors. Additionally, many individuals with ASD have clinically distressing levels of anxiety. Previous research suggests that there is a link between abnormal sensory processing, anxiety, and ASD. The purpose of this study was to experimentally observe auditory sensory processing using pupillometry methods, between ASD, control, and high-anxious control groups. While a difference in tonic pupil size was observed, there were no reactivity or habituation differences between the groups. There were no significant correlations between the pupillometry measures and behavioral measures of emotional distress and anxiety. These results do not indicate a relationship between anxiety and unimodal auditory response in ASD. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Polypharmacy, or the concurrent use of multiple medications, is associated with detrimental outcomes for patients and has gathered increasing attention within the scientific clinical literature. Pediatric populations warrant special consideration for the practice of polypharmacy, as medication effects are more pronounced in youth and adverse effects may have a lasting impact on development. This dissertation study examined psychotropic prescribing practices in a sample of adolescents who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors, a subset of justice-involved youth who are at risk for polypharmacy. General prescribing trends were examined, and a principle components analysis involving variables associated with risk of polypharmacy was conducted. Results indicated that polypharmacy was common, with many youth being prescribed medications at a young age. Use of risky medications such as antipsychotics was also prevalent, even for individuals without psychosis. Analyses suggested that behavioral issues, trauma and residential instability, and complex psychological concerns were significantly associated with polypharmacy outcomes. Clinical implications of findings are discussed.

A predicted association between family relations and cognitive development and the emergence of adolescent egocentrism was explored in this study. A sample of seventh grade boys (n=131) and girls (n=120) completed Elkind and Bowen's Imaginary Audience Scale (a measure of egocentrism) and selected items from Heilbrun's Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale and Schaefer's Parent-Behavior Inventory. A modified version of Lawson's Classroom Test of Formal Operations was used to measure cognitive development. Contrary to a theoretical based hypothesis a negative rather than positive relationship was found between level of formal operational thought egocentrism. For parenting style, perceived rejection/control and emotional support was associated with diminished egocentrism. Mixed results were found for perceived physical effect and egocentrism. Perceived parental withdrawal heightened egocentrism for both sexes. The data provide an alternative model to past cognitive development theory for the development of egocentrism. Parental socialization factors were found to contribute as much variance to the level of egocentrism as did level of formal operational thought.

The unique experience of first generation college students from frontier communities as they transition to college has not yet been explored in the literature. The current study was designed to explore those experiences and the ways the frontier context and first generation status shape identity development once these youth have left their families and home communities and made the transition to college. To gain a rich understanding of the experiences of first generation college students from frontier communities, this study employed a phenomenological qualitative design and the findings were interpreted through a social constructionist lens. Eleven emerging adults were recruited from Utah State University for the current study. In-depth interviews were conducted with all study participants. In addition, each participant brought an item of significance to the interview and responded to a member checking email. Results of the study indicated that the emerging adults in the sample faced challenges when making the transition to college, but that these challenges were also accompanied by positive experiences. Four themes emerged as relevant to the participants’ identity formation in the college context: hard work, religion, appreciation for living simply, and importance of being a role model. For the current sample, their status as first generation students and the frontier context in which they were raised shaped their identities in unique ways. This interplay is discussed along with directions for future research.