Although the mu rhythm is traditionally defined as a normal EEG variant, recent evidence suggests that mu may have functional significance in a variety of disorders such as autism, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. While an increasing number of articles have focused on the blocking mechanism of mu in relation to various cognitive processes and disorders, few have examined the significance of a prominent mu rhythm in the background EEG. A few studies have examined the relationship between the mu rhythm and psychological disturbance, such as attentional and affective disorders. Increasing evidence suggests that EEG and qEEG variables may be useful in classifying psychiatric disorders, presenting a neurophysiological alternative to traditional symptom-based diagnosis and classification. Thus, the intention of the present study was to examine the relationship between neuropsychological variables, gathered from multiple assessment sources, and the presence of a prominent mu rhythm in the EEG. Results did not show a statistically significant difference between individuals with and without a prominent mu rhythm on the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA); although individuals in the mu group showed a pattern of increased impulsivity and performance decrement over time. For adults, no significant differences were observed between groups on psychological variables measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). However, for children, the mu and control groups differed on several behavioral and emotional variables on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results are examined in the context of other research and clinical implications are discussed.

As the U.S. becomes increasingly diverse, individuals will need to interact effectively with a wide range of people. The theory of multicultural personality refined by Ponterotto (2010) proposes that some individuals may be better suited than others to adapt to the changing demographic landscape. Individuals with a multicultural personality are theorized to have the ability to interact effectively within a wide range of contexts and draw on diverse experiences and resources to solve everyday problems in multiple ways as well as seek out diversity in their lives. Because of their skills and disposition, Ponterotto (2010) suggests that those with a multicultural personality may experience better psychological functioning than their nonmulticultural counterparts. The current study utilized Structural Equation Modeling to test the hypothesis that individuals who endorse greater multicultural personality also exhibit less prejudice, greater ethnic identity, and better psychological functioning, defined as a combination of subjective well-being and clinical symptomology. Results indicated moderate fit to the data and examination of specific paths within the model suggests that the relationship between multicultural personality and subjective well-being may be stronger than that between multicultural personality and clinical symptomology. Differences by ethnicity were also found on measures of ethnic identity and mental health. These results highlight the need to further refine the concept of multicultural personality as well as examine the complex relationships between multicultural personality, subjective well-being, and clinical symptomology

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In the US, racial and ethnic minority individuals have higher rates of many psychological and physical health problems than Whites, and the experience of racial discrimination may partially explain these disparate health statistics. Given the harmful nature of discrimination, minority individuals may utilize a number of psychological resources to cope with and diminish the negative impact associated with the experience of discrimination. The current dissertation investigated the impact of modern day, subtle forms of discrimination referred to as microaggressions. Prior research has illustrated that the experience of perceived racism and microaggressions plays an important role in the physical and mental health of ethnic minority individuals. The current study explored subtypes of microaggressions and the rates at which different minority groups experience these microaggressions; the concurrent impact of different microaggressions on psychological health outcomes (i.e., symptoms of anxiety, depression, and substance use); the moderating role of coping strategies (i.e., ethnic identity formation, social support) on the relation between the experience of specific microaggressions and psychological health; potential racial or ethnic differences related to main effects of microaggressions on psychological health; and significant interactions between the potential moderators (i.e., racial identity formation and social support) and the experience of microaggressions. Results of the present study indicate that first, minority individuals report experiencing significantly more microaggressions than non-minority participants. Additionally, the experience of microaggressions varied by minority group identification. Second, the experience of microaggressions was associated with higher rates of problematic alcohol use, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. Third, aspects of racial/ethnic identity formation and social support were associated with lower rates of problematic alcohol use (but not anger or anxiety or depressive symptoms) among individuals who experienced microaggressions, suggesting a potential buffering effect of these moderators Finally, some racial differences in the correlation between these moderating variables and microaggression variables were found, which suggests that there are likely racial differences in the way that racial/ethnic identity formation and social support can be protective. Future research is needed to increase understanding of racial and ethnic differences in the protective nature of identity formation, social support, and other potential coping strategies. Clinical implications are discussed. / Psychology

The Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45; Lambert et al., 1996) has been widely employed as a psychotherapy outcome monitoring measure following research findings that support various aspects of its validity and sensitivity to change. Despite its broad usage in both clinical and research settings, some of its psychometric properties are not definite. The three subscales of the OQ-45 are designed to measure three distinct, but related, aspects of psychological functioning. However, neither the one- nor three-factor models have been supported by previous research. Likewise, the results of the current study supported neither of those factor structures. It was suspected that heterogeneity in data might have led to the lack of the confirmatory factor analysis model fit. Therefore, factor mixture modeling (FMM), a combination of confirmatory factor analysis and latent class analysis, was employed to investigate potential heterogeneity of the data. Among the series of factor mixture models with varying numbers of classes that were fitted, the two-class, unconditional FMM based on the revised three-factor solution was decided to best describe the data under analysis. Although three covariates of clinical status, sex, and race were selected as known sources of heterogeneity and incorporated into the FMMs (i.e., conditional model), the findings were contradictory to expectations. The implications of these findings in counseling were discussed in terms of aggregating OQ-45 scores and its score interpretation. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the process involved and dilemmas encountered in choosing the best fitting FMM. There is currently no criterion for assessing individual model fit. Instead, models’ fit are compared using various information criteria (IC). And, as was found in the current study, these ICs are frequently contradictory. Thus, the process of identifying the best fitting model cannot rest solely on fit indices but must also depend on interpretation of models and consideration of the ultimate use of the results. In the current study, consideration of transition matrices and the pattern of latent means across classes contributed as much to model selection as fit index interpretation. / text

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