<p> People who have experienced trauma involving serious threats to physical integrity can react in accordance with various response trajectories, including posttraumatic growth (PTG). PTG is characterized by positive psychological change following trauma that goes beyond a return to pre-trauma functioning as the result of reorganizing one's conceptualization of his or her phenomenological world (Tedeschi &amp; Calhoun, 2004). This study was interested in factors that contribute to PTG from a terror management theory (TMT) perspective. TMT, based on existential philosophy, posits that people defend against the knowledge that everyone must eventually die and the accompanying anxiety by investing in cultural worldviews and deriving self-esteem by adhering to the standards and values prescribed by those worldviews (Solomon et al., 2004). Based on TMT research that suggests that when people are reminded of their mortality they tend to place increased faith in their cultural worldviews (Burke et al., 2010) as well as the assumption that reminders of previous trauma would likely make mortality salient, this study employed a directed content analysis to examine cultural worldview expressions among therapy clients who had experienced trauma. </p><p> Qualitative analysis using the directed coding system created for this study resulted in coding 77 cultural worldviews across the 5 sessions from 5 coding categories: other (explicit) (n=32), other (implicit) (n=20), nationality (n=13), religion (n=8), and ethnicity (n=4). The clients referred to cultural worldviews throughout their sessions, even though only one therapist directly facilitated cultural discussion. Worldview expressions amidst trauma discussions were considered potential contributors to PTG as they served a meaning making function. Also, many worldviews and cultural affiliations referenced were different than those commonly studied in previous TMT research (i.e. referenced cultural affiliations other than religion, ethnicity, nationality, or political affiliation such as gender and age/generation; did not discuss political affiliation). Multiple factors such as differences among clients, contextual factors of the sessions, and therapists' style were considered to potentially have influenced the variance in worldviews expressed. The findings described in this study can contribute to ongoing psychotherapy training and research bridging the gaps among PTG and TMT theory, research and clinical practice with trauma survivors.</p><p></p>

<p> This study examined the relationship of adaptive and pathological (grandiose and vulnerable) expressions of narcissism to attachment style and the capacity for reflective functioning (RF). Narcissism serves a relevant personality construct in clinical theory, social psychology and psychiatry but remains inconsistently defined across these disciplines. Theoretical accounts support the notion that attachment difficulties and maladaptive patterns of mentally representing self and others serve as the substrates for narcissistic pathology but are less pronounced in adaptive narcissism. A multiple regression analysis was conducted in a college student sample of 345 participants applying a cross-sectional, survey design. It was hypothesized that pathological narcissism (grandiose or vulnerable) is associated with higher degrees of attachment-related anxiety and avoidance and lower levels of RF than is adaptive narcissism.</p><p> Results: With respect to convergent validity, measures of adaptive and pathological narcissism exhibited a differential pattern of correlations to general psychopathology, thereby supporting the notion that distinct constructs crystallize within narcissism's heterogeneity. Multiple regression analysis confirmed the two-component structure of pathological narcissism representing narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability. Narcissistic vulnerability significantly predicted higher levels of attachment anxiety, an effect that remained after controlling for narcissistic grandiosity and adaptive narcissism. In contrast, adaptive narcissism significantly predicted lower levels of attachment anxiety. Contrary to expectation, this effect was not observed for avoidant attachment, i.e. pathological narcissism was not found to be a stronger predictor of avoidant attachment than adaptive narcissism. This study further found that pathological narcissism was not a stronger predictor of poor reflective functioning than was adaptive narcissism. In sum, these findings illustrate how overall psychopathology and attachment anxiety vary across the three narcissistic expressions, thereby weakening narcissism's clinical utility as currently defined in the DSM-5. Theoretical and treatment implications are also reviewed.</p>

<p> Given increased evidence related to the importance of fostering life satisfaction in the overall population (Diener &amp; Diener, 1996), as well as recent suggestions regarding the importance of increasing positive academic and social outcomes for children with ADHD (DuPaul, 2007), it is important to gain a clearer understanding of how life satisfaction may be related to symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Research on the relationship between life satisfaction and symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity is currently limited to two studies (Gudjonsson et al., 2009; Ogg et al., 2014). The current study investigated the relationship between symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity and reports of global life satisfaction in 399 high school students. This study used the bifactor model to conceptualize ADHD given that this model provided the best fit when compared to other models of ADHD in the current study and given that there is substantial evidence in the current literature to support the use of this model (Martel, von Eye, &amp; Nigg, 2010). Structural equation modeling results demonstrated that the general factor of ADHD was a significant predictor of life satisfaction when students rated ADHD symptoms, and the inattention factor of ADHD was a significant predictor of life satisfaction when teachers rated ADHD symptoms. In addition, because depressive symptoms have been associated with life satisfaction and inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, the current study examined if life satisfaction moderated or mediated the relationship between inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity and depressive symptoms. Results of the present study suggested that life satisfaction serves as a potential but weak moderator in the relationship between general ADHD and depression when symptoms of ADHD were rated by teachers. Results also demonstrated that life satisfaction mediated the relationship between general ADHD symptoms and depressive symptoms when ADHD symptoms were rated by students, and life satisfaction mediated the relationship between inattentive symptoms and depressive symptoms when ADHD symptoms were rated by teachers. </p><p> The current study contributes to existing literature on life satisfaction given that there are currently only two studies, one which was conducted with an adult population and one of which was conducted with a middle school population, specifically examining levels of life satisfaction in individuals with symptoms of ADHD. The results of this study provide additional confirmation of the negative relationship between ADHD symptoms and life satisfaction. Moreover, this study was the first to examine how life satisfaction may play a role in the relationship between symptoms of ADHD and depressive symptoms. This study supports that life satisfaction primarily plays a mediating role in the relationship between ADHD symptoms and depressive symptoms and provides support for further examination of this role in future studies.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1993. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: B, page: 6501.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: B, page: 4817. Adviser: Sumie Okazaki. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-111) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Lehigh University, 2006. / Adviser: Tina Q. Richardson.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Lehigh University, 2007. / Adviser: Arnold Spokane.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: B, page: 7154. Adviser: Nicole E. Allen. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-154) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> Poet David Ray imagines, "The poem is the altar for the dream" (1998, p. 176). This dissertation focuses on amplifying dreams with poetry from a collective perspective through the lens of archetypal psychology. The research was a collaborative effort of oneiric poetics nested in a dream group focused on engaging psychopoesis in relationship to archetypal value in dream images portraying the collective psyche and current cultural surround. </p><p> Hermeneutic phenomenology addressed the two central research questions: What are the dynamics that serve meaning making, or the transformation of meaning, when poetry is used to amplify dreams? How does this work develop further when engaged by a dream group aimed at collective meaning making? Phenomenological analysis described the essence of the lived experience of the co-researchers' engagement with writing dream poetry, moving from raw dream text through archetypal amplifications and associations in the group setting, culminating in dream poetry. Hermeneutics examined the shifting horizons of imaginal awareness that emerged from the intersubjective field of the dream group and how these horizons, infused with archetypal sensitivity, altered the co-researchers' subsequent relationship to the dream's images when creating dream poetry. </p><p> The research revealed the importance of a tripartite approach to dream work that is aware of the literal, psychological, and archetypal dynamics of meaning making. Thirteen dynamics that serve meaning making emerged from this tripartite analysis. Key among these are: conservation of the dream image view shed; building a relationship with and expressing interest in the image; liberation of the imaginal ego; relativizing the day-world ego; archetypal empathy; expanded awareness through commonality of archetypal dream themes; cultural awareness through a group dialogic regarding collective dream themes; and archetypal themes condensed in dream poetry. </p><p> The research reimagined the conversation between depth psychology, poetics, and dreaming beyond the personal or day-world ego's interpretations. This dissertation attends to the dream poet's pen and, by doing so, revivifies the imaginal ego, rejuvenates the poetic basis of mind, and refreshes psychopoesis as meaning-making agents in depth psychology. In a valuable move for archetypal psychology, this dissertation enlists these three precious premises in service of the sensus communis.</p>

<p> The principal objective of this study was to understand the Macedonian psyche, more specifically the cultural layer of the psyche that makes this group unique, using the insights of depth psychology. The study addressed the question regarding how the myths and rituals about birth and dying have contributed to the formation of cultural, national, and personal identity, and how the complex of the culture is deeply embedded in individual and group psyches. Taking a historical perspective on Macedonian identity, beliefs, and rituals, this study contributes to the discussion about the role of the archetypal, collective, cultural, and symbolic function of the psyche in the creation of identity and culture. Narrative inquiry was utilized in this study. Specifically, through the narratives of 4 participants, the psychic processes involved in the identity formation and change influenced by certain cultural forms, such as traditional beliefs and ritualistic practices, are described. Subsequently, by analyzing the mythical beliefs and investigating the archetypal material that lies in the heart of a culture, a cultural complex was identified and examined.</p><p> Seven themes discovered in this study along with the analysis of the myth, which mirrors the Macedonian group psyche, offer a comprehensive depth psychological understanding of the phenomenon of the Macedonian <i>cultural complex of inferiority and smallness</i>, explaining the bipolarity of the complex with its destructive and constructive manifestations in the group and individual behavior. A transgenerational trauma of oppression and continued grieving for the loss of a hero/father figure underlie the complex of inferiority and smallness.</p><p> The study concluded with the discussion about healing of the complex, illuminating psychology that strives to understand, experience, and consciously embrace the loss. An area in need of further depth perspective research is a cross-cultural inquiry regarding group complexes and their interaction between nations in volatile parts of the world, such as the Balkans.</p><p> Key Words: Cultural Complex, Jung, Myth, Ritual, Macedonia, Psyche, National Identity, Transgenerational Trauma, Depth Psychology.</p>