abstract: Segregation into own-gender peer groups, a common developmental pattern, has many potentially negative short- and long-term consequences. Understanding the social cognitive processes underlying intergroup processes may lead to a better understanding of, and a chance to improve, intergroup relations between boys and girls; however, until recently gender-typed cognitions have not received a lot of attention. Therefore, in two complementary studies, this dissertation examines developmental patterns and predictors of a particular type of social cognition, gender-based relationship efficacy (GBRE). The first study examines mean-level and interindividual stability patterns of GBRE longitudinally in two developmental periods: childhood and pre-adolescence. Specifically, the first study examined children’s and pre-adolescents’ GBRE toward own- (GBRE-Own) and other-gender (GBRE-Other) peers over a one-year period. Using a four factor repeated measures analysis of variance, the results indicated that GBRE-Own is significantly higher than GBRE-Other across both cohorts. GBRE-Other, however, increased from childhood to pre-adolescence. Stability and cross-lag effects were examined using a multi-group panel analysis and revealed that GBRE-Own and GBRE-Other were stable. Additionally, high levels of GBRE-Own led to lower levels of GBRE-Other one year later, but high levels of GBRE-Other led to higher levels of GBRE-Own. Implications for understanding segregation processes and suggestions for future research are discussed. The second study examined potential affective/cognitive, behavioral, and contextual predictors of GBRE-Other in pre-adolescence. Several hypotheses were tested using panel models and regression analyses, but there was limited support. Results indicated that GBRE-Other predicted more positive attitudes toward other-gender peers and higher preferences for other-gender peer interaction and that, for boys, anxious attitudes toward other-gender peers negatively predicted GBRE-Other and, for girls, parental attitudes toward their children’s other-gender friendships negatively predicted GBRE-Other. The lack of significant findings in the second study should be interpreted cautiously. In general, GBRE is an important construct and more research is needed to fully understand the developmental progression and implications. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Family and Human Development 2017

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Cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms are two problems that affect adolescents’ health. Although it has been well-documented that a relationship exists between these two concerns, most researchers have used self-report methods to study smoking behaviors. While adolescents are typically accurate when reporting depressive symptoms, they tend to be less accurate reporting smoking. Moreover, research supporting the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) has shown that the social cognitions of willingness to smoke, and the prototypes or images of smokers are predictors of smoking in adolescents. Little is known about the association between social cognitions and depressive symptoms in adolescence. In this study, I examined the relationship between cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms in high school students using a biological measure of cigarette smoking. First, I investigated whether depressive symptoms and cigarette smoking were related in a sample of 440 high school sophomore students from Iowa. Then, using data from 264 of the same participants, I examined whether smoking during or before the sophomore year of high school predicted depressive symptoms a year later when participants were in their junior year of high school. Conversely, I also examined whether depressive symptoms during the sophomore year of high school predicted cigarette smoking in the junior year of high school. Finally, I studied the relationship between social cognitions (i.e., prototypes and willingness) and depressive symptoms. An additional section explored whether the social cognitions predicted cigarette smoking. The findings did not provide evidence supporting a relationship between cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms when smoking was measured by a biological measure. Only self-report of smoking cigarettes significantly predicted depressive symptoms during the sophomore year of high school. Cigarette smoking during or before the sophomore year of high school did not predict depressive symptoms a year later. Similarly, depressive symptoms reported in the sophomore year of high school did not predict cigarette smoking a year later. For the social cognitions, willingness to engage in smoking behaviors and the prototypes or images adolescents have about teenagers who smoke were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Only willingness to engage in smoking behaviors was a significant predictor of cigarette smoking. These results support the idea that the relationship between depressive symptoms and cigarette smoking varies when using different methodologies to assess smoking status. Also, the finding that social cognitions correlates with depressive symptoms could motivate further investigation. This work can also alert adults about other ways in which elevated depressive symptoms in adolescents may influence their perceptions.

This dissertation originated out of a research interest in the role of moral-reasoning development in different types of crime. However, as this interest developed, it became apparent that the evidence that moral-reasoning development is differentially involved in different types of crime was a) somewhat weak and b) did not apply to all types of crime. In addition, as part of the developmental work for this dissertation, it was decided to re-analyze a previous Taiwanese study by the author. This reanalysis substantially supported what the previous research literature had indicated in terms of the, at best, modest role of moral-reasoning development in different types of crime. Furthermore, it was found that when the data were analysed ignoring the conventional moral norms that previous research had employed, there was evidence that question content had a role in differentiating different types of crime. This is at variance with structural approaches to moral-reasoning development. Taken together, these findings steered the development of this dissertation in the direction of social cognitive theories of deviant behaviour for which the research evidence is fairly compelling. Consequently, the dissertation moved from structural models of moral reasoning development to socio-cognitive explanations of why some offenders demonstrate a clear pattern of specialization in particular types of crime. This research aimed to assess different social cognitions about offending and moral reasoning ability and used them to predict characteristic types of offending. The participants were four hundreds and thirty two male (adult=302, juvenile= 130) prisoners incarcerated in seven correctional facilities in Taiwan. Based on the offenders' self-reported crime histories, crime specialism indexes (CSI) were calculated to represent offenders' crime propensities in drug abuse, theft, sexual and violent offending for each of respondents. Twenty-three of these respondents were questioned using semi-structural interviews. The qualitative aspect of the research was informed by interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). In addition to moral reasoning competence measured by Gibbs's SRM-SF, five additional social cognitions were investigated including 1) normative beliefs, 2) crime cognitive beliefs, 3) moral domain placement, 4) crime episode judgments, and 5) criminal-identity. It was hypothesized that different cognitive representations predict decisions about types of offences committed. Research questions were, 1) What are the relationships between moral reasoning ability in overall, individual moral value, age, crime episode judgments, and CSIs? a) Juvenile offenders operated at immature moral reasoning level, while adults predominantly exhibited at mature stages. b) No significant correlations emerged between sociomoral reflection moral score (SRMS) and CS Is, except a positive relationship found with the juvenile sexual CS!. c) Comparatively arrested development was found in both age offenders' property & law and legal/justice than the rest of three moral values. d) Except one in the juvenile drug taking (SRMS), and two in life and legal justice, as well as one significant correlations showed in the adult legal justice in sexual offending context, there was no relationship found between the trend of responses towards crime episode questions and moral reasoning ability. 2) What are the relationships between offenders' crime perceptions, evaluations and CS Is? a) Only drug CSI correlated positively with the criminal identity, while negative relationships were found with theft and sexual CSIs. b) A self approval tendency in normative beliefs was found in all but the juvenile sexual CSIs. c) A self endorsement tendency was observed in cognitive beliefs scale in the adult group. d) Findings indicated that there were two differences in the adult drug and theft CSIs, with those offenders thinking drug taking and stealing behaviour as personal discretions being higher in these two acts CSIs than those regarded these two crimes as moral domains, respectively. 3) Is it possible to predict CSIs from sociocognitive factors considered? Multiple-regressions indicated that content-oriented cognitive appraisals predicted types of criminal behaviour, while structural variables did not, with two exceptions. In the case of adult violence CSI two moral reasoning level indicators accounted for some additional variance. In the case of juvenile violence, SRMS accounted for some additional variance. But in this latter case, a higher level of moral reasoning was associated with greater specialisation in violence. In the qualitative research questions, research question 4) What are the relationships between offenders' crime perceptions, evaluations and offending behaviour? Interviewees tended to approve their own behaviour more, particularly when compared with other crime patterns. Most of interviewees showed appreciations of Gibbs's mature moral reasoning forms. This seems to contradict with what they had done to others. Despite the meanings behind laws were recognised they largely based their justifications on heteronymous moral thinking. 5) How do offenders' explain the above conflicts, if any? Drug abusers tended to see there was more consistent than conflict, For example, it is a personal prerogative issue. Although theft and violent offenders admitted conflicts present, the former group tended to justify with reasons, such as if they do not harm other physically, stealing is not that bad behaviour, while the latter indicated they only use violence under threatening or legitimate circumstances. Although relatively little information was elicited from sexual offender interviewees on this issue, conflicts were expressed by them. In summary, a self-serving yet other-blaming tendency was observed in cognitive evaluations both in qualitative and qualitative data. The more intensive an offender's involvement in a specific type of crime the more likely were they to evaluate this type of crime more positively, legitimately and less moral concerns involved then any of the other crime types. Moral reasoning may simply accommodate to offenders' progressively firm crime social cognitions. Based on the research findings, a crime cognitive whirlpool model was proposed. This is an idea that offenders are being pulled down (socio-cognitively strapped) to crimes. The model illustrates how a differential relationship between content and structural social knowledge develops for specific crime commitment. Future research should explore in greater depth the specificity and versatility of social cognitive reasoning in this context. Also, the factors which intervene between beliefs about what is good and good behaviour need to be understood better.

En étudiant le rôle d'un état émotionnel négatif stable, apparenté à la peur, sur l'élaboration des représentations sociales du travail et du chômage nous avons pu observer et décrire plusieurs phénomènes importants. Tout d'abord, ce type d'état émotionnel contribuerait à orienter la sélection des éléments d'information constituant le champ représentationnel. Il orienterait cette sélection dans le sens d'un accroissement de l'attention en direction d'éléments relatifs à des préoccupations individuelles au détriment d'éléments relatifs à des questions sociales au sein des représentations du travail et du chômage. Ensuite, une partie de la représentation est congruente avec cet état émotionnel. Cette congruence affective concernait la dimension psychologique de la représentation du chômage. En plus de l'effet de congruence, cet état émotionnel stabiliserait le poids des éléments d'information contenus dans cette dimension psychologique. Enfin, ce type d'état contribuerait à structurer les représentations. L'état émotionnel négatif stable contribuerait à augmenter le nombre des éléments contenus dans le noyau de la représentation du travail. / By studying the role of a stable negative emotional state, like fear, on the social representations elaboration of unemployment and work, we could to observe and describe several important phenomena. Firstly, this type of emotional state guides the informationnal elements selection forming the representational field. It would guide the selection in the direction of increased attention towards items related to individual concerns at the expense of items relating to social issues in the representations of work and unemployment. Secondly, a part of the representation is congruent with this emotional state. This emotional congruence concerned the psychological dimension of the unemployment representation. In addition to the effect congruency, this emotional state stabilizes the weight of the information elements contained in thispsychological dimension. Finally, this state type would take part in structure representations. The stable negative emotional state would increase the number of elements contained in the kernel of the representation of work.

The TAT stories of 38 sexually abused females between the ages of 5 and 18 years and a clinical group of 26 females with no recorded history of abuse were analyzed using the Object Relations and Social Cognitions TAT Scoring System (Westen et al., 1985). Subjects in the sexual abuse group showed significantly lower mean scores on a scale measuring affect-tone of relationship paradigms and on a scale measuring complexity of representations of people. In addition, pathological responses were given significantly more often by sexual abuse victims on the complexity of representations of people scale. Thus, sexually abused children showed more primitive and simple characterizations of people and more negative, punitive affect in their representations. Moreover, these results were independent of age, race, and intelligence. Group differences are discussed in terms of object relations development.

À ce jour, plusieurs études se sont penchées sur l’influence des comportements problématiques des enfants présentant un trouble déficitaire de l'attention avec ou sans hyperactivité (TDAH) sur les pratiques parentales (Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2008), mais peu de recherches se sont intéressées à la relation entre ce que pensent les parents et la façon dont ils se comportent avec leur enfant (Rudy & Grusec, 2006). L’objectif principal de cette thèse est d’étudier la relation entre les cognitions sociales des parents, les pratiques parentales et les caractéristiques comportementales de l’enfant présentant un TDAH. Une première étude examine la relation entre les cognitions sociales des parents (attributions causales, sentiment d’auto-efficacité parental (SAEP)), les caractéristiques comportementales de l’enfant (sous-type TDAH, symptômes concomitants) en lien avec les pratiques parentales utilisées. Cent dix familles dont l’enfant a un TDAH ont participé à l’étude. Les résultats indiquent que plus les parents ont un SAEP élevé, plus ils rapportent employer une discipline appropriée, une discipline verbale positive, des félicitations/récompenses et moins ils rapportent utiliser une discipline sévère/inconstante ou la punition physique. Les résultats montrent également que l’attribution des comportements de désobéissance de l’enfant soit à l’effort important du parent, soit au manque d’effort de l’enfant joue un rôle prédicteur en regard respectivement de l’utilisation d’une discipline verbale positive ou de l’utilisation d’une discipline sévère et inconstante par le parent. Par ailleurs, le fait de percevoir des symptômes d’opposition chez l’enfant TDAH prédit l’utilisation d’une discipline appropriée et d’une discipline verbale positive. Enfin, la présence de symptômes concomitants au TDAH prédit l’utilisation d’une discipline sévère et inconstante. L’objectif de la seconde étude est d’examiner le rôle des cognitions sociales des parents d’enfant ayant un TDAH en lien avec les pratiques parentales utilisées après leur participation à deux types d’intervention (programme d’entraînement aux habiletés parentales (PEHP) ou soutien téléphonique (ST)) comparativement à un groupe contrôle (GC). Les résultats suggèrent que dans certains cas, le SAEP ou les attributions causales prédisent différemment les pratiques parentales selon que les parents ont ou non participé à une intervention, mais il est prématuré de conclure que les cognitions sociales des parents d’enfant TDAH sont des modérateurs du changement des pratiques parentales. Les implications méthodologiques, conceptuelles et cliniques de ces deux études sont discutées. / Studies have confirmed that behavior of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects parents’ parenting practices (Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2008). However, only few studies have investigated the association between parental social cognition and parenting practices in parents of children with ADHD (Rudy & Grusec, 2006). The principal purpose of this thesis was to examine the association between parental social cognitions, parental practices and the behavioural characteristics of their child diagnosed with ADHD. The purpose of the first study was to examine the association between parental social cognitions (parental causal attributions, parental self-efficacy), behavioural characteristics of their child (ADHD subtypes, comorbidity symptoms) and parental practices. Multiple regressions indicate that parental self-efficacy is associated with more use of appropriate discipline, praise and incentives, positive verbal discipline, and less use of harsh and inconsistent discipline and physical punishment. Results also show that parental causal attributions for the child’s misbehaviour to their own efforts are a predictor of positive verbal discipline whereas parents’ causal attributions for the child’s misbehaviour to the child’s lack of efforts are a predictor of harsh and inconsistent discipline. Parents’ perception of their child’s oppositional symptom is a predictor of appropriate discipline and positive verbal discipline. Finally, the presence of comorbidity symptoms in ADHD children is a predictor of harsh and inconsistent discipline. The purpose of the second study was to examine the association between cognitions (self-efficacy, causal attributions) of parents of ADHD children about their child’s behavior and their parental practices following an intervention (parent training program (PTP), support phone call (SPC)) in comparison with a control group (CG). Multiple regressions indicated that in some instances parental self-efficacy and causal attributions were predictors of parenting practices after the intervention. However it would be premature to conclude to the moderating role of social cognitions with regard to parenting practices following an intervention. Clinical implications of these results are explored in the discussion.

À ce jour, plusieurs études se sont penchées sur l’influence des comportements problématiques des enfants présentant un trouble déficitaire de l'attention avec ou sans hyperactivité (TDAH) sur les pratiques parentales (Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2008), mais peu de recherches se sont intéressées à la relation entre ce que pensent les parents et la façon dont ils se comportent avec leur enfant (Rudy & Grusec, 2006). L’objectif principal de cette thèse est d’étudier la relation entre les cognitions sociales des parents, les pratiques parentales et les caractéristiques comportementales de l’enfant présentant un TDAH. Une première étude examine la relation entre les cognitions sociales des parents (attributions causales, sentiment d’auto-efficacité parental (SAEP)), les caractéristiques comportementales de l’enfant (sous-type TDAH, symptômes concomitants) en lien avec les pratiques parentales utilisées. Cent dix familles dont l’enfant a un TDAH ont participé à l’étude. Les résultats indiquent que plus les parents ont un SAEP élevé, plus ils rapportent employer une discipline appropriée, une discipline verbale positive, des félicitations/récompenses et moins ils rapportent utiliser une discipline sévère/inconstante ou la punition physique. Les résultats montrent également que l’attribution des comportements de désobéissance de l’enfant soit à l’effort important du parent, soit au manque d’effort de l’enfant joue un rôle prédicteur en regard respectivement de l’utilisation d’une discipline verbale positive ou de l’utilisation d’une discipline sévère et inconstante par le parent. Par ailleurs, le fait de percevoir des symptômes d’opposition chez l’enfant TDAH prédit l’utilisation d’une discipline appropriée et d’une discipline verbale positive. Enfin, la présence de symptômes concomitants au TDAH prédit l’utilisation d’une discipline sévère et inconstante. L’objectif de la seconde étude est d’examiner le rôle des cognitions sociales des parents d’enfant ayant un TDAH en lien avec les pratiques parentales utilisées après leur participation à deux types d’intervention (programme d’entraînement aux habiletés parentales (PEHP) ou soutien téléphonique (ST)) comparativement à un groupe contrôle (GC). Les résultats suggèrent que dans certains cas, le SAEP ou les attributions causales prédisent différemment les pratiques parentales selon que les parents ont ou non participé à une intervention, mais il est prématuré de conclure que les cognitions sociales des parents d’enfant TDAH sont des modérateurs du changement des pratiques parentales. Les implications méthodologiques, conceptuelles et cliniques de ces deux études sont discutées. / Studies have confirmed that behavior of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects parents’ parenting practices (Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2008). However, only few studies have investigated the association between parental social cognition and parenting practices in parents of children with ADHD (Rudy & Grusec, 2006). The principal purpose of this thesis was to examine the association between parental social cognitions, parental practices and the behavioural characteristics of their child diagnosed with ADHD. The purpose of the first study was to examine the association between parental social cognitions (parental causal attributions, parental self-efficacy), behavioural characteristics of their child (ADHD subtypes, comorbidity symptoms) and parental practices. Multiple regressions indicate that parental self-efficacy is associated with more use of appropriate discipline, praise and incentives, positive verbal discipline, and less use of harsh and inconsistent discipline and physical punishment. Results also show that parental causal attributions for the child’s misbehaviour to their own efforts are a predictor of positive verbal discipline whereas parents’ causal attributions for the child’s misbehaviour to the child’s lack of efforts are a predictor of harsh and inconsistent discipline. Parents’ perception of their child’s oppositional symptom is a predictor of appropriate discipline and positive verbal discipline. Finally, the presence of comorbidity symptoms in ADHD children is a predictor of harsh and inconsistent discipline. The purpose of the second study was to examine the association between cognitions (self-efficacy, causal attributions) of parents of ADHD children about their child’s behavior and their parental practices following an intervention (parent training program (PTP), support phone call (SPC)) in comparison with a control group (CG). Multiple regressions indicated that in some instances parental self-efficacy and causal attributions were predictors of parenting practices after the intervention. However it would be premature to conclude to the moderating role of social cognitions with regard to parenting practices following an intervention. Clinical implications of these results are explored in the discussion.

Thèse de doctorat présenté en vue de l'obtention du doctorat en psychologie - recherche intervention, option psychologie clinique (Ph.D) / La schizophrénie est un trouble mental grave associé à des difficultés de fonctionnement social dans plusieurs sphères de vie. Des diagnostics comorbides accompagnant fréquemment cette condition tel que les enjeux reliés à la consommation de drogue et d’alcool sont souvent source de difficultés additionnelles. Les désignations « troubles concomitants » pour un double diagnostic et « trouble concomitant complexe » pour plusieurs diagnostics comorbides sont employées pour faire référence à ces présentations. Ces tableaux cliniques complexes font moins souvent l’objet d’études empiriques que la schizophrénie « unique » et représente un défis substantiel dans l’intervention clinique. Une approche pour faire face à cette réalité consiste à faire à appel à des processus transdiagnostics mettant au premier plan les facteurs communs dans l’intervention. Les cognitions sociales, un ensemble de compétences permettant de percevoir, interpréter et répondre adéquatement aux indices verbaux et paraverbaux, sont un exemple de ces processus qui font l’objet de plus en plus de recherche à ce jour. Parmi eux, nous retrouvons la régulation émotionnelle et la théorie de l’esprit, deux cognitions sociales prometteuses dans les approches auprès des troubles concomitants. De plus, les approches se basant sur les cognitions sociales gagneraient à faire appel aux nouvelles technologies de l’information comme les applications mobiles, sachant que le soutien de l’individu dans son milieu naturel est un facteur clé dans le rétablissement de cette problématique. Ce nouveau médium offre des avantages considérables dans l’implantation d’interventions visant à soutenir le rétablissement dans la communauté suite à un épisode psychotique. Cette thèse se penche sur l’apport potentiel de deux cognitions sociales (i.e. régulation émotionnelle et théorie de l’esprit) aux processus d’intervention et d’évaluation auprès des individus avec un trouble concomitant. De plus, l’intervention évaluée dans ces travaux fera III appel aux nouvelles technologies de l’information en intégrant une application mobile comme médium d’intervention. Le premier chapitre présente une recension des écrits sur la théorie de l’esprit, la régulation émotionnelle et les interventions mobile auprès des troubles concomitants. Le deuxième chapitre de cette thèse présente les résultats d’une étude pilote d’acceptabilité et de faisabilité d’une application mobile (ChillTime) visant à favoriser l’acquisition de compétence de régulation des émotions auprès d’individus présentant des troubles concomitants. L’étude a été réalisée auprès de 13 individus présentant des troubles concomitants sur une durée de 30 jours. Des indicateurs cliniques, d’acceptabilité, de faisabilité et de préférences d’utilisation ont été recueillis. Les résultats suggèrent que l’application fait preuve d’une bonne faisabilité et d’une bonne acceptabilité auprès de l’échantillon. Des études avec un plus grand échantillon sont cependant nécessaires pour appuyer ces conclusions. Le troisième chapitre de cette thèse présente les résultats d’une étude visant à évaluer le degré avec lequel les compétences reliées à la théorie de l’esprit permettent de prédire le fonctionnement social des individus présentant un premier épisode psychotique comorbide à un trouble de l’usage de substance. Les données ont été recueillies à partir d’un échantillon de 37 personnes en suivant un devis transversal. Des analyses de régressions hiérarchiques ont été réalisées à partir de mesure de théorie de l’esprit, de symptômes cliniques et de neurocognitions comme prédicteurs du fonctionnement social. Les résultats suggèrent que la théorie de l’esprit serait plus efficace pour prédire certains domaines de fonctionnement social que le fonctionnement cognitif auprès de l’échantillon évalué. Des études avec un plus grand échantillon sont cependant nécessaires pour appuyer ces conclusions. Dans leur ensemble, les résultats de ces recherches contribuent à démontrer la pertinence de l’emploi des cognitions sociales dans les interventions visant améliorer les capacités fonctionnelles des individus présentant un trouble concomitant. Ils contribuent également appuyer l’utilisation des applications mobiles comme médium d’intervention auprès de cette population. / Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder associated with difficulties in social functioning in many areas of life. Co-morbid diagnoses that frequently accompany this condition, such as drug and alcohol issues, often cause additional difficulties. The designations "concurrent disorder" for a dual diagnosis and "complex concurrent disorder" for multiple comorbid diagnoses are used to refer to these presentations. These complex clinical pictures are less often the subject of empirical studies than "single" schizophrenia and represent a substantial challenge in clinical intervention. One approach to addressing this reality is to use cross-diagnostic processes that foreground common factors in intervention. Social cognitions, a set of skills for perceiving, interpreting, and responding appropriately to verbal and paraverbal cues, are an example of these processes that are the subject of increasing research to date. Among them, we find emotional regulation and theory of mind, two promising social cognitions in approaches to concurrent disorders. In addition, approaches based on social cognition would benefit from the use of new information technologies such as mobile applications, knowing that supporting the individual in his or her natural environment is a key factor in the recovery of this problem. This new medium offers considerable advantages in the implementation of interventions aimed at supporting recovery in the community following a psychotic episode.This thesis examines the potential contribution of two social cognitions (i.e., emotional regulation and theory of mind) to the intervention and assessment processes for individuals with a concurrent disorder. Furthermore, the intervention evaluated in this work will use new information technologies by integrating a mobile application as an intervention medium.The first chapter presents a review of the literature on theory of mind, emotional regulation and mobile interventions for concurrent disorders. The second chapter of this thesis presents the results of a pilot study on the acceptability and feasibility of a mobile application (ChillTime) aimed at promoting the acquisition of emotion regulation skills in individuals with concurrent disorders. The study was conducted with 13 individuals with concurrent disorders over a period of 30 days. Clinical indicators, acceptability, feasibility and preferences for use were collected. The results suggest that the application demonstrates good feasibility and acceptability to the sample. However, studies with a larger sample size are needed to support these findings. The third chapter of this dissertation presents the results of a study designed to assess the degree to which theory of mind skills predict social functioning in individuals with a first episode psychosis comorbid with a substance use disorder. Data were collected from a sample of 37 individuals following a cross-sectional design. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed using theory of mind measures, clinical symptoms, and neurocognitions as predictors of social functioning. Results suggest that theory of mind is more effective in predicting some areas of social functioning than cognitive functioning in the sample tested. However, studies with a larger sample size are needed to support these findings. Taken together, the results of this research help to demonstrate the relevance of using social cognitions in interventions to improve the functional abilities of individuals with a co-occurring disorder. They also help support the use of mobile applications as an intervention medium with this population.