Trauma victimization has deleterious effects on both physical and mental health. In a non-pathologizing manner, betrayal trauma theory offers one paradigm that contextualizes abuse within the relationship it occurs. It is possible that trauma outcomes can be further explained through incorporating aspects of the larger sociocultural context. For instance, some members of minority populations may develop (intra)cultural trust with other perceived minority members; through functioning as a buffer against inequality, (intra)cultural trust may be similar to interpersonal trust within relationships insofar that it creates a vulnerability for betrayal that affects trauma sequelae. Given the incorporation of interpersonal and societal contexts of inequality, predicted outcomes of cultural betrayal trauma are diverse, including abuse outcomes, such as PTSD, and cultural outcomes, such as internalized prejudice. This framework for examining within-group violence in minority populations is called cultural betrayal trauma theory. In the dissertation, I first provide a review of psychological theories of trauma: the fear paradigm, the shattered assumptions paradigm, betrayal trauma theory, and institutional betrayal. I then briefly detail the trauma literature on ethnic minorities, with an emphasis on the importance of contextual factors. Based on this literature, I introduce cultural betrayal trauma theory, defining the theory and its constructs: societal trauma, (intra)cultural trust, cultural betrayal, cultural betrayal trauma, (intra)cultural pressure, cultural betrayal unawareness, abuse outcomes, and cultural outcomes. After addressing societal trauma’s potential role in both within-group and between-group violence victimization in minority populations, I detail the purpose of the empirical study: to test cultural betrayal trauma theory in a sample of ethnic minority students attending a predominantly White university. I report the online survey results based on 296 ethnic minority undergraduates at a predominantly White university. Over half of the sample reported trauma victimization, with 43% of participants reporting within-group violence victimization specifically. This ethno-cultural betrayal trauma was associated with abuse outcomes— dissociation, hallucinations, PTSD, cultural betrayal unawareness, and hypervigilance—and cultural outcomes—trauma-related ethnic identity change, diverse identity changes, internalized prejudice, and (intra)cultural pressure. The dissertation suggests that cultural betrayal trauma theory is a useful framework in examining and understanding trauma sequelae in minority populations.

abstract: Despite the population of transgender individuals in the United States doubling from 2011 to 2016, this population is one of the most understudied in psychological science. Of the available research, the associations between gender congruence, defined as an individual’s body matching their gender identity, and well-being have been examined, particularly demonstrating positive associations between gender congruence and overall life satisfaction. However, there remains a dearth of research on the possible associations between gender congruence and relational well-being - particularly sexual satisfaction - and possible moderating effects of the internal negative feelings regarding one’s identity (internalized transphobia). To address these gaps in the literature, this study gathered data from 165 binary transgender men. While there was not an effect of gender congruence on sexual satisfaction, internalized transphobia was found to moderate this association such that individuals who reported high internalized transphobia and high gender congruence reported the highest sexual satisfaction. Results of this study highlight the existing literature on the negative associations between internalized transphobia and well-being for transgender individuals. Implications for counselors are discussed, including advocacy efforts and implementation of techniques to facilitate growth and resilience to help transgender clients navigate the negative effects of internalized transphobia. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling 2020

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Over the past two decades, a great deal of research has been devoted to the understanding of internalizing disorders in children. Internalizing disorders encompass a wide variety of problems, including depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, and somatic complaints. It has been suggested that the existence of internalizing disorders in children has negative effects upon their self-esteem, academic achievement, physical health, and future adjustment. However, because internalizing disorders are, in great measure, subjective perceptions of internal distress, they are often not readily or reliably identified by external observers. As a result, several researchers have stressed the importance of eliciting the child 's perspective through self-report assessment. While there are several excellent self-report measures of internalizing constructs, none of these instruments is designed to measure the comprehensive domain of internalizing disorders in children below the age of 11 even though it has been established that children as young as 8 are able to give reliable self-reports. This apparent dearth of broad-based instruments for middle- to late-elementary school children creates problems for the assessment of internalizing problems because the various internalizing syndromes often coexist with one another, therefore limiting the utility of a single-syndrome instrument. The newly developed Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children (ISSC) is a 48- item self-report instrument designed to measure the broad range of internalizing problems in children. This investigation was conducted to establish whether the ISSC is a reliable measure of internalizing symptoms in 8- to 12-year-old children over 2-, 4-, and 12-week intervals. Overall, the findings provide strong support for the ISSC as a reliable measure of internalizing symptoms in elementary-age children over short- to medium-length time intervals.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a highly stigmatized condition, often associated with negative stereotypes such as being morally weak, incompetent, unpredictable, and aggressive. People with AUD are at risk of experiencing self-stigma, a social-cognitive experience in which people think others hold negative stereotypes about them, expect to be treated unfairly, and/or believe that negative stereotypes are personally accurate. Women in the criminal justice system with AUD in particular are at risk of experiencing self-stigma due to intersecting sources of disadvantage. Given that self-stigma can lead to treatment avoidance and dropout, it is important to understand risk factors for self-stigma to inform prevention and intervention efforts in the justice system. Incarcerated women with AUD (=185) completed measures of alcohol self-stigma as well as a variety of theoretically relevant risk factors including sociodemographics, baseline levels of stress and depression, and alcohol-related factors (i.e., length of drinking history, frequency/amount of use, consequences of use, physician advice to stop, belief that legal involvement is related to alcohol use, alcohol-related charges, self-efficacy to quit, readiness for treatment, pressures to enter treatment, factors that influence treatment) and other stigmatized conditions (drug use, exchanging sex, and homelessness). Results showed that experiencing more consequences of alcohol use, pressures to enter treatment, and perceived stress were associated with internalized stigma and anticipated/enacted stigma. This study begins to identify which incarcerated women with AUD are most at risk of experiencing self-stigma that may interfere with alcohol treatment.

Internalized racism is a contributing factor to the inability of African Americans to overcome racism. (Speight, 2007) Because this is a cognitive phenomenon over which individuals can have agency, it is important to study, understand, and seek out ways that African Americans are able to gain a liberatory perspective in the midst of a racist society. By using colonization psychology and post-traumatic slave psychology to define the phenomenon, and Jackson’s Black identity development model theory to ground and analyze participants’ process of liberation, this study used phenomenological in-depth interviewing to understand the experiences of African American and Black women who have gained more consciousness of their internalized racism. The researcher interviewed 11 U.S. Born African American and Black women for an hour and a half to gain their understanding of internalized racism and liberation. The study found that Black and African American women in a process of liberation 1) move from experiencing lack of control to an experience of having agency; 2) gain agency from developing greater knowledge and pride of a positive black identity; 3) replace negative socialization with a knowledge of self; and 4) are supported in their liberation by a systemic analysis of racism. The study also found that 1) internalized racism and liberation are complexly defined phenomena, 2) participants continued to practice manifestations of internalized racism while practicing a liberatory consciousness, which confirms the theories of the cyclical nature of identity, and 3) racial identity development models offer a framework for understanding a transition from internalized racism towards liberation but lack clarity about how transformation actually occurs.

Based on a step-wedge randomized control trial (intervention n = 136; comparison n = 137), this study investigated the impact of a peer mentor intervention for youth living with HIV aged 15-24 years in Ndola, Zambia. Using piecewise hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), change in internalized stigma predicted change in mindfulness, and mindfulness was a significant predictor of better self-reported adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) across both intervention groups. Intervention group membership did not predict rate of change in mindfulness, but predicted a reduction in internalized stigma and an increase in self-reported ART adherence. Following the peer mentor intervention, internalized stigma was significantly lower in the intervention group than the comparison group. Findings highlight the need to develop and implement interventions specific to adolescents living with HIV with a biopsychosocial approach that attends to both the physical and psychological needs specific to adolescents. Our findings support the inclusion of mindfulness-based components in interventions targeting ART adherence for adolescents living with HIV.

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abstract: Internalized racism is a destructive, yet insidious psychological effect of racism. Although it has garnered increased attention in the research and clinical community due to its pervasive impact in racial minority individuals, empirical research on this topic has been limited. At the time of this study, no existing scale captures the key dimensions of internalized racism of Asian Americans. This study attempted to fill this gap by developing a self-report instrument that identified the key dimensions of this psychological construct. Seven hundred and fourteen Asian Americans participated in this study, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to investigate the factor structure of the scale. Results indicated that the Internalized Racism Scale for Asian Americans (IRSAA) has five factors, which are Endorsement of Negative Stereotypes, Sense of Inferiority, Denial or Minimization of Racism, Emasculation of Asian American Men, and Within-group Discrimination. This dissertation also examines and discusses the evidence of convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity for the IRSAA subscales. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2016