Childhood sexual assault (CSA) refers to a sexual act that is imposed on a child or adolescent who lacks the emotional capacity, maturity, and cognitive development to understand what they are engaging in, and is incapable or unwilling to give consent. Many individuals who experience CSA also experience adult sexual assault, such as rape. To date, there is limited research that has examined early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and CSA, and no research that examines the relationship between CSA, EMS, and revictimization. The present study examined EMS as mediators of revictimization and mental health outcomes (i.e., depression and PTSD) among 263 college women who experienced CSA. Participants completed the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES-LFV; Koss et al., 2007) which assesses victimization and perpetration of unwanted sexual experiences, the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-SF: Young, 1998) to measure early maladaptive schemas, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist 5, a brief self-report instrument consisting of 20 items that reflect the symptoms of PTSD outlined in DSM-5, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-R; Radloff, 1977) is a brief self-report instrument used to measure symptoms of depression. As hypothesized, CSA was positively correlated with revictimization. CSA was correlated with EMS, specifically, emotional deprivation, mistrust/abuse, social isolation, defectiveness/shame, and self-sacrifice, but not abandonment. Surprisingly, EMS did not mediate the relationship between CSA and revictimization. EMS mediated the relationship between CSA and mental health outcomes, such as, depression and PTSD. EMS social isolation mediated the relationship between CSA and depression symptoms and EMS mistrust/abuse, social isolation, and self-sacrifice mediates the relationship between CSA and PTSD. In conclusion, our findings could be used to further investigate what appropriate early childhood interventions could possibly be used to address and treat early maladaptive schemas.

Vicarious trauma can impact anyone working with a traumatized person. The constructivist self-development theory asserts that vicarious trauma can negatively distort how the helper thinks about the world and can cause increased stress. Researchers have explored stress and coping models and have studied how increased stress can negatively impact coping and health behaviors. However, researchers have not explored how vicarious trauma, coping, and health behaviors are related. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships among vicarious trauma, health behaviors (healthy eating, physical activity, cigarette smoking, and risky drinking), and maladaptive coping. The study sample consisted of 102 Texas Children's Advocacy Center (TX CAC) and Texas Child Protective Services (TX CPS) employees with direct exposure to a client's trauma. Participants completed a self-administered online survey designed to measure vicarious trauma, health behaviors, and maladaptive coping. Linear and logistic regression analyses indicated vicarious trauma was significantly related to healthy eating and maladaptive coping. Maladaptive coping was significantly related to physical activity. However, maladaptive coping was not a significant mediating factor in the relationship between vicarious trauma and health behavior. The data indicated TX CPS and TX CAC employees continue to experience cognitive distortions associated with vicarious trauma, have some decreased health behaviors, and are using maladaptive coping strategies. Results of the study may be used to reduce the risk of vicarious trauma to TX CAC and TX CPS employees so they can continue to help children and families heal from trauma.

Millions of people suffer from tinnitus, a disorder for which there is currently no effective treatment or cure. My dissertation work provides insight into the neural correlates of this pervasive hearing disorder and examines how a newly emerging therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), affects the central auditory system in the generation of the tinnitus percept. This work has a multifold focus of: i) developing and modeling the function of a miniature magnetic coil that can be used for TMS in rodents, ii) establishing a reliable mouse model of tinnitus that can be used for assessing TMS treatment-induced changes, iii) measuring the behavioral alterations and neural changes induced by TMS throughout the auditory system in mice with tinnitus, and iv) to assay underling molecular changes in the auditory cortex (AC) related to TMS and tinnitus. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the current research on tinnitus and TMS. Chapter 2 establishes a reliable neural and behavioral assay of verifying tinnitus in a mouse model and provides further evidence that the underlying hyperactivity associated with tinnitus is initiated in the brainstem following reduced afferent input. The remainder of the dissertation examines the modulation of tinnitus in the auditory central nervous system using a miniature TMS coil. Chapter 3 of the dissertation details the creation and evaluation of a rodent-sized TMS coil, which could increase the overall effectiveness and applicability for human treatment. TMS is currently an FDA approved treatment of depression and has been shown to decrease tinnitus perception in human clinical trials, albeit with variable results. There have been few published studies of tinnitus modulation by TMS using animal models and therefore little is known about the molecular and neural bases of this potential tinnitus treatment. TMS is thought to be therapeutic because the magnetic flux generated from the electromagnetic coil induces an electric field in the brain, altering ion flow and subsequently neural function, as the excitation and inhibition of cortical networks become synchronized to the magnetic pulse. Chapter 4 demonstrates that TMS with our custom-designed miniature rodent coil can successfully reduce behavioral evidence of tinnitus in a mouse model, mainly through activating inhibitory networks in the AC. It also shows that presynaptic activity is altered in the upper layers of the AC responsible for intralaminar processing and sound perception. Finally, chapter 5 describes an in-depth proteomic analysis of over 3000 proteins from the AC, which shows that TMS and noise-induced tinnitus alter the expression of several key proteins and pathways that play a critical role in cortical excitatory and inhibitory activation. The results of this work are also important because they are the first animal model to demonstrate neural changes during TMS-treated tinnitus, creating a paradigm that can be used for optimizing parameters to improve clinical outcomes in human trials.

This study aimed to reveal the effect of cinematherapy on perfectionism and related Early Maladaptive Schemas and investigates the contribution of participants&rsquo / identification with the film and recall of the film on this process. 34 university students from Psychology Department at Middle East Technical University participated in the study. The participants completed a demographic information form, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, three Early Maladaptive Schema (Emotional Inhibition, Unrelenting Standards-Hypercriticalness, Approval Seeking-Recognition Seeking) items from Young Schema Questionnaire, Film &Ouml / zdeSleSme &Ouml / l&ccedil / egi (an identification scale developed for this study), and Film Recall Test (specific for the selected film) at pre-, post-, and a 10 days follow-up. There were two groups in this study, the first group only watched the selected film and completed assessment devices. The second group watched the selected film and then got a briefing about perfectionism. ANOVAs were conducted to assess differences on perfectionism and related schemas at different time intervals and between groups. According to results, watching the selected film had an effect on participant&rsquo / s perfectionism. Moreover, cinematherapy had no effect on perfectionism related schemas when they were analyzed together. However, it was found that watching the selected film had a temporary effect on Emotional Inhibition schema. A regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association between identification, recall of the film and perfectionism. According to regression analysis, identification with the film and recall of the film had no association with the participants&rsquo / perfectionism. The findings, and their implications with suggestions for future research and practice, were discussed in the light of relevant literature.

Looming Maladaptive Style (LMS) was proposed to be an anxiety specific cognitive vulnerability factor. Perfectionism also acts as a vulnerability to both anxiety disorders and depression. Parenting is another factor associated with both anxiety and depression, with a majority of studies focusing on care and overprotection dimensions of parenting. These parenting dimensions have been reported to be associated with vulnerabilities to psychological disorders. The present study, aims to investigate the parental characteristics associated with LMS and perfectionism as well as testing the mediator roles of these constructs in the relationship of parental bonding to social anxiety and depression. To fulfill this aim, data was gathered from 389 university students all of whom were administered a questionnaire package composed of Looming Maladaptive Style Questionnaire- Revised (LMSQ-R), Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In order to obtain psychometric characteristics of LMSQ-R, the scale was administered to a group of 176 university students prior to the main study. Results revealed that both social looming and maladaptive perfectionism were associated with dimensions of parenting. Although perfectionism was associated with both social anxiety and depression, LMS was much more closely associated with social anxiety. Maladaptive perfectionism had a significant mediator role between all dimensions of PBI and depression. Perfectionism also mediated the relationship between maternal care and social anxiety. LMS was not found to have any mediator role. These results were discussed under the light of relevant literature.

Looming Maladaptive Style (LMS) was proposed to be an anxiety specific cognitive vulnerability factor. Perfectionism also acts as a vulnerability to both anxiety disorders and depression. Parenting is another factor associated with both anxiety and depression, with a majority of studies focusing on care and overprotection dimensions of parenting. These parenting dimensions have been reported to be associated with vulnerabilities to psychological disorders. The present study, aims to investigate the parental characteristics associated with LMS and perfectionism as well as testing the mediator roles of these constructs in the relationship of parental bonding to social anxiety and depression. To fulfill this aim, data was gathered from 389 university students all of whom were administered a questionnaire package composed of Looming Maladaptive Style Questionnaire- Revised (LMSQ-R), Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In order to obtain psychometric characteristics of LMSQ-R, the scale was administered to a group of 176 university students prior to the main study. Results revealed that both social looming and maladaptive perfectionism were associated with dimensions of parenting. Although perfectionism was associated with both social anxiety and depression, LMS was much more closely associated with social anxiety. Maladaptive perfectionism had a significant mediator role between all dimensions of PBI and depression. Perfectionism also mediated the relationship between maternal care and social anxiety. LMS was not found to have any mediator role. These results were discussed under the light of relevant literature.

The aim of the study is to investigate the relation between attachment style, early maladaptive schemas and attitude towards help seeking. Participants of this study were composed from 572 university students (264 female, 308 male). Participants were selected by convenient sampling method. The data was obtained by using the scale of Attitudes toward Seeking Psychological Help - Shortened (T&uuml / rk&uuml / m, 2001), Relationship Questionnaire (Bartholomew &amp / Horowitz, 1991), Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (Young &amp / Brown,2006) and a demographic information form. One-way analysis of variance used to analyze the data. The findings of the study indicated students with secure attachment style was found to have more positive attitude towards psychological help seeking than preoccupied, dismissive and fearful attachment styles. As for early maladaptive schemas, the students who have Social Isolation/Alienation schema, Emotional Inhibition schema, Entitlement / Grandiosity schema and Defectiveness / Shame schema show more positive help seeking attitude than students who don&rsquo / t have. In addition, female students were found to have more positive help seeking attitude than male students.

Tyrimo tikslas - atskleisti globos namuose augančių paauglių beviltiškumo, neadaptyvių kognityvinių schemų bei streso įveikos sąsajas. Globos namuose augantys paaugliai dažnai susiduria su psichologiniais sunkumais. Lietuvoje nėra daug tyrinėtos šių paauglių beviltiškumo, neadaptyvių kognityvinių schemų bei streso įveikos psichologinės problemos. Tyrime dalyvavo 52 globos namuose augantys paaugliai. Tyrimas atliktas taikant tris metodus: A. T. Beck nevilties skalė, kitas E. J. Young ankstyvų neadaptyvių kognityvinių schemų klausimynas, trumpoji forma ir trečias Ž. Grakausko bei G. Valicko keturių faktorių streso įveikos klausimynas. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė merginų imtyje beviltiškumo ir neadaptyvių kognityvinių schemų sąsajas, kai tuo tarpu vaikinų imtyje šios sąsajos nenustatytos. Tyrimu nustatytos streso įveikos strategijų bei neadaptyvių kognityvinių schemų sąsajos tiek vaikinų, tiek merginų imtyje. Beviltiškumo ir streso įveikos strategijų sąsajų nerasta nei merginų, nei vaikinų tarpe. Nenustatyti reikšmingi skirtumai beviltiškumo, streso įveikos strategijų: problemų sprendimo, vengimo bei socialinio palaikymo tiek vaikinų, tiek merginų imtyje. / The aim of the study was to reveal corellation of hopelessness, maladaptive cognitive schemes and stress coping strategies in adolescents growing in foster home. Adolescents growing in foster home often interfere psychological difficulties. In Lithuania there is not many researches on adolescents hopelessness, maladaptive cognitive schemes and stress coping strategies. 52 girls and boys participated in the research from foster home. In the present thesis was applied three methods: A. T. Beck’s hoplessness scale, E. J. Young maladaptive cognitive schemes questioner and Ž. Grakauskas, G. Valickas stress coping strategies scale. The survey results showed the corellation of hopelessness and maladaptive cognitive schemes of girls but the results of boys presents no corelations between hopelessness and maladaptive cognitive schemes. The results of boys and girls showed corellation of stress coping strategies and maladaptive cognitive schemes. There were no meaningful differences of boys and girls on average between hoplessness and stress coping strategies: problems solving, social support and avoidance.

Harsh and punitive parenting styles have been historically associated with the development of eating pathology. More recently, early maladaptive schemas and experiential avoidance have also been implicated in disordered eating. Maladaptive schemas are cognitive scripts that are theorized to be learned within maladaptive environments and repeated throughout an individual’s life. Experiential avoidance involves a tendency to avoid negative emotional experiences through maladaptive strategies. Both maladaptive schemas and experiential avoidance have been implicated in the development of many psychological issues, including eating pathology. The current study attempts to bridge these bodies of literature to develop a model in which cognitive and emotional processes relate to perceived maladaptive parenting styles and the development of eating pathology. Two studies are presented within the current dissertation. The first is a survey based quantitative study that assesses the influence of perceived authoritarian parenting style on the development of binge and restrictive eating pathology. This study examines the mediating role of maladaptive schemas and the moderating role of experiential avoidance. Results of the study demonstrate that specific maladaptive schemas (i.e., mistrust/abuse, emotional deprivation, and defectiveness/shame) mediate the relation between perceived authoritarian parenting and restrictive eating, particularly for those participants with higher levels of experiential avoidance. A different set of maladaptive schemas (i.e., defectiveness/shame, subjugation, and insufficient self-control/self-discipline) was found to significantly mediate the relation between perceived authoritarian parenting and binge eating pathology. Within this model however, low levels of experiential avoidance did not mitigate the effects of maladaptive schemas on the development of binge eating. Using a thematically driven exploratory qualitative analysis in the second study, similar themes were observed in a series of interviews, highlighting the influence of parenting style, participant characteristics, and specific food/weight related issues in the development of disordered eating. New and interesting themes not addressed within Study 1 emerged, providing insight relevant to future clinical and theoretical work. The results of both studies emphasize the role of particular cognitive and emotional factors in the development of different forms of eating pathology. Implications for theory and clinical practice are discussed.