Violence is considered to be one of the most critical and threatening global problems plaguing the world today, leaving a trail of devastating consequences to societies, economies, cultures, families and individuals (Desjarlais & Kleinman, 1997). Adolescents who grow up in a context of violence learn distorted ways of thinking, acting, living and interacting. Aggressive tendencies and violent behaviour become internalised and adopted as acceptable ways to resolve conflict situations. Chronic, continuous exposure to violence results in physical, psychological and emotional disturbances, such as depression, anxiety, lowered self-confidence, sleep disturbances, decreased attention and concentration spans. This study addressed the form of violence known as community violence, i.e. violence that children experience within their communities (either as witnesses or as victims). This study investigated the effects of this negative environmental experience and investigated potential mediating and moderating variables that could influence the harmful effects of such experiences. The variables considered as mediating and/or moderating variables were social support and self-esteem. The theoretical framework adopted for this study was Bronfennbrenner’s Bioecological Systems theory. This framework provides a theory through which the interaction of the variables of this study can be explained and understood. This study is part of a larger study which explored community violence, hope and well-being, therefore secondary data was utilised. The sample consisted of 568 Grade nine learners and data was collected through the administration of a questionnaire compiled through the combination of five scales: the Children’s Hope Scale, the Recent Exposure to Violence Scale (REVS), the KIDSCREEN-52, social support scale and Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale. The data was analysed through regression and multiple regression. The results of the study found that neither social support nor self-esteem were mediators and only social support functioned as a moderator variable. / Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych)

Graphite is used within a reactor as a moderator and a reflector material. During fast neutron irradiation, the physical properties and dimensions of nuclear graphite are changed significantly. Graphite shrinkage could lead to disengagement of individual component and loss of core geometry; differential shrinkage in the graphite component could lead to the generation of internal stresses and component failure by cracking. The latter behaviour is complicated by the irradiation induced changes in Young's modulus and strength. These dimensional and modulus change have been associated with the irradiation-induced closure of many thousands of micro-cracks associated with the graphite crystallites due to crystal dimensional change. Closure of microcracks in nuclear graphite was simulated by external pressure (hydrostatic loading, deviatory stress and dynamic loading) and not by irradiation, whilst Young's modulus was measured to check if there was any correlation between the two mechanisms. A study of the deformation behaviour of polycrystalline graphite hydrostatically loaded up to 200MPa are reported. Gilsocarbon specimens (isotropic) and Pile Grade A (PGA) specimens are (anisotropic in nature) were investigated. Strain measurements were made in the axial and circumferential directions of cylindrical samples by using strain gauges. Dynamic Young's modulus was also investigated from the propagation velocity of an ultrasonic wave. Porosity measurements are made to determine the change in the porosity before and after deformation and also their contribution towards the compression and dilatation of graphite under pressure. Graphite crystal orientation during loading was also investigated by using XRD (X-ray diffraction) pole figures. Effective medium models were also investigated to describe the effect of porosity on graphite elastic modulus. All the graphite specimens investigated exhibited non-linear pressure- volumetric strain behaviour in both direction (axial and circumferencial). In most of the experiments, the deformation was closing porosity despite new porosity being generated. Under hydrostatic loading, PGA graphite initially stiff then it became less stiff after a few percent of volume strain and then after about ~20% volumetric strain they stiffen up again, whist Gilsocarbon showed similar behaviour at lower volumetric strain (~10-13%). Gilsocarbon was stiff than PGA; this behaviour is due to the fact that Gilsocarbon has higher density and lower porosity than PGA. During unloading, a large hysteresis was formed. The stressed grains are relieved; the initial closed pores began to reopen. It is suggested that during this stage, the volume of pore re-opening superseded the volume of pores closing, the graphite sample volume almost fully recovered. In the axial compression test, PGA perpendicular to the extrusion direction (PGA-AG) was less stiff than PGA parallel to the extrusion direction (PGA-WG); in the hydrostatic compaction test, the PGA-WG sample deformed more because it had to undergo a less complicated shape change. This is because the symmetry of their anisotropy is parallel to the symmetry of the sample. The Pole figures showed an evidence of slight crystal reorientation after hydrostatic loaded up to 200MPa. The effective medium model revealed the importance of porosity interaction in graphite during loading.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:24:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:05:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 00038.pdf: 3448758 bytes, checksum: ee4c21b4aec06be8af7bb4daf64e5864 (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IEA/D / Escola Politecnica, Universidade de Sao Paulo - POLI/USP

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Violence is considered to be one of the most critical and threatening global problems plaguing the world today, leaving a trail of devastating consequences to societies, economies, cultures, families and individuals (Desjarlais & Kleinman, 1997). Adolescents who grow up in a context of violence learn distorted ways of thinking, acting, living and interacting. Aggressive tendencies and violent behaviour become internalised and adopted as acceptable ways to resolve conflict situations. Chronic, continuous exposure to violence results in physical, psychological and emotional disturbances, such as depression, anxiety, lowered self-confidence, sleep disturbances, decreased attention and concentration spans. This study addressed the form of violence known as community violence, i.e. violence that children experience within their communities (either as witnesses or as victims). This study investigated the effects of this negative environmental experience and investigated potential mediating and moderating variables that could influence the harmful effects of such experiences. The variables considered as mediating and/or moderating variables were social support and self-esteem. The theoretical framework adopted for this study was Bronfennbrenner's Bioecological Systems theory. / South Africa

The current study will examine the dynamics among helicopter parenting, parent-child relationships, and college students’ psychosocial outcomes, such as self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Helicopter parenting is commonly defined as parental over-involvement to their children’s live, which can negatively affect children’s self-esteem and depressive symptoms since helicopter parenting, in general, is argued as not developmentally appropriate parenting for young adult children. However, the negative impact of helicopter parenting can be buffered when children have positive relationships with parents. Hence, the current study will examine whether college student’s self-esteem and depressive symptoms are affected by helicopter parenting and whether the parent-child relationships can moderate the link between helicopter parenting and college students’ self-esteem and depressive symptoms. The study uses about 208 undergraduate students at one of major universities in southern region in the U.S.

This study examined individual variability in the strength of association between psychophysiological reactivity to trauma cues and clinician-rated PTSD symptoms in a sample of female survivors of sexual and non-sexual assault. PTSD is a heterogeneous disorder, and individual differences in symptom presentation and accompanying comorbidities may be accounted for by internalizing and externalizing latent temperament-based dimensions of psychopathology. The present study proposed that these dimensions may also account for heterogeneity in the association between psychophysiological reactivity and PTSD. Prior research has demonstrated that most individuals with PTSD display elevated psychophysiological reactivity when exposed to trauma reminders, although some do not. As well, research has shown that externalizing pathologies are typically associated with diminished psychophysiological reactivity to aversive cues whereas internalizing pathologies are associated with elevated psychophysiological reactivity. This study therefore employed structural equation modeling to test hypotheses that externalizing and internalizing pathologies would display mitigating and enhancing moderator effects, respectively, on the prediction of PTSD by psychophysiological reactivity. To that end, confirmatory factor analysis first established a viable internalizing and externalizing model based on an array of clinical measures in one participant subgroup (n = 329) and then affirmed the reliability of the model in a second subgroup (n = 245). Structural equation modeling in the latter subgroup, in which PTSD was regressed on Internalizing, Externalizing, and Psychophysiological Reactivity factors as well as Internalizing by Psychophysiological Reactivity and Externalizing by Psychophysiological Reactivity moderator terms, revealed a significant moderator effect for externalizing but not internalizing pathology. However, the nature of the externalizing moderator effect differed from the hypothesized direction, with higher levels of externalizing pathology strengthening the association between PTSD and psychophysiological reactivity rather than weakening it. It therefore appears that variability in the association between PTSD and psychophysiological reactivity may be partially accounted for by individual differences in the externalizing dimension of psychopathology. As well, the psychophysiology of the externalizing dimension may also be marked by heterogeneity, with externalizing pathology being linked with increased rather than decreased psychophysiological reactivity among women who have experienced sexual or non-sexual assault.

Research on judgment accuracy in human resource management shows that various rater characteristics predict accuracy, but emerging findings suggest that these individual differences may interact with one another (rather than being direct effects). The present study aimed to add to this area of research by determining how rater personality traits may moderate the relationship between GMA and rating accuracy. Secondary data collected in a prior study of police managers undergoing a seven-week managerial training course in South Africa (N =146) were analysed. The findings supported that selected rater personality traits may moderate the relationship between intelligence and rating accuracy. For example, rater intelligence was a better predictor of accuracy when the judge was more agreeable. Intellectance and conscientiousness were found to have no significant moderating effect on the relationship between intelligence and rating accuracy. Only three out of the Big Five Personality traits were examined in this research study. Importantly, the study contributed to theory by expanding the Good Judge model (De Kock et al., 2020), analysing how individual differences in the ability and trait domains may potentially interact to influence accuracy. In addition to enhancing our understanding of how rater personality constructs may affect accuracy, the study discusses important implications for practices, such as rater training and selection.

No description available.

Even though exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) constitutes a first-line treatment for anxiety disorders, a substantial proportion of patients does not respond in a clinically significant manner. The identification of pre-treatment patient characteristics that are associated with treatment outcome might aid in improving response rates. Therefore, the present doctoral thesis aimed at investigating moderators of treatment outcome in anxiety disorders: first, we investigated the neural correlates of comorbidity among primary panic disorder/agoraphobia (PD/AG) and secondary social anxiety disorder (SAD) moderating treatment outcome towards exposure-based CBT. Second, pre-treatment functional resting-state connectivity signatures of treatment response in specific phobia were studied. Within the first study, we compared PD/AG patients with or without secondary SAD regarding their clinical and neurofunctional outcome towards a manualized CBT treatment focusing on PD/AG symptoms. Prior to treatment, PD/AG+SAD compared to PD/AG-SAD patients exhibited a specific neural signature within the temporal lobe, which was attenuated to the level of PD/AG-SAD patients afterwards. CBT was equally effective in both groups. Thus, comorbidity among those two anxiety disorders did not alter treatment outcome substantially. This might be due to the high overlap of shared pathophysiological features within both disorders. In the second study, we assessed pre-treatment functional resting-state connectivity within a sample of spider phobic patients that were treated with massed in virtuo exposure. We found responders already prior to treatment to be characterized by stronger inhibitory frontolimbic connectivity as well as heightened connectivity between the amygdala and regions related to the ventral visual stream. Furthermore, patients demonstrating high within-session extinction exhibited pronounced intrinsic prefrontal connectivity. Our results point to responders exhibiting a brain prepared for the mechanism of action of exposure. Taken together, results highlight the major impact of pre-treatment characteristics on treatment outcome. Both, PD/AG+SAD patients as well as responders within the SpiderVR study exhibited heightened activation or connectivity within the ventral visual pathway and the amygdala. Pronounced visual processing together with enhanced executive control and emotion regulation seem to constitute a fruitful soil for successful exposure. The results provide starting points for personalized treatment approaches in order to improve treatment success in the anxiety disorders. Future studies are needed to investigate the benefit of neuroscientifically informed CBT augmentation strategies such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. / Obwohl expositionsbasierte kognitive Verhaltenstherapie (KVT) bei Angststörungen als Behandlungsmethode der Wahl gilt, profitieren viele Patient*innen nicht in klinisch bedeutsamer Weise. Durch die Identifikation von Patient*innenmerkmalen mit Bezug zum Therapieerfolg bereits vor Behandlungsbeginn könnte das Therapieansprechen verbessert werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit hat sich daher die Identifikation von Moderatoren des Behandlungserfolgs zum Ziel gesetzt. Zunächst untersuchten wir die neuronalen Korrelate einer Komorbidität zwischen Panikstörung/Agoraphobie und sozialer Phobie (SAD) und deren moderierenden Einfluss auf den Behandlungserfolg. Daneben wurden Merkmale der funktionellen Ruhe-Konnektivität, die mit dem Therapieerfolg bei spezifischer Phobie in Zusammenhang stehen, untersucht. In der ersten Studie untersuchten wir Panikpatient*innen mit und ohne sekundäre SAD in Bezug auf ihr klinisches und neurofunktionelles Behandlungsergebnis unter Anwendung einer manualisierten KVT. Panikpatient*innen mit sekundärer SAD zeigten vor Therapiebeginn im Vergleich zu Panikpatient*innen ohne SAD ein spezifisches Aktivierungsmuster im Temporallappen, welches sich nach der Behandlung dem der Patient*innen ohne SAD anglich. Die KVT war in beiden Gruppen gleich erfolgreich. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass eine Komorbidität hier keinen substanziellen Einfluss auf den Therapieerfolg hat. Dies könnte in der überlappenden Pathophysiologie begründet sein. In der zweiten Studie untersuchten wir die funktionelle Ruhe-Konnektivität bei Spinnenphobiker* innen, die anschließend mit einer massierten Expositionstherapie in virtueller Realität behandelt wurden. Therapie-Responder waren hierbei durch eine verstärkte inhibitorische fronto-limbische Konnektivität vor Therapiebeginn sowie eine ebenfalls verstärkte Kopplung von Amygdala und Regionen des ventralen Objekterkennungspfades gekennzeichnet. Zugleich wiesen Patient*innen mit hoher within-session Extinktion eine verstärkte intrinsische präfrontale Konnektivität auf. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf eine verbesserte neuronale Vorbereitung auf inhibitorisches Lernen bei Patient*innen mit gutem Therapieansprechen hin. Zusammenfassend unterstreichen die Ergebnisse die Relevanz von Patient*inneneigenschaften für den Therapieerfolg. Sowohl Panikpatient*innen mit sekundärer SAD als auch die Responder der SpiderVR-Studie wiesen erhöhte Aktivierung bzw. Konnektivität zwischen der Amygdala und dem ventralem Objekterkennungspfad auf. Zusammen mit einer stärkeren exekutiven Kontrolle und Emotionsregulation scheint eine verstärkte visuelle Verarbeitung einem guten Therapieerfolg dienlich zu sein. Die Behandlungsergebnisse könnten auf Basis neurowissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse durch den Einsatz zusätzlicher Methoden wie der repetitiven transkraniellen Magnetstimulation verbessert werden.

A strong therapeutic alliance is consistently related to successful outcomes in couple therapy. However, most of the research done on therapeutic alliance has been done among non-Latino White individuals and couples, failing to account for other ethnic minorities like Latinos. Latinos tend to share certain commonalities as opposed to non-Latino clients that may alter the relationship between alliance quality and relationship quality. This exploratory study was designed to understand whether Latino clients have higher initial levels of alliance and a stronger alliance-outcome relationship in couple therapy when compared to non-Latino White couples. The sample consisted of 567 couples seeking therapy to improve their relationship (99 Latino and 468 non-Latino White couples). A multigroup moderation model was used to test whether Latino ethnicity moderates the association between alliance quality at session four and relationship quality at the final session. Similar findings of the association previously established between alliance quality and relationship quality were found. Results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between Latinos and non-Latino Whites on initial levels of alliance quality nor on the relationship between alliance quality and relationship quality.