Despite the ostensible prevalence of academic worry at the college and university level, there is a paucity of research in this area. In addition, there is an even greater dearth of research investigating treatments for excessive and uncontrollable academic worry. Further, the research on non-pharmacological treatment strategies for reducing pathological worry (as seen in its most severe form in generalized anxiety disorder; GAD) is limited. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the potential benefits of two self-administered interventions for reducing pathological academic worry. Participants experiencing pathological academic worry (N = 113) were randomized to one of four conditions: (a) worry exposure (WE), (b) expressive writing (EW), (c) a credible placebo control, consisting of pulsed audio-photic stimulation (APS), and (d) wait-list control (WLC). Participants were instructed to practice their interventions three times per week for one month. Participants in all three of the intervention conditions showed significant improvement on self-report measures, while no such changes were observed for the control group. Findings were mixed on the objective measures. In general, neither the WE nor EW conditions consistently outperformed placebo, and in some cases, EW failed to outperform the waitlist control group at post-treatment. Overall, those assigned to WE showed greater improvement than those assigned to EW at posttreatment, but few significant differences between the three intervention groups emerged at follow-up. These mixed findings suggest that either the efficacy of each of the treatments does not go beyond the that which would be expected of non-specific treatment effects, or that the pulsed audio-photic stimulation did in fact exert more of an effect than a typical placebo, suggesting there may have been an unanticipated active treatment component. Despite this, several participants in WE and EW showed marked improvement, and even continued improvement by follow-up, suggesting that, while perhaps not highly potent treatments when delivered in isolation, these may be easy, costeffective interventions for pathological worry. Further research is needed with clinical GAD samples, and research is also needed on the placebo response rate in GAD. / text

<p>Studien var en kvantitativ undersökning som genomfördes vid Socialhögskolan i Stockholm. Syftet med denna C-uppsats var att öka kunskapen om socionomstuderandes kunskaper och attityder till spel och spelberoende. Forskningsfrågorna var: ”Vilka kunskaper och attityder kan socionomstuderande ha till spel och spelberoende?”, ”Finns det bland socionomstuderande några skillnader i attityder till spelberoende jämfört med attityder till alkoholberoende?” samt ”Finns det några skillnader, i kunskaper och attityder till spel och spelberoende, beroende på hur långt man har kommit i socionomutbildningen?. För att besvara forskningsfrågorna gjordes en enkätundersökning i två klasser ur termin 1 och två klasser ur termin 5. Resultatet av undersökningen visade att studenterna hade en viss kunskap på området samt att det fanns skillnader i attityder beroende på hur långt studenterna kommit i sin utbildning. Resultatet visade också att det fanns attitydskillnader i jämförelse mellan spel och alkoholberoende. Materialet analyserades med utgångspunkt från våra forskningsfrågor utifrån kognitiv teori och det socialkonstruktivistiska perspektivet.</p>

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Dependency is defined as authentic or pathological and is seen as a component important to the treatment of patients with chronic illness. It is hypothesized that a significant portion of ecology patients will meet the criteria for pathological dependence and differ on psychological and physiological parameters from those who do not. This study strongly supports the first two hypotheses but does not find that the two groups differ physiologically. One hundred eleven variables are surveyed. Fifty-two show significant differences between the groups and 29 are significant at greater than the .0001 level. A discriminant analysis was used to determine the least number of orthogonal variables that best discriminate between the groups. These are MMPI Scales 8, 3, subscale Ma2, employment status, and early childhood illness.

The overall purpose of the present study is to contribute to a better understanding of the experiences of young homeless women residing at Covenant House New York, a youth shelter that provides crisis and long-term residential programs to young adults ages 18 – 21. The main objective was to identify past life events and their contributions to the development of positive traits and psychopathology among three groups. The participants were 162 homeless young women, including childfree women, young mothers enrolled at a transitional living Rights of Passage program (12-18 months), and young mothers in crisis enrolled in a 30-day Mother and Child Crisis program. Past life experiences were identified via the Effort to Outcome (ETO) online software database maintained by Covenant House New York. Rates of psychopathology were measured using the IIP (interpersonal problems), PHQ-9 (depression), GAD-7 (anxiety), PSS (parental stress) while rates of positive traits were measured using the SCS (self-compassion), SCBCS (compassion toward others), and PGIS (motivation to change). The results indicated that all participants, regardless of group affiliation, had similar life experiences, though childfree women were more likely to have a history of abandonment, physical abuse, and previous incidents of homelessness. Additionally, presence of abuse history was positively associated with development of psychopathology. As expected, history of sexual abuse was negatively associated with self-compassion, but it was positively associated with compassion toward others. Mothers at the Mother and Child Crisis program had greater rates of self-compassion than mothers at the Rights of Passage program, and childfree women were more likely than the mothers to be compassionate toward others. Mothers at the Mother and Child Crisis program were also more likely to be compassionate toward others than mothers at the Rights of Passage program. Childfree women, however, were more likely to be depressed than mothers at the Mother and Child Crisis program.

SIGNIFICANCE: Complicated and persistent grief reactions afflict 10% of bereaved individuals, and are associated with severe disruptions of functioning. These maladaptive patterns were tentatively included in the DSM-5 as Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder (PCBD). The condition has been studied using network analysis, showing how symptoms activate and reinforce each other into psychopathological configurations. This approach offers unique insights to inform clinical practice and define psychopathology. Despite these strengths, previous studies were based on self-report information from a single archival dataset. To overcome these limitations, we collected clinical data from a community sample of newly bereaved individuals who suffered loss of a spouse (N=305). Symptoms of PCBD from semi-structured clinical interviews were analyzed via a network approach. METHODS: Ising model Networks of PCBD were generated from symptoms diagnosed at 3 months, 14 months, and 25 months after the loss. Comorbidities with DSM-5 symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder, and PTSD were also explored. The role of risk factors was also assessed. Lastly, longitudinal VAR networks were generated combining the three temporal observations. RESULTS: Symptoms from the Social/Identity PCBD cluster were central in the network configurations. Yearning and Emotional Pain appeared less strongly interconnected compared to previous research. Meaninglessness activated a cascade of further PCBD symptoms over time. Loneliness, difficulties trusting others and meaninglessness bridged with comorbid depressive and trauma symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms related to loss of identity and meaninglessness were identified as salient candidates for targeted interventions. The network approach showed potential for an improved understanding of psychopathological distress reactions following potentially traumatic events.

This thesis examines the pathophysiology of motor neurone dysfunction, along with site of disease onset, in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The rationale for this thesis is the "dying forward" hypothesis, which suggests that corticomotoneurons cause anterograde excitotoxic degeneration of motor neurons in ALS. Initially, axonal excitability studies were applied to ALS patients and revealed widespread axonal ion channel dysfunction, with increases in persistent Na+ conductances and reduction in K+ currents. Such changes result in axonal hyperexcitability, thereby resulting in generation of fasciculations and cramps. Subsequently, axonal excitability studies were applied to Kennedy's disease (KD) patients, a pathological control group, revealing similar changes to ALS and suggesting that upregulation of persistent Na+ conductances was responsible for generation of fasciculations. To better understand the mechanisms underlying fatigability and to assess whether Na+/K+ pump dysfunction contributes to neurodegeneration in ALS, activity-dependent changes in axonal excitability were measured after a maximal voluntary contraction. The increase in threshold was more pronounced in ALS patients with predominantly lower motor neuron involvement, suggesting that peripheral factors were responsible for fatigue in ALS and that Na+/K+ pump function was preserved. Having documented abnormalities of axonal excitability, a novel threshold tracking transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technique was developed for assessment of cortical excitability. This technique overcomes the marked variability in the motor evoked potential with consecutive stimuli, a major limitation of the previous "constant stimulus" technique. After establishing normative data, threshold tracking TMS established that cortical hyperexcitability was an early and prominent feature in ALS. Similar changes were found in flail-arm variant ALS, a pure lower motor neuron form of ALS. In KD patients, cortical excitability was normal, thereby suggesting that cortical hyperexcitability is a primary event in ALS rather than a down-regulation of inhibitory control over the motor cortex in order to compensate for anterior horn cell loss. In order to determine whether cortical hyperexcitability underlies motor neurodegeneration, longitudinal studies were undertaken in familial ALS subjects with the copper/zinc superoxide-dismutase-1 gene mutation. These studies established that cortical hyperexcitability precedes the development of clinical ALS, thereby suggesting that cortical hyperexcitability underlies the basis of motor neurodegeneration in familial ALS.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on December 14. 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Studien var en kvantitativ undersökning som genomfördes vid Socialhögskolan i Stockholm. Syftet med denna C-uppsats var att öka kunskapen om socionomstuderandes kunskaper och attityder till spel och spelberoende. Forskningsfrågorna var: ”Vilka kunskaper och attityder kan socionomstuderande ha till spel och spelberoende?”, ”Finns det bland socionomstuderande några skillnader i attityder till spelberoende jämfört med attityder till alkoholberoende?” samt ”Finns det några skillnader, i kunskaper och attityder till spel och spelberoende, beroende på hur långt man har kommit i socionomutbildningen?. För att besvara forskningsfrågorna gjordes en enkätundersökning i två klasser ur termin 1 och två klasser ur termin 5. Resultatet av undersökningen visade att studenterna hade en viss kunskap på området samt att det fanns skillnader i attityder beroende på hur långt studenterna kommit i sin utbildning. Resultatet visade också att det fanns attitydskillnader i jämförelse mellan spel och alkoholberoende. Materialet analyserades med utgångspunkt från våra forskningsfrågor utifrån kognitiv teori och det socialkonstruktivistiska perspektivet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.