Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2007. / Thesis directed by Steven M. Boker for the Department of Psychology. "December 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-59).

Romantic relationships are extremely important in people's physical and mental well being. One of the important determinants of the quality of romantic relationships is the expression and regulation of emotions. This study hypothesized that 1) expression of positive emotions is good for any relationship, 2) expression of negative emotions is good for only communal relationships, 3) expression of positive emotions is necessary alongside of negative ones to maintain a communal relationship, 4) in case negative emotions are expressed, providing explanations would help maintain the relationship, 5) suppression of emotions does not benefit communal relationship, and 6) expression of emotions correlates with a) secure attachment, b) partner's receptiveness to expression, and c) communal approach to relationship. The interactions predicted in this study were not found to be significant. The key study findings follow: 1) expression of positive and negative emotions, 2) communal orientation, 3) explanation of negative affect, 4) and general emotional expressivity correlate with higher relationship satisfaction. 5) Emotional suppression, 6) anxious attachment, and 7) higher year in school were related to lower satisfaction. Other findings suggested that 1) communal approach, 2) partner's receptiveness, and 3) female gender were related to more emotional expressivity. 4) Communal orientation was related to more and 5) avoidant attachment was related to less positive expression. 6) Secure attachment was related to less emotional suppression. Lastly, it was found that 1) secure attachment correlated with more partner's receptiveness. 2) Anxious attachment accompanied less explanations for negative affect., and, 3) older participants had more avoidant attachments. The major limitation of this study was that only one member the couple was assessed and the impact of the respondent's style and behavior on the partner as well as the dyadic factors contributing to the relationship were largely unknown.

Rats were given a choice between two amounts of a run-reward after responding on one of two equidistant levers. Responding on one lever resulted in the delivery of a smaller, immediate access to a running wheel (Impulsive) while responding on the other lever resulted in the delivery of larger but delayed access to a running wheel (Self-control). A variable inter-trial-interval was used to control the session duration regardless of the distribution of choices made by the subject. The results demonstrate that the use of a wheel-running reinforcer results in a significant self-control choice bias. This suggests that the use of a wheel-running reinforcer can be used alongside food and water reinforcers without having to undergo caloric deprivation. This study demonstrates that the use of a running reinforcer may be a potentially powerful motivator in choice studies among rats.

Inadequate nutrition and physical inactivity have been recognized as key sources of morbidity and mortality (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 2005). The current study is interested in integrating mindfulness into interventions geared towards changing health behaviors. Mindfulness is a Buddhist-based concept that has received an increasing amount of attention by clinicians and researchers in the field of psychology and medicine over the past 20 years (Bishop et al., 2004). Although mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist spiritual practices, the integration of mindfulness into medical and mental health treatment has transpired primarily in a secular manner (Baer, 2003). Mindfulness has already been incorporated into the treatment of many psychological and physical disorders (e.g., Kabat-Zinn, 2003). The ultimate goal of this line of research is to develop and test a mindfulness-based intervention for health behavior change. As an initial step, the current study examined whether mindfulness is related to diet, physical activity, and self-efficacy. Method: Participants (204 females and 93 males, mean age = 20.9 years) were recruited from the Introduction to Psychology subject pool at the University of Montana for participation in this study. Participants completed the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the FFMQ modified for mindful eating, as well as measures of physical activity, diet, self-efficacy, and stress. Results: Certain aspects of mindfulness appear to be related to specific health behaviors, lending partial support to the research hypotheses. Degree of mindfulness in everyday life was correlated with physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, fat intake (males only), and self-efficacy. The results suggest that different aspects of mindfulness are important for males versus females. Clinical implications and future research areas are discussed.

Mindfulness-based treatments have demonstrated clinical utility with a variety of theoretical approaches for both physical illness (e.g. chronic pain) and psychological disorders, including anxiety (Baer, 2003; Shigaki, Glass, & Schopp, 2006). Responding to a lack of data regarding patient treatment preference generally (Spring, 2007), and preference for mindfulness-based treatment in particular, this study sought to examine factors related to patient choice in an analogue scenario. Method: Undergraduate students (121 male, 189 female, mean age = 19.6 years) watching a mental health professional on video were asked to imagine having a variety of anxiety symptoms described as either psychological or physical in nature. Participants then received descriptions of 3 treatment options [mindfulness-based treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and SSRI medication] and made a hypothetical treatment choice. Subsequently, they answered self-report measures of metacognitive awareness, openness to experience, inherent mindfulness, experiential avoidance, religiosity, and anxiety. Hypotheses: The description of anxiety (H1) and individual characteristics mentioned above (H2) were expected to be related to participants likelihood of engaging in a mindfulness-based treatment. Results: The description of anxiety as psychological was associated with a higher rate of individuals preferring a mindfulness-based treatment (÷2 = 5.06, p = .024). Also, metacognitive awareness and openness to experience appear to be predictive of increased willingness to choose a mindfulness-based treatment (â = .245, p < .001; â = .246, p < .001, respectively). Discussion: Perceptions of anxietys etiology, as well as individual characteristics, may impact an individuals treatment preference.

The prevalence of tobacco use is disproportionately high among American Indian and Alaska Native people, with rates and patterns of use varying greatly by tribe, community and geographical region. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce this troubling disparity between non-Native and Native rates of use. Among non-Native individuals, the college years are being investigated as a time when lifelong tobacco use patterns may be established, and interventions are being tested to help college students to stop using tobacco. Currently, no interventions have been developed for American Indian or Alaska Native college students. Data obtained from Alaska Native college students at a site in Alaska and American Indian college students at a site in Montana (n = 68 and 105, respectively) were analyzed to describe tobacco use and related characteristics within each population and to determine whether differences existed between the populations with respect to proportion of students using spit tobacco and using tobacco in a ceremonial context. The proportions of current tobacco users in Alaska and Montana were 63% and 54%, respectively. A significantly higher proportion of Montana than Alaska participants used tobacco in a ceremonial context. A significantly higher proportion of Alaska than Montana participants were users of spit tobacco, with some Alaskan participants' use of Iqmik (a homemade substance made from combining leaf tobacco and a regional botanical substance) contributing to that difference. Qualitative research conducted with Alaska Native college student participants in combination with survey results yielded information about the psychosocial factors related to tobacco use and the acceptability of various potential interventions to help Native college students stop using tobacco.

Self control is defined as choosing a larger, delayed reinforcer over a smaller, more immediate reinforcer with the opposite defined as impulsivity. In general, results from self-control research involving avian and non-primate mammalian subjects have shown a strong to moderate impulsive choice bias whereas studies using adult humans and non-human primates have shown a strong self-control bias. While the non-human self-control literature is rich with studies using select avian and mammalian species, there is very little self-control literature on the choice behaviors of fish or social reward. The present experiment assessed preference in male Betta splendens using an immediate/2 sec mirror access option verses a 15 sec delay/15 sec mirror access option. Results revealed a statistically significant bias for the self-control choice option. The findings are discussed in terms of current theories of choice behavior and are compared to choice preferences in avian and mammalian species.

Although potential benefits associated with social support are well documented, it is also the case that social networks expose an individual to the stressful life events of others. Studies have shown that the stressful life events of others are positively related to negative affect. It has been theorized by several researchers that relationships between, for example, stressful life events of others and negative affect are evidence of a stress contagion process that may occur through empathy. The current study addressed this idea by testing whether the positive relationship that exists between network stress and depressive symptoms varied dependent upon (ie. was moderated by) an individuals level of empathy. A sample of 160 Native American individuals, ages fifty and older, who completed the Coping in Later Life survey was utilized. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that when network stress is measured by number of life events that occurred to others, empathy does moderate the relationship between network stress and depressive symptoms. This significant interaction occurs both when using a global level of empathy and when the Personal Distress dimension of the measure is removed. Personal Distress alone does not moderate the relationship between overall network stress and depressive symptoms. These data fill several gaps in the social network, stress, and empathy research literature. It also advances the understanding of the stress contagion process.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of physical isolation in rural battered women. The relationships between physical isolation, level of traumatic symptoms and social support are assessed. By definition rural women are usually geographically isolated, which may contribute to the difficulty of leaving abusive relationships. Strong rural, socio-cultural norms such as traditional gender and marital roles, combined with a lack of access to beneficial services may prevent rural victims from fleeing to safety. As a result victims may be even more vulnerable to their batterers. To more fully understand difficulties faced by battered women, archival data containing a community sample of 394 women, who had experienced violence in a current or past romantic relationship, were examined. Overall quantitative findings from this sample suggest that for battered women higher violence frequency and severity are associated with greater physical isolation. In addition, high trauma symptoms are associated with greater help-seeking. Findings obtained from qualitative and quantitative data discuss isolation, culture, frequency and severity of violence, social support, and trauma symptomatology in a battered female population. Findings may provide a deeper understanding that is sensitive to the needs of women living in rural settings.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated the association between families of divorce and variables of child behavior, interparental conflict and parenting attitudes. However, overall research exploring supervised visitation services and examining these variables in relationship to this population is limited. Furthermore, studies designed to compare these groups (divorced and supervised visitation) is sparse. Overall, children from single parent homes (e.g., divorced and/or supervised visitation situations) tend to have more child behavior and adjustment problems as compared to children of intact families (Hetherington, Cox & Cox; 1982; Portes, Howell, Brown, Eichenberger, & Mas, 1992). However, such problems are not attributed to marital disruption alone but are also impacted by the interparental conflict. In addition, a plethora of literature has suggested that discipline and attitudes toward corporal punishment are associated with child behavior and adjustment problems (Kurtz, Gardin, Wodarski, & Howing, 1993; Strassberg, Dodge, Pettit & Bates, 1994; Tunner & Finkelhor, 1996). Finally there is ample research linking parenting stress and trauma to all of these variables: child behavior, interparental conflict, and parenting practices and beliefs. Thus, the interplay of these variables and the way in which they impact both divorced and supervised visitation families was explored in the present study. Results yielded a number of significant findings. Partner psychological aggression and self negotiation scores were significantly higher in the supervised visitation sample than in the divorced sample. Scores on numerous child behavior indices (e.g., social behavior, attention, and total child behavior) for males were significantly higher than those for females. In addition gender, but not group membership (e.g., divorce or supervised visitation) had a min effect on total child behavior scores. Results demonstrated a significant relationship between partner injury scores (e.g., interparental violence) and child anxiety/depression scores. Implications of results are explored in terms of needed community services, therapeutic groups, and outreach to underserved populations (e.g., ethnic groups, victims of domestic violence, younger parents). In review of the qualitative data, it was very apparent that the expectations of parents at the supervised visitation center paralleled the goals of the centers as a whole (e.g., protection for the child).