Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Kenneth F. Hughey / This study examined the impact of two career interventions on the dysfunctional career thoughts (DCTs) and vocational identity (VI) of 55 high school seniors. Research has shown an inverse relationship between levels of DCTs and VI. One intervention was based on the Cognitive Information Processing approach (Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 1991; Peterson, Sampson, Lenz, & Reardon, 2002; Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 1996; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004) and incorporated Improving Your Career Thoughts: A Workbook for the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI workbook; Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996c) and the Self-Directed Search (SDS; Holland, 1994). The second intervention employed only the SDS. A control group used neither activity. Levels of DCTs and VI were assessed pre-intervention and post-intervention using the Career Thoughts Inventory (Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996a) and the Vocational Identity scale of My Vocational Situation (Holland, Daiger, & Power, 1980a). Earlier studies indicated improvements in levels of dysfunctional career thinking after CIP-based interventions (e.g., Kilk, 1998; Morano, 2005; Reed, 2006), but no previous studies employed the complete CTI workbook. Additional studies (e.g., Loughead & Black, 1990; Mau,1999; Wiggins, 1987) indicated that levels of vocational identity could be increased by using the SDS as an intervention. The combined use of the CTI workbook and SDS produced significant improvements in all five measures of DCTs and VI. It was also shown that use of the SDS as a stand-alone intervention did improve levels of VI, but not to the extent of the improvements shown by combined use of the SDS and CTI workbook. Use of the SDS as a stand-alone intervention did not produce improvements in levels of DCTs. The control group, which employed neither the CTI workbook nor the SDS, unexpectedly showed significant improvements in scores for two CTI scales which may have been due to the influence of confounding variables.

Mind-wandering was until recently not a mainstream topic of research. The aim of this literature review is to present current views on the definition of mind-wandering and how the phenomenon is experienced. Furthermore, it gives an account of the implications of mind-wandering on cognitive performance, as well as its neurological correlates. In addition, the methods used to study mind-wandering are reviewed.The study of mind-wandering reveals a highly frequent phenomenon with practical consequences on a broad scale, both disruptive and supportive to goal-related behaviour and wellbeing in general. Originating from the default network, and its regions related to representations of self, memory, Theory of Mind, empathy and creativity, mind-wandering is hypothesized to be a function for planning one’s future life. Suggested further research concerns how mind-wandering can be countered, detected from the outside and whether it alters the physical feature of the brain.

Habituellement décrite dans les états maniaques chez des patients présentant un trouble bipolaire, la tachypsychie est définie comme une accélération de la pensée qui peut également être observée dans les états dépressifs mixtes. Pour évaluer les mécanismes psychopathologiques impliqués dans ce phénomène peu étudié, nous avons élaboré un auto-questionnaire, le Racing and Crowded Thoughts Questionnaire (RCTQ), et nous avons évalué ses propriétés psychométriques chez les sujets sains et chez les patients avec trouble bipolaire. Les mécanismes cognitifs ont été investigués par le biais d’approches temporelles et langagières. Nos résultats suggèrent que la tachypsychie est un phénomène composite présent même chez les sujets sains en cas d’instabilité mineure de l’humeur. Sur le plan cognitif, la tachypsychie a été associée à la présence d’anomalies lexico-sémantiques et exécutives relevées à des tâches de fluence verbale ainsi qu’à une accélération du passage du temps. / Racing thoughts have been traditionally described in manic states in patients with bipolar disorder. Recently, attention has been raised to this symptom in depressive episodes. In this thesis, we aimed at investigating the phenomenology of racing thoughts, a phenomenon that has been understudied so far, via a self-report questionnaire that we have developed – the Racing and Crowded Thoughts Questionnaire (RCTQ) -, in patients with bipolar disorder and in healthy individuals. From a cognitive standpoint, we assessed the cognitive underpinnings of racing thoughts via temporal and verbal fluency tasks. Our results suggest that racing thoughts are a multi-faceted phenomenon, that can be observed even in healthy individuals with mild affective instability. Importantly, our results show that racing thoughts are associated with lexico-semantic and executive abnormalities as well as with a feeling of faster than usual passage of time.

The aim of this study was to investigate recruiters thoughts about using work psychological testing for personnel selection. The sample consisted of recruiters with good knowledge of recruitment and active within public organizations. Data was collected using interviews and was analyzed with thematic analysis. The result indicates that the recruiters consider traditional selection methods to function well and that work psychological tests are a good complement. It further indicates that the recruiters cannot rely on the test result. The result also indicates that the recruiters do not consider intelligence to be a good predictor for good work performance in general recruiting situations. A conclusion is that the recruiters view on intelligence as a predictor contributes to a limited use of work psychological testing. Another conclusion is that the use of work psychological testing, as a complement, set recruiters in situations where they rather rely on selection methods with significantly lower predictive performance. / Syftet med studien var att undersöka rekryterares uppfattningar om användning av arbetspsykologiska test vid urval av ny personal. Urvalet bestod av rekryterare som ansågs ha god kännedom om personalrekrytering och verksamma inom offentliga organisationer. Data samlades in genom användning av intervjuer och analyserades med tematisk analys. Resultatet påvisar att rekryterare anser att traditionella urvalsmetoder fungerar bra och att arbetspsykologisk testning är ett bra komplement. Det påvisar vidare att rekryterarna inte kan förlita sig på testresultaten. Resultatet indikerar även att rekryterarna inte anser att begåvning är en bra prediktor för goda arbetsprestationer vid de flesta rekryteringssituationerna. En slutsats är att rekryterarnas syn på begåvning som prediktor medverkar till en ytterst begränsad användning av arbetspsykologisk testning. Ytterligare en slutsats är att användningen av arbetspsykologiska test som komplement riskerar att försätta rekryterarna i situationer där de snarare förlitar sig på metoder med betydligt lägre prognostisk förmåga.

This thesis presents four studies that examine the potential role that intrusive thoughts, dissociation and mindfulness in self-harming behaviours in young people and adults. A large online study was conducted with students and staff at a UK university. This examined a range of risk factors for self-harm derived from the literature, including dissociation, family background/trauma history and intrusive thoughts. This study was followed up with a qualitative study investigating triggers of self-harm, and the role of intrusive thoughts. A third study then looked at these factors in young people who were inpatients in an American psychiatric hospital, and who had all expressed intent to self- harm or commit suicide. This study also introduced a measure of trait mindfulness in order to investigate this potential way of dealing with intrusive thoughts. Finally, the risk factors identified in these studies were further investigated with an online survey with undergraduate students at a second UK university, dissociation, mindfulness and thought suppression. Intrusive thoughts were found to differ in content, frequency and effect between people with experience of self-harm and those without. A subgroup of potentially maladaptive behaviours were found to be associated with high scores on the predictors of self-harm, and therefore potentially predictive of self-harm. In the young people in hospital, the extent to which they reacted to their intrusive thoughts was inversely associated with the extent to which they were naturally mindful. Trait mindfulness scores were lower for those individuals with a history of childhood trauma, and for those meeting diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder, in which self-harm is a key feature. These findings together suggest that mindfulness skills may play an important role in both dealing with intrusive thoughts and for protecting against self-harm. Overall, intrusive thoughts and dissociation were associated with experience of self- harming behaviours, while mindfulness skills were negatively associated with self-harm. Some potentially maladaptive behaviours (including smoking and eating pathology) represent risk factors for self-harm, and therefore may provide professionals with a way of identifying people for early intervention, if further longitudinal research shows evidence of progression. Alternatively, the differences in mindfulness between this group and the self-harmers may indicate that mindfulness training could benefit people who self-harm.

Impulsivity and the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention were explored in relation to improving behavioural self-regulation in adolescents with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). A computerised choice task (CCT) was developed to measure delay discounting (a shift in choice from a larger reward to a smaller reward as the delay to the larger reward increases) in adolescents with BESD and compared it with several additional measures of impulsivity. The degree to which impulsivity and thoughts are related was explored using mindfulness measures. Effects of task type (computer versus sand-timer) and task context (school versus house) were also studied. Results suggested an effect of method but not location on discounting. Few between measure comparisons were significant, suggesting the possibility that different impulsivity measures assess different forms of impulsivity. However a significant negative correlation was found between impulsivity and mindfulness. A mindfulness-based intervention was implemented and results suggest potentially beneficial effects of applying mindfulness training to improve self-control and self-regulation in adolescents with BESD. Further research is necessary to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness training in adolescents with BESD, and explore differences between impulsivity measures to assist with effective measurement and intervention.

Bakgrund: Allt fler människor drabbas av cancer och för vissa blir cancer obotlig. Såväl besked om obotlig cancer som behandlingar skapar emotionellt kaos, lidande och påverkar patientens livsvärld. Kroppsliga förändringar begränsar även den fysiska, psykiska och sociala tillvaron. Palliativ vård bygger på teamsamverkan och har betydelse för att möta patienters mångdimensionella behov. Sjuksköterskan har ett ansvar och en roll att stödja och stärka patientens hopp och minska lidandet. Syfte: Att belysa patienters upplevelser av att leva med obotlig cancer. Metod: Genom en kvalitativ metod har sex självbiografier analyserats med hjälp av innebördsanalys. Resultat: Beskedet om obotlig cancer väckte existentiella tankar och känslor. Det fanns ett behov av att bearbeta och hitta ett förhållningssätt till sjukdomen. Närstående blev allt viktigare och deras stöd värdesattes. Hoppet spelade en betydande roll och det fanns en ständig strävan efter känslan av kontroll. Diskussion: Genom att sjuksköterskan stöttar patienten mentalt och emotionellt för att stärka förhållningssättet till cancerdiagnosen, kan en känsla av hopp och livskvalitet uppnås. För att uppnå en god palliativ vård är samverkan mellan vårdgivare är en viktig del. Slutsats: Att drabbas av obotlig cancer påverkar hela människans livsvärld. Stöd från så väl närstående som sjuksköterska är en viktig del av patientens välbefinnande. / Background: More people suffer from cancer and for some people it becomes incurable. Diagnosis and treatment cause emotional chaos and suffering which affects patients’ life world. Physical changes in the body cause limitation on patient’s physical, mental and social existence. Palliative care is important to meet patients’ multidimensional needs, as it is a team based practice. Nurse’s role and responsibilities are to give support and strengthen patients’ hope and reduce suffering. Aim: To illuminate patients’ experiences of living with incurable cancer. Method: Through a qualitative approach, six autobiographies were analyzed by a meaning analysis. Results: The notification of incurable cancer created existential thoughts and feelings. Patients’ needed a process to deal and find an approach to the disease. Support from the family became more important. Hope played an important role and patients’ had constant ambition for self-control. Discussion: By the support from the nurse, patients can find the approach to the cancer, strengthen the feeling of hope and quality of life. To achieve a good palliative care, collaboration between healthcare providers is an important part. Conclusion: Incurable cancer affects the patient's whole life-world. Support from the loved ones and the nurse is an important part for the patient's wellbeing.

Background: Approximately one in three Swedish people will receive a cancer diagnosis. Cancer primarily affects the elderly but also young people suffer. Young people are in a period of life that could put a strain of the ordinary when they are faced with choices and new challenges. The basic sense of security in everyday life is not so obvious and many suffer from, for example, stress and the feeling of being inadequate in relation to the requirements. It is relevant that the nurses can put themselves into what it is like to be young and afflicted with cancer, with the pressures of life itself and what the disease represents. For the nurse, it is important to try to understand what quality of life, crisis and management means, because it often is crucial for young patients with cancer. Aim: The aim is to increase the understanding of how the young people with cancer handle to live with a fatal disease. Methods: A literature review based on ten qualitative scientific articles. The articles were selected through a systematic literature search in the databases CINAHL, Pubmed and ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source. The analysis of the articles was made through comparison of the similarities and differences. Results: In the results three different themes emerged: Being normal, Having access to support and To find a positive or accepting attitude. The result illustrates the most common strategies used by young people to handle living with cancer. There are also a number of subthemes presented attached to these themes which clarifies different aspects of the strategies. Discussion: The discussion clarifies the meaning of the result's main themes. What might it mean to live normally? Barriers to support and management was The lack of information evidencing how important it was to get information, but also how this was one of the shortcomings in health care. The need for support to patient and familyreveals that support from family is not only important for the patient but also something that can sometimes burst from the family side. Age adjustment in health care is discussed as a more age-appropriate care could be beneficial for young people. Although The attitude’s importance addressed in the sense of how important it is to stay positive and how hope can get a person to live longer.

Researchers have previously identified substance use and borderline personality disorder as factors that increase risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This study explored the relationship between these factors in samples of students and individuals seeking outpatient treatment. Supplemental data collected via the internet (MTurk) also looked at experiential avoidance (EA) with the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. The Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Scale for Suicide Ideation, and Personality Assessment Inventory- Borderline Features Scale elicited information regarding severity and/or frequency of substance use, suicidal thoughts, and borderline features respectively. Additionally, the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire was administered to the UNT sample. The UNT sample analyses indicate substance use moderates, strengthening, the relationship between borderline features and current suicidal thoughts. However, severity of suicidal thoughts was lower for individuals high in both borderline features and substance use disorder symptoms compared to those low in borderline features and high in substance use symptoms. The MTurk sample analyses suggest substance use functions as a mediator. A robust relationship existed between substance use severity and EA, showing substance use as a behavioral marker for EA. In conclusion, concurrent treatment of substance use and borderline personality features would be beneficial in reducing risk for suicidal thoughts. Further investigation into the role and utility of addressing EA is warranted.

Apresentam-se nesta dissertação os resultados da pesquisa desenvolvida com o objetivo de investigar a partir de qual conteúdo os livros didáticos mais vendidos pelo PNLD 2014 apresentam o primeiro conteúdo explícito da álgebra escolar no Ensino Fundamental II, e de verificar se situações anteriores a ele estão, implicitamente, relacionadas a esse campo da matemática. Verificou-se que as coleções analisadas iniciam a álgebra com o foco em equações, diferentemente do recomendado pela literatura, que afirma que o caminho mais adequado seja iniciá-la abordando situações que exploram a ideia de variável, por meio de observação de regularidades e generalização, pois essas favorecem o desenvolvimento do pensamento algébrico. Além disso, observou-se que as coleções abordam as equações no 7o ano do Ensino Fundamental II, em descompasso com o que orientam os PCN, que indicam que ele deve ser abordado a partir do 8o ano. / This work presents the results of the research developed in order of investigate from which content the most sold textbooks by the 2014s PNLD presents the first explicit content of School Algebra in the Elementary School II, checking if the previous mathematic situations are, implicitly, related to this specific ground of Math. It was noted that the investigated book collections start with an Algebra focused on equations, differently of what is recommended by the literature, which states the most convenient way is by questions that explore the variable idea, with the observation of regularities and generalizations, because of their support to the development of the algebraic thoughts. Besides that, it was noted the collections approach the equations on the Elementary School II\'s 7th grade, disagreeing with the PCN orientations, that points that it must be approached from the 8th grade.