Psychology Theses and Dissertations

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Examining the Joint Contribution of Trauma and Adverse Neighborhood Characteristics to Paranoid Ideation: A Multi-Method Approach in a Transdiagnostic Sample.
(2024) Todd, Imani; Blanchard, Jack J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Paranoid ideation is common in psychosis and is associated with impairment. Multiple cognitive factors influence paranoid ideation, including lack of belief flexibility and hostile attributions. Separately, negative affect precedes and maintains later paranoid ideation. Research on what provokes these cognitive and affective biases highlights the influence of trauma and environmental stress. Traumatic experiences are a reliable risk factor for psychotic disorders and suspiciousness. Prior literature examining trauma and paranoid ideation only uses broad indicators of positive symptoms or single-item assessments. Aside from trauma, environmental research identifies two major facets that contribute to the development and maintenance of psychotic symptoms: neighborhood deprivation and crime. Population studies show that individuals who reside in deprived neighborhoods are more likely to experience increased paranoid ideation. Crime may also influence perceptions of threat and hostility and has been related to paranoid ideation. Neighborhood deprivation and crime can be measured through objective assessments and neighborhood perceptions. Evidence suggests that neighborhood perceptions impact paranoid ideation, above and beyond area-level assessments of neighborhood features, but findings vary. Although trauma, neighborhood deprivation, and crime have been shown to impact paranoid ideation, few have examined these constructs in Tandem. The current study seeks to examine the association between individual-level (i.e., trauma, neighborhood perceptions) and system-level (i.e., neighborhood deprivation and crime) factors and paranoid ideation. Results indicated that greater trauma and perceptions of neighborhood violence concurrently contributed to more severe paranoid ideation. However, administrative data on neighborhood deprivation and crime were not related. These results indicate that violence perceptions interact with existing vulnerabilities in exacerbating perpetuating psychotic symptomatology. Thus, interventions focused on reducing paranoia in this population would benefit from considering past traumas and one's current environment.
CHILDHOOD BEREAVEMENT AND INTERNALIZING SYMPTOMS: RELATIONSHIP QUALITY AS A MECHANISM AND EARLY ATTACHMENT SECURITY AS A BUFFER
(2024) Awao, Sayaka; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Childhood bereavement has been linked with poor psychosocial outcomes. However, few studies have explored the mechanisms and protective factors affecting child outcome following the death of a close family member (i.e., loss), and a limited number of studies have considered the timing of loss. The present study leverages a population-based longitudinal cohort data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) to examine outcomes (internalizing symptoms), mechanisms (relationship quality), and protective factors (early attachment security) at age 9 and 15 for children who experienced the death of a close family member during three developmental stages: early childhood, middle childhood, and late childhood/early adolescence. Although many of the hypothesized associations were not found, findings underscore the enduring impact of early childhood attachment in protecting children in the face of loss. Specifically, the protective role of early attachment security was found at age 15, particularly for individuals experiencing loss during late childhood/early adolescence. The study highlights the importance of continued investigation of the impact of childhood bereavement endured during different developmental stages, and the importance of examining outcomes at different ages.
MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF NEURAL SIGNALS RELATED TO SOURCE MEMORY ENCODING IN YOUNG CHILDREN
(2024) Lei, Yuqing; Riggins, Tracy; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The emergence of source memory is an important milestone during memory development. Decades of research has explored neural correlates of source memory using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, connections between findings from the two approaches, particularly within children, remain unclear. This dissertation identified fMRI-informed cortical sources of two EEG signals during memory encoding, the P2 and the late slow wave (LSW), that predicted subsequent source memory performance in a sample of children aged 4 to 8 years. Both P2 and LSW were source localized to cortical areas of the medial temporal lobe (MTL), reflecting MTL’s crucial role in both early-stage information processing and late-stage integration of memory, which also validated LSW’s suspected role in memory updating. The P2 effect was localized to all six tested subregions of cortical MTL in both left and right hemispheres, whereas the LSW effect was only present in the parahippocampal cortex and entorhinal cortex. P2 was additionally localized to multiple areas in the frontoparietal network, a cortical network known as the “attention network”, highlighting interactions between memory encoding and other cognitive functions. These results reflect the importance of considering both spatial and temporal aspects of neural activity to decode memory mechanism, and demonstrated the potential of combining multimodal measures in children, paving the way for future developmental research.
Facilitators and Barriers of Neighborhood Social Integration
(2024) Fuchs, Joelle; Gard, Arianna M; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Social isolation has reached concerning rates, particularly in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Social integration can combat social isolation and loneliness and promote feelings of belonging. Social integration within the neighborhood context (e.g., chatting with neighbors, participating in local organizations) can be used combat loneliness, but less is known about the process of social integration across various social identities. The current study examines variability in the patterns and mechanisms of neighborhood social integration across sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., developmental stage-social role, ethnic-racial identity, and housing tenure). Thematic analyses were conducted on interviews with 29 residents of Wards 4 and 5 of Washington, D.C. Results suggested that youth were far less socially integrated with their neighborhoods due to gentrification-induced transience and school choice programming. Despite sociodemographic differences in the perceived facilitators and barriers to neighborhood social integration, many residents called for more community programming and shared spaces to facilitate neighborhood connections.
Real Partnership is Powerful: Understanding What Women Want and What They Know About Family Work and Communication
(2024) Trovato, Karoline Joy; O'Brien, Karen M; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Women provide the vast majority of unpaid family care, resulting in relationship dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms, thwarted career advancement, and diminished earning power (Cooke & Hook, 2018; Jung & O’Brien, 2019; Woods et al., 2019). The PARTNERS video intervention (Trovato & O’Brien, 2022) was created to educate heterosexual college women about family work distribution and healthy partner communication. The intervention was effective in improving knowledge of family work and communication and enhancing confidence in communicating with a partner for 303 college women. This study builds upon prior research by Trovato and O’Brien (2022) to assess specific differences in knowledge of family work, desired partner characteristics, and communication resulting from the PARTNERS intervention, as well as to identify ways to improve the PARTNERS intervention. Results of this study indicated that that the PARTNERS intervention educated undergraduate women about family work inequity between women and men and the effect of family work distribution on women’s relationship satisfaction, changed their desired partner characteristics to align with communication-related factors, and taught women key PARTNERS communication strategies. Future directions for research and clinical implications are discussed.
ADHD and Cannabis Use in College Students: Examining Indirect Effects of Coping Motives
(2024) Taubin, Daria; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
ADHD is a developmental risk factor for cannabis misuse and cannabis use disorder. Individuals with ADHD also struggle to cope with negative affect and are more likely to engage in maladaptive, avoidant coping behaviors. This may be particularly salient in college, a developmental period characterized by increased stress and autonomy and easy access to highly reinforcing substances. However, despite this increased risk, little is known about mechanisms underlying why college students with ADHD use cannabis more frequently than their peers. This study examined associations between ADHD, coping motives (i.e., using cannabis to avoid or reduce negative affect), and frequency of cannabis use in a sample of college students (49% female) with (n=42) and without (n=30) ADHD using a two-week daily diary protocol. Results showed that ADHD was significantly associated with elevated coping motives and more days of cannabis use during the daily diary period. Additionally, there was a significant indirect effect of ADHD on number of cannabis use days through coping motives; students with ADHD endorsed a stronger drive to use cannabis to cope with negative emotions, which in turn was associated with more cannabis use days. Findings align with theory linking ADHD to increased vulnerability for avoidant coping behaviors. Further work may explore the potential of targeted, proactive interventions to help youth with ADHD build and utilize adaptive substance-free coping skills, particularly in the college context.
Family Reputation in Asian Indian American Women: An Exploration of Its Implications and Emotional Consequences
(2023) Sheth, Anjali; O'Neal, Colleen R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Asian Indian American young women are often torn between two incompatible cultures, Eastern and Western. The former promotes collectivism while the latter promotes individualism. In addition to this internal cultural conflict, there is the added obligation of maintaining one’s family reputation which can create challenges for young women who are navigating these opposing cultures. The specific goal of this study was to understand how Asian Indian American undergraduate women experience and perceive family reputation, in addition to its impacts on their emotional experience, emotional coping, and mental health. The method involved semi-structured interviews with ten participants who identified as (a) Asian Indian American, (b) cis-gendered woman, (c) second-generation immigrant, (d) the child of two parents born in India, and (e) an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland. For analyses, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to code and develop themes that emerged from the interview narratives. Results yielded six superordinate themes that defined family reputation through the perspective of the participants as well as their conceptualization of the various factors that are related to the construct (e.g., gender). The discussion addresses the importance of understanding this construct as it shows up for this sample given its relevance in various aspects of their lives.
A Comparative Study of Certain Personality Characteristics of College Women Participating in Basketball and Modern Dance
(1965) Bird, Anne Marie; Johnson, Warren R.; Health Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Twenty-five college women attending the University of Maryland during the spring semester of 1963 were studied in an effort to determine whether or not there were any identifiable personality characteristics among those (14) who chose to participate in basketball, as compared to those (13) who chose to participate in modern dance. The subjects used in this study voluntarily chose the activity in which they participated. The California Psychological Inventory was used to evaluate the personality characteristics of the subjects. Analysis of the data showed that the basketball group scored significantly higher, at the 5 percent level of confidence, on the community scale. The modern dance group scored significantly higher, at the 5 percent level of confidence, on the scales measuring flexibility and femininity. A comparison of the group means for all other scales proved insignificant at the 5 percent level of confidence.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SENSATION SEEKING, ANXIETY, SELF-CONFIDENCE AND AIDS-RELATED SEXUAL RISK-TAKING IN A COLLEGE STUDENT SAMPLE
(1994) Isralowitz, Stuart Adam; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
The researcher investigated how the personality traits of sensation seeking, anxiety, and self-confidence are associated with AIDS-related sexual risk-taking of college students. It was hypothesized that individuals who exhibited high levels of sensation seeking, low anxiety, and low self-confidence in specific domains would participate in a significant amount of sexual risk-taking. If this were true, then preventive approaches could be geared toward helping risk-takers cope with the characteristics that place them at-risk. The researcher administered the following measures to 313 college students: the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS V), the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales-Trait (EMAS-T), the Personal Evaluation Inventory (PEI), a modified Sexual Behavior Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. Two aspects of sensation seeking (Disinhibition and Boredom Susceptibility) on the SSS V were significantly associated with AIDS-related sexual risk-taking. High sensation seekers engaged in more sexual risk-taking than low sensation seekers in these areas. In addition, moderate sexual risk-takers only exhibited less anxiety than low risk-takers in the Daily Routines aspect of anxiety on the EMAS-T. Moderate risk-takers displayed greater self-confidence regarding Romantic Relationships than low risk-takers on the PEI. The association between sensation seeking and anxiety was negative. High sexual risk-takers showed a greater worry about getting AIDS and higher perception of AIDS risk than low sexual risk-takers. No gender differences were found in sexual risk-taking. Implications for research included conducting studies regarding sensation seeking and AIDS-related sexual behavior with gay and lesbian college students, and with individuals of college age not attending college. Studies measuring the psychometric qualities of the SSS V and the PEI were also suggested. A practical outcome of this study was the proposed use of an updated measure to assess participation in novel, varied, and risky activities. Clinicians could employ this measure in public schools and college counseling centers, under certain circumstances.
Information Uncertainty Influences Learning Strategy from Sequentially Delayed Rewards
(2023) Maulhardt, Sean Richard; Charpentier, Caroline; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The problem of temporal credit assignment has long been posed as a nontrivial obstacle to identifying signal from data. However, human solutions in complex environments, involving repeated and intervening decisions, as well as uncertainty in reward timing, remain elusive. To this end, our task manipulated uncertainty via the amount of information given in their feedback stage. Using computational modeling, two learning strategies were developed that differentiated participants’ updates of sequentially delayed rewards: eligibility trace whereby previously selected actions are updated as a function of the temporal sequence - and tabular update - whereby additional feedback information is used to only update systematically-related rather than randomly related past actions. In both models, values were discounted over time with an exponential decay. We hypothesized that higher uncertainty would be associated with (i) a switch from tabular to eligibility strategy and (ii) higher rates of discounting. Participants’ data (N = 142) confirmed our first hypothesis, additionally revealing an effect of the starting condition. However, our discounting hypothesis had only weak evidence of an effect and remains an open question for future studies. We explore potential explanations for these effects and possibilities of future directions, models, and designs.
Understanding Parent and Teacher Perspectives of Temperament Profiles in Young Children
(2023) Waldrip, Sabrina M; Teglasi, Hedwig; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The study of temperament profiles is considered a person-centered approach to understanding temperament, as it takes into consideration the complex combinations and interactions of multiple traits that characterize an individual. However, most studies of temperament profiles have focused on reactive traits in infants and toddlers using parent ratings and/or laboratory conditions and since outdated methodologies. This study contributed to the temperament profile literature by exploring profiles based on parent and teacher ratings of reactive and regulatory traits of young children in kindergarten using the modern statistical technique of latent profile analysis. Kindergarten is a unique and critical time in development in which children are suddenly learning new academic, social, and self-regulatory skills as they begin formal education. Parent and teacher ratings of kindergarteners’ temperament were analyzed separately and the behavioral profiles produced by each were described. When only reactivity traits were included in the analyses, the profiles that emerged were mostly consistent with the three to four profiles that have been found in previous studies, including inhibited, exuberant, average, and/or low reactive profiles. When both reactive and regulation traits were included in the analyses, more nuanced profiles emerged that generally reflected subdivisions of the traditional reactivity profiles found in the literature but with varying levels of regulation. There were many similarities but important distinctions among the profile numbers, temperament patterns, and proportion sizes of the parent and teacher profile solutions. Neither child age nor child sex were found to be important predictors of profile membership. Despite its own limitations, the present study serves as a model for how previous methodological limitations in the field may be addressed to enhance our understanding of the complexity and nuances of temperament development and continue to push the field forward. Through such person-centered approaches, the field may one day guide parents, educators, and practitioners towards meeting the diverse needs of children with various temperament dispositions.
Early emotional caregiving environment and associations with memory performance and hippocampal volume in adolescents with prenatal drug exposure
(2023) Kohn, Brooke Hannah; Riggins, Tracy; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Early adversities, including prenatal drug exposure (PDE) and a negative postnatal emotional caregiving environment, impact children’s long-term development. The protracted developmental course of memory and its underlying neural systems offer a valuable framework for understanding the longitudinal associations of pre- and postnatal factors on children with PDE. This study longitudinally examines memory and hippocampal development in 69 parent-child dyads with PDE histories to investigate how the early emotional caregiving environment affects children with PDE’s neural and cognitive systems. Measures of physical health, drug exposure, and the emotional caregiving environment were collected between 0-24 months. At age 14 years, adolescents (N=69, 52.17% Female) completed multiple measures of episodic memory. at ages 14 (n=27) and 18 (n=17) years, a subset of adolescents underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Latent constructs of episodic memory and the caregiving environment were created using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Multiple regressions revealed a negative emotional caregiving environment during infancy was associated with poor memory performance and smaller left hippocampal volumes at 14 years. Better memory performance at 14 years predicted larger right hippocampal volume at 18 years. At 18 years, the association between the emotional caregiving environment and hippocampal volume was moderated by sex, such that a negative emotional caregiving environment was associated with larger left hippocampal volumes in males but not females. Findings suggest that the postnatal caregiving environment may modulate the effects of PDE across development, influencing neurocognitive development.
The emergence of symbolic norms
(2023) Pan, Xinyue; Gelfand, Michele J.; Nau, Dana S.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Human groups are experts in developing and maintaining social norms. Many social norms have clear practical functions, such as regulating competition or facilitating coordination. Some other norms, however, have arbitrary functions and limited direct material consequences for the self or the group, but are nevertheless enforced. I define such norms as symbolic norms. Symbolic norms are prevalent across human societies. Given the discrepancy between the social importance and the functional opacity of these norms, it is important to understand how a seemingly neutral behavior can emerge as a symbolic norm and be adopted by the population. In this dissertation, I argue that a neutral behavior is more likely to evolve as a symbolic norm when it shows statistical correlation with a practical behavior on the population level. I call this the norm spillover effect. The norm spillover effect predicts that if, on the population level, followers of a practically beneficial norm happen to conduct a certain neutral behavior more often than practical norm violators, the social norm will spill over from the practical domain to the neutral domain. Thus, people will adopt and enforce that neutral behavior, and a symbolic norm will emerge. This dissertation uses agent-based models and an empirical experiment to test the norm spillover effect across two levels of analyses. First, agent-based models are used to test the evolutionary force behind the norm spillover effect on the population level. I argue that the statistical correlation between a practical and a neutral behavior creates an ecology that fosters symbolic norm following and enforcement. Second, an empirical experiment is conducted to examine the psychology of the norm spillover effect on the individual level. I argue that the perceived correlation between a practical and a neutral behavior increases the perceived direct function of and the pressure to conform to the symbolic norm.
ROLE OF PROJECTIONS FROM ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX TO DORSAL STRIATUM IN INCUBATION OF OXYCDONE CRAVING
(2023) Lin, Hongyu; Li, Xuan; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Oxycodone seeking progressively increases during abstinence and maintains for an extended period, a phenomenon termed incubation of oxycodone craving. We previously found that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a causal role in this incubation. Here, we aimed to identify critical downstream regions of OFC in incubation of oxycodone craving by focusing on the central to medial portion of the dorsal striatum (DS), based on previous anatomical evidence. We first measured projection-specific activation on abstinence day 15 seeking test by using cholera toxin b (retrograde tracer, injected into DS) +Fos (activity marker) double-labeling in the OFC. Next, we determined the effect of pharmacological reversible inactivation of DS on incubated oxycodone seeking on abstinence day 15. We then used an anatomical asymmetrical disconnection procedure to determine whether OFC to DS projections contribute to incubated oxycodone seeking.
Stepping into the Breach: Followers Reclaiming Leadership from Formal Leaders
(2023) Butler, Alexander I; Hanges, Paul; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Recently, DeRue (2011) reconceptualized leadership as a dynamic process in which individuals engage in interdependent and interlocking acts of leading and following called “double interacts.” The behaviors that take place in double interacts are categorized as claims and grants, and they signify the assertion or bestowment of status as leader or follower in interpersonal exchanges. The present study (N = 367) builds upon DeRue’s theoretical model by testing antecedents to claiming and granting. Results show that leader behavior predicts followers’ decisions to claim or grant leader status. Furthermore, followers’ trust perceptions mediate the relationship between leader behavior and claiming and granting, and leader identity magnitude moderates the mediating effect of trust. This study has implications for understanding leader influence, claiming and granting, trust, and leader identity construction.
Reactions to a Request for a Benefit in Communal and Exchange Relationships
(1977) Clark, Margaret Snydor; Mills, Judson R.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Based on a distinction between communal relationships, in which benefits are given in response to the needs of the other, and exchange relationships, in which benefits are given with the expectation of receiving comparable benefits in return, the following hypotheses were proposed: 1) If a person has been aided by another, that other will be liked more when he requests a benefit than when he does not request a benefit, if the person expects an exchange relationship with the other. 2) If a person has been aided by another» that other will be liked more when he does not request a benefit than when he does request a benefit, if the person expects a communal relationship with the other. 3) If a person has not been aided by another, that other will be liked more when he does not request a benefit than when he does request a benefit, if the person expects an exchange relationship with the other. 4) If a person has not been aided by another, that other will be liked more when he requests a benefit than when he does not request a benefit, if the person expects a communal relationship with the other. Under the guise of a study of performance, female college students worked on a vocabulary task while a television monitor showed another female working on a similar task in another room. In order to manipulate the expectation of an exchange or a communal relationship, some of the subjects were told that the other was married, had a child, lived far from the university and that she and the subject would be discussing differences in interests in the second study (Exchange condition). Other subjects were told that the other was new at the university, did not know many people and that she and the subject would be discussing common interests in a second study (Communal condition). The other female finished the task, received one point and gave the subject aid on her task or did not give aid. The other female then requested a point from the subject or did not request a point. Finally, the subject's liking for the other and her expectations concerning the future discussion with the other were assessed. In general the results for the measure of liking provide evidence for the distinction between communal and exchange relationships. In support of the first hypothesis it was found that the other female was liked more in the Exchange-aid-request condition than in the Exchange-aid- no request condition. In support of the second hypothesis it was found that the other female was liked more in the Communal-aid-no request condition than in the Communal-aid-request condition. In support of the third hypothesis it was found that the other female was liked more in the Exchange-no aid-no request condition than in the Exchange-no aidrequest condition. The fourth hypothesis was not supported; there was no difference in liking for the other female in the Communal-no aid-request condition and in the Communal-no aid-no request condition. As would be expected from the distinction between communal and exchange relationships, liking was greater in the Exchange-aid-request condition than in the Exchange-no aid-request condition, marginally less in the Communal aid- request condition than in the Communal-no aid-request condition and less in the Exchange-aid-no request condition than in the Exchange-no aid-no request condition. The results for the measure of pleasantness of the future discussion with the other were also consistent with the distinction between communal and exchange relationships. The results on the liking measure demonstrate that equity principles, which have been useful in understanding a number of different social relationships, do not apply to all relationships.
Relations Between Latent Episodic Memory, Nap Habituality, and the Cortex During Childhood
(2023) Allard, Tamara Lynn; Riggins, Tracy; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
During childhood, episodic memory demonstrates marked improvements that are supported by the protracted development of the hippocampus and a larger network of cortical regions. To date, most research has focused on associations with the hippocampus in this age group. Few studies have explored the contribution of cortical regions and no studies have explored this longitudinally. Thus, the first aim of this dissertation was to examine the longitudinal co-development of cortical thickness and surface area in memory-related cortical regions with a latent episodic memory variable in 4- to 8-year-old children (N = 177). Findings, uncorrected for multiple comparisons, demonstrated that a thinner cortex in multiple episodic memory network regions (i.e., inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal sulcus, lingual gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, precuneus, lateral occipital cortex, superior frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, superior temporal gyrus, and temporal pole) at age 4 predicted more rapid improvements in memory performance from age 4 to 6 years. Similarly, greater surface area in the precuneus and less surface area in the medial orbitofrontal gyrus at age 4 also predicted more rapid improvements in memory performance from age 4 to 6 years. Additionally, results revealed that several regions demonstrate parallel co-development with latent episodic memory performance from age 4 to 8 years. Specifically, greater changes in cortical thickness and surface area of the entorhinal cortex were associated with greater changes in memory from age 4 to 6 years. Furthermore, cortical thickness of entorhinal cortex and surface area of anterior cingulate cortex, entorhinal cortex, inferior parietal sulcus, lingual gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus showed co-development with latent episodic memory from age 6 to 8 years. Together, these findings suggest that cortical thickness and surface area of the episodic memory network support improvements in memory performance during childhood. However, these findings did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Although age-related differences were one focus of this investigation, individual differences were another. Specifically, during childhood children transition away from afternoon napping. This transition has previously been associated with differences in memory consolidation abilities and hippocampal maturation. These associations suggest that habitual nappers require more regular sleep to consolidate memories due to an immature episodic memory network. However, limited work has examined these associations outside the hippocampus. Therefore, the second aim of this dissertation was to examine whether regions that support longitudinal memory development differ as a function of nap habituality (N = 44). Findings revealed significant differences in cortical thickness of right inferior frontal gyrus and surface area of lateral occipital cortex, such that non-nappers demonstrated a thinner cortex and greater surface area in these regions compared to nappers, though these findings did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Thus, although there is some evidence that memory-related cortical regions may differ based on nap habituality, additional work is needed to support this claim. Together this dissertation provides new data on the co-development of memory with brain structure in the episodic memory network and identifies individual differences that may be associated with these brain structures.
Cultural Humility and Outcome Rating Scale: Multilevel Mediation Effects of Dyadic Working Alliance
(2023) Dixon, Katherine Morales; Kivlighan Jr., Dennis M.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Abstract Current psychotherapy research on cultural humility (CH) indicates that CH is positively associated with client treatment outcomes and that working alliance may mediate the relationship between CH and treatment outcome. However, these studies have used cross-sectional data and have largely ignored the nested nature of therapist-client data sets. To address this gap in the literature, the current study applied a two-level, time-lagged, Multilevel Structural Equation Model (MSEM) to a longitudinal data set and examined whether working alliance mediates the relationship between client-perceived CH of the therapist and client-perceived symptom improvement (Outcome Rating Scale; ORS). The working alliance was conceptualized and operationalized as a dyadic construct (Cl-WA, Th-WA). Results were mixed; contrary to predictions, sessions in which clients perceived the therapist as higher in CH compared to average sessions were associated with poorer ORS scores. This relationship between cultural humility and client perceived improvement was not significant at the between-client level. The mediation hypothesis was supported at the within-client level but not at the between-client level. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
Trajectories of Clinician Competence and Student Engagement During an Adolescent ADHD Intervention
(2023) Sommer, Samantha Lynn; Teglasi, Hedwig; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
School-based organization, time management, and planning skills-related (OTMP) interventions have been developed to address academic and organizational difficulties students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder face (ADHD), especially when entering secondary school (DuPaul et al., 2012; Evans et al., 2018; Villodas et al., 2014). For OTMP interventions to be reliably administered, interventionists must be appropriately trained to not only implement session procedures that adhere to intervention protocol, but to also adjust their responses to individual students to maintain quality interactions, which is referred to as competence (Goense et al., 2016; Perepletchikova et al., 2007). This study tested the hypothesis that the constructs, interventionist competence and student engagement, would significantly change over the course of a 16-session school-based intervention for adolescents with ADHD and academic challenges. Specific student characteristics were also expected to interact with initial levels or changes in competence and engagement over time. Using an archival dataset (N= 111) and latent growth modeling, findings revealed that neither competence nor engagement changed significantly over time. However, initial levels of both constructs significantly varied. Further conditional growth modeling found that greater ADHD symptom severity negatively contributed to competence and that internalizing symptoms contributed uniquely and positively to competence. Although interventionist competence and student engagement did not exhibit significant change over time, certain student factors were associated with the quality of interventionists responses to students and with the degree to which students remain engaged with intervention materials.
Client Attachment Dimensions and Therapist Skills: A Longitudinal Analysis
(2023) Gerstenblith, Judith; Hill, Clara E; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Although scholars have highlighted the usefulness of attachment theory for psychotherapy (e.g., Bowlby, 1988; Holmes & Slade, 2018; Mallinckrodt, 2010), minimal empirical research exists examining the relationship between client attachment and therapist skills. In this study, we first investigated the factor structure of the therapist- and client-rated Helping Skills Measure (HSM; Hill & Kellems, 2002) for 5,830 psychodynamic psychotherapy sessions of 202 adult community clients working with 25 doctoral student therapists in a university clinic. The multilevel-confirmatory factor analysis supported a 3-factor structure (Exploration, Insight, Action), stable across time, at the session level in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Next, using a dynamic structural equation model for 592 sessions of 37 clients working with 6 therapists using both the HSM and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Short Form (Wei et al., 2007), we found a slight increase in exploration and insight skills as rated by therapists, but no significant change in client attachment dimensions over time. For the model using the therapist-rated HSM, we found significant and positive auto correlations for Anxiety, Avoidance, and Action, and a significant and positive cross-lagged correlation for Avoidance in one session predicting Action in the next session. For the model using the client-rated HSM, we found significant and positive auto correlations for Anxiety, Avoidance, and Exploration, and significant and negative cross-lagged correlations for Anxiety in one session predicting Exploration and Action in the next session. We did not find any significant cross-lagged correlations for therapist skills in one session predicting client attachment dimensions in the next session. We provide suggestions for practice and research, including training in attachment-informed therapy to improve therapist responsiveness and linking associations between client attachment and therapist skills to client outcome.

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