College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item EVALUATING TREATMENT HETEROGENEITY IN THE COMMUNITY MEDIATION MARYLAND RE-ENTRY PROGRAM(2018) Pierotte, Lisa; McGloin, Jean M; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)To assist soon-to-be released prisoners in their re-entry process, the Community Mediation Maryland Re-Entry (CMM) program focuses on strengthening pre-existing pro-social relationships and assisting in the development of re-entry plans. Prior evaluations suggest this program is successful at reducing recidivism, but given the varied nature of the treatment, important questions remain. This thesis investigates potential treatment heterogeneity based on the subjects’ selection into different formats of the mediation process (i.e., selection of outside participants, focusing on emotional support, and reaching an agreement). The investigations into potential treatment heterogeneity (e.g., propensity score models) reveal null results. In the context of the prior evaluations, it is possible that the null results reflect that CMM is a generally effective program. Future research should consider capturing a larger sample of subjects mediating in the program so that subsequent evaluations can investigate important distinctions in the treatment received, which may be valuable in guiding future implementation of the re-entry mediation model.Item Functional Neuroimaging of the Social Regulation of Emotion in Schizophrenia(2016) McCarthy, Julie McCarthy; Blanchard, Jack J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are characterized by deficits in normative experiences and expression of emotion. Social anhedonia (diminished pleasure from social experiences) is one negative symptom that may impact patients’ motivation to engage in meaningful social relationships. Past research has begun to examine the mechanisms that underlie social anhedonia, but it is unclear how this lack of social interest may impact the typically positive effects of social buffering and social baseline theory whereby social support attenuates stress. The present pilot study examines how social affiliation through hand holding is related to subjective and neural threat processing, negative symptoms, and social functioning. Twenty-one participants (14 controls; 7 schizophrenia) developed social affiliation with a member of the research staff who served as the supportive partner during the threat task. Participants displayed greater subjective benefit to holding the hand of their partner during times of stress relative to being alone or with an anonymous experimenter, as indicated by self-reported increased positive valence and decreased arousal ratings. When examining the effects of group, hand holding, and their interaction on the neurological experience of threat during the fMRI task, the results were not significant. However, exploratory analyses identified preliminary data suggesting that controls experienced small relative increases in BOLD signal to threat when alone compared to being with the anonymous experimenter or their partner, whereas the schizophrenia group results indicated subtle relative decreases in BOLD signal to threat when alone compared to either of the hand holding conditions. Additionally, within the schizophrenia group, more positive valence in the partner condition was associated with less severe negative symptoms, better social functioning, and more social affiliation, whereas less arousal was correlated with more social affiliation. Our pilot study offers initial insights about the difficulties of building and using social affiliation and support through hand holding with individuals with schizophrenia during times of stress. Further research is necessary to clarify which types of support may be more or less beneficial to individuals with schizophrenia who may experience social anhedonia or paranoia with others that may challenge the otherwise positive effects of social buffering and maintaining a social baseline.Item The Effects of Social Support and Sensitivity to Ostracism on Smoking Outcomes in College Students(2006-12-12) Levine, Samantha Alison; Lejuez, Carl W.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Cigarette smoking is a serious public health concern, and is especially prevalent among college students. Although many college smokers try to quit, few are successful. Both peer smoking status and social support have been correlated with smoking initiation and maintenance, but few studies have investigated relapse. Further, personality-level predictors of relapse have rarely been studied. It is important to examine mechanisms underlying relapse in order to usefully modify and individualize smoking cessation interventions. The present study tested the hypotheses that social support would impact college student relapse rates at one-week follow-up during a self-quit, and that this relationship would be moderated by the trait of sensitivity to ostracism. In a sample of 41 college smokers, only best friend smoking status and frequency of modeling behaviors (e.g. offering quitter a cigarette) were found to predict relapse. Additionally, sensitivity to ostracism predicted how helpful/hindering quitters perceived peer support/criticism to be.Item Work adjustment in persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA): A biopsychosocial perspective(2004-11-15) Baker, Lisa; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)While there is evidence that Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHWA) have unique and changing needs and concerns in their workplaces, such as changes in health status, high medical costs, emotional consequences of the disease, and concerns about discrimination, no previous studies could be found on work adjustment (e.g., job satisfaction) in PLWHA. However, past research has linked employment disruption and decisions to disease progression, cognitive impairment, physical symptoms, depression/anxiety, concern about discrimination, and medical costs (e.g., Ezzy et al., 1999; Heaton et al., 1994; Martin, Brooks, Ortiz, & Veniegas, 2003). Therefore, this study tested a biopsychosocial model of work adjustment in employed PLWHA (N = 57), based on Hoffman and Driscoll's (2002) Concentric Biopsychosocial Model. It was hypothesized that physical health (fatigue and pain), psychological adjustment, and work support/environment would uniquely predict work adjustment (e.g., job satisfaction), where psychosocial variables were expected to account for the most of the variance explained. With the exception of pain symptoms, the predictor variables in the model were found to correlate with the primary outcome, job satisfaction. A hierarchical block-wise regression was then utilized to test the model, where the physical health variable (i.e. energy/fatigue) was entered first, followed by the entry of the psychological adjustment variable in the second block. The work environment variables (i.e., perceived supervisor support, perceived discrimination) were entered in the third and final block. Results partially supported the proposed model with 25% of the variance in job satisfaction explained in the third step, where perceived supervisor support and workplace discrimination accounted for a statistically significant amount of the variance. These findings support the importance of examining perceptions of workplace environment when addressing work adjustment and employment concerns of PLWHA.