Graduate Institute for Professional Psychology

Objective: Because physical exercise improves psychological functioning, it may be beneficial to college students with maltreatment histories. Thus, we tested the hypotheses that cumulative maltreatment would negatively affect psychological functioning, physical exercise would positively affect psychological functioning, and emotion regulation difficulties would negatively contribute to the prediction of psychological functioning. Participants: Participants were 90 undergraduate students (71.1% female, 65.6% white). Methods: Participants completed questionnaires regarding their maltreatment and physical exercise history, emotion regulation difficulties, and psychological functioning. Results: Cumulative maltreatment was negatively correlated with self-esteem and positively correlated with PTSD/depression and frequent exercise was negatively correlated with PTSD/depression. Emotion regulation difficulties impacted the relationships between maltreatment history and psychological functioning, and accounted for much of the variability in psychological functioning. Cumulative maltreatment and exercise impacted different domains of emotion regulation which in turn uniquely affect psychological functioning. Conclusions: Therapeutic interventions should aim to improve these specific emotion regulation abilities.

Doctoral programs in professional psychology have been impacted by changes in APA accreditation criteria, a shortage of predoctoral internships, and the emergence of detailed core competencies that students are expected to achieve during their graduate training. Although the internship imbalance has received broader attention, developments in accreditation criteria and competency benchmarks may be less familiar to undergraduate students and their advisors. A wider discussion of these three factors would likely improve the advising and preparation of students applying to doctoral programs, give applicants a more realistic expectation of doctoral training, and better inform curriculum developments at the undergraduate level.

Neuropsychological deficits in the areas of learning, memory, attention, and abstraction abilities have been associated with cocaine dependence, especially during the period of early abstinence. Although cocaine users tend to be multidrug users, few studies have focused on the combined effect of alcohol and cocaine on neuropsychological functioning. Consistent with prior research, results from the current study indicated that cocaine-dependent subjects showed a significantly greater degree of neuropsychological impairment as compared to controls. In addition, cocaine-dependent subjects with a history of alcohol disorder showed less memory impairment but similar impairments in attention and overall neuropsychological functioning as cocaine subjects with no such history. The vasodilatation produced by alcohol may attenuate some of the vasoconstriction and neurotoxic effects of cocaine, accounting for the fewer deficits in this group (Am J Addict 2005;14:166-178) C ocaine, in particular crack cocaine, is considered to be the most commonly abused psychoactive substance in the United States, 1 with an estimated half million Americans using cocaine weekly. Studies with cocaine abusers have suggested cognitive reductions in learning and memory, 3-7 attention and concentration, 4,8 and visuospatial skills. These deficits have been reported during the initial period of abstinence 1,4,10 and may persist well beyond the period of acute withdrawal. In