Psychology

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) are commonly co-occurring disorders associated with more adverse consequences than PTSD alone. Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is one of the most efficacious treatments for PTSD. However, among individuals with PTSD-SUD, 35-62% of individuals drop out of trauma-focused exposure treatments. Thus, it is important to identify predictors of PTSD treatment dropout among substance abusers with PTSD in order to gain information about adapting treatment strategies to enhance retention and outcomes. The current study explored pre-treatment predictors of early termination from PE treatment in a sample of 85 individuals receiving concurrent treatment for PTSD and a SUD in a residential treatment facility as part of a randomized controlled trial. The results indicated that less education and more anxiety sensitivity uniquely predicted PE treatment dropout. Demographic variables, PTSD severity, SUD severity, mental health co...

Although mental health program development and service delivery have progressed in Malaysia since its independence in 1957, a shortage of mental health professionals remains a main barrier to mental health care ( Haque, 2005 ). Stigma and cultural beliefs about mental illness may further impede psychological help-seeking. An easy-to-use mental health screener such as the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) could be used to streamline mental health service delivery and to facilitate integration into primary health care settings. In this study, we conducted a Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA) across English and Chinese language versions for the GHQ-12 to examine the fit of existing factor structures for the GHQ-12. Participants were Malaysian college students of diverse ethnicities attending 2 schools in Malaysia who completed English or Chinese versions of the GHQ-12 (English subsample, n = 151, Chinese subsample, n = 127). Results suggested that an eight-item...

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country in which multiple languages are prominently spoken, including English and Mandarin Chinese. As psychological science continues to develop within Malaysia, there is a need for psychometrically sound instruments that measure psychological phenomena in multiple languages. For example, assessment tools for measuring social desirability could be a useful addition in psychological assessments and research studies in a Malaysian context. This study examined the psychometric performance of the English and Mandarin Chinese versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale when used in Malaysia. Two hundred and eighty-three students (64% female; 83% Chinese, 9% Indian) from two college campuses completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale in their language of choice (i.e., English or Mandarin Chinese). Proposed factor structures were compared with confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple indicators-multiple causes models were used to ex...

Ugandan youth face a number of threats to their healthy development including poverty, high rates of disease, civil conflict, and environmental degradation. Cultivating developmental competencies is critical, not only for youth, but also for the future of Ugandan communities and civil society. In this article, we highlight contextual challenges facing Ugandan youth, report exploratory results on “standard” measures of developmental assets, and discuss the utility of a positive youth development (PYD) framework in Uganda. Despite difficult circumstances, our results indicated high levels of internal and external assets as assessed with the Developmental Assets Profile (DAP). The DAP demonstrated acceptable internal consistencies and was correlated with two other measures of youth assets, self-efficacy, and civic action. Although researchers should proceed with caution when using psychometric measures in new cultural contexts, our results provide preliminary support for the use of the...

Explanatory models (EMs) are a collection of beliefs about a disorder that can help us understand help-seeking and treatment pathways in diverse contexts. In 2 related studies, we explore EMs about depression held among both clinical and nonclinical samples in Uganda. To explore the potential of EMs to predict help seeking, we assessed the relationship between 2 main aspects of the EM: problem conceptualization and treatment. Method: In Study 1, we interviewed and assessed EMs of depression for 135 lay community members and 111 professional practitioners using a vignette. In Study 2, we assessed actual EMs among 33 clinically depressed adults. We transcribed all interviews and analyzed and coded the content. In Study 1, we used logistic regression to examine the relationship of problem conceptualization and stigma to treatment choice; in Study 2, we used Fisher's exact tests to examine the relationship between conceptualization and treatment. Sociodemographics such as age, income, and language were also examined. Results: Interviews elicited a diverse range of beliefs about the nature of depression and the types of treatment needed. However, problem conceptualization did not predict treatment in either group. Instead, education and interview language predicted treatment in clinical and nonclinical samples. Conclusion: Although EMs can be useful for both exploring mental health and treatment-related beliefs in clinical settings and developing mental health services, contextual factors may be more significant predictors of help seeking.

In Uganda, depression is a growing concern, yet mental health professionals are in short supply, and help is often sought from traditional healers. To develop an integrated system of care, we must understand sociocultural aspects of depression including beliefs about help seeking and treatment. In a mixed methods study, we used semi-structured interviews and self-report measures to assess depressed patients ( N = 30) seeking treatment in traditional healing ( n = 15) and psychiatry clinics ( n = 15) near Kampala, Uganda. We assessed demographics, symptoms, treatment characteristics, and explanatory models (EMs) of depression (e.g., labeling the problem, cause, impact on life, best type of treatment). We predicted differences across treatment settings. To further explore EMs, we assessed differences in EMs of patients and their providers by interviewing patient–provider dyads ( n = 8 dyads). Patients in both settings were similar in demographics, symptoms, perceived cause, seriousnes...

The 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21) is a self-report measure that is easy to administer, quick to score, and is freely available. Widely used in diverse settings and populations, confirmatory factor analytic evidence has accumulated for a bifactor model underlying this multidimensional measure. Studies employing an exploratory bifactor approach to more closely examine its underlying structure and inter-relations of factors, however, have been scarce. This is unfortunate because confirmatory techniques often employ indirect ways of handling model misspecification, whereas exploratory methods enable more direct approaches. Moreover, more precise approaches to modeling an exploratory bifactor structure have not been examined with the DASS-21. Based on several large samples of undergraduate students in the United States, the first two parts of the paper (Studies 1 and 2) utilized both exploratory ( M = 19.7 years of age) and confirmatory factor analytic methods ...

This article presents psychometric data for a 35-item self-report instrument measuring romantic relationship competence in two separate samples of young adult college students. In study 1 (N = 219), results from Parallel Analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) suggested the extraction of seven domains of romantic relationship competence: relationship locus of control, perspective taking, intimacy avoidance, emotion regulation, romantic appeal, conflict resolution skills, and temperament. In study 2 (N = 907), a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) provided support for the aforementioned factor structure albeit with minor revisions (i.e., correlated errors between three pairs of items). MIMIC modeling results provided support for partial measurement invariance across gender. A CFA-based method of estimating scale reliability demonstrated acceptable to good reliability indices. Bivariate correlations with other social competence and self-esteem measures provided support for conve...

Objectives: This study examines the effectiveness of a novel dissemination and implementation curriculum for prolonged exposure (PE). Pre-doctoral clinical psychology interns completed a sequential, four-part curriculum that culminated in a community-based practicum during which interns conducted a PE workshop. We hypothesized that workshop participants would report more favorable attitudes regarding PE after completing the intern-led workshop than endorsed at the outset of the workshop. Methods: A total of 53 workshop participants attended and completed questionnaires. The majority of workshop participants had a Masters-level degree or Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree (n = 28; 57.1%) and were currently a counselor or psychosocial rehabilitation worker (n = 21; 42.9%). We examined changes between pre-and post-training time points for five self-report items related to negative attitudes towards PE and three self-report items related to intent to use PE. Results: There was a significant effect of workshop training on four out of five items related to negative attitudes towards PE. The non-significant result of the fifth item may be due to a ceiling effect given that baseline scores for this item were very positive. There was a significant effect of workshop training on all three items related to intent to use PE. Conclusions: Results suggested that this sequential four-part curriculum may be an effective way of combining education, training, and dissemination efforts. Future research should examine if similar results can be achieved with a controlled research design and whether outcomes would generalize to actual PE delivery skills in routine clinical care.

The tripartite model of anxiety and depression (Clark & Watson, 1991) has received strong support among adult, adolescent, and child populations. Clinical samples of children and adolescents in these studies, however, have usually been referred for treatment of anxiety and depression. This study investigated the fit of the tripartite model for children and adolescents in a large, inpatient facility who were referred primarily for externalizing problems. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the tripartite model relationship between negative affect, positive affect, and mood symptoms. Multiple fit indices were used to provide a reliable and conservative evaluation of the model. As predicted, the tripartite model provided a good fit for a sample of children and adolescents with externalizing problems. Implications of these findings are discussed, both in terms of recommendations for residential assessment and utility of the tripartite model in understanding anxiety and depression in a different population. iii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to everyone who inspired me to pursue a degree in psychology. In particular, I thank my parents who first impressed upon me the importance of education, teachers who inspired me to learn, and peers who walked with me through times of stress and anxiety. vii

Burnout among faculty members impacts physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning and has negative socioeconomic consequences downstream. Prior to the pandemic, faculty members were already reporting high levels of burnout, which is characterized by depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and a lack of personal accomplishment. Previous research reported that value incongruence functions as one of the strongest predictors of depersonalization (and subsequently) turnover intention. This study provides a snapshot of the value alignment and burnout of faculty at a regional public university in the months following the pandemic-induced pivot to remote learning. Results from our survey of faculty members (N = 58) suggest a concerning trend for a subset of faculty members who greatly identify with the values of their workplace and are severely impacted by COVID-19 related stressors. For these people, higher alignment with values predicts higher depersonalization. These results raise th...