3,545 research outputs found
Utilization of Linguistic Markers in Differentiation of Internalizing Disorders, Suicidality, and Identity Distress
The adolescent period of development is associated with a significant increase in the occurrence of mental illness. In addition, death by suicide is one of the leading causes of death amongst adolescents. Identity formation is a key developmental task of adolescence, and successful navigation of this process is associated with greater well-being and resilience, while difficulties are associated with risk for mental health disorders and suicidality. Adolescents today spend enormous amounts of time on digital devices, which have become a new instrument by which they explore and confirm their identities and experiences. The study of natural language use is related to wide range of psychological phenomena, including psychopathology, and offers a tool by which we can begin to ask and answer these questions utilizing new tools that allow us to passively collect adolescents’ language use directly from their digital devices. The current study leverages a unique clinical sample of adolescents who have been followed over six months to explore the relationship between both between and within participant measures of psychopathology, suicidal thought and behaviors, and putative linguistic markers of adolescent identity formation derived from online communications in order to further understand the association between these variables using ecologically valid measures in a community sample of adolescents experiencing significant mental health challenges. The aims of the study were to (1) assess whether there are differences in how adolescents with psychopathology, suicidal ideation, and previous suicide attempts use language, (2) language differences associated with mental illness symptomology, (3) and language differences in hypothesized identity domains associated with mental illness symptomology communicated through social communication apps via text. Participants completed baseline measures of depression, suicidality, and anxiety symptoms. Participants downloaded the EARS tool onto their digital devices that passively collected text data sent through social communication applications. The results of this study indicated that there are natural language use differences between adolescents with psychopathology and those who experience suicidality, depression, and anxiety symptoms
Personality Dysfunction Manifest in Words : Understanding Personality Pathology Using Computational Language Analysis
Personality disorders (PDs) are some of the most prevalent and high-risk mental health conditions, and yet remain poorly understood. Today, the development of new technologies means that there are advanced tools that can be used to improve our understanding and treatment of PD. One promising tool – indeed, the focus of this thesis – is computational language analysis. By looking at patterns in how people with personality pathology use words, it is possible to gain access into their constellation of thinking, feelings, and behaviours. To date, however, there has been little research at the intersection of verbal behaviour and personality pathology. Accordingly, the central goal of this thesis is to demonstrate how PD can be better understood through the analysis of natural language. This thesis presents three research articles, comprising four empirical studies, that each leverage computational language analysis to better understand personality pathology. Each paper focuses on a distinct core feature of PD, while incorporating language analysis methods: Paper 1 (Study 1) focuses on interpersonal dysfunction; Paper 2 (Studies 2 and 3) focuses on emotion dysregulation; and Paper 3 (Study 4) focuses on behavioural dysregulation (i.e., engagement in suicidality and deliberate self-harm). Findings from this research have generated better understanding of fundamental features of PD, including insight into characterising dimensions of social dysfunction (Paper 1), maladaptive emotion processes that may contribute to emotion dysregulation (Paper 2), and psychosocial dynamics relating to suicidality and deliberate self-harm (Paper 3) in PD. Such theoretical knowledge subsequently has important implications for clinical practice, particularly regarding the potential to inform psychological therapy. More broadly, this research highlights how language can provide implicit and unobtrusive insight into the personality and psychological processes that underlie personality pathology at a large-scale, using an individualised, naturalistic approach
The Implications, Magnitude, and Development of Traumatic Brain Injury for Individuals Undergoing Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
There is an established bidirectional relation between substance use and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Despite the high rate of prescribing opioids for pain management following a TBI and the epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) in the United States, scarce research has specifically analyzed the association between TBI and OUD. In a series of three interrelated manuscripts, the present study will first examine the prevalence and features of TBIs among persons seeking treatment for OUD. Next, the present study will evaluate the association between TBI and indicators of risky health behaviors and OUD severity, including the risk of overdose and polysubstance use. The predictive ability of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, impulsivity, depression, and chronic pain on odds of having had a TBI will also be calculated. Last, a systematic review will be conducted to provide comprehensive guidelines for effective methods of tailoring OUD treatment to mitigate the effects of TBI on treatment outcomes. Altogether, the findings will aid in the understanding of the development of TBI for persons with OUD, provide insight into common clinical complexities for patients with OUD and TBI, and offer guidance on how best to tailor interventions to increase substance use treatment efficacy for persons with TBI
Fantasia on a Theme of Purpose: Using a Music-Guided Scribble Technique to Support Meaning-Making in Older Adult Retiree Musicians
Within the population of older adults, overall well-being corresponds with the ability to self-actualize and seek meaning, but age-related changes combined with ageism and isolation can negatively impact this capacity to maintain a sense of purpose, especially following retirement. It may be that retired musicians are especially vulnerable to this experience later in life due to a loss of the primary method of creative engagement and community that is facilitated by musical performance in a group setting. Integrating phenomenological and ethnographic approaches, this study utilized a qualitative design to understand how music-guided art-making incorporating the scribble technique could support a sense of purpose among older adult retiree musicians. In an art-based intervention that collected art and interview data, participants responded to self-selected music with a variety of fluid and resistive drawing materials categorized as Media Dimension Variables (MDV). Data analysis was executed in conjunction with theories of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC). Results obtained via thematic analysis suggested that the intervention facilitated access to creative intentionality in support of a sense of purpose. The process of self-selecting music that was rich with personal significance provided an optimal frame of reference in a novel art experiential that engaged individual strengths, values, and expertise. Responding to music in real-time with a kinesthetically-focused drawing technique presented a non-threatening approach to visual composition; the spontaneity in this process also offered opportunities for self-discovery and contact with the present moment
An Exploration of Life With a Chronic Skin Condition
Despite considerable prevalence and clinical impact, chronic skin conditions have received little sociological attention. This research examines the social implications of living with a chronic skin condition, based on the thematic analysis of in-depth interviews featuring 24 adults with experiences of eczema, psoriasis or acne. Drawing on Bourdieusian field theory and corporeal phenomenology, this thesis brings new insight to the disembodying experiences of disordered skin, strategies enacted for their management, and the wider implications of disordered skin on social participation. Illustrating experiences of social dys-appearance, individuals are found to negotiate stigma, both enacted and perceived, based on normative expectations of bodily presentation. Employing the notion of aesthetic capital, disordered skin is shown to impair possibilities for aesthetic distinction and undermine a sense of capability in personal and working roles. Faced with disabling spatialities and difficulties surrounding disclosure, individuals develop anticipatory dispositions and a range of time-space tactics. The corporeal dys-appearance of disordered skin demands that individuals respond through laborious practices which often take on Sisyphean attributes. A novel concept of “containing” is introduced as a type of skin work reflecting how managing disordered skin requires attention to clearing up exudations of “dirty” bodily substances, such as skin flakes, blood, pus, and the remnants of topical treatments, to avoid soiling external environments. Pharmaceutical treatments are found to be a source of deep ambivalence. Moreover, individuals value agency in their treatment protocols and, where capital resources allow, enact resistance to medical authority through experimentation with alternative strategies and practices of self-medication. This study highlights a need to accommodate the additional labour demands of life with chronic skin conditions, and the desire for agency in treatment, through policy and practice measures. Further efforts are needed to address the impact of inequalities of access to resources on the burden of managing chronic illness
Measures of Mood: Adaptations for Adults with Developmental Disabilities and/or Severe Mental Illness
The COVID-19 pandemic was a source of anxiety and depression for many people, and for some it exacerbated existing mood and anxiety symptoms. Measurement of symptoms of anxiety and depression can play an important role in intervention to decrease these symptoms. However, to ensure validity of these measures, one must be able to understand the language of the screeners. An adapted Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Item Scale were created for usage with adults with developmental disability and/or severe mental illness who may have difficulty understanding the language of the original versions of these measures. A study was developed to measure the perceived benefit and ease of administration from a clinician’s perspective. Results indicate that these measures may be helpful in measuring symptoms of depression and anxiety. The limitations of this study and future directions for the measures are discussed
The influence of visual perspective on the cognitive effort required for mental representation
Mental representation is the process by which an individual simulates an event in their mind’s eye. This process is the foundation of the ability to remember the past, engage in prospective thinking, or imagine fictitious scenarios. An individual can mentally represent any event through their own eyes—the first-person perspective or from the viewpoint of an external observer—the third-person perspective. The perspective of representation influences outcomes related to memory, visuospatial processing, affect, social cognition, clinical diagnoses, and language processing. In turn, an individual’s tendency to favour either perspective is shaped by related factors.
The current research consists of four experiments, designed to characterize and contrast the electrophysiological correlates of mental representation from each perspective and the associated cognitive load. To this end, electroencephalography (EEG) was used to capture changes in slow-cortical potentials (SCPs), while participants formed mental representations based on short sentences, from either visual perspective. SCPs have a longer duration than other event-related potentials (ERPs) and originate primarily in the cortex; SCP negativity was used to index the cognitive load associated with mental representation.
Experiment 1 showed that third-person perspective imagining required more cognitive effort and that switching from the first- to the third-person perspective required more cognitive effort than performing the opposite switch. This difference was primarily observed in prefrontal electrodes, leading up to the perspective switch, at which point the effect the effect was observed across all but occipital electrodes. Third-person perspective events were rated as being easier to imagine when initially generated from the first-person perspective. Experiment 2 showed that concurrently manipulating personal pronouns and perspective cues did not effect reliable differences in SCP amplitudes but did influence the vividness of objects, locations, emotions, and the sense of touch. Experiments 3a and 3b showed that (morphosyntactic-given) temporal information modulated the impact of perspective on SCPs, during autobiographical memory (AM) retrieval/maintenance. Following perfective (but not imperfective) accomplishment cues, vividness ratings were higher for the first-person perspective.
Discussions further interpret and contextualize these novel results. Together, the current experiments showed that SCP amplitudes differentiated between first- and third-person perspective mental representation, but the timeline and magnitude of the observed differences varied greatly across experiments based on the influences of perspective-switching, lexical aspect (activities versus accomplishments), grammatical aspect (imperfective versus perfective), personal pronouns (“I” versus “He”/“She”), and type of mental representation (imagined events versus autobiographical memories). These variations occurred despite the consistency of the experimental stimuli and their presentation, across all experiments. As such, recommendations are provided for greater control of these factors in further SCP-based research
An examination of the verbal behaviour of intergroup discrimination
This thesis examined relationships between psychological flexibility, psychological inflexibility, prejudicial attitudes, and dehumanization across three cross-sectional studies with an additional proposed experimental study. Psychological flexibility refers to mindful attention to the present moment, willing acceptance of private experiences, and engaging in behaviours congruent with one’s freely chosen values. Inflexibility, on the other hand, indicates a tendency to suppress unwanted thoughts and emotions, entanglement with one’s thoughts, and rigid behavioural patterns. Study 1 found limited correlations between inflexibility and sexism, racism, homonegativity, and dehumanization. Study 2 demonstrated more consistent positive associations between inflexibility and prejudice. And Study 3 controlled for right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, finding inflexibility predicted hostile sexism and racism beyond these factors. While showing some relationships, particularly with sexism and racism, psychological inflexibility did not consistently correlate with varied prejudices across studies.
The proposed randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention to reduce sexism through enhanced psychological flexibility. Overall, findings provide mixed support for the utility of flexibility-based skills in addressing complex societal prejudices. Research should continue examining flexibility integrated with socio-cultural approaches to promote equity
The Role of TikTok in Students’ Health and Wellbeing
Students are exposed to various academic, financial and psychosocial stressors while studying at a university, and have increasingly turned to social media to alleviate stress and access social support. While evidence suggests that social networking sites may promote health awareness and health-protective behaviours, little research has explored TikTok, a relatively new platform with over 800 million active users. Seven university students (6 females, 1 non-binary; all White British; mean age = 20.57) were interviewed about their experiences on TikTok, their motivations behind using it and its effects on their psychological wellbeing. A thematic analysis of this data revealed that while TikTok use temporarily relieved academic stress, it also encouraged addictive behaviour and upward social comparisons. These differential effects were largely mediated by TikTok’s algorithm, which recommended content based on users’ previous interactions
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