1,721,045 research outputs found
The role of childhood and adulthood trauma and appraisal of self-discrepancy in overgeneral memory retrieval
No full textThe aim of this study was to examine the contributory role of childhood and adulthood trauma events and the appraisal of self-discrepancy (the magnitude and distress) in overgeneral memory retrieval (OGM) using a non-clinical sample. Participants with a history of childhood trauma (n 29); adulthood trauma only (n 17) or no-trauma (n 26) participated in this study. The childhood trauma group showed a significantly higher level of general negative memory retrieval than the no- trauma group. Conversely, the adulthood trauma group showed a significantly higher level of general threat memory retrieval than the no-trauma group. The perceived similarity and distress relating to the perceived similarity between participants' ''actual self'' and ''feared self'' significantly predicted the level of OGM, even after controlling for the impact of a history of adult or child trauma.Griffith Health, School of Applied PsychologyNo Full Tex
A Phenomenological Model of Overgeneral Memory
No full textOvergeneral memory retrieval (OGM) is defined as a difficulty recalling specific personal memories, and/or the tendency to recall non-specific memories, when asked to recall an event in response to emotional cue words. This research project examined the nature of cognitive processes underlying OGM in individuals with a history of trauma and depression. Regardless of the large body of existing research, the following points remain unclear: the course of OGM (e.g., the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of OGM); the reason why trauma history and depression are particularly relevant to OGM; and the relationships between a history of trauma, depression and OGM. To answer these points, the similarities and differences of OGM in individuals with a history of trauma and depression were examined through a series of studies.
Prior to the main studies, the role of childhood trauma as opposed to adulthood trauma in OGM was examined in Study 1 (Ono & Devilly, 2013) based on the idea that OGM is a developmental memory deficit. As its significant relationship with OGM was found, childhood trauma became the focus of this research project.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)School of Applied PsychologyGriffith HealthFull Tex
An analogue trial of inoculation/resilience training for emergency services personnel: Proof of concept
No full textBackground and objectives This analogue study served as a proof of concept trial for inoculation/resilience training with emergency services personnel. Methods Eighty people from the general community participated in a randomized controlled trial of inoculation training to increase resilience in the mitigation of stress and trauma-type symptomatology following a stressful video of paramedics attending the scene of a car accident. Participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: (a) resilience training, where the participants received strategies aimed at reducing the negative effects of the event; or (b) a control 'pragmatic training' condition, where participants received practical training about what to do in the event of a car accident. A week later the full video was shown. All participants were assessed one month later. Results Unlike with past studies which tested psychological debriefing, analyses revealed that inoculation/resilience training did not appear to have deleterious effects on psychological distress measures or memory performance. Participants who received the resilience training displayed improvements in negative affect (notable trends in depression and stress levels) suggesting a more general positive result from the intervention than normal 'pragmatic training'. Limitations This was an analogue trial and a full field trial is warranted. Conclusions With organisations wishing to engage in resilience training, this analogue study suggests that inoculation training at least does no harm and may be beneficial. It is, therefore, a viable option for emergency services personnel during pre-deployment training.No Full Tex
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations Among Women: An Investigation Into the Nature of Birth Trauma
No full textAn anxiety disorder following childbirth that has received increased research attention is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, methodological and theoretical problems limit research findings. This thesis identifies these problems, and evaluates research on trauma in childbirth considering these concerns. A primary aim of this thesis was to examine the prevalence of traumatic births and PTSD and partial PTSD (i.e., subsyndromal PTSD) using a methodology that addressed previous limitations. Data were collected during the third trimester and 4 to 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum. Nine hundred and thirty three women completed the first study phase. Results revealed that 45.5% of women experienced a traumatic birth using the DSM-IV criteria for a traumatic event and that 1.2% had PTSD at 4 to 6 weeks and 3.1% had PTSD at 3 and 6 months postpartum respectively. The prevalence rates of partial PTSD ranged from 1.3% to 2.3% postpartum. Another primary aim was to investigate variability in outcome to childbirth specific to perceiving birth as traumatic, developing PTSD and PTSD symptoms, and PTSD symptom change. Few studies have examined the predictive factors of meeting criteria for a traumatic birth or the predictors of PTSD postpartum. Thus, a goal of this thesis was to investigate variation in childbirth outcome, using prebirth, birth, and postbirth factors. Specifically, the thesis investigated the predictors of perceiving childbirth to be traumatic, the development of PTSD and PTSD symptoms, and PTSD symptom change, and found that some of the most salient predictors include: persistent dissociation, environmental stressors, and peritraumatic affective responses such as the intensity of fear, helplessness, and horror. The study was able to correctly predict, using cross-validated data, 88% of women as either meeting or not meeting criteria for a traumatic birth; 87% as developing or not developing PTSD; and 83% as experiencing an improvement or a decline in symptoms. The study also predicted 77% of PTSD symptom severity. Theoretical and practical implications and areas for future research are discussed.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)School of PsychologyFull Tex
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Love Hurts: The Description and Measurement of Sexual and Relationship Distress in Couples
No full textSexual disorders are highly prevalent, yet under researched when compared to
other DSM-5 diagnoses. Sexual desire, in particular, is the most prevalent sexual
concern for women, and substantially impacts the individual with low sexual desire, as
well as their partner and the relationship. While the symptom clusters that comprise
sexual desire and other dysfunctions are heterogeneous, they all require the presence of
‘distress’ in order to meet diagnostic criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
The construct of distress is receiving increasing empirical interest, although the research
to date remains in its infancy, suffers from a number of methodological flaws, and has
focused on the individual rather than the relationship.
Along with the wave of research investigating sexual distress, has come the
development of psychometric measures to assess the construct. Indeed, the
International Consensus Development Conference on Female Sexual Dysfunction
(Basson et al., 2000), and the Third International Consultation on Sexual Medicine
(Clayton et al., 2010) have highlighted the need for new validated measures of sexual
distress. Although a number of psychometrically validated measures have been
developed, they have focused exclusively on the individual experiencing the distress, to
the exclusion of the partner involved and the relationship more generally.
This thesis is divided into two sections: a literature review and a series of papers
that have been published or submitted for publication. Section 1 (Chapters 1-5) reviews
the literature on sexual dysfunctions and disorders generally, and sexual desire more
specifically, with a focus on sexual distress and its measurement. Chapter 1 provides a
description of common sexual disorders within the context of models of the human
sexual response, as well as their prevalence and risk factors. Chapter 2 focuses primarily on low sexual desire, providing a detailed overview beginning with a
description of the construct of sexual desire and introducing the history of sexual desire
disorders within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals. In Chapter 3, information
pertaining to the epidemiology and aetiology of sexual disorders is presented, while
Chapter 4 provides a review of treatment strategies for low sexual desire. Finally,
Chapter 5 focuses on sexual distress and provides a review of the current gold standard
measures available.
Section 2 (Chapters 6-9) consists of a discussion paper and two research studies
that have been submitted or accepted for publication. Chapter 6 (and Appendix S)
presents a discussion paper published in the Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy
(Frost & Donovan, 2015), that outlines the difficulties associated with operationalising
the construct of sexual distress, and questioning whether we have the literature base to
determine the differences between ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ levels of sexual desire in
women, particularly when it appears to be a potentially normative response to a range of
life circumstances. Given the movement within this field to view sexual desire from a
couples perspective, and the difficulties experienced when treating low sexual desire in
women, this paper concludes that sexual distress may in and of itself be an important
research and treatment target.
Chapter 7 outlines a qualitative study investigating the distress and
consequences experienced by women with low sexual desire and their partners
(submitted to the Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy). For this study, semistructured
interviews were conducted with 26 participants (13 couples), and thematic
analysis revealed 29 conceptually distinct forms of distress and consequence. Despite
the complex and multi-faceted nature of distress, results of the study suggest that the nature of individual and relationship distress, as experienced by men and women, is
strikingly similar.
Chapter 8 outlines a study conducted to develop and psychometrically validate, a
new measure of sexual and relationship distress. An initial pool of 73 items was created
from the results of the earlier qualitative study outlined in Chapter 7, and administered
using an online survey to 1,381 participants (462 men, 904 women and 14 who
identified as ‘other’), along with measures for the purposes of psychometric evaluation
including the FSDS-R, CSI-16, DASS-21, and questions relating to sexual function.
Exploratory (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor analyses (CFA) in separate split-half
samples were conducted, and resulted in a psychometrically sound 30-item, 14 factor
measure of sexual and relationship distress. The SaRDS improves upon other available
measures due to its ability to be administered to both men and women, as well as the
partner of an individual with any perceived or diagnosable sexual dysfunction. It also
includes both sexual and relationship distress, and has the ability to provide both
subscale and total scores. This study has been accepted for publication by the Journal of
Sexual Medicine (Frost & Donovan, 2018). The SaRDS has also been accepted for
publication in the new edition of the Handbook of Sexuality-Related Measures (Frost &
Donovan, 2019), the manuscript for which is presented in Chapter 9.
The overall aim of these studies is to gain a deeper understanding of the distress
and consequences experienced by both members of a couple when sexual difficulties are
present within their relationship and to use these findings to create a new measure of
sexual distress. While the first study recruited women with low sexual desire and their
partners, the results showed equivalence in experience across gender and type of sexual
difficulty. The measure created using the items developed from the first qualitative
study supported these findings as it was developed and validated in a community sample who reported a wide variety of sexual difficulties. Chapter 10 provides a
discussion of the overall findings from these studies, and presents the strengths and
limitations of the program of research as well as clinical implications and suggestions
for future research, for the program of research as a whole. This thesis makes a unique
and valuable contribution to our understanding and measurement of sexual and
relationship distress within the context of sexual difficulties, and provides a
foundational platform from which future research can build.Thesis (Professional Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (PhD ClinPsych)School of Applied PsychologyGriffith HealthFull Tex
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