The Third Mind: on the triadic origin of reflective functioning
Year of Dissertation:
2012
The present study adopts a `three-person psychology' model in understanding the mental lives of young children. Integrating psychoanalytic, attachment and family systems formulations regarding the regulatory functions of the mother-father-child triad, it explores the triadic underpinnings of mentalization capacities at age 6. It was hypothesized that parents' capacity to mentalize about the mother-father-child triangle would be linked to the quality of the child's representations of self and others as intentional beings. Furthermore, the study explored the possibility that the interactive qualities of the triad mediate between parental mentalization and child mentalization.
Exploring the Relationship Between Working Mothers and their Nannies
Year of Dissertation:
2012
This qualitative study explores working mothers' relationship with their child(ren)'s nannies (paid domestic caregivers who care for the child in the family home). The purpose of this study was as follows: 1) to shed light on aspects of the mother-nanny relationship that have not yet been explored in the existing literature; 2) to discern important issues regarding this relationship to inform clinicians who work with this population; 3) to illustrate salient themes that will inform further research with working mothers like those interviewed for this study.
AFFECT MATURITY IN A SAMPLE OF CHILDREN WITH LANGUAGE AND ATTENTION SYMPTOMATOLOGY
Year of Dissertation:
2010
The present study examines the phenomenological affective (or emotional) worlds of children co-diagnosed with ADHD and Language Impairment. Children (n = 64) were grouped into four diagnostic categories: "ADHD + Language Impairment," "ADHD only," "Language Impairment only," and "Non-Clinical." Children were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Thompson Scale of Affect Maturity on the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) across diagnostic classifications. The results of this investigation indicate that there are important differences between diagnostic classifications on the CBCL. Children with ADHD + Language Impairment and ADHD only diagnoses demonstrated more behaviorally based symptomatology when compared the Language only and Non-Clinical groups. Additionally, children co-diagnosed with ADHD and Language Impairment had the lowest levels of affect maturity. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed. Additionally, children codiagnosed with Language Impairment and ADHD, and the ADHD only group, exhibit a specific pattern of affect maturity when presented with aggressive and depressive content on the TAT that children with Language Impairment only did not demonstrate.
The relationship between reflective functioning and severity of agoraphobia in the outcome of a psychoanalytic psychotherapy for panic disorder
Year of Dissertation:
2009
This study examined the relationship between reflective functioning and severity of agoraphobia in the context of an outcome study investigating psychoanalytic psychotherapy for panic disorder. The DSM-IV identifies two subtypes of Panic Disorder: Panic Disorder with and without agoraphobia. The agoraphobic syndrome is associated with the most impaired end of the diagnostic continuum, the poorest prognosis, and lower response rates to existing efficacious treatment. A better understanding of the patients who develop severe agoraphobia is important in guiding interventions.
Does cross-examination help jurors detect deception?
Year of Dissertation:
2009
Advisor:
Margaret Bull Kovera
Both the Constitution and case law establish cross-examination as a crucial method for eliciting testimony that will assist fact finders in determining the truthfulness of a witness's testimony. Despite the legal system's faith in the efficacy of cross-examination as a safeguard against deceptive witnesses, no studies have tested the assumption that cross-examination will help jurors discriminate between truthful and false testimony. The cross-examination strategies that trial technique manuals advocate are based on commonsense notions of human behavior, but these strategies have not been empirically tested to determine if they help jurors accurately discriminate between truthful and lying witnesses. Although traditional cross-examination techniques have not been empirically studied, psychological research has identified specific strategies that improve laypeople's ability to detect deception when viewing an interrogation of a suspect. The present research examined the effectiveness of currently employed cross-examination techniques in determining the truthfulness of a witness's testimony. In addition, the traditional cross-examination techniques were tested against cross-examination strategies that were based on techniques derived from the deception detection literature. In the first phase, 106 participants either witnessed a confederate steal a wallet or they were not exposed to the theft. In phase II of the experiment, I manipulated participants' motivation to either lie or tell the truth about what they saw. Witnesses' direct and cross-examinations were videotaped in a mock courtroom, and witnesses either underwent a traditional cross-examination, a cross-examination based on deception detection research, or no cross examination. In phase III of the study each of the witnesses' examinations were edited into the larger context of a theft trial. Mock jurors viewed the trial and provided veracity judgments for each of the witnesses and rendered a verdict. Although behavioral differences were observed between deceptive witnesses who underwent a research based cross-examination and deceptive witnesses who underwent a traditional cross-examination, cross-examination type did not influence jurors' evaluations of witness truthfulness. Implications for the legal systems and future research directions are discussed.
The Situated and Dialogical 'Nature' of (In)Competence: A Socio-Cultural Approach to Informed Consent Treatment Decision-Making Competence in Adults Diagnosed with Intellectual Disability
Year of Dissertation:
2013
The Situated and Dialogical 'Nature' of (In)Competence: A Socio-Cultural Approach to Informed Consent Treatment Decision-Making Competence in Adults Diagnosed with Intellectual Disability
FATHER ABSENCE, THE MYTHICAL FATHER, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON AFFECT MATURITY
Year of Dissertation:
2011
This study investigates the influence of father absence on a son's ability to experience emotion in mature, differentiated ways--to show affect maturity. According to Anne Thompson (1986), affect maturity "determines how an individual will experience and cope with his or her feelings" (p. 212). This, according to Thompson (1986), has consequences for tolerating negative affects, reflecting on possible decisions instead of acting impulsively, and reality testing one's emotions.
Neuropsychological and Neuropsychiatric Prediction of Cognitive Functioning and Cognitive Decline: A Cross-Cultural Perspective
Author:
Elizabeth Guerrero Berroa
Year of Dissertation:
2011
The goal of this study was to examine whether seven neuropsychological tests and three depression measures were associated with cognitive functioning among Hispanic elderly, and to assess whether they operated differently for Hispanic and White ethnic groups. Participants were 89 community-dwelling elderly Hispanics and 89 Whites matched on clinical and demographic characteristics, all followed longitudinally at the NYU Alzheimer's Disease Center (NYUADC). Their cognitive functioning ranged from normal to moderate dementia. Although a large proportion of the measures evidenced an association with cognitive status, hierarchical regression analyses showed that the initial recall of the NYU-Paragraph Test and the Retardation measure (especially for Spanish-speaking Hispanics), as well as WAIS-Digit Symbol (especially for English-speaking Hispanics) were most strongly associated with cognitive status after controlling for demographic and other cognitive measures. Retardation (for the entire Hispanic group) and the total score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS; for the entire White group) differentiated between normal cognition and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). For the full range of cognitive status, the combined predictive usefulness of the 10 measures differed significantly between Hispanics and Whites; this difference was especially driven by the Retardation measure. For nondemented participants, only the depression measures predicted differently between the two ethnic groups. When the analyses examined the primary language of the participants, the predictive usefulness of neuropsychological and depression measures differed between Spanish-speaking Hispanics and their matched Whites, but no differences were found between English-speaking Hispanics and their White counterparts. Subsequent analyses showed that, for Hispanics, the usefulness of the 21-item HDRS-total score reflected the contributions of Work and Activities and Retardation, but not the other 19 items. The WAIS-Digit Symbol lacked specificity for Spanish-speaking Hispanics. Preliminary longitudinal analysis showed that the delayed recall of the NYU-Paragraph Test predicted cognitive decline among Spanish-speaking Hispanics. These results suggest that the NYU-Paragraph Test and Retardation may improve diagnostic accuracy and prediction of decline among Spanish-speaking Hispanics.
Repetition: From Compulsion to Structure
Year of Dissertation:
2012
This work studied the different functions of repetition in the course of a long-term psychoanalysis. In empirical psychoanalytic research, repetition has been viewed as a maladaptive behavioral structure or speech disfluency. However, it was argued that repetition is a unique function of the mind that has various uses. Repetition can manifest as dominance of inertia; it can also be associated with traumatic anxiety and help develop a structure to alleviate the impact of trauma. In addition, some repetitions are in the service of difference where they modify and enrich the psyche.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in Couples Facing Multiple Sclerosis: Impact on Self Reported Anxiety and Uncertainty
Year of Dissertation:
2009
Nearly 2.5 million people in the world have MS (The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, 2007). MS is an auto-immune disorder, involving the white matter of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms vary and can come and go, appear in any combination, and may be mild, moderate, or severe. The prognosis and time-course of the disease is often unclear. The disease can create a great deal of uncertainty, particularly in newly diagnosed patients (Noseworthy et al., 2000). Approximately 50% of patients and partners showed significant levels of either anxiety or distress (Pakenham, 1998). Additionally, patients who reported their spouses to be more encouraging have been shown to be significantly less depressed (Schwartz & Kraft, 1996). Thus, couples "react to disease as a unit" (Pakenham, 1998, p. 269). Rolland (1985) concurs that "the well spouse faces many of the same dilemmas" (p. 240).