Psychology (Functional Area: Clinical Psychology)

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Smoke, Sip, Sleep, Repeat: Investigating Daily-Level Bidirectional Relationships Between Separate And Simultaneous Alcohol-Cannabis Use And Sleep
(2025-07-23) Moore, Annabelle Thea Hong Ven Nuyen; Jeff Wardell
Sleep problems are common among young adults, and alcohol and cannabis are known to impact sleep. Given the high prevalence of simultaneous alcohol-cannabis use in this population, there is a need to clarify the mixed findings in existing research regarding the combined effects of alcohol and cannabis use on sleep. This study used daily diary methodology to examine daily relationships between simultaneous use (versus cannabis-only, alcohol-only, and no use) and key sleep indices (i.e., subjective sleep quality, sleep duration, and bedtime), exploring the moderating role of substance use problem severity. Young adults (N=151; 64% female; Mage = 22.07) completed daily morning surveys in a smartphone app assessing prior-day alcohol and cannabis use, bedtime, wake time, and subjective sleep quality. Participants also completed measures of alcohol and cannabis problem severity at baseline. Multilevel models (with days nested within participants) indicated that participants reported worse sleep on alcohol-only use days relative to simultaneous use and no-use days, while cannabis-only use was associated with better sleep relative to no use. Participants reported similar subjective sleep quality and sleep duration on cannabis-only and simultaneous use days. Further, alcohol problem severity moderated associations between substance use and sleep. Specifically, individuals with greater alcohol problem severity experienced poorer sleep on alcohol-only days relative to simultaneous use days, whereas those with lower alcohol problem severity reported poorer sleep on simultaneous use days compared to cannabis-only days. Reciprocal models examining the impacts of sleep variables on next-day likelihood of simultaneous or single substance use did not reveal any significant main effects. These findings provide insight into the daily-level relationships between alcohol and cannabis co-use and sleep health, highlighting the need for tailored sleep interventions based on substance use patterns and problem severity. Keywords: cannabis; alcohol; simultaneous use; co-use; sleep; ecological momentary assessment
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Examining the Factor Structure of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) in Emerging Adults: An Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling Approach
(2025-07-23) Bernusky, Haley Cheyenne Renee; Keough, Matthew
The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) measures personality traits linked to heavy drinking and related problems (hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, sensation seeking) and informs personality-matching interventions. The SURPS’ factor structure shows inconsistencies, and evidence suggests that confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is too restrictive for measures capturing correlated constructs. We examined if exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) better captured the optimal SURPS factor structure in a large Canadian sample, tested measurement invariance across sex and alcohol use differences, and assessed the predictive validity of SURPS subscales for alcohol use motives and problems. A sample of 6,397 emerging adults completed surveys. ESEM had excellent fit relative to CFA; Item 22 was removed due to a poor factor loading. The final model was invariant across groups; SURPS subscales predicted alcohol use motives and problems. Results support the SURPS’ utility for measuring substance use personality risk and ESEM’s utility for analyzing correlated constructs.
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Characterizing White Matter Microstructure in Asymptomatic Older Adults at Elevated Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
(2025-07-23) Kantarovich, Karin; Turner, Gary R.
Growing evidence suggests that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with axonal tract alterations. These white matter (WM) changes may emerge very early, prior to clinical symptom onset and may precede cortical grey matter changes. However, reliably characterizing these WM alterations in vivo and differentiating them from normal age-related change has been challenging. To address this challenge, the overarching goal of this dissertation was to examine differences in WM microstructure attributable to known AD-risk factors: age, genetics, and the presence of AD-related pathology. Advanced diffusion-imaging methods were used to characterize WM microstructure in a large sample of older adults at elevated familial risk for AD who remained clinically asymptomatic (n=146). Additionally, participants underwent genetic testing, lumbar punctures, and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning to derive AD-risk biomarkers. In Study 1, I implemented a multivariate, data-driven statistical technique, Partial Least Squares (PLS), to identify covariance patterns between whole-brain, voxelwise white matter microstructure and AD-risk factors. Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) data were collected to derive three WM microstructure indices: neurite density (NDI), orientation dispersion (ODI), and isotropic volume fraction (ISOVF). Each of these measures was associated with age, APOE4 genotype, and amyloid-beta and tau pathology biomarkers. Older age was associated with all three NODDI WM indices. NDI was uniquely sensitive to AD-risk indexed by AD pathology biomarkers. Study 2 extended these analyses to examine WM microstructural associations with cognition (episodic memory, processing speed, and executive control) in the same preclinical AD cohort using a whole-brain exploratory approach. WM microstructure, indexed by NODDI, was associated with episodic memory and executive control. However, most associations did not remain when accounting for age-related variance, suggesting that WM-cognition associations may not be specific to AD-risk factors. This dissertation represents one of the first, and among the most comprehensive investigations into WM microstructure in the context of multiple AD-risk factors, occurring before clinical syndrome onset. These findings demonstrate WM microstructural alterations are among the earliest neural changes to accompany AD-related pathology, providing a window into the impact of AD on brain structure, and informing novel opportunities for surveillance and intervention at the earliest disease stages.
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I'm Not That Person: A Qualitative Study of Moral Injury in Forensic Psychiatric Patients
(2025-07-23) Atkey, Sarah Kate; Goldberg, Joel
Few studies have examined the psychological impacts of committing criminal acts of violence on the lives of perpetrators who were mentally ill at the time of offence and in which the act itself may reflect behaviour that is uncharacteristic of the individual. Theoretical and clinical reports describe a phenomenon termed moral injury which profiles the deleterious emotional effects that can arise from actions that transgress moral beliefs and expectations (Litz et al., 2009). Shame, guilt, spiritual/existential conflict, and loss of trust are considered to be core symptoms of moral injury (Jinkerson, 2016) with growing empirical studies which examine moral injury in military and public safety worker samples. The extent to which these kinds of moral injury phenomena might be evident among mentally ill perpetrators was explored using a qualitative-methods approach in a sample of 19 adult participants hospitalized in a forensic program inpatient service in Ontario, Canada. A qualitative interview was conducted where participants were asked to describe feelings about the index offence, the effect it has had on their well-being, and how they have coped with having committed the offence. We also collected quantitative measures of shame, guilt, psychopathology, and traumatic stress; findings indicated that the sample was demonstrating mean moderate levels of traumatic stress. Qualitatively, using a reflexive thematic analysis process, five themes and 23 subthemes were generated. Each theme relates to the various impacts, emotions, and cognitions experienced by the participants as a result of the index offence. The five themes which emerged were: (1) Living with the Emotional Aftermath; (2) Trying to Make Sense and Coming to Terms; (3) My Eyes Have Opened; (4) Facing the Music; and (5) Moving On. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding forensic inpatients who may be attempting to come to terms with offences they committed and for informing moral injury intervention strategies which might be adapted for the forensic mental health hospital service and recidivism prevention programs.
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The Balance of Sexual Responsiveness and Autonomy: Communal and Self-Determined Approaches to Sexual Motivation, Need Fulfillment, and Support in Romantic Relationships
(2025-07-23) Shoikhedbrod, Ariel; Muise, Amy
Sexual need fulfillment between partners is central to the maintenance of a romantic relationship over time. However, it can be challenging to assert one’s sexual needs in the process of being responsive to a partner’s sexual needs, presenting a key interdependent dilemma couples navigate in the sexual domain. In the following dissertation, I integrated communal and self-determined theories of sexual motivation to further our understanding of how people balance being responsive to a partner’s sexual needs with asserting their own sexual needs and how perceiving a partner as supportive of one’s sexual needs is central to maintaining sexual and relationship well-being. In my first paper, I examine how balancing the motivation to be responsive to a partner’s sexual needs with asserting one’s own sexual needs (i.e., high sexual communal strength) is associated with greater sexual and relationship well-being as a function of engaging in sex for pleasure and meaning (i.e., autonomous reasons) rather than out of pressure or obligation (i.e., controlled reasons). In contrast, sexual responsiveness that involves self-neglect (i.e., high unmitigated sexual communion) is costly to well-being due to controlled reasons for engaging in sex. In my second paper, I demonstrate how experimentally orienting people in relationships to high sexual responsiveness is associated with differences in autonomous versus controlled reasons for engaging in sex and sexual and relationship well-being depending on whether people are also oriented toward high versus low sexual assertiveness. In my third and final paper, I examine the novel role of perceiving a partner as autonomously supportive in the sexual domain (i.e., feeling that a partner supports one’s ability to freely choose and act on their sexual preferences and interests) in fostering sexual need fulfillment, and in turn, sexual and relationship satisfaction, over and above the role of perceiving a partner as responsive to one’s sexual needs. By emphasizing the value of being sexually responsive and self-determined in relationships, this dissertation provides key insights into the dynamics of sexual motivation, sexual need fulfillment and support in romantic relationships, as well as the potential for applying and extending this work to diverse populations, contexts, and interventions.
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Exploring The Associations Between Trait Boredom And Cannabis Use Habits
(2025-04-10) Kronstein, Naama Beatrice; Keough, Matthew
Context: Excessive cannabis may lead to significant related problems in a small proportion of those who use. There is growing support for positive associations between trait boredom and both cannabis use and related harms. State Boredom is the aversive experience of wishing but being incapable of participating in fulfilling activity. Trait boredom is the frequency of experiencing state boredom. Recent literature suggests that trait boredom reflects a chronic lack of agency rather than being a component of sensation seeking. Theories of addiction suggest that people who experience aversive affect frequently (i.e., trait boredom as a lack of agency) tend to use for coping motives (i.e., reduce negative affect), and those who are high on sensation seeking tend to use for expansion motives (i.e., heighten mental experience). Hypotheses: I expected trait boredom to positively predict cannabis use and related harms and that these associations would be explained by coping motives. Furthermore, I expected sensation seeking to predict cannabis use and related harms and that these associations would be explained by expansion motives. Exploratory gender specific moderation effects were examined. Methods: Data were collected in a single wave on MTurk. 489 North American participant who had used cannabis in the past month were included. Participants were asked about their motivation to use cannabis, problems related to cannabis-use, sensation seeking, and their cannabis use disorder related symptoms. Results: I observed high collinearity between the cannabis motives (suggesting they were not unique), and the sensation seeking measure had a large portion of missing responses. Therefore, I was unable to examine initially planned mediation models. Instead, simple linear regressions were performed to examine how trait boredom related to cannabis outcomes. In line with the hypothesis, trait boredom was positively associated with cannabis problems and cannabis use disorder symptoms. Moderation analysis showed that men’s CUD-related symptoms were positively affected by boredom but not women’s. Significance: This study found associations between trait boredom as a lack of agency and cannabis outcomes. Future research should investigate the mechanisms of these associations and expand on our understanding of trait boredom in the etiology of excessive cannabis use and harms.
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Intimate Partners' Awareness of and Responses to Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviours in People with Borderline Personality Disorders: A Mixed-Methods Descriptive Study
(2025-04-10) Tissera, Talia Maria; Fitzpatrick, Skye
Intimate relationship dysfunction is characteristic of borderline personality disorder (BPD), and partners’ behaviours may exacerbate or ameliorate self-injury in BPD. Therefore, this study investigated partners’ awareness of people with BPD’s self-injury, how they find out about self-injury, their responses to self-injury, and their self-evaluated helpfulness. To address these aims, 15 people with BPD and their 15 partners reported on the presence or absence of self-injury for 30 days; partners also reported how they found out about self-injury for 30 days and completed semi-structured interviews about a recent response to self-injury and their self-evaluated helpfulness. Partners were aware of 40% of self-injury, and 66.7% found out about self-injury because people with BPD disclosed it. Qualitatively, most partners responded to self-injury by soothing, protecting, and/or problem solving for people with BPD. Most partners observed mixed or negative reactions to their efforts, and perhaps consequently, some felt lost about how helpful they were.
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Cancer Recovery Narratives Pre and Peri Covid: A Mixed Methods Comparative Analysis
(2025-04-10) Norton, Lucas Gordon Scott; Fergus, Karen
This study is the first of its kind to compare narratives from cancer survivors collected at the end of treatment both before the COVID-19 pandemic began (2017-2019) and three years following (2023-2024). Data was collected through short narrative care interviews, designed to provide a supportive way for cancer survivors to process the experience of treatment and recovery, and find ways to effectively move forward in life. Preliminary quantitative findings indicate the potential effectiveness and acceptability of the narrative interview for supporting individuals at the end of cancer treatment, with notable increases in self-reported social well-being. Emergent qualitative thematic differences include frequent reports of medical delays and experiences of loneliness during treatment in the peri-COVID cohort, as well as indications that this group was more inclined to advocate for their healthcare needs, express skepticism toward the medical system, and speak more positively about interpersonal support from loved ones than the pre-COVID cohort.
Access status: Open Access ,
Perceived Norms about Coping-Motivated Drinking Mediate the Relations Between Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use and Related Problems
(2025-04-10) Newman, Jessica Esther; Keough, Matt
Social anxiety has been shown to be a risk factor for alcohol-related problems among emerging adults. Perceived norms may be a relevant cognitive factor underlying this risk; however, previous literature has focused mostly on broad norms about alcohol use in general and not on norms about specific alcohol use behaviours. The main goal of this study was to examine the mediating role of perceived approval about drinking to cope specifically, in the pathway from social anxiety to alcohol use and related problems. I hypothesized that university students with heightened social anxiety would perceive their friends (in particular) as being approving of drinking to cope with negative affect, which would lead to an increase in alcohol problems. Participants were ages 18 to 29 from six Canadian universities and completed an online cross- sectional survey measuring social anxiety levels, perceived approval of specific risky drinking behaviours, alcohol use frequency, and alcohol-related problems. Mediation analyses showed that elevated social anxiety predicted greater perceptions of friends approving of drinking to cope, which in turn, predicted elevated alcohol-related problems. This mediation effect was not seen when analyzing perceived approval from typical students, highlighting a specificity for friends increasing perceived approval of coping-related drinking behaviours. Perceived approval of sexual risk taking from friends was associated with lower alcohol-related problems, and perceived approval of heavy drinking from typical students was associated with increased alcohol outcomes. This study is the first to examine the impact of perceived approval of specific risky drinking behaviours on alcohol outcomes among students with relatively elevated social anxiety. Such research could contribute to improving the efficacy of personalized normative feedback interventions for modifying normative perceptions and alcohol outcomes.
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Examining social networks, social support, and relationship quality as protective factors for neurocognitive health in individuals who are homeless or precariously housed
(2024-11-07) Li-Chay-Chung, Audrey Clara; Wardell, Jeffrey
Social connectedness contributes to cognitive reserve (CR) in the context of aging, but its role in predicting neurocognitive functioning in adults who are unstably housed is unknown. This study examined cross-sectional associations between dimensions of social connectedness and domains of neurocognitive functioning in a sample of adults experiencing homelessness or precarious housing. HIV infection, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and psychotic disorder were analyzed as moderating clinical risk factors. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that available social network size significantly predicted verbal memory performance. HIV moderated the association between relationship conflict and verbal memory, and the association between social network size and cognitive flexibility. Neither social support nor relationship conflict predicted neurocognitive functioning. Neither TBI nor psychotic disorder moderated any associations. The present findings elucidate the role of social connectedness in contributing to CR in this marginalized population and provide support for social-oriented interventions to preserve their neurocognitive health.
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The Experience Of Brain Power During A Continuous Performance Task: Exploring The Influence Of Task- And Person-Based Factors
(2024-11-07) Wagner, Danika Marie Miner; Eastwood, John
The experience of brain power is a crucial element of collective flourishing and the regulation of cognition. However, essential questions regarding its mechanisms remain poorly understood, particularly concerning how person- and task-based factors influence the experience. This study explored how the experience of brain power during a continuous performance task (CPT) is associated with person-based (i.e., ADHD symptoms) and task-based (i.e., manipulations in interstimulus intervals (ISI)) factors. Participants reported the presence of ADHD symptoms and then were randomly assigned to one of three CPT ISI conditions (1000, 3000, or 6000 ms). Two-thirds of the way through the CPT, participants rated their experience of brain power. Both person- and task-based factors influenced the experience of brain power on two psychometrically distinct facets of the experience (task-elicited and volitionally exerted). Both factors interact to influence CPT performance. Implications of the findings and future directions are discussed.
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The Relationship Between Gaming Behaviours, Emotional Vulnerability, And Coping During The Covid-19 Pandemic
(2024-11-07) Lewinson, Rebecca Elizabeth; Katz, Joel
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant changes in the way people interacted, functioned, and coped with life stressors (Restubog et al., 2020; Rettie & Daniels, 2021). With government guidelines, uncertainty, and isolation, individuals sought new coping methods, including video games (Entertainment Software Association, 2020; King et al., 2020; López-Cabarcos et al., 2020). This coping strategy may have been particularly prevalent among individuals with emotional vulnerabilities (i.e., symptoms of depression and anxiety), or personality traits such as anxiety sensitivity or hopelessness. As such, there is a need to better understand how emotional vulnerability relates to coping-motivated gaming during the pandemic. This dissertation presents two longitudinal studies exploring emotional vulnerability, gaming behaviours, and coping motivations for gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first study involved 332 Canadian gamers (Mage= 33.79, SDage=8.92; 60.8% male, 39.2% female) and examined the influence of emotional vulnerability on coping-motivated gaming and gaming-related problems during the first six months of the pandemic (April – October 2020). The results supported the hypotheses, that higher levels of emotional vulnerability predicted excessive time spent gaming and gaming-related problems, with coping motives playing a mediating role. The second study, conducted between July 2021 and January 2022, involved 1001 American gamers (Mage= 38.43, SDage= 12.11; 46.8% male, 53.2% female) and aimed to understand how internalizing personality traits, namely anxiety sensitivity and hopelessness influenced video gaming engagement. There was an observed predictive relationship between anxiety sensitivity and subsequent time spent gaming, through coping motives. Overall, these studies provide valuable insights into emotional vulnerability, gaming behaviours, and coping motives during the pandemic. They emphasize the importance of coping motives in these relationships and offer an opportunity to explore how symptoms of depression or anxiety and related personality traits, may influence the use of gaming during the pandemic.
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Understanding Decisions to Engage in Public Health Measures (PHMs) during COVID-19
(2024-10-28) Halilova, Julia Gyulnara; Rosenbaum, Shayna
Widespread compliance with public health measures (PHMs) has been critical to containing the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other infectious diseases. Vaccination, mask-wearing, handwashing, and physical distancing have been among most recommended PHMs for mitigating the impacts of the pandemic. To facilitate development of public health policies and campaigns to encourage compliance with PHMs, it is necessary to gain insight into factors contributing to decisions to engage in the PHMs. The four studies presented in this dissertation are focused on investigating contributions of well-established cognitive biases, delay discounting and intolerance of uncertainty, to individual’s compliance with PHMs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 7,000 participants from 13 countries were recruited for an online survey between June and August 2021. Participants completed measures of delay discounting, intolerance of uncertainty, demographics, distress level, and PHM compliance. After controlling for demographic and distress variables, delay discounting (tendency to prefer smaller immediate rewards over larger later rewards) was a negative predictor of vaccination, but a positive predictor of physical distancing and handwashing. The participants were invited to complete a follow-up study between July and August 2022 and respond to questions about engagement in protective behaviors, including vaccination status and willingness to receive a booster dose. In the sub-sample of participants who reported receiving at least one main dose of the vaccine (n=2,547), a greater tendency to discount future rewards was associated with reduced willingness to receive a booster dose, after controlling for demographic and distress variables. In the sub-sample of participants who reported no intention to get vaccinated in 2021 (n=251), an age x intolerance of uncertainty interaction predicted the likelihood of change in vaccination status a year later. Younger participants were more likely to change their mind about vaccination compared to older participants, especially if they were high on intolerance of uncertainty. The results of the four studies advance our understanding of health-related decision-making, offering insights into vaccine hesitancy, compliance with PHMs, and the cognitive processes associated with these choices during a pandemic. The implications extend to theoretical models, public health strategies, and interventions aimed at promoting widespread engagement in PHMs.
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Conceptualizing and Measuring Trait Boredom as a Lack of Agency
(2024-10-28) Gorelik, Dana; Eastwood, John D.
Trait boredom suffers from conceptual ambiguity, including a lack of agreed upon definition and theoretical understanding. Existing measures of trait boredom have been shown to lack validity and possess psychometric limitations. The present dissertation sought to address these concerns by proposing and evaluating a theory of trait boredom and validating a new assessment tool. Chapter 1 reviews the literature on trait boredom including its causes, self-report measures, and limitations of its literature. Chapter 2 defines trait boredom as the frequent experience of state boredom resulting from a psychological cause and conceptualizes these psychological causes in terms of ‘agency’. Chapter 3 partitions the variance in TBS scores into state, trait, and error components to assess the stability and thus validity of the scale. It also evaluates the TBS by examining its associations with measures of theoretically related constructs. Results confirmed a six-item unidimensional scale with strong psychometric properties, including adequate internal consistency (ω = .89), interindividual stability (69.04% of variance accounted by a trait factor), and expected associations with related measures. Chapter 4 evaluates the definition of trait boredom by examining how well measures of psychological causes of boredom predict state boredom characteristics. It also assesses the predictive validity of the TBS by examining its associations with state boredom. Results showed that measures of psychological causes generally predicted state boredom characteristics. Given the finding that boredom intensity and distress were separate from boredom frequency and pervasiveness, I propose that trait boredom should be defined by both the quality of boredom experience (i.e., its intensity and distress) and its frequency. The TBS predicted all state boredom characteristics (rs range from .18 to .26). The TBS was associated with almost all psychological causes of boredom as expected; large associations were with volitional causes. It was also associated with maladaptive and ineffectual responses to boredom. Findings demonstrated that the TBS captures my theory of trait boredom as a lack of agency. Chapter 5 summarizes key findings and proposes directions for future research. The present work provides a useful theory of trait boredom and further validity for a strong new measure of trait boredom.
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Examining Daily Associations Between Cannabis Use and Alcohol Use Among People Who Use Cannabis for Both Medicinal and Nonmedicinal Reasons: Substitution or Complementarity?
(2024-10-28) Coelho, Sophie; Wardell, Jeffrey
People who use cannabis for medicinal reasons tend to report elevated cannabis use and reduced alcohol use, which may reflect a cannabis–alcohol substitution effect. However, it is currently unclear whether cannabis is used as a substitute for or complement to alcohol at the day level among individuals who use cannabis for both medicinal and nonmedicinal reasons. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine day-level cannabis-alcohol associations linked to day-level variation in medicinal (versus nonmedicinal) reasons for cannabis use. People reporting cannabis use for both medicinal and nonmedicinal reasons (N=66) completed daily surveys assessing previous-day reasons for cannabis use, cannabis consumption, and alcohol consumption. Multilevel models revealed that days during which cannabis was used for medicinal (versus exclusively nonmedicinal) reasons were associated with reduced consumption of both cannabis and alcohol, and alcohol use was increased on days involving greater cannabis consumption. Further, the day-level association between medicinal (versus exclusively nonmedicinal) reasons for cannabis use and lower alcohol consumption was mediated by fewer grams of cannabis used on those days. Results suggest that day-level cannabis-alcohol associations may be complementary rather than substitutive among people who use cannabis for both medicinal and nonmedicinal reasons, and reduced (rather than increased) cannabis use may explain the link between medicinal reasons for cannabis use and reduced alcohol use. These individuals may still be at risk for cannabis-alcohol co-use-related harms, especially on days when they use cannabis for nonmedicinal reasons.
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A Lonely Time to Live: Assessing the Severity and Chronicity of Loneliness in Emerging Adults
(2024-10-28) Rose, Alison Lesley; Goldberg, Joel
Severe and chronic forms of loneliness are thought to contribute to declines in both mental and physical health. Although the impacts of loneliness are well-established, little is known about the extent to which more severe and chronic forms of loneliness impede on individuals’ functioning and well-being. This oversight is in large part due to the lack of an adequate measure that more fully assesses the severity and chronicity of loneliness. By extension, little is understood about the extent to which severe and chronic forms of loneliness affect emerging adults in general and in challenging times (e.g., during the pandemic). Considering these observations, three multi-method studies were conducted to address this gap in the literature. Study One is a qualitative study conducted during the height of the COVID-19 public health crisis which found that both internal (personal) and external (social and situational) mental health concerns emerged as themes related to the perception and experience of loneliness (N = 37). Study Two (N = 289) and Study Three (N = 371) both involved collecting data from two self-report online surveys during ensuing stages of the pandemic to test the psychometric properties of a newly developed scale (the Severe Enduring Loneliness Factors Questionnaire; SELF) and the extent to which it is predictive of risk and resilience indicators above existing loneliness scales with samples exclusively composed of emerging adults. Overall, findings suggest that it is useful to view and use the measure as two separate subscales that individually evaluate the severity and chronicity of loneliness. As well, the majority of regression analyses showed that both factors of the SELF were either individually or simultaneously predictive, although not uniquely predictive, of the majority of outcomes such as higher levels of depression and shame and lower levels of mattering to others. Notably, an enduring sense of loneliness was uniquely predictive of lower levels of total hope. Study Two compared participants identifying no chronic loneliness (N = 29) with those reporting chronic loneliness to a high degree (N = 84), as well as Study Three (no chronic loneliness, N = 33; high chronic loneliness, N = 125). Both studies found significant, consistent group differences in psychological strengths and vulnerabilities between those reporting an absence versus a heightened level of chronic loneliness. Findings from the present series of studies suggest that the SELF questionnaire shows promise not just in terms of demonstrating sound psychometric properties but also with respect to providing a more comprehensive understanding of the kinds of loneliness that are characterized as more extreme and persistent. The implications of these findings and recommendations for further advancements pertaining to the research and clinical applications of this work are outlined and discussed.
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Subjective and objective spatial memory and navigation abilities in aging and amnesia
(2024-03-16) Pishdadian, Sara; Rosenbaum, R. Shayna
Compared to the extensive research on how older adults evaluate their memory abilities, the evaluation of subjective spatial navigation abilities is understudied. This dissertation was guided by four research objectives: 1) Investigate the psychometric properties of a subjective spatial navigation questionnaire to assess the nature and extent of self-reported changes to spatial navigation in neurotypical aging; 2) Determine the relationship among subjective assessments of spatial navigation and of memory and how they relate to psychological distress and objective memory performance; 3) Understand the impact of hippocampal damage on subjective awareness of areas of spared and impaired episodic and spatial memory; and 4) Identify more precisely the conditions in which spatial memory and navigation depend on hippocampal integrity. In study 1, multidimensional item response theory was used to evaluate the factor structure and item reliability of the novel Changes in Navigation Questionnaire (CNQ) in a community sample of older adults. Results showed that the CNQ has a reliable factor structure, with items falling under typical and atypical changes. In study 2, the relationship between subjective spatial navigation and metamemory in aging was investigated using structural equation modeling. Findings showed that the subjective spatial navigation and metamemory constructs had a positive, weak correlation. Objective episodic memory performance did not load onto metamemory, and allocentric spatial memory performance had a weak loading onto spatial navigation abilities. Psychological distress symptoms had stronger loadings on metamemory than spatial navigation abilities. In study 3, two individuals with hippocampal amnesia completed questionnaires assessing metamemory and spatial navigation abilities and were compared to age-, gender-, and education-matched controls. The individuals with amnesia reported sound awareness of metamemory and spatial navigation difficulties. Lastly, in study 4, these individuals’ performance on a videogame wayfinding measure was compared with that of thousands of well-matched controls. The individuals showed distinct patterns of impairment and preservation on the tasks. These dissertation results show that subjective spatial navigation abilities can be reliably captured with questionnaires, are weakly related to metamemory, and that accurate self-evaluation is not contingent on intact episodic memory. The findings also highlight specific aspects of navigation that are hippocampal dependent.
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Development and Application of the Narration-Emotion Process Coding System (NEPCS-CBT): Exploratory Analyses of Therapist and Client Narrative-Emotion Markers in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder Psychotherapy Sessions
(2023-12-08) Khattra, Jasmine; Angus, Lynne
The narrative-informed, dialectical-constructivist model (Angus & Greenberg, 2011) suggests that narrative contextualization of emotional experiences in which affect, actions, and thoughts are organized as a told story, enables new self-reflection, emotional awareness, and meaning-making for sustained change in psychotherapy sessions. The Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System Version 2.0 (NEPCS; Angus et al., 2017) is a standardized tool that consists of 10 client markers that capture clients’ mode of storytelling, emotional processing, and reflective meaning making, in therapy sessions in addition to a ‘No Client marker’ dominated by therapist-talk. These 10 client markers are classified into three subgroups: Problem (Same Old, Empty, Unstoried Emotion, and Superficial Storytelling), Transition (Reflective, Inchoate, Experiential, and Competing Plotlines Storytelling), and Change Markers (Unexpected Outcome, and Discovery Storytelling). The NEPCS 2.0 (Angus et al., 2017) was applied to a small Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) sample (N = 6; 36 therapy sessions; drawn from Westra et al., 2016) in a pilot study (Khattra et al., 2018). Pilot study (Khattra et al., 2018) findings indicated that therapists contributed up to 45% (‘No Client marker’) of all coded minutes in CBT sessions. The exploration of therapist interventions in ‘No Client markers’ was highlighted as a future direction given therapists’ extensive role in guiding session process in CBT treatment for GAD. Additionally, it was noted that nuances of client narrative-emotion processes during CBT session tasks may have been missed and coded homogenously as the ‘Superficial Storytelling’ marker (22.4% of coded session time; second most frequently occurring marker). The present study aimed to address these limitations and future directions, and had two primary goals: 1) The development of the NEPCS-CBT manual, based on NEPCS 2.0 (Angus et al., 2017), including the differentiation of ‘No Client marker’ category into discrete therapist marker interventions, and refinement of client markers with CBT-task criteria; and 2) Application of the NEPCS-CBT manual to a larger CBT for GAD sample (N = 10; 60 therapy sessions; drawn from Westra et al., 2016). Multilevel mixed-effects models demonstrated significantly higher proportions of Client (C)-Problem markers subgroup (specifically, C-Same Old Storytelling marker), and lower proportions of the C-Transition markers subgroup (specifically, C-Reflective Storytelling marker) for unchanged clients (vs. recovered clients) overall, and at the early, middle, and late stages of therapy. Recovered clients narrated significantly higher proportions of the C-Competing Plotlines Storytelling marker overall, and at the late therapy stages, and the C-Unexpected Outcome Storytelling marker at the middle and late therapy stages. Therapists of unchanged clients engaged in significantly higher proportions of the Therapist (T)-Transition marker subgroup at the late therapy stage, and specifically, higher proportions of the T-Competing Plotlines marker (‘Therapist challenges client’s maladaptive patterns’) overall, and at the middle and late therapy stages. Findings are discussed in the context of previous NEPCS research findings, and current CBT and GAD research literature focusing on client ambivalence for change and interpersonal resistance. Clinical implications and the value of the development of the NEPCS-CBT manual are also discussed.
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The Ontogenetic Course and Multicomponent Nature of Wise Reasoning Across the Adult Lifespan: Perspectives From Neuropsychology
(2023-12-08) Darboh, Bri Susanna; Turner, Gary
Wisdom has long been revered as a desirable feature of aging in theoretical, folk, and lay discourse. In recent decades, there has been a surge of empirical psychological research on the association between wisdom and age, including the underlying cognitive mechanisms that may contribute to its expression. However, this remains an ongoing area of debate, with diverse and often conflicting views reported in the research literature. Further, less is known about how the cognitive architecture of wisdom may differ in younger and older adults. The current work aimed to empirically examine whether ‘older is wiser’, and the cognitive and neural substrates associated with wise reasoning in younger and older adulthood. We begin with a systematic review and meta-analyses to quantify the current consensus in the literature regarding the relationship between general (insight into life in general) and personal (insight into oneself) wisdom with (i) cognition (Study 1) and (ii) age (Study 2). Study 1 included 22 studies for which outcomes were categorized into six cognitive domains to facilitate domain-specific meta-analyses: i) crystallized intelligence, ii) fluid intelligence, iii) general intellectual functioning, iv) memory, v) attention, and vi) executive function. We observed a significant positive effect of crystallized and fluid intelligence on wisdom, with the most robust effects observed for crystallized intelligence. Aggregate effect sizes in the remaining cognitive domains were null. Study 2 included 52 studies to examine the relationship between wisdom and age. There was a significant positive effect of age on wisdom, with larger effects observed for general versus personal wisdom. Extending from these systematic reviews we next conducted two empirical studies. First, we examined associations among wisdom, age, and specific aspects of cognitive function implicated in wise reasoning (leveraging findings from Studies 1 and 2) in 344 neurologically healthy younger (n = 181) and older (n = 163) adults (Study 3). While older adults scored higher on measures of self-reported personal wisdom, performance-based general wisdom was stable across the adult lifespan. Memory was a stronger predictor of general than personal wisdom in the combined, young, and older adult samples, and this association was more robust in older adults. Finally, in an exploratory analysis (Study 4), we examined relationships among wisdom, memory, and brain function (resting-state functional connectivity) in 286 neurologically healthy younger (n = 157) and older (n = 129) adults. General wisdom was associated with greater integration among frontoparietal (CONT) and default (DN) subnetworks than personal wisdom in the combined age sample. General wisdom in older adulthood was associated with more robust network dedifferentiation than in young, while the opposite pattern was observed for personal wisdom (i.e., greater within-network connectivity of CONT and DN regions in older than younger adulthood). Taken together, these findings illustrate that older may be wiser, and critically depends on the problem-solving context (intra-personal versus extra-personal). Moreover, our findings provide converging evidence that personal and general wisdom are discrete abilities, with distinct age-related trajectories, cognitive determinants, and underlying neural architectures.
Access status: Open Access ,
Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma Exposure Across the Lifespan on Social Cognitive Functioning and Amygdala Volume in a Sample of Precariously Housed Adults
(2023-12-08) Mashhadi, Farzaneh; Gicas, Kristina
Precariously housed individuals are exposed to a multitude of adverse factors, which significantly increase their vulnerability to negative outcomes. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of adverse childhood experience (ACEs) and lifespan trauma exposure on social cognitive functioning, including affective decision-making and theory of mind (ToM) abilities in a sample of precariously housed adults. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the association between ACEs and lifespan trauma on the amygdala volume. The results revealed that a greater number of traumatic exposures throughout the lifespan were associated with enhanced affective decision-making and ToM abilities. However, it was found that ACEs did not significantly impact social cognitive performances. Furthermore, no significant relationships were observed between ACEs, lifespan trauma, and the volume of the amygdala. These findings shed light on the existence of inherent resilience factors within adverse experiences that can potentially mitigate negative outcomes.

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