GLPC 2018

*Presentations authored/co-authored by student mentees.

Depression and Anxiety (Internalizing)
Disorders

*Oravec, K., Tokar, Z., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2018, April). Predictors of Treatment Utilization in College Students. Paper presented at the 31st annual Great Lakes Regional Counseling Psychology Conference, Kalamazoo, MI.  

• Introduction. In many institutions of higher education, rates of mental illness are estimated to be around 10% or higher. However, many students that need treatment do not seek it for a number of reasons. Past research on treatment utilization in clinical and community samples points to a number of demographic correlates that predict poor treatment-seeking, such as financial constraints, sex, and lack of help and support from family members. However, there is a dearth of research that focuses specifically on treatment usage among college students, as well as limited longitudinal studies that prospectively predict treatment utilization. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between demographic characteristics, treatment utilization histories, as well as past and concurrent distress and treatment utilization among college students over the course of a one year period.
• Method. Participants were 100 undergraduate students who at the intake section completed a clinical interview to assess treatment utilization histories, as well as to characterize their psychiatric histories. These individuals reported on their demographic characteristics, depression and anxiety symptoms, and emotion regulation difficulties. Participants' anxiety and depression symptoms, and treatment utilization during the intervening period were re-assessed at four, eight, and twelve-month follow-up periods. 
• Results. Prior treatment utilization emerged as the strongest predictor of outpatient service utilization (B = 1.58, p < .001, OR = 23.64). With respect to demographic characteristic, those of the female sex and Caucasian race were more likely to predict treatment seeking, relative to women and those of African American racial backgrounds. In a similar vein, those of African American backgrounds were more likely to utilize outpatient services than those of other minority racial backgrounds, who did not seek treatment during the follow-up period. Those of a bisexual orientation evidenced a trend for reduced treatment behavior (B = -1.27, p = .07, OR = .08). With respect to symptom levels, levels of intake depression levels (B = .13, p < .05, OR = 1.14), and axiety levels at follow-up assessments (B = .18, p < .05, OR=1.19) were significantly linked to treatment utilization. Emotion regulation deficits, social support, and anxiety levels did not predict treatment utilization.
• Implications. These findings can be used to further educate therapists on factors that encourage college students to seek treatment or continue seeking treatment if they have sought it out before. Additionally, racial and sexual minorities do not seek treatment or are less likely to do so. Educational efforts can be made to ensure that these minority individuals understand they have access to treatment and encourage them to seek resources that will aid them.

*Petrochic, K., Ghose, S., Yaroslavsky, I. (2018, April). The role of emotion regulation in depression and social anxiety in people with and without Inflamatory Bowl Disease. Poster presented at the 31st annual Great Lakes Regional Counseling Psychology Conference, Kalamazoo, MI.  

• Introduction. Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a progressive and chronic disease of varying severity that has been linked to internalizing disorders (anxiety and depression). Compared to the general, healthy population, patients diagnosed with IBD express significantly higher levels of depression. It has also been theorized that those with chronic, progressive diseases, particularly those with nuisance symptoms (as present in IBD) may experience disease-related social anxiety. However, the relationship between IBD and social anxiety experience is largely unexamined. Also, despite there being an established connection between heightened levels of depression and IBD diagnosis, the mechanisms by which IBD is actually linked to both of these internalizing disorders remains unclear. Emotion regulation (ER) may reflect one such mechanism. In fact, ER deficits are a known risk factor for the occurrence of internalizing problems in the presence of stressors, like those related to chronic illnesses. Surprisingly, no work to date has examined the effects of ER on internalizing problems among individuals with IBD specifically. The present study investigates the relationships between IBD, ER, and internalizing disorder symptoms in a sample of those with and without IBD.
• Methods. Participants were 48 individuals, 33 diagnosed with IBD (M_age=42 yrs, SD= 13.13 yrs, 81% Female) and 15 community controls (M_age=20 yrs, SD=1.83 yrs, 53.3% Female). Participants were recruited through ResearchMatch (an online national recruitment database) and completed the Social Anxiety Interaction Scale (SIAS), Feelings And Me (FAM), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) as a part of their participation. Age and sex were co-varied across all analyses.
• Results. Those with IBD experienced higher levels of depression at a trend level (ΔR²=.07, β=.38, p=.09), while individuals without IBD experienced significantly higher levels of social anxiety (ΔR²=.19, β=--.45, p=.001). There were no significant differences between groups in terms of both maladaptive (ΔR² =.001, β=.03, p=.90) and adaptive (ΔR² =.01, β=-.15, p=.49) ER strategy utilization. Heightened use of maladaptive ER was significantly associated with both depression (β=.65, p<.001) and social anxiety (β =.44, p<.001) across the entire sample. Further, use of adaptive ER was associated with a decrease in depression symptoms (B= -.30, p<.01). There was no significance regarding the relationship between disease severity and both depression and social anxiety. Moreover, disease severity predicated, at a trend level, increased use of maladaptive ER (ΔR²=.09, β=.28, p<.10) and decreased use of adaptive ER (ΔR²=.28, β=-.53, p<.001).
• Implications. While having IBD was associated with increased depression, it appears that increase in IBD severity did not have a further impact on the extent to which individuals with IBD experienced internalizing emotions specifically. However, IBD severity was indicative of trend level increased use of maladaptive ER and decreased use of adaptive ER, perhaps indicating that there may in fact be deficits in regulating emotion as in response to heightened disease presence. Identifying other factors contributing to the increased rate of depression, alongside further exploration of the relationship between social anxiety and IBD, in individuals with IBD, may lead to better understanding of effective mental health treatment for this population.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

*Tokar, Z. & Yaroslavsky, I. (2018, April). Does physical abuse or mental abuse during childhood predict symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder later in life? Poster presented at the 31st annual Great Lakes Regional Counseling Psychology Conference, Kalamazoo, MI.  

• Introduction. Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is characterized by a lack of remorse/empathy, impulsive behavior, and infringement on the rights of others. Those who show these symptoms have a general disregard for others and society as a whole, and will go against societal norms for either personal gain or simply because of their cognitive dissonance (Riser & Kosson 2013). The roots of the disorder are somewhat hereditary with parents and their children often having similar APD traits; but this is more likely due to upbringing and the family environment than a large biological factor (Kraus & Reynolds, 2001). Contentious family environments in which parents employ punitive methods to gain child compliance are associated with APD. Such environments are also associated with higher rates of psychological and physical abuse (Semiz, Basoglu, Ebrinc & Cetin 2007). While both forms of abuse are known to predict many adverse psychological outcomes, including APD, little is known about which form is particularly linked to the risk for this disorder. Further, it remains unclear whether the perpetrator's parenting role (i.e., mother vs father) influences the effect of either abuse forms on APD risk.  The presents study examines whether abuse type (psychological vs. physical) and abuse source (mother vs. father) differentially predicts risk for APD.
• Methods. Participants are 1009 undergraduate students (71.1% female, 21% male) (56% Causcasian, 21% African American, 5% Middle Eastern, 4% Latino(a), 6% other, 8% no response) completed self-report surveys online that included a demographic questionnaire that detailed sex, race, and household income, the Personality Assessment Inventory-Antisocial Scale (PAI), and the Psychological and Physical Maltreatment Scale (PPMS).
• Results. Test of dependent correlations that covaried the effects of age and sex revealed that mom's psychological abuse evidenced a stronger relationship with antisocial characteristics (r=.21) than mom's physical abuse (r=.13), Z (756) = 2.34, p <.05, and dad's physical abuse (r=.07), Z (756) = 3.07, p <.01, but not dad's psychological abuse (r=.15), Z (756) =1.62, p = .11. In a similar vein, dad's psychological abuse more strongly associated with antisocial symptoms (r=.15) than did dad's physical abuse (r=.07), Z (756) = 1.98, p <.05.
• Implications. Findings from this study suggest that psychological abuse is a stronger predictor of APD traits than physical abuse. In particular, maternal psychological abuse appears to be particularly pernicious risk factor for APD traits when the mother is the source of abuse. These findings may inform early prevention efforts, as they point assessment towards parental behaviors that leave psychological marks, rather than those that may be easily discerned on the body.