Recent Dissertations

Below, you will find information about some of the recent doctoral dissertations, including the author's name, the title of the dissertation, and the faculty advisor.

2021

Adams, Kimberly: "The Experiences of Psychologists Working in Federal Policy Positions"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

El-Oqlah, Emily: "Allah Made Me This Way: Negotiating Identities for Muslim Americans with Same-Sex Attraction"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Germany, Mae-Lynn : "Disenfranchised Losses: Grief and Growth in Non-Death Loss Events"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Magsam, Erica: "Trainers with Problems of Professional Competence: Relationships with Trainee Professional Commitment and Self-Efficacy for Addressing Competency Issues"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Moore, Kanesha: "The Association of Gendered Racism and Resilience on Sense of Belonging and Academic Self-Efficacy in Black Women at Predominantly White Institutions"
Advisor: Dr. Rosie Davis

Rhomberg, Parker: "Improving the Exchange Rate for Student-Athletes: Transferable Skills, Athletic Identity, and Career Development"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

2020

Horn, Mark Gregory : "The Effectiveness of Neurofeedback on Dissociation and Emotion Regulation, Possible Mediators of Externalizing Behavior in Adolescents in Residential Treatment"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

New, Christina M.: "Transgender Health Care: Symptom Disclosure, Gender Minority Stress and Health Status"

Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Shuman, Whitney: "How Social Norms Moderate the Association Between Gender Role Conflict and Grief Cognitions"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Stenersen, Madeline: "The Development and Validation of the Attitudes Towards Individuals who Sell Sex Inventory (ATISS)"

Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo

Vanderwerff, Alexandra F.: "The Relationship Between the Impact of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Moderated by Remission Status, Remission Expectations and Post Traumatic Growth"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Yeoward-Dodson, Jennifer : "Female Athletes' Experience of Body Surveillance, Body Shame, Depression Symptoms, and Self-Compassion"
Co-Advisors: Dr. Laura Marks and Dr. Suzanne Lease

2019

Bates, Rickey Lee: "Assessment of psychometric and empirical differences between the population of male general inmates and the population of male inmate HSO's (History of Sexual Offense)"

Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer

Sanders, Shondolyn D.: "The influence of mentoring and sense of belonging on self-efficacy development in psychology doctoral students of color"

Advisor: Dr. Laura Marks

Steinruck, Ramah E.: "Subjective career success in the face of heterosexism at work: Bisexual vs. Gay/Lesbian experiences"

Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

2018

Fishel Frose, Adam: "Gratitude interventions with physical therapy patients"

Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Hatcher, Sarah: "Cultural competence and self-awareness in doctoral psychology students: Does international experience matter?"

Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo

Brown, Emily L.: "Predictors of body dissatisfaction in trans men and women"

Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Suedmeyer, Eric: "Development of a career resilience scale for adults with disabilities"

Advisor: Dr. Doug Strohmer

Loew, Megan M.: "Antiretroviral therapy adherence in youth living with HIV: Exploring the role of risk behaviors, health promotion behaviors and depressive symptoms"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer

Stubbs, Whitney: "The Frontal Assessment Batter: Relationship with functional status indicators and caregiver burden in a Veterans Affairs Memory Clinic"

Advisors: Dr. Elin Ovrebo & Dr. Suzanne Lease

Brett, Ben: "Neurocognitive impairment in Parkinson's Disease patients: Assessing the unique contributions of eepression and fatigue while controlling for disease severity"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

2017

Emory, Hannah: "The influence of gender role conflict on perpetration and victimization of intimate partner violence in same sex male relationships"

Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo

Lee, Brittany: "Exploring the relationship between stereotype threat, racial centrality, grit, and academic achievement and retention in African American male first generation college students"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer

Miro, Danielle: "Social ecological predictors of leisure time physical activity"

Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Smith, Ben: "Resilience, generalized self-efficacy and mindfulness ad moderators of the relationship between stress and both life satisfaction and depress among college students: An investigation of the residence process"

Advisor: Dr. Richard Lightsey

Zuckerman, Stephanie: "What predicts suicide among psychologists? An examination of vulnerability and protective factors"

Advisor: Dr. Richard Lightsey

2016

Cole, Floyd (Wally): "Male norm conformity and minority stress as predictors of PTSD symptomology among non-heterosexual men"

Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo

Nicholson, Jessica D.: "Mental health trainees' perceptions of intimate partner violence within diverse same-sex couples"

Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo

2015

Allen, Brienne: "Predictors of types and frequencies of sexual fantasies: Body image self-consciousness and gender"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Buttacavoli-Smith, Jessica: "The psychological distress experienced in women seeking educational upward mobility: The role of backlash, self-esteem, and race"
Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo

Cox, Ryan: "Hegemonic masculinity and health outcomes in men: A mediational study on the influence of masculinity on diet"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Harris, Joel: "The effectiveness of an anti-bullying intervention for elementary school students"
Advisor: Dr. Chrisann Schiro-Geist

Ingram, Christina: "Work meaning and its buffering effect on the relationship between perceived stress and health risk factors"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Izmirian, Angela: Sexual satisfaction in Armenian women living in the United States: Exploring acculturation and gender role ideology and the mediational role of sex guilt"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Jehu, Christine: "The effect of an LGB affirmative sports video on student athlete knowledge and attitudes toward LGB individuals"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Nicholson, Diane: "Mental Health Trainees' Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence within Diverse Same-Sex Couples"
Advisor: Dr. Elin Ovrebo

Swanson, Lindsey: "Understanding the influence of the coach and team relationships on sport motivation in collegiate student-athletes"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Voss, Jami: "Alternative sexual lifestyles: An exploration of client needs, therapist competencies, and training"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

2014

Adams, Robert William: "Counselor recovery status and substance abuse certification: A relationship to perceived credibility and counselor preference with hazardous drinkers"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer

Allen, Brienne: "Predictors of types and frequencies of sexual fantasies: Body image self-consciousness and gender"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Brooksby, Robin: "Social media: A case of publicness"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Constantin, Donnalin: "The moderating impact of giftedness on the relationship between existential anxiety, authenticity and depression in college students"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Dannison, Heather: "Dichotomous identity negotiation: Straight-ally conservative Christians in the mid-south"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Gharibian Gharghani, George: "Counselor confirmation bias: Can the Internet serve as a debiasing tool?"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer

Halawani Montes, Sarah: "The relationship between parenting and depressive symptomology in young Jordanian adults: Is attachment a mediator variable?"
Advisor: Suzanne Lease

Katz, Aron: "Testing the role of body vigilance as a precipitating factor in the cognitive behavioral model of medically unexplained illness"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer

Long, Richelle: "The state of aftercare: A critical look at the response to victims of human sex trafficking in the United States"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Murray, Adrian: "Taking a cue from the heart: A meta-analysis of mindfulness-based interventions for healthcare providers"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Owens, Archandria: "Life role salience in African American men: The impact of race related stress, hypermasculinity, and sexual self-concept"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Powell, Kevin: "Stigma against mental illness: The influence of empathy, perspective-taking, exposure to and familiarity with mental illness"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

2013

Donahue, Stephanie: "Predicting social-emotional and cognitive development at 24 months: The impact of postnatal maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms, and mother-child relationships"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Dunnavant, Bridget: "The intersection of aging and spirituality in the psychology of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women"
Advisors: Dr. Douglas Strohmer and Dr. Lisbeth Berbary

Geiss, Meghan: "Internalized homonegativity as a moderator of the relationship between partner attributions and psychological abuse among men in same-sex relationships"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Green, Michael: "The effect of college-family conflict on academic variables for college student-parents"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Hatchett, Eugenia Suzanne: "Protective factors in the relationship between urgency and bulimic behavior"
Advisor: Dr. Owen Lightsey

Nash, Trisha Marie: "The moderating impact of neuroticism on the relationship between moral personality characteristics and prosocial behaviors"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Sterba, Aaron Michael: "The relationship of sleep and exercise to salient indicators of college student emotional well-being"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

2012

Aycock, Rebecca Adele: "The relationship of peer norms, connectedness with GLB community, minority stress, and condom use self-efficacy with safer sex behaviors in a sample of men who have sex with men"
Advisor: Dr. Sharon Horne

Baggett, Linda Rae: "Body image, self-esteem, and sexual self-consciousness in men and women as predicted by experiences of sexual objectification by others"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Fowler, Roneferiti MaIshia: "Exploring the impact of first-generation status and family cohesion on the career thoughts of college students"
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Strohmer

Gage, Alida Novarese: "An exploration of the link between masculinity and intimate partner violence"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease

Mobley, Christiann: "Parenting style and ACT: Connections and relations"
Advisor: Dr. Sara Bridges

Ueng, Huan-Hsiang: "Internalized homophobia, psychological distress, and job satisfaction among sexual minority males in the workplace"
Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Lease