Student Grants

Kate Walsh, M.A.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) – F31
Principal Investigator
Title: Revictimization, Emotion Regulation, and PTSD
Total Direct Costs for 24 Months = $93,207
Active - Funding period 9/08 – 8/10

Recent theoretical writings suggest that the ineffective regulation of negative emotional states may reduce the ability of women to detect and respond effectively to situational and interpersonal factors that increase risk for sexual assault. Although studies have found relationships between negative emotions and maladaptive responses to stressful interpersonal situations, there is a paucity of research examining the relationship between emotions and individuals’ abilities to detect risk for sexual assault. Therefore, one goal of the proposed project is to examine the impact of experimentally-induced negative mood on risk response impairments. Furthermore, based on research suggesting that prior sexual victimization increases risk for sexual assault, this study will investigate whether a history of prior sexual victimization interacts with negative mood to further increase impairments in risk responses. Finally, studies have found that some emotion regulation strategies are less adaptive than others. For example, the emotion regulation strategy of suppression (concealing emotional states) requires significant cognitive resources and can impair memory for emotional events. Thus, it is possible that individuals who engage in suppression may be less adept at identifying and responding to situational cues that signify increased risk of assault. As such, this study also will explore whether sexually victimized women are more likely to use suppression during a hypothetical sexual assault vignette, and whether the use of suppression mediates the relationship between sexual victimization and risk recognition deficits. The present study will recruit a sample of undergraduate women to ensure a substantial base rate of sexual victimization. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a neutral or negative mood induction procedure. After, they will hear a sexual assault vignette depicting a coercive dating situation, during which they will be instructed to indicate when the male in the vignette has “gone too far” and to describe how they would respond as the female in the vignette. Participants then will complete self-report measures indicating the degree to which they utilized particular emotion regulation strategies when making judgments about the vignette. Finally, participants will be instructed to recall as many details of the vignette as possible in order to examine the cognitive costs of regulating emotional experiences during the sexual assault vignette. Sexual victimization is an endemic societal problem that has been associated with myriad sequelae such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, interpersonal difficulties, and serious health problems such as HIV. Thus, understanding risk factors for victimization is critical to the development of effective sexual assault prevention and treatment programs.

Sarah Evans, M.A.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) – F31
Pre-doctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health Related Disciplines
Principal Investigator
Title: Resiliency to Child Maltreatment: The Role of Observational Spousal Social Support
Total direct costs for 24 months = $78,019
Active - Funding period 3/08 – 3/10

Despite widespread findings that various forms of child maltreatment are associated with long-term psychological difficulties, not all victims experience similar­or any­lasting difficulties following abuse. Thus, a burgeoning area of research focuses on factors that may facilitate resiliency to the psychological effects of child maltreatment. Prominent among these factors is social support. To date, however, the vast majority of studies examining the impact of social support on resilience have utilized self-report measures to gauge levels of cognitively appraised, or perceived, social support from friends, family, and spouses. Despite the limitations of self-report methods, few studies have used observational methods to study the buffering effects of actual, or received, spousal social support. Additionally, it is currently unclear whether the buffering impact of spousal social support found more broadly in the marital literature is generalizable to psychological distress experienced by adult survivors of child maltreatment. It is also unclear how negative social support (i.e. criticism, blaming) impacts the relationship between child maltreatment and psychological distress. Thus, using a community sample of newlywed couples, the present study examines the moderational impact of spousal social support on both concurrent and longitudinal relationships between child maltreatment (i.e., physical, sexual, psychological abuse; neglect) and psychological functioning. The Social Support Interactive Coding System, will be used to assess social support behaviors observed during a dyadic discussion task. Analyses will examine the role of spousal social support in moderating psychological distress (i.e. depression, trauma symptoms, and global distress).

Emily Trask, M.A.
National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH)
Grant #1F31MH080533 - 01A1
Principal Investigator
Title: Efficacy of Treatments for Sexually Abused Children: A Meta-Analysis
Total direct costs = $36,528
Active - Funding period 9/07 – 9/08

A large body of literature has documented negative mental health and behavioral outcomes for sexually abused children (e.g., PTSD, depression, ADHD). In response to these problems, researchers have developed individual, group, and family interventions for treating children who have experienced sexual abuse. The goal of the proposed project is to conduct the most comprehensive meta-analysis to date of the efficacy of psychological and behavioral treatments for sexually abused children. The overarching objectives of the project are to determine what treatments are most effective and under what conditions such treatments work best. The specific aims of this project include: evaluating treatment efficacy for the most common psychological sequelae of CSA among children (PTSD, externalizing disorders, and affective disorders); investigating treatment characteristics (e.g., theoretical approach to treatment, treatment modality, type of study design) that may moderate the efficacy of interventions for children with a history of CSA; examining the impact of the participant characteristics of age, gender, and ethnicity on treatment outcomes. To accomplish these aims the candidate will conduct a meta-analysis, involving a comprehensive literature search of all relevant social science retrieval systems, code each study according to a specified coding system, and calculate effect sizes that correspond to each specific aim. The applicant proposes a multifaceted training plan that involves coursework and consultation with experts to enhance her knowledge of meta-analytic techniques, supervised clinical experience treating victims of CSA, and ongoing research collaboration with her mentor on topics related to the long-term outcomes of child maltreatment. The objectives of this project are an excellent fit with the mission of NIH because of the application of advanced statistical techniques to understand interventions for a myriad of mental health problems associated with CSA, a risk factor not only for short-term difficulties but also for long-term problems related to mental and physical health functioning. This project is particularly relevant to public health given the high percentage of girls (20%) and boys (14%) who are victims of sexual abuse (Finkelhor, 1994), and the potential negative outcomes of sexual abuse: sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and mental health problems (Tyler, 2002). This study addresses the tertiary level of prevention by investigating treatments aimed at reducing negative mental and behavioral health outcomes that occur following sexual abuse.