RSS 1.0Department of Psychology (UMKC)
The Department of Psychology is focused on behavioral science contributions to health and healthcare. Our faculty members are national and international leaders in research on areas such as HIV/AIDS, tobacco use, obesity and eating disorders, cancer, neuropsychological functioning, safety and violence and community factors in health. We have strong and active collaborations with important community partners such as Saint Luke’s Hospital, the Cancer Institute, Mid America Heart Institute, the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, University of Kansas Medical Center and Truman Medical Center
At the undergraduate level, the department offers a general program of study leading to the bachelor of arts degree in psychology. A psychology minor is available to students majoring in other disciplines. Graduate programs are also offered by the Department of Psychology.
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Fatalism, Religious Attendance, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Engagement in Health Behaviors Among Hispanic Americans low in Acculturation and Income: Testing the Reserve Capacity Model
(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2018)Although health disparities are widespread between ethnic and racial minority groups and Whites in the United States, Hispanics seemingly have a relative advantage in one particular health outcome: all-cause mortality. ... -
Assessing Social Motivations During Vaccination Decisions
(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2018)This dissertation utilized two separate studies to investigate the effects of social motivation during vaccine decision-making. Some parents cite social motivations, like contributing to herd immunity, as an influence ... -
The Cardiac Self-Blame Attributions Scale as a Predictor of Physical and Mental Health Outcomes in Underrepresented Patients with Cardiovascular Disease
(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2018)Following a cardiovascular event, most patients engage in a causal search to understand why it occurred. One way of distinguishing attributions is through the construct of self-blame. There is a difference between ... -
Predictors of Receipt of Counseling Services from Religious Leaders in African American Church Populations
(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2018)African Americans (AAs) are disproportionality affected by mental health issues. They are more likely to experience chronic depression, greater impairment from depression, and serious psychological distress than the ... -
Can We Be Trained to Eat Healthy? The Effects of an Attentional Bias Modification Program on Eating Behavior
(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2018)The prevalence of overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) has significantly increased over the past four decades. OW and OB are complex in nature and arise from a multitude of factors and their interactive effects. Based on ... -
Improving Medication Adherence in Underrepresented Patients with Heart Disease: Piloting a Motivational Intervention
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2017)Essential to reducing the risk of recurrence in individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD), adherence to cardioprotective medications has been shown to decrease risk of cardiac-related hospitalization and mortality. ... -
The Attentional Demands of Positive Reappraisal in a Dual Task Paradigm
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2017)Emotion regulation refers to the ability to modulate experienced and expressed emotions. A specific emotion regulation strategy, cognitive reappraisal, has received extensive attention in the literature, as the strategy ... -
Graph Format Effects in Processing Health Outcome Information
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2017)Decision support tools that incorporate predictive risk estimates can be used to assist patients and their families in making better-informed choices about treatment options. The format utilized to present predictive ... -
Examination of Non-Facial Emotion Recognition in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2017)The purpose of this study was to examine social cognitive skills of adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Per the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), the specific focus of this study was the ability to understand non-facial c ... -
Beliefs about the Impact of Excess Body Weight on Biopsychosocial Functioning in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2017)Background: Recent research indicates that obesity may exacerbate certain symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Nevertheless, little research has examined patients’ perceptions of how obesity may impact their MS symptoms. ... -
On ‘Clear and Present Danger’: The Influence of Firearm Legislation on College Student Perceptions of Mental Illness and Treatment-Seeking Intentions
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2017)Mental illness (MI) stigma is considered a primary barrier to seeking and remaining in treatment. Mental health experts argue that directly targeting persons with MI in an effort to reduce gun violence may increase ... -
Examination of the Relationship between Startle Eyeblink Modulation and Perceived Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2016)Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disorder from which fatigue is one of the most commonly reported symptoms. Recently, research into the underlying neural mechanisms of fatigue has focused largely on the ... -
Religiosity and Engagement in HIV Care Among African American People Living with HIV
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2016)OBJECTIVE: This study explored the acceptability and feasibility of adopting and implementing religious determinants, including prayer and referral to religious leaders, into engagement in HIV care [EIHC] for African ... -
The Relationship Between Positive and Negative Religious Coping, Depressive Symptoms, and Adherence to Health Behaviors in Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients: The Role of Pereceived Control
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2016)Cardiovascular disease is a diagnosis that requires the use of effective coping strategies to manage the disease itself, as well as the challenges associated with it (e.g., lifestyle changes). Religious and spiritual coping ... -
Intentions to Eat a Healthy Diet: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior in an African American Faith-Based Population
(University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2016)Diabetes and heart disease are two major health concerns for African Americans, who tend to have worse nutritional intake than Whites. Black churches, which serve primarily African Americans, are influential institutions ... -
Predictors of performance-based measures of instrumental activities of daily living in stroke survivors
(University of Missouri–Kansas City, 2016)The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the relationship between cognitive domains/executive functions and performance on measures of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) in stroke survivors. Fifty-two ... -
Assessing the effects of a novel intervention for antiretroviral medication adherence
(University of Missouri–Kansas City, 2016)The use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to substantial declines in morbidity and mortality in patients with HIV, however the benefits of ART are largely dependent on strict adherence. Effective interventions have ... -
Examining the Impact of Childhood Adverse Experiences on Adulthood Health Related Quality of Life
(2016)The Purpose of this study was to investigate how traumatic experiences in childhood impact adulthood Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among women experiencing homelessness. HRQoL was determined to be an important ... -
Biopsychosocial Comparison of Adherent and Nonadherent Multiple Sclerosis Patients
(2016)OBJECTIVE: Between 30-50% of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) prematurely discontinue disease modifying therapies (DMTs). Despite this, relatively little is known about clinical factors that ...