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Browsing by Author "Beaudette, Danielle M."
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Item Investigation of Social Dysfunction and Affect in Schizophrenia(2020-08) Beaudette, Danielle M.; Minor, Kyle S.; Salyers, Michelle; Wu, WeiSocial dysfunction is a hallmark of schizophrenia and leads to significant disability and distress. Decreased positive and increased negative affect predict poorer social functioning in those with schizophrenia. Social functioning and affect have traditionally been measured in the laboratory; yet, these methods are limited. Experience sampling methods (ESM) offer more immediate, ecologically valid assessments of these constructs. The purpose of this study was to examine social functioning and affect in schizophrenia using a novel form of ESM that passively collects audio data. The two primary hypotheses were: 1) clinical status (schizophrenia versus control) will predict social functioning, level of positive affect, and level of negative affect; and 2) the relationship between clinical status and affect will be moderated by context (social versus non-social). Additional exploratory aims tested the convergent validity between traditional, laboratory-based assessments of social functioning and this novel ESM. Data was collected from 38 people with schizophrenia and 36 control participants; Results partially supported the hypotheses. As expected, laboratory measures of social functioning revealed that those with schizophrenia performed worse than controls. ESM measures of social functioning found that the schizophrenia group interacted with others at the same rate as the control group but did not exhibit as much social engagement. ESM measures of affect revealed the schizophrenia group reported more negative affect than controls, but no differences in positive affect were found. Social context did not moderate the relationship between clinical status and affect. Lastly, correlations between laboratory measures and ESM measures of social functioning were significant for the schizophrenia group but not the control group. Results further our understanding of social functioning and affect in those with schizophrenia and yield important implications for future work.Item Predicting Attention Shaping Response in People with Schizophrenia(Wolters Kluwer, 2021) Beaudette, Danielle M.; Gold, James M.; Waltz, James; Thompson, Judy L.; Cherneski, Lindsay; Martin, Victoria; Monteiro, Brian; Cruz, Lisa N.; Silverstein, Steven M.; Psychology, School of SciencePeople with schizophrenia often experience attentional impairments that hinder learning during psychological interventions. Attention shaping is a behavioral technique that improves attentiveness in this population. Because reinforcement learning (RL) is thought to be the mechanism by which attention shaping operates, we investigated if preshaping RL performance predicted level of response to attention shaping in people with schizophrenia. Contrary to hypotheses, a steeper attentiveness growth curve was predicted by less intact pretreatment RL ability and lower baseline attentiveness, accounting for 59% of the variance. Moreover, baseline attentiveness accounted for over 13 times more variance in response to attention shaping than did RL ability. Results suggest attention shaping is most effective for lower-functioning patients, and those high in RL ability may already be close to ceiling in terms of their response to reinforcers. Attention shaping may not be a primarily RL-driven intervention, and other mechanisms of its effects should be considered.Item Relationships Between Working Alliance and Outcomes in Group Therapy for People Diagnosed with Schizophrenia(Taylor & Francis, 2020) Beaudette, Danielle M.; Cruz, Lisa N.; Lukachko, Alicia; Roché, Matthew; Silverstein, Steven M.; Psychology, School of ScienceWorking alliance (WA) is an important predictor of treatment outcomes in therapy. Forming a strong WA can be challenging with people diagnosed with schizophrenia, and differences between client-rated and clinician-rated WA have been found in this population. This project examined WA in people diagnosed with schizophrenia who completed a skills training and attention shaping group intervention. Paired samples t-tests revealed differences between client and clinician ratings on the Working Alliance Inventory Short Form (WAI-S). Clinician-rated WAI-S scores were related to symptom severity, cognitive functioning, and attention during group sessions. Yet, the primary hypothesis was not supported as WAI-S scores were unrelated to clients’ treatment response. Clinician-rated WAI-S was found to partially mediate the relationship between negative symptoms and overall attention. Client-rated WAI-S scores were associated with client measures of self-efficacy and mastery. Results reinforce the importance of working alliance in the treatment of those diagnosed with schizophrenia and indicate clinical and functional factors that may influence the quality of WA.Item Social functioning in schizotypy: How affect influences social behavior in daily life(Wiley, 2020-12) Minor, Kyle S.; Hardin, Kathryn L.; Beaudette, Danielle M.; Waters, Lesley C.; White, Anna L.; Gonzenbach, Virgilio; Robbins, Megan L.; Psychology, School of ScienceObjective: Social deficits are already exhibited by people at risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Technological advances have made passive detection of social deficits possible at granular levels. Method: In this real-world study, we tested if schizotypy status (high/low) predicted two types of social behavior: (1) being around other people; and (2) actively socializing with others. We also examined if schizotypy influences relationships between social behavior and affect using subjective and objective instruments. Results: Our findings revealed that socializing with others was significantly decreased in the high schizotypy group. Positive affect increased in social situations and predicted later social behavior in those low, but not high, in schizotypy. Conclusion: Decreased social behavior in schizotypy may be explained, in part, by these individuals being less incentivized than their peers to pursue social situations. Future studies should test this explanation in larger samples exhibiting elevated positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy traits.