by Alex Stover
Psychological Sciences M.A. Candidate

Faculty and student researchers affiliated with the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience will present multiple projects at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) 38th Annual Meeting. This year, researchers will meet in Atlanta, Georgia, to share their research, clinical strategies, public policy concerns, and theoretical formulations of trauma.

Members of Dr. Charles Benight’s research lab will be conducting a panel presentation and presenting two posters. Emmeline Taylor, a doctoral student in Dr. Benight’s lab, will serve as a panelist alongside Dr. Bistricky and Dr. Doenges for a panel discussion centered around implementing trauma services in hospital settings. In addition, Sarah McInerny and Mimi Morison, both doctoral students in Dr. Benight’s lab, will present posters. McInerny’s work examines how loved ones’ exposure to COVID-19 affects an individual, and Morison’s efforts develop a new measure for capturing coping self-efficacy appraisals specific to COVID-19.

Members of Dr. Heather Littleton’s lab will present a paper and conduct both a panel and a symposium. Molly Higgins, a doctoral student, is presenting a paper identifying recovery themes among trauma survivors who engaged in various types of physical activity. In addition, Dr. Littleton will serve on a panel to revise the Sexual Experiences Survey to advance the assessment of sexual victimization and a symposium discussing the effect of COVID-specific coercive control on mental health and social support in the context of intimate partner violence.

Those in Dr. Steve Bistricky’s lab will present a flash talk, co-present a panel session with members of Dr. Benight’s lab, and present a poster. Dr. Bistricky will give a flash talk alongside doctoral student, Sophie Brickman and Dr. Littleton. The talk will focus on coping, instrumental support (i.e., the assistance provided to meet physical needs), and posttraumatic growth following a catastrophic hurricane. Zara Kenigsberg will present a poster on temporary changes in verbal memory following exposure to traumatic triggers.

Finally, Dr. Mahoney’s lab members will share four posters and conduct a symposium. Dr. Mahoney will serve as a co-author on two posters. One poster explores the effect of policy changes in medications for opioid use disorder during COVID-19 on military service Veterans with comorbid PTSD. The second poster examines proximal associations between minority stress, cannabis use, and mood among sexual and gender minority individuals.

Brigitta Beck, a doctoral student in Dr. Mahoney’s lab, is presenting a poster on the role that emotion dysregulation and coping self-efficacy play in the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and alcohol use motives in female childhood trauma survivors. Katelyn Bindbeutel, who is a master’s student in Dr. Mahoney’s lab, will present a poster on differences in emotion dysregulation for individuals with varying co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use severity. Lastly, Kelly Dixon, a doctoral student in Dr. Mahoney’s lab, will be the chair of a symposium centered around social reactions to gender-based violence disclosure among immigrant college women in the United States.

References

Dr. Benight’s Lab

Doenges, T. (panelist), Taylor, E. (panelist), McBain, S. (discussant), Schumann, N. (panelist), Maher, K. (panelist), Timmer-Murillo, S. (panelist), Samuelson, K., & Bistricky, S. (2022, November). Program Implementation in Hospital Trauma Services: A Panel on Development Process for Acute Screening and Support Programs and Student Training Opportunities in Hospital Settings. Panel presentation at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies’ 38th Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

McInerney, S. A., & Benight, C. C. (2022, November). What hurts others hurts us most:  adverse COVID-19 effects in loved ones exert stronger influence on mental health than personal COVID-19 exposure. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.  

Morison, M., & Benight, C. C. (2022, November). Pandemic Coping Self-Efficacy: Another Context-Specific Self-Efficacy Measure. Poster to be presented at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Littleton’s Lab

Higgins, M., Littleton, H., Kistler, T., & Zamundu, A. (2022, November). Physical exercise as a recovery tool following sexual assault: A thematic analysis. Paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Koss, M. P., Littleton, H., Canan, S., Orchowski, L., & Smith, C. (2022, November). State of the art assessment of sexual victimization: Lessons learned and recommendations from the SES 2022 Revision Collaboration. Panel to be conducted at the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Littleton, H., Edwards, K. M., Sall, K. E., Lim, S., & Mauer, V. (2022, November). COVID-Specific coercive control: A novel form of pandemic-related IPV. In A. Smith (Chair), Empowering personal agency and control as transdiagnostic mechanisms of health during the endless adversity of COVID-19. Symposium to be conducted at the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Bistricky’s Lab

Bistricky, S. L., Brickman, S., Littleton, H., & Short, M. (2022, November). Don’t fade on me: Coping, instrumental support, and posttraumatic growth in the year after a catastrophic hurricane-flood. Flash-talk to be presented at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies annual conference. Atlanta, GA.

Doenges, T. (panelist), Taylor, E. (panelist), McBain, S. (discussant), Schumann, N. (panelist), Maher, K. (panelist), Timmer-Murillo, S. (panelist), Samuelson, K., & Bistricky, S. L. (2022, November). Program Implementation in Hospital Trauma Services: A Panel on Development Process for Acute Screening and Support Programs and Student Training Opportunities in Hospital Settings. Panel presentation at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies’ 38th Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

Kenigsberg, Z., Brickman, S., Klein, P., Samuelson, K. & Bistricky, S.L. (2022, November). PTSD diagnostic status and temporary changes in immediate verbal memory following trauma trigger exposure. Poster to be presented at the 38th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Mahoney’s Lab

Banducci, A. N., Sistad, R., Newberger, N. G., Mathes-Winnicki, B., Mahoney, C. T., Davenport, M., Weisberg, R., & Livingston, N. A. (2022, November). Policy changes for medications for opioid use disorder during COVID-19: Impacts on military service veterans as a function of co-occurring PTSD. Poster to be presented at the 38th Annual Meeting International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Beck, B. M., Daugherty, Y. T., Dixon, K. E., Lothe, B. M., Galano, M. M., & Mahoney, C. T. (2022, November). Emotion dysregulation and coping self-efficacy mediate the association between PTSD symptom severity and alcohol use motives in female childhood trauma survivors. Poster to be presented at the 38th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Bindbeutel, K. M., Horne, S. D., Lothe, B. M., Wendling, M. A., Galano, M. M., & Mahoney, C. T. (2022, November). Differences in emotion dysregulation for individuals with varying levels of co-occurring PTSD symptom severity and alcohol use severity. Poster to be presented at the 38th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Dixon, K. E., Galano, M. M., & Mahoney, C. T. (2022, November). Social reactions to gender-based violence disclosure among immigrant college women in the USA. In K. E. Dixon (Chair), Culturally-specific sequelae of gender-based violence. Symposium to be presented at the 38th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Newberger, N. G., Hinds, Z., Mahoney, C. T., Bryant, W. T., Herbitter, C., Weiss, N., & Livingston, N. A. (2022, November). Proximal Associations Between Minority Stress, Cannabis Use, and Mood Among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals. Poster to be presented at the 38th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Atlanta, GA.