Title:
The efficacy of psychological first aid on self-reported anxiety, mood, and autonomic response
Author:
Alexandra O. Higdon
Thesis Advisor:
Jeffrey M. Lating
Committee Member:
Matthew W. Kirkhart
Committee Member:
George S. Everly
Committee Member:
Amanda M. Thomas
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2017
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
In the wake of traumatic events, there has been an increased focus on their psychological impact. Although those experiencing psychological trauma may not need psychotherapy, they could possibly benefit from an immediate response, known as crisis intervention. Despite the popularity of certain crisis intervention techniques, such as Critical Incident Stress Debriefings (CISD) in the mid to late 1990's, there is minimal empirical data assessing their efficacy. Psychological first aid (PFA), another model of crisis intervention that is intended to reduce distress and promote resilience in those exposed to traumatic, has received increased attention and support in the past decade. Despite its increasing popularity, PFA, like its predecessors, currently lacks sufficient empirical validation. This study utilized a randomized control trial (RCT) to assess the potential benefits of PFA compared to a social acknowledgment condition, which used active listening skills, and a control condition, which used no response, while participants spoke about a chosen stressful life event. Demographics, standardized questionnaires (STAI, PANAS, CD-RISC, Post Assessment Forms), and galvanic skin response (GSR) assessed participants' anxiety, mood, and physiological arousal at baseline, at the end of disclosure, and 30 minutes following disclosure. Results revealed that although those in the PFA condition evidenced a decrease in anxiety, mood, and galvanic skin response at 30 minutes-post-disclosure, these decreases were not significantly different than those in the social acknowledgement and control conditions. These results did not support the primary hypotheses, and suggest that future research is necessary to clarify the impact of PFA.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online to Loyola Notre Dame Library basic constituency.
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Identifier:
HigdonAO-17
