UROP Project

clinical psychology; safety behavior; self-injury

Research Mentor: Emma R. Edenbaum, she/her
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: edenbaum@psy.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Dr. Victor Buitron he/him
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: buitron@psy.fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Psychology; Exploratory/Undeclared
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10,
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Friday, September 6, 2024, 11-11:30am: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/91820056634
Meeting ID: 918 2005 6634
Zoom Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C2ITtbFwSIRL77A4M3XOgOmWE4xsY_VK/view?usp=sharing
(email edenbaum@psy.fsu.edu if you cannot access this link)

Project Description

Self-triggering is a relatively new construct as a focal point of empirical investigation, beginning with Bellet et al. (2020). Thus far, it has been studied in the context of posttraumatic stress disorder (Bellet et al., 2020; McGhie et al., 2023; Musicaro et al., 2023), despite its emergence in other disorders such as nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) disorder (Brown et al., 2020) and its similar functions to direct self-harming behaviors (Bellet et al., 2020). The only existing assessment of self-triggering, the Self-Triggering Questionnaire (STQ; Bellet et al., 2020), ties the behavior to a traumatic event, which is not applicable to all individuals who engage in said behavior, and likens it to nonsuicidal self-injury, despite there being no involvement of physical harm to the body. This multiphasic study aims, first, to clarify the nature of self-triggering when instead framed as a safety behavior not unique to posttraumatic stress, and second, to incorporate the qualitative qualities gleaned into the existing Self-Triggering Questionnaire (Bellet et al., 2020).

Research Tasks: This student will be involved in data collection in the form of qualitative interviewing and quantitative self-reports, and will be guided through data analyses in R (e.g., qualitative coding, exploratory factor analysis, analysis of covariance- and regression-based techniques).

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
Because this study involves client-facing qualitative interviewing, a research assistant must be capable and willing to maintain professionalism during discussions of sensitive content (e.g., events provoking post-traumatic stress, imagery of nonsuicidal self-injury and suicide). Relatedly, a research assistant must also have strong communication skills and a team-oriented mindset that allows for collaboration and open discussions.
A research assistant must also be interested in pursuing clinical psychology as a career path and show obvious excitement and passion for this work.
Recommended:
A research assistant should be academically familiar with clinical psychology (e.g., current or past enrollment in a psychology course).