Defense Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Natalie Dautovich, Ph.D.

Abstract

This study utilized a mixed methods emergent, phenomenological approach to (1) understanding the lived experience of freezing of gait for individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and (2) determining the role of anxiety and sleep in freezing of gait outcomes. Participants included 13 adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (N=14 for qualitative data, N=13 for quantitative data; 23.1% female-identifying, 76.9% male-identifying) who were predominantly white (92.3%) with an average age of 69 years (SD = 6.73 years). Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, self-report measures, actigraphic sleep data, and salivary alpha amylase biomarker collection. Results are organized into key components including: anxiety and affectivity, sleep, coping, support, and living with Parkinson’s Disease and freezing of gait. A combination of direct quotes from participant interviews and quantitative data visualizations are utilized to present mixed-methods results. Results are then discussed in the context of the proposed theoretical framework, positing anxiety and sleep as potential contributing factors to the coupling model of freezing of gait adapted from Ehgoetz Martens et al. (2018) and Vandenbossche et al. (2013). This investigation is a first important step in positioning this coupling model, with the addition of sleep and anxiety as contributing mechanisms, as a framework for better understanding psychosocial factors and their contributions to freezing of gait broadly. The context of results in relation to the larger body of literature, strengths and weaknesses of the present study, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

4-27-2024

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