Browsing by Author "Ulas, Sumeyye"

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Autism Traits and Mental Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Social Camouflaging and the Moderating Role of Social Exclusion and Public Stigma
(Nature Portfolio, 2025) Secer, Ismail; Cimen, Fatmanur; Ulas, Sumeyye; Tatli, Eda; Saatci, Feyzanur; Pakis, Abdurrahman
There is a strong relationship between autism and mental health problems. Autistic individuals are more frequently exposed to stigma and social exclusion in social life, which may lead them to engage in socially desirable behaviors to camouflage themselves. Within this framework, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between autism traits and mental well-being, focusing on social camouflaging behaviors in the context of social exclusion and perceived stigma. The study sample consisted of 548 adults across Turkey, including 432 women (78.8%) and 116 men (21.2%). To test the proposed model, Model 4 and Model 21 developed by Hayes were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 and PROCESS Macro. The findings indicated a negative and significant relationship between autism traits and mental well-being, with social camouflaging mediating this relationship. In addition, the relationship between autism traits and social camouflaging was found to be influenced by social exclusion, while the relationship between social camouflaging and mental well-being was moderated by perceived public stigma. The findings are expected to contribute to broadening perspectives in autism research.
Investigation of the Effectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy on Adjustment and Behavioral Problems in Children with Subthreshold Autism
(Frontiers Media SA, 2025) Secer, Ismail; Ulas, Sumeyye; Tatli, Eda; Cimen, Fatmanur; Bulbul, Burcu; Tosunoglu, Beyzanur
Background Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an increasingly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder. However, the number of children who exhibit subthreshold levels of ASD symptoms, significant enough to experience functional and adaptive difficulties, is also substantial. These children require early interventions, similar to those diagnosed with ASD, due to their exhibited adaptive and behavioral challenges. PCIT offers a unique opportunity for children and their parents exhibiting subthreshold ASD to address such challenges through its practices and techniques.Aim This study aims to assess the initial result effectiveness of standard PCIT on the adaptive skills and school refusal behaviors of children exhibiting subthreshold ASD, as well as on the levels of parental stress and caregiving burden. The study intends to test these effects and report the outcomes.Method This study is a case study, and it involves three children with subthreshold ASD symptoms and their parents. The therapy processes were conducted for approximately 1 year.Result Results obtained from this study revealed that PCIT holds promising prospects for improving adaptive and interaction skills, reducing school refusal, and alleviating parental stress and caregiving burden among children exhibiting subthreshold ASD.Discussion PCIT is considered a functional approach for children and parents demonstrating subthreshold ASD symptoms, besides interventions addressing diagnosed ASD children. It is suggested that future studies should evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of PCIT through randomized controlled trials in the context of subthreshold ASD.
The Mediator Role of Covid-19 OCD in the Relationship Between Depression, Emotional Reactivity, and Dysfunctional Health Protective Behaviors
(Springer, 2024) Secer, Ismail; Ulas, Sumeyye; Tatli, Eda; Bulbul, Burcu
Because the Coronavirus disease emerged in 2019 and affected the whole world in a short time, this epidemic was described as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Due to the easy transmission and serious nature of the consequences of the disease, various measures have been taken at the national and international levels. Similarly, the precautions taken at the point of cleanliness and disease prevention have increased the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In this context, obsessive-symptoms observed due to the pandemic were named COVID-19 OCD, and dysfunctional health protective behaviors such as avoidance increased their intensity. Therefore, this study aims to determine the role of COVID-19 OCD between depression and emotional reactivity, and dysfunctional health protective behaviors in adults. The study was conducted with 792 participants. The following structural models were tested using LISREL software. As a result of the analysis, "the relationship between emotional reactivity and depression and dysfunctional health protective behaviors is mediated by COVID-19 OCD." The final model expressed as (chi 2/df = 1.93; RMSEA = 0.062, NFI = .97, NNFI = .98, CFI = .98, IFI = .98, SRMR = .054, GFI = .93, AGFI = .91) was found to be confirmed. As a result, it can be said that COVID-19 OCD, which is observed due to the pandemic, directly affects dysfunctional health protective behaviors and depression and emotional reactivity indirectly.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy as Applied to Turkish Families: Effectiveness for Children with Behavior Problems and Their Caregivers
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2025) Ulas, Sumeyye; Secer, Ismail; Victory, Erinn J.; McNeil, Cheryl B.
This study assessed the impact of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) on caregiver and child outcomes in T & uuml;rkiye using a non-concurrent multiple baseline design (N = 3). Improvements in child disruptive behavior frequency were observed, with a large effect across participants (Tau-U = -0.74) and perceived problematic child behaviors (Tau-U = -0.87). School refusal, anxiety symptoms, and child emotion regulation improved with reliable change indices indicating clinically significant improvements (>1.96). Clinically significant decreases (RCI >1.96) in parenting stress and parent emotion regulation difficulties were also observed. Parents demonstrated improvements in parenting skills, as outlined by the PCIT protocol. This study highlights PCIT's efficacy within a novel cultural context.
School Refusal and Its Underlying Mechanisms: A Network Perspective on Individual and Environmental Determinants
(Springer, 2025) Secer, Ismail; Cimen, Fatmanur; Ulas, Sumeyye; Ay, Emrullah; Tatli, Eda; Garcia, Danilo; Sunay, Caner
This study aimed to examine the interactions between school refusal and key individual-level and environmental-level factors, including perfectionism, social adaptive functioning, perceived autonomy, mindfulness, and school climate using network analysis. The research sample comprised 601 high school students (374 females and 227 males). Data analysis was conducted in two stages. First, a regularized partial correlation network was estimated to examine the structural relationship between school refusal and the associated variables. Second, Bayesian directed acyclic graphs (DAG) were employed to investigate potential causal relationships and the direction effects among these variables. The results identified "school connectedness," a dimension of the school climate scale, as the most central node in the network, exhibiting direct and indirect associations with school refusal, perfectionism, social adaptive functioning, perceived autonomy, mindfulness, and their subdimensions. These findings emphasize the central role of school connectedness in influencing school refusal behaviors, demonstrating that positive teacher and peer relationships serve as protective factors, while weak social bonds or negative experiences (e.g., bullying) increase avoidance tendencies. Additionally, the results highlight the interplay between social, emotional, and cognitive factors, reinforcing the importance of mindfulness, adaptive coping strategies, and autonomy-supportive environments in mitigating school refusal.
Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Professional: Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis Based on Correlation Coefficient
(Nature Portfolio, 2025) Ulas, Sumeyye; Secer, Ismail
The challenging conditions faced by healthcare professionals (HCPs) during the pandemic have been extensively discussed in the literature, particularly concerning Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and Burnout (BO). This study systematically compiled studies meeting the inclusion criteria and examining the relationship between STS and BO between 2019 and 2024 in the Web of Science and PubMed databases, conducting a correlational meta-analysis. While the PRISMA was adhered to in all stages of this manuscript, the Quality Assessment and Validity Tool for Correlational Studies was adhered to in evaluating the articles that met the inclusion criteria. This analysis included 61 publications involving 33.906 HCPs. When raw r coefficients were transformed into Fisher's z values, the correlation coefficients ranged between 0.1820 and 1.1881, with a 100% positive direction, and the weighted correlation coefficient was 0.6305 (95% CI: 0.5888 to 0.6721). The results indicate a strong positive relationship between the levels of STS and BO among HCPs during the pandemic. The validation of the strong relationship between STS and BO during the COVID-19 period underscores the critical need for the development of information dissemination, resources, support, or policies to strengthen HCPs against STS and BO in the face of future epidemics, pandemics, or situations that could negatively impact the functioning of the healthcare system. In other words, it can be suggested to develop training and awareness programs for HCPs in terms of STS and BO, strengthen support systems, improve workload and working conditions, ensure continuity in monitoring and evaluating HCPs in terms of BO and STS, etc.