Publications by authors named "Akeesha Simmons"

Repeatedly capturing national headlines, excessive law enforcement officer (LEO) use of force in critical incident encounters is one of the most divisive human rights issues in the United States. Valid and reliable measures of potential precursors to LEO excessive use of force, such as aggression, are needed. The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire-short form (BPAQ-SF) is a validated measure of aggression across various populations; however, evaluation of this easily administered measure in high-stress, frontline populations such as LEOs is limited.

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Racially minoritized adults lack equal representation in research and experience disparities in healthcare. Little is known about which trait-level factors may help mitigate negative and promote positive psychological health among adults from these communities. The aim of this study was to assess the differential impact of dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, and resilience in predicting depression, anxiety, stress, and life satisfaction in a sample of racially minoritized adults.

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Perceived ethnic discrimination (PED) is predictive of chronic pain-related outcomes. Less is known about pathways through which these constructs interact. The goal of this study was to test whether PED was predictive of chronic pain-related outcomes (pain interference, pain intensity, and symptoms related to central sensitization), whether depression mediated the relationship between PED and pain outcomes, and if these relationships were maintained across sex in a sample of racially and ethnically minoritized adults ( = 77).

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The beneficial effect of valid compared to invalid cues on attention performance is a basic attentional mechanism, but the impact of emotional content on cue validity is poorly understood. We tested whether the effect of cue validity on attention performance differed when cues were angry, happy, or neutral faces. Moreover, we used scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) reflecting the capture of early visual attention (P1, N170) to test whether effects were strengthened when neurocognitive responses to angry or happy cues were enhanced (larger P1 and N170 amplitudes).

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