Date of Award

Spring 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chairperson

Geeta Shivde, Ph. D.

Committee Member

Farzin Irani, Ph. D.

Committee Member

Vipanchi Mishra, Ph. D.

Abstract

Asthma is a common lung disease that impacts lung functioning through inflammatory based mechanisms. Past research suggests that decreased blood oxygenation due to asthma attacks may impair cognitive capabilities (Irani et al., 2017). Moreover, the observed differences in cognition between those with and without asthma may be associated with disease severity or asthma control respectively in asthma populations. The current study explored differences in cognitive functioning between college students with and without self-reported asthma. Sociodemographic data, self-reported asthma severity, and measures of asthma control were collected. The current study did not find significant differences in measures of cognitive efficiency between those with and without asthma. Within asthma groups, neither asthma control nor asthma severity were significantly associated with cognitive efficiency variables. These results do not support the hypothesis that individuals with well-controlled moderate asthma have significantly different cognitive functioning in comparison to those without asthma. Clinical directions and future directions are discussed.

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