Digital Commons Network^™

Covid‑19‑Related Risk, Resilience, And Mental Health Among Mexican American Mothers Across The First Year Of The Pandemic, Amy L. Non, Elizabeth S. Clausing, Sandraluz Lara‑Cinisomo, Kimberly L. D’Anna Hernandez

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Background Latina mothers have been especially affected by the pandemic and historically exhibit high rates of depression and anxiety. However, few longitudinal studies have assessed the effect of the pandemic on this vulnerable population. We hypothesized that COVID-19-related stressors would associate with psychological distress among Latina mothers across the first year of the pandemic.

Methods We investigated COVID-19-related impact, stigma, and fears across two critical time points and changes in these measures in relation to changes in maternal anxiety and depression among mothers of Mexican descent living in Southern California (n=152). Surveys were administered within 5–16 weeks of …

Emotionally Concussed: The Impact Of Pre-Existing Anxiety On Concussion Recovery, Grace Szucs

Honors Theses

Recent advances in concussion research have shed light on numerous mental and physiological factors that may complicate concussion recovery. Systematic reviews of the existing literature have found that premorbid mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety may be a predictor of complicated concussion recovery, but studies have not had an appropriate design to isolate anxiety or depression as a predictor of lengthened recovery. This study investigated if athletes with a history of premorbid anxiety and/or depression would have a longer time of recovery than athletes without this history. Male and female athletes from a Division-1 athletic department treated for …

The Role Of Reported Affective Symptoms And Anxiety In Recovery Trajectories After Sport-Related Concussion, Bernadette A. D'Alonzo, Abigail C. Bretzin, Douglas J. Wiebe, Ivy League–Big Ten Epidemiology Of Concussion Study Investigators, Arthur C. Maerlender, Cary R. Savage

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: There is growing awareness and clinical interest in athletes with affective symptoms after sport-related concussion (SRC), as these symptoms may contribute to overall symptoms and represent a modifiable risk factor of longer recovery. However, evidence of their effects on the entire return-to-play (RTP) trajectory, particularly among women and men, is limited.

Purpose/Hypothesis: To examine the relationship between affective symptom reporting and RTP progression after SRC among a cohort of Division 1 student-athletes. We hypothesized that those endorsing affective symptoms, specifically nervous-anxious symptoms, spend more time in RTP progression and recovery.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: …

Weight Status, Bullying Involvement, And Internalizing Symptomology In Adolescents: Examining A Diathesis-Stress Model, Ana Damme

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Bullying is a pervasive societal issue that is consistently linked to negative outcomes that are emotionally, socially, behaviorally, and medically related. Most youth will encounter this negative life event in their childhood. The purpose of this dissertation was to use a diathesis-stress model perspective to assess the relations between the negative life event of bullying involvement, youths’ mental health, and youth weight status. Youth who have an unhealthy weight status are more likely to be involved in bullying than those with a healthy weight status (Browne, 2012; Puhl). Additionally, bullying and having an unhealthy weight status are related internalizing symptomology …

Gender, Gender Roles, And Anxiety: Perceived Confirmability Of Self Report, Behavioral Avoidance, And Physiological Reactivity, Milena Stoyanova, Debra Anne Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Despite the well-documented gender effect in anxiety, less is known about contributing factors to women’s greater risk for anxiety and fears. The present study examined the relationship between gender, gender role orientation (i.e., expressivity/instrumentality) and fear of harmless insects (tarantula), using a multimodal approach of self-report measures, a Behavioral Approach Test (BAT), and physiological reactivity. Participants (144 college students; 67 women, 77 men) completed a questionnaire packet and then were instructed to approach a tarantula. We were unable to replicate Pierce and Kirkpatrick’s (1992) findings that men underreport anxiety. Consistent with the literature, women in the study experienced greater anxiety …

The Structure Of Posttraumatic Psychopathology In Veterans Attending Primary Care, David Forbes, Jon D. Elhai, Emma Lockwood, Mark Creamer, B. Christopher Frueh, Kathryn M. Magruder

Public Health Resources

This study attempted to extend research indicating that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) factors of Re-experiencing, Avoidance and Hyperarousal are more related to Fear/phobic disorders, while PTSD Dysphoria is more related to Anxious-Misery disorders. Trauma exposure, PTSD and comorbidity data for 668 veteran patients were analysed using confirmatory factor analyses and relative strengths of the relationships between PTSD factors and the Fear and Anxious-Misery factors were assessed. Combining Simms, Watson, and Doebbeling’s (2002) model of PTSD symptoms and Krueger’s (1999) Fear/Anxious Misery model of mood and anxiety disorders fit the data well. Contrary to previous research, PTSD Reexperiencing, Avoidance and Hyperarousal …

Linkages Between Anxiety And Outcomes In Heart Failure, Marla J. De Jong, Misook L. Chung, Jia-Rong Wu, Barbara Riegel, Mary Kay Rayens, Debra K. Moser

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Objective: We investigated the relationship between anxiety and event-free survival (ie, composite endpoint of death, emergency department visits, or hospitalizations) for patients with heart failure (HF), and examined whether behavioral and physiologic mechanisms mediate any association between anxiety and outcomes.

Methods: In this longitudinal study, patients with HF completed the anxiety subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory, and heart-rate variability and plasma norepinephrine levels were measured. Dietary adherence and medication adherence were measured according to 24-hour urine sodium level and the Medication Event Monitoring System, respectively. Patients were followed at least 1 year for event-free survival.

Results: In total, 147 …

Anxiety Phenotype In Mice That Overexpress Protein Kinase A, Margaret F. Keil, George Briassoulis, Nirmal Gokarn, Maria Nesterova, T. John Wu, Constantine A. Stratakis

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

The role of cyclic adenosine monophosphate/protein kinase A (cAMP/PKA) signaling in the molecular pathways involved in fear and memory is well established. Prior studies in our lab reported that transgenic mice with an inactivating mutation in Prkar1a gene (codes for the 1-alpha regulatory subunit (R1α) of PKA) exhibited behavioral abnormalities including anxiety and depression. In the present study, we examined the role of altered PKA signaling on anxiety-like behaviors in Prkar1a^+/- mice compared to wild-type (WT) littermates. The elevated plus maze (EPM) and marble bury (MB) tests were used to assess anxiety-like behavior. The hotplate test was performed to …

The Role Of The Peer Group In Adolescence: Effects On Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms, Glen J. Veed

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

An adolescent’s peer group has been theorized to influence the development of psychopathology. However, little research has examined the adolescent peer group using information obtained directly from peers in a longitudinal framework. Research has also been limited on peer group influence on the development of internalizing disorders. The study used Social Network Analysis to examine self-reported anxiety, depression, aggression, and delinquency in the fall and spring of one school year for students in a rural high school. In addition to examining the effect of the peer group on individual reports of psychopathology, the strength of this relation was compared to …

Anxiety And Emotion Dysregulation In Daily Life: An Experience-Sampling Comparison Of Social Phobia And Generalized Anxiety Disorder Analogue Groups, Nathan Alan Miller

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Recent research suggests the presence of both common and disorder-specific emotion regulation deficits across the anxiety disorders (Turk et al., 2005), including those that may be uniquely characteristic of social phobia (SP; Kashdan & Breen, 2008; Kashdan & Steger, 2006; Turk et al., 2005). The purpose of the present study was to replicate and expand upon this growing literature in important directions. The initial portion of this study involved administration of relevant self-report symptom, emotion, and emotion regulation survey measures to a large undergraduate sample (N = 784). Scores on several symptom measures were used to create a SP analogue …

A Review Of The Tripartite Model For Understanding The Link Between Anxiety And Depression In Youth, Emily R. Anderson, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Although research from numerous investigations indicates that there is substantial overlap in anxiety and depressive symptoms and comorbid diagnoses in youth, these constructs can be adequately differentiated. Clark and Watson [Clark, L. A. & Watson, D., (1991). Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: Psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100: 316-336] proposed a tripartite model to account for the symptom overlap and diagnostic comorbidity between anxiety and depression. This tripartite model posits that anxiety and depression share a common component of negative affect, but can be differentiated by low positive affect associated with depression and high …

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury And Anxiety Sequelae: A Review Of The Literature, Elizabeth L. Moore, Lori Terryberry-Spohr, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

There is scattered but significant psychological and neuropsychological evidence to suggest that mild traumatic brain injury (mild TBI) plays a notable role in the emergence and expression of anxiety. Conversely, there is also empirical evidence to indicate that anxiety may exert a pronounced impact on the prognosis and course of recovery of an individual who has sustained a mild TBI. Although the relationship between mild TBI and anxiety remains unclear, the present body of research attempts to elucidate a number of aspects regarding this topic. Overall, the mild TBI research is rife with inconsistencies concerning prevalence rates, the magnitude and …