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The Relations Among Parenting Style, Parent-Adolescent Relationship, Family Stress, Cultural Context And Depressive Symptomatology Among Adolescent Females, Dayna M.V. Diaz

Psychology Dissertations

This study examines the relations between depressive symptom expression and cultural and family contexts among adolescent females from different ethnic groups. Specifically, ethnic identity, parenting style, family stress and the quality of parent-adolescent relationships were examined as potential protective factors for depressive symptom expression among a diverse group of female adolescents. This study addressed the following research questions: 1) Are there ethnic group differences in depressive symptom expression across Latina, African American and Asian adolescent females? 2) Are there ethnic group differences in the association of family processes with depressive symptom expression across these three ethnic groups? 3) Regardless of …

Does Mindfulness Reduce Negativity Bias? A Potential Mechanism For Reduced Emotional Distress, Laura Kiken

Theses and Dissertations

The present research examined if mindfulness reduced negativity bias on measures of attitude formation and cognitive style, as a potential explanation for the beneficial effects of mindfulness on emotional disturbance. Two studies were conducted. Study One was correlational and found that trait mindfulness inversely correlated with measures of negative cognitive style, and that the latter partially mediated an inverse association between mindfulness and predisposition to depression and anxiety. Further, correlations between mindfulness and both positive attitude formation and optimism hinted at a potential positivity bias. Study Two extended these findings using a randomized experimental design comparing a mindfulness induction to …

Secondary Analysis Of Diabetes And Psychological Distress In American Indian Women From The California Health Interview Survey (Chis)., Audry Marie Greenwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since European settlers arrived to the United States (U.S.), American Indians (AI) have been separate and unequal members of society. After a long history of discrimination, ethnocide, genocide, and distrust, the AI have become a population with severe disparities, having the highest rates of diabetes, depression, suicide, tuberculosis, and alcoholism than any other minority or majority population in the U.S. The author's purpose for conducting this study was to explore a possible relationship between depression or psychological distress and diabetes in AI women.

AI women are the most under studied group in the country; therefore, a secondary analysis of the …

Taste Sensitivity To 6-N-Propylthiouracil (Prop) As A Biological Marker For Vulnerability To Stress In Mothers And Children, Deann Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Some people are genetically more vulnerable to stress than others, leading them towards poorer outcomes following stressful events. Mothers' vulnerability to stress may, in turn, influence their children, leading their children towards poor outcomes as well. A biological marker of vulnerability to stress may indicate mothers who are at greater risk for experiencing parenting stress, depression, and less support of the infant's emotional development, and infants who are at greater risk for development of poor emotion regulation and behavior problems. Taste sensitivity to propylthiouracil (PROP) is proposed as a biological marker of stress vulnerability in mothers and children. This research …

Efficacy Of A Brief Intervention For Insomnia Among Psychiatric Outpatients, James Nile Wagley

Theses and Dissertations

Psychiatric patients are particularly affected by symptoms of insomnia. Because insomnia is often secondary to other conditions and was once thought to be less treatable, this condition has received little attention in terms of treatment and research. Additionally, psychiatric patients have typically fewer resources to seek treatment. Generally, insomnia is treated with medications that may have biological side effects and offer little restorative sleep. Behavioral or cognitive interventions have often been overlooked. This experiment uses profile analysis to test the hypothesis that psychiatric outpatients randomized to a treatment group would have decreased levels of sleep difficulties (measured by PSQI) when …

Factors Related To Formal And Informal Help-Seeking For Perinatal Depressive Symptoms, Erin Henshaw

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Effective treatment for maternal depression improves overall maternal functioning and prevents the negative infant outcomes associated with maternal depression (Verduyn et al., 2003). Despite the clear benefits associated with treatment for perinatal depression, less than one third of depressed women seek any form of treatment (Flynn et al, 2006). The Health Belief Model (HBM) has received some support for other health-promoting behaviors, but its relevance for explaining mental health help-seeking has not been adequately tested. This study adds to the literature by simultaneously providing a more comprehensive and adequate test of the HBM in predicting mental health treatment for depression …

Everyday Magic : A Depressed Mother's Guide, Diana Coulson-Brown

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation project was threefold: to develop a cognitive-behavioral manual for therapists, a self-help manual for depressed mothers, and a guide to assist children, aged 6 to 11, through the risks of depression was paramount in the design of this project. Given a paradigm shift in the field of psychotherapy towards resilience, this manual is timely in that it is a valuable resource for promoting resilience outcomes in both mothers and their children. This manual includes a variety of social, emotional, and behavioral activities for mothers and children, allowing mothers to be at the forefront of establishing …

Does Alcoholics Anonymous Participation Decrease Learned Helplessness And Increase Self-Efficacy? , Philip John Pellegrino

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has long been the major treatment of choice in the United States for individuals with alcohol related problems. Research on AA has had methodological problems and there is no clear evidence that AA in and of itself is effective in treating alcohol problems. Treatment studies on alcohol and substance users have found that abstinence self-efficacy and approach coping skills have been related to improved drinking outcomes. Also, depression and alcohol problems have been shown to be highly correlated with each other. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between participation in AA and improvements in abstinence self-efficacy, learned …

Is Alexithymia A Predictor Of College Student Alcohol Abuse?, Diane Arms

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Alexithymia, as defined by Sifneos (1973), literally means "no words for emotions." It is characterized by the following three domains: 1) the incapacity to identify feelings, 2) inability to describe feelings and 3) the tendency to think in externally oriented ways (Salminen, Saarijarvi, & Aarela, 1995; Sifneos, 2000). Although alexithymia is not a diagnosable disorder, it has been shown to be related to a wide variety of other constructs (e.g. alcohol use, depression and parenting styles). This study examined the interrelationships between alexithymia and student alcohol use, while controlling for sex, perceived parental alcohol use, perceived parenting styles and student …

Depression In Korean Immigrant Women, Darin Lee Rorrer

Theses Digitization Project

This study found that the depression levels of Korean immigrant women in the U.S are affected by their education and/or income levels, often stemming from their inability to successfully navigate in the American culture.

Depression Among The Oneida: Case Studies Of The Interface Between Modern And Traditional, Mark R. Powless

Dissertations (1934 -)

Depression, defined by a EuroAmerican biomedical diagnostic criterion, using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition, Text Revision is prevalent among First Nations peoples. However, some studies suggest that the term depression may hold little heuristic value outside of its EuroAmerican conceptualization. This study utilized qualitative methods to understand how depressive symptoms are conceptualized and experienced by traditional Oneida people. A vignette was presented and in-depth interviews of seven traditional healers, culture and Oneida language experts were conducted to: (1) gain a basic understanding of traditional views of mental health, (2) acquire multiple conceptualizations of someone who presents …

Traumatic Stress As A Predictor Of Suicidality, Sherry Malana Todd

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Suicide is a deliberate act of annihilation against one's self due to a crisis of problem solving. Far too many youth are dying by their own hands resulting in suicide being the third leading cause of death for 10-19 year olds (CDC, 2005). Suicide is particularly problematic for adolescents due to the impulsivity inherent in adolescent development. Since 1980, the national suicide rate of African American youth has increased by 114 percent (CDC). Suicidality has been positively correlated with depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Kessler et al., 1999). Suicidality is more prevalent when a person experiences a tragic or …

Environmental Effects On Adolescents Exposed To Hurricane Katrina, Karen Laslie Davidson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Adolescents in New Orleans were displaced by hurricane Katrina and returned to find their city devastated by this natural disaster. Although many studies have found a relationship between hurricane exposure and development of psychopathology, the current study evaluated this relationship within the context of protective and risk factors. Specifically, the current study evaluated whether community violence, parent support, and peer support moderated the relationship between hurricane exposure and adolescent PTSD or depression. Results found no relationship between hurricane exposure and adolescent depression. Although there was a main effect for hurricane exposure and PTSD, the proposed variables did not moderate this …