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A Multi-Method Assessment Of The Impact Of Stress On Families’ Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Andrew R. Daoust
A Multi-Method Assessment Of The Impact Of Stress On Families’ Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Andrew R. Daoust
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The COVID-19 pandemic was a pervasive disaster, creating stress for people across the globe. As such, understanding how pandemic-related stress has impacted individuals’ mental health is vital for guiding intervention programs and limiting the impact of future similar crises. This is especially true for youth, who are at heightened risk for mental disorder and may experience pandemic-related social stress as particularly aversive, given the developmental challenges unique to this period. Although substantial efforts have been made to measure the impact of the pandemic-related stress on individuals’ mental health, the pandemic’s relatively sudden onset has limited researchers’ abilities to conduct fulsome …
An Empirical Examination Of The Dyadic Partner-Schema Model Of Relationship Distress And Depression, Jesse Lee Wilde Ms.
An Empirical Examination Of The Dyadic Partner-Schema Model Of Relationship Distress And Depression, Jesse Lee Wilde Ms.
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Romantic relationship discord is prevalent in depression and has been repeatedly associated with poor prognosis for the disorder. Although a significant body of literature has examined the ways in which depressive self-schema structures (SSS) are implicated in depression, a paucity of research has investigated the role of partner-schema structures (PSS) in the disorder. The Dyadic Partner Schema Model (DPSM; Wilde & Dozois, 2019) was recently developed as a novel theoretical model of the mechanisms that maintain relationship distress in depression. This dissertation provided the first direct empirical examination of the DPSM by examining four main research questions: (1) how are …
Role Of The Default-Mode Network During Narrative Integration In Major Depressive Disorder, Darren Ri-Sheng Liang
Role Of The Default-Mode Network During Narrative Integration In Major Depressive Disorder, Darren Ri-Sheng Liang
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
How brain activity is synchronized across individuals during narrative comprehension has previously been characterized by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in healthy and patient populations. To our knowledge, there has been limited investigation as to how it is affected by major depressive disorder (MDD). We addressed this issue with fMRI through examination of inter-subject synchronization in the default mode network (DMN), brain structures which have previously been implicated in MDD pathology. Twenty-two patients with MDD and 20 matched control participants listened to Intact versus Scrambled versions of an auditory narrative; these experimental conditions differed in the degree of temporal integration …
Neuroimaging Depression Risk In A Sample Of Never-Depressed Children, Matthew R. J. Vandermeer
Neuroimaging Depression Risk In A Sample Of Never-Depressed Children, Matthew R. J. Vandermeer
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Children of mothers with a history of depression are at significantly higher risk for developing depression themselves. Although numerous mechanisms explaining this relationship have been proposed (Goodman & Gotlib, 1999), relatively little is known about the neural substrates of never-depressed children’s depression risk. Of the few studies that have used neuroimaging techniques to characterize risk-based differences in children’s neural structure, function, and functional connectivity, most have used samples that include participants with a personal history of depression or older samples (i.e., past the typical age of onset for depressive disorders). These approaches limit what can be determined regarding whether findings …
Exploring The Links Between Social Anxiety And Depression In The Maintenance Of Romantic Relationships, Christian M. Hahn
Exploring The Links Between Social Anxiety And Depression In The Maintenance Of Romantic Relationships, Christian M. Hahn
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Social anxiety is characterized by fear and avoidance of social encounters and has recently been associated with a variety of difficulties in romantic relationships. Complicating further investigation of these associations is the high degree of comorbidity between social anxiety and depressive symptomatology, which share several similarities in expression despite disparate underlying causes. The present thesis examines the unique influences of social anxiety and depression on a number of central aspects of relationship functioning and provide the first longitudinal investigation of the impacts of actor and partner social anxiety and depression on relationship quality and functioning. In Study 1, three independent …
Baseline And Stress-Induced Cognitive Control Deficits And Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines In Currently, Remitted, And Never Depressed Individuals, Katerina Rnic
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Background: Cognitive theories posit that cognitive control deficits promote depression by reducing ability to self-regulate under stress. When activated by stress and accessible to working memory, negative cognitive content and structure (i.e., schemas), may interfere with cognitive control abilities, resulting in even greater declines in executive functioning. Moreover, burgeoning evidence indicates that social stress upregulates inflammation, resulting in a pro-inflammatory phenotype that drives depression pathogenesis. However, cognitive mechanisms underlying this process are not well understood. An objective of this study was to examine depression-related deficits in cognitive control and their association with poor self-regulation. Another purpose was to evaluate the …
The Role Of Social Disconnection In The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Psychological Distress, Samantha Chen
The Role Of Social Disconnection In The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Psychological Distress, Samantha Chen
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This dissertation investigated the interpersonal mechanisms through which various aspects of perfectionism confer risk for psychological outcomes. Three studies were conducted based on the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (Hewitt, Flett, & Mikail, 2017), which proposes that individuals with higher levels of perfectionism may experience significant social disconnection, which then lead to a variety of maladaptive outcomes. Study 1 examined the longitudinal impacts of trait perfectionism and sense of relatedness on the variance in change in psychological outcomes. Findings showed that negative perceptions of relatedness partially mediated the link between socially prescribed perfectionism and psychological distress three months later; however, this …
A Study Of Multiple Predictors Of Cognitive Fatigue In Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis, Leila M. Mackay
A Study Of Multiple Predictors Of Cognitive Fatigue In Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis, Leila M. Mackay
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) commonly experience cognitive fatigue (CF), defined as a decrease in cognitive performance over a sustained activity and measured objectively or subjectively. In the present research, we evaluated the extent to which depression, anxiety, information processing speed, sleep quality, and disease severity predict subjective and objective CF, in a sample of 55 PwMS (37 females, M = 44.23). Although no statistically significant predictors of objective CF were demonstrated, all variables predicted subjective CF, R2adj = .384 [F (6, 40) = 5.783, p = .0002]. In particular, depression and information processing speed were found to be significant …
The Role Of Cognitive Distortions In The Longitudinal Relationship Between Problematic Drinking And Depressive Symptoms, Monica F. Tomlinson
The Role Of Cognitive Distortions In The Longitudinal Relationship Between Problematic Drinking And Depressive Symptoms, Monica F. Tomlinson
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This dissertation investigated the mechanisms by which problematic drinking contributes to depressive symptoms in two longitudinal, prospective, cohort-design studies. Distorted cognitive processes (dysfunctional attitudes, negatively-biased information processing, and rumination) were proposed as mediators in the relationship between problematic drinking and depressive symptoms over time. Study 1 (N = 1090) assessed participants’ levels of problematic drinking, dysfunctional attitudes, and depressive symptoms at three-month intervals for one year. Findings indicated that the social and occupational consequences of alcohol use (e.g., interpersonal conflict) significantly predicted depressive symptoms. The amount and frequency of alcohol consumption did not. Therefore, impairment, but not level of …
Understanding And Coping With Possible Depressive Symptoms: An Extension Of The Self-Regulation Model, Melissa N. Mohan
Understanding And Coping With Possible Depressive Symptoms: An Extension Of The Self-Regulation Model, Melissa N. Mohan
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This dissertation used Leventhal’s Self-Regulation Model (SRM) as a theoretical framework to examine how undergraduates make sense of and cope with symptoms often associated with depression. Students completed questionnaires about possible depressive symptoms (not labelled as such); as well as other components of the SRM, including demographics, psychosocial context, current psychopathology, cognitive appraisals and emotional reactions. Previous SRM studies have often focused on how people make sense of depression once symptoms have coalesced into a clearer clinical picture. In contrast, Part 1 of this dissertation focused on an earlier application of the SRM to a range of vague, generally mild …
Trajectories Of The Effects Of Sad Mood Induction Procedures (Mips), Jennifer C. P. Gillies
Trajectories Of The Effects Of Sad Mood Induction Procedures (Mips), Jennifer C. P. Gillies
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Mood Induction Procedures (MIPs) are used widely in cognitive vulnerability to depression research. Although research supports certain MIPs as effective, little research has validated the assumption that MIP-induced sad moods are sufficiently persistent. This study addressed three questions: How long does an MIP-induced mood last? What are the shapes of the trajectories of the mood effects? Do these trajectories differ by type of MIP? Four-hundred-and-one undergraduate students were randomly assigned to undergo one of three commonly used sad MIPs or a neutral MIP. Mood was repeatedly measured immediately prior to and following the MIP.Results did not support the widely held …
Does Self-Regulation Mediate The Relationship Between Locus Of Control And Resiliency Related Outcomes?, Alexander J. Mcgregor
Does Self-Regulation Mediate The Relationship Between Locus Of Control And Resiliency Related Outcomes?, Alexander J. Mcgregor
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Locus of control has been implicated in predicting mental wellbeing outcomes in a variety of theories and empirical studies, however the mediating mechanisms between the trait and mental wellbeing are not well known. The king and Rothstein (2010) model of resiliency posits self-regulation as the active mechanism that leads to recovery in resiliency related outcomes following significant adversity. These self-regulatory processes are predicted by a series of related traits, such as self-efficacy, neuroticism, or conscientiousness. This study investigated the mediating role of affective, behavioral, and cognitive self-regulation between locus of control, depression, and anxiety using mediation analysis. The results indicated …
An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Humor Styles And Depression, Marisa L. Kfrerer
An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Humor Styles And Depression, Marisa L. Kfrerer
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The present study examined the relationship between humor styles and depression using two methods of examination: (1) the mean humor style differences between individuals who reported that they had been diagnosed with depression versus those who did not report being depressed; and (2) a short scale assessing depressed affect. Participants were 878 adult Australians. With respect to mean differences, depressed individuals were found to use self-defeating humor more, and self-enhancing humor less than non-depressed adults. When the depressed affect scale score was analyzed, negative correlations were found between depressed affect and both positive styles of humor, affiliative and self-enhancing. Additionally, …
Do You “Like” Me?: Reassurance Seeking On Facebook And Depression, Callista Forchuk
Do You “Like” Me?: Reassurance Seeking On Facebook And Depression, Callista Forchuk
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The objective of this study was to expand interpersonal theories of depression by incorporating online social behaviour. This study assessed the influence of Facebook reassurance seeking on concurrent depressive symptoms, as well as the moderating role of attachment anxiety in this relation. A sample of 458 undergraduates (68% female; mean age 18.54) completed self-report computer-based questionnaires of offline reassurance seeking, Facebook reassurance seeking, attachment style, and depression. Contrary to hypotheses, Facebook reassurance seeking was not associated with depressive symptoms. However, there was an interaction whereby, for those higher in attachment anxiety, more Facebook reassurance seeking was associated with lessened depressive …
It's Not Me It's You: Examining The Link Between Partner-Schema Organization, Relationship Functioning, And Depressive Symptoms, Jesse Lee Wilde
It's Not Me It's You: Examining The Link Between Partner-Schema Organization, Relationship Functioning, And Depressive Symptoms, Jesse Lee Wilde
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Depression is associated with a host of interpersonal difficulties, particularly within intimate relationships. While a significant body of literature has supported the presence of a highly consolidated negative self representation or “self-schema”, no studies have examined whether depression is also associated with a highly organized negative “partner-schema”, and whether this represents a risk factor for relationship distress. Given the high degree of similarity between cognitive representations of self and close others, it was predicted that depression would be associated with a partner-schema structure mirroring that of the self-schema: an organized cognitive structure characterized by tightly interconnected negative information, and loosely …
Exploring The Differences Between Domestic Homicide And Homicide-Suicide: Implications For Risk Assessment And Safety Planning, Chelsea A. Heron
Exploring The Differences Between Domestic Homicide And Homicide-Suicide: Implications For Risk Assessment And Safety Planning, Chelsea A. Heron
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Domestic homicide, the killing of an individual by their current or former intimate partner, is a tragic and pervasive event. Research supports the finding that a history of domestic violence within a relationship acts as a strong predictor of domestic homicide (DH) and domestic homicide-suicide (DHS). At present, there is limited research that examines patterns in risk factors used to distinguish perpetrators of domestic homicide from domestic homicide-suicide. The present study aims to differentiate perpetrators of domestic homicide and domestic homicide-suicide according to prevalent risk factors and case characteristics. In this paper, case reports were examined from the Domestic Homicide …
Vulnerability To Depression In Middle Childhood: The Role Of Pubertal Development And Cortisol Reactivity In Risk For Depression, Sarah Vm Mackrell
Vulnerability To Depression In Middle Childhood: The Role Of Pubertal Development And Cortisol Reactivity In Risk For Depression, Sarah Vm Mackrell
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders with rates so high it has been referred to as the “common cold” of mental disorders (Kessler, Berglund, Demler, Jin, Koretz, Merikangas, …Wang, 2003). Although many studies have investigated associations between risk factors and depression in adolescents and adults, middle-to-late childhood has remained a relatively understudied period of development. This dissertation addresses important gaps in the literature on depression risk in a community sample of children (N = 205) over the course of middle-to-late childhood (age 7 to 12 years). In Study 1, I hypothesized that pubertal development strengthens associations …
The Relationship Between Different Dating Violence Profiles, Mental Health Problems And Mental Well-Being Among Canadian Youth, Kelsey E. Macdonald
The Relationship Between Different Dating Violence Profiles, Mental Health Problems And Mental Well-Being Among Canadian Youth, Kelsey E. Macdonald
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The current study examined the relationships among teen dating violence, mental health problems and mental well-being in 338 adolescents aged 14-21 (54% female). Secondary data were retrieved from an evaluation of a small groups healthy relationship program. Participants were grouped into four different dating violence profiles based on self-reported perpetration and victimization: not involved, perpetrators, victims and combined. Generalized Linear Models were used to examine the similarities and differences across types on depression, anxiety, mental well-being and binge drinking. Results suggested that the victims and combined profiles experienced greater mental health problems and decreased mental well-being compared to other profiles. …
The Role Of Emotional Support In Emotional Well-Being, Maria Sol Pound
The Role Of Emotional Support In Emotional Well-Being, Maria Sol Pound
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The overall purpose of this dissertation was to study the role of emotional support in emotional well-being (positive affect, negative affect, and non-clinical depressive symptoms). The research literature on social support has primarily focused on support processes occurring in the context of negative experiences and often has not included positive social interactions. This dissertation aimed to expand the study of emotional support by investigating emotional support for both positive and negative experiences, as well as emotional invalidation of negative experiences. Also, the mechanisms linking social support with well-being remain largely unclear. Two studies in this dissertation explored the role of …
The Transdiagnostic Prevention Of Emotional Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Study, Rebecca Mcdermott
The Transdiagnostic Prevention Of Emotional Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Study, Rebecca Mcdermott
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Major Depression and anxiety disorders are prevalent, costly, and comorbid disorders. These emotional disorders also share some vulnerability factors, making them good candidates for transdiagnostic or simultaneous prevention. The current study is a double-blind, primary prevention study that focuses on preventing emotional disorders in at risk, first and second year undergraduate students. Three internet-delivered preventative programs were compared: a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) intervention (MoodGYM), an attentional bias modification program (Dandeneau & Baldwin, 2004), and an active attentional control. Participants (n = 354) completed symptom measurement pre- and post- a six-week intervention and again at a four-month follow-up, when they …
Associations Between Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis System Gene Variants And Cortisol Reactivity In Preschoolers: Main Effects And Gene-Environment Interactions, Haroon I. Sheikh
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Exposure to stressful events during early development has consistently been shown to produce long lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which may increase vulnerability to mood and anxiety disorders. Recently reported genetic association studies indicate that these disorders may be influenced, in part, by gene-environment interactions (GxE) involving polymorphisms within the corticotrophin-releasing hormone and monoaminergic system genes. However, little is known about how genetic variants and life stress work to shape children’s neuroendocrine reactivity and emerging symptoms. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to examine main effects of candidate genes and GxE on the neuroendocrine stress response and …
Childhood Abuse And Neglect: A Profile Of Associated Risk Factors For Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Jennifer P. Gomez
Childhood Abuse And Neglect: A Profile Of Associated Risk Factors For Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Jennifer P. Gomez
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the intentional destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent and for purposes not socially sanctioned. Approximately 14 to 17% of nonclinical adolescent populationss and over 40% of clinical adolescent populations use NSSI to cope. NSSI is consistently related to childhood maltreatment and the objective of this study was to examine differences between maltreated individuals who do and do not self-injure. Groups were compared on risk factors of childhood maltreatment and self-injury with the intent of creating a risk profile for NSSI. Participants who had experienced abuse/neglect scored higher on depression than a contrast group, regardless of …
Socialization Of Depressive Symptoms In Pre- And Early Adolescent Peer Cliques, Suzanne L. Seah
Socialization Of Depressive Symptoms In Pre- And Early Adolescent Peer Cliques, Suzanne L. Seah
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This study examined socialization of depressive symptoms in pre- and early adolescent peer cliques, and clique characteristics (clique gender and friendship density) that may moderate the contribution of clique depression to the prediction of youths’ depressive symptoms over time. Social cognitive mapping identified 162 peer cliques involving 999 youths from Grades 4 through 8 (M age = 11.84; SD = 1.52) in Southwestern Ontario. As expected, multi-level modeling revealed that clique depressive symptoms in fall contributed significantly to the prediction of youths’ depressive symptoms in spring. Null findings regarding clique friendship density and gender as moderators of clique depression …
Interpretive Bias In The Context Of Life Stress And Depression: An Examination Of Stress Generation And Diathesis-Stress Models, Pamela M. Seeds
Interpretive Bias In The Context Of Life Stress And Depression: An Examination Of Stress Generation And Diathesis-Stress Models, Pamela M. Seeds
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Purpose: Researchers have recently demonstrated interest in interpretive bias, the tendency to interpret ambiguous information more negatively and/or less positively. The extent to which interpretive biases influence the occurrence of life stressors and potentially compound the negative effects of life stress in the development of depression is presently unknown. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate interpretive bias for ambiguous social information within the context of stress and depression. This study examined interpretive bias in the context of two theoretically and empirically supported models of depression – stress generation and diathesis-stress – to determine the mechanism through which …
Individual Differences In Temperament And Cognitive Biases In Middle Childhood: Vulnerability To Internalizing Psychopathology, Patricia L. Jordan
Individual Differences In Temperament And Cognitive Biases In Middle Childhood: Vulnerability To Internalizing Psychopathology, Patricia L. Jordan
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
A multi-trait multi-method study was conducted exploring associations between individual differences in child temperament and cognitive vulnerability for depression and anxiety. Two-hundred and five 7-year-old children and their parents participated. Low positive emotionality and high negative emotionality predicted a depressogenic attributional style as well as attentional biases for positive and sad stimuli. Individual differences in child fearfulness were also associated with attentional biases to threat-related information. Associations between child cognitive vulnerability and parental history of depression and anxiety were also explored, as well as associations between child internalizing symptoms and (1) child temperament and (2) cognitive vulnerability. Paternal, but not …
A Self-Regulation Model Of Depression: Content Of Cognitive Representations And Prediction Of Treatment Seeking, Catherine Leite
A Self-Regulation Model Of Depression: Content Of Cognitive Representations And Prediction Of Treatment Seeking, Catherine Leite
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Leventhal's self-regulation model (SRM) was applied as a conceptual framework from which to examine individuals' cognitive representations of depressive symptoms. This thesis explored the nature of these representations, as well as factors that may impact on these representations and, in turn, influence coping strategies and professional help seeking. In particular, Study 1 examined the effect of symptom severity and the label used to identify the symptoms on the cognitive representations of depressive symptoms and coping, whereas Study 2 examined the effect of symptom duration in this regard. This thesis also considered the extent to which the various SRM domains are …