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A Network Perspective On Peripartum Depression: How Do Symptoms Change Over Time?, Lara Michelle Baez
A Network Perspective On Peripartum Depression: How Do Symptoms Change Over Time?, Lara Michelle Baez
Open Access Theses
Depression that occurs during pregnancy and postpartum (collectively, “peripartum”) is a major public health concern. The goal of this study was to examine how individual depressive symptoms and affective, cognitive, and somatic subscales change and are related to one another over peripartum time. 418 women completed the Beck Depression Inventory at each of five phases: three pregnancy trimesters, early (<9 >weeks), and late (9-61 weeks) postpartum. ANOVA was used to examine differences in symptom and subscale severity and trajectory across the phases. Network analysis was used to model the causal mechanisms underlying these changes. Severity of most symptoms and all …
An Analysis Of Change Processes In The Transdiagnostic Treatment Of Emotional Disorders In Adolescents, Jamie Alexa Sherman
An Analysis Of Change Processes In The Transdiagnostic Treatment Of Emotional Disorders In Adolescents, Jamie Alexa Sherman
Open Access Dissertations
Anxiety, depression, and related emotional disorders are prevalent and impairing (Merikangas et al., 2010). They not only have high levels of symptom overlap but also share underlying temperament factors such as high neuroticism (Barlow, Sauer-Zavala, Carl, Bullis, & Ellard, 2014; Tonarely, Sherman, Grossman, Shaw, & Ehrenreich-May, under review) and low extroversion (Barlow et al., 2014; Tonarely, Sherman, & Ehrenreich-May, 2017). The Unified Protocols for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children and Adolescents (UP-C and UP-A, respectively; Ehrenreich-May et al., 2018) and similar core dysfunction-focused transdiagnostic therapy approaches may lead to successful treatment by targeting higher-order factors that cut across …
Couple-Based Stress Management Intervention And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Cfs) Biopsychological Processes, Sara F. Milrad
Couple-Based Stress Management Intervention And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Cfs) Biopsychological Processes, Sara F. Milrad
Open Access Dissertations
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating illness that is characterized by heterogeneous, systemic symptoms that impact patients’ and their caregiving partners’ quality of life. Extant literature has found hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and neuroimmune biomarkers associated with the disorder, but the impact of relationship satisfaction and patients’ communication satisfaction about symptoms on these CFS-relevant biological markers and on CFS patients’ CFS symptom severity has not been examined. Like others suffering from incapacitating chronic illnesses, CFS patients are often homebound, on disability, and/or face unemployment; however, people suffering from CFS report significantly less social support and more stigma from society, as …
Depressive Symptomology, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines, And S100a8/A9 Heterodimer Levels In Post-Surgical Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients: Test Of Direct And Indirect Effect, Erica R. Nahin
Open Access Theses
The link between depression and breast cancer outcomes has been a topic of great interest for the last decade and up-regulated inflammatory signaling may be one of the biological mechanisms at play. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between depression severity levels, and pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin – 1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in tandem with a pathway involving the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) 2-10 weeks post-surgery, and 1 year later. Activation of RAGE by ligands S100A8/A9 can trigger pathways that lead to the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. To date, …
A Meta-Analysis Of The Effect Of Therapist Experience On Outcome For Clients With Internalizing Disorders, Lucia M. Walsh
A Meta-Analysis Of The Effect Of Therapist Experience On Outcome For Clients With Internalizing Disorders, Lucia M. Walsh
Open Access Theses
Despite having the most prevalent group of psychiatric disorders, many people with internalizing disorders do not receive treatment. One factor related to lack of treatment is a shortage of qualified mental health therapists. Task shifting may be one solution to this shortage, but has been relatively unused due to the idea that less experienced therapists may not be able to attain commiserate client outcomes as more experienced therapists. However, a relationship between therapist experience and client internalizing outcomes has never been found, a critical first step in determining if task shifting is a viable option to getting millions of people …
Depression And Inflammatory Changes After Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management As Predictors Of Survival And Disease Recurrence In Women With Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer, Laura C. Bouchard
Open Access Dissertations
Both depression and inflammation are independently associated with breast cancer health outcomes, and multiple studies have shown that depression and inflammatory markers may be linked among women with breast cancer. Studies of cognitive-behavioral based psychosocial interventions have found beneficial intervention effects on time to survival and recurrence in breast cancer patients. However, the mechanisms through which interventions affect clinical health outcomes are less understood. It has been suggested that psychosocial interventions may affect long-term breast cancer clinical disease endpoints via effects on immune and inflammatory processes, but more research is necessary to explore these relationships. The current study examined the …
A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial Of The Unified Protocol For The Treatment Of Emotional Disorders In Children (Up-C), Sarah Michelle Kennedy
A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial Of The Unified Protocol For The Treatment Of Emotional Disorders In Children (Up-C), Sarah Michelle Kennedy
Open Access Dissertations
Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a well established treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders in children (Chorpita et al., 2011), a significant proportion of children do not respond to existing CBT protocols, and many protocols do not adequately address high rates of comorbidity among emotional disorders. Transdiagnostic approaches may help to improve treatment response in children, particularly for clinical or sub-clinical comorbid conditions not adequately targeted by disorder-specific CBT, and to prevent the later development of commonly occurring comorbid conditions. The Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C; Ehrenreich-May et al., in press) is a transdiagnostic …
Interactions Between Stress-Induced Inflammation, Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (Gsk3), And Depression, Yuyan Cheng
Interactions Between Stress-Induced Inflammation, Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (Gsk3), And Depression, Yuyan Cheng
Open Access Dissertations
Major depressive disorder is a prevalent disease that is inadequately treated with available interventions, and recovery is difficult, particularly in patients refractory to antidepressant treatments. Studying the learned helplessness depression model in mice, we examined mechanisms regulating its initiation and regulating its reversibility. Stress increases susceptibility to depression in patients and rodent models, and depression is associated with aberrant activation of inflammation. We found multiple inflammatory cytokines were increased in mouse plasma and hippocampus after a paradigm of inescapable foot shock stress that causes learned helplessness. A 24 hr prior pre-conditioning stress accelerated the rate of stress-induced plasma and hippocampal …
The Effect Of Film Score On Emotion And Self-Talk, Angela Nanette Davis
The Effect Of Film Score On Emotion And Self-Talk, Angela Nanette Davis
Open Access Theses
The purpose of this study was to first assess the effect of film score on affect in healthy young adults. Second, the study examined the subsequent effect of mood change on self-talk in relation to a stressor. Participants were 131 University of Miami undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 24 who were not musicians, recruited from all departments of study, excluding the Frost School of Music. Each participant completed a mood assessment, resulting in both a PASS (positive) and Dysphoria (negative) score, prior to one of three mood induction conditions: negative film score, positive film score, and control. …
Training Affective Flexibility: Effects Of An Affective-Control Training Task On Emotion Regulation, Ashley Marie Malooly
Training Affective Flexibility: Effects Of An Affective-Control Training Task On Emotion Regulation, Ashley Marie Malooly
Open Access Dissertations
Studies have shown that cognitive reappraisal is an adaptive emotion regulation strategy. However, individuals differ in how effectively they use reappraisal to regulate negative emotions such as sadness. Cognitive processes, such as those involved in task-switching, inhibition, and attention, may influence how well an individual can utilize cognitive reappraisal. This study sought to investigate whether a cognitive process associated with reappraisal, affective flexibility (AF), could be trained and could improve an individual’s ability to effectively down-regulate sadness. Also examined were potential effects of AF training on symptoms of depression and anxiety, and transfer effects to emotional working memory. Healthy participants …
Antidepressant And Molecular Responses To Ketamine Linked To Its Inhibition Of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (Gsk3), Steven F. Grieco
Antidepressant And Molecular Responses To Ketamine Linked To Its Inhibition Of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (Gsk3), Steven F. Grieco
Open Access Dissertations
Herein are described two novel outcomes, the up-regulation of 5HTR2C cluster miRNAs and IGF2, as a result of GSK3 inhibition by an antidepressant dose of ketamine that may contribute to the behavioral responses to ketamine.
Cognitive Vulnerability For Social Anxiety And Depression: A Transdiagnostic Investigation Of Repetitive Negative Thinkers, Kimberly Anne Arditte
Cognitive Vulnerability For Social Anxiety And Depression: A Transdiagnostic Investigation Of Repetitive Negative Thinkers, Kimberly Anne Arditte
Open Access Dissertations
In the current study, emotional and cognitive vulnerability factors for social anxiety and depression were examined using an RDoC framework. The overarching goals of the study were (1) to elucidate the symptom-specific and/or transdiagnostic nature of two cognitive vulnerability factors, interpretation biases and executive control, and (2) to examine the synergistic impact of these cognitive processes on emotional responding and clinical symptoms. To address these aims, the study recruited a sample of individuals at risk for current or future difficulties with social anxiety and depression symptoms (i.e., persons reporting elevated levels of repetitive negative thinking). The study then investigated how …
Psychosocial Predictors Of Depression And Medication Adherence In People Living With Hiv, Sarah M. Henry
Psychosocial Predictors Of Depression And Medication Adherence In People Living With Hiv, Sarah M. Henry
Open Access Dissertations
INTRODUCTION: Depression is common in people living with HIV (PLWH) and is a primary predictor of poor adherence to HAART medications which brings serious health consequences. PLWH also tend to experience more stress and trauma in their lifetime, all of which have been implicated in the onset and exacerbation of depression and poor health behavior performance. Positive and negative psychosocial variables and coping strategies have been associated with psychosocial functioning and health behaviors suggesting that understanding the ways in which PLWH cope is key to understanding depression and health behavior performance within this population. Different coping techniques work differently depending …
Social Determinants Of Depression Among Hispanic Women, Giovanna Cecilia De Oliveira
Social Determinants Of Depression Among Hispanic Women, Giovanna Cecilia De Oliveira
Open Access Dissertations
Depression is the number one cause of disability in the world, affecting over 350 million people. It is characterized by mood changes, alteration in self-attitude, cognitive functioning, sleep, appetite, and energy level, and causes impairment in social and occupational functioning and a decrease in the quality of life of the depressed person, family, and friends. Across different societies and social contexts throughout the world, depression affects significantly more women than men. The situation is similar in the U.S., where women are 70% more likely than men to experience depression during their lifetime. The age of onset of depression in women …
Moderators Of Acculturative Stress And Internalizing Problems In Hispanic/Latino Youth, Ashley N. Marchante
Moderators Of Acculturative Stress And Internalizing Problems In Hispanic/Latino Youth, Ashley N. Marchante
Open Access Theses
In the US, Hispanic/Latino youth are at especially high risk for experiencing anxiety and depression. Acculturative stress is one factor that has been linked to anxiety/depressive symptoms in Hispanic/Latino youth but few studies have explored factors that may influence this relationship. The current study examined (a) the relationship between acculturative stress and anxiety/depressive symptoms within a diverse sample of Hispanic/Latino youth, and (b) risk (age, gender, and parental SES) and protective (family function, friend support, and ethnic identity) factors that may moderate the relationship between acculturative stress and anxiety/depressive symptoms. Participants were 1,466 Hispanic/Latino youth, ages 8-16 years (M=11.85, SD=2.52), …
Assessing Behavioral And Emotional Avoidance In Adolescents: A Psychometric Validation Study, Sarah Michelle Kennedy
Assessing Behavioral And Emotional Avoidance In Adolescents: A Psychometric Validation Study, Sarah Michelle Kennedy
Open Access Theses
Avoidance, which may be either behavioral or emotional and is widely thought to be a maladaptive strategy for regulating emotions, is central to diagnostic conceptualizations of anxiety and depressive disorders. Both behavioral and emotional avoidance confer risk for and maintain symptoms of anxiety and depression, and change in avoidance is thought to be an important treatment mechanism. However, few existing measures of avoidance are appropriate for adolescents. The current study utilized exploratory factor analyses of two measures of avoidance in adolescents, employing an exploratory structural equation modeling framework: the Checklist of Avoidance Strategy Engagement for Adolescents (CEASE-A; Fairholme & Ehrenreich, …
Psychological Predictors Of Survival And Disease Recurrence In Women With Breast Cancer Following Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management, Jamie M. Stagl
Psychological Predictors Of Survival And Disease Recurrence In Women With Breast Cancer Following Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management, Jamie M. Stagl
Open Access Dissertations
Women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer experience elevated psychological distress associated with diagnosis and treatment that may have long term implications for disease progression and overall survival. Group-based Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management (CBSM) has been shown to improve quality of life (QOL) and depressive symptoms in women with early stage breast cancer up to 12 months post-surgery. The current study aimed to examine whether women who received CBSM have better survival, breast cancer specific survival, and disease free interval at 8-15 year follow-up. The study also aimed to determine whether women in the CBSM group report less depressive symptoms and …
Antidepressant Interactions Of Ketamine And Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (Gsk3) In Mice, Kimberlee Downey
Antidepressant Interactions Of Ketamine And Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (Gsk3) In Mice, Kimberlee Downey
Open Access Theses
Depression is a prevalent and debilitating mood disorder afflicting nearly one in five people in the United States. Current medications used for treatment of depression are inadequate because they have a delayed onset of therapeutic benefit, low efficacy, several side effects, and require chronic administration. This presents the need for improved antidepressant therapies. Ketamine, a general anesthetic, was recently shown to have rapid-acting antidepressant effects at a sub-anesthetic dose. It is unknown how ketamine elicits an antidepressant effect, but several mechanisms have been proposed, including glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) inhibition and a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylospxazol-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor activation. This thesis focuses on …
A Stress Process Model Of Depression And Sexual Risk Among Hiv-Seropositive Men Who Have Sex With Men, Aubrey L. Florom-Smith
A Stress Process Model Of Depression And Sexual Risk Among Hiv-Seropositive Men Who Have Sex With Men, Aubrey L. Florom-Smith
Open Access Dissertations
In the United States, men who have sex with men (MSM) remain at greatest risk for acquiring HIV infection. MSM are also at increased risk for depression, and depression and sexual risk behavior among MSM appear to be linked. Stigma, in the forms of gay related stigma and HIV-related stigma, have been associated with depression and high-risk sexual behavior among MSM living with HIV infection, as has the internalization of these stigmata over time. As stigma is socially constructed, the stress process model provides a useful framework for understanding the influence of stress and contextual factors on depressive symptoms and …
Emotion Regulation In Depression: Investigating Mechanisms Underlying Reappraisal, Catherine M. D'Avanzato
Emotion Regulation In Depression: Investigating Mechanisms Underlying Reappraisal, Catherine M. D'Avanzato
Open Access Dissertations
Sustained negative affect is a hallmark feature of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and much evidence indicates that depression is associated with difficulties regulating negative emotions. Whereas many studies have demonstrated an association between rumination and depression, few studies have examined depressed individuals’ ability to utilize adaptive strategies, such as reappraisal. The present study was the first to investigate whether individuals with depression have difficulty effectively using reappraisal in response to a laboratory mood induction. Further, we examined whether interpretive biases and cognitive control deficits underlie individual differences in the ability to reappraise. Consistent with hypotheses, results demonstrated that reappraisal was …
Risk And Manifestation Of Cardiovascular Disease Among Cancer Caregivers: Effects Of Stress, Depression, And Gender, Kelly M. Shaffer
Risk And Manifestation Of Cardiovascular Disease Among Cancer Caregivers: Effects Of Stress, Depression, And Gender, Kelly M. Shaffer
Open Access Theses
Family members and friends who provide unpaid care to an ill relative tend to experience higher levels of stress, more depressive symptoms, and greater vulnerability to disease than the general population (Pinquart & Sörensen, 2003). This study was to determine whether cancer caregivers experience an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and to examine the extent to which psychosocial variables related to the disease outcomes. A total of 896 caregivers participated in a national survey at two years after the diagnosis of their relative with cancer (T1), and 607 participated again at five years post-diagnosis (T2) provided self-report data on …
Parental Authority, Parental Nurturance, Depression And Self-Esteem Among Latino Emerging Adults, Ana V. Chapman
Parental Authority, Parental Nurturance, Depression And Self-Esteem Among Latino Emerging Adults, Ana V. Chapman
Open Access Dissertations
It is well-established that parenting has a profound impact on children’s depressive symptoms and self-esteem (e.g., Endler & Parker, 1994; Hoffman, Levy-Shiff, Sohlberg, & Zarizki, 1992; Wolfradt, Hempel, & Miles, 2003). More specifically, parental authority and parental nurturance have been found to affect children’s functioning positively (i.e., high self-esteem and self-worth) and negatively (i.e., poor self-image and depressive symptoms; Bean, Bush, McKenry, & Wilson, 2003; Hopkins & Klein, 1994; Patcoch-Peckham & Morgan-Lopez, 2007; Wolfradt et al., 2003). However, such findings have been garnered through examination of almost exclusively White children and adolescent samples, suggesting that our understanding of these constructs …
Attentional Biases And Emotional Reactivity: Elucidating Causal Mechanisms And Understanding Individual Differences, Kimberly A. Arditte
Attentional Biases And Emotional Reactivity: Elucidating Causal Mechanisms And Understanding Individual Differences, Kimberly A. Arditte
Open Access Theses
Previous studies have proposed that biased attention for emotional stimuli is related to subsequent emotional responsivity and research has found that the preference, or bias, to attend to specific emotional stimuli is often associated with heightened, or attenuated, emotional reactivity. Yet, it remains unclear whether attention causally contributes to emotional responding. As such, recent research has begun to examine these relations by manipulating attentional biases with the use of attention training tasks. The current investigation looked to add to the extant body of literature by systematically examining the impact of two attention training paradigms (train towards negative stimuli and train …
Depression And Anxiety As Predictors Of Obesity In Children, Cortney J. Taylor
Depression And Anxiety As Predictors Of Obesity In Children, Cortney J. Taylor
Open Access Dissertations
Objectives: Prior research indicates that minority youth are more at risk for developing obesity, and that obesity is associated with several health complications as well as significant healthcare costs. The current study addressed the role of symptoms of internalizing disorders with regards to obesity in primarily ethnic minority fourth and fifth graders. In addition, this study was the first to expand upon prior research by determining whether symptoms of depression, anxiety, and social anxiety were associated with BMI at six month follow up in this age group, and whether gender moderated the relationship of internalizing symptoms and BMI. Finally, the …
Parental Distress Responding To Adolescent Negative Emotionality: Influence On Anxiety And Depression Symptom Severity And Treatment Outcome, Cara Suzanne Remmes
Parental Distress Responding To Adolescent Negative Emotionality: Influence On Anxiety And Depression Symptom Severity And Treatment Outcome, Cara Suzanne Remmes
Open Access Theses
Anxiety and depressive disorders result from a complex interaction of genetic and environmental influences over time. Parental behavior in the context of a child’s internalizing distress, although only one of many interacting factors, may be important to understanding the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders. Specifically, how a parent responds to their child’s emotions and youth attempts at emotion regulation may influence subsequent child emotion coping through both operant conditioning and observational learning. However, the impact of a parent’s own emotion regulation strategies on youth anxiety and depression has not been well-examined nor has the influence of parent’s emotion regulation …
The New Frontier Of Peer Victimization: Prospective Associations Between Adolescents' On-Line Peer Victimization And Internalizing Symptoms, Ryan Richard Landoll
The New Frontier Of Peer Victimization: Prospective Associations Between Adolescents' On-Line Peer Victimization And Internalizing Symptoms, Ryan Richard Landoll
Open Access Dissertations
Peer victimization in adolescence has been consistently associated with increases in internalizing symptoms, such as depression and social anxiety. Recently, both empirical and public attention has focused on cyber victimization, or negative peer experiences that occur in an on-line context. Adolescent Internet use has reached nearly universal rates (recent estimates report over 93% of adolescents have access to the Internet, with the majority accessing the Internet daily), and the rise of social networking and media tools has created a diverse and complicated environment for adolescents to interact within in cyberspace. Research has made great strides in identifying the potential negative …
Resilience, Insight, And Causation As Moderators Of The Relationships Between Trauma, Perceived Stress, Distress, Depression, Salivary Cortisol, And Dhea Through A Writing Intervention In A Diverse Sample Of Hiv-Positive Individuals, Courtney Biondi Kelsch
Open Access Theses
Background: Adverse psychological factors such as depression and stressful life events have been found to accelerate HIV disease progression, while positive factors such as optimism and spirituality have been found to slow progression to AIDS. The potentially protective role of the positive psychological factor resilience in HIV/AIDS has not been studied extensively. The relationship of resilience to depression, trauma, stress, and stress-related biological markers in HIV remains to be elucidated. In addition, written emotional expression interventions have shown promise in positively influencing HIV disease course, although the mechanisms require further study. Purpose: The aims of this study were to explore …
Leptin As A Novel Predictor Of Somatic Depressive Symptoms In Hispanics With The Metabolic Syndrome, Diana A. Chirinos Medina
Leptin As A Novel Predictor Of Somatic Depressive Symptoms In Hispanics With The Metabolic Syndrome, Diana A. Chirinos Medina
Open Access Theses
The association between depression and the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) has been extensively investigated, and inflammation has been identified as an underlying link. Recent reports, however, indicate a possible role of leptin in modulating the immune response, yielding increases in inflammatory markers. The literature suggests this hormone may not only explain the metabolic abnormalities associated with depression but may also act as a biomarker of depression itself. This study aimed to determine the association between circulating leptin and total depressive symptoms and depressive symptom dimensions (cognitive and somatic) after controlling for important confounding factors such as age, gender, insulin resistance, body …
Psychological Distress, Social Support And Substance Use In Women With Hiv In Substance Use Recovery, Brian E. Mccabe
Psychological Distress, Social Support And Substance Use In Women With Hiv In Substance Use Recovery, Brian E. Mccabe
Open Access Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to investigate concurrent and prospective relationships between psychological distress and social support and substance abuse in a convenience sample of predominantly minority women with HIV in substance use recovery. This study involved a secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial comparing a family therapy intervention and a group health intervention. Participants completed the Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Scales (psychological distress) and the Social Support Questionnaire (social support) at baseline and 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months post-baseline. Substance use over a 30-day period was measured by the Addiction Severity Index Lite, …
Benefits Of Physical Activity On Depression And Functional Quality Of Life During Treatment For Breast Cancer: Psychosocial Mechanisms., Jamie M. Stagl
Benefits Of Physical Activity On Depression And Functional Quality Of Life During Treatment For Breast Cancer: Psychosocial Mechanisms., Jamie M. Stagl
Open Access Theses
Women who are post surgery for breast cancer (BCa) experience distressing side effects that negatively influence Quality of Life (QoL). Physical activity (PA) following a BCa diagnosis is associated with decreased mortality, reduced recurrence, increased functional capacity, less fatigue, and may improve depression and QoL. Furthermore, evidence suggests that a combined PA and psychotherapy intervention may reduce physically and emotionally distressing side effects associated with diagnosis and treatment. The purpose of the study is to examine relationships among PA, fatigue, clinician-rated depression, depressed mood, and QoL in women after undergoing surgery for BCa and to assess the continuity of these …