Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 19 of 19
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The Role Of Rumination, Negative Affect, And Fitness On Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Outcomes Following A Discrete Cardiac Event, Nathaniel Jay Deyoung
The Role Of Rumination, Negative Affect, And Fitness On Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Outcomes Following A Discrete Cardiac Event, Nathaniel Jay Deyoung
Open Access Dissertations
Individuals with cardiovascular disease are at an increased risk for anxiety, depression, stress, and other negative cognitive processes. Following a cardiovascular event such as a myocardial infarction or open heart surgery, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can have large physical and psychological benefits. This study investigates the role of depression, anxiety, and rumination on CR outcomes including program completion and fitness improvements. Fifty-one patients with cardiovascular disease who were enrolled in CR were tracked over the course of their treatment. Objective fitness testing was completed prior to and after CR program completion. Self-reported psychological, health, and fitness data were gathered at weeks …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
The Relationships Among Medication And Low-Salt Diet Adherence, Beliefs About Medicines, And Psychosocial Variables Among Individuals With Heart Failure., Kristen A. Farrell
The Relationships Among Medication And Low-Salt Diet Adherence, Beliefs About Medicines, And Psychosocial Variables Among Individuals With Heart Failure., Kristen A. Farrell
Open Access Dissertations
Heart failure (HF) is a debilitating chronic illness that afflicts millions of Americans and carries a poor prognosis, likely due to insufficient medication and low-salt diet adherence, which exacerbates HF symptoms and leads to frequent rehospitalizations. Specific reasons underlying non-adherence among HF patients are unclear. Studies investigating reasons for adherence among HF patients have shown that correlates of poor adherence include demographic (i.e., age, income), functional (i.e., NYHA), and psychosocial (i.e., social support, depression) variables. Research studies among individuals with chronic diseases suggest that an individual’s beliefs about medicines may explain adherence, but this research is limited among HF patients. …
Living With A Depressed Partner, Bridget Logan
Living With A Depressed Partner, Bridget Logan
Open Access Dissertations
Individuals who live with depressed partners have increased rates of anxiety, depression, and difficult coping. They experience greater burdens of parenting and financial responsibilities, and often feel isolated and restricted. Much of this is similar to what has been termed caregiver burden in the context of other illnesses. This study used qualitative interviews to explore the day-to-day experience of what it is like to live with a depressed partner, as well as to test the fit of the term `caregiver burden' in the context of depression. Participants were seven individuals who were in long-term relationships with depressed partners. Analysis of …
The Lived Experience Of College Sudents Who Have Been Medicated With Antidepressants, Pamela Joan Aselton
The Lived Experience Of College Sudents Who Have Been Medicated With Antidepressants, Pamela Joan Aselton
Open Access Dissertations
Increasingly in the last two decades college students have been diagnosed with depression, with estimates of major depression higher than the general population (American Psychiatric Association {APA}, 2005). According to the literature, the stresses of college life along with increased rates of substance abuse, and binge drinking have contributed to the rise in depression in this population. In a large survey of American college students, over half reported some depression since entering college (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse {NCASA}, 2003). Correspondingly, the percentage of young people treated with antidepressants has grown over the past decade, and there is …
The Effects Of Yoga On Symptoms Associated With Conduct Disorder With Callous Unemotional Traits As A Moderator, Kym M. Mccabe
The Effects Of Yoga On Symptoms Associated With Conduct Disorder With Callous Unemotional Traits As A Moderator, Kym M. Mccabe
Open Access Dissertations
The purpose of this research was to investigate the additive therapeutic effects of a yoga intervention on the anxiety, depression and behavioral problems of conduct-disordered male adolescents in residential treatment. In addition, the moderating effects of callous-unemotional (CU) traits on outcome measures were assessed. The program consisted of a four-week intervention program in which participants were randomly assigned to either the yoga group (n=25), in which they practiced yoga with an instructor, or the control group (n=19), in which they met for a supervised study hall. The study included pre-testing on symptoms of anxiety, depression and CU traits, and post-testing …
The Roles Of Attachment, Depression, And The Working Alliance In Predicting Treatment Outcomes In Chronic Pain Patients Seeking Physical Therapy Services, Ethan L. Bliss
Open Access Dissertations
Psychosocial variables such as attachment style, depression and the working alliance were examined as predictors of treatment outcomes in the context of chronic pain patients receiving physical therapy. Four treatment outcomes were examined: change in pain severity, change in pain interference, patient satisfaction with physical therapy services and patient compliance with treatment recommendations. A model of the interplay between depression and chronic illness presented by Katon (2003) was used as a framework for the current model. Two main hypotheses were suggested. (1) The working alliance is positively related to treatment outcomes. (2) Depression is negatively associated with treatment outcomes. Data …