Digital Commons Network^™

Technologically Assisted Intervention (Tai): Are Clients Satisfied With Online Therapy?, Jennifer A. Morrow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the level of satisfaction reported by participants of a technologically assisted intervention study (TAI). TAI is a type of teletherapy done through online, live video conferencing. Satisfaction was examined at three different time points, post therapy, 3-months post therapy, and 6-months post therapy. Analyses examined if there were any changes in reported satisfaction over the three time periods. Participants received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) targeted at reducing symptoms of mild to moderately severe depression. A satisfaction measure was developed for this study, and included quantitative and qualitative items which were analyzed to determine participants' level of satisfaction. …

Role Of Perceived Partner Responsiveness On Mexican American Males' Pain Severity And Depressive Symptomatology, Carolyn M. Freedman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of cultural indicators in moderating the influence of perceived partner responses and relationship satisfaction on pain severity and depressive symptomatology among a sample of 62 married and cohabiting Mexican American men, the majority of whom were first generation Mexican Americans, with chronic back and/or neck pain. The cultural indicators were not found to act as moderators in the analyses that involved pain severity and depressive symptomatology as outcome variables. Nevertheless, this study's findings are an important initial step in understanding the relationship dynamics among an understudied population with chronic pain and raise many important questions …

Racial Differences In Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults, Emily Green

All Theses

The costs are very high, both emotionally and economically, to those who suffer from depression and those close to them. Depressive symptoms vary among individuals, by gender, between racial and ethnic groups, and by socioeconomic status (SES). Group differences in rates of depression have been noted for decades, especially between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites. The role of race in mental health is still relevant today, and many issues regarding risk factors and differences between racial and ethnic groups remain unanswered. This study examines the differences in rates of depressive symptoms between African Americans and non-Hispanic Whites. Particularly, socioeconomic status …

The Effects Of Depressed Mood On Academic Outcomes In Adolescents And Young Adults, Robert Christopher Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following dissertation investigates the relationship between depressed mood and academic performance (measured in terms of grade point average) in U.S. middle and high schools.

Utilizing data from AddHealth, the dissertation establishes Ordinary Least Squares, Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS), and individual and sibling fixed effect regressions that attempt to control for confounding factors, including student motivation, personality characteristics, and parental inputs that are unobserved but may influence both mental health and achievement.

Study findings indicate that students who report feeling depressed do not perform as well academically as non-depressed students. Additionally, the degree of GPA impact increases with the severity …

Etiological Characterization Of Emergency Department Acute Poisoning, Abdmalek S. Khlifi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poisoning is frequently associated with psychological and physiological co-morbidities that can be assessed in order to improve patients' management and reduce cost. The primary objective of this study is to conduct a review of emergency department (ED) poisonings to characterize its demographics and assess associated co-morbidities. The second objective is to explore correlation between personal history of diseases and poisonings. Predictors for poisonings and its outcomes were investigated and risk factors for suicidal poisoning and how it relates to mental illnesses were explored. Six hundred and forty nine cases admitted to ED between 2004 and 2007 were studied. Results indicate …

Predictors Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms Among African American Hiv-Positive Women, Nina Katherine Sublette

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

This descriptive correlation study had four purposes: describe depressive and anxiety symptom levels in pregnant and non-pregnant African American (AA) HIV-positive women, examine the association between underlying vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms in HIV-positive AA women, determine the association between underlying vulnerabilities and anxiety symptoms in AA HIV-positive women, and determine the predictors of depressive and anxiety symptoms among African American HIV-positive women. A convenience sample of 80 African American HIV-positive women was recruited from university-based obstetrics/-gynecology and infectious disease practices in a large metropolitan city in the Mid-South. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale …

The Inflammatory Consequences Of Stress And Adiposity, Cathy A. Bykowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inflammatory process is important in protecting the body against the invasion of pathogens, but recent research has suggested that a long-term inflammatory response may lead to chronic diseases (e.g., Black, 2003; Wu, Dorn, Donahue, Sempos, & Trevisan, 2002). Two factors that have been implicated in the inflammatory and disease processes are stress and obesity (Black, 2003). While their individual lines of research continue to grow, few researchers have attempted to integrate these factors into one model to explain their effects on inflammation. This study aimed to replicate previous findings suggesting relationships between stress, obesity and inflammation and test an …

Relationship Between Believed Causes Of Depression And Social Distance, Samantha Jean Tomsick

ETD Archive

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between causal explanations for depression and the social distance individuals would desire from a depressed person in order to clarify whether changes to existing public awareness campaigns concerning depression might be warranted. The sample used consisted of 223 students attending a university in a large mid-western city. Each participant received a vignette that described an individual suffering from depressive symptoms and also included information regarding whether these symptoms were caused by psychosocial or biological factors. The subjects then completed a survey incorporating questions from the modified version of the …

Religiosity And Successful Aging, Jessica L. York

ETD Archive

There has been an increasing amount of elderly individuals who have avoided the crippling health and physical problems that appear to vex so much of the older adult population. These successful agers have also learned to cope more effectively with both the normative and traumatic stressors they encounter over time. Successful aging has been defined in numerous ways and studied in a variety of contexts. This study set to define successful aging in terms of anxiety, depression, and subjective well-being, while also examining the relationship of successful aging with religiosity. The fundamental goal of this study was to examine the …

Examining The Social And Emotional Impact Of Substance Use On The Users' Family Members, Steven Phillip Beyer

ETD Archive

Alcohol use is a multibillion dollar problem in the United States that has been linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression and maladjustment within families. Most studies examining the impact of alcohol use in these areas focus on individuals within treatment facilities. This study extended that research to examine the effects of social and emotional effects of alcohol use on a greater sample of the population, the family members of alcohol users. This study examined the relationships between family alcohol use and higher rates of depression, anxiety, and maladjustment. The data was expected to follow one of two general patterns. …

Effects Of Father Absence On Adolescent Depression, Sexual Attitudes, And Substance Use, Nicole M. Hurtack

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between father absence and depression, sexual attitudes, and substance use on adolescents. Data were collected from forty-nine high school students (28 males, 21 females) from ninth to twelfth grade from a private high school in Pennsylvania. The Beck Depression Inventory-II was used to measure levels of depression. A sexual attitudes and substance use, and family demographic survey were also administered. The results of this study provided no support for the hypothesized relationship between adolescent adjustment and father absence. Father absence did not significantly predicted sexual attitudes, depression or substance …

Does Social Problem-Solving Moderate The Relationship Between Physical Functioning And Depression In Als Patients?, Melissa Dillon Horowitz

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive and ultimately fatal neurological disease that interferes with the normative functions of the upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Depression has been found across disease stages in some ALS patients, but not all. Investigations that examined the association between physical functioning and depression in ALS patients produced mixed findings. To date, the role of social problem solving has not yet been explored in the ALS population. Thus, the current study examined the relationship between social problem solving, physical functioning, and depression in …

Treating The Whole Child: Recognizing And Addressing Depression In Children With Physical Disabilities, Kathleen A. Koehn

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop a tool that would assist occupational therapy practitioners working with children with physical disabilities in recognizing and addressing symptoms of depression in that population. Ailey (2003) reported that symptoms of depression in children with developmental disabilities are frequently attributed incorrectly to a child's primary diagnosis, rather than depression. Because occupational therapists typically see these children more frequently than primary care physicians, they are in a prime position to assist in the screening and referral processes related to depression.

This project involved a comprehensive review of the literature, including data on the …

Early Onset Of Major Depressive Disorder And Its Consequences For Recurrence And Co-Morbidity: Contrasting The Experiences Of Single And Married Mothers, Carolyn S. Coppens

Digitized Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the association of an early onset of major depressive disorder with the risk for recurrence of depression and psychiatric comorbidity is magnified among single mothers in contrast to married mothers. The data for this study were collected as part of a three-wave cohort study of 518 single and 502 married mothers in London, Ontario. The women were interviewed with the Michigan version of the Composite International Diagnostic Inventory. Results indicate that an early onset of depression was significantly associated with recurrence, but only modestly associated with other psychiatric comorbidity. Examined separately …

The Roles Of Nutrition And Psychosocial Stress In A Causal Model Of Maternal Prenatal Depressive Symptoms, Amrita Roy

Digitized Theses

BACKGROUND: Prenatal depression is a significant public health concern. OBJECTIVES: To contextualize the roles of zinc intake, psychosocial stress and baseline sociodemographic factors, as they inter-relate in the development of depressive symptoms, in a cohort of pregnant women from London (ON). HYPOTHESES: 1) Psychosocial stress serves as a partial mediator between baseline sociodemographic factors and zinc intake; 2) Zinc intake serves as a partial mediator between baseline sociodemographic factors and the development of depressive symptoms, and between psychosocial stress and the development of depressive symptoms. METHODS: Data were from the Prenatal Health Project. Regression methods were used. Baron and Kenny …

The Roles Of Nutrition And Psychosocial Stress In A Causal Model Of Maternal Prenatal Depressive Symptoms, Amrita Roy

Digitized Theses

BACKGROUND: Prenatal depression is a significant public health concern. OBJECTIVES: To contextualize the roles of zinc intake, psychosocial stress and baseline sociodemographic factors, as they inter-relate in the development of depressive symptoms, in a cohort of pregnant women from London (ON). HYPOTHESES: 1) Psychosocial stress serves as a partial mediator between baseline sociodemographic factors and zinc intake; 2) Zinc intake serves as a partial mediator between baseline sociodemographic factors and the development of depressive symptoms, and between psychosocial stress and the development of depressive symptoms. METHODS: Data were from the Prenatal Health Project. Regression methods were used. Baron and Kenny …