Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Integrative Chronobiological-Cognitive Approach To Seasonal Affective Disorder, Jennifer Nicole Rough

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is characterized by annual recurrence of clinical depression in the fall and winter months. The importance of SAD as a public health problem is underscored by its high prevalence (an estimated 5%) and by the large amount of time individuals with SAD are impaired (on average, 5 months each year). The specific cause of SAD remains unknown; however, researchers have identified possible chronobiological and psychological vulnerabilities to SAD. The study aimed to clarify psychological and chronobiological correlates of SAD in the first test of an integrative model of SAD.

The project used a longitudinal design …