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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Impact Of Students' 'Internally' Versus 'Externally' Oriented Coping Strategies Upon Anxiety And Depression: Implications For Counselling Processes, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Aspasia Aroutzidis, Dimity Smith
The Impact Of Students' 'Internally' Versus 'Externally' Oriented Coping Strategies Upon Anxiety And Depression: Implications For Counselling Processes, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Aspasia Aroutzidis, Dimity Smith
Vicki Bitsika
As a preliminary investigation of the implications for counselling practice of Purpose in Life (PIL), Search for Neotic Goals (SONG) and Conscientiousness (CON) as potential buffers against anxiety and depression among university student clients, 398 students from a university in eastern Australia completed measures of these constructs. Results indicated that, although having a clear PIL and being conscientious were negatively associated with anxiety and depression, SONG was positively linked with these disorders. More importantly for counselling processes, up to 10% of those students whose anxiety and depression would make them most likely to seek counselling showed inverse relationships between PIL, …
Four Potential Criteria For Deciding When To Use Antidepressants Or Psychotherapy For Unipolar Depression: A Literature Review, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika
Four Potential Criteria For Deciding When To Use Antidepressants Or Psychotherapy For Unipolar Depression: A Literature Review, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika
Vicki Bitsika
Objective: To evaluate the literature supporting four potential criteria for deciding whether to use psychotherapy or pharmacology when treating depression.
Method: Literature review of the evidence from the last 10 years on presenting patient’s demographics, aetiology, comorbidity, and genetic factors, as predictors of treatment outcome efficacy.
Results: Demographic information has little support as a potential criteria for decision-making; aetiology (melancholic vs. non-melancholic) has significant support; presence of personality disorder comorbidity is unproven as a criterion but may have some value; genetic predisposition has the strongest evidence supporting it as a criteria for treatment decision-making.
Conclusion: Although some presenting cases will …
Breast Cancer Patients' Preferences For Information: Different Sources At Different Times?, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, David Christie
Breast Cancer Patients' Preferences For Information: Different Sources At Different Times?, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, David Christie
Vicki Bitsika
Introduction: Information given to breast cancer patients may not universally reduce anxiety and assist treament compliance. One possible reason could be that patient preferences for specific information sources may change over time.Objectives: To compare breast cancer patients' preferred formats for receiving education about their disease and treatment soon after diagnosis versus about two years after that time.Methods: An anonymous survey of 253 breast cancer patients' evaluations of alternative information formats was conducted within one month of diagnosis, and data were compared to those collected in a previous study from patients who were abut two years post-diagnosis.Results: There were discrepancies between …
Variability In Anxiety And Depression Over Time Following Diagnosis In Patients With Prostate Cancer, Christoper Sharpley, David Christie, Vicki Bitsika
Variability In Anxiety And Depression Over Time Following Diagnosis In Patients With Prostate Cancer, Christoper Sharpley, David Christie, Vicki Bitsika
Vicki Bitsika
To determine the presence and nature of variability in anxiety and depression in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) over 3 years following diagnosis, 442 patients with PCa completed standardized anxiety and depression inventories via survey between 1 and 36 months after receiving their initial diagnosis. Data were analyzed from a series of 3-month cohorts, and results indicated that total scores and incidence of clinically significant anxiety and depression varied over time, but that this variability was restricted to specific subfactors of anxiety and depression. Provision of effective psychological treatment to patients with PCa is discussed.
Incidence And Nature Of Anxiety-Depression Comorbidity In Prostate Cancer Patients, Christoper Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, David Christie
Incidence And Nature Of Anxiety-Depression Comorbidity In Prostate Cancer Patients, Christoper Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, David Christie
Vicki Bitsika
Background: The aim of this study was to measure the incidence of anxiety-depression comorbidity among a sample of prostate cancer (PCa) patients and to investigate the total score, factor score and scale item differences across subgroups defined according to the presence of anxiety and/or depression. Methods: 491 PCa patients who had received their initial diagnosis between 1 and 113 months previously completed a survey of background variables, as well as the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety and Depression Scales (SAS, SDS). Results: Incidence of anxiety-depression comorbidity was nearly 16%, and higher than that previously reported in other samples. Although the directional differences …
What Stresses University Students: An Interview Investigation Of The Demands Of Tertiary Studies, Vicki Bitsika, Christoper Sharpley, Vira Rubenstein
What Stresses University Students: An Interview Investigation Of The Demands Of Tertiary Studies, Vicki Bitsika, Christoper Sharpley, Vira Rubenstein
Vicki Bitsika
Although several previous scales have been developed to measure the presence and effects of the stressful demands encountered by university students, most of these have been validated with samples drawn from US universities, commonly using only undergraduate psychology students. In addition, many of the items used are from scales designed for application within general adult populations, with little focus upon the specific stressors met by students. In order to identify what are the major changes these students encounter that they find stressful, a sample of 32 university students from different degree areas within an Australian university was individually interviewed using …
'What Made Me Unhappy'. Experiences Of, And Responses To, Lifestyle Changes In Breast Cancer Patients, Vicki Bitsika, Christoper Sharpley, David Christie
'What Made Me Unhappy'. Experiences Of, And Responses To, Lifestyle Changes In Breast Cancer Patients, Vicki Bitsika, Christoper Sharpley, David Christie
Vicki Bitsika
Sixteen breast cancer patients were interviewed about any lifestyle changes they had experienced and their reactions to those changes. Data were collected and analysed via content analysis and then summary tabulations of patient responses until replication of responses was verified across patients. Results indicated that most patients suffered a reduction in recreation activities, unpleasant physical side effects from treatment and loss of feminine appearance characteristics, all of which were seen as decreases in previously available and valuable sources of social support and self-esteem. In response to these losses, patients reported a common coping strategy of avoidance or escape similar to …