Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Behavioral Activation For Depressed Breast Cancer Patients: The Impact Of Therapeutic Compliance And Quantity Of Activities Completed On Symptom Reduction, Marlena Maria Ryba

Doctoral Dissertations

Behavioral activation (BA) is an empirically validated treatment that reduces depression by increasing overt behaviors and exposure to reinforcing environmental contingencies. Although research has identified an inverse correlation between pleasant or rewarding activities and depression, the causal relation between increased structured activities and reduced depression has not directly been studied. In the context of a recent randomized trial (Hopko et al., 2011), this study used longitudinal data and growth curve modeling to examine relationships among the quantity of activities completed, proportion of activities completed (i.e., therapeutic compliance), environmental reward, and depression in breast cancer patients treated with BATD (n …