Psychology Commons^™

Treatment Preferences And Outcome In A Randomized Controlled Trial For Depression Comparing Supportive-Expressive Therapy To Medication And Pill Placebo, Sophia Elsie Winter

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research regarding the relationship between patient treatment preferences on outcome has been equivocal, with some studies finding a significant relationship between preference match and outcome, and others finding no such evidence. This study examines the effect of patient treatment preference match on outcome using data from a previously published randomized controlled trial comparing supportive-expressive therapy (SET), to antidepressant medication plus clinical management, and to pill-placebo plus clinical management. The original study included 156 participants receiving treatment at the Center for Psychotherapy research at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. This study is the first to examine the relationship …

Practicing Emotionally Biased Retrieval Affects Mood And Establishes Biased Recall A Week Later, Janna N. Vrijsen, Paula T. Hertel, Eni Sabine Becker

Psychology Faculty Research

Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) can yield clinically relevant results. Only few studies have directly manipulated memory bias, which is prominent in depression. In a new approach to CBM, we sought to simulate or oppose ruminative processes by training the retrieval of negative or positive words. Participants studied positive and negative word pairs (Swahili cues with Dutch translations). In the positive and negative conditions, each of the three study trials was followed by a cued-recall test of training-congruent translations; a no-practice condition merely studied the pairs. Recall of the translations was tested after the training and after 1 week. Both recall …

Challenging The “Jolly Fat” Hypothesis Among Older Adults: High Body Mass Index Predicts Increases In Depressive Symptoms Over A 5-Year Period, Peter J. Dearborn Ma, Michael A. Robbins Ph.D., Merrill F. Elias Ph.D., Mph

Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Papers

Several investigators have observed lowered risk of depression among obese older adults, coining the “jolly fat” hypothesis. We examined this hypothesis using baseline and a 5-year follow-up body mass index, depressive symptoms, and covariates from 638 community-based older adults. High objectively measured body mass index and functional limitations predicted increased future depressive symptoms. However, symptoms did not predict future body mass index. Self-reported body mass index showed similar associations despite underestimating obesity prevalence. Results did not differ on the basis of gender. Results for this study, the first longitudinal reciprocal risk analysis between objectively measured body mass index and depressive …

Brooding, Avoidance, And Suppression As Mechanisms Linking Shame-Proneness With Depressive Symptoms, Melissa Rose Hudson

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Depression is a significant mental health concern. Cognitive-affective models of depression identify that negative emotions and cognitive strategies for responding to negative emotions contribute to the development and maintenance of depressive symptoms. Shame has been identified as a problematic negative emotion and is associated with multiple mental health concerns including depression. Research has begun to examine cognitive emotion regulation strategies individuals use when experiencing shame and how these contribute to depressive symptoms. This study examined three strategies jointly (avoidance, brooding, and suppression) in a three-part prospective design. In a sample of 137 young adults, three hypotheses were tested. Participants ranged …

Social Support Seeking And Early Adolescent Depression And Anxiety Symptoms: The Moderating Role Of Rumination, C. E. Vélez, E. D. Krause, A. Mckinnon, S. M. Brunwasser, D. R. Freres, R. M. Abenavoli, Jane Gillham

Psychology Faculty Works

This study examined how social support seeking and rumination interacted to predict depression and anxiety symptoms 6 months later in early adolescents (N = 118; 11-14 years at baseline). We expected social support seeking would be more helpful for adolescents engaging in low rather than high levels of rumination. Adolescents self-reported on all measures at baseline, and on depression and anxiety symptoms 6 months later. Social support seeking predicted fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety at low rumination levels but was not associated with benefits as rumination increased. For depression symptoms, social support seeking predicted more symptoms at high rumination …

Psychological Well-Being And Heart Disease: The Utility Of Mental Health And Management Plans, Jennifer Anne Heath

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the correlation between mental health and coronary heart disease (CHD) and the usefulness of including mental health treatment into disease management plans. Consistent with previous research and literature regarding the correlation between CHD and depression, results suggest individuals experiencing CHD experience more symptoms of depression, including feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. Additionally, individuals with CHD also tend to experience more difficulty with relationships and completing household chores. Individuals who have management plans created by their healthcare providers experience less depressive symptoms than those without management plans. This suggests management plans are crucial in the treatment of mental …

Burnout Et Dépression, Entre Normal Et Pathologique? Histoire D’Une Différenciation Hasardeuse, Bianchi Renzo, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Initial described in the 1970s, the burnout syndrome has been difficult to characterize. It has been difficult to distinguish it from both clinical and subclinical depressive syndromes. In this chapter, we present a logical analysis of the distinction between burnout and depression. We synthesize the results of studies that bear on that distinction. We find that methodological and the historical separation of two lines of research as well as the lack of articulation between dimensional and categorical approaches to psychopathology.

Trauma And Trichotillomania: A Tenuous Relationship, David C. Houghton, Abel S. Mathew, Michael P. Twohig, Stephen M. Saunders, Martin E. Franklin, Scott N. Compton, Angela M. Neal-Barnett, Douglas W. Woods

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Some have argued that hair pulling in trichotillomania (TTM) is triggered by traumatic events, but reliable evidence linking trauma to TTM is limited. However, research has shown that hair pulling is associated with emotion regulation, suggesting a connection between negative affect and TTM. We investigated the associations between trauma, negative affect, and hair pulling in a cross-sectional sample of treatment seeking adults with TTM (N=85). In the current study, participants’ self-reported traumatic experiences were assessed during a structured clinical interview, and participants completed several measures of hair pulling severity, global TTM severity, depression, anxiety, experiential avoidance, and quality …

Development And Validation Of The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale–Brief, Alexandra M. Burgess, Randy O. Frost, Patricia Marten Dibartolo

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Twenty-five years ago, one of the first empirically validated measures of perfectionism, the Frost et al. Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (F-MPS) was published. Since that time, psychometric studies of the original F-MPS have provided a plethora of evidence to support the potential development of a shorter yet still psychometrically robust version of the measure. Using confirmatory factor analyses across community and clinical samples, the current study identifies an eight-item F-MPS-Brief with two dimensions (i.e., striving and evaluative concerns) that evidences good internal consistency, measurement equivalence across ethnicities, and concurrent and convergent validity. This new, short version of the F-MPS captures well …

Bully Victimization, Depression, And The Role Of Protective Factors Among College-Age Lgbtq Students, Theresa E. Bhoopsingh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the prevalence and impact (or intensity) of four different bullying-victimization forms (physical, verbal, relational, cyber) as experienced by the LGBTQ college-age population. In addition, this study also investigated LGBTQ college students’ bully victimization experiences and their links to depressive symptomatology. The relationship between self-rated victimization and its impact and depression was also explored. Furthermore, given the potential for protective factors of various types to mitigate the negative impact of bullying, this study investigated social supports from family, friends, and campus to determine the strength of their moderating effects, individually and in combination, for each of the sexual …

An Unclear Self Leads To Poor Mental Health: Self-Concept Confusion Mediates The Association Of Loneliness With Depression, Stephanie B. Richman, Richard S. Pond, Nathan Dewall, Madoka Kumashiro, Laura B. Luchies

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Past research has established that loneliness is associated with both self-concept confusion and depression. The present work ties these disparate lines of research together by demonstrating that self-concept confusion mediates the relationship between loneliness and depression. Three studies, one cross-sectional and two longitudinal, supported this hypothesis. Moreover, the model was supported both in samples of dating and married couples and in samples of noncouples. This research contributes to a greater understanding of why people who feel socially disconnected have poor mental health. Understanding this mechanism has important implications for strategies targeting the early prevention of depression and improving mental health …

Feminine Ideology, Relational Self-Concept, And Internalizing Symptoms In Women, Anjali George

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Investigators have theorized that women may experience internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety more frequently than men in part because of unique socialization processes that women undergo. One aspect of early socialization thought to contribute to women’s propensity for depression and anxiety is the way women are brought up to relate to themselves in relation to others, often placing greater importance on the needs, desires, and value of others, at times at a psychological cost to themselves. This study attempts to elucidate the relationship between gender socialization, relational self-concept, and internalizing symptoms in women.

Methods: Two hundred and …

Patterns And Predictors Of Parent-Child Endorsement Discrepancies Among Youth At Chronic-Risk For Depression, Bridget A. Makol

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Depressive disorders are some of the most common mental health problems among U.S. adolescents, particularly among Latino youth (Merikangas et al., 2010; Twenge & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2002). When parents and their children provide ratings on the presence and severity of the child’s depressive symptoms, their ratings show only low to moderate agreement (Mascendaro et al., 2012). Research has shown that parent–child discrepancies in ratings of youth emotional and behavioral problems are linked to factors such as parental depression and ethnicity. However, discrepancies research has focused primarily on European American families in clinical settings. Subsequently, research has failed to examine discrepancies in …

Intimate Partner Violence And Victim Blaming, Christine A. Weingarten

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is highly prevalent within the United States leading to millions of people each year being exposed to violence directly, through involvement in a violent relationship, or indirectly, by witnessing or being close to someone who is in a violent relationship. A common societal response to IPV is victim blaming which attributes fault and responsibility to survivors of abuse. Survivors of IPV report victim blaming as one of the least helpful responses when disclosing to an informal social support. Personal experiences of IPV, either directly or indirectly, can affect levels of victim blame because a person who …

A Portrait Of Five Undergraduate Students Who Serve As Caregivers While Taking University Courses, Emily Owens, Carley Ulibarri, Blake D. Karlin

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics specific to adults who are caregivers while taking classes from an institution of higher education. We recruited 5 university attending adults through a subject pool and through announcements in various classes through the university setting. Measures on depression, burden, daily activities, and general background were used to assess the experiences of the participants. Self-reports indicated high levels of selfefficacy with regard to the care process, minimal depression, low to moderate levels of burden, and high resiliency among those surveyed. These results indicate while registered as a full time student (12 credits …

The Role Of Electronic Communication Processes Across The College Transition: Relations To The Maintenance And Formation Of Friendships, Psychological Well-Being, And College Adjustment, Patricia E. Dieter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Friendship experiences play a vital role in the adjustment of adolescents. Late adolescents transitioning to college negotiate the important developmental tasks of both maintaining close hometown friendships and developing new college friendships. Electronic communication has become a prevalent way to quickly and easily communicate, and friendships that incorporate electronic communication with in-person communication are higher in quality (Baiocco et al., 2011). For some adolescents, however, Internet use becomes excessive and problematic (Ha et al., 2007).

The purpose of this investigation was to examine how individuals use different communication technologies with their existing hometown friends and their newer college friends, and …

An Evaluation Of The Acceptability And Effects Of A Computer-Delivered Values-Based Behavioral Activation Treatment For Depression Among Older Adults, Kellie Reynolds

Dissertations

Depression is a common psychological disorder among older adults and is associated with serious secondary effects to health and social well-being. Behavioral activation has been found to be an efficacious treatment for depression. However, there is limited research on the treatment effects of behavioral activation with older adults. In general, older adults under-utilize mental health treatments. Computer-delivered treatments have been developed to address access and under-utilization. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate the acceptability and effects of a computer-delivered values-based behavioral activation treatment for depression in older adults. This study consisted of two phases. Phase I consisted of …

The Lived Experience Of Individuals With Chronic Back And Neck Pain, Depression, And/Or Anxiety, Tara L. Palmeri

Dissertations

More than 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from chronic pain (CP). People who experience chronic pain are 20 to 40% more likely to meet criteria for an anxiety disorder, and three to four times more likely to be clinically depressed than their pain-free counterparts. The relationship between CP and mental health has been studied quantitatively; however, few researchers have investigated co-morbid CP and mental health through a phenomenological lens. The subjective nature of the relationship is not comprehensively addressed within the literature.

This qualitative phenomenological study explored (a) how individuals with chronic back and/or neck pain (CBNP) experience, understand, and …

Yoga As An Ancillary Treatment To Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Depression, Jeralee M. Briggs

Dissertations

It is estimated that up to 30% of college students feel clinically depressed, and these feelings can lead to poor grades, substance abuse, unsafe sex, and suicide (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has shown to be an effective form of psychotherapy for depression and was listed in 2014 as an evidence-based treatment for depressive disorders according to the APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice (2006). In addition to psychological treatment, various exercise interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms (e.g., Rehorst, Wipfli, & Landers, 2009). Yoga is one such …

Correspondence Between Change In Adult Attachment Patterns And Change In Depression Symptoms In Early Marriage, Cassandra C. Devito

Doctoral Dissertations

Countless studies have demonstrated the association between attachment styles and depressive symptoms; however, thus far, none have examined concurrent change. That is, does change in attachment style predict change in depressive symptoms over time? This question was examined in a sample of 229 heterosexual newlywed couples from Western Massachusetts. It was found that changes in attachment avoidance in particular predicted changes in depressive and anxious symptoms over time. Being a parent also played a role in participants' overall attachment styles, depressive symptoms and anxious symptoms on average, with differences observed by gender. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

What Can Parents Do? Examining The Role Of Parental Support On The Negative Relationship Between Racial Discrimination, Depression, And Drug Use Among African American Youth, Tamika C. B. Zapolski, Sycarah Fisher, Wei-Wen Hsu, Jessica Barnes

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

African American youth who experience racial discrimination are at heightened risk to use drugs as a coping response to distress. Based on the buffer-stress hypothesis, we proposed that parental support would attenuate this effect. Participants were 1,521 African American youth between 4th and 12th grade. As hypothesized, a mediation pathway was observed among racial discrimination, depression symptoms, and drug use. This effect was observed for both genders, although the pathway was partially mediated for males. In addition, as hypothesized, parental support buffered the negative effect of depression symptomatology on drug use as a consequence of discrimination. Our findings highlight the …

Universal School-Based Depression Prevention ‘Op Volle Kracht’: A Longitudinal Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial, Y. R. Tak, A. Lichtwarck-Aschoff, Jane Gillham, R. M. P. Van Zundert, R. C. M. E. Engels

Psychology Faculty Works

The longitudinal effectiveness of a universal, adolescent school-based depression prevention program Op Volle Kracht (OVK) was evaluated by means of a cluster randomized controlled trial with intervention and control condition (school as usual). OVK was based on the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) (Gillham et al. Psychological Science, 6, 343–351, 1995). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Child Depression Inventory (Kovacs 2001). In total, 1341 adolescents participated, Mage = 13.91, SD = 0.55, 47.3 % girls, 83.1 % Dutch ethnicity; intervention group n = 655, four schools; control group n = 735, five schools. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed that OVK did not …

Positive Affectivity Is Dampened In Youths With Histories Of Major Depression And Their Never-Depressed Adolescent Siblings, Maria Kovacs, Lauren M. Bylsma, Ilya Yaroslavsky, Jonathan Rottenberg, Charles J George, Enikő Kiss, Kitti Halas, István Benák, Ildiko Baji, Ágnes Vetro, Krisztina Kapornai

Psychology Faculty Publications

While hedonic capacity is diminished during clinical depression, it is unclear whether that deficit constitutes a risk factor and/or persists after depression episodes remit. To examine these issues, adolescents with current/past major depression (probands; n=218), never depressed biological siblings of probands (n=207), and emotionally-well controls (n=183) were exposed to several positively valenced probes. Across baseline and hedonic probe conditions, controls consistently reported higher levels of positive affect than high-risk siblings, and siblings reported higher levels of positive affect than probands (remitted and depressed probands' reports were similar). Extent of positive affect across the protocol predicted adolescents' self-reports of social support …

Gambling Problems In The General Danish Population: Survey Evidence, Morten Lau, Don Ross

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

We develop surveys of gambling problems in the general Danish population. We compare several popular survey instruments of gambling behavior and gambling propensity to assess if they differ in their classification of individuals. We also examine correlations with standard survey instruments for alcohol use, anxiety, depression and impulsiveness. A feature of our design is that nobody was excluded on the basis of their response to a “trigger,” “gateway” or “diagnostic item” question about previous gambling history, allowing us to check for sample selection bias. Our sample consists of 8,405 adult Danes, which is 12.8% of the sample frame of 65,592 …

Narcissism, Sensation Seeking, Depression, Anxiety, And Cognitive Distortions: Comparative Analysis Between Poker And Video Lottery Terminal Players, David Levesque B.A., Serge Sevigny Ph.D., Christian Jacques M.Ps., Isabelle Giroux Ph.D.

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

According to the psycho-structural interaction model, the interaction between structural characteristics of a gambling game and player’s characteristics could foster the development of gambling problems. Those interactions may vary according to the types of game played. This study aims to compare poker and video lottery terminals players (VLTs) on six psychological characteristics (narcissism, sensation seeking, depression, anxiety, cognitive distortions and problem gambling severity) and to examine cognitive distortions as a mediator between personality/mood disturbance and problem gambling severity. The sample consisted of 191 poker players and 81 VLT players. Standard assessments were completed online and by phone within a cross-sectional …

The Effect Of A Computerized Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management Intervention On Psychological Factors And Diabetes Management, Cathy A. Bykowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes is associated with increased psychological distress which, in turn, is associated with poorer diabetes outcomes. This study examined the impact of a nine-week Internet based cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention that targeted stress and mood in people with diabetes. It was hypothesized that the intervention would decrease psychological distress and improve diabetes outcomes and adherence to diabetes treatment regimens. Participants with type 1 and type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 103) or a waiting-list control group (n = 74). ANCOVAs demonstrated significant group effects for the reduction of perceived generalized stress (F (1, 105) = …

Comorbidity And Quality Of Life In Adults With Hair Pulling Disorder, David C. Houghton, Joyce Maas, Michael P. Twohig, Stephen M. Saunders, Scott N. Compton, Angela M. Neal-Barnett, Martin E. Franklin, Douglas W. Woods

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Hair pulling disorder (HPD; trichotillomania) is thought to be associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity and functional impairment. However, few methodologically rigorous studies of HPD have been conducted, rendering such conclusions tenuous. The following study examined comorbidity and psychosocial functioning in a well-characterized sample of adults with HPD (N=85) who met DSM-IV criteria, had at least moderate hair pulling severity, and participated in a clinical trial. Results revealed that 38.8% of individuals with HPD had another current psychiatric diagnosis and 78.8% had another lifetime (present and/or past) psychiatric diagnosis. Specifically, HPD showed substantial overlap with depressive, anxiety, addictive, and …

Suicide Attempts From Adolescence Into Young Adulthood: A System Dynamics Perspective For Intervention And Prevention, Saras Yu Chung

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though the reduction of suicide-related deaths has been a national priority for over a decade (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001) and over $22 million per year (National Institutes of Health, 2015) have been invested to prevent suicide, rates of suicide have not declined (CDC, 2012). In fact, for some groups of adolescents, these rates seem to be on the ride (Wasserman, Cheng, & Jiang, 2005). The ineffectiveness in reducing deaths by suicide despite increased funding and coordinated efforts suggests the need for a new perspective on examining why and how adolescents begin to desire and attempt suicide …

Rostral Middle Frontal Gyrus Thickness Is Associated With Perceived Stress And Depressive Symptomatology, Lindsay J. Michalski

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Elevated stress perception and depression commonly co-occur and have shared genetic and environmental influences, suggesting they may rest upon a common underlying neurobiology. The rostral middle frontal gyrus (RMFG), part of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, is critical for executive function, including emotion regulation and working memory. Variability in RMFG cortical thickness has been associated with both depression and stress-related phenotypes, although the directionality of these associations has been inconsistent thus far. The current study examined healthy participants (n=879) who completed the ongoing family-based Human Connectome Project were included in analyses. RMFG cortical thickness was computed from structural magnetic resonance imaging …

Religiosity And Internalized Homonegativity: The Effect Of Religious Conservatism On Depression In Sexual Minorities, Matthew Thaxton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual minorities report higher rates of mental illnesses than the general population, most notably depression. This study focuses on the relationship between religious commitment in sexual minorities, internalized homonegativity, and depression. In order to do this, 265 participants answered a survey that consisted of inventories to test for sexual orientation, religious commitment, political and religious views, and internalized homonegativity. Participants came from Abilene Christian University and LGBT groups from the surrounding Abilene, Texas area. Of the 265 participants, 33 self-identified as a sexual minority. The data from those that identified as a sexual minority was analyzed to find correlations between …