Women's Health Commons^™

Measuring Novel Antecedents Of Mental Illness: The Questionnaire Of Unpredictability In Childhood, Laura M. Glynn, Hal S. Stern, Mariann A. Howland, Victoria B. Risbrough, Dewleen G. Baker, Caroline M. Nievergelt, Tallie Z. Baram, Elysia P. Davis

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Increasing evidence indicates that, in addition to poverty, maternal depression, and other well-established factors, unpredictability of maternal and environmental signals early in life influences trajectories of brain development, determining risk for subsequent mental illness. However, whereas most risk factors for later vulnerability to mental illness are readily measured using existing, clinically available tools, there are no similar measures for assessing early-life unpredictability. Here we validate the Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) and examine its associations with mental health in the context of other indicators of childhood adversity (e.g., traumatic life events, socioeconomic status, and parenting quality). The QUIC was …

Initiating Patient Discussions About Oocyte Cryopreservation: Attitudes Of Obstetrics And Gynaecology Resident Physicians, Brennan Peterson, C. Gordon, Julia K. Boehm, M. C. Inhorn, P. Patrizio

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

This study examined the attitudes of obstetrics and gynaecology (OB/GYN) resident physicians to initiating patient discussions regarding medical and elective oocyte cryopreservation (OC). The study used a cross-sectional online survey of OB/GYN medical residents in the USA, sampled from residency programmes approved by the American Council for Graduate Medical Education. In total, 208 medical residents, distributed evenly between postgraduate years 1–4, participated in the study. Residents' fertility knowledge and attitudes to initiating discussions about OC were gathered. Forty percent (n = 83) believed that OB/GYN residents should initiate discussions about OC with patients (initiators), while 60% (n = 125) did …

Maternal Postpartum Depression And Father Involvement Across The Transition To Parenthood, Katie Newkirk

Doctoral Dissertations

Maternal postpartum depression is a common complication of childbirth that affects the whole family. Fathers’ greater involvement in childcare can buffer children from the negative effects of mothers’ depression, and aid in mothers’ recovery, so it is important to understand under what conditions fathers become more or less involved when mothers are depressed. Prior research has supported both a compensation hypothesis, whereby fathers compensate for the effects of mothers’ depression on mothers’ parenting by being more involved in parenting, and a spillover hypothesis, whereby mothers’ negative emotionality causes fathers to pull back from family life and be less involved in …

Maternal Programming: Application Of A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective, Laura M. Glynn, Mariann A. Howland, Molly Fox

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The fetal phase of life has long been recognized as a sensitive period of development. Here we posit that pregnancy represents a simultaneous sensitive period for the adult female with broad and persisting consequences for her health and development, including risk for psychopathology. In this review, we examine the transition to motherhood through the lens of developmental psychopathology. Specifically, we summarize the typical and atypical changes in brain and behavior that characterize the perinatal period. We highlight how the exceptional neuroplasticity exhibited by women during this life phase may account for increased vulnerability for psychopathology. Further, we discuss several modes …

Women’S Pregnancy Life History And Alzheimer’S Risk: Can Immunoregulation Explain The Link?, Molly Fox, Carlo Berzuini, Leslie A. Knapp, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background:

Pregnancy is associated with improvement in immunoregulation that persists into the geriatric phase. Impaired immunoregulation is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. Hence, we investigate the relationship between pregnancy and AD. Methods:

Cross-sectional cohort of British women (N = 95). Cox proportional hazards modeling assessed the putative effects of cumulative months pregnant on AD risk and the mutually adjusted effects of counts of first and third trimesters on AD risk. Results:

Cumulative number of months pregnant, was associated with lower AD risk (β = −1.90, exp(β) = 0.15, P = .02). Cumulative number of first trimesters …

Association Of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone And Depression And Depressive Symptoms In Older Postmenopausal Women, Dana Fritz

Masters Theses

Worldwide, between 5 and 18% of postmenopausal women experience depression. While the associations of estrogens with depression have been researched extensively, relations with other postmenopausal hormones remain unclear. We evaluated the association of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels with prevalent depression the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (n = 588). Study participants were postmenopausal women aged 53 to 73 years and not using hormone therapy at enrollment (1998-2001). FSH was measured by radioimmuno-assays. Depression symptoms were measured using a scale based on DSM-III criteria (score range = 0-12), with a score ≥5 indicative of probable depression. We assessed …

Depression, Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And A History Of Pervasive Gender-Based Violence Among Women Asylum Seekers Who Have Undergone Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Retrospective Case Review, Hazel Lever, Deborah Ottenheimer, Jimmitti Teysir, Elizabeth Singer, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

We sought to evaluate the frequency of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and any experiences of violence in women who had undergone Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and were seeking asylum in the United States. We undertook a retrospective qualitative descriptive study of FGM/C cases seen in an asylum clinic over a 2-year period. Standardized questionnaires provided quantitative scores for anxiety, depression and PTSD. Clients’ personal and physician medical affidavits were analyzed for experiences of violence. Of the 13 cases, anxiety and depression were exhibited by 92 and 100% of women, while all seven women screened for PTSD had symptoms. Qualitative analysis revealed …

Uncertainty And Competing Priorities In Shared Clinical Decision-Making, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Dennis J. Baumgardner, MD

In this issue introduction, the editor-in-chief of Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews observes that a connecting thread among the articles published therein is an element of uncertainty among patients and clinicians. Competing priorities for the patient also may be present. Several approaches to overcoming these prevalent conflicts to delivery of better health care have been proposed, the most important of which may be clinicians embracing a will to practice shared decision-making.

Uncertainty And Competing Priorities In Shared Clinical Decision-Making, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

In this issue introduction, the editor-in-chief of Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews observes that a connecting thread among the articles published therein is an element of uncertainty among patients and clinicians. Competing priorities for the patient also may be present. Several approaches to overcoming these prevalent conflicts to delivery of better health care have been proposed, the most important of which may be clinicians embracing a will to practice shared decision-making.

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Stress Of Infertility: Can The Couple Cope?, Faiza Alam, Taseer Ahmed Khan, Rehana Rehman

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.