Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Can The Hopelessness Model Of Depression And The Response Style Theory Be Integrated?, Patrick Pössel, Stephanie Winkeljohn Black

Faculty Scholarship

The hopelessness model (Abramson et al., 1989) and response style theory (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 1992) have been integrated in various ways, but these integrations have not been compared. German college students (N = 311; mean age = 23.27 years, SD = 6.57 years, 80% female) rated their depressive symptoms, negative inferences, and rumination three times. Findings supported an integrated model where individual inferences predict and interact with the rumination subtype brooding to affect depressive symptoms.

Inferential Style, School Teachers, And Depressive Symptoms In College Students., Caroline M. Pittard, Patrick Pössel, Timothy Lau

Faculty Scholarship

Depressive symptoms affect around half of students at some point during college. According to the hopelessness theory of depression, making negative inferences about stressful events is a vulnerability for developing depression. Negative and socio-emotional teaching behavior can be stressors that are associated with depression in school students. First-time college freshmen completed the Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ), Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ), and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). While completing the TBQ, participants reported on a teacher from prior education to college. Multiple regression analysis found significant effects of the independent variables (four teaching behavior types, inferential style, and interactions …

Associations Between Teacher-Reported School Climate And Depressive Symptoms In Australian Adolescents : A 5-Year Longitudinal Study., Patrick Pössel, Christopher Rakes, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Michael G. Sawyer, Susan H. Spence, Jeanie Sheffield

Faculty Scholarship

Adolescent depression is serious and common. As adolescents spend approximately 15,000 h in school, this setting is a logical place to seek etiological factors. Research suggests there are negative associations between school climate and adolescent depressive symptoms. However, such studies typically use student reports of both climate and depressive symptoms; this is problematic because common method variance results when the same individual provides information on all variables, contributing to overestimations of associations between depressive symptoms and school climate. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the association between teacher-reported school climate and adolescent-reported depressive symptoms. Thus, 2545 Australian …

Associations Between Perceived Teaching Behaviors And Affect In Upper Elementary School Students., Allison D. Barnard, Jill L. Adelson, Patrick Pössel

Faculty Scholarship

We explored the associations between student-perceived teaching behaviors and negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) in upper elementary age students, both before and after controlling for perceived parenting behaviors. The Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ), the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C) were completed by 777 third to fifth graders in nine elementary schools. Using two-level hierarchical linear model analyses, we found that (a) perceived instructional teaching behavior was negatively associated with NA and positively associated with PA; (b) perceived organizational behavior was not associated with either; (c) perceived socio-emotional teaching behavior …

Associations Of Depression Status And Hopelessness With Breast Cancer., Amanda M. Mitchell, Patrick Pössel, Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, William W. Eaton

Faculty Scholarship

This study extended the literature by examining whether three profiles of depression predicted breast cancer status. In 1076 women of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area study, depression status and hopelessness were measured at baseline and breast cancer status was ascertained 24 years later. Double depression, but not major depression or dysthymia, was associated with breast cancer. Hopelessness predicted fewer new cases of breast cancer. When double depression and hopelessness were simultaneously entered as predictors, the regression weights of both predictors increased. The role of severe and extended duration depression as well as possible explanations for unexpected findings are discussed.

Comparing Different Sequential Mediational Interpretations Of Beck’S Depression Model In Adolescents., Patrick Pössel

Faculty Scholarship

Depression is a developmental phenomenon with significantly increasing rates during adolescence. As Beck’s cognitive model of depression has been commonly accepted to explain the development and maintenance of depression, it is crucial to understand how and when cognitive vulnerabilities predicted in this model begin to interact. Three sequential interpretations of this model were compared. The causal mediational interpretation identifies dysfunctional attitudes as most distal to depressive symptoms, followed by cognitive errors, cognitive triad, and negative automatic thoughts, with each construct successively more proximal to depressive symptoms. In the symptom model the causal chain is reversed, with depressive symptoms as the …

Teaching Behavior Questionnaire : Verifying Factor Structure And Investigating Depressive Symptoms In Catholic Middle And High Schools., Caroline M. Pittard, Patrick Pössel, Rosamond J. Smith

Faculty Scholarship

Teaching behavior impacts student psychopathology. This study explored the associations between teaching behavior types and depressive symptoms in students. The Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale (CES-D) were completed by 763 middle and 976 high school students from private Catholic schools. In the middle school sample, a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of the TBQ previously found in public high schools. As predicted, a two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) analysis with the high school sample found that only the Negative Teaching Behavior scale of the TBQ was positively related to CES-D …

Closeness And Control : Exploring The Relationship Between Prayer And Mental Health., Benjamin Jeppsen, Patrick Pössel, Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Annie Bjerg, Don Wooldridge

Faculty Scholarship

This study explores the relationship between prayer and mental health in the context of two factors of a perceived relationship with God: closeness to God, and an indirect locus of control through God. Three models were tested for mediation using structural equation modeling to assess the separate and combined effects in an online sample of 330 praying adults from predominantly Christian backgrounds. Closeness to God proved to be a superior mediator. Counselors should consider prayer behaviors when culturally relevant, and encourage meditative and colloquial prayer for clients where increased sources of perceived social support would be beneficial.

Do Depressive Symptoms Mediate The Relationship Between Hopelessness And Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm?, Patrick Pössel, Amanda M. Mitchell, Elaine Sjögren, Margareta Kristenson

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: Research has revealed a well-established relationship of depressive symptoms and hopelessness with a variety of physical illnesses that are associated with a dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis. The purpose of this study was to test if depressive symptoms mediate the relationship between hopelessness and cortisol, a measure of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis. Methods: Hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and diurnal cortisol rhythm were measured in 257 adults (128 women and 129 men; age range: 20-74 years) in this cross-sectional study. To test the hypothesis, two linear regression analyses and asymmetrical confidence intervals around the regression weights were conducted. A second set of analyses was …

Disclosure During Private Prayer As A Mediator Between Prayer Type And Mental Health In An Adult Christian Sample., Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Patrick Pössel, Benjamin Jeppsen, Annie C. Bjerg, Don T. Wooldridge

Faculty Scholarship

According to Poloma and Pendleton’s (1991) prayer model there are four prayer types (colloquial, meditative, petitionary, and ritual), all of which have varying associations with mental health. However, few studies have examined what mechanisms explain these associations. The literature demonstrates that disclosing distressing information can improve mental health. Thus, the current study examined self-disclosure as a mediating variable between Poloma and Pendleton’s (1991) prayer types and mental health. It was hypothesized that self-disclosure would mediate the association between prayer types involving meaningful communication with God (colloquial and meditative prayer types) and mental health and would not mediate associations between petitionary …

Do Depressive Symptoms Predict The Incidence Of Myocardial Infarction Independent Of Hopelessness?, Patrick Pössel, Amanda M. Mitchell, Kimmo Ronkainen, George A. Kaplan, Jussi Kauhanen, Maarit Valtonen

Faculty Scholarship

Depression and hopelessness predict myocardial infarction (MI), but it is unclear whether depression and hopelessness are independent predictors of MI incidents. Hopelessness, depression, and MI incidence rate 18 years later were measured in 2005 men. Cox regressions were conducted with hopelessness and depression serving as individual predictors of MI. Another Cox model examined whether the two predictors predict MI when adjusting for each other. Depression and hopelessness predicted MI in independent regressions but when adjusting for each other, hopelessness, but not depression, predicted MI incidents. Thus, these results suggest that depression and hopelessness are not independent predictors of MI.

Integrating Beck’S Cognitive Model And The Response Style Theory In An Adolescent Sample., Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Patrick Pössel

Faculty Scholarship

Depression becomes more prevalent as individuals progress from childhood to adulthood. Thus, empirically supported and popular cognitive vulnerability theories to explain depression in adulthood have begun to be tested in younger age groups, particularly adolescence, a time of significant cognitive development. Beck’s cognitive theory and the response style theory are well known, empirically supported theories of depression. The current, two-wave longitudinal study (N = 462; mean age = 16.01 years; SD = 0.69; 63.9 % female) tested various proposed integrative models of Beck’s cognitive theory and the response style theory, as well as the original theories themselves, to determine if …

Do Trust-Based Beliefs Mediate The Associations Of Frequency Of Private Prayer With Mental Health? : A Cross-Sectional Study., Patrick Pössel, Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Annie C. Bjerg, Benjamin D. Jeppsen, Don T. Wooldridge

Faculty Scholarship

Significant associations of private prayer with mental health have been found, while mechanisms underlying these associations are largely unknown. This cross-sectional online study (N = 325, age: 35.74, SD: 18.50, 77.5% female) used path modeling to test if trust-based beliefs (whether, when, and how prayers are answered) mediated the associations of prayer frequency with the Anxiety, Confusion, and Depression Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS) scales. The association of prayer and Depression was fully mediated by trust-based beliefs; associations with Anxiety and Confusion were partially mediated. Further the interaction of prayer frequency by stress was association with Anxiety.

Testing Three Different Sequential Mediational Interpretations Of Beck's Cognitive Model For The Development Of Depression., Patrick Pössel, Stephanie Winkeljohn Black

Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: This study tested and compared three sequential interpretations of Beck’s cognitive model of the development of depression (1996). The causal mediational interpretation identifies dysfunctional attitudes as most distal to depressive symptoms, followed by cognitive distortions, cognitive triad, and negative automatic thoughts, with each construct successively more proximal to depressive symptoms. By contrast, the symptom model reverses the causal chain with negative automatic thoughts as the most proximal consequence and dysfunctional attitudes as the most distal consequence of depression. The bidirectional model merges both interpretations into one model. Previous studies on sequential interpretations of Beck’s model have not included cognitive …

Associations Between Teacher Emotional Support And Depressive Symptoms In Australian Adolescents : A 5-Year Longitudinal Study., Patrick Pössel, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Michael G. Sawyer, Susan H. Spence, Annie C. Bjerg

Faculty Scholarship

Approximately one-fifth of adolescents develop depressive symptoms. Given that youth spend a good deal of their lives at school, it seems plausible that supportive relationships with teachers could benefit their emotional well-being. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the association between emotionally supportive teacher relationships and depression in adolescence. The so-called principle-effect and stress-buffer models could explain relationships between teacher emotional support and depressive symptoms, yet no study has used both models to test bidirectional relationships between teacher support and depressive symptoms in students separately by sex. Four thousand three hundred forty-one students (boys: n = 2063; …

Hopelessness The ‘Active Ingredient’? : Associations Of Hopelessness And Depressive Symptoms With Interleukin-6., Amanda M. Mitchell, Patrick Pössel, Elaine Sjögren, Margareta Kristenson

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: Previous research has revealed a relationship of depressive symptoms and hopelessness with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) which are associated with elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). The objective of this study was to explore whether depressive symptoms and hopelessness are independent predictors of IL-6 levels. Method: Hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and IL-6 were measured in 45 Swedish adults (26 women and 19 men; age range: 31-65 years). Two separated linear regressions were conducted with hopelessness and depressive symptoms serving as individual predictors of IL-6. Another regression analysis examined whether the two predictors predict IL-6 when controlling for each other. The regression coefficients …

The Combined Effects Of Self-Referent Information Processing And Ruminative Responses On Adolescent Depression., Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Patrick Pössel

Faculty Scholarship

Adolescents who develop depression have worse interpersonal and affective experiences and are more likely to develop substance problems and/or suicidal ideation compared to adolescents who do not develop depression. This study examined the combined effects of negative self-referent information processing and rumination (i.e., brooding and reflection) on adolescent depressive symptoms. It was hypothesized that the interaction of negative self-referent information processing and brooding would significantly predict depressive symptoms, while the interaction of negative self-referent information processing and reflection would not predict depressive symptoms. Adolescents (n = 92; 13–15 years; 34.7 % female) participated in a 6-month longitudinal study. Self-report instruments …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Cognitive-Behavioral Program For The Prevention Of Depression In Adolescents Compared To Nonspecific And No-Intervention Control Conditions., Patrick Pössel, Nina C. Martin, Judy Garber, Martin Hautzinger

Faculty Scholarship

Adolescent depression is a common and recurrent disorder associated with significant impairment and other forms of psychopathology. Finding an effective intervention that prevents depression in adolescents is an important public health priority. Participants were 518 high school students (mean age = 15.09; SD = 0.76) from the mid-south of the United States. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a cognitive-behavioral program (CB; n = 166), nonspecific control (NSp; n = 175), or a no-intervention control condition (NIC; n = 177). Both the CB and NSp conditions consisted of 90-minute sessions administered once a week over a 10-week …

Depression As A Risk Factor For Breast Cancer : Investigating Methodological Limitations In The Literature., Patrick Pössel, Erica Adams, Jeffrey C. Valentine

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: A relationship between depression and the development of breast cancer has not been convincingly shown in the research conducted over the past three decades. Methods: In an effort to better understand the conflicting results, a review was conducted focusing on the methodological problems associated with this literature, including time frame between the assessment of depression and the diagnosis of breast cancer and the use of somatic items in measuring depression. Fifteen breast cancer prospective studies were reviewed. Results: While twelve of the studies found positive associations between depression and breast cancer development, three studies found negative associations. With regards …

A Randomized Trial To Evaluate The Course Of Effects Of A Program To Prevent Adolescent Depressive Symptoms Over 12 Months., Patrick Pössel, Jill L. Adelson, Martin Hautzinger

Faculty Scholarship

Although few prevention studies have been designed to investigate the course of prevention effects over time, it seems that the effects on depressive symptoms increase from post-intervention to 6-month follow-up but then decrease with longer lags to follow-up. Furthermore, previous prevention studies have found differential intervention effects for boys and girls without testing possible explanations for this effect. The present randomized control group study with 301 8th-grade students examined the effects of a depression prevention program from baseline until 12-month follow-up. As expected, while positive intervention effects were found on girls’ depressive symptoms, no such effects were found on boys’ …

Can Beck’S Theory Of Depression And The Response Style Theory Be Integrated?, Patrick Pössel

Faculty Scholarship

There are obvious similarities between the cognitive constructs of Beck’s cognitive theory (1976) and the response style theory (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991). Different propositions of Ciesla and Roberts (2007) and Lyubomirsky and Nolen-Hoeksema (1993, 1995) concerning associations of two response styles, brooding and reflection, with constructs of Beck’s cognitive theory (schemata, cognitive errors, cognitive triad, automatic thoughts) were tested. Model comparisons were based on a 4-week study in which 397 participants completed self-report instruments at two time points. A model allowing schemata to influence brooding and reflection which influence the other cognitive variables of Beck’s cognitive theory fits the data …

Bridging The Gaps : An Attempt To Integrate Three Major Cognitive Depression Models., Patrick Pössel, Kerstin Knopf

Faculty Scholarship

There are obvious similarities between the cognitive constructs of Beck’s cognitive theory, the hopelessness model, and the response styles theory. No single comprehensive model has yet integrated the core cognitive concepts of these theories, however. In order to develop such an integrative cognitive model, we conducted two independent studies with 588 and 606 participants, respectively, from a university population. Both studies support the idea that all cognitive constructs of the three models are distinct from each other. Furthermore, both studies provide evidence for the possibility an integration of the constructs in one cognitive model. If future studies replicate these findings, …

Cognitive Triad As Mediator In The Hopelessness Model? : A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study., Patrick Pössel, S. Denise Thomas

Faculty Scholarship

Several authors proposed that all elements of Beck’s cognitive triad (1976) mediate the associations between inference style as described in the hopelessness model (Abramson, Alloy, & Metalsky, 1989) and depressive symptoms. Results of a 3-wave longitudinal study indicate only a partial mediation model with all elements of the cognitive triad being associated with all inference styles, with depressive symptoms fitting the data best. Controlling for direct and indirect effects, no individual element of the cognitive triad mediates the association between inference styles and depressive symptoms. The partial mediation model is not stable across sex or clinical vs subclinical samples. In …

Bidirectional Relations Of Religious Orientation And Depressive Symptoms In Adolescents : A Short-Term Longitudinal Study., Patrick Pössel, Nina C. Martin, Judy Garber, Aaron W. Banister, Natalie K. Pickering, Martin Hautzinger

Faculty Scholarship

Religious orientation can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic: intrinsically oriented individuals “live their religion,” whereas extrinsically oriented individuals practice religion mainly to gain external benefits. In adults, depression has been found to correlate negatively with intrinsic religious orientation and positively with extrinsic orientation. Studies of the relation between religiosity and depression typically have not been longitudinal, conducted with adolescents, controlled for the influence of other factors associated with depression (i.e., negative cognitions), or examined the reverse relation of depression predicting religious orientation. Our four-month longitudinal study of 273 ninth-grade students addressed these issues. Results showed that higher intrinsic religious …

Cognitive Error Questionnaire (Ceq) : Psychometric Properties And Factor Structure Of The German Translation., Patrick Pössel

Faculty Scholarship

A central component of Beck et al.’s (1979) cognitive theory of depression is faulty information processing reflected by so-called cognitive errors. These cognitive errors are the reason why depressed individuals systematically misinterpret the significance of events in a negative way. They are usually assessed with the application of the Cognitive Error Questionnaire (CEQ). This study examines the psychometric properties and factor structure of the German version of the CEQ in a sample of 796 volunteers at a German university. Results confirmed that the German CEQ has satisfactory to very good psychometric properties, like the American original. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated …

Cognitive Triad Inventory (Cti) : Psychometric Properties And Factor Structure Of The German Translation., Patrick Pössel

Faculty Scholarship

A central component of Beck, A. T., Rush, J., & Shaw, B. F. [(1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press] cognitive theory of depression is the cognitive triad (negative view of self, world, and future) measurable with the Cognitive Triad Inventory (CTI). This study examined the psychometric properties and factor structure of the German CTI in a sample of 796 German volunteers. The study provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the German CTI and of independent positive and negative elements of the cognitive triad. Furthermore, results emphasize methodological above conceptual problems in Beck et al.'s (1979) …

Verhaltensdiagnostik Aus Der Perspektive Der Kognitiven Therapie Analyse Automatischer Gedanken Und Grundüberzeugungen (Behavioral Diagnostics From The View Of The Cognitive Therapy : Identification Of Automatic Thoughts And Attitudes)., Patrick Pössel, Martin Hautzinger

Faculty Scholarship

Die Veränderung von mit psychischen Problemen verbundenen negativen automatischen Gedanken und Grundüberzeugungen ist zentraler Bestandteil jeder Kognitiven Verhaltenstherapie. Daher ist die Aufdeckung dieser dem Bewusstsein oft nur wenig zugänglichen kognitiven Prozessen von entscheidender Bedeutung für den Erfolg einer Psychotherapie. Im vorliegenden Artikel werden neben dem ABCDE-Protokoll, welches die Standardmethode zur Identifikation und Veränderung negativer automatischer Gedanken ist, unterschiedliche Methoden zur Exploration von Grundüberzeugungen (Beispielsituationen sammeln, Imaginationsmethode, Pfeil-abwärts-Technik) detailliert dargestellt. Hierbei wird das eher induktive Vorgehen zur Aufdeckung von Grundüberzeugungen von Albert Ellis mit den mehr deduktiven Strategien von Aaron Beck und den Weiterentwicklungen von Judith Beck verglichen.

The modification of …

Evaluation Eines Deutschsprachigen Instrumentes Zur Erfassung Positiver Und Negativer Automatischer Gedanken Bei Kindern Und Jugendlichen (Evaluation Of A German-Language Tool For Measuring Positive And Negative Automatic Thoughts In Children And Adolescents)., Silke Huffziger, Thomas D. Meyer, Simone Seemann, Andrea B. Horn, Gunter Groen, Patrick Pössel

Faculty Scholarship

Theoretischer Hintergrund: Negative automatische Gedanken stellen nach Beck eine wichtige Ursache für depressive Störungen dar. Fragestellung: Überprüfung der psychometrischen Gütekriterien des deutschen „Fragebogens für negative und positive automatische Gedanken” (FAG) bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Methode: Der Fragebogen wurde an einer unselektierten Stichprobe aus der Allgemeinbevölkerung (n = 952) zwischen 11 und 16 Jahren untersucht. Die Stichprobe wurde in die beiden Gruppen ≤ 13 Jahre und > 13 Jahre aufgeteilt. Ergebnisse: In der Gruppe ≤ 13 Jahre wurden die Skalen „negative Selbstaussagen” und „positive Selbstaussagen”, in der Gruppe > 13 Jahre die Skalen „negative Selbstaussagen”, „Selbstvertrauen” und „Wohlbefinden” faktorenanalytisch extrahiert. Die internen …

An Experimental Test Of The Maintenance And Vulnerability Hypothesis Of Depression In Consideration Of The Cognitive Hierarchy., Patrick Pössel, Kerstin Knopf

Faculty Scholarship

According to Beck's cognitive model of depression the activation of dysfunctional beliefs triggers negative automatic thoughts, which can be interpreted as the proximal “cause” for emotional, somatic, and motivational symptoms of depression. This top-down processes of beliefs causing thoughts and furthermore of thoughts causing symptoms can be called “cognitive hierarchy.” Besides these processes there are bottom-up influences as well with dysfunctional beliefs being activated by external and internal events. A differentiation between top-down processes and bottom-up influences can be drawn with the first being seen as causing thoughts and emotions while the latter only activate existing beliefs. To test Beck's …

A Longitudinal Study Of Cortical Eeg Activity In Adolescents., Patrick Pössel, Hanna Lo, Anna Fritz, Simone Seemann

Faculty Scholarship

Background: The objective of this study is to test Davidson’s, and Heller and Nitschke’s models stating cortical activity in adolescents to be a marker for increased risk for depression.

Methods: Alpha activity was measured in 80 adolescents from medial-frontal (F3/4), lateral-frontal (F7/8), and medial-parietal (P3/4) electrodes, as well as self-reported depression and anxiety twice within 12 months. Stepwise hierarchical regression analyses with anxiety as covariate were calculated with alpha asymmetry as predicting variable and depression as target variable and vice versa.

Results: Independent of whether anxiety was used as covariate or not, frontal and parietal alpha asymmetry predict depression, but …