Psychology Commons^™

Analysis Of Gender Differences In Self-Statements And Mood Disorders, Robert Devore

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Over 25% of adult Americans suffer from a mental disorder each year, with depression and anxiety being some of the most commonly reported issues. Researchers estimate that between 10% and 50% of adult Americans will suffer from a depressive episode at some point in their life, and cognitive theorists argue that mental states, including disorders, are generated and maintained by personal, subjective beliefs, and that events can only be appropriately labeled by the individual experiencing them. Thus, cognitive theorists suggest a strong link between self-talk (ST) and behavior and note that the automatic use of ST is associated with disordered …

The Effects Of Mindfulness Meditation On Rumination In Depressed People, Rachel A. Sluder

Honors Theses and Capstones

Mindfulness meditation is a practice of focus, awareness, and non-judgmental acceptance of one's thoughts (Deyo et al., 2009; Kenny et al., 2007). Rumination is a maladaptive pattern of thought that is common in people with depression and other mood disorders. It can lead to further episodes of depression, and can be very destructive in that way (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2008). This paper reviews several studies on mindfulness meditation, depression, and rumination, with a focus on certain areas and phenomena such as alpha asymmetry (Keune et al 2013) and gamma band activity (Berkovich-Ohana et al., 2012). Modalities such as fMRI and EEG are …

Predictors Of Perfectionism In Latter-Day Saint Students, Preston V. Tenney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to gain insight into the prevalence, nature and etiology of perfectionism in a sample of devout Latter-day Saint college students at Brigham Young University. A number of variables-including self-conscious emotions, mental health, interpersonal/cognitive style, and religious orientation-were entered into multiple regression models to determine the strongest predictors of perfectionism. Participants were 245 students studying at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT in the spring of 1995. The self-conscious construct of shame demonstrated to be the strongest predictor of perfectionism followed by depression and religious fundamentalism. In addition to these findings, it was found …

Mood And Memory: An Association Between Pattern Separation And Depression, Don J. Shelton

Theses and Dissertations

Depression is associated with reduced declarative memory performance and decreased hippocampal volume. Depression has also been associated with decreased levels of adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus. Computational models propose that neurogenesis is critical for the computational process of pattern separation, whereby distinct memory representations are created for very similar stimuli and events. It has been proposed that depression negatively impacts pattern separation abilities; however, a link between depression and performance in pattern separation memory tasks has yet to be investigated. Accordingly, we designed a study to investigate the relationship between pattern separation performance and the severity of depression symptoms. …

Se Habla Inglés Aquí: Las Dificultades En El Tratamiento De La Depresión En Latinos En Los Estados Unidos, Melissa Kim Dundas

World Languages and Cultures

This project attempts to identify and bring to light the issues relating to treatment of Latinos and native Spanish speakers in the United States. The stigma surrounding depression is already strong in the U.S., and when minorities, who tend to have their own views of mental health disorders and who are less likely to seek treatment for any mental health disorder they might have, are added to the picture, the rates of treatment go drastically down. There are many factors that play into whether or not Latinos will seek treatment for depression, many of which revolve around language and culture, …

Religious Commitment And Depression During Pregnancy, Tifani R. Fletcher, Andrea D. Clements, Lana Mcgrady, Beth A. Bailey

ETSU Faculty Works

Abstract available through the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Helping Or Hovering? The Effects Of Helicopter Parenting On College Students’ Well-Being, Holly H. Schiffrin, Miriam Liss, Haley Miles-Mclean, Katherine A. Geary, Mindy J. Erchull, Taryn Tashner

Psychological Science Articles

Parental involvement is related to many positive child outcomes, but if not developmentally appropriate, it can be associated with higher levels of child anxiety and depression. Few studies have examined the effects of over-controlling parenting, or “helicopter parenting,” in college students. Some studies have found that college students of over-controlling parents report feeling less satisfied with family life and have lower levels of psychological well-being. This study examined self-determination theory as the potential underlying mechanism explaining this relationship. College students (N = 297) completed measures of helicopter parenting, autonomy supportive parenting, depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, and basic psychological …

Treating Severely Depressed Adolescents With Integrated, Relational, Cognitive Therapy, Gary A. Sibcy

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Traumatic Brain Injury: The Relationship Of Psychosocial Variables And Location Of Injury To Post-Injury Depression, Alicia L. Smith

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affects nearly 1.4 million people in the United States annually, and of these, 10% to 77% will experience post-injury depression. Psychosocial variables such as previous substance and alcohol abuse, prior mental illness, low educational attainment, and poverty have been identified as possible risk factors. Additionally, the location of injury appears to play a key role particularly if the injury occurs in the left hemisphere. This study examined archival data from brain-injured patients in an effort to better understand the factors related to post-TBI depression. Past medical records of brain-injured adults (N = 52) were reviewed …

Impact Of Older Adults’ Experience With Psychotherapy On Treatment Engagement, Erin L. Woodhead, I. I. Ivan, E. E. Emery

Faculty Publications

The goal of the study was to characterize older adults' experience with psychotherapy and examine its impact on engagement in psychotherapy. The study included 50 adults over age 60 who screened positive for depression and participated in the BRIGHTEN Program, an interdisciplinary geriatric mental health program. Qualitative analyses revealed five themes leading to treatment initiation: health concerns, family issues, the experience of depressive symptoms, beliefs about what participants could get from psychotherapy, and positive outcomes seen in others. Those without a history of mental health treatment were more likely to endorse health concerns as a treatment motivator and were more …

Attrition In A Telephonic Intervention Program For Depressed, Low-Income Patients In A Primary Care Setting, Benjamin C. Salazar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Telemental health interventions are currently being implemented in primary care settings in order to reduce the cost of providing treatment and increase access to services of underserved groups. Studies of the efficacy of telemental health interventions have generally demonstrated high rates of attrition. Eysenbach (2005) suggested that the reality of high attrition rates in telemental health studies prompts further investigation into the factors related to attrition. Such research should focus on identifying the characteristics of clients who drop out of treatment and at what points such clients are likely to drop out. The purpose of this study was to identify …

Trauma-Focused Involvement In Psychotherapy: Relations With Therapeutic Alliance And Symptoms Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tess Siler Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood trauma is a risk factor for a wide range of psychopathology and other damaging outcomes later in life (Cohen, Mannarino, Murray, & Igleman, 2006; Saunders, 2003). Among the many treatment models developed for maltreated youth and their families, both specific and non-specific therapeutic factors such as developing a trauma narrative (e.g., trauma self-disclosure) and forming a strong therapeutic alliance have been identified as ―active ingredients‖ that contribute to positive treatment outcome (Cohen & Mannarino, 1996a, 1998a; Friedrich, 1990). The current study used data from the Aurora-Adolescent Mood Project, a community based randomized controlled trial, which evaluated the effectiveness of …

The Influence Of Gender And Alcohol Use On Depressive Symptoms Among Men And Women, Elizabeth Anne Peters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the extent to which gender influences self-reported prototypical and masculine-specific symptoms of depression in men and women and whether or not alcohol mediates this relationship. Secondly, this study evaluated the effectiveness of the Denver Comprehensive Depression Inventory (DCDI), in measuring prototypical and masculine-specific depressive symptoms in clinical and non-clinical samples of men and women.

This paper summarizes the literature on gender differences in depression and the assessment of depression and gender, and outlines the current research on masculine-specific depression. It is argued that current assessment instruments identify prototypical symptoms of depression, as outlined in the DSM-IV-TR, but …

Attentional Processes Associated With Victimization History And Posttraumatic Symptomatology In Women Exposed To Intimate Partner Violence, Ryan B. Matlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) puts women at risk for severe and chronic physical and mental health consequences, including elevations in IPV-related psychopathology and increased risk for future victimization. Previous research has examined attention as one of the key information processing mechanisms associated with elevated psychopathology and risk for victimization; however, the nature of attentional processing in response to IPV-related information in women exposed to IPV is poorly understood. Therefore, the current study aimed to further understanding of associations between attentional processing, IPV exposure, and related distress using measures of eye movement and subjective interpretations of IPV-related information. A …

Depression And Suicide Behavior Among College Students: Understanding The Moderator Effects Of Self-Esteem And Suicide Resilience, Canzi Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As suicide-related incidents on college campuses increase and receive intense media coverage and a growing percentage of college students experience suicide ideation and attempts, there is a desperate need for a more profound understanding of suicidality and its risk and protective factors among college populations. Recent years there has been a growing interest in the buffering effect of resilience on suicidality (Johnson, Wood, Gooding, Taylor, & Tarrier, 2011). This study adds to the suicide literature by exploring the relationship among depression, self-esteem, suicide resilience, and suicidality. Undergraduate students from a large university in the Western United States were asked to …

Ptsd, Depression, And Substance Abuse Symptoms In Women Exposed To Intimate Partner Abuse, Claire L. Hebenstreit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study explores relationships among several established correlates of trauma in women exposed to intimate partner abuse (IPA), including PTSD, depression, and dissociation symptoms as well as alcohol use as well as other trauma-related variables, such as social support and violence exposure. Two analysis methods were utilized: variable-oriented methods, which examine relationships between variables, and person-oriented analysis methods, which examine groupings of participants within a larger sample (N = 233). Results of the variable-oriented analyses indicated positive links among depression, PTSD, dissociation, and alcohol use in women exposed to IPA, as well as positive links between the aforementioned …

Vascular Depression: An Early Indicator Of Decline, Daniel Lee Paulson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Women over the age of 80 represent a rapidly growing demographic group. While older women live longer than men, they do so with more years of disability and frailty. The emergence of geriatric disorders such as vascular disease, depression, frailty and cognitive decline in the aging US population place additional strain and expense on the already over-burdened public health care system. Meanwhile, integrated models of care are associated with preserved functional independence, reduced medical costs, and greater satisfaction for both health care providers and patients. Implementation of integrated care demands process-models of disease that contextualize symptoms within broader patterns of …

Depression Symptoms In Early Childhood Teachers: Do Personality, Social Support, And School Climate Play A Role?, Jessica Mclaughlin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Depression among early childhood teachers has received little attention within the United States. For the present study, early childhood teachers were asked to participate in an online survey to investigate the rate of high depression symptoms among teachers, and whether personality, social support, and school climate are related to teachers' depression symptoms. Results showed that 32% of early childhood teachers in the sample were high in depression symptoms, which is significantly higher than rates of depression in the general population. Lower levels of neuroticism and higher levels of extroversion were related to fewer depression symptoms. Perceived social support from an …

The Influence Of Gender And Aging On The Neural Circuitry Supporing Facial Emotion Processing In Adults With Major Depressive Disorder, Emily Briceno

Wayne State University Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is associated with decrements in facial emotion processing (FEP). Previous studies investigating the neural substrates of these decrements have often reported hyperactivity of emotion processing circuitry. Neural circuitry supporting FEP has been shown to be different between healthy men and women, and between young and elder adults. However, no prior studies have investigated how gender and aging affect emotion processing circuitry in individuals with MDD. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of gender and aging on emotion processing circuitry in MDD. One hundred-ten adults, grouped into subgroups according to MDD status, gender, and age …

The Role Of Self-Esteem, Perceived Social Support, And Coping Strategy In The Escalation Of Depressive Symptomatology During The First Year Of College, Catherine Lee

Master's Theses

The first year of college is a significant life transition that can be a particularly stressful experience, which may lead to the development or exacerbation of depressive symptoms. Due to the considerable negative outcomes that are associated with depressive symptoms across the lifespan, it is important to understand the mechanisms and pathways through which such symptoms arise. This prospective study examines how self-esteem, perceived social support, and coping strategies are associated with the development of depressive symptoms during the transition to college. The findings of this longitudinal study indicate that self-esteem may affect both perceived social support and disengagement coping …

Ethnicity, Culture, And Mental Health Among College Students Of Middle Eastern Heritage, Hasti Ashtiani Raveau

Wayne State University Theses

Depression is a significant mental health issue in American college students. However, as is the case for other minority students, this topic has been little studied in students of Middle Eastern background. Stigma and negative attitudes toward seeking mental health services are a big part of Middle Eastern culture, which reduces the chances that this population will seek treatment when they need it. In addition, it is important to study the relationship between ethnic identity and psychological functioning, because ethnic identity could serve as a protective factor against depression in persons of Middle Eastern descent. A strong cultural identity is …

A Diathesis-Stress Approach To Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Associated With An Hiv Diagnosis: Implications For Medication Non-Adherence., John Andrew Sauceda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Introduction. We fit a diathesis-stress model with childhood trauma and neuroticism as predictors of depressive and HIV-related PTSD symptomatology in a sample of HIV+ Latino men who have sex with men (MSM). We then examined the impact of depressive and HIV-related PTSD symptomatology on medication adherence. We hypothesized the primary stressor from the diathesis-stress model to be symptoms of dissociation at the time of being diagnosed with HIV.

Method. We sampled 149 Latino adult MSM living with HIV at a local HIV treatment clinic in El Paso, Texas. We administered all surveys in paper-and-pencil form, with viral loads and CD4 …

The Role Of World View Changes In The Longitudinal Associations Between Depression And Ptsd Symptoms And Later Sexual Problems, Erin Paige Mason

Wayne State University Theses

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a risk factor for the development of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as well as sexual problems. Additionally, previous research supports a relationship between symptoms of depression and PTSD and sexual problems in both sexually abused and non-abused samples. There has been little attempt, however, to explain the mechanisms responsible for this relationship. The current study proposed that abuse-related changes in world views might be one such mechanism and examined whether world view changes mediate longitudinal associations between depression and PTSD symptoms and sexual problems (sexual concerns, dysfunctional sexual behavior, and risky sexual …

Depressive Symptoms, Neuropsychological Performance, And Cognitive Complaints Among Individuals With Hiv, Andrea Lynn Hobkirk

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The rates of depression and neuropsychological impairment in HIV-positive populations are considerably higher than the general population. Consistent research suggests that depression is not related to cognitive impairment in HIV, however the majority of these studies were conducted with unidimensional or dichotomous measures of depression, weak methodologies, and small sample sizes. There is limited research suggesting that affective and somatic depressive symptoms alone may be associated with neuropsychological impairment in HIV, possibly through central nervous system dysfunction, yet no study to date has assessed this relation with an adequate sample size and a full neuropsychological battery. In addition, no study …

Exploring The Impact Of Meditation On Attentional Allocation To Emotion, Sychopathology, And Acute Stress, In A Community Sample With Mixed Anxiety And Depression, Nicholas Thomas Van Dam

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Attempts to define mindfulness in the clinical and psychological sciences have been marred by contradictions, inconsistencies, and controversies. In this wait-list (WL) controlled mindfulness meditation training (MMT) study, the efficacy and potential mechanisms of MMT was tested in a community sample with undiagnosed, but significant, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. In a pre/post design, which also included 3 month follow-up, participants completed self-report measures, participated in a psychosocial stress task (before and after which they completed self-report mood questionnaires and had physiological and salivary neuroendocrine markers collected), and completed an emotional attentional blink paradigm. Compared to WL (n = …

Antidepressant Medications And Cognitive Functioning In Major Depressive Disorder, Rachel Kay

Wayne State University Theses

Individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) frequently experience cognitive decrements in addition to mood impairments. Ironically, antidepressant medications used to treat depression may have adverse effects on cognitive functioning. It is imperative to understand the relative cognitive costs of antidepressants when considering the treatment of MDD patients. Furthermore, observational studies of depression are challenged by problems of systematically confounded variables. Researchers are often faced with difficulties in managing this issue and opt to either ignore the problem, alter their sample, or use inappropriate statistical methods (e.g., Analysis of Covariance) due to a limited understanding of acceptable solutions. It is important …

Influence Of Patient Characteristics On Perceived Risks And Willingness To Take A Proposed Anti-Rheumatic Drug, Richard W. Martin, Kelsey Mccallops, Andrew J. Head, Aaron T. Eggebeen

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Background: The causes of the underutilization of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not fully known, but may in part, relate to individual patient factors including risk perception. Our objective was to identify the determinants of risk perception (RP) in RA patients and predictors of their willingness to take a proposed DMARD (DMARD willingness). Methods. A cross-sectional mail survey of RA patients in a community rheumatology practice. Patients were presented a hypothetical decision scenario where they were asked to consider switching DMARDs. They evaluated how risky the proposed medication was and how likely they would be …

The Effect Of Depressive Symptoms, Mental Distress And Empathy On Embodiment Of The Rubber Hand Illusion, David Parrick

Theses : Honours

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of depression, mental distress and empathy on the strength of the rubber hand illusion (RHI). The RHI is a perceptual illusion that is thought to occur as a result of visual capture during multimodal sensory stimulation. The RHI was induced in participants by synchronous stroking of their real hand and the visible fake hand for two minutes. Participants were then requested to complete a nine-item questionnaire on the strength of the illusion, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), which was used to screen for depressive symptoms and general mental …

The Effects Of Ketamine On Cognitive Bias In A Stress Vulnerable Chick Strain, Kristen Anne Hymel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive bias is a phenomenon that presents in individuals suffering from anxiety and depression where anxious individuals tend to adopt a more pessimistic interpretation of ambiguous aversive stimuli and depressed individuals tend to adopt both a more pessimistic interpretation of ambiguous aversive stimuli as well as a less optimistic interpretation of ambiguous appetitive stimuli. Such biases have been pharmacologically reversed using anxiolytics and antidepressants. The chick anxiety-depression model has observed more pessimistic-like and less optimistic-like behavior in approach/avoidant runway performance to ambiguous aversive and ambiguous appetitive stimuli, respectively. Further, both types of cognitive biases have been reversed in a White …

Cognitive Distortions As A Mediator Between Early Maladaptive Schema And Hopelessness, Keith Milligan

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine cognitive distortions as a mediator between maladaptive schema and hopelessness. With hopelessness and suicidal behavior so strongly correlated, an examination of hopelessness is critical. It was expected that this study would shed light on the role of distorted thinking as it relates to beliefs shaped from early maladaptive experiences and hopelessness. First, distorted thinking was not found to partially mediate the relationship between early maladaptive schema and hopelessness. This was likely a consequence of multicollinearity due to the use of a very proximal mediator. Second, a linear combination of the cognitive …