Psychology Commons^™

Stressful Life Events Correlate With Depression Symptoms, Michelle Mercedes Meng

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Stressful life events, such as abuse, divorce, or spending time in jail have been known to cause psychological and physical symptoms (Billings, 1982). Previous research has examined the association between the amount of stressful life events and the onset of depression(Kendler, 1999). The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between stress and depression in a sample of college students. As a part of a larger study, participants (N = 223) completed online questionnaires that measured their exposure to life stressors on the Life Stress Checklist - Revised (Wolfe and Kimerling, 1997) and depression symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory …

Counseling Clients With Traumatic Brain Injury: Exploring Counselors’ Perceived Knowledge, Comfort, And Self-Awareness, Michelle Bradham-Cousar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of traumatic brain injury (TBI) diagnoses continues to rise each year. Counseling is a critical factor in TBI treatment, and although numerous studies have investigated TBI outcomes, a paucity of researchers have studied professional counselors’ knowledge, comfort, and self-awareness when working with TBI clients. Due to the diversity of counselor caseloads, it is likely that counselors will serve clients with a dual diagnosis that includes TBI. These dual diagnoses include depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, psychosis, or another neurocognitive disorder. The purpose of this study was to explore counselors’ knowledge, comfort, and self-awareness when working with individuals with …

Wicked Problems: Depression, Sebastian Wendolowski

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Depression is a disorder that can affect anybody and is the leading cause of disability and disorders in the United States. This year, due to COVID-19, it has hit an all time high, affecting many more people. Suicide rates have been steadily growing across all ages, and this year is at a record high too, showing correlation with depression. There are two types of depression, major depressive disorder and chronic depressive disorder. Diagnosis of depression is typically done physically or through a questionnaire, which is compared into a DSM-5. There are many risk factors for depression and other common mental …

Young Versus Aged Microbiota Transplants To Germ-Free Mice: Increased Short-Chain Fatty Acids And Improved Cognitive Performance, Juneyoung Lee, Venugopal R Venna, David J Durgan, Huanan Shi, Jacob Hudobenko, Nagireddy Putluri, Joseph Petrosino, Louise D Mccullough, Robert M Bryan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aging is associated with cognitive decline and decreased concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the gut. SCFAs are significant in that they are protective to the gut and other organs. We tested the hypothesis that the aged gut microbiome alone is sufficient to decrease SCFAs in the host and produce cognitive decline. Fecal transplant gavages (FTGs) from aged (18–20 months) or young (2–3 months) male C57BL/6 mice into germ-free male C57BL/6 mice (N = 11 per group) were initiated at ~3 months of age. Fecal samples were collected and behavioral testing was performed over the study period. Bacterial community …

Efficacy Of Galcanezumab For Migraine Prevention In Patients With A Medical History Of Anxiety And/Or Depression: A Post Hoc Analysis Of The Phase 3, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Regain, And Pooled Evolve-1 And Evolve-2 Studies, Todd A. Smitherman, Gretchen E. Tietjen, Kory Schuh, Vladimir Skljarevski, Sarah Lipsius, Deborah N. D’Souza, Eric M. Pearlman

Faculty and Student Publications

© 2020 Eli Lilly and Company. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain published by Wiley Periodicals LLC, on behalf of American Headache Society Objective: This post hoc analysis evaluated the efficacy of galcanezumab for the prevention of migraine in patients with and without comorbid anxiety and/or depression. Background: Patients with migraine have a higher risk of anxiety and/or depression. Given the high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and their potential negative prognostic impact, determining the efficacy of migraine treatments in patients with these comorbidities is important. Methods: The results of 2 phase 3 episodic migraine studies of patients with …

Adverse Childhood Experiences As Predictors Of Perceived Health: Assessing The Ace Pyramid Model Using Multiple-Mediation, Phillip Hughes, Tabitha L. Ostrout

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been shown to contribute to a litany of mental and physical health problems, including several chronic diseases and death, via a model known as the ACE pyramid. Many of the results of ACEs in the ACE pyramid are known contributors to poor perceived health, which has significant health implications. Despite these results, a possible link between ACEs and perceived health has not been examined to date. Based on the temporal order of the ACE pyramid, we believe any relationship between ACEs and perceived health will be mediated by other components of the model.

Methods: …

Predictors Of Recovery In Advocacy-Based Refugee Treatment Outcome: The Role Of Prior Traumatic Experiences And Current Chronic Stressors, Meredith A. Blackwell

Psychology ETDs

Refugees are at an increased vulnerability to mental health disorders compared to citizens of wealthier nations. The present study looks at the symptom trajectories of 290 refugees in a psychosocial community-based participatory intervention. A three-level generalized linear mixed model examined the predictive impact of exposure to trauma and chronic stress at baseline on posttraumatic stress and mood symptoms over time. Results showed that only higher chronic stress at baseline was associated with a steeper decrease in both PTSD and mood scores, but these effects differed by nationality. However, with chronic stress entered as a time-varying covariate instead only African participants …

The Occupational Depression Inventory: A New Tool For Clinicians And Epidemiologists, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Background: Depressive symptoms induced by insurmountable job stress and sick leave for mental health reasons have become a focal concern among occupational health specialists. The present study introduces the Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI), a measure designed to quantify the severity of work-attributed depressive symptoms and establish provisional diagnoses of job-ascribed depression. The ODI comprises nine symptom items and a subsidiary question assessing turnover intention. Methods: A total of 2254 employed individuals were recruited in the U.S., New Zealand, and France. We examined the psychometric and structural properties of the ODI as well as the nomological network of work-attributed depressive symptoms. …

Generating Alternative Solutions When Depression Is The Problem, Benjamin Todd Johnson

Dissertations (1934 -)

Generating alternative solutions for problem situations is a key component of effective problem solving. This process is used to generate a variety of potential options for managing a problem, from which the most effective approach or combination of approaches can be selected for implementation. Impaired alternatives generation provides fewer options from which to select a response, reducing the likelihood that a highly effective approach will be available for implementation, potentially leaving problems unresolved, generating additional problems, and fostering a sense of hopelessness and depression. Depression has been found to impair problem solving further by reducing engagement in the problem solving …

Psychiatric Medications And Stigmatizing Attitudes In College Students, Benjamin T. Johnson, Peter Philip Grau, Stephen M. Saunders

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Research suggests that biological explanations of mental illness include the promotion of the effectiveness of medication, and that such explanations lead to greater attributions of responsibility and potentially greater stigmatizing emotional and behavioral reactions. This study examined whether college students' attitudes toward a fellow student with mental illness are affected by whether the latter is described as having benefitted previously from medication. Results suggest that the promotion of psychiatric medications as helpful may increase stigmatizing attitudes by peers against fellow students with mental illness.

Assessing A Cognitive Model Of Trauma-Related Sleep Disturbance, Rebecca Chesher

Dissertations

Sleep disturbance is a symptom of many mental health disorders that may negatively affect cognition and mood. Trauma-related sleep disturbance is a core reaction of traumatic stress and PTSD, similar to symptoms experienced by individuals with insomnia or other sleep-wake disorders. Although the cause and symptom progression of trauma-related sleep disturbance may be very different, research and clinical practice assess and treat it with measures and interventions designed for general insomnia. Using a cognitive model of insomnia modified for trauma-related sleep disturbance, the current study assessed the relations between select trauma and sleep variables within the proposed constructs of: 1) …

Insomnia Is Associated With Frequency Of Suicidal Ideation Independent Of Depression: A Replication And Extension Of Findings From The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, Zach Simmons, Lance D. Erickson, Dawson Hedges, Daniel Kay

Faculty Publications

Objective: Insomnia is associated with suicidality, although the mechanisms of this association are unclear. This study sought to replicate previous findings showing that insomnia symptoms but not sleep duration are associated with frequency of suicidal ideation in adults. We further investigated whether depression or sleep duration moderates the association between insomnia symptoms and frequency of suicidal ideation.

Materials and Methods: We used the 2005–2006 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to replicate previously reported findings from the 2007–2008 cycle. We used ordered logistic regression to determine whether insomnia symptoms were associated with frequency of suicidal ideation independently …

Memory Bias Toward Emotional Information In Burnout And Depression, Renzo Bianchi, Eric Laurent, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Lucas M. Bietti, Eric Mayor

Publications and Research

A sample of 1015 educational staff members, exhibiting various levels of burnout and depressive symptoms, underwent a memory test involving incident encoding of positive and negative words and a free recall task. Burnout and depression were each found to be associated with increased recall of negative items and decreased recall of positive items. Results remained statistically significant when controlling for history of depressive disorders. Burnout and depression were not related to mistakes in the reported words, or to the overall number of recalled words. This study suggests that burnout and depression overlap in terms of memory biases toward emotional information.

Insomnia In Subclinical Paranoid Participants, Lauren J. Bennett-Leleux

Psychology and Counseling Theses

Insomnia has always been thought to be a consequence of schizophrenia and may be predicted by paranoid thoughts. Individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia have reported symptoms of insomnia, which can in turn increase psychosis. It is thought that these symptoms can come from decreased daytime activity, reduced cognitive functioning, or distress from psychotic experiences increasing arousal (Waite et al., 2016a; Hodgenkins et al., 2015; Stubbset et al., 2016). However, recent evidence has demonstrated that insomnia can predict later paranoid thoughts. Individuals with comorbid psychotic disorder and insomnia tend to have more severe psychotic experiences such as paranoid thoughts (Freeman …

Decision-Making Difficulty In Major Depression: Understanding Indecisiveness And The Role Of Expected Affect, Haijing Wu Hallenbeck

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Decision-making difficulty is a prevalent symptom among individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Decision-making difficulty has been found to be pervasive across different areas of decision-making in current MDD; however, its exact nature for some areas (e.g., indecisiveness) is not well characterized, and the extent to which it is a scar of MDD is not determined. Furthermore, affective disturbances (e.g., in expected affect) have been theorized to contribute to decision-making difficulty in MDD, but empirical studies are needed to test this theory. In my two-study dissertation on depression, Study 1 focused on the dimensionality and validity of indecisiveness, and Study …

Personalized Models Of Social Anxiety Disorder And Depression, Marilyn L. Piccirillo

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is an important risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD) and together this comorbidity constitutes a highly impairing syndrome and vicious cycle of symptomatology, associated with tremendous health costs and societal burden. Despite much group-level research examining risk factor for MDD specifically, there is limited group and individual-level research evaluating how individuals with SAD transition into depressive episodes. Clinical and theoretical evidence suggests that each patient may exhibit a unique personalized pattern of risk factors. These idiographic patterns may contradict relationships seen at the group level. In this dissertation, women (N = 35) with SAD and …

Assessing Sex Differences In The Effects Of Short-Term Rem Sleep On Anxiety- And Depressive-Like Behaviors In Rats, Nadia Meshkati

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Findings from both human and animal studies suggest rapid eye movement (REM) sleep disturbances following a traumatic event can lead to inability to extinguish the fear association, and eventually influence the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, research has demonstrated that sleep disruptions, including REM sleep deprivation (RSD), increases anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors and states in animals and people, with evidence of sex differences. Furthermore, it has yet to be determined whether short-term RSD, a more natural animal model of PTSD, can influence affective state of subjects. The present study applied short-term RSD to investigate sex differences in the …

A New Perspective On Social Media Use, Loneliness, And Cyberbullying, Danielle M. Brecht

Psychology Theses - Archive

The rates of social media use, cyberbullying, and loneliness are interrelated and simultaneously on the rise. Applying Jensen-Campbell’s Stress Model of Peer Victimization (Knack, Jensen-Campbell, & Baum, 2011) and the Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018) it is proposed that the negative health effects of social media may be attributed in part to chronic loneliness and cyberbullying. When lonely people recognize a lack of beneficial relationships (i.e., salutary relationship postulate) it may cause their behaviors to become more self-focused (i.e., self-preservation postulate) and they may use social media to fulfill the social disconnect by engaging in cyberbullying perpetration …

Examination Of The Relationship Between Sport-Specific Thoughts And Emotions And Anxiety And Depression In College Athletes, Marina Elizabeth Harris

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Depression and anxiety are prevalent mental health difficulties affecting student athletes, who notoriously reject mental health interventions that are not sport-relevant. This study will assist in understanding the extent to which sport-relevant thoughts and emotions impact depression and anxiety in collegiate athletes. Two-hundred and twenty-five NCAA athletes competing at the Division, I, II, or III level were administered the Sport Interference Checklist (SIC), Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Results of correlational analyses revealed a significant relationship between SIC Dysfunctional Thinking (in training and competition) and anxiety (GAD-7) and depressive (PHQ-9) symptoms, …

Using Therapeutic Photography Techniques To Increase The Wellbeing Of College Students, Licia Tourigny, Ivelina Naydenova

Journal of Counseling and Psychology

In this study the benefits of therapeutic photography techniques were analyzed for people with varying degrees of depression and anxiety. In study 1, participants were placed in groups after taking the Beck’s Depression Inventory. After they were placed in groups, they also took Beck’s Anxiety Inventory and the Life Satisfaction Scale. For four weeks, participants were asked to take pictures of what makes them happy and share and discuss them with their groups. After four weeks, they took all three inventories a second time. We found significant results between the pretest and posttest scores of the depression and anxiety inventories; …

The Network Structure Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Filipina Migrant Domestic Workers: Comorbidity With Depression, Melissa R. Garabiles, Chao K. Lao, Brian J. Hall

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

Background

Labour migrants are exposed to potentially traumatic events throughout the migration cycle, making them susceptible to developing mental disorders. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often comorbid with depression. Comorbidity worsens the course of illness, prognosis, treatment response, and increases suicidal risk. Using network analysis, this study examined the structure of PTSD and depression in a sample of migrant domestic workers, an especially vulnerable community of labour migrants. This study sought to derive the central or most important symptoms, strongest edges or relationships among symptoms, and bridge symptoms between PTSD and depression.

Methods

Data were obtained from 1,375 Filipina domestic …

Trauma Exposure, Depressive Symptoms, And Responding To Positive Events And Affect In Young Adults, Jana Desimone Wozniak

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The relationship between trauma exposure and responding to positive affect and events is unclear. Depression may co-occur with trauma exposure, and may also independently predict responding to positive affect and events. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between trauma exposure, depressive symptoms, and responding to positive affect and positive life events among young adults. Participants were 277 (84.8% female, 56.3% Caucasian) undergraduates ages 18-39 (M = 19.67, SD = 2.22). At baseline, ANCOVAs were used to examine the relationships between trauma exposed/non-trauma exposed groups, as well as high/low depressive symptom groups, on responding to positive …

Do Anxiety, Depression, And Mental Health Treatment Impact Christian College Student Religiosity/Spirituality?, Matthew J. Ditty

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The majority of Americans report religious affiliation and participate in religious practices. Several studies have sought to analyze the protective factors of religiosity, especially as it relates to mental and physical health issues. However, little research has been conducted which explores the relationship between religiosity/spirituality (R/S), mental health, and its treatment status.

This study sought to determine whether participants’ mental health problems (anxiety and depression) and treatment status (treatment versus no treatment) were related to their religiosity/spirituality and if severity of pathology and treatment engagement significantly affected R/S. Results suggest subjects can be aggregated into two meaningful groups: one that …

Depression, Music Choice, And Affective Outcomes In Daily Life, Sunkyung Yoon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Persons with depression consistently report a preference for sad music. Are such preferences maladaptive or beneficial? We tested this question in a 3-part study that examined 77 participants’ (39 with and 38 without clinical depression) music choice in daily life, affective outcomes, and the reasons for music choice. During a 3-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA), participants chose a song from a pre-set music library of happy and sad songs and rated their affect before and after hearing the chosen song. In addition, we analyzed the characteristics (e.g., tempo) of participants’ free song choices over 7 days (from participants’ Spotfiy music …

Diffusion Dispersion Imaging: Mapping Oscillating Gradient Spin-Echo Frequency Dependence In The Human Brain., Aidin Arbabi, Jason Kai, Ali R Khan, Corey A Baron

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

PURPOSE: Oscillating gradient spin-echo (OGSE) diffusion MRI provides information about the microstructure of biological tissues by means of the frequency dependence of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). ADC dependence on OGSE frequency has been explored in numerous rodent studies, but applications in the human brain have been limited and have suffered from low contrast between different frequencies, long scan times, and a limited exploration of the nature of the ADC dependence on frequency.

THEORY AND METHODS: Multiple frequency OGSE acquisitions were acquired in healthy subjects at 7T to explore the power-law frequency dependence of ADC, the "diffusion dispersion." Furthermore, a …

The Association Between Problematic Internet Use, Depressive Symptoms, Selfesteem, And Personality Traits, Basma Mubarak Yaslam Bensumaidea

Theses

A number of international studies have investigated the association between problematic internet use (PIU), personality traits, and psychopathology, however, despite their widespread prevalence, such investigations in the Middle East region remain rare. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between PIU and depression, self-esteem, and personality traits in a sample of 350 university students, aged between 17 and 33 years (mage=20.69, SD=2.14), who were residents in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants completed several assessments of sociodemographic variables, a validated measure of PIU, depression, self-esteem, and a measure of their personality traits. A total of 75.1% of the sample was determined …

Depressed & Dis-Eased: Storytelling, Melancholia And The Rhetorical Affordances Of Affect, Carlee Franklin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Because racial oppression is often internalized, this thesis examines literature written by POC about protagonists of color struggling with depression. The pieces are Gwendolyn Brooks’ Maud Martha, Haruki Murakami’s “Tony Takitani,” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Using literary concepts informed by Black feminist theory, decolonial theory, and affect studies, as well as rhetorical frameworks of silence and listening, this thesis attempts to better understand how the relationship between depression and racial oppression work to color the life expectancy and perspectives of depressed people of color

Scope Of Attention Variation As A Function Of Anxiety And Depression, Kathleen Anne O'Donnell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As a social species, correct emotional perception is so vital, that the human brain has evolved a mechanism to control attentional choices by exerting a narrowed field of perception during danger, called the scope of attention (SoA). The SoA determines what information will be focused on or ignored by blocking the perception of non-relevant items and increasing selective focus on danger; even if danger is merely a sad-face. The emotional items blocked from perception cannot be remembered because they were never perceived. But, attention-control to emotional stimuli also varies with mood, as seen in mood-disorders. A mood-disorder’s effect upon the …

Attraction To Both Genders And The Link To Depression Mediated By The Big Five And Permissiveness In Relationships, Jolene Elizabeth Wyman

Masters Theses

The outcome of depression has been well established for sexual minorities. This can be seen in particular within the research regarding those who are attracted to both genders (ABG). The lifestyle choice of nonmonogamous or open relationships is commonly found in ABG relationships. These behaviors demonstrate the concept of permissiveness in relationships. The negative effect of the nonmonogamous lifestyle yields mixed results of either no developed psychopathologies and more personal satisfaction or in developed psychopathologies such as depression. Conscientiousness is often negatively correlated to ABG, permissive behavior in relationships, and depression. The current hypothesis is that conscientiousness and permissiveness in …

Savoring The Moment: A Link Between Affectivity And Depression, Ian J. Kahrilas, Jennifer L. Smith, Rebecca L. Silton, Fred B. Bryant

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Objective: Positive affectivity (PA; disposition to experience positive moods) and negative affectivity (NA; disposition to experience negative moods) may be risk factors for depression. Low PA may impair positive emotion regulation (savoring), potentially exacerbating depression. Understanding the mechanisms in which temporal domains of savoring influence the relationship between affectivity and depression may help advance depression treatments.

Method: 1,618 participants (1,243 females; 70.0% Caucasian, 19.1% Asian, 4.5% African American, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 0.7% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 4.9% Biracial) ages 17 - 40 (M = 18.99, SD = 1.33) completed questionnaires. An exploratory path analysis was run with …