Psychology Commons^™

Moving Through Depression: Development Of A Dance/Movement Therapy Method In Psychiatric Inpatient Care, Melissa Olmedo

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Short-term psychiatric hospitalization is a challenging health care model due to its short duration of care, treating the highest risk psychiatric population. Priority care within a short-term psychiatric hospitalization involves monitoring a patient’s safety for stabilization by decreasing acute mental health symptoms. Holistic psychotherapy treatment options are needed to meet the severity of patients’ symptoms for effective stabilization within a short-term model of care. This paper investigates the first implementation of a dance/movement therapy (DMT) method within two short-term units in a notable Boston hospital. The DMT group called Mindful Movement was facilitated weekly as single sessions to adults ranging …

Rhythm And Safety Of Social Engagement: Polyvagal Theory Informed Dance/Movement Therapy, Suzanne Weare

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The polyvagal theory has exerted great influence on the field of clinical therapy since the 1990s by proposing an understanding of the psychological expression seen in clients as a reflection of their physiological state of safety or threat of danger. When affect and psychological states are viewed through the lens of the autonomic nervous system directed by neuroception through bidirectional vagal nerve information, therapeutic presence and somatic therapy practices, such as those utilized in the field of dance/movement therapy, become more conceivable as best practices to treat a variety of psychological conditions to include trauma recovery, autism spectrum disorders, and …

Examination Of Sleep Disturbance, Anxiety Sensitivity, And Depression In An Undergraduate Sample, Dasha Grace

Honors Theses

Sleep contributes to overall well-being, mental health, and daily functioning. Sleep disturbances negatively affect psychological, physiological, and biological processing, and the quality of sleep is similarly affected by these processes. The effects of sleep disturbance call for a greater understanding of depression and anxiety sensitivity among college students. Studies have found that sleep disturbance affects nearly 90% of the college student population. The aims of the current study were to examine: 1) types and rates of sleep disturbance among a sample of college students, 2) associations between sleep disturbance, AS, and depression symptoms, and 3) AS and depression symptoms by …

Socioeconomic Status And Symptoms Of Anxiety And Depression In Pregnant Women, Meagan Mandabach

Honors Theses

Pregnancy is a period of great change in a woman’s body as her baby develops. During this period, women commonly experience symptoms of anxiety (Dennis et al., 2017) and depression (Shidhaye & Giri, 2014). Literature has suggested that socioeconomic status (SES) can contribute to the severity at which pregnant women experience anxiety and depression (Arora & Aeri, 2019; Field et al., 2008; Shagufta & Shams, 2019), and women of low socioeconomic status may be more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression during pregnancy (Field et al., 2008). The present study aimed to assess the relationships between household income …

The Effects Of Antibiotics And Probiotics On Memory And Depression Across Age Groups, Amanda Powell

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The gut-brain axis is a bidirectional pathway that acts as a connection between the gut and the brain. Bacterial changes in the gut alter this pathway, affecting organism’s health, cognition, and behavior. Commensal bacteria in the gut can reduce inflammation and increase longevity while pathogenic bacteria can have opposite effects. Reduced commensal gut bacteria can result in an increase in stress activation, depression, and anxiety in both human and animal models. Increases in commensal bacteria and decreases in pathobiontic bacteria can decrease hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) system activation, anxious behavior, and depressive behavior. Alternatively, increases in pathobionts can lead to …

An Investigation Of Anxiety- And Depression-Like Behavior After Head Trauma In Mice, Sean K. Payne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every year around 2 million people in the United States (US) suffer a traumatic brain injury. Those people are often at a higher risk of post-TBI psychiatric illness, like anxiety and depression. Animal models of TBI are a useful way to measure such psychiatric illnesses in a pre-clinical setting. There were two purposes of this study: the first being to test the modified Marmarou TBI model, and second to investigate anxiety- and depression-like symptoms in C57Bl6/J mice following a TBI. The modified Marmarou model used different weights (95g, 30g, & sham) to see how severity affected the manifestation of anxiety-like …

Peer Acceptance In The Lunchroom And Children’S Internalizing Symptoms, Jake Steggerda

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is evidence to suggest that the context of the school lunchrooms provides children with rich opportunities for enhancing or hampering the quality of their relationships (Craig, Gregus, Elledge, Pastrana, & Cavell, 2016; Steggerda et al., in preparation). Although past research has linked children’s peer acceptance to their level of internalizing symptoms, few studies have examined peer acceptance within the lunchroom context. This study extends that work by examining associations between lunchroom peer acceptance (assessed via self- and peer-reports) and children’s internalizing symptoms. Participants were 676 fourth-grade students (50.7% female; 42.7% Hispanic/Latino, 30.3% White, 10% Pacific Islander, and 17% other) …

Depressive Symptoms And Survival Among Lung Cancer Patients: Biomarkers And Potential Benefits Of An Ipod- And Mindfulness-Based Intervention., Chelsea J. Siwik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lung cancer patients experience high levels of distress, which commonly manifests as depressive symptoms. Importantly, depressive symptoms have demonstrated prognostic significance in cancer contexts, although the biological pathways by which depressive symptoms lead to poorer survival remain unclear and warrant greater attention. In addition to understanding the biological pathways by which depressive symptoms accelerate disease, identification of efficacious and effective psychological treatments for depressive symptoms are needed to improve both quality and quantity of life for cancer patients. Interventions that reduce depressive symptoms and improve downstream clinical outcomes are certainty needed; however, because many cancer patients face considerable burden, interventions …

The Intersection Of Mindfulness And Gratitude: Examining The Roles Of Gratitude And Mindfulness Practices Within A 4-Week Mindfulness-Based Intervention On Depressive Symptoms In Undergraduates., Allison Rodgers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The practice and research of mindfulness has increased exponentially in recent decades; however, the study of gratitude maintains modest growth. While the overlap between gratitude and mindfulness may be intuitive, empirical investigation is lacking. The present study sought to investigate the relative and combined influence of mindfulness and gratitude with symptoms of depression in undergraduates. The current study explored these constructs in the context of a mindfulness-based intervention known as Koru. One hundred undergraduate participants provided self-report measures of demographics, mindfulness, gratitude, and symptoms of depression prior to the intervention and again immediately following. Participants were required to complete electronic …

The Effects Of The Atypical Dopamine Uptake Inhibitor Ce-158 On Extracellular Dopamine In The Nucleus Accumbens, Julia Neri

Honors Scholar Theses

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is characterized by symptoms such as cognitive dysfunctions, inflammatory changes, and motivational symptoms such as amotivation, fatigue, and anergia. While depressed people are commonly treated by traditional antidepressants such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), previous studies have reported that SSRI medications do not treat fatigue and anergia symptoms well, and in some cases, can even worsen those symptoms. Subjects treated with dopamine (DA) uptake inhibitors, on the other hand, have been less likely to report symptoms of anergia and fatigue compared to those treated with SSRIs. Common DA uptake inhibitors such as methylphenidate and amphetamines, however, …

The Effectiveness Of Implementing A Collaborative Mental Health Approach On Quality Of Life For Individuals Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Tyler Z. Tooley

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The ultimate purpose of this study is to provide insight and education to mental health clinicians, politicians and the general public of the numerous effects poverty has on mental health, in addition to the most beneficial ways to combat those insidious effects. The specific barriers met by individuals of low socioeconomic status severely affect psychological and physical health, as well as social and environmental relationships, which therefore diminish overall quality of life. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of implementing a collaborative mental health approach for low income individuals on length of engagement in services and …

Motivating Clients To Exercise: Improving Adherence To Exercise-Based Treatment Through Psychoeducation, Reed Andrew Vierra

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Exercise has been consistently shown to have a positive effect on both physical and mental health, with past studies indicating exercise as an adjunctive treatment for diagnoses such as Major Depressive Disorder. However, despite the knowledge of exercise’s benefits, 80% of Americans do not regularly meet recommended levels of exercise in a week. Past studies have been hampered by high drop-out rates, as participants have difficulty sustaining a new exercise regimen over time. This study focused on understanding the motivational processes which sustained experienced exercisers. With the information gleaned from experienced exercisers in addition to past research on human motivation, …

Preferences In Information Processing, Marginalized Identity, And Non-Monogamy: Understanding Factors In Suicide-Related Behavior Among Members Of The Alternative Sexuality Community, Robert J. Cramer, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Andrea R. Kaniuka, Corrine N. Wilsey, Annelise Mennicke, Susan Wright, Erika Montanaro, Jessamyn Bowling, Kristin E. Heron

Psychology Faculty Publications

Suicide-related behavior (SRB) is a mental health disparity experienced by the alternative sexuality community. We assessed mental health, relationship orientation, marginalized identities (i.e., sexual orientation minority, gender minority, racial minority, ethnic minority, and lower education), and preferences in information processing (PIP) as factors differentiating lifetime SRB groups. An online cross-sectional survey study was conducted in 2018. Members of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF; n = 334) took part. Bivariate analyses identified the following SRB risk factors: female and transgender/gender non-binary identity, sexual orientation minority identity, lower education, suicide attempt/death exposure, Need for Affect (NFA) Avoidance, depression, and anxiety. …

Depressive Symptoms As A Moderator Of Diurnal Trends In Reward Seeking, Erick Albert William Rogers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Anhedonia, a cardinal symptom of a major depressive episode, is the decreased motivation to seek rewards. Individuals with depressive symptoms tend to report reduced positive affect, a distal measure of reward motivation, and engage in less reward-motivated behavior (i.e., reward seeking). However, diurnal rhythms may also influence reward-seeking. Both self-reported positive affect and behavioral measures of reward-seeking increase from the morning to the afternoon and then decreased in the evening. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether reward-seeking varied across time of day and whether anhedonia moderated variation. Overall, reward-seeking did not vary across time of day. …

Promoting Resilience In Self-Management (Prism): Adverse Childhood Experiences And Impacts On Emotion Regulation, Kasey Ann Macedo

Honors Scholar Theses

PRISM (Promoting Resilience in Self-Management) is a mindfulness-based intervention that aims to strengthen emotion regulation skills among individuals by employing cognitive behavioral therapy components. The purpose of the current study is to identify the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depression, as well as to examine the changes in emotion regulation strategies of participants by comparing pre and post test data. The participants were voluntarily recruited from the Cornerstone Foundation, a homeless shelter, food pantry, and community center in Vernon, CT. The 13 participants completed PRISM through four weeks of two-hour workshop sessions in a small-group format. Results indicate …

Influences Of Salvinorin A And Sex Differences On Depressive- And Anxiety-Like Behaviors In A Chronic Mild Stress Paradigm, Sarah Mitchell

Theses

Kappa opioid receptors are colocalized with dopamine receptors and are frequently associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and drug use and abuse. KOR antagonism has widely been considered anti-depressive and anxiolytic in animal models while agonism is pro-depressive and anxiogenic. However, recent findings suggest that SalvA, a natural kappa agonist derived from a plant in the mint family, can reduce depressive- and anxiety-like behavior in rats. The current study investigated the effects of chronic mild stress on behavior, attenuation by SalvA, and sex differences. 52 Long-Evans rats, 26 males and 26 females, were exposed to six weeks of CMS. Animals received …

Neural Activity During Self-Referential Processing In Children At Risk For Depression., Pan Liu, Matthew R J Vandermeer, Marc F Joanisse, Deanna M Barch, David J A Dozois, Elizabeth P Hayden

Psychology Publications

BACKGROUND: According to cognitive theories of depression, more negative and less positive self-schemas are thought to play a causal role in the disorder. Existing evidence speaks to the neural substrates of self-referential processes in both healthy and depressed individuals, but little is known about how the brain relates to self-referential processing in the context of depression risk in children. We therefore studied the neural substrates of self-referential processing in never-depressed preadolescent children at high and low risk for depression based on maternal depression history.

METHODS: A total of 87 never-depressed 10-12-year-old children (29 with maternal depression) completed a self-referential encoding …

Exploring How Media Portrayals Of Mental Health Affect Public Perceptions Through Devised Theatre, Lauren Lash

Honors Projects

A performance piece and this corresponding paper serve as my honors project, which has two main foci: devised theatre and how the media affects perceptions of mental health. This packet is a documentation of the rehearsal process and sources that influenced the piece and a link to the piece itself. Documenting the rehearsal process included a list of songs, rehearsal plans, rehearsal schedules, and my reflections on the process. Helpful sources included a photo release form, which allowed me to include a recording in this packet, and my annotated bibliography included sources about devising, portraying mental health in theatre, and …

Validating The Collegiate Optimism Orientation Test And Exploring Its Correlation To Gpa And Mental Health Among College Students, Emilia Bingham

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Collegiate Optimism Orientation Test (COOT) was designed to provide a more specific and accurate understanding of an individual’s optimism in a collegiate setting. The current study investigates the reliability and validity of the COOT in order to demonstrate its usefulness as a measure of optimism in college students and examines the relationship between optimism and both mental health and GPA. Participants were gathered using online survey websites, one of which was specific for students at Brigham Young University specifically and the other of which was open to any college student in the United States. Participants took a survey consisting …

What’S In A Name? How The Language Of Mental Health Diagnoses Affects The Ability To Heal, Elizabeth Marston, Samuel Marion

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

When a person receives a mental health diagnosis, they are often started down a path of receiving help, but also of receiving stigma. This presentation will discuss how language around a diagnosis can affect a child’s sense of self as well as either help or hurt a student’s ability to manage and heal.

Treating Depressive Disorders With The Unified Protocol: A Preliminary Randomized Evaluation, Shannon Sauer-Zavala, Kate H. Bentley, Stephanie Jarvi Steele, Julianne Wilner Tirpak, Amantia A. Ametaj, Maya Nauphal, Nicole Cardona, Mengxing Wang, Todd J. Farchione, David H. Barlow

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study aims to examine the efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) for individuals diagnosed with a depressive disorder. Method: Participants included 44 adults who met criteria for major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, or another specified depressive disorder according to the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule (ADIS). These individuals represent a subset of patients from a larger clinical trial comparing the UP to single-disorder protocols (SDPs) for discrete anxiety disorders and a waitlist control (WLC) condition (Barlow et al., 2017); inclusion criteria for the parent study required participants to have a principal anxiety …

Empty Cribs: Infertility Challenges For Orthodox Jewish Couples, Itay Kohane

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation discusses an issue that is of importance to many people throughout their lifetime—infertility. One in every eight couples (12%) is incapable of carrying a pregnancy to term after one year of natural attempts. This paper further examines the prevalence of infertility among couples, bringing into focus more common variables such as gender and age. But, going beyond these, the present study will demonstrate that other variables including stressors such as social factors, interpersonal dynamics, and personal judgment affect couples in a manner which indirectly reduces their chances of conceiving a child. This research will touch on a number …

Inflammation, Depression, And Anxiety Disorder: A Population-Based Study Examining The Association Between Interleukin-6 And The Experiencing Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms, Sean Teck Hao Lee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The uncovering of a positive association between inflammatory cytokine levels – Interkleukin-6 (IL-6) in particular – and the experiencing of depressive and anxiety symptoms is one of the most promising and enthusiastically-discussed finding in recent years. Despite considerable ambiguity in the directionality and underpinnings of this association, anti-inflammatory drugs are already being tested on mental health patients who present no physical symptoms of inflammation, risking potential adverse side effects. Researchers have thus urgently called for more rigorous empirical elucidations of this association. Based on a large, longitudinal, nationally representative sample of middle-aged adults in the United States (N = 1255), …

The Glass Is Always Half Empty: Anm Analysis Of The Negative Worldviews For Those With Atxiety And Depression, Bradley Marcy

Augsburg Honors Review

Since it was first proposed by Leon Festinger in the 1950s, cognitive dissonance theory has been the subject of many research papers. Explorations have expanded the theory to provide further insight into the conditions required for this phenomenon to occur, how it can be observed, and how it affects judgment. Cognitive dissonance has also proved useful in creating new ways to treat various mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety. The success of this type of therapy implies that there may be a stronger connection between these two topics that are often discussed apart from each other. This paper will …

Regulating Positive Emotions: Implications For Promoting Well-Being In Individuals With Depression, Rebecca L. Silton

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Experiencing positive emotions is paramount to derive vitality from daily lived experiences. Positive emotions are associated with a range of beneficial outcomes, including longevity, reduced incidents of stroke, improved sleep quality, larger social networks, increased prosocial behavior, lower cortisol levels, and increased endogenous opioids and oxytocin. Despite these benefits, only limited research has focused on understanding positive emotion regulation within the context of depression. Rather, mechanisms related to the regulation of negative emotion have been the focus of research and evidence-based treatments. This interdisciplinary review article aims to advance knowledge regarding the role of positive emotion regulation in individuals with …

Relationship Between Body Image Dissatisfaction And Disordered Eating: Mediating Effect Of Selfesteem And Depression Among Female University Students, Agatha Teni Wunyala-Bukari

Psychology Theses

The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating and to examine whether depression and self - Esteem mediate the relationship. The sample consisted of 186 undergraduate and post graduate female university students. Data collection tools were the Body-Image Ideals Questionnaire (BIQ), the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26), the Rosenburg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) software and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used for the analysis of data. The findings of this study showed a significant positive correlation between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. In …

Humor As A Moderator Of Neuroticism’S Effect On Psychopathology And Life Satisfaction, Adir Pinchot

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research studies evaluated self-enhancing humor (also referred to as coping humor) as a coping strategy that enables an individual to better manage the negative emotions elicited by external stressors. Research has not, however, adequately considered the role that humor may play for neurotic individuals who are characterized by a propensity to experience stress and negative emotions and are, therefore, more susceptible to developing depression, anxiety, and low life satisfaction. Nor has research adequately explored how self-enhancing humor interacts with the maladaptive form of self-directed humor, namely, self-defeating humor. This study attempts to address these lacunae by analyzing whether self-enhancing …

Breaking Away: The Role Of Homeostatic Drive In Perpetuating Depression, Jonathan Tory Toole

Theses and Dissertations

The brain can be considered a complicated system of feedback mechanisms that maintain physiological homeostasis. Through psychological activity, neurochemicals act as homeostatic regulators. This study proposes that these components are part of a regulatory system that is capable of supporting multiple homeostatic regimes that, in turn, give rise to self-sustaining psychological behaviors. This project hypothesizes that such alternate regulatory programs may play a role in perpetuating psychological dysfunction. Interactions within and between components of the neurotransmitter network are represented as a set of discrete logic circuits. Neurotransmitter levels are linked to psychological constructs such as depression based on current literature. …

Dysfunctional Beliefs As Moderators Of The Association Between Personality Dysfunction And Negative Emotion, Syeda Zahura

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the potential role of dysfunctional beliefs as moderators of the association between personality dysfunction and negative emotion. Specifically, we focused on three negative emotions, depression, social anxiety, and anger. There was a total of 454 participants, 210 males, and 243 females, all 18 years of age or older, recruited on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and SJU Psychology Department’s subject pool. We found that personality dysfunction and dysfunctional thinking are associated with negative emotional outcomes. Higher levels of personality dysfunction and higher levels of dysfunctional thinking were associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and anger. In a …

Support For Screening And Intervening On Adolescent Depression: Provider-Reported Training Outcomes, Leah Rose Lalonde

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Given the potential consequences of untreated adolescent depression and the prevalence of untreated mental health among adolescents, the American Academy of Pediatrics has strongly recommended active support and monitoring of depressive symptoms in pediatric primary care. Primary care providers (PCPs), however, do not have sufficient training to provide this level of care, contributing to low rates of identification and management of depression. The purpose of the current pilot study was to evaluate a training aimed at supporting providers in the management of adolescent depression. Results demonstrated that providers were accepting of the training and that provider knowledge of depression management …