Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Does Social Problem-Solving Moderate The Relationship Between Physical Functioning And Depression In Als Patients?, Melissa Dillon Horowitz

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive and ultimately fatal neurological disease that interferes with the normative functions of the upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Depression has been found across disease stages in some ALS patients, but not all. Investigations that examined the association between physical functioning and depression in ALS patients produced mixed findings. To date, the role of social problem solving has not yet been explored in the ALS population. Thus, the current study examined the relationship between social problem solving, physical functioning, and depression in …

Peer Victimization, Depression, And Suicidality In Adolescents, Anat Brunstein Klomek, Frank Marrocco, Marjorie Kleinman, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Madelyn S. Gould

Publications and Research

The association between specific types of peer victimization with depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among adolescents was examined. A self-report survey was completed by 2,342 high-school students. Regression analyses indicated that frequent exposure to all types of peer victimization was related to high risk of depression, ideation, and attempts compared to students not victimized. Infrequent victimization was also related to increased risk, particularly among females. The more types of victimization the higher the risk for depression and suicidality among both genders. Specific types of peer victimization are a potential risk factor for adolescent depression and suicidality. It is important …

Even Fighters Get The Blues, Randy Borum

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Peer Victimization, Depression, And Suicidality In Adolescents, Anat Brunstein Klomek, Frank Marrocco, Marjorie Kleinman, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Madelyn S. Gould

Publications and Research

Objective: To assess the association between bullying behavior and depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among adolescents. Method: A self-report survey was completed by 9th- through 12th-grade students (n = 2342) in six New York State high schools from 2002 through 2004. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between being victimized and bullying others with depression, ideation, and attempts. Results: Approximately 9% of the sample reported being victimized frequently, and 13% reported bullyingothers frequently. Frequent exposure to victimization or bullying others was related to high risks of depression, ideation, and suicide attempts compared …

Analysis Of The Goodwin Sentence Completion Test In The Screening Of Clinical Depression, Karyn L. Goodwin-Tribble

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The Goodwin Sentence Completion Test (GSCT) was developed as a screening instrument for clinical depression. This instrument, composed of 25 sentence stems, was designed to indicate the level depression and to assess the strength of negative perceptions associated with dimensions of the cognitive triad (self, world, and future). Although the GSCT follows the typical format of most projective sentence completion tests, an objective scoring method was also constructed in order to evaluate more reliably individual results. The tool was administered to 80 adult volunteers ranging in age from 18 to 72 years of age. Volunteers were randomly selected from a …

Integrative Therapeutic Approach Combining Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For The Treatment Of Recurrent Depression In An Adult Client , William J. Librizzi, Iii

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is the most often diagnosed psychiatric illness worldwide, with prevalence rates indicating that as many as 25% of the population during their lifetimes will experience symptoms of MDD (Holmes, 1997). Therapies that focus on restructuring the client's cognitions have been shown to be effective in the treatment of this disorder. For some clients, however, reoccurring depressive episodes are common and symptom reduction is infrequent. The research of Worthington (1988) suggests that the highly religious client may actually see the world in a uniquely differently way than does the non-religious. These individuals utilize more religious schema and …

Relationship Between Discontinuation Of Anti-Depressant Medication During Pregnancy And Development Of Postpartum Depression, Maria Palombo Murphy

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious and potentially debilitating disorder that frequently goes undetected due to stigma and a lack of understanding about its course and etiology. The factor of particular interest to this study concerns the relationship between discontinuation of anti-depressant medication in pregnancy and the development of PPD. The study examined how the variables of pregnancy mood, child care stress, emotional support, instrumental support, marital satisfaction, history of depression, baby temperament, birth experience, and medication status affect symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) in a sample of 202 patients at the six-week postpartum check-up. In addition to a demographic …

Older Adults And Depression : The Relationships Between Distorted Thinking, Quality Of Life And Depressive Themes, Carissa Y. Ferguson

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study analyzed the relationships between depression, distorted thinking and quality of life in an elderly population. Ninety non-depressed and 72 depressed individuals were interviewed and administered 3 self report measures. The study results demonstrate that: (a) Those who reported greater numbers of cognitive distortions, reported lower quality of life than those who reported less cognitive distortions; (b) depressed individuals reported lower quality of life than non-depressed individuals; (c) depressed individuals endorsed more distorted thinking phrases than non-depressed individuals and (d) depressed individuals reported more subcategories of cognitive distortions than nondepressed individuals. The results of this study support the ideas …

Coping And Psychological Hardiness And Their Relationship To Depression In Older Adults , Dianne E. Schellenberg

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The roles of coping strategies and psychological hardiness as these affect the relationships to depression in older adults were explored in a population of older adult residents who had recently relocated to long-term-care nursing home facilities. Older adults experience many losses and subsequent stressors as a result of normal aging; therefore, the additional stress that accompanies loss of familiar surroundings and support systems and the relocation to new and unfamiliar surroundings can have a significant impact on physical and psychological well being. A total of 91 residents participated in this study. Coping abilities were evaluated in terms of social problem-solving …

Realism Or Distortion In Predicting And Evaluating Exam Performance Among Depressed And Nondepressed Students, Michael J. Kinney

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Cognitive behavioral theories suggest that depressed people have negatively distorted and inaccurate perceptions and cognitions. The present study measures the accuracy of cognitions by comparing predictions made by depressed and by nondepressed students when they estimate the scores they will earn on an examination. It also compares depressed and nondepressed students on their levels of satisfaction with their exam scores. No difference was found between depressed and nondepressed students in either their predictions of their exam grades or their level of satisfaction with their exam grades. This study fails to support the notion that depression correlates with negative cognitive distortions. …

Correspondence Of Self- And Observer-Rated Depression Using The Bdi-Ii And Bdi-Ii-O, Linda A. Longan

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study describes the development, reliability, and validity of a new observer-rated version of the Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (BDI-II). This measure, called the Beck Depression Inventory – II – Observer (BDI-II-O), is identical in form, content, and scoring to the BDI-II, and allows informants to report on the depressive symptoms of others. The informants for this initial study were clinicians; however, the BDI-II-O is designed for use by a wider range of informants. A group of four clinicians completed the BDI-II-O on each of 36 adult psychiatric patients in an intensive outpatient/partial hospitalization program. The patients completed …

How Individuals Understand Depression: Attributions, Stigma, And Treatment Recommendations, Erin A. Pladsen

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined participants' beliefs/attributions about depression, their help seeking recommendations for depressed individuals, and the stigma associated with depression. Participants were asked to read a vignette that described a target person who is suffering from depression, and they were asked to complete various questionnaires based upon the vignette. Overall, the results indicated that individuals did not possess negative attitudes toward mental illness, that individuals more strongly recommended professional mental health assistance, and that individuals did not tend to stigmatize depressed individuals. Results did indicate that the label of depression and the gender of the target person affected provider type …

Perceived Paternal Style And Its Relationship To The Child's Explanatory Style And Depression, Janice E. Halecki

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Seligman' (1974) theory of learned helplessness and the reformulated hopelessness depression model (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989) suggest that a learned sense of lack of control can lead to a pessimistic explanatory style and subsequently depression. The current study used a retrospective cross-sectional design to investigate whether issues of parental control and affection in the early family environment are associated with the individual's explanatory style and history of depression in adulthood.

The participants,158 undergraduate students, completed self-report measures to assess their level of depressive symptoms, perception of their parents' behavior, and negative stressful events.

Perception of a high level of …

Depression And Social Support As Moderators Of Withon-Person Relationships Between Daily Events And Daily Adjustments During Adolescence, Rebecca M. Plesko

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Everyday for 2 weeks, adolescents described the events that occurred each day and provided measures of their daily self-esteem and depressogenic adjustment. Adolescents also provided trait measures of depression and social support. Within-person relationships were found between social and achievement, positive and negative daily events and daily adjustment. Depression and social support moderated specific within-person relationships. Less well-adjusted adolescents were more reactive to social positive events than better-adjusted adolescents, but surprisingly, better-adjusted adolescents were more reactive to social negative events than less well-adjusted adolescents. Better-adjusted adolescents were also more reactive to achievement positive events than less well-adjusted adolescents. Girls were …

The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity, Self-Esteem, Emotional Well-Being And Depression Among Lakota/Dakota Sioux Adolescents, Susan M. Pittenger

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Despite conceptual support linking ethnic identity and psychological adjustment among Native Americans, empirical research examining this relationship remains limited. In light of recent developments in the area of ethnic identity research, including alternative conceptual models, improved methodologies, and more sophisticated measures, this study examined the relationship between ethnic identity, self-esteem, emotional well-being, and depression among Native American reservation youth.

The relationship between the predictor variables of American Indian ethnic identity, White-American identity and bicultural identity, and the criterion measures of self-esteem, emotional well-being, and depression were examined for 137 Lakota/Dakota Sioux reservation youth. Participants completed surveys including the Multigroup Ethnic …

Assessing Stress In Teachers: Depressive Symptoms Scales And Neutral Self-Reports Of The Work Environment, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

The focal interest of this chapter on teacher stress is methodologic. The chapter enumerates a number of defects in existing measures of job stress in teachers and, concomitantly, other helping professionals. Alternative ways of measuring stress in teachers are suggested and evaluated. The use of depressive symptom scales in concert with more 'objective' measures of the work environment is discussed. An application of the proposed alternative measurement strategy is described. The wider utility of the measurement strategy is briefly described.

Gender Effects On Recall, Clinical Judgement And Treatment Recommendations For A Combination Of Major Depression And Alcohol Dependence Symptoms, Jodi L. French

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the effect of client gender on several aspects of clinical decision-making processes and clinical judgement when a client presented with a combination of depressive and alcohol-dependent symptoms. Forty-four male and 44 female clinicians, who came from various mental health disciplines (i.e., psychology, social work, counseling, nursing, and psychiatry), volunteered to participate as subjects.

The subjects were assigned to hear one of four audiotapes (two male tapes and two female tapes) in which mock clients gave the same initial presentation of symptoms and problems. After listening to the tapes, the clinicians were asked to engage in a number …

Effects Of Volunteer Activity On Psychosocial Adjustment Among The Elderly, William R. Criss

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This research was carried out to determine if psychosocial adjustment improves for elderly persons engaged in volunteer activity. Questionnaires were completed by 27 persons aged 60 or over before and two months after beginning volunteer activity at one of 33 Florida community hospitals. A control group of 37 persons without hospital volunteer experience also completed these two questionnaires, which covered several aspects of psychosocial adjustment, including self-esteem, life satisfaction, sense of control, optimism, anxiety, depression and somatization. An analysis of covariance with repeated measures indicated that there was no significant improvement in subjective well-being associated with volunteer activity after accounting …

The Effects Of Coverant Control Therapy Under Two Different Conditions On Depression, Steven Brian Lucks

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Twenty seven undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to two treatment groups and one no treatment control group to assess the effects of Coverant Control Therapy (CCT) under 2 different conditions on depression. The research was an analogue study. The first treatment group received CCT in a didactic format, while the second treatment group received CCT in an encounter group format. The control group assembled jigsaw puzzles. All subjects were administered the Multiple Affective Adjective Check List (MAACL) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory "D" scale for pre-, post-, and followup testing. Groups met for 4 sessions. Separate one-way analyses …