Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: Middle-aged persons--Psychology.
- All Subjects: Regulatory Flexibility
- Genre: Academic theses
- Creators: Infurna, Frank J.
- Creators: Mistretta, Erin
- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Interpersonal strain is linked with depressive symptoms in middle-aged adults. Self-compassion is an emerging resilience construct that may be advantageous in navigating relationship strain by helping individuals respond to emotions in a kind and nonjudgmental way. Although theory and empirical evidence suggests that self-compassion is protective against the impact of stress on mental health outcomes, many studies have not investigated how self-compassion operates in the context of relationship strain. In addition, few studies have examined psychological or physiological mechanisms by which self-compassion protects against mental health outcomes, depression in particular. Thus, this study examined 1) the extent to which trait self-compassion buffers the relation between family strain and depressive symptoms, and 2) whether these buffering effects are mediated by hope and inflammatory processes (IL-6) in a sample of 762 middle-aged, community-dwelling adults. Results from structural equation models indicated that family strain was unrelated to depressive symptoms and the relation was not moderated by self-compassion. Hope, but not IL-6, mediated the relation between family strain and depressive symptoms and the indirect effect was not conditional on levels of self-compassion. Taken together, the findings suggest that family strain may lead individuals to experience less hope and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms, and further, that a self-compassionate attitude does not affect this relation. Implications for future self-compassion interventions are discussed.
ContributorsMistretta, Erin (Author) / Davis, Mary C. (Thesis advisor) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Lifespan psychological perspectives have long suggested the context in which individuals live having the potential to shape the course of development across the adult lifespan. Thus, it is imperative to examine the role of both the objective and subjective neighborhood context in mitigating the consequences of lifetime adversity on mental and physical health. To address the research questions, data was used from a sample of 362 individuals in midlife who were assessed on lifetime adversity, multiple outcomes of mental and physical health and aspects of the objective and subjective neighborhood. Results showed that reporting more lifetime adversity was associated with poorer mental and physical health. Aspects of the objective and subjective neighborhood, such as green spaces moderated these relationships. The discussion focuses on potential mechanisms underlying why objective and subjective indicators of the neighborhood are protective against lifetime adversity.
ContributorsStaben, Omar E (Author) / Infurna, Frank J. (Thesis advisor) / Luthar, Suniya S. (Committee member) / Grimm, Kevin J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This study investigated low regulatory flexibility as a mechanism of the associations of rumination with affect, internalizing symptoms, and substance use and problems. 403 first-year college students completed an online baseline survey assessing rumination, regulatory flexibility, internalizing symptoms, alcohol use, cannabis use, alcohol problems, and cannabis problems. Roughly 2.67 months later, 261 of these participants completed a follow-up survey assessing internalizing symptoms and substance use and problems. Additionally, 71 of the 403 participants completed an experimental study. Thirty-three participants were randomly assigned to undergo a rumination induction, and 38 were assigned to a control condition. All lab participants underwent an interpersonal stress task during which regulatory flexibility was observed and completed pre-test and post-role-play measures of positive and negative affect. Experimental study results showed regulatory flexibility did not mediate effects of rumination induction on positive (indirect effect: standardized beta (β)=-0.01, unstandardized beta (b)=-0.12, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [-0.64, 0.41], p=.66) or negative affect (indirect effect: β=0.01, b=0.17, 95% CI [-0.29, 0.63], p=.48). Longitudinal study results showed regulatory flexibility did not mediate associations between baseline rumination and follow-up internalizing symptoms (indirect effect: b=0.01, 95% CI [-0.03, 0.05], p=.57), alcohol use (indirect effect: b=-0.03, 95% CI [-0.09, 0.04], p=.39), cannabis use (indirect effect: b=0.10, 95% CI [-0.06, 0.26], p=.21), alcohol problems (indirect effect: b=-0.05, 95% CI [-0.18, 0.07], p=.40), or cannabis problems (indirect effect: b=-0.10, 95% CI [-0.36, 0.16], p=.43). However, rumination predicted greater internalizing symptoms (Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR)=1.26, b=0.23, 95% CI [0.08, 0.37], p=.003) and cannabis problems (IRR=1.73, b=0.55, 95% CI [0.23, 0.87], p=.001). Regulatory flexibility predicted fewer alcohol use days (IRR=0.76, b=-0.27, 95% CI [-0.49, -0.05], p=.015) and problems (IRR=0.58, b=-0.55, 95% CI [-0.95, -0.15], p=.007), and less cannabis use for women (IRR=0.59, b=-0.53, 95% CI [-0.92, -0.14], p=.007) and fewer cannabis problems for men (IRR=0.21, b=-1.55, 95% CI [-2.50, -0.60], p=.001). Lack of agreement about how best to measure regulatory flexibility makes it unclear whether null associations were due to measurement problems or actual null effects. Research on how best to measure this construct is a priority. Findings indicate rumination and regulatory flexibility may be promising intervention targets.
ContributorsHill, Melanie Laurel (Author) / Meier, Madeline H (Thesis advisor) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / Luecken, Linda J. (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020