Matching Items (7)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Depression
- All Subjects: Well-being
- Creators: Roberts, Nicole A.
- Status: Published
Description
Previous studies have established a link between parenting style (e.g. authoritarian, authoritative, permissive) and depression in children and adolescents. Parenting factors are also implicated in the development of emotion regulation. There is a gap in the literature, however, concerning perceptions of parenting in relation to adult depression. The current study examined the effect of parenting on reported adult depressive symptoms. Of interest was the role of emotion regulation strategies in this relationship. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk, and the sample consisted of 302 adults (125 males, 177 females) ranging in age from 18 to 65. Measures of how participants were parented by their mothers and fathers, emotion regulation strategies most frequently utilized, and current depressive symptoms were collected using an online survey. The emotion regulation strategy, positive reappraisal, was found to moderate the relation between maternal authoritative parenting and depression. Permissive parenting was also significantly predictive of depression, but catastrophizing fully mediated only the relation between maternal permissive parenting and depressive symptoms. Authoritarian parenting was unrelated to depression and emotion regulation in this study. The findings of this study indicate that the effects of how an individual was parented may persist into adulthood. Implications of these findings and future directions for further research are discussed.
ContributorsHuisstede, Lauren van (Author) / Miller, Paul A. (Thesis advisor) / Tinsley, Barbara (Committee member) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
ABSTRACT Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and insomnia are prevalent among United States (US) military veterans. This study investigates whether Brain Boosters, a new cognitive enhancement group therapy, improves symptoms of PTSD, depression, and insomnia among veterans completing the groups. The study population includes 64 US military veterans treated in the setting of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System in Phoenix, AZ. Group members were US military veterans, age 22 to 87 (mean age=53.47), who had served in or after World War II (WWII), who sought mental health care at the Phoenix VA from 2007 through 2011. Participants were treated with Brain Boosters therapy. They completed measures of mental-health related symptoms before and after this therapy. Participants were assessed pre and post group with the PTSD Checklist for military personnel (PCL-M), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; a measure of depression symptoms), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Statistical analyses were done with paired samples t-tests and McNemar's tests, using SPSS. The hypotheses were that symptoms of PTSD, depression, and insomnia would show statistically significant improvement with Brain Boosters therapy. Results supported the hypotheses that symptoms of PTSD and depression would improve significantly. Insomnia did not show significant improvement. The results showed the mean PCL-M score was 54.84 before Brain Boosters therapy and 51.35 after (p= 0.008). The mean PHQ-9 score was 15.21 before Brain Boosters therapy and 13.05 after (p= 0.002). The mean ISI score was 15.98 before Brain Boosters Therapy and 14.46 after (p= 0.056). Although this is a nonrandom, uncontrolled trial, findings nevertheless suggest that Brain Boosters may be an effective therapy to reduce PTSD symptom severity and depression symptom severity. This may be especially important for veterans seeking alternatives to pharmacological intervention or traditional therapeutic interventions.
ContributorsWalter, Christina M (Author) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Thesis advisor) / Burleson, Mary H. (Committee member) / Miller, Paul (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Humans are social beings, which means interpersonal relationships are important contributors to our psychological health. Our health and behavior is manifested through a dynamic cycle of interacting factors: environmental, personal, and behavioral. Contributing to this interaction, interpersonal relationships provide benefits such as increased social support and decreased loneliness. The care and attention of relationship partners are communicated in multiple ways, one of which is interpersonal touch. Although touch can communicate positive feelings and support, it can also be used negatively in certain contexts. Unwanted or forced touch occurs when an individual experiences sexual or physical trauma. Experiencing this type of trauma often results in negative psychological consequences. Exactly how sexual or physical trauma—both of which involve unwanted touch—might influence an individual’s attitudes towards touch is important to explore. If an individual feels negatively about interpersonal touch due to previous experience of trauma, this might negatively influence the amount of current touch with a partner, and also the survivor’s psychological well-being.
In the current study, I proposed that previous occurrence of sexual or physical trauma would predict both decreased frequency of touch in a current intimate relationship and poorer individual well-being, and that these relations would be explained by negative touch attitudes. Results supported these hypotheses, suggesting that lingering negative touch attitudes following trauma could be an underlying mechanism affecting social and individual functioning. As seen in our model, these attitudes fully mediated the effects between previous sexual or physical trauma and individual well-being, as well as frequency of touch. This understanding can help provide further insight into the repercussions of trauma and the underlying mechanisms attributing to continued negative effects.
In the current study, I proposed that previous occurrence of sexual or physical trauma would predict both decreased frequency of touch in a current intimate relationship and poorer individual well-being, and that these relations would be explained by negative touch attitudes. Results supported these hypotheses, suggesting that lingering negative touch attitudes following trauma could be an underlying mechanism affecting social and individual functioning. As seen in our model, these attitudes fully mediated the effects between previous sexual or physical trauma and individual well-being, as well as frequency of touch. This understanding can help provide further insight into the repercussions of trauma and the underlying mechanisms attributing to continued negative effects.
ContributorsHurd, Julie Ann (Author) / Burleson, Mary H (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Miller, Paul A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This study investigated the relation between Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) temperament and depression, and whether such a relation might be further influenced by the indirect effects of parenting environment and empathic personal distress. A moderated mediation model was proposed to explain the underlying relations among SPS, depression, parenting environment and empathic personal distress. That is, greater levels of SPS temperament might predict higher levels of empathic personal distress, which then leads to increasing likelihood of experiencing depression. Moreover, it was predicted that this mediation relation might be significantly stronger under a less positive parenting context. The present study recruited 661 participants from a U.S. university and implemented questionnaires in an online survey. There was a significant main effect of SPS temperament in predicting empathic personal distress and depression, such that the more sensitive individuals reported higher empathic personal distress and depression. There also was a significant main effect of parenting environment on depression, where more positive parenting was associated with less depression. Empathic personal distress was found to partially mediate the relation between SPS and depression. That is, the association between SPS and depression could be partially explained by empathic personal distress. However, parenting environment did not moderate the main effect of SPS temperament on depression, the main effect of SPS on empathic personal distress, or the mediation model.
ContributorsYang, Wenxi (Author) / Miller, Paul A. (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah L. (Committee member) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This study investigated the potential influences of a marital interaction involving affectionate touch and/or positive relationship-focused conversation on physiological reactivity to a subsequent laboratory stress task, and whether depressive symptoms moderated these relations. It was hypothesized that 1) the stress task would cause cardiac sympathetic activation and cardiac parasympathetic withdrawal; and that physical affection and/or positive conversation would 2) reduce sympathetic activation as indicated by cardiac interbeat interval (IBI), cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP), and finger pulse transit time (FPTT) and 3) reduce parasympathetic withdrawal (as indicated by respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) in response to stress. Further, we expected that, compared to those lower in reported depressive symptoms, those higher in depressive symptoms 4) would show blunted cardiovascular activation in response to stress across experimental conditions; and after engaging in a positive marital exchange, 5) would demonstrate a smaller interaction-related reduction in stress-related sympathetic activation; but 6) show no difference in interaction-related reduction of stress-related parasympathetic withdrawal. Participants were 183 married couples who were at least moderately happy in their marriages and in generally good health. Participants completed a measure of depression (among other questionnaires) in an online survey, then attended a 3-hour laboratory session. After measuring baseline physiology with spouses in separate rooms, couples were then randomly assigned to either touch (while sitting quietly, then hug), talk (positive conversation, but no touch), both (touch while talking, then hug), or neither (sit quietly without touching or talking). Next, participants separately performed a stress-inducing speech task about their spouses’ strengths and weaknesses. Physiological indicators were recorded throughout the stress task. While positive conversation reduced husbands’ stress-related parasympathetic withdrawal, it predicted greater stress-related activation in wives’ PEP response. Stress reactivity (as indicated by FPTT) was reduced in husbands with lower depressive symptoms when the marital exchange included only touch or only talk, whereas for husbands with more depressive symptoms, there were no effects of the marital interaction. For wives, depressive symptoms predicted blunted cardiovascular activation regardless of positive interaction condition, as illustrated by smaller stress-related reduction in FPTT responses. Furthermore, higher self-reported depressive symptoms predicted larger interaction-related decreases in stress-related IBI responses in wives who experienced spousal touch. This study builds on previous work and is the first to explore how depressive symptoms may influence the relations between affectionate touch and stress reactivity.
ContributorsDuncan, Cayla Jessica (Author) / Burleson, Mary H (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Mickelson, Kristin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Numerous psychosocial and health factors contribute to perceived stress, social support, and problem-solving coping relating to overall well-being and life satisfaction in older adults. The effect of social support and problem-solving coping, however, remains largely untested as potential moderators. The present study was conducted to test whether social support and problem- solving coping would moderate the relation between perceived stress and life satisfaction in older adults. First, I anticipated that stress will be negatively related to life satisfaction at low levels of social support, while at high social support; stress will be unrelated to life satisfaction. Second, I expected that with low problem- solving coping, stress will be negatively related to life satisfaction, whereas, at levels of high problem- solving coping, stress will be unrelated to life satisfaction. Using an experimental survey and interview design with hierarchical regression analyses, I found no support that social support would moderate the relation between stress and life satisfaction. I found support that problem-solving coping moderated the relation between stress and life satisfaction. For individuals who engage in higher levels of problem- solving coping, higher levels of stress predicted lower levels of life satisfaction. On the other hand, at lower levels of problem-solving coping, more stress predicted lower levels of life satisfaction.
ContributorsKaur, Gurjot (Author) / Miller, Paul A. (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah L. (Committee member) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Background: Cancer impacts the lives of millions of patients, families and caregivers annually
leading to chronic stress, a sense of powerlessness, and decreased autonomy. Social support may improve health empowerment and lead to increased perception of well-being.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of social support provided by a cancer support agency on health empowerment and perceived well-being in adults impacted by cancer.
Conceptual Framework: The Health Empowerment Theory maintains that perceived wellbeing is the desired outcome; mediated by health empowerment through social support, personal growth, and purposeful participation in active goal attainment.
Methods: Twelve adults impacted by cancer agreed to complete online questionnaires at
baseline and at 12 weeks after beginning participation in social support programs provided by a cancer support agency.
Instruments included: Patient Empowerment Scale, The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and The Office of National Statistics (ONS) Subjective Well-Being Questions.
Results: Four participants completed pre and post surveys. An increase was seen in
empowerment scores (pre M = 1.78, SD = 0.35 and post M = 3.05, SD = 0.42). There was no
increase in perceived well-being: SWEMWBS pre (M= 3.71, SD= 0.76), post (M= 3.57, SD=
0.65); ONS pre (M= 7.69, SD= 1.36), post (M= 6.59, SD= 1.52).
Implications: The data showed an increase in health empowerment scores after utilizing social support programs, lending support to the agency’s support strategies. It is recommended that the measures be included in surveys routinely conducted by the agency to continue to assess the impact of programming on health empowerment, and perceived well-being.
leading to chronic stress, a sense of powerlessness, and decreased autonomy. Social support may improve health empowerment and lead to increased perception of well-being.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of social support provided by a cancer support agency on health empowerment and perceived well-being in adults impacted by cancer.
Conceptual Framework: The Health Empowerment Theory maintains that perceived wellbeing is the desired outcome; mediated by health empowerment through social support, personal growth, and purposeful participation in active goal attainment.
Methods: Twelve adults impacted by cancer agreed to complete online questionnaires at
baseline and at 12 weeks after beginning participation in social support programs provided by a cancer support agency.
Instruments included: Patient Empowerment Scale, The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and The Office of National Statistics (ONS) Subjective Well-Being Questions.
Results: Four participants completed pre and post surveys. An increase was seen in
empowerment scores (pre M = 1.78, SD = 0.35 and post M = 3.05, SD = 0.42). There was no
increase in perceived well-being: SWEMWBS pre (M= 3.71, SD= 0.76), post (M= 3.57, SD=
0.65); ONS pre (M= 7.69, SD= 1.36), post (M= 6.59, SD= 1.52).
Implications: The data showed an increase in health empowerment scores after utilizing social support programs, lending support to the agency’s support strategies. It is recommended that the measures be included in surveys routinely conducted by the agency to continue to assess the impact of programming on health empowerment, and perceived well-being.
ContributorsO'Rourke, Suzanne (Author) / Velasquez, Donna (Thesis advisor)
Created2017-05-03