Browsing by Subject "Depressive symptoms"

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The benefits of expressive writing on overgeneral memory and depressive symptoms
(2009-12) Maestas, Kacey Little; Rude, Stephanie Sandra
Two decades of research suggest that a non-specific style of autobiographical memory retrieval–known as overgeneral memory–may be a cognitive style that increases depression vulnerability. Recent theorizing and empirical evidence suggest the mechanisms underlying overgeneral memory include rumination and avoidance. This study provided a preliminary investigation of the effectiveness of an expressive writing intervention, which has been found to reduce rumination and avoidance, in reducing overgeneral memory, with the ultimate goal of preventing future depressive symptoms among non-depressed college students. Two hundred and seven non-depressed college students completed the expressive writing intervention, in addition to a one-month and six month follow-up assessment. Participants were randomized one of three writing conditions: traditional expressive writing, specific expressive writing, or control writing. Participants in the traditional and specific expressive writing conditions were instructed to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about an emotional event; the specific expressive writing condition contained the additional instruction that participants describe the events in a vivid and detailed manner. Participants in the control condition were instructed to write about a neutral topic (i.e., time management). All groups wrote for 20 minutes on three consecutive days. Study results showed that compared to participants in the control writing condition, participants in the traditional and specific expressive writing conditions demonstrated significantly greater autobiographical memory specificity at the six-month follow-up, but not at the one-month follow-up. Furthermore, the observed increase in autobiographical memory specificity for the expressive writing conditions could not be attributed to change in depressive symptoms over the same time interval. Results revealed that the effect of the traditional expressive writing intervention on increased autobiographical memory specificity was partially mediated by a reduction in avoidance assessed at the one-month follow-up. The hypothesis that rumination would partially mediate the effect of the expressive writing intervention on increased autobiographical memory specificity was not supported. Despite preliminary evidence that an expressive writing intervention compared to a control wiring condition is effective in increasing autobiographical memory specificity over a six-month period for initially non-depressed college students, it remains to be seen if increased autobiographical memory specificity decreases vulnerability to future depressive symptoms.
Combat experiences and post-deployment adjustment
(2020-03-24) Sensiba, David Philip; Franklin, Cynthia; Von Sternberg, Kirk; Streeter, Cal; Adler, Amy
David Philip Sensiba, PhD The University of Texas at Austin, 2019 Supervisor: Dr. Cynthia Franklin and Dr. Kirk von Sternberg Abstract: The United States of America has been a nation constantly at war for almost two decades. This has resulted in military families being separated from their service member for significant periods of time due combat deployments, which can potentially have a negative impact on the family system. During deployments, service members can be exposed to various combat experiences, which research has linked to symptoms of post traumatic stress, depression, and problematic alcohol use that develop post deployment. It is estimated that approximately 20% of soldiers in combat units return home with symptoms of behavioral health problems or develop these symptoms within three to six months following the deployment. Family reintegration can negatively be impacted when service members return home from a combat deployment and/or experience behavioral health concerns. By contrast, research has also indicated that healthy social supports, such as families and friends, can mitigate the development and/or aid the recovery of behavioral health concerns. This study investigates the relationship between combat exposure and marriage quality, and their impact on the behavioral health outcomes reported immediately following the deployment and four months post deployment. Additionally, utilizing the lens of the family system theory, the study examines the moderating effect that marriage quality has on the relationship between combat exposure and reported behavioral health symptoms. This study was a secondary data analysis using Hierarchical Multiple Regression. Both combat exposure and marriage quality were found to influence the development of behavioral health outcomes. In this study, marriage quality did not moderate the relationship between combat exposure and reported behavioral health symptoms.
Depressive symptoms, behavioral health risk factors, and physical illness among older Mexican Americans
(2010-12) Talavera-Garza, Liza; Holahan, Charles J.; Bigler, Rebecca S.; Iscoe, Ira; Ramirez, Manuel; Warner, David C.
This study utilized data from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) at two different time points, seven years apart, to examine the relationship between physical illness and depressive symptoms in elderly Mexican Americans. The two physical illnesses studied are coronary artery disease and type II diabetes due to their high prevalence among Mexican Americans. The relationship between physical illness and depressive symptoms is examined longitudinally and prospectively, in both directions. In addition, the relationship between depressive symptoms and three behavioral health risk factors: alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and physical inactivity, at baseline is examined. The roles of gender, acculturation, nativity, and locus of control are examined as moderators of the key relationships studied. Additionally, self-rated health at baseline is examined as a predictor of physical illness and mortality at follow-up.
Effects of parent–child intergenerational cultural discrepancies on Korean-American young adults’ psychological well-being, through communication quality, mattering, and autonomy support
(2021-05-07) Lee, Yookyung, Ph.D.; Suizzo, Marie-Anne; Falbo, Toni; Schallert, Diane; Keating, Xiaofen; Carlson, Cindy
Korean-Americans are one of the fastest-growing racial subgroups, representing 0.4% of the total population of the U.S. as of 2019. Many Korean-American immigrant families consist of Korea-raised parents and their 1.5- or second-generation children. Because these families experience both mainstream and heritage cultures, cultural discrepancies may arise between the children and their immigrant parents. The main purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of parent–child communication quality, mattering to parents, and parental autonomy support on the relationship between intergenerational cultural discrepancies and psychological well-being, among Korean-American young adults. Participants were recruited through Korean-American communities in the U.S. and participated in this study through an online survey and follow-up one-on-one video interviews. A total of 161 Korean-American young adults between age 18 and 34 (M age = 23.14) were included in the final sample for the survey study, and 10 of the 161 also participated in the follow-up interview study. A mixed methods approach, including several mediation models and interview analysis, was used to test the hypotheses of this study. Key results from the quantitative analyses showed that greater parent–child intergenerational cultural discrepancies affected their lower communication quality, and this lower communication quality subsequently affected lower mattering to parents, but this lower mattering did not affected children’s depressive symptoms (Model 1). Also, greater parent–child intergenerational cultural discrepancies affected both lower parent–child communication quality and less parental autonomy support at the same time, which in turn affected lower levels of young adults’ life satisfaction (Model 2). The qualitative results provide a rich description of specific examples of these effects and possible reasons for the quantitative results. In addition, the participants shared messages to their parents during their adolescence as well as advice for current Korean-American adolescents who may face similar experiences. The results of this study support and extend the findings of previous work linking parent–child intergenerational cultural discrepancies to children’s psychological adjustment in immigrant families, as well as those linking parent–child communication, mattering to parents, and parental autonomy support. Future studies could investigate whether these relationships are different between mother–child and father–child dyads, and whether these results have any Korean-specific characteristics, by comparing them with results from young adults in other ethnic groups.
Examining experiential avoidance as a mediator of the relation between anxiety sensitivity and depressive symptoms
(2019-06-20) Stein, Aliza Tova; Smits, Jasper A.J.
Initial evidence suggests that experiential avoidance (EA) mediates the relation between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and depression. We examined the AS-EA-depression pathway, examining both concurrent, and prospective (cross-lag), mediation models. Utilizing data from a study that examined the effects of exercise on AS (N = 60), we modeled depressive symptoms, EA, and AS over four time points. Time-varying predictors were disaggregated into between- subjects (each person’s mean level of the predictor) and within- subjects change (each person’s deviations, at each time point, from their mean level on the predictor) components. Tests of the concurrent relations were partially consistent with predictions, with mean EA levels, but not within-subjects changes in EA, partially mediating the relation between AS and depression symptom severity. However, the prospective, cross-lag mediation model, in which AS predicted future EA controlling for previous EA, and EA predicted future depression, controlling for previous depression, yielded no significant effects. These results suggest that observed between-subjects mediation findings, found here and in previous studies, may not replicate using more stringent, quasi-causal, cross-lag mediation analyses. These results highlight the importance of estimating causal pathways in mediation analyses. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed
Long-term associations between childhood sexual/physical violence experience, alcohol use, depressive symptoms, and risky sexual behaviors among young adult women
(2013-05) Jun, Jina; Pomeroy, Elizabeth Cheney, 1955-
Current literature lacks longitudinal understandings of the association between childhood sexual/physical violence, alcohol use, depressive symptoms, and indiscriminant sexual behaviors among young women, as well as the racial/ethnic differences in these associations. Therefore, using the 1994-2008 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined a) heterogeneous growth trajectories of problem alcohol use during the transition from adolescents to young adulthood and the impact of childhood sexual/physical violence on drinking trajectories, b) the long-term impact of childhood sexual/physical violence on alcohol use and depressive symptoms, and c) the structural associations between childhood sexual/physical violence and indiscriminant sexual behaviors by examining alcohol use and depressive symptoms as mediators between White and African-American women. First, with 1,702 women, LCGM was used to identify trajectories of problem alcohol use using the first three waves. Four trajectories of problem alcohol use emerged: stable abstainers; decliners (moderate-low); incliners (low-moderate); and rapid incliners (low-high). From the bivariate level analyses, in reference to stable abstainers, White women who experienced childhood sexual/physical violence were more likely to be rapid incliners (low-high). Second, with 1,756 women, autoregressive cross-lagged path models were performed to test longitudinal associations between childhood sexual/physical violence, problem alcohol use, and depressive symptoms of White and African-American women. Both groups demonstrated significant association between childhood sexual/physical violence and subsequent development of depressive symptoms, while only White women demonstrated significant association with subsequent problem alcohol use. Third, with 1,388 women, SEM and multigroup SEM were used to test pathways between childhood sexual/physical violence and indiscriminant sexual behaviors for White and African-American women. SEM indicates that problem alcohol use and depressive symptoms mediated the proposed relationship. Multigroup SEM indicates that, for White women, both problem alcohol use and depressive symptoms mediated the association between childhood sexual/physical violence and indiscriminant sexual behaviors, while only depressive symptoms mediated the proposed association for African-American women. These findings highlight the importance of designing and providing effective prevention and treatment programs for women who experienced childhood sexual/physical violence to interrupt subsequent problem alcohol use, depressive symptoms, and indiscriminant sexual behaviors.
Maternal race related stressors and adolescents’ outcomes
(2019-09-17) Holloway, Kathleen Robin; Varner, Fatima A.
Ethnic-racial minority individuals are still experiencing race-related stressors at high rates. Research has predominantly focused on personal experiences of discrimination; however, individuals may experience vicarious discrimination as well as anticipated discrimination. Families create an important context for exploring the transmission of race-related stressors. Using a national sample of African American mothers (N = 318), the current study explored the relation between mothers’ experiences of race-related stressors and adolescent outcomes, as well as indirect pathways through maternal depressive symptoms and involved vigilant parenting using path analysis in Mplus 8.2. Mothers’ personal racial discrimination experiences were positively related to maternal depressive symptoms and adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors and indirectly related to mothers’ involved vigilant parenting through maternal depressive symptoms. Anticipated racial discrimination was positively related to mothers’ involved vigilant parenting. Further, the pathway between mothers’ involved vigilant parenting and adolescents’ externalizing problem behaviors was significantly different and stronger for mothers of girls relative to mothers of boys. Additionally, the pathway between mothers’ vicarious racial discrimination and mothers’ depressive symptoms was marginally stronger for mothers of boys relative to mothers of girls. The study findings create a more comprehensive view of how race-related stressors and how they are related to functioning in African American families
The multidimensional influences of positive emotions on stress, coping, resilience, wellness, and work engagement
(2013-05) Gloria, Christian Tolentino, 1981-; Steinhardt, Mary
According to Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, positive emotions -- such as joy, contentment, and love -- help individuals cope with stress, maintain well-being, and flourish in life. Guided by this theory, this dissertation project conducted three studies which explored the multidimensional influences of positive emotions on stress, coping strategies, resilience, trait anxiety, depressive symptoms, and work engagement. Study 1 examined the mediating role of coping strategies on the link between positive emotions and resilience; in addition, the moderating effect of resilience on the influence of stress toward trait anxiety and depressive symptoms was tested. Study 2 investigated if one's positivity would distinguish differences in their levels of stress, trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Finally, Study 3 examined whether stress and positive emotions would account for the variance in work engagement, over and above what has been explained by known predictors -- specifically, work meaningfulness and supervisor support. Path analysis, interaction analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to test the different models within these studies. A sample of 200 postdoctoral fellows completed the survey (38% response rate). Results showed that a) coping strategies partially mediated the link between positive emotions and resilience; b) resilience moderated the effect of stress on trait anxiety and depressive symptoms; c) the different categories of positivity distinguished differences in experienced stress, trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms; d) stress and positive emotions accounted for additional variance in work engagement, above what is already explained by work meaningfulness and supervisor support; and e) positive emotions completely mediated the relationship between supervisor support and work engagement. Findings support the broaden-and-build theory's hypotheses that positive emotions enhance adaptive coping strategies and fuel resilience. The data also demonstrated that resilience protected postdocs from experiencing heightened levels of trait anxiety and depressive symptoms by diminishing their relationships with stress. One strategy to optimize health would be to increase opportunities for postdocs to experience positive emotions, which would subsequently spark the upward spiral toward improved coping, greater resilience, and reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. To promote work engagement, it is important for supervisors to not only be mindful of assigning meaningful work to their employees (or help employees find meaning in their work), but supervisors should also be a supportive leader within a positive workplace environment.
Parental contributions to perfectionism, depressive symptoms, and perceived social support in Asian American adolescents : investigation, intervention, and evaluation
(2011-08) Wan, Judith T.; Borich, Gary D.; Cawthon, Stephanie W.
The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of parental contributions to perfectionism on depressive symptoms for Asian American adolescents and whether perceived parental support and/or social support may buffer/moderate the relationship. Perceived support from parents and peers may serve as protective factors from experiencing distress associated with the high pressures experienced by Asian Americans to succeed academically and be perfect in school. Asian American adolescents will fill out self-report measures for dimensions of perfectionism, depressive symptoms, and perceived parental and social support. Multiple regressions will be used to test the hypothesis of this study. Implications for the proposed study suggested the development of an intervention to help cultivate coping skills related to parent-driven stress for Asian American adolescents.
Religious and non-religious coping, depressive symptoms, financial stress, and cigarette use among post-secondary vocational students
(2011-05) King Horton, Karissa Diane; Loukas, Alexandra; Ellison, Christopher G.; Holahan, Carole; Pasch, Keryn; Steinhardt, Mary
Research suggests that depressive symptoms and financial stress are both associated with increased levels of cigarette smoking, yet not every individual who experiences depressive symptoms or financial stress smokes. The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether positive and negative religious coping moderated the influence of depressive symptoms and financial stress on current (past 30-day) cigarette smoking over and above the contributions of demographic covariates and nonreligious problem- and emotion-focused coping. Participants were drawn from a larger study comprised of a convenience sample of 1,120 post-secondary vocational/technical school students enrolled in programs such as welding, air-conditioning, and vocational nursing at two different two-year public colleges in Texas. These students are training to work in blue-collar occupations, which have higher smoking rates compared to white-collar occupations. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses. Depressive symptoms and financial stress increased the likelihood of smoking for female students, whereas financial stress decreased the likelihood of smoking for male students. Positive religious coping decreased the likelihood of smoking for females only. Consistent with religious coping theory and as expected, negative religious coping moderated the depressive symptoms-smoking relationship such that negative religious coping exacerbated the impact of depressive symptoms on cigarette smoking among females. Positive religious coping also moderated the depressive symptoms-cigarette smoking relationship for females. Contrary to expectations, positive religious coping exacerbated the likelihood of cigarette smoking among females with high levels of depressive symptoms. Negative religious coping moderated the financial stress-cigarette smoking relationship such that males who reported low financial stress and high levels of negative religious coping had the highest likelihood of smoking in the past month. For females, religious coping was associated with current cigarette use, but did not moderate the association between financial stress and smoking. Even after controlling for demographic covariates and nonreligious coping, positive and negative religious coping influenced the smoking behaviors of vocational students experiencing depressive symptoms and financial stress, and these outcomes varied by gender. Study limitations, implications, and suggestions for future directions in research are discussed.
SES, social support, and depressive symptoms in parents of children with pediatric cancer : the roles of individual and neighborhood factors
(2022-06-03) Davidson, Savannah Lee; Rodriguez, Erin M.; Cawthon, Stephanie; Pasch, Keryn; Patel, Puja; Suizzo, Marie-Anne
Parents of children with cancer report higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to those of healthy children and those with a variety of acute illnesses (Norberg & Boman, 2008; Peterson, Chung, & Barrera, 2020). Parental distress is linked to demographic, social, contextual, and illness-related factors. Socioeconomic (SES) factors such as family income, parental education, and insurance status can shape outcomes from diagnosis to end-of-life care (Ward et al., 2004). Higher levels of social support are associated with less psychological distress (Norberg, Lindblad, & Boman, 2006; Wijnberg-Williams, Kamps, Klip, & Hoekstra-Weebers, 2006), while lower SES is associated with lower perceived social support (Taylor & Seeman, 1999). Additionally, economic hardship and lower income predict higher parent depressive symptoms (Bemis et al., 2015; Creswell et al., 2014). Research has revealed how social support and SES may be associated with one another and with parental distress (Bemis et al., 2015; Bona et al., 2014; Chen & Paterson, 2006). Despite these findings, there is a shortage of research in pediatric cancer that examines SES from a multidimensional perspective or considers how social support may mediate relations between SES and parent distress. The current study examined how multiple dimensions of SES (individual and neighborhood) are related to parental depressive symptoms and social support satisfaction in parents of pediatric cancer patients, and whether social support satisfaction mediated the relationships between individual or neighborhood SES and depressive symptoms, controlling for child age, parent gender, and time since diagnosis. Ninety-eight parents completed questionnaires reporting their social support, depressive symptoms, and demographic information; neighborhood SES was coded by block group level. Results demonstrated that both individual and neighborhood SES were significantly correlated with social support satisfaction, but not parent depressive symptoms. Latinx parents had lower levels of individual and neighborhood SES than non-Latinx White parents, but there were no differences between these groups in social support satisfaction or depressive symptoms. Social support satisfaction mediated the relationship between individual, but not neighborhood, SES and parent depressive symptoms. These results highlight the important role of social support in the adjustment of parents who have a child with pediatric cancer.
Social support, self-efficacy, coping strategies and depressive symptoms : an integrative model
(1996) Saltzman, Kristina Muffler; Holahan, Charles J.
Stress resistance is increasingly important in the field of health psychology, as the focus of research is shifting from risk factors to personal resources. This study was designed to test and broaden Holahan and Moos' (1991) resources model of stress resistance. It was hypothesized that self-efficacy would mediate between social support and coping strategies, as well as operate directly in predicting depressive symptoms. In addition, it was hypothesized that self-efficacy would relate both directly and indirectly through coping strategies to depressive symptoms. 309 college students were assessed as to social support (positive and negative), coping strategies (approach and avoidant), self-efficacy, and depressive symptoms. Results were consistent with the hypothesized model. Social support related both directly and indirectly to coping strategies through self-efficacy, and self-efficacy related to depressive symptoms both directly and indirectly through percentage of approach coping strategies. In addition, social support related directly to depressive symptoms. Implications of the results are discussed
The effects of childhood psychological maltreatment on parents : depression and close relationships in stressful contexts
(2022-05-06) Aviles, Ashleigh Iris; Hazen, Nancy Lynn; Jacobvitz, Deborah; Varner, Fatima; Bryan, Amy; Reisz, Samantha; Hazen, Nancy
This research uses two datasets to examine the consequences of childhood maltreatment, physical maltreatment on depressive symptoms and interpersonal close relationships in stressful contexts. Study 1 follows 125 women over the transition to parenthood, and a structural equation model demonstrated that those who reported childhood psychological maltreatment also reported higher rates of depressive symptoms after, though not before, the birth of their child. They also reported higher levels of conflict 8 and 24 months after the birth of their child. In Study 2, a structural equation model was used to examine the effects of childhood maltreatment histories in 298 parents during the COVID-19. Those who reported childhood psychological maltreatment reported higher levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance, lower levels of expressive suppression, higher levels of depressive symptoms, and an indirect relation with lower reports of coparenting quality. Despite different assessments of maltreatment, different stressful contexts, and different cohorts, both studies found a link between a history of childhood psychological maltreatment, depressive symptoms, and interpersonal functioning.
The role of parental monitoring behaviors on adjustment problems among non-Hispanic White and Hispanic early adolescents
(2017-12-08) Fernandez, Alejandra, Ph. D.; Loukas, Alexandra; Pasch, Keryn; Maslowsky, Julie; Kim, Su Y
Previous research indicates that parental monitoring behaviors may act as promotive factors to decrease the risk for the development of subsequent early adolescent adjustment problems. However, limited research has examined the bidirectional associations between parental monitoring behaviors and adjustment problems, or the factors that may mediate these associations. Further, almost no research has examined race/ethnic group differences across the aforementioned associations. This dissertation comprises two studies that examined the bidirectional and indirect associations, through parent support, between two aspects of parental monitoring, child disclosure and parental solicitation, and two forms of adjustment problems, depressive symptoms and conduct problems, across a one-year time period among non-Hispanic White and Hispanic early adolescents. Participants were 209 non-Hispanic White and Hispanic early adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14 (67.5% female; 38.8% Hispanic) who completed a self-reported survey at two waves, with one year between each wave. Findings from study 1 indicated that the associations between parental monitoring behaviors and adjustment problems were not bidirectional. Adjustment problems did not predict subsequent parental monitoring behaviors. Rather, child disclosure predicted decreased levels of subsequent depressive symptoms, and parental solicitation predicted increased levels of subsequent depressive symptoms. These associations were equivalent across both race/ethnic groups. Findings from study 2 indicated that both aspects of parental monitoring were positively associated with concurrent levels of parental support similarly for both race/ethnic groups. In turn, parental support predicted increased levels of subsequent levels of depressive symptoms and conduct problems one year later, but only for Hispanic early adolescents. Therefore, parent support fully mediated the association between parent solicitation and depressive symptoms whereas it partially mediated the association between child disclosure and depressive symptoms, but only for Hispanic early adolescents. In addition, child disclosure also directly predicted decreased levels of subsequent depressive symptoms. Overall, findings supported the promotive role of child disclosure, while highlighting the complex role of parental solicitation and parental support. Findings from both studies emphasized the detrimental role of depressive symptoms on early adolescent development. Finally, findings indicated that differences across race/ethnic groups may not be as pronounced during early adolescence, but should continue to be examined into older adolescence.