The present study evaluated selected aspects of recent behavioural, cognitive, and psychophysiological theories of depression. Of major concern was Lewinsohn's suggestion that a deficit in social-skill may be a critical determinant of depressive behaviour. An analysis of the concept of social skill suggests that it may involve two component processes: 1) the ability to emit situationally appropriate behaviours that others can identify and respond to discriminatively, and 2) the ability to identify and respond discriminatively to the situationally-appropriate behaviour of others. It follows from Lewinsohn's position that depressed subjects should exhibit deficits in either or both of these processes. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, three groups of subjects <— depressed, nondepressed psychiatric controls, and normal controls — participated in a two-part experiment. In the first part, which was designed to elicit various forms of facial expressive behaviour, subjects were exposed to a differential classical conditioning procedure, in which one CS was followed by presentation of a "pleasant" pictorial UCS, another CS was followed by an aversive auditory UCS, and a third CS was presented with no consequating event. Videotapes were made of subjects' facial expressions during CS presentation and continuous recordings of subjects' skin conductance and heart rate were taken. In the second part of the experiment, subjects observed the videotapes from the first session of 3 other subjects, one from each group of subjects. In this session, subjects'were required to guess, on the basis of changes in the facial expressions of the subjects observed, which of the 3 types of conditioning trial the observed subject was undergoing. During this session, subjects also estimated their anticipated performance immediately prior to undergoing each of the three sets of judgements. Results of the judgemental task indicated that depressed subjects were the most difficult of all subjects to accurately judge and that this deficit did not seem to be due to response predispositions on the part of depressed subjects. This finding was interpreted as being consistent with Lewinsohn's social-skill hypothesis, but inconsistent with Ferster's notion that the depressive is a poor observer of the environment. The three groups' estimations of their anticipated performance did not differ systematically, thus failing to support Beck's specualtion that the depressive is characterized by a generalized set of negative expectations regarding the outcome of future events. More importantly, changes in subjects' verbal ratings of their anticipated performance were highly correlated with the discrepancy between anticipated and actual performance on previous trials for all groups. This finding was inconsistent with predictions from Seligman's "learned-helplessness" model of depression. Finally, psychophysiological data indicated that depressives were electrodermally hyperresponsive in comparison with other subjects, and also exhibited an elevated tonic heart-rate. These findings were interpreted as being inconsistent with speculation that the depressive is refractory to stimulation. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The present study investigated whether the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) measures the same construct in exactly the same way across the groups of interest and time in South Africa. The degree to which items or subtests of the BDI-II have equal meaning across qualitatively distinct groups of examinees (e.g., culture and gender) was explored. Measurement Invariance (MI) of the BDI-II across race (blacks and whites), gender and time (two weeks lag) was examined in a sample of university students, from two universities located in diverse geographical regions of South Africa (N = 919). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the fit of the hypothesized three-factor model established through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the results from these analyses indicated that the BDI-II was most adequately represented by a three lower-order factor structure (appropriately named Negative attitude, Performance difficulty and Somatic complaints). Results based on multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) (i.e., means and covariance structures [MACS]) indicated that there was factorial invariance for this three lowerorder factor structure across groups and time, suggesting that the BDI-II provides an assessment of severity of depressive symptoms that is equivalent across race, gender and time in university students. Results indicated that MI was established at the level of configural, metric and scalar invariance for race, gender and across time. However, there was some evidence of differential item functioning (DIF) and differential additive response style (ARS) across race, with two noninvariant intercepts (items 5 and 14) and three item intercepts (items 11, 14 and 18) across gender being identified. Additionally, results of latent mean differences were presented to explain group differences. The study concluded with recommendations for future studies.

Universiẗat, Habil.-Schr.--München, 2005.

Thesis (M.A. in Psychology)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2001. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Although there is evidence that children of depressed parents are far more likely to suffer from depression than other children (Hammen & Brennan, 2003), the majority of research examining links between parents’ depression and adolescent depression has focused on maternal depression, minimizing or ignoring the potential influence of paternal depression. Thus, the goals of the proposed study were 1) to examine both maternal and paternal depressive symptoms in relation to adolescents’ depressive symptoms over time, 2) to explore possible gender differences in how teens are affected by maternal versus paternal depressive symptoms, and 3) to investigate the role of parent-teen relationship quality. This study used data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, which includes measures of each parents’ depressive symptoms, taken when children were in 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 10th grades, and adolescent depressive symptoms measured at grades 5, 6, and 10. Results of path analyses using a cross-lagged panel design revealed that paternal depressive symptoms significantly predicted changes in adolescent depressive symptoms from grade 5 to 6 and 6 to grade 10. Although maternal depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with female adolescents’ depressive symptoms, mothers’ depressive symptoms predicted male adolescents’ depressive symptoms at grade 5. Models revealed a reciprocal influence of female adolescents’ depressive symptoms and paternal depressive symptoms. Furthermore, models of indirect effects suggest that the relationship of maternal depressive symptoms at grade 3 and male teens’ depressive symptoms had an enduring effect on males’ depressive symptoms through grades 6 and 10. This was also found for the association of paternal depressive symptoms and subsequent female teens’ symptoms. Finally, moderation analyses revealed a significant interaction of maternal depressive symptoms and mother-teen relationship quality predicting female teens’ subsequent depressive symptoms such that females who had high-quality relationships with highly depressed mothers were more likely to be depressed themselves, whereas female teens’ depressive symptoms were lowest if they had high quality relationships with mothers who reported low levels of depressive symptoms. The present study highlights the need for systems-based approaches to working with families in which one or more family members experience depressive symptoms. / text

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wyoming, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 13, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-76).

Thesis (B.A.)--Haverford College, Dept. of Psychology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Abstract Postpartum depression (PPD) has been identified as a mental health condition that impacts women, men, and families. PPD has been shown to be prevalent in both women and men following the birth of a child; it has been associated with marital conflict, insecure attachment, and poor infant-child outcomes. While PPD has been studied extensively in women, paternal PPD often goes understudied, undetected, and untreated. The purpose of the present research was to explore the lived experiences of men who have experienced PPD through the lens of self-perception theory using a qualitative phenomenological study. Six men who have experienced PPD shared their lived experiences with PPD, including how they recognized they had a problem and what alerted them to get help. Data were analyzed using coding and the development of themes; the findings for this study showed that men's lived experiences with PPD included feelings of sadness, anger, fear, confusion, and being in denial. The men tended to not seek help for their experiences of PPD, and they were not previously informed about the disorder of paternal PPD. The present study provides a better understanding of PPD for fathers, information for healthcare providers who deal with expectant fathers, and significant others such as mothers of the child, and other family members and coworkers regarding how to respond to paternal PPD. Better understanding of PPD will provide fathers with more of the support they need to successfully make the journey through PPD.

Depression is a significant mental health concern with a pivotal increase of incidence during adolescence, specifically for females. Currently, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most widely tested treatment for depression. Yet, it is unclear how CBT functions to produce effective outcomes. Adult studies have shown that behavioral components of CBT are more effective than cognitive components in reducing depression at acute treatment. Both behavioral and cognitive components have been shown to be effective in preventing relapse of depressive symptoms at follow up. Yet less is understood about how treatment components work together to provide positive outcomes, particularly for depressed youth. The overall goal of this study was to examine which parts of treatment (cognitive and/or behavioral) aid in symptom reduction and to determine if treatment outcome is mediated by cognitive change. Forty two pre-adolescent girls, aged 9-14, participated in a 20-session manualized group CBT program. The first portion of treatment (session 1-9) focused the behavioral intervention and the second portion of treatment (sessions 11-19) focused on cognitive interventions while continuing to reinforce behavioral interventions when necessary. Self report measures and diagnostic interviews were completed at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Using multiple regression analyses, the findings of this study supported the role of behavioral and cognitive interventions in reducing depression. Behavioral interventions were found to significantly reduce depression at post-treatment. Additionally, cognitive interventions were found to play a small, but significant role in post-treatment outcome, with preliminary evidence that cognitive interventions could also be linked to treatment outcome one year later. Treatment specificity could not be tested, as the cognitive change of depressed girls was not directly influenced by the behavior and cognitive interventions. Exploratory analysis demonstrated the significant role of behavioral techniques such as behavior activation, positive reinforcement, homework review, and skills training in predicting outcome of treatment. Implications of the results, limitations, and recommendations for future research are provided. / text

Bakgrund: Den äldre befolkningen i världen ökar och med den ökar även den psykiska ohälsan, där depression är en av de vanligaste neurologiska funktionsnedsättningarna hos äldre personer. Det har visat sig att kunskap om depression hos äldre personer är bristfällig inom sjukvården och att många äldre personer aldrig blir diagnostiserade och aldrig får adekvat hjälp. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa äldre personers upplevelser av depression. Metod: Åtta artiklar med kvalitativ ansats sammanställdes och analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys för att sedan utgöra litteraturstudiens resultat. Artikelsökningarna genomfördes i databaserna Cinahl, PubMed och PsycINFO. Resultat: Resultatet visade att äldre personer med depression upplevde förändring i upplevelsen av sig själv, både kroppslig förändring och en förändrad självbild. Negativa känslor framträdde såsom upplevelser av ensamhet, rädsla och självförakt. Sociala aspekter som framkom innefattade bland annat en rädsla av att bli beroende av andra och känslor inför omvärldens syn på depression. Existentiella aspekter framträdde som tankar och minnen, hopplöshet och funderingar kring meningen med livet. Konklusion: Olika faktorer har betydelse för äldre personers upplevelser av depression och det behövs mer kunskap hos vårdpersonal inom området. Ökad kunskap kring depression hos äldre personer behövs för att inom sjukvården kunna förebygga, identifiera symtom och behandla sjukdomen. / Background: The elderly population is increasing worldwide and with it comes an increase in mental illness, where depression is one of the most common neurological functional limitation in older persons. It has been shown that knowledge about depression in older persons is deficient in health care and that many older persons are never diagnosed and never receives adequate help. Aim: The purpose of the study was to explore older person’s experiences of depression. Method: Eight articles with qualitative approach were compiled and analyzed using qualitative content analysis to provide the result of the literature study. Article search was performed in the databases Cinahl, PubMed and PsycINFO. Result: The result showed that older persons with depression experienced a change in the perception of self, both a physical change and a change in self-image. Negative emotions appeared such as experiences of loneliness, fear and self-contempt. Social aspects that emerged included among others a fear of becoming dependent on others and the surrounding world’s view of depression. Existential aspects appeared as thoughts and memories, hopelessness and thoughts about the meaning of life. Conclusion: Many different factors are important to older person’s experiences of depression and more knowledge in the field is needed among health care professionals. Increased knowledge about depression in elderly persons is needed in health care to be able to prevent, identify symptoms and treat the disease.