Research into transdiagnostic processes underlying clinical disorders has indicated the importance of avoidance motivation and mixed approach-avoidance motivation, as well as negativity bias in the development and maintenance of depression and anxiety. The primary aim of this project is to investigate the relationship between avoidance/mixed approach-avoidance motivation and negativity bias among individuals with and without symptoms of depression and anxiety. 408 participants collected via MTurk were assigned to one of three experimental conditions in which a) avoidance motivation activation b) mixed approach-avoidance motivation activation, or a control task was completed. Results indicate the trait avoidance motivation is associated with negativity bias in interpretation of ambiguous information. This relationship is moderated by symptoms of depression, so that at high levels of depression, increases in trait avoidance have their largest effect, leading to more negativity bias in interpretation. Compared to the control condition which did not undergo motivation manipulation, assignment to the avoidance motivation condition did not have a main effect leading to higher levels of negativity bias. Assignment to the avoidance motivation condition did have an interaction effect with anxiety symptoms, so that when participants were assigned to the avoidance condition (compared to the control condition), higher levels of anxiety led to greater negativity bias. When mixed approach-avoidance motivation was activated, there were no significant main effects (compared to a control condition) on negativity bias, and this relationship was not significantly moderated by levels of depression or anxiety.

This dissertation was a sub-study of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded randomized clinical trial (R21 NR016112) that examined the effects of resistance training (RT; i.e., weight lifting) on depression in Black/African American (AA) men. The focus of this study was to examine resilience in that population. Resilience is one’s ability to adapt, withstand, and grow in the face of adversity and stress, and it is thought to be inversely associated with stress-related mental illness. Previous research has linked resilience with other intrapersonal factors such as physical self-concept (PSC), and mastery experiences, yet no study has examined the role exercise might play in these relationships. Purpose: To conduct the first study to examine the effects of RT on resilience and PSC, and to explore how mastery experiences might affect these variables. Methods: Twenty-nine participants in the parent study were randomized into either a 12-week RT group or time-matched control. Both groups were required to attend two on-site sessions per week (i.e., 24 total sessions), and all completed questionnaires at three time points (baseline, week 6, week 13). Changes in resilience, PSC, and mastery were analyzed using a series of linear mixed models. Results: There was a significant effect of Time (t = 2.3, p = .02) for resilience, such that the mean score significantly increased by 2.9 points from baseline to the Week 13 in the aggregated sample. There was no significant effect of Group; however, the resistance training group significantly increased their resilience from baseline to Week 13 (p < .01). There was a significant effect of Group (t = 2.5, p = .02) and Time (t= 2.4, p < .01) on PSC from baseline to Week 13. In addition, the results revealed that for every 1-unit increase in PSC from baseline to Week 13, there was a 0.1-point increase in resilience for the aggregated sample. Mastery was not related to any outcome. Conclusion: Results suggest that RT has the potential to influence both resilience and PSC. Furthermore, changes in PSC appeared to be associated with changes in resilience. Future research will be needed to better understand these associations.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 11, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-76).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 2, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-76).

Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-160).

Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. Translated from Korean. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 197-202).

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Previous research has revealed heterogeneity in outcome trajectories among individuals seeking psychotherapy. However, questions remain as to the number, nature, and predictors of these trajectories. Therefore, the present study had three aims: 1) to identify heterogeneous latent groups among treatment trajectories of 212 clients with major depressive disorder (MDD) seeking psychotherapy at a community mental health training clinic; 2) to identify significant associations between clinical and demographic variables and group membership; and 3) to identify correlations between trajectory shape and positive treatment outcome. Prior to treatment, participants provided demographic information and completed symptom severity ratings. Once in treatment, participants completed a self-report of distress via the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45) at every session. Growth mixture modeling was utilized to identify distinct patient subgroups based on outcome trajectories among the sample. Three distinct latent classes of treatment trajectory were identified, providing evidence of heterogeneity in treatment trajectories among individuals with MDD. Baseline distress, pre-treatment work problems, and sleep difficulties were found to be predictive of an individual's membership in a specific trajectory group. Finally, specific shapes of change, namely early response and sudden gains, were associated with positive treatment outcome. Findings from this study can be used to identify patients at risk for treatment failure, allowing clinicians to intervene earlier to enhance mid-treatment feedback and prognosis.

The problem of this study was to identify variables in the family environment that may describe depressed adolescents' families. This study was based on Adlerian theory. The Family Environment Scale (FES) was used to measure the family atmosphere. The Lifestyle Scale (LS) was used to examine the adolescent's unique system of beliefs, values, and attitudes. The Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (IE) was used to measure the extent of external control exhibited by the adolescents and their parents. The subjects of this study were 31 depressed adolescents from 2 suburban psychiatric hospitals and one of each of the adolescent's parents. The subjects were from a homogeneous socioeconomic population showing no significant variation in the demographic categories of sex, race, chronological birth order, or marital status of the parents. Scores were compared with normative data. Product moment correlations were calculated between the results of the subscales on the 3 instruments. A principal components factor analysis was performed to determine if any patterns existed.

Bipolar disorder is a serious illness affecting approximately 2-4% of the population and is one of the world’s leading causes of disability. In individuals with bipolar disorder, medical comorbidity associated with cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine disorders is related to increased rates of mortality. Recent updates to multi-system inflammatory related conceptualizations of bipolar disorder focus on the unique power that medical illness and biological processes may play as factors associated with course and outcome in bipolar disorder. The current study examined medical comorbidity and its associations with various demographic and psychological variables in individuals with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder with psychotic features followed for 10 years from their first hospital admission. When compared to an age, gender and race-matched control sample from the population, those with bipolar disorder had significantly higher medical comorbidity across a range of medical diagnoses both at 6 months and 10 years after first hospital admission. Ten years following initial hospitalization, individuals in all three diagnostic groups reported increased rates of diabetes (OR: 2.0 – 3.7), stroke (OR: 4.6 – 7.0) and asthma (OR: 1.9 - 3.1), and individuals with bipolar disorder reported increased rates of cancer (OR = 2.1). A number of psychological and demographic symptoms were examined for their ability to predict the development of medical illness across the assessment interval. Overall rates of medical illness were elevated both early in illness course and 10 years after diagnosis, suggesting that broad sequelae of multi-system inflammation are present early and progress over time.