No description available.

No description available.

23 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and 22 healthy control subjects participated in an experimental investigation of learned helplessness and illusion-of-control phenomena. Subjects were divided into depressed and non-depressed groups according to scores on the Beck Depression Inventory. Each completed four problems associated with an instrumental learning task in which they judged the degree of control their responses exerted over repeated green-light onset. Degree of contingency varied from 0% to 75% and subjects utilized both verbal and motor response modes. Subjects also estimated frequency of green light onsets for each problem. Contrary to expectation, PD subjects did not differ from relevant comparison groups in their contingency or frequency estimates. Tests of the prediction that depressed subjects' contingency ratings would be more accurate than non-depressives' approached significance (p < .064), although the pattern of mean differences was not consistent with an illusion-of-control interpretation.

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Depression is a serious mental health problem in adolescents. Schools and primary health care providers are flooded with adolescents who have serious emotional and behavioural problems. Mental health specialists initially overlooked this condition, later argued against its existence, then recommended universal acceptance of it as a separate clinical entity very similar in nature to adult depression. More recently they have expressed concern over the adolescent's cognitive, linguistic, and socio-emotional development capabilities in relation to depressive symptomatology and treatment. Quality mental health services are essential to decrease the prevalence, economic toll and mortality that result from depression. This study is a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The principal objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms in a sample of South African adolescents, to investigate contributory factors at home and in school, and elicit from the adolescent participants suggestions for improving the prevailing conditions. In order to establish the focus of the study four critical questions were posed: • What is the prevalence of depressive symptoms in adolescents? • What factors in the home contribute towards depressive symptoms? • What factors in the school contribute towards depressive symptoms? • What are the suggestions made by adolescents to improve the prevailing conditions? To accomplish this delineation, a group of Grade 11 learners were identified by means of cluster sampling. The entire cluster was given the Beck Depression Inventory, which is a self-report scale for screening depressive symptoms. The results of the BDI revealed that 118/566 learners i.e. 20.84% displayed symptoms of depression. These learners i.e.118 who had scored between 19-29 on the BDI were then given a survey questionnaire to complete. The findings of this study are consistent with other studies. An analysis of data confirmed previous reports of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Gender differences showing more females than males presenting with depressive symptoms were evident in the present study. Females had more responsibilities and not much support in the household chores that led to feelings of frustration and anger. The adolescents expressed concern over their studying and living conditions. In-depth interviews were used to gather information for qualitative analysis. From the content analysis of the interviews, three main themes were identified regarding the factors contributing towards depressive symptoms. Family Relationships (home), with communication, support, outside intervention and perceptions of their parents related to the first theme. The second theme related to peer/ sibling relationships associated with communication, support, other concerns, and perceptions of peers/siblings. The final theme related to school and included communication, support, performance and perceptions of school. Recommendations made on the basis of the present findings included the need for better support structures at schools, with parents and peers/siblings. The qualitative findings indicated a need for social organizations to play a more significant role in the community. Because of this potent combination of formal and informal influence, educators can be powerful resources for the development and continuity of intervention. Educators should be trained to recognize the markers of adolescent depression and to approach and refer them to a central person such as guidance counselors or social workers for initial screening and treatment if necessary. This study has contributed to research data in an area where there is a deficiency of information and understanding. The high prevalence of depressive symptoms in adolescents is a matter of great concern to all service providers. The contributory factors in the home and school that were identified should be attended to in order to improve the living and studying conditions of the learners. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

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A number of theories have suggested a relation between depression and several cognitive and behavioral variables. The present study investigated how depressed and nondepressed individuals differ in the way they perceive others, and what they remember about others. Depressed and nondepressed college students were selected based on their Beck Depression Inventory scores. Subjects read one of two scenarios. One scenario was a description of a person who received predominantly positive outcomes, the other was a description of a person who received predominantly negative outcomes. Later, subjects were asked to rate the target person on several dimensions, and were asked to recall as much as possible from the scenario. The results suggest that: a) depressed subjects found the negative target as more enjoyable than did the nondepressed subjects; b) depressed subjects found the negative scenario target as more similar to them than nondepressed subjects did, with the reverse occuring for the positive scenario target; and c) depressed subjects recalled more negative intrusions than the nondepressed subjects. / Department of Psychological Science

The!Wurpose of this study was to examine the effects of attributional style, mood, and self-esteem on the tendency to engage in bulimic behaviors. Specifically, it was proposed that individuals with a depressive attributional style (i.e. internal, stable, and global causes) would exhibit negative mood and low self-esteem, which would increase their tendency to engage in binging behaviors. Final data analyses were performed on 140 college females, exclusive of obese or anorexic restrictor females, enrolled in an introductory psychology course. Data consisted of self-report questionnaires which pertained to demographic characteristics, attributional style, positive and negative mood, self-esteem, and binging behaviors. The data were evaluated using path analytic techniques. Path coefficients were obtained via a series of multiple regression analyses. Although evidence did not fully support the proposed causal model, results did support the linear relationship between self-esteem and binging behaviors, andthe attributional dimension of globality with negative mood. Level of self-esteem appears to play an important role in relation to binge behaviors among the present nonclinical sample. Suggestions for future research and alternative models are proposed. / Department of Psychological Science

Knowing some of the cultural tenets that may be related to depression can help inform counseling. Culture will be measured using collectivism, which is defined as being more orientated to others, rather than to oneself. It was hypothesized that shyness and social support would be related to both collectivism and depression. Shyness would be associated with an increase in collectivism and depression, while social support would be associated with an increase in collectivism and a decrease in depression. Social support however, would be more strongly related to depression than shyness. It was found that more social support was indeed significantly related to lower depression, and higher levels of collectivism. Shyness was significantly related to higher levels of depression but it was also related to a lower collectivistic level, though not significantly. An interaction was found between shyness and social support on the outcome of depression, which means that the higher the social support, the less impact shyness has on depression. Further studies should focus on research that more clearly defines a relationship between depression and collectivism using shyness and social support as predictors. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Previous studies have demonstrated a moderate correlation between rejection sensitivity and depression. In a study of college females, researchers found that high levels of rejection sensitivity were associated with higher BDI scores following a partner initiated breakup (Ayduk, Downey, & Kim, 2001). Another study found that rejection sensitivity and depression are positively correlated for both males and females (Mellin, 2008). No studies to this date have examined the causal effects of depressed mood on rejection sensitivity, however. Cognitive theories would suggest that the relationship between the two may be reciprocal, with trait rejection sensitivity eliciting depression, but then the resulting depression priming individuals to be more sensitive to rejection. The current experiment investigates the causal effects of manipulated mood on levels of rejection sensitivity. Participants were 88 undergraduate students from a mid-sized Midwestern university. Participants were randomly assigned to experience a positive, negative, or neutral mood induction, using videos. Participants then completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-X), to check the effectiveness of the mood induction procedure, and then the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ), to examine participants’ levels of rejection sensitivity. A one-way ANOVA on the PANAS-X scores indicated that the mood induction procedures were effective. Joviality scores were significantly higher in the positive mood group, than the neutral mood group, which were significantly higher than the negative mood group. Sad scores were significantly lower in the negative mood group than the neutral mood group, which were lower than the positive mood group. An ANOVA comparing RSQ scores was significant. Follow-up Tukey HSD tests indicated that participants in the positive mood group reported statistically lower levels of rejection sensitivity than those in the negative and neutral groups (who did not differ). Correlational analyses indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between PANAS Sad and RSQ scores (r = .258) and a significant negative correlation between PANAS Joviality and RSQ scores (r = -.257). These findings indicate that engaging in activities that elicit a positive mood (e.g., watching uplifting video clips) makes people feel good and allows them to develop different perceptions about social situations and rejection. It also provides support for the utility of positive psychology interventions. / Department of Psychological Science