published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The two studies reported in this thesis examine the influence of two depressive personality styles, dependency and self-criticism, on how individuals respond to potentially disruptive events, such as a change in or threat to social rank. The studies used an experimental protocol in which participants were allowed to believe firstly that they outperformed a close friend or were outperformed by a close friend and secondly that friends generally agreed or disagreed with them. Findings offer support for the integration of depressive personality styles and interpersonal factors within a social rank framework. Results from the two studies suggest that dependency and self-criticism (a) moderate the impact of interpersonal events, (b) influence how individuals behave towards close friends, (c) affect how individuals remember interpersonal interactions with others, and (d) moderate the manner in which individuals actively structure their social environments. Depressive personality styles may contribute to maladaptive environments and depressive processes in complex ways by influencing the types of strategies individuals adopt to deal with threats to interpersonal relatedness and self-definition.

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Thesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / Research using a cross-sectional survey design was conducted to determine the influence of exercise on the psychological well-being and reported rates of depression on a sample of regular exercisers and non-regular exercisers registered at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop campus). Two standardized questionnaires were used to collect data from a non-proportional quota sample of 60 (30 regular exercisers and 30 non-regular exercisers), male and female (30 females and 30 males) undergraduate students. Data were analyzed using the following statistical measures, descriptive statistics, using frequency tables and figures. The chi square test was used to find out if there were any significant relationships between the regular exercisers and non-regular exercisers and male and female participants in terms of depression and psychological well-being. Students who exercised regularly showed a positive psychological well-being while non-regular exercisers showed a more negative psychological well-being. There were no significant differences in reported feelings of depression across the male and female sample of regular and non-regular exercisers. Female regular and non-regular exercisers however, showed a more positive psychological well-being than males, this was a significant result (p=0.001).

The aims of the current research program were to examine the social-cognitive and sociological models of stigma in relation to student attitudes towards an individual experiencing a mood disorder. Two experiments (Studies 1 and 2) sought to empirically distinguish between controllability and responsibility, both constructs of the attribution model which is subsidiary to the social-cognitive model of stigma. Despite manipulating controllability, participants were reluctant to attribute controllability of cause to individuals experiencing depression or bipolar disorder. The stability of beliefs about the controllability of cause for condition onset was consistent with research suggesting that the Australian public increasingly conceptualise mental disorders in terms of biochemical and genetic causal factors. These findings, in combination with past research linking biogenetic beliefs to negative attitudes, resulted in a change in focus of investigation in Studies 3, 4, 5 and 6 to explain why, contrary to the prediction of the attribution model, biogenetic explanations of mental disorders are associated with the proliferation of stigma. To measure causal beliefs, the Causal Belief Inventory (CBI) was developed in Study 3 and refined in Study 4. The correlational results examined in Studies 4, 5 and 6 found that genetic and biochemical causal beliefs were associated with a number of positive attitudes towards individuals experiencing a mood disorder and that genetic cause was associated with a reduced implicit bias against major depression. Furthermore, each study pointed to the centrality of judgments of differentness in determining affective responses and direct and proxy measures of behaviour. In contrast, manipulation of genetic and psychosocial cause in Study 5 found that causal condition largely failed to impact upon student attitudes. Mediator analysis did, however, find that beliefs about the stability of the vignette actor's condition fully mediated the relationship between the negative influence of genetic cause on proxy helping behaviour. Manipulation of psychosocial, genetic and biochemical cause with the inclusion of a non-depressed control in Study 6 resulted in more ambiguous findings. The combination of findings from Studies 1 to 6 suggest that focusing on the impact of the controllability of cause of depression onset on student attitudes is unwarranted. Instead researchers and public health educators should be examining models which facilitate the examination of the cognitive factors that mediate these relationships. Two such models, namely the social-cognitive and sociological models of stigma, were found to adequately fit the data. Recommendations for integrating these two models of stigma are discussed.

At last, we found some basic characteristics in Chinese kinship. Couple and child-parent are still the pivots in present urban China. Filial piety is undergoing many changes. For adult children, parents are important in instrumental supports. And siblings are hardly regarded as expected supporters. / For urban Chinese, close-kin playa prominent role in all the support networks. Close-kin include adult children, parents, and siblings. Additionally, supportive roles of different kin are diffused. Spouse and adult children are the most prominent source of support for dealing with both instrumental and emotional problems. In particular, their emotional supports are more significantly beneficial to people's mental health. Parents are the important instrumental supporters, rather than in emotional aspects. Siblings are sitable for contact, but they are not the expected supporters. Extended kin relations are insignificant in any of support dimensions. / It is widely recognized that social relationships have powerful effects on mental health. This empirical study aims at examining this theory among urban Chinese. Based on the dataset of "social networks and mental health in Beijing in 2000", the focus of this research is how depression of the residents in Beijing is related to their kinship (especially, close-kin) networks and supports. The network structural characters include "network size", "frequency of contact", and "residence distance". The functional elements of support include instrumental support and emotional support. CES-D (The Centre for Epidemiological Studies of Depression scale) is used to measure depression. / The major findings in theoretical dimension are: (1) Social supports have main effects, namely social supports are helpful to mental health regardless of stressors people might experience. (2) Some kinds of kinship networks have direct and indirect effects (mediated by kinship supports) on depression. This result also partially confirms "the support argument", which suggests that the social networks enhance the likelihood of accessing support which in turn provides the protective function against distress. / 孫薇薇. / Adviser: Rance Pui Leng Lee. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-10, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 200-212). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Sun Weiwei.

Literature has shown that Korean immigrants experience severe depressive symptoms due to the stresses associated with immigration. The purpose of this study is to extend current research on stress and depression to the Korean immigrant population in the United States. While most studies on Korean immigrants focus almost entirely on the unsettling nature of immigration, the current study focused on the role of stress-resistance variables (mediating factors) in the relationship between various sources of stress and depression among Korean immigrants. This study investigated the relationship between stressors and depression and the effects of such mediating variables as coping strategies, social support, personal resources (mastery and self-esteem), and religiosity on the stressors-depression relationship among the Korean population. The sample of this study consisted of 374 Korean immigrants who migrated to the United States at the age of 16 or older. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the study hypotheses. Results found detrimental effects of stressors on the level of depression, as well as mediating effects of perceived social support and personal resources (selfesteem and mastery) on the relationship between stressors and depression. However, no mediating effects of coping strategies and religiosity on the relationship between stressors and depression were found. Implications for social work practice, research, theory, policy, and education are discussed.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Loneliness is a known risk factor for poor mental and physical health outcomes in the general population, and preliminary research suggests that loneliness is linked to poorer health in cancer patients as well. Various aspects of the cancer experience (e.g., heightened existential concerns) lend themselves to making patients feel alone and misunderstood. Furthermore, loneliness theory suggests that negative social expectations, which may specifically relate to the cancer experience, precipitate and sustain loneliness. Thus, loneliness interventions in cancer should be tailored to address illness-related social conditions and negative social expectations. Prior to the development of loneliness interventions for cancer populations, cancer-specific tools are needed to assess: (1) loneliness attributed to cancer (i.e., cancer-related loneliness), and (2) negative social expectations related to cancer. In the current project I developed measures of cancer-related loneliness and cancer-related negative social expectations for use in future theory-based loneliness research. A mixed-methods study design was employed. First, I developed items for the measure of cancer-related loneliness (i.e., the Cancer Loneliness Scale) based on theory, prior research, and expert feedback. Second, I conducted a clinic-based qualitative study (n=15) to: (1) obtain cancer patient feedback on the Cancer Loneliness Scale items, and (2) inform development of the item pool for the measure of negative social expectations (i.e., the Cancer-related Negative Social Expectations Scale). Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and then transferred to Atlas.ti for analysis. Content analysis was used to analyze data regarding patient feedback and theoretical thematic analysis was used to analyze data regarding negative social expectations. Overall, patients said they liked the Cancer Loneliness Scale and no changes were made to the items based on patient feedback. Based on results, I also created five content domains of negative social expectations that were represented in the item pool for the Cancer-related Negative Social Expectations Scale. Third, I conducted a telephone and mail-based quantitative study (n=186) to assess psychometric properties of the two new measures. Dimensionality was determined using confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was assessed by examining internal consistency coefficients and construct validity was assessed by examining theoretical relationships between the Cancer Loneliness Scale, the Cancer-related Negative Social Expectations Scale, and existing reliable and valid measures of health and social well-being. The final products of the project included a 7-item unidimensional Cancer Loneliness Scale and 5-item unidimensional Cancer-related Negative Social Expectations Scale. Excellent evidence for reliability and validity was found for both measures. The resulting measures have both clinical and research utility.

This study examines the relationship between adolescent depressive symptomology and substance abuse. From a literature study six hypotheses were developed. A quantitative empirical study, undertaken in a South African high school, investigated the level of adolescent depressiVe symptomology and substance abuse, as well as the relationship between the two. The influence of various moderator variables was also examined. In line with most international studies, the relationship between adolescent depressive symptomotogy and substance abuse was found to be significant. This research has shown that adolescent depressive symptomology is significantly and positively correlated with earlier age at onset of substance abuse as well as frequency of usage. There appear to be gender differences in the way adolescents deal with their depression in terms of substance abuse. In addition, risk factors for depression and substance abuse were confirmed. Recommendations have been made based on these results / Educational Studies / M.Ed.