Women who have experienced depression are vulnerable to future depressive episodes as well as emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal difficulties. Several theoretical models have explored the link between maladaptive anger expression and women's depression (Jack, 1991; Davanloo, 1980; Cox, Bruckner, & Stabb, 2003), but the existing research examining this relationship has primarily relied on self-report methods. A growing area of research has begun assessing women's communication styles in the context of interactions with their romantic partners. This field of observational research has studied communication patterns in couples with marital conflict, but no studies have yet examined anger expression in women with a history of depression. Therefore, the present study examined anger expression in 26 formerly-depressed (FD) and 30 never-depressed (ND) women and their partners. Couples were a part of a larger community study investigating cognitive and interpersonal factors in depression. Participants completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID; Spitzer et al., 1988) on the telephone to screen for eligibility and determine FD/ND group status. Women and their partners completed self-report measures of depressive symptoms, emotional expression, relationship conflict, and relationship intimacy. Couples also completed an observational interaction task to assess patterns of communication. An observational coding system was developed in collaboration with Deborah Jacobvitz, Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin to assess couples' direct anger expression, hostility, and emotional attunement. The results indicated that contrary to predictions, women expressed more direct anger but similar levels of hostility compared to their male partners. Second, findings supported the prediction that self-reported emotional expression would be associated with relationship intimacy and inversely related to relationship conflict. However, the observational patterns of direct anger, hostility, and emotional attunement were not associated with the relationship outcomes. Results also indicated that FD and ND women did not differ in their patterns of direct anger and hostility expression during the observational interaction task. Exploratory analyses found that individuals' behaviors exhibited during the interaction task were consistent with self-reported ratings of these behaviors. Finally, exploratory analyses also indicated that individuals' patterns of behavior such as hostility impacted their partners' perceptions of the quality of their relationships. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) University of Limpopo, 2017 / The study investigated the prevalence of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms and their relationship with pregnancy-related anxiety, prenatal depression and clinical anger among African pregnant women. The sample consisted of 206 pregnant women attending their antenatal check-ups at the Mankweng, Nobody and Rethabile clinics, and Mankweng hospital in the Capricorn District, Limpopo Province. When correlational analysis was conducted, the patient characteristics of age, having undergone a medical check-up, and having previously delivered a live baby generally did not correlate with any of the main scales measuring OCD, namely, perinatal depression, pregnancy-related anxiety and clinical anger (p > 0.05). Findings from the study indicated that almost 81% of the pregnant women could be classified as obsessive-compulsive disordered, when using the Foa et al. (2002) cut-off score of 21. Furthermore, findings from the regression analyses indicated that higher age, the number of gestation weeks, having previously experienced pregnancy-related complications, perinatal depression, pregnancy-related anxiety and clinical anger were variably positive predictors of OCI-R measured OCD symptoms. The predictors are specific to each of the symptoms. It can be concluded from the study that there is a relationship between OCD symptoms and all the independent variables used. / National Research Foundation

Text in English / The purpose of this study is to tell the story around the roles of relationships in the world of depressed women. The epistemological framework of this study is constructivism. This study involved a series of in-depth interviews with three depressed women who had young children. Hermeneutics was the method used to analyse the data. The stories of the participants were recounted through the researcher's lens in the form of themes that emerged. The specific ways each participant tried to cope, and the emerging processes from the researcher's perspective as to what she believed was helpful or unhelpful to the participants, in addition to what the participants themselves regarded as helpful, was discussed. Recurring themes evident in the stories of all three participants were elucidated in the story of the stories. The information gained could serve as guidelines to those working with depressed people from a Western and an African context. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

In this study, effects of facial self-reflection and complexity of self on physiological responses were investigated. Skin conductance levels were measured during baseline and neutral conditions, then under a self-focusing condition provided by mirror reflection of the face. Subjects completed measures of self-complexity, depressive affect, self-esteem, anxiety and body image satisfaction. Eye tracking data was collected during the mirror condition. Results showed a significant effect of mirror self-reflection on physiological reactivity as measured by differences between mirror and baseline mean responses. Pre-test depressive affect was correlated with low self-esteem but not with self-complexity. Self-complexity was negatively correlated with orientation to physical appearance and positively correlated with greater differences between baseline and mirror mean reactivity. Self-complexity and depressive affect did not significantly predict physiological reactivity, although a trend was found for the influence of each variable. Post-hoc analyses showed significant group differences for both self-complexity and depressive affect on physiological reactivity, although the influence of self-complexity was in the unexpected direction. Results of this study are consistent with general findings that negative self-esteem, anxiety and depression are strongly correlated. In addition, a strong correlation was found between negative self-esteem and dissociative symptoms. Exploratory analyses of eye tracking data found no significant relations among personality variables and percent of time looking at facial image, although some trends were found. Trends for a relation of self-complexity with time looking at facial image, negative evaluation of appearance in the mirror, and less focus on physical appearance suggest a component in the domain of self-complexity related to physical appearance. Clearly, self-complexity has a number of interrelated dimensions and remains a challenging area of study. In addition, the combination of eye tracking and physiological measurement is a relatively new area of study that shows promise for continued investigation.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein found in the blood that is synthesized by the liver and has been extensively studied due to its role in inflammatory and atherosclerotic processes. The importance of this biomarker in its role in vascular risk factors is increased with several lines of evidence pointing to its association with cognitive decline. The association between CRP and depression has been increasingly analyzed by various cross-sectional studies. The research between CRP and depressive symptoms in older women has yet to generate consistent trends. In the present study, a series of regression analyses was used to explore the association between CRP and both cognitive function and depressive symptomatology among a group of rural-dwelling women. Associations were evaluated through the use of data from Project FRONTIER, a rural-based research looking at both physical and cognitive aspects of health in rural-dwelling adults and elders. Comparisons were made between Mexican American women and a group of non-Hispanic Caucasian women. CRP was a significant independent predictor of total depression (beta = -.11, t = -1.99, p =.048). CRP was also a significant independent predictor of symptoms associated with meaningless within depression (beta = -.16, t = -2.94, p =.004). Contrary to prediction, CRP was not a significant independent predictor of overall cognitive function or performance in five specific cognitive domains. There is still needed evaluation on racial/ethnic differences present in regard to the impact of varied health factors on mental health within a culturally rich, rural cohort. It is recommended that future studies utilize standardized measurement of cognitive function to facilitate a more thorough understanding and comparison of change in this particular population.

This longitudinal study examined factors influencing the relationship between sustained partner violence and depression/suicidality among ethnically diverse, low income, community women. The sample at Wave 1 consisted of 303 African American, 273 Euro-American, and 260 Mexican American women in long term relationships with a household income less that twice the poverty threshold. There were no ethnic differences on frequency of partner violence, depression, or suicidality. The moderate relationship between partner violence and women's depression, confirmed previous findings. Frequency, but not recency, of violence predicted depression and suicidal ideation for African Americans and Mexican Americans, even after controlling for earlier depression or ideation. Recent violence did not predict Euro-American's depression or suicidality after controlling for initial scores. Causal and responsibility attributions for partners' violence did not mediate the relationship between violence and depression or suicidality in any ethnic group. However, African American women's attributions of global effects for violence mediated the relationship of violence on depression and suicidal ideation. Poverty level and marital status moderated the relationship between violence and the number of times women seriously considered and actually attempted suicide. Frequent violence was most lethal among the poorest women and marriage provided the least protection for women in the most violent relationships. Specifically, poverty status moderated violence on consideration of suicide for African Americans and Euro-Americans and suicide attempts among Mexican Americans. Marital status moderated partners' violence on suicidal ideation and attempts for Mexican Americans and consideration of suicide for Euro-Americans, but was not a moderator for African Americans' depression or suicidality. Women with different ethnic backgrounds appear to differ in the ways partner violence contributes to their depression and suicidality. Policy implications include the need to offer suicide intervention, particularly for low income women seeking services for violence. Mental health professionals should routinely inquire about partner violence when women present with depression or suicidality. Further, sensitivity to ethnic differences is recommended when confronting women's attributions regarding violence.

A convenience sample of 184 first-time childbearing women was recruited from two public hospitals with one hospital randomly selected as the experimental group. The experimental group (n = 92) received the childbirth psychoeducation programme and routine childbirth education. The comparison group (n = 92) received the routine childbirth education only. / Outcomes on learned resourcefulness, maternal role competence and perinatal depression were measured by C-SCS, C-PSOC (Efficacy Subscale) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), respectively, at baseline, immediately post-intervention, six weeks and six months postpartum. Maternal role satisfaction was assessed at six weeks and six months postpartum using C-PSOC (Satisfaction Subscale). Doubly multivariate analysis of covariance was performed to compare the effects of childbirth psychoeducation programme between the experimental and comparison groups. In addition, 16 participants in the experimental group were interviewed at six weeks postpartum to explore their perceived impacts of childbirth psychoeducation programme in helping them cope with the experience of new motherhood. Content analysis was used to analyze the interview data. / Results of the phase I study indicated good psychometric properties of C-SCS and C-PSOC in Chinese childbearing women. Results in the phase II study revealed significant improvement in learned resourcefulness at six weeks postpartum (p = 0.004), and overall reduction in depressive symptoms (p = 0.01) for women receiving the childbirth psychoeducation programme compared with the routine childbirth education group after adjusting for baseline group differences on age and social support. No significant change was detected on maternal role competence. However, women receiving the childbirth psychoeducation programl1'l;e had significantly higher level of satisfaction in the maternal role at six weeks postpartum (p = 0.01). / The crisis nature of early motherhood, the frequent feeling of incompetence in the maternal role, the increasing evidence of postpartum depression in the Chinese population, coupled with the changing nature of socio-cultural environment challenge midwives to make continued refinement of childbirth education to enhance women's adjustment during the transition to motherhood. Learned resourcefulness has been identified as an important coping repertoire that promotes healthy adjustment in the perinatal period. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a childbirth psychoeducation programme based on the concept of learned resourcefulness. / The qualitative interviews revealed that the experimental group perceived the childbirth psychoeducation programme to be helpful in increasing their confidence in the maternal role, improving their emotional well-being and fostering the development of learned resourcefulness skills. The findings of this study support the effectiveness of childbirth psychoeducation programme based on the concept of learned resourcefulness for reducing depressive symptoms in first-time Chinese childbearing women, and highlight the contributions midwives can make to continue improving the quality of childbirth education in Chinese society. / The study had two phases. The first phase aimed at establishing the psychometric properties of the Chinese versions of Self-Control Schedule (C-SCS) and Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (C-PSOC), which were used as outcome measures in the second phase. The second phase adopted a pretest-posttest, control group quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of a childbirth psychoeducation programme on learned resourcefulness, maternal role competence and satisfaction, and perinatal depression. / Ngai Fei Wan. / Adviser: W. Y. Ip. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-300). / 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. / Abstract also in Chinese; some appendices in Chinese.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2006. / Thesis directed by E. Mark Cummings for the Department of Psychology. "April 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-90).

Obstetric surgical repair is the common therapeutic intervention available to women with obstetrical fistula. While surgical repair can address the physical symptoms, it may not end the psychological challenges that women with fistula face. This longitudinal study investigated the effects of surgical obstetric fistula repairs on the severity of depression and anxiety associated with obstetric fistula among 219 women admitted at six fistula hospitals in Ethiopia. Data was collected through structured Likert-scale questionnaire both on admission (prior to surgical obstetric fistula repairs) and on discharge (post obstetric fistula repairs).. Statistical Package for Social Science plus Analysis of Moment Structures (SPSS-AMOS) version 20 was used for data analysis. Findings indicate that women with obstetric fistula have higher psychological distress such as depression (91%) and anxiety (78%) pre-surgical repair than post-surgical repair. These psychological distresses were exacerbated by poor social and psychological support of women with obstetric fistula by the family and health care professionals. The findings were used to develop integrated mental health treatment model for women with obstetric fistula in order to address psychological health needs of this population. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)