published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Recent approaches to the study of clinical depression stress the role of interpersonal processes in the course of the disorder. In particular, the responses of others to depressed persons are thought to be important in the maintenance of depression. Several empirical studies have shown that depressed patients tend to be rejected and to induce negative mood (e.g., depression, anxiety, and hostility) in others. The present study was a further attempt to assess the nature of the depressed person's interaction with his/her social environment. Thirty-four female subjects engaged in same sex face-to-face dyadic interactions with depressed patients, nondepressed patients, or normal controls. Behavioral and self report measures were taken of the response of others to depressed patients, nondepressed patients, and normal controls. Contrary to expectations, no characteristic patterns were identified in the response of others to depressed patients. Several possible explanations of the findings were presented. The results were discussed in terms of the interactional theory of depression and related to relevant empirical studies. Several suggestions for further research were presented.

No description available.

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / This study was undertaken in an attempt to validate the hypothesis that anxious subjects who ingested diazepam (Valium) and were subjected to a helplessness inducing situation,would become more depressed and more hopeless than people who were subjected to the same situation and obtained anxiety relief by means of a response-contingent behaviour - a muscle relaxation exercise. Twenty-nine male and female students were selected from the undergraduate and post-graduate student population at the Rand Afrikaans University on the basis of scores on the IPAT Anxiety Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental groups and the one control group and were subjected to the helplessness inducing situation. A wide spectrum of measures were performed and the results subjected to analyses of variance. The results indicated support for the hypothesis that people who received response contingent anxiety relief became less depressed than people who obtained non-response-contingent anxiety relief. No support was found for the hopelessness construct. The lack of results of this were discussed in terms of the effectiveness of the measuring instruments and that hopelessness and helplessness might be different concepts.

I hereby declare that this research report Is my own work. It is being submitted for the degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at any other university. / This study is a constructive application of Feather's (1985) investigation of the relationship between masculinity, femininity, self-esteem and subclinical depression. As such, it aimed at testing the generaliseability of Feather's finding that self-esteem is "a crucial variable to consider when accounting for the negative linkage between masculinity and depressive symptoms" (Feather 1985 p 498). Data was collected by means of questionnaires administered to English-speakirlg, unmarried, "white", female students (age range 19 - 23) registered at the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa). The subjects were all studying English at the second or third year level and at least one of each subject's parents was employed in a professional or managerial capacity. The questionnaire consisted of a form obtaining biographical information, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (the latter rneasuring masculinity and femininity). Complete data was obtained for 103 students. Questionnaires were completed in the subject's own time. Results obtained from the calculated statistics (descriptive, correlation, partial correlation and analysis of variance) led to the conclusion that Feather's principal findings can be ganeralised, at least to the student population investigated here. Hence, given the potential implications of Feather's research for intervention in and prevention of depression, additional effort is Justified to investigate the assumed causal relationship underlying his work and to focus upon clinically depressed individuals. Perhaps the chief conclusion arising from this study, however, is that the nature of the relationship between sex-role orientation and psychological well-belnq needs to be more fully explicated to account adequately for the complexity of psychological life. More specifically, for example, there is a need to define the roles of various mediating variables other than self-esteem in the relationship between sex-role orlentatlon and psychological well-being. It is suggested that a combination of a qualitative with a quantitative approach may be necessary to adequately account for the complexity of the area . / Andrew Chakane 2018

by Cheng Paul. / Includes questionnaire in Chinese. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-66). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iv / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vii / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.viii / Chapter CHAPTER 1 - --- INTRODUCTION / Local studies on Down syndrome --- p.4 / Coping and psychological distress --- p.5 / Coping and psychological distress in Chinese families with mentally retarded children --- p.11 / Psychological correlates of coping --- p.13 / "Relationship between optimism, self-mastery, coping and psychological distress" --- p.16 / Purpose of the study --- p.18 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 - --- METHOD / Subjects --- p.22 / Measures --- p.25 / Procedures --- p.30 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 - --- RESULTS / Group differences on coping --- p.31 / Factor analysis of the coping --- p.34 / "Internal consistency of LOT, SMS, & GHQ-30" --- p.37 / Inter-correlations among major variables for the three groups --- p.37 / Differences between mothers and fathers on the major variables --- p.39 / Prediction of psychological distress --- p.40 / Group differences on the major variables --- p.41 / Differences between mothers and fathers within a single family --- p.42 / Group differences on the major variables with family as the unit of analysis --- p.43 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 - --- DISCUSSION --- p.45 / REFERENCES --- p.60 / TABLES --- p.67 / FOOTNOTE --- p.83 / APPENDICES --- p.84

Yau Wai Fun. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-76). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT (English) --- p.ii / ABSTRACT (Chinese) --- p.iv / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.v / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.vi / LIST OF TABLES --- p.viii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.ix / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.x / Chapter CHAPTER ONE - --- Introduction --- p.1 / Models of Information Processing / Empirical Evidences For and Against Attentional Bias / Model of Attention and Selective Attention / Issues of Methodology / The Present Study / Chapter CHAPTER TWO - --- Method --- p.34 / Participants / Self-Report Measures / Apparatus and Stimuli / Procedure / Chapter CHAPTER THREE - --- Results --- p.44 / Effect of Experimental Manipulation / Priming Effect and Attentional Bias / Emotional versus Neutral Target Stimuli / Group Difference / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR - --- Discussion --- p.54 / "Stimuli, Priming Effect, Attentional Bias, and Psychopathologies" / Methodology and Attentional Bias / Limitations and Further Studies / Conclusion / REFERENCES --- p.66 / APPENDICES --- p.77