University students experience a range of life events whilst studying. Extensive research has established that university life events (events that are synonymous with studying) can be associated with student dropout from university. However, less is known about what university life events are experienced collectively by student ‘persisters’ (individuals who do not dropout). This study therefore sought to establish when persisters reported (and how they perceived) experiencing university life events. Between-group differences amongst students were considered. Life events have been attributed to personal change which can manifest in a number of ways, including change in career and professionalism. Understanding the associations between life events and career/professional development could serve to enhance the support that a university could provide to students in these areas. Consequently whether/when university life events were associated with students’ career thoughtfulness, decidedness and professionalism was addressed. An Interpretivist epistemological orientation was assumed and a comparative case study design was employed (involving three data collection phases). Phase one (pilot work) employed interviews and repertory grids to identify the range of events that student persisters might experience whilst studying at university; tentative between-group differences were considered. Based upon pilot work findings, three instruments were constructed, piloted and validated (phase two).These instruments addressed 1) university life event experiences; 2) career thoughtfulness and decidedness; and 3) professionalism status. Phase three (main study) involved administering the instruments quasi-longitudinally to students from two fundamentally different courses (‘professional’ (associated with a very well-defined career route and emphasis on specific professional development) and ‘generalist’ (associated with a more open-ended career route and less prescribed professional development)) at the start and end of the academic year. Result accuracy was checked through follow-up interviews with lecturers. III Trends were established between student groups in terms of what university life events were experienced and how these were perceived. Differences in reporting were found based on year group, course type and time of the academic year. Based on collective data, experiences most synonymous with specific stages of studying on a professional or generalist course were identified and are discussed. Different life events were found to be associated with enhanced or reduced career thoughtfulness, decidedness and professionalism throughout the academic year. Findings were considered holistically and an overview of how life events are associated with these areas was presented. Follow-up interviews overwhelmingly supported questionnaire findings. Explanations for findings and result applicability were considered. Suggestions for future work and recommendations are presented.

<p>The main aim of the current study is to examine the relationship between community violence exposure and the development of psychopathology and examine the relationship between community violence exposure and other types of trauma, that is, childhood trauma and stressful life events. It was hypothesised that exposure to community violence will have a high correlation with development of psychological disorders such as mood and anxiety and psychotic disorders. The main study employed a quantitative research design in order to determine the relationship between PTSD in children and adolescents. The current study used secondary data to measure the correlation between exposure to community violence and the development of psychopathology. The data for this study was collected from 132 consecutive referrals between the ages of 13 to 19 (mean age = 15.4, SD = 1.6) from a youth stress clinic at a university in the Western Cape. Findings indicated that community violence prevalence was higher than previous South African studies but lower compared to American studies. There was generally a high prevalence of PTSD and major depressive disorder (MDD) in this sample compared to previous South African studies. An unexpected outcome was that even though there was a high prevalence of PTSD, there was no relationship between community violence exposure and PTSD in this sample, rather, community violence exposure was related to MDD. Furthermore, MDD and not PTSD was related to experiences of childhood trauma. Stressful life events were related to acute stress disorder (ASD).</p>

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This research involved an examination of Beck's congruency hypothesis (1983). There were three studies, each examining an assumption that underpins the congruency hypothesis. There were two groups of participants: 61 remitted depressives and 61 university student controls, who were followed for a 1-year period. The first study stemmed from Blatt's theory that interpersonal and achievement-oriented personality styles are independent and enduring, arising from different early childhood experiences. It investigated individuals' perceptions of the parenting style they had experienced in the first 16 years of their life and how these related to their current personality style. Overall, an achievement-oriented personality style (self-criticism) was predicted by maternal protectiveness in the university student sample and by a lack of maternal warmth in the clinical sample. No relationship between perceptions of early parenting and an interpersonal personality (dependency) was found. The second study comprised two parts. The first examined the stability of personality over the 1-year examination period. This was seen as an important test. For personality to be a vulnerability factor or diathesis in terms of the congruency hypothesis, it must be stable over time. The second part of this study investigated whether any significant changes in personality over time were predicted by recent negative life events that had been experienced. The results showed that all of the personality constructs investigated (sociotropy, autonomy (solitude, independence), dependency, self-criticism) were stable over the 6-month period. However, during the 12-month period, there was a significant decrease in mean scores on sociotropy for the university students group and a significant decrease in mean scores on sociotropy and dependency for the remitted depressives group. For the remitted depressives group, change in dependency was predicted by stress resulting from negative life events as rated by an independent research team (objective stress) but not by participants' own ratings of the stressfulness of these events (subjective stress). In research testing the congruency hypothesis, life events are routinely classified as being either sociotropic or autonomous. The third study investigated the validity of this practice. The results of this study demonstrated only partial support for the a priori procedure for classifying events in this way. Across samples (university students and remitted depressives) and measures (self-reported and interview measures of life events), participants did not consistently rate events as sociotropic or autonomous in line with their own personality styles. Throughout the research, many of the methodological shortfalls that were identified as being present in prior research on the congruency hypothesis were addressed. Notably, comparisons were made between the different samples (student versus clinical) and measures (self-report versus interview) used. The results of the current research differed depending on the choice of sample and the type of measures used. For example, in some instances, significant results were found only when the stressfulness of an event was rated by the research team (objective stress) rather than by the participants themselves (subjective stress). However, it is subjective stress that is most commonly used in previous research on the congruency hypothesis. This choice could well contribute to the many non-significant results found in this area of study. These and other methodological issues are taken into account, examined, discussed, and recommendations for future research are made.

abstract: Cognitive reappraisal, or redefining the meaning of a stressful circumstance, is useful in regulating emotional responses to acute stressors and may be mobilized to up- or down- regulate the stressors’ emotional salience. A conceptually-related but more targeted emotion regulation strategy to that offered by cognitive reappraisal, termed positive cognitive shift, was examined in the current study. Positive cognitive shift (“PCS”) is defined as a point of cognitive transformation during a chronic, stressful situation that alters the meaning and emotional salience of the situation for the individual. Key aspects of the PCS that differentiate it from the broader reappraisal construct are that it 1) is relevant to responses to chronic (versus acute) aversive events, 2) is deployed when there is a mismatch between coping and stressors, and 3) involves insight together with redefinition in meaning of the situation generating stress. The current study used qualitative and quantitative analyses to 1) examine whether PCS is an observable, reliable, and valid experience in response to a stressful event that occurred in the past year, and 2) test whether PCS moderates the relations between the number of past-year stressful life circumstances and subsequent emotional well-being and functional health. A community sample of 175 middle-aged individuals were interviewed regarded a past chronic stressor and completed questionnaires regarding number of past year stressors and health outcomes. Theory-based coding of interviews was conducted to derive reliable scores for PCS, and findings indicated that PCS was evident in 37.7 % of participant responses. Furthermore, PCS scores were related positively to openness, personal growth from one’s most difficult lifetime event, and affect intensity-calm, in line with predictions. Also in line with prediction, PCS moderated the relations between number of past-year life events and health outcomes, such that the deleterious relations between past year stressful events and cognitive functioning, wellbeing, positive affect, and negative affect were weaker among individuals higher versus lower in PCS. Of note, PCS moderation effects diminished as the number of stressful events increased. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2018

abstract: Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) was used to study the role of child individual, parental, and environmental predictors of anxiety across childhood and adolescence. Longitudinal growth modeling was used to examine the influence of behavioral inhibition, parental control, parental anxiety and stressful life events on the developmental progression of anxiety from 4 to 15 years of age. Based on these data, it appears that there are significant developmental differences between the role of child individual, parental and environmental risk factors. These results highlight the importance of considering developmental factors when assessing and targeting risk for anxiety. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2012

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The main aim of the current study is to examine the relationship between community violence exposure and the development of psychopathology and examine the relationship between community violence exposure and other types of trauma, that is, childhood trauma and stressful life events. It was hypothesised that exposure to community violence will have a high correlation with development of psychological disorders such as mood and anxiety and psychotic disorders. The main study employed a quantitative research design in order to determine the relationship between PTSD in children and adolescents. The current study used secondary data to measure the correlation between exposure to community violence and the development of psychopathology. The data for this study was collected from 132 consecutive referrals between the ages of 13 to 19 (mean age = 15.4, SD = 1.6) from a youth stress clinic at a university in the Western Cape. Findings indicated that community violence prevalence was higher than previous South African studies but lower compared to American studies. There was generally a high prevalence of PTSD and major depressive disorder (MDD) in this sample compared to previous South African studies. An unexpected outcome was that even though there was a high prevalence of PTSD, there was no relationship between community violence exposure and PTSD in this sample, rather, community violence exposure was related to MDD. Furthermore, MDD and not PTSD was related to experiences of childhood trauma. Stressful life events were related to acute stress disorder (ASD). / South Africa

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / South Africans are exposed to many traumatic events and exposure to such events is associated with negative emotional and behavioural outcomes. However, there are those who are still able to remain psychologically well amidst their difficulties. Resilience is the motivation to be strong in the face of unwarranted demands and this study proposes that it could serve as a buffer against the harmful effects of traumatic events. It is assumed that traumatic events present with demanding circumstances and further that resilience plays a role in the relationship between trauma, the challenges these events present and one’s ability to function in these circumstances. Furthermore, ‘race’ may have a particular influence on this relationship as the level and severity of trauma among different ‘racial’ groups may vary. The link between resilience and trauma has been investigated, but little focus has been given to how ‘race’ may influence this relationship among students in the South African context. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the interaction between these three variables and add to existing knowledge related to resilience. Constructs related to resilience include sense of coherence, potency, hardiness, learned resourcefulness and fortitude. The two ‘racial’ groups included in the sample include ‘African’ and ‘Coloured’ students (categories created by the past apartheid government). Resilience was measured by the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA), trauma was measured by the Harvard Trauma Scale (HTS) and violence exposure was measured by the Childhood Exposure to Community Violence Scale (CECV). Participants included 249 students at the University of the Western Cape. Results indicate that ‘Coloured’ students report similar levels of violence exposure and trauma symptoms as ‘African’ students do. ‘Coloured’ students report higher scores on overall resilience and resilience sub-scales (except the structured style sub-scale) than ‘African’ students as measured on the RSA. With regard to the trauma versus no trauma groups, the results indicate that ‘African’ students who form part of the no trauma group score higher on resilience than those who form part of the trauma group and within the trauma group ‘Coloured’ students score higher on resilience than ‘African’ students. In analyses amongst the high and the low trauma groups, the results indicate that those who form part of the low trauma group score higher on resilience than those who are among the high trauma group; ‘African’ students who form part of the low trauma group score higher on resilience than those who form part of the high trauma group; and ‘Coloured’ students who form part of the low trauma group score higher on resilience than those who form part of the high trauma group. The results yielded in the current study are both similar to and differ from findings presented in previous studies and highlight the complexity of the construct of resilience. Limitations of the study are outlined and recommendations for future research are also provided.

Background: Young childbearing women have an increased risk of experiencing perinatal depression when compared to adult childbearing women. Perinatal depression has been associated with adverse life events in the literature and conceptually, in frameworks such as the Lifecycle Approach to Risk Factors for Mental Disorders Model. Purpose: The purpose of this manuscript-based thesis was to (1) determine the prevalence of: (i) adverse life events that have been associated with depression and (ii) depressive symptoms among the young pregnant and parenting women who access specialized services in an urban centre in Ontario, Canada; (2) determine which adverse life events are predictive of depression during the perinatal period, in this population; and (3) examine the psychometric properties of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for use in a population of young childbearing women who access specialized services in an urban centre in Ontario, Canada. Methods: A survey was conducted with 102 young women from two agencies that provide specialized services to young parents. The interviewer-administered questionnaire included demographic questions, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Antenatal Psychosocial Health Assessment, the Centers for Epidemologic Studies Depression Scale, Brown’s Support Behaviour Inventory. Results: 31.4% of the sample screened positive for perinatal depression. The only adverse life events found to predict perinatal depression were satisfaction with support from ‘others’ and intimate partner violence. Another predictor was very young maternal age (14 – 17 years). The EPDS was found to be psychometrically sound when used in this population of young childbearing women. Conclusion: In this study of young childbearing women in Ontario, Canada, we found a high prevalence rate of perinatal depression and adverse life events. Furthermore, we identified specific factors that predict the development of perinatal depression in this group. Nurses can use these findings to help prioritize perinatal screening efforts to identify this condition early on in order to lessen the adversities related to perinatal depression.

Background: Justice-involved populations report a higher than average number of pre-incarceration stressful life events. However, few studies have described stressful life events which occur during incarceration, explored gender differences in these events, or evaluated the effect of these events on well-being. Method: This study draws from a sample of male and female adults incarcerated in 6 prison facilities across two states (n = 160) to identify the number and type of stressful life events they experienced during incarceration, gender differences in stressful events, and the relationship between stressful life events and markers of well-being (i.e., depression, hopelessness, loneliness, suicidality). We also examined whether perceived social support would buffer the relationship between stressful events and well-being outcomes. Results: Participants on average reported experiencing 4 stressful life events during their current incarceration, the most common being relocation to another cell and being made fun of/insulted by someone in the prison. There were few gender differences in types of events experienced. Regression analyses showed that stressful life events were associated with more loneliness, as well as suicidality, but only when participants had low perceived social support. Conclusions: Stressful life events, and drawing on social support networks to cope with stress, should be addressed in the context of correctional treatments to reduce suicide risk during incarceration.