Events in the life history of an individual such as childhood stressful events alter the strategies that guide behavior, specifically sexual strategies. Evolutionary Developmental Psychology suggests that development must be studied through the integration of various aspects, such as Attachment, Sexual strategies, and Personality. Important and stable part of psychology, personalitys factor Neuroticism reflects how people react to stress. Considering this, in the present thesis we analyzed the relationship between childhood stressful life events, neuroticism and adult attachment. We interviewed 173 people, 99 women and 74 men, aged from 18 to 45 years old (M= 29.51; SD= 7.3), that had a family income range from 1 to 3 Brazilian MW. We applied a Stressful Events Inventory, a Neuroticism Test, and an Attachment Scale. It was found an average of 16,59 of occurrence of stressful events (SD = 5.82). In addition to this high frequency, it was found that the greater the number of stressful events, the greater the perceived stress; and participants perceived the events as more stressful than expected. There were sex differences, with men experiencing more events related to violence and authority, and women, more events that are social. Women also tended to perceive all events as more stressful and to have higher Neuroticism. 42% of the sample had a secure attachment style, less than expected. Lastly, occurrence of stressful events, neuroticism, age, and income explained 46% of variance of this sample attachment style. A structural model analysis showed that neuroticism mediates the relationship between occurrence of stressful events and attachment, without the role of perception. This means that Neuroticism has a much larger role than previously credited, and its study in research on development can explain the high variation found when examining the relationship between childhood and adulthood / Eventos na história de vida de um indivíduo, tais como eventos estressores da infância alteraram as estratégias que orientam o comportamento, especificamente as estratégias sexuais. A Psicologia Evolucionista do Desenvolvimento sugere que o desenvolvimento deve ser estudado através da integração de vários aspectos, como apego, estratégias sexuais, e personalidade. Parte importante e estável da psicologia, o fator de personalidade Neuroticismo reflete como as pessoas reagem a eventos de vida. Considerando isso, na presente tese foi analisada a relação entre eventos estressores da infância, neuroticismo e apego adulto. Foram entrevistadas 173 pessoas, 99 mulheres e 74 homens, com idades entre 18 a 45 anos (M = 29,57; DP = 7,35), com renda familiar de 1 a 3 SM. Foi aplicado o Inventário de Percepção de Eventos Estressores, a Escala Fatorial de Neuroticismo, e a Escala de Estilo de Relacionamento. Foi encontrada uma média de 16,59 eventos estressores ocorridos (DP= 5,82). Além dessa alta frequência, encontrou-se que quanto maior o número de eventos estressores, maior foi o estresse percebido, e os participantes perceberam os eventos como mais estressantes do que o esperado. Houve diferenças sexuais, com homens relatando mais eventos ligados à violência e autoridade, e as mulheres, mais eventos sociais. Elas também tendiam a perceber todos os eventos como mais estressantes e a ter escores mais altos de Neuroticismo. 42% da amostra tinha um estilo de apego seguro, menos do que o esperado. Por fim, a ocorrência de eventos estressores, o neuroticismo, idade, e renda explicaram 46% da variância do estilo de apego desta amostra. Uma análise de modelo estrutural mostrou que o neuroticismo mediava a relação entre ocorrência de eventos estressores e apego. Isso significa que o Neuroticismo tem um papel muito maior do que o anteriormente creditado, e seu estudo em pesquisas com desenvolvimento pode explicar a alta variabilidade encontrada quando se examina as relações entre infância e vida adulta

<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>

This study examined the frequency of university students with self-esteem level at first. Moreover, the difference between male and female and the difference between achiever and non-achiever students were examined with respect to self-esteem. Also the relationship between self-esteem score of university students and stressful life events was examined. Three hundred thirty one university students from different grades and departments of Middle East Technical University have been participated in this study. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Life Events Inventory for University Students (LEIU) and four-question demographic information form were used for this study. Factor analysis for LEIU was made for this study. At the end of the factor-analysis, three factors were identified. These were called as self-related anxiety/problems / environmental, adjustment, family events/problems / and academic events/problems. To examine the percentage of students with high and low self-esteem, frequency of the participant was calculated. In addition, independent samples t-test was applied to investigate the difference between male-female and achiever-non-achiever students on self-esteem, while Pearson product moment correlation was applied to examine the relationship between self-esteem and stressful life events. It was found that there were 302 students (88.6 %) with high self-esteem level, while there were 39 students (11.4 %) with low self-esteem level. According to independent samples t-test results, it was found that achiever students&amp / #8217 / self-esteem score was higher than non-achiever students whereas there is no significant difference between male and female on the self-esteem score. Finally, it was found that there is a significant relationship between self-related anxiety/problems, environmental, adjustment, family problems and academic events/problems and self-esteem.

SAIDA SHARAPOVA The role of stress in racial disparities of preterm and low birth weight births in Georgia (Under the direction of Richard Rothenberg, MD, MPH) Preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) are the leading causes of infant deaths in Georgia. Georgia PRAMS data (2004-2008) were analyzed for non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black women with singleton births, using SAS 9.2 survey procedures. Thirteen stressful life events experienced in a year before delivery, socio-demographic, medical and behavioral risks were used as predictors of PTB and LBW. Significant racial disparity in birth outcomes and risks was found. In Whites stressful events were associated with adverse birth outcomes in bivariate logistic regression, but weakened when controlling for other factors (income, education, maternal age, maternal health, alcohol and tobacco use, infant’s gender and birth defects). In Blacks, association between stressful events and adverse birth outcomes adjusted for other risks was stronger. Socio-economic factors and mother’s health status were more significant in predicting birth outcome. Women’s health and SES improvement might increase favorable pregnancy outcomes and reduce racial disparities.

En förutsättning för att undvika depression och istället uppleva posttraumatiskt växande (PTG), efter att ha upplevt belastande livshändelser, kan vara känslan av sammanhang (KASAM). Denna studie syftar till att undersöka om det finns en skillnad mellan belastande livshändelser avseende negativa utfallet depression samt undersöka om en stark KASAM kan vara avgörande för att individen istället utvecklar PTG. I studien undersöks 150 studerande vid Örebro universitet. Av resultatet framgår det att studenterna med högt värde av belastande livshändelser är mer deprimerade än studenterna med lågt värde, oberoende av KASAM. Dock hittades ingen signifikant skillnad mellan belastande livshändelser och KASAM avseende PTG.Huruvida belastande händelser utvecklar en positiv eller negativ förändring hos individen kan istället avgöras av personens tolkning, hantering av situationen. / A basis to avoid depression and instead experience posttraumatic growth (PTG), after stressful life events, may be a sense of coherence (SOC). This study investigates whether there is a difference between stressful life events regarding the negative outcome depression and to examine whether a strong sense of coherence can be essential to develop PTG instead. 150 students at Örebro University were examined. The result showed that students with high value of stressful life events are more depressed than students with low value, independent of SOC. However, no significant difference was found between stressful life events and SOC regarding to PTG.Whether a stressful event develops a positive or negative change in the individual may instead be determined by how the person interprets and handles the situation.

<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>

Este trabalho investigou a manifestação de sintomas depressivos e eventos de vida estressantes em crianças e adolescentes, através de três estudos. No primeiro estudo, verificaram-se os sintomas depressivos, a freqüência e o impacto de eventos adversos de forma transversal, em 257 jovens, de ambos os sexos, de 7 a 16 anos, sendo que 130 residiam em abrigos de proteção governamentais e não governamentais e 127 moravam com suas famílias na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre. Foram utilizados o Inventário de Depressão Infantil (CDI) e o Inventário de Eventos Estressores na Infância e Adolescência (IEEIA) para avaliar depressão e eventos estressores, respectivamente. Os resultados apontaram médias mais altas de sintomas depressivos e de ocorrência de eventos estressores no grupo institucionalizado. No segundo estudo, foi explorada a estrutura fatorial de uma adaptação do CDI, a partir de um banco de dados composto por 951 crianças e adolescentes, de 7 a 17 anos. Os dados apontaram que o instrumento apresenta características psicométricas adequadas e foi possível estabelecer normas percentílicas por sexo e faixa etária. No último estudo, longitudinal, buscou-se identificar um modelo de preditores de sintomas depressivos em participantes institucionalizados (N=127), através de uma análise de regressão linear múltipla. O modelo preditivo englobou o escore inicial de sintomas, seguido pelos eventos “Ter problemas com professores”, “Sentir-se rejeitado pelos colegas e amigos” e “Um dos pais ter que morar longe”. Destaca-se a importância de prevenir a ocorrência de eventos estressores na escola e família, bem como promover intervenções junto às crianças e adolescentes institucionalizados. / The present study verified the depressive symptoms manifestation as well as the stressful events in children and adolescents through three studies. In the first study, the depressive symptoms and the frequency and impact of adverse events were verified. A total of 257 youths of both genders, age 7-16 took part in this study. Among those, 130 lived at government and non-government protection youth shelters and 127 lived with their families in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Stressful Events in Childhood and Adolescence Inventory (IEEIA) were used to assess depression and stressful events respectively. The results showed a significant higher mean score among institutionalized children and adolescents for both depressive symptoms and frequency of stressful events mentioned. In the second study, the factorial structure of the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) for 951 children and adolescents, between 7 and 17 years was explored. Data pointed out good psychometric properties and it was possible to present norms in percentiles by gender and age group. Finally, the last study aimed at identifying, with a longitudinal design, a model of predictors of depressive symptoms in the institutionalized sample (N=127) through the regression linear multiple analysis. The predictive model included the initial depressive score, followed by the stressful events “to have problem with teacher”, “feelings of peer rejection” and “one of parents ought to live so far”. It is highlighted the importance of preventing events related mainly to the school and familiar conflicts, as well as promoting interventions with vulnerable families.

xvi, 159 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation involves two studies investigating the disclosure of life experiences in the context of real relationships in real time. Study 1 included 126 university students and community members. Pairs of participants who had known each other for at least three months were eligible. After participants completed a set of self- report measures, one member of the pair was randomly selected to disclose an experience he/she had not previously disclosed to the other member of the pair. A final set of self- report measures was then completed by each participant. The interaction was videotaped for coding and analyses. Using the coders' and disclosers' ratings of listeners' behaviors, we examined the impact of both verbal and nonverbal responses to disclosure and identified two modifiable behaviors (interruptions and posture) that contributed to conveying support. Results indicated that leaning backward was associated with more negative responses to disclosure and moderate levels of interruption were associated with more supportive responses to disclosure. Study 2 involved similar recruitment procedures to Study 1 and included 220 university students and community members. Pairs of participants were randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition and researchers were blind to condition. After completing a series of self-report questionnaires, the person randomly assigned to the discloser role was asked to describe an experience of mistreatment not previously disclosed to the other participant. This interaction was videotaped. Following this, participants completed post-disclosure questionnaires Then, psychoeducational materials regarding either healthy lifestyle improvements (control condition) or supportive listening techniques (experimental condition) were distributed, followed by a quiz on these materials. A second experience of mistreatment was disclosed and a final set of post-disclosure questionnaires was completed. Results indicated that the psychoeducational materials were effective in enhancing supportive responses to disclosure such that listeners in the experimental condition demonstrated significantly fewer unsupportive behaviors than listeners in the control condition. Listeners who started with high levels of unsupportive behaviors benefitted the most from the psychoeducational materials. Although there are several limitations of these studies and additional research with more diverse samples is needed, the findings represent an important preliminary step in research. / Committee in charge: Jennifer Freyd, Chairperson, Psychology; Gordon Hall, Member, Psychology; Sara Hodges, Member, Psychology; Jeff Todahl, Outside Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services

Este trabalho investigou a manifestação de sintomas depressivos e eventos de vida estressantes em crianças e adolescentes, através de três estudos. No primeiro estudo, verificaram-se os sintomas depressivos, a freqüência e o impacto de eventos adversos de forma transversal, em 257 jovens, de ambos os sexos, de 7 a 16 anos, sendo que 130 residiam em abrigos de proteção governamentais e não governamentais e 127 moravam com suas famílias na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre. Foram utilizados o Inventário de Depressão Infantil (CDI) e o Inventário de Eventos Estressores na Infância e Adolescência (IEEIA) para avaliar depressão e eventos estressores, respectivamente. Os resultados apontaram médias mais altas de sintomas depressivos e de ocorrência de eventos estressores no grupo institucionalizado. No segundo estudo, foi explorada a estrutura fatorial de uma adaptação do CDI, a partir de um banco de dados composto por 951 crianças e adolescentes, de 7 a 17 anos. Os dados apontaram que o instrumento apresenta características psicométricas adequadas e foi possível estabelecer normas percentílicas por sexo e faixa etária. No último estudo, longitudinal, buscou-se identificar um modelo de preditores de sintomas depressivos em participantes institucionalizados (N=127), através de uma análise de regressão linear múltipla. O modelo preditivo englobou o escore inicial de sintomas, seguido pelos eventos “Ter problemas com professores”, “Sentir-se rejeitado pelos colegas e amigos” e “Um dos pais ter que morar longe”. Destaca-se a importância de prevenir a ocorrência de eventos estressores na escola e família, bem como promover intervenções junto às crianças e adolescentes institucionalizados. / The present study verified the depressive symptoms manifestation as well as the stressful events in children and adolescents through three studies. In the first study, the depressive symptoms and the frequency and impact of adverse events were verified. A total of 257 youths of both genders, age 7-16 took part in this study. Among those, 130 lived at government and non-government protection youth shelters and 127 lived with their families in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Stressful Events in Childhood and Adolescence Inventory (IEEIA) were used to assess depression and stressful events respectively. The results showed a significant higher mean score among institutionalized children and adolescents for both depressive symptoms and frequency of stressful events mentioned. In the second study, the factorial structure of the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) for 951 children and adolescents, between 7 and 17 years was explored. Data pointed out good psychometric properties and it was possible to present norms in percentiles by gender and age group. Finally, the last study aimed at identifying, with a longitudinal design, a model of predictors of depressive symptoms in the institutionalized sample (N=127) through the regression linear multiple analysis. The predictive model included the initial depressive score, followed by the stressful events “to have problem with teacher”, “feelings of peer rejection” and “one of parents ought to live so far”. It is highlighted the importance of preventing events related mainly to the school and familiar conflicts, as well as promoting interventions with vulnerable families.

The target of the thesis was to map stressful factors which are affecting on patients in oncology ward. First I had to study literature about cancer and what can be stressful for patients. Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells. Cells are spread by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). Cancer may affect people at all ages, but risk tends to increase with age. It is one of the principal causes of death in developed countries. Sequels of cancer affect bio-psycho-social field of human. Patients have to be operated, have had hard therapy and some of patients have to stay many weeks in oncology ward. Patients go through difficult psychological periods and their families also. For everybody it is stressful term and after treatment patients are feared of relapse cancer. After treatment some of patients go back in their jobs and some of them have disability allowance or old age pension. After literature review about cancer I started with my research. I was attending oncology ward in the Hospital České Budějovice for 2 months. I talked with patients and assessed stressful factors. I chose 20 patients, 10 men and 10 women all sorts of age. By the results there has been confirmed one hypothesis. Hypothesis 1: Women with neoplasia have more stressful factors than men with neoplasia. Second hypothesis, I could not confirm because in my research, there was a few patients with higher education. Hypotesis 2: By patients with neoplasia, which have lower education, decreasing number of stressful factors. After research I determined Hypothesis 3: By patients with neoplasia, with growing age, decreasing number of stressful factors. I suppose that the target of the thesis has been reached.