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This study explored whether female college students who endorse a history of self-mutilation and those who do not can be reliably differentiated across the following constructs derived from object relations theory: representations of parental care and overprotection, separation-individuation conflicts, emotional body investment, affect regulation, and perceived stress. While these variables have been implicated in the selfmutilation literature, there have been few attempts to empirically assess them. Moreover, there has been very little research investigating self-mutilation in non-clinical, college age youths, despite the reported risk and prevalence of this behavior within the college population. The operational definition of self-mutilation utilized in this study was borrowed from Favazza (1996) and refers to deliberate, non-suicidal infliction of harm to the body. Self-mutilation was assessed using the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI; Gratz, 2001), from which a group of 85 self-mutilators and a group of 176 non-mutilators were identified. A mixed methods approach was utilized and included the collection of quantitative data via a secure, online questionnaire, as well as a qualitative interview component with a small number of self-mutilators designed to offer a more complete, phenomenological understanding of this experience. Logistic regression analyses indicated the following variables were significant predictors of self-mutilation: Mother Care, Father Overprotection, Separation Anxiety, Body Care, and Body Protection. Self-mutilators were more likely to experience their fathers as encouraging of autonomy and to experience separation anxiety compared to non-mutilators. Self-mutilators were also less likely to perceive maternal care as warm and affectionate and less likely to care for and protect their bodies compared to nonmutilators. Qualitative interviews uncovered salient themes related to self-mutilation in this sample. The overall results suggest that object relations may be a useful perspective from which to conceptualize self-mutilation and offer important implications for future research and clinical practice. / text

Depression is one of the most prevalent and least understood emotional problems which afflicts individuals in North American society Along with feelings of alienation and anomie, it leads the list of the modern individual's emotional complaints. It has been recognized as a problem since antiquity and descriptions of the symptoms of depression have been remarkably similar over time. Despite the general agreement in descriptions of the disorder, modern researcher, like their ancient counterparts, have consistently complained about their slow progress in understanding and treating the problem. Depression has been described as paradoxical, elusive and perplexing. (Beck, 1967) One of the most striking and perplexing aspects of depression in North America is the well established fact that women experience and are treated for depression in far greater numbers than men (Weissmand and Klerman, 1977) Many social workers in the field are well aware of the higher incidence of depression among women as they are frequently confronted by female clients who report that they feel sad, hopeless, and unable to cope with their lives. These complaints may range from mild but pervasive feelings of apathy, fatigue, boredom and gloom (frequently called the housewife's complaint) to intense and overwhelming feelings of despair which too often lead the woman to a desparate suicide attempt. Both the prevalence and the seriousness of depression in women is a cause for concern among mental health practitioners. Yet, except for research exploring forms of depression which only effect women (i.e. post partum depression) , there has been little systematic research into the causes and treatment of depression, specifically in women. However, there have been indications of greater interest in this area within the past ten years. Renewed interest has, in part, been sparked by the advent of modern feminism and feminist critiques of the mental health system' s understanding of female psychology and its treatment of troubled women. Feminists have focussed their attention on analyzing women's role in modern society and on explicating the effects which the feminine role has on the emotional difficulties which many women experience. Feminists have challenged many commonly accepted assumptions about the nature of femininity and have attacked the mental health community's acceptance of this traditional view of women. They have criticized treatment programs which are based on what they consider to be a distorted view of women and have proposed alternate ways of helping emotionally troubled women. The feminist challenge to the mental health system has special relevancy for the field of depression, the most common of all of women's psychiatric complaints. The challenge has raised many important issues for mental health practitioners. It has focussed attention the the links between women and depression and has raised questions about the ways in which practitioners analyze and treat depressed women. This paper is an attempt to examine the links between depression and women, and to look at the issues involved, in understanding and treating the problem. The first section examines the problem from the clinician and clinical researchers point of view. It looks at depression as a psychiatric problem. How prevalent is it? How is it defined? What causes it? How can it be treated? The issues which are dealt with in this section are: a) findings in the research on prevalence of depression, with particular emphasis on findings of female preponderance; b) the definition of clinical depression, the assumptions on which the definition rests and the problems involved in defining depression; and c) an examination of the 4 dominant explanatory and therapeutic schemes related to depression (organic, psychoanalytic, cognitive, and behaviorist theories). The emphasis in section C is on critically analyzing the major underlying assumptions which each theory makes in constructing and treating the depressed woman, The research evidence on which each theory rest is examined. Feminist and other critiques of the major theories of treatment approaches are presented. Section II looks at the feminist view of depression and women. Issues which are examined in this section are: a) feminist analysis and critique of the mental health community's treatment of emotionally troubled women; b) the feminist analysis of women's role in society and the relationship between women's role and depression; c) feminist approaches to working with depressed women. The focus in this section is on explicating the underlying assumptions of the feminist approach. Relevant research findings are presented as well as critiques of the feminist position. The final section summarizes those aspects of theory and practice which the author sees as significant to social workers who are working with depressed women. This section Includes a discussion of some of the conclusions which the author has reached about working with depressed women in this society, and suggestions for what the author hopes is a more integrated approach to the problem. In order to facilitate the analysis of the major issues and approaches to working with depressed women, a case example is presented in Section I and used throughout this paper. The case study is based on Sylvia Plath’s novel The Bell Jar which chronicles the life of Ester Greenwood, a 20 year old college student who becomes seriously depressed as she attempts to define her own identity as a woman and artist in 20th century North American society. This semiautobiographical novel can be taken as a document of Plath's understanding and explication of what it means to be a depressed woman. As it was written by a woman, who both endured and ultimately succumbed to that experience, it seems an appropriate choice for a case example and one which provides some insight into the desparate struggle which depressed women so often endure. The problem of depression and women is complex, and there is considerable disagreement among theoreticians, researchers and practitioners about how it can best understood and treated. the lack of clarity in the field and the conflicting approaches to the problem have implications for the women who seek help from the mental health community. As social workers, we are intimately involved in the problem of depression and women. As a profession we often, stand at the interface between the woman within her social world and the psychiatric treatment world. Frequently, it is we social workers who help a woman embark on her career as a mental patient. It is often our job to make an initial assessment of the woman 's mental state, and to extract relevant details of her life for presentation to the treatment community. In some settings, we may be engaged in the treatment process itself. We are often involved in the social ramifications of depression for the woman and her family. We may be asked to provide practical or emotional support for her, and on some occasions we are responsible for placing her children in foster care. In view of our extensive professional involvement with depressed women, It is important for us to be sensitive to the many issues in the field, and as a profession, to approach this problem with as broad and comprehensive an understanding of it as possible. It is hoped that this paper will be helpful in adding some clarity to this complex and difficult problem. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The central purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the devaluation of women's psychological problems upon the recognition of women's behavior as deviant and the subsequent impact of both variables upon the recognition of women's need for psychological treatment. A secondary purpose was to determine whether culture and gender influenced each concept in this study. The study utilized a mathematical correlational design with a causal modeling approach to test a three-stage theory. The convenience sample selected for the study consisted of 80 subjects: 20 Arabic males; 20 Arabic females; 20 Anglo American males; and 20 Anglo American females living in a southwestern city. A three-scale instrument (each scale contains two subscales) was constructed to index the theoretical concepts. Reliability and validity estimates were conducted to determine the psychometric properties of the instrument. The theory was tested using correlational, analysis of variance, and multiple regression statistical techniques. The traditional orientation of the Arabic culture appears to account for the differences found in the data. Along with cultural influences, gender also appeared to impact upon two of the concepts in the neurotic level, devaluation of neurotic behavior (B = -.64) and recognition of the need for treatment of neurotic behaviors (B =.22), with males evidencing a lower level of sensitivity to women's psychological problems. Gender interacted with culture for two concepts, devaluation of neurotic behavior (B = -.28) and recognition of neurotic behavior as deviant (B = -.27), and Arabic males were the least sensitive group. Both culture and gender did not have an impact upon devaluation of psychotic behavior and recognition of the need for treatment of psychotic behavior. However, there were cultural differences in the recognition of psychotic behavior as deviant. Arabic subjects probably evaluated some of psychotic behaviors as religious rather than considering them as psychiatric disorders. Only the variable, devaluation of women's psychological problems was found to be a predictor of recognition of women's need for treatment. Also the variable, devaluation of women's psychological problems, had an impact upon recognition of women's behavior as deviant.

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The purpose of this investigation was to expand the existing body of research on women's mental health outcomes, by examining the influences of conformity to feminine gender norms and womanist identity attitudes on mental health outcomes. Specifically, the present study examined whether there were patterns of womanist identity attitudes or conformity to feminine norms that were associated with higher levels of psychological well-being, and self esteem and lower levels of psychological distress. Furthermore, the study examined the combined impact of conformity to feminine norms and womanist identity attitudes on the measured mental health outcome variables. Three criterion related profile analyses were conducted entering the feminine norm subscales as predictors and psychological well-being, psychological distress and self-esteem as the criterions. Three criterion related profile analyses were conducted entering the womanist identity attitudes subscales as predictors, and the mental health outcome variables as the criterions. The results indicated that there were identified criterion patterns of conformity to feminine norms and womanist identity attitudes that were significantly related to higher levels of self-esteem, psychological well-being and lower levels of psychological distress. A cluster analysis was performed resulting in a three-cluster solution that categorized participants into groups based on similar endorsement to the predictor variables. The three cluster groups were entered into MANOVAs, which identified significant differences between the clusters on all of the measured mental health outcome variables. The findings, implications for clinical practice and future directions are discussed.

Depression in women is a major mental health issue and social work practitioners can, at some stage in their careers, expect to work with women experiencing depression. Journal therapy, the use of writing for therapeutic purposes, is one example of support and intervention offered to women. The use of journal therapy and specifically the use of journalling by women in Women’s Journalling Groups were investigated in this research. Limited research had been undertaken in the area of journal therapy with women experiencing depression. / The research was undertaken in four phases and used a modified form of grounded theory to develop the research design and to identify and articulate ideas about women’s use of journalling during depression. Phase one established the baseline knowledge for the research through a Co-operative Inquiry underpinned by feminist research principles. Findings from the Inquiry identified: / Two key methods of journalling and women’s responses to depression: • The Considered Acknowledgement, Acceptance and Contemplation framework • The Proactive Resistance, Rehearsal, Agency and Action framework; / Four key narratives that women had created about their journalling and their understanding of depression in women: • Identification and expression of emotions; • Identity, sense of self and self-value; • Structural and social roles, relationships and expectations; and • Transformative choices, opportunities and accomplishments; / Phase two involved the conceptualising, formalising and transfer of this knowledge into the development of a Women’s Journalling Group program. Through the facilitation of two Women’s Journalling Groups in phase three, the journalling activities were found by women to be relevant and meaningful for them in assisting them to understand their depression and move toward recovery. Phase four included the final stage of knowledge utilisation and transfer. / A most significant and new finding from this research was that journalling undertaken by the women was a form of action in response to their depression. Far from being a passive, ruminative, purposeless pastime, journalling was an evolving and sustaining action that enabled the women to gain insights and understandings into themselves and their depression. Journalling activities enabled women to identify and express the many feelings and thoughts that attached to their depression. In reaching clearer understandings of themselves and their depression and in gaining confidence in making choices about their future, women were engaged in processes of consciousness-raising and resistance. Resistance to social and structural expectations, roles and stereotypes was important for the women who could then redefine and redevelop their authentic sense of self and identity. Resistance could occur on an individual level in the journal and on a collective level within Women’s Journalling Groups. / The major outcomes of this research have resulted in a model of journalling that has been used to develop a theoretically grounded Women’s Journalling Group program. Whist some further developmental work is required with the program, it nevertheless provides a tested therapeutic intervention that can be offered to women experiencing depression.

Since the legalization of abortion, some research studies have argued that abortion has a neutral effect when considering other coexistent factors (e.g. Adler et al., 1990; Major et al., 2000; Steinberg & Russo, 2008). Other studies have concluded that abortion has a negative influence on women's psyche (e.g. Congleton & Calhoun, 1993; Cougle, Reardon, & Coleman, 2005; Hamana et al., 2010). College populations have been generally excluded from abortion research, even though, in 2007, 57% of women obtaining abortions were between the ages of 20 and 30 years (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). This study intended to measure the influence of induced abortion on the current mental health status of college women and describe the characteristics of women obtaining abortions. An online survey was administered to female college students (N= 46). The participants were divided into two pregnancy outcome groups: (1) women who reported a history of fetal deliveries, and (2) women who reported a history of abortion. Each group was asked if abortion or fetal delivery contributed to their current mental health status. Independent variables included the participants' pregnancy outcome (abortion vs. delivery) and establishing if abortion/fetal delivery contributed to current mental health (yes/no answer). The dependent variables included current psychological distress symptoms as measured by the nine primary symptom dimensions of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. The data were analyzed using a two-way mixed-design MANOVA. Evidence indicated that psychological symptoms were not dependent on respondents' perception of whether or not current mental health was affected by pregnancy outcome. This study does not support public policies or practice based on the belief that abortion emotionally harms women. Further research should concentrate in strategies to prevent unwanted pregnancy in order to reduce the need for abortion.

Previous research suggests that marital problems, inhibited communication, social rejection, and mutual hostility characterize the interpersonal behavior of depressed patients. The specificity and external validity of these results is questionable since most of this research used analogue designs or lacked important control groups necessary to separate the effects of depression from psychological disturbance in general. This study examined interpersonal aspects of depression within the context of the marital relationship. A battery of standardized and original questionnaires was administered to couples in three comparison groups defined by the wife's level of depression and psychotherapy patient status: a depressed patient group, a non-depressed patient group, and a normal control group. Results of planned comparisons revealed that, relative to the married couples with nondepressed patients and normal control wives, the depressed patients and their husbands saw their marriages as more maladjusted with less open communication. Husbands of the depressed patients also reported feeling more anxiety and acting less honestly or supportively specifically when interacting with their spouses. Husbands in the depressed patient group also rated their wives more negatively in terms of their overall interpersonal impact and saw their own actions as more generally negative when interacting with the depressed spouse. Both spouses in the depressed patient group rated themselves as feeling more hostile generally, while the husbands saw the depressed patients as specifically impacting them in a hostile manner. These results were seen as consistent with Coyne's interpersonal model of depression which suggests that depressed behavior and affect may be maintained by the responses it evokes from interacting others. The finding of greater hostility in both the depressed patients and their husbands replicates previous controlled research but contradicts most psychological theories of depression which predict lowered hostility in depression. Implications for further research and therapy with depressed patients are also discussed.

The present study examined the self-disclosure of socially anxious and depressed-mood women students within the context of a face-to-face dyadic interaction. It also examined the influence of the interaction on their levels of affect, physiological arousal, and acceptance of their partners. The impact of the interaction on their partners' affect and acceptance was also explored. The results showed that anxious and depressed-mood subjects exhibited different, and specific patterns of inappropriate disclosure. The socially anxious subjects exhibited reduced amounts of nonreciprocal disclosure which was best characterized as moderate in nature. The depressed-mood subjects displayed increased amounts of overly intimate, negatively valanced disclosure. The results also indicated that before the interaction the subjects varied on the measures of affect and arousal as a function of their status on the subject selection variables and that the interaction had different effects on the different types of subjects. The socially anxious subjects were characterized by lower preinteraction levels of positive affect and higher levels of negative affect. The interaction had a negative effect on them, it maintained their low levels of positive affect, high levels of negative affect, and increased their levels of physiological arousal. The depressed mood subjects were characterized by lower preinteraction levels of positive affect, and higher levels of negative affect and physiological arousal. The interaction was positive for them, however, as they experienced increases in their positive affect and decreases in their negative affect. The socially anxious subjects were rejected by their partners but induced neither positive nor negative affect in them. The depressed-mood subjects were not rejected by their partners but created an ambivalent emotional reaction in them. The results are discussed within an interpersonal framework and suggest that a reinterpretation of Coyne's (1976) model provides a good conceptual framework to explain these, and other recent results. The possible developmental framework for maladaptive interpersonal behaviours is explored within a modification of Arkin's (1981) social motivational model. The results of this study are also discussed in the context of a tripartite model of anxiety and depression and provide partial support for that model.