<p> People with insomnia overestimate how long it takes to fall asleep and underestimate the total amount of sleep they attain. While memory is normally decreased prior to sleep onset, this decrease is smaller in insomnia. Insomnia generally and the phenomena of underestimation of sleep and greater memory prior to sleep area associated with arousal including cortical, autonomic, and cognitive arousal. The goal of the present study was to simultaneously examine arousal across these domains in relation to memory and accuracy of sleep estimation. </p><p> Forty healthy adults completed baseline measures of sleep, psychopathology, and memory, then maintained a regular sleep schedule for three nights at home before spending a night in the sleep laboratory. On the night of the sleep laboratory study, participants completed measures of cognitive arousal, were allowed to sleep until five minutes of contiguous stage N2 sleep in the third NREM period. They were then awoken and asked to remain awake for fifteen minutes, after which they were allowed to resume sleeping. For the entire duration that they were awake, auditory stimuli (recordings of words) were presented at a rate of one word per 30 seconds. Participants slept until morning, estimated how long they were awake and then completed memory testing, indicating whether they remembered hearing each of the words previously presented along with an equal number of matched distracter words. </p><p> Memory was greatest for words presented early in the awakening, followed by the middle and end of the awakening. High cortical arousal prior to being awoken was associated with better memory, particularly for the early part of the awakening. High autonomic arousal was associated with better memory for the late part of the awakening. Cognitive arousal was not associated with memory. Longer duration of sleep prior to being awoken was associated with better memory for the middle of the awakening. Better memory at baseline was associated with better memory, specifically in the middle of the awakening. Contrary to expectation, memory for the awakening was not associated with accuracy of the perceived length of the awakening. </p><p> The present study found complementary associations between cortical and autonomic arousal and memory for an awakening from sleep. This suggests that decreasing arousal in both domains may reduce the discrepancy between subjective and objective sleep in insomnia. This also suggests the initial magnitude of decrements in cognitive performance after being awoken are related to deeper proximal sleep initially, while speed of improvement in cognitive performance is related to longer prior sleep duration.</p><p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1999. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 60-06, Section: B, page: 2959. Adviser: Stephen Hibbard.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2002. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-08, Section: B, page: 3936. Adviser: Amy M. Wisniewski.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2003. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-06, Section: B, page: 2931. Adviser: Amy Wisniewski.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-53).

<p> El prop&oacute;sito general del estudio fue investigar si difieren significativamente los perfiles cognitivos de adultos puertorrique&ntilde;os con y sin s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n. Esta investigaci&oacute;n fue de naturaleza cuantitativa, y se utiliz&oacute; un dise&ntilde;o transversal. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 229 adultos puertorrique&ntilde;os (62% mujeres) de la comunidad mayores de 50 a&ntilde;os (M = 63.07, DE = 9.34). La muestra fue dividida en dos grupos, adultos sin s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n (n = 175) y adultos con s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n (n = 54). Los resultados mostraron diferencias significativas en el estado cognitivo general (ECG) de los grupos con y sin s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n, t(227) = 3.46, p = .001, d = 0.22, 95% IC [0.97, 3.54]; siendo el ECG del grupo con s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n significativamente menor. Al explorar diferencias entre los grupos por funciones cognitivas, se observ&oacute; que el grupo con s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n present&oacute; un desempe&ntilde;o cognitivo significativamente m&aacute;s bajo que el grupo sin s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n en las funciones: atenci&oacute;n, concentraci&oacute;n y memoria de trabajo, t(227) = 3.23, p &lt; .01, d = 0.21, 95% IC [0.29, 1.20], funciones ejecutivas, t(76.84) = 2.52, p &lt; .05, d = 0.28, 95% IC [0.10, 0.86], y lenguaje, t(227) = 2.92, p &lt; .01, d = 0.19, 95% IC [0.18, 0.91]. Al realizar an&aacute;lisis de regresi&oacute;n lineal m&uacute;ltiple para evaluar si las variables edad, sexo, escolaridad y s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n permiten explicar la variabilidad en el ECG de la muestra total, se observ&oacute; que la variable sexo no aport&oacute; de forma significativa. Dejando la variable sexo fuera del modelo, se observ&oacute; que las variables edad, escolaridad y s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n permitieron explicar el 38.9% de la varianza en el ECG de la muestra. Se concluy&oacute; que los d&eacute;ficits cognitivos en adultos puertorrique&ntilde;os con s&iacute;ntomas de depresi&oacute;n se caracterizan por bajo funcionamiento del ECG y de las funciones atencionales, ejecutivas y de lenguaje. Para un tratamiento eficaz de la depresi&oacute;n y/o el deterioro cognitivo, es clave un diagn&oacute;stico diferencial. Finalmente, se recomienda el desarrollo de programas de pol&iacute;tica p&uacute;blica, as&iacute; como m&aacute;s investigaciones en la isla sobre la relaci&oacute;n depresi&oacute;n y deterioro cognitivo.</p><p>

Memory is a salient area of functioning in adulthood known to be influenced by beliefs about performance. Past socio-cognitive research has shown considerable support for the effect of positive feedback and/or self-efficacy on memory performance. The present study used hierarchical linear regressions and path analysis to examine whether self-efficacy would mediate the relationship between identity processes (i.e., individual differences in self-concept) and memory performance. The present study also investigated whether the proposed mediated relationship between identity processes, self-efficacy, and memory performance was moderated by feedback condition. 98 community-dwelling adults (M=70.05, 60-90) were randomly assigned to the three feedback conditions: Positive Feedback (N=33), No Feedback (N=32), Neutral Feedback (N=33). Contrary to expectation, identity processes were not related to memory performance. Path analyses results showed that positive feedback strengthened the relationship between self-efficacy and memory performance when compared to the neutral and no feedback group. The findings support the utility of using positive feedback as a means to enhance the positive effect of self-efficacy on memory performance with older adults.

Previous empirical research demonstrated that major depressive disorder (MDD) had a profound impact on adults. What remained unaddressed in the research was the ability of those with MDD to form positive responses during challenging life events. The purpose of this exploratory quantitative study was to examine the cognitive ability of MDD patients to form positive responses on a standardized psychological assessment. This study, guided by Beck's cognitive theory of depression, was designed to determine whether depressed individuals were prone to negativity and had decreased ability to form positive responses to challenging situations. A 2x2 ANOVA was used to analyze 116 participants who voluntarily completed the Changes in Outlook Questionnaire (CiOQ). Results indicated that the group diagnosed with MDD scored significantly lower than a control group on the positive response scale of the CiOQ and that men diagnosed with MDD scored significantly lower than women diagnosed with MDD on the positive response scale of the CiOQ. This research has positive social change implications in that practitioners may use the findings in developing more effective treatments to help those with MDD to learn to form positive responses in the midst of challenging life events. Practitioners may also develop their ability to recognize when men with MDD are depressed by using the CiOQ to obtain written responses from individuals who do not verbalize depression. This research may also be useful for future research and application within the field.

<p> Although gratitude may seem straightforward, it is a complex construct comprised of cognitive, emotional and behavioral elements. Gratitude has been presented as a positive psychological character trait, coping response, attitude, moral virtue, emotion, and habit (Emmons, McCullough, &amp; Tsang, 2003), and significant overlap exists among these definitional presentations (Lambert, Graham, &amp; Fincham, 2009). Despite definitional limitations, promising evidence indicates that gratitude can help survivors positively process and cope with trauma and contribute to the post-trauma recovery experience (Kashdan, Uswatte, &amp; Julian, 2006; Vernon, Dillon, &amp; Steiner, 2009). Yet, there is a lack of research examining how gratitude is expressed in psychotherapy with those who have experienced trauma. </p><p> The purpose of the current study was to qualitatively explore expressions of gratitude by psychotherapy clients who were trauma survivors. A deductive coding system was used, based on existing gratitude literature that allows researchers to comprehensively examine different types of gratitude. This study also compared gratitude expressions that took place during trauma and non-trauma discussions, which is an area of research that had not been examined. </p><p> In contrast to existing assessment and research, the findings from this study revealed that clients tended to express gratitude infrequently, in a <i> Narrow</i> manner or in a manner that was <i>Not Otherwise Specified </i>. Findings revealed that client expressions of gratitude were captured by four of the nine proposed coding categories: personal gratitude, gratitude for specific benefits received from a higher power, gratitude expressions that are not otherwise specified, and generalized gratitude as an attitude, in order of frequency. </p><p> It is hoped that the current study will contribute to the definition, understanding and measurement of gratitude in therapy. By demonstrating the extent that gratitude is utilized in psychotherapy with clients who have experienced trauma, the results of this study can be used as a baseline from which to compare results of future studies that evaluate the effects of training therapists in gratitude interventions. This study may also help therapists develop a deeper understanding of a gratitude that emerges as a result of trauma, which can potentially inform their use of gratitude in future assessment and treatment. </p>

<p> This study presents a group therapy program for injured athletes recovering from a traumatic physical injury to address and provide coping skills for the trauma-related symptoms athletes may experience post-athletic injury. Eleven expert reviewers in the field of sport psychology, injury rehabilitation, and athletic development reviewed the program and provided feedback regarding the utility, accuracy, organization, applicability, and additional factors. Although reviewers noted traumatic reactions are experienced by a sub-group of athletes, they also generally agreed the group therapy program could aid in clinical work and reduce trauma-related distress experienced by athletes after an injury and provide social support within a safe environment, allowing discussion and sharing of experiences with one another.</p><p>