Test of the Cognitive Vulnerability-Stress Model in Predicting Hypomanic Symptoms in College Students

The current thesis adds to the literature on the interaction of cognitive vulnerability, in particular dysfunctional attitudes, and negative life events in predicting hypomanic symptoms in a sample of college-aged students. Consistent with Beck’s cognitive model, prior work has examined the cognitive vulnerability-stress interaction in predicting depression and depressive symptoms in college students. This study extends the model to predicting hypomania symptoms. Data were collected in a larger study, where 355 undergraduate students, aged 18 years and older, were evaluated on mood, stressful life events in the past year, and several cognitive vulnerabilities to depression at the beginning of the semester. The sample was reassessed at the end of the semester on mood and stressful life events in the interim. This study tested the hypothesis that baseline Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS) score would interact with both negative and positive life events over the semester to predict growth in hypomania symptoms over the semester. Hypomania was assessed through the Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale (ARMS). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted with end of semester ARMS score as the outcome and baseline DAS, negative (positive) life events in the interim, and the interaction term as predictors, after controlling for baseline ARMS score and negative (positive) life events in the past year. Dysfunctional attitudes did not interact with either negative or positive life events in the interim to predict growth in hypomania symptoms over the semester. There was a significant predictive effect of positive life events, whereby greater positive life events over the semester was associated with increased hypomania symptoms over the semester. These results do not support the cognitive vulnerability-stress model for hypomanic symptoms, as tested using these methods in this sample. This study is limited by the relatively short follow-up interval of approximately 4-months, which restricted the time for significant negative and positive life events to develop. These results provide evidence that perceived impact from positive life events might confer risk for increased hypomanic symptoms over a semester in college students, which can inform prevention efforts for students

The moderation effect of secure attachment on the relationship between positive events and wellbeing

Positive events can reduce depression as well as enhance wellbeing. The role of secure attachment style in moderating the relationship between positive events and wellbeing is examined to further understand wellbeing models. Participants (n = 490) included two midlife groups and a student group from the UK. They completed the online Computerised Life Event Assessment Record (CLEAR), a measure of life events, the Vulnerable Attachment Style Questionnaire (VASQ) and the Warwick Emotional Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). Age was associated with higher rates of wellbeing and secure attachment style. A significant relationship was found between number of positive events and wellbeing, number of people close, and secure attachment score. Hierarchical multiple regression indicated a significant interaction between secure attachment style, number of positive life events and wellbeing. Simple slopes analysis demonstrated the association between positive life events and wellbeing was significant for secure attachment (B = 1.27, p = .003) but not insecure attachment (B = .04, n.s.). This suggests securely attached individuals are better able to take advantage of positive life events than insecurely attached individuals and experience a greater increase in wellbeing

Maternal Interaction Style in Affective Disordered, Physically Ill, and Normal Women

Affective style (AS) and communication deviance (CD) have been suggested as markers of dysfunctional family environments that may be associated with psychiatric illness. Studies have focused mainly on parental responses during family interactions when an offspring is the identified patient. The present study is unique in examining AS and CD in mothers with unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, or chronic physical illness, and in normal controls. The sample consisted of 64 mothers with children ages 8 to 16. Unipolar mothers were more likely to show negative AS than were any other maternal group. There were no group differences for CD. Chronic stress, few positive life events, and single parenting were associated with AS. CD was associated solely with lower socioeconomic status. Results suggest that dysfunctional interactions are determined not only by maternal psychopathology, but also by an array of contextual factors that are related to the quality of the family environment

Disclosure Writing with the Use of Manipulating Writing Instructions: A Disclosure Writing Study

It is well known that writing about traumatic life events has both physical and psychological long term benefits. James Pennebaker and his colleagues (Pennebaker, Mayne, & Francis, 1997; Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999) suggested that both negative and positive disclosure writing instructions could be useful in understanding positive life events, not only the negative life events. The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the order in which participants write about their positive or negative perspectives of life events through an expressive writing paradigm and manipulate the order of instructions that includes negative-only expression, negative to positive expression, positive negative expression, and neutral writing expression. It is hypothesized that writing about negative events then positive events could allow for a greater increase in positive affect, in contrast to writing about strictly negative events or strictly positive events. Once individuals have written about a negative topic then a positive topic, it could help make individuals gain an understanding about a negative event and view positive events with great meaning, without allowing for rumination and negative mood. Undergraduate students were instructed to complete a writing task for fifteen minutes for two days. Follow up evaluations were administered two weeks after the second writing task, asking participants to rate their meaning in life, their health and wellbeing, and positive and negative effectiveness (PANAS). This experiment could determine that the order in which participants write could change the writing paradigm from the completely separating life experiences into strictly negative expression and strictly positive expression. In conclusion, results showed that writing about negative and positive events created further benefits of writing allowing individuals to put negative events in perspective while focusing on the presence of positive life events

The Role of Positive Life Events on Treatment Outcome during Acute and Maintenance Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Recurrent Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a highly recurrent and potentially chronic disorder. While much research has focused on the role of severe life events as important risk factors for depression onset, less is known about the relationship between positive life events and MDD. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between positive life events and recovery from an acute episode of depression and maintenance of recovery in the context of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) treatment in women with recurrent MDD. One hundred thirty-one women who were enrolled in the "Maintenance Psychotherapy in Recurrent Depression" study (MH 49115 E. Frank, PI) entered into maintenance treatment and received at least one Life Events and Difficulties Schedule interview (LEDS; Brown & Harris, 1978). To simultaneously account for both positivity and threat, event ratings were divided into four mutually exclusive categories: provoking, severe, neutral, and positive. A Cox proportional hazards model with each of the four categories of life events included as time-dependent covariates was used to test the cumulative effects of life events on 1) time to remission during the acute treatment phase and 2) time to recurrence during the maintenance phase. Contrary to the hypotheses, there was no relationship between the cumulative experience of positive life events and remission from MDD during the acute treatment phase, nor was there a significant relationship between the cumulative experience of positive life events and episode recurrence. However, the cumulative experience of "neutral" life events was significantly related to episode recurrence, even when controlling for demographic and clinical variables, including personality pathology. This finding suggests that the cumulative effects of seemingly benign "neutral" events may disrupt therapy processes and trigger episode recurrence. Future work is needed to further elucidate the nature of these neutral life events and how they may be related to stress reactivity or stress generation in patients at high risk for MDD recurrence. This may help to clarify the mechanisms by which life events contribute to depression and how best to target these areas in therapy

Beliefs About Savoring in Older Adulthood: Aging and Perceived Health Affect Temporal Components of Perceived Savoring Ability

The ability to savor positive life events is associated with higher emotional well-being; however, few studies have examined savoring ability in older adults. The present study used a longitudinal design to examine changes in perceived savoring abilities and associations with perceived health in older adulthood. Older adults (N=131) reported on beliefs about savoring and perceived health at baseline and 2½ years later. Perceived anticipation (savoring the future) and reminiscing (savoring the past) abilities declined from baseline to follow-up. Better perceived health at baseline predicted greater perceived reminiscing and anticipation abilities at follow-up. Greater perceived ability to savor the present moment at baseline predicted better perceived health at follow-up. Aging and poorer health focus older adults’ thoughts on present-moment pleasures, which may benefit health, but may also lead to reductions in perceived anticipation and reminiscing abilities

The role of life events, coping style, college adjustment, and parent and peer relationship quality in predicting relational aggression in first-year college students

The role of positive and negative life events, coping style, and adjustment in predicting relational aggression in college students was investigated using a sample of fifty-one 17-19 year old male (n = 16) and female (n = 35) first year college students. The role of parental psychological control and perceived parent-child and peer relationship quality in predicting relational aggression was also assessed. Students who were less well-adjusted to college academically and socially, and who were less satisfied with and committed to their choice of college, used more relational aggression. Students using the coping strategies of positive reinterpretation, acceptance, and planning were shown to be less relationally aggressive. Additionally, students experiencing fewer positive life events used more relational aggression, as did students perceiving high maternal psychological control and low parent alienation. Results, implications, and directions for future research are discussed

Two Economists’ Musings on the Stability of Locus of Control

Empirical studies of the role of non-cognitive skills in driving economic behavior often rely heavily on the assumption that these skills are stable over the relevant time frame. We analyze the change in a specific non-cognitive skill, i.e. locus of control, in order to directly assess the validity of this assumption. We find that short- and medium-run changes in locus of control are rather modest on average, are concentrated among the young or very old, do not appear to be related to the demographic, labor market, and health events that individuals experience, and are unlikely to be economically meaningful. Still, there is no evidence that locus of control is truly time-invariant implying that the use of lagged measures results in an errors-in-variables problem that could downward bias the estimated wage return to locus of control by as much as 50 percent. Those researchers wishing to analyze the economic consequences of non-cognitive skills should consider (i) restricting their analysis to the working-age population for whom there is little evidence of systematic change in skill levels and (ii) accounting for error in the skill measures they employ.non-cognitive skills, locus of control, stability, measurement error, endogeneity, life events