Graduate Students Who Hold Themselves to High Standards Are More Prone to Depression Than Others

Academic perfectionists are more prone to major depression than others. Self-critical and 'needy' personality types are at risk for experiencing recurring bouts of major depression.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Facial expressions and ambivalence: Looking for conflict in all the right faces

ABSTRACT: The present study examined the impact of conflict over emotional expression on the nonverbal communication process between romantic partners. Fifty-four romantically involved female undergraduate students who scored within the upper or lower 30 th percentile range on the Ambivalence over the Expression of Emotion Questionnaire (AEQ; KEY WORDS: ambivalence; conflict over expression; emotional expression; facial expressions; nonverbal communication. Ambivalence over the expression of emotion (AEE) is a personality construct found to relate to interpersonal difficulties in romantic relationMarnin J. Heisel is a faculty member in th

Reductions in Negative Automatic Thoughts in Students Attending Mindfulness Tutorials Predicts Increased Life Satisfaction

University education confronts students with stressful developmental challenges that can lead to mental health problems. Innovative programs must address an increasing prevalence of these problems but are impeded by the high costs involved. In this study, thirty-nine undergraduate students attended weekly one hour mindfulness meditation tutorials during a single (14 week) semester. Tutorials involved 40 minutes of guided meditation, followed by open-ended discussions on mindfulness and related scientific research. Multiple regression analysis tested associations between self-reported changes in mindfulness, in negative automatic thoughts and in satisfaction with life.Reductions in automatic thoughts accounted for a significant proportion of variance in life satisfaction and decreases in automatic thoughts were associated with an increased life satisfaction. This finding suggests guided meditation tutorials merit consideration in promoting student mental health on university campuses.

Reductions in negative automatic thoughts in students attending mindfulness tutorials predicts increased life satisfaction

University education confronts students with stressful developmental challenges that can lead to mental health problems. Innovative programs must address an increasing prevalence of these problems but are impeded by the high costs involved. In this study, thirty-nine undergraduate students attended weekly one hour mindfulness meditation tutorials during a single (14 week) semester. Tutorials involved 40 minutes of guided meditation, followed by open-ended discussions on mindfulness and related scientific research. Multiple regression analysis tested associations between self-reported changes in mindfulness, in negative automatic thoughts and in satisfaction with life.Reductions in automatic thoughts accounted for a significant proportion of variance in life satisfaction and decreases in automatic thoughts were associated with an increased life satisfaction. This finding suggests guided meditation tutorials merit consideration in promoting student mental health on university campuses.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC

Mindfulness as an Alternative for Supporting University Student Mental Health: Cognitive-Emotional and Depressive Self-Criticism Measures

Increases in university-based mental health problems require alternative mental health programs, applicable to students with elevated psychological risks due to personality traits. This study examined the cognitive-emotional outcomes of a university mindfulness meditation (MM) program and their relationship with Self-Criticism (SC), a personality factor linked to depressive vulnerability. University students (n = 71) were assessed at baseline with the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), a measure of depressive personality traits, and two outcome measures: Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI). Students attending the MM program were reassessed for outcomes at 3 follow up assessments over 2 semesters. Repeated measures analyses of variance revealed improved within-subjects effects with large or very large effect sizes for the subsample that completed the MM program (n = 18) on the POMS Tension-Anxiety, POMS Depression, POMS Fatigue, and Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Multiple linear regression using self-criticism as a predictor of change in depressed mood revealed that higher self-criticism predicted greater reductions in POMS Depression. This study provides evidence for MM-related cognitive-emotional benefits, suggesting that students with elevated self-critical traits may derive exceptional benefits evident in greater reductions of depressed mood

Mindfulness as an Alternative for Supporting University Student Mental Health: Cognitive-Emotional and Depressive Self-Criticism Measures

Increases in university-based mental health problems require alternative mental health programs, applicable to students with elevated psychological risks due to personality traits. This study examined the cognitive-emotional outcomes of a university mindfulness meditation (MM) program and their relationship with Self-Criticism (SC), a personality factor linked to depressive vulnerability. University students (n = 71) were assessed at baseline with the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), a measure of depressive personality traits, and two outcome measures: Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI). Students attending the MM program were reassessed for outcomes at 3 follow up assessments over 2 semesters. Repeated measures analyses of variance revealed improved within-subjects effects with large or very large effect sizes for the subsample that completed the MM program (n = 18) on the POMS Tension-Anxiety, POMS Depression, POMS Fatigue, and Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Multiple linear regression using self-criticism as a predictor of change in depressed mood revealed that higher self-criticism predicted greater reductions in POMS Depression. This study provides evidence for MM-related cognitive-emotional benefits, suggesting that students with elevated self-critical traits may derive exceptional benefits evident in greater reductions of depressed mood

Emotionally Intelligent People Choose More Supportive Partners

Emotionally intelligent people – in other words, people with a greater ability to understand and use their emotions in their day-to-day life – tend to choose romantic partners who are supportive and not critical. The partners of people with high levels of EI are not overbearing in their support. People who tend to suffer from depression may not need as much direct support if they are higher on EI.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Origins of depressed affect in dependent and self-critical individuals

Cognitive, motivational, and emotional contributors to depressive affect were investigated in dependent and self-critical college students. In the first study, Dependency and Self-Criticism were related to anaclitic and introjective dysfunctional cognitions which explained part of the variance in perceived stress for events involving loss and failure respectively. In the second study, the personality styles were related to different motive dispositions including achievement, affiliation and intimacy. Dependency and Self-Criticism were also related to motivational characteristics which were significant predictors of positive and negative affect. In the third study, Dependency was linked to the occurrence of romantic relationship stressors and Self-Criticism to academic stressors. Both personality styles were related to greater ambivalence over emotional expression, which significantly predicted depression. The variables from the cognitive, motivational, and emotional domains, and stress, were combined in an integrative vulnerability model for depression