Teses / dissertações sobre o tema "Mental in literature Depression"

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
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Researchers and clinicians have been applying narrative techniques to psychology for decades. James Pennebaker, a noted psychologist who studies narrative therapy and techniques, helped to create the Linguistic Inquire and Word Count program (LIWC), which analyzes and delineates word usage in a given body of text. This is based on his research and interactions with narrative techniques. Through the use of LIWC, researchers have determined that individuals who present with adaptive personality traits, such as insight and a desire to seek personal growth, display a certain writing style and word usage. Socially inclusive words (such as the pronouns “we” and “us,” along with words related to social interactions), insight-related words, and emotion/affect words were linked to higher rates of health. Utilizing the LIWC tool with populations not previously studied can expand the literature on narrative analysis to include new and specific syndromes. The current study used the LIWC program to analyze works of poetry written by women with and without known mental health conditions, in order to identify markers related to depression and suicidality. Poetry by Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Parker, and Elizabeth Bishop served as the literature analyzed by the LIWC system. Each author was addressed based on depressive symptomatology; their respective word usages were noted, analyzed, and compared, looking for significant differences among the three authors. Results suggest that poetic writing focused on insight, pro-social behaviors, and opportunities for change are correlated with positive mental health. Results further suggest that the act of writing and understanding poetry may correlate to mental health intervention when certain linguistic markers are noted.

Five fan fictions based on the TV-series Shadowhunters are used to analyze the self-harming behaviors of the character Alec Lightwood, as a response to losing, and a method of regaining, control. In addition, this paper explores self-harm in relation to upbringing and culture, self-punishment, and the mental health disorders depression and anxiety. Furthermore, it employs a disability narrative perspective and utilizes two four-stage systems proposed by disability narrative theorist David A. Karp—the illness identity career and the process of adaptations—in order to demonstrate the similarities and differences between fictional and nonfictional disability narratives. The engagement in self-harm is posited to be driven by a desire to regain control, which inadvertently ends up providing the opposite: an increased loss of control, and a hindrance for recovery.

Women are twice as likely as men to become depressed. While they seek help for mental disorders more often than men, they also seek to help others, trying to keep everyone happy while taking care of parents, spouses, and children. Sometimes, doing it all is doing too much. In Finding Your Emotional Balance, Dr. Merry Noel Miller offers women of all ages advice for coping with life’s challenges while increasing its joys. Drawing on her three decades of experience as a psychiatrist specializing in women’s mental health―as well as her own personal struggles with depression and grief―she explains the special vulnerabilities and strengths of women during adolescence, the childbearing years, menopause, and late in life. Dr. Miller opens each chapter with stories about women who are dealing with issues related to their stage in life. She discusses common mental disorders in the context of life stages, exploring the symptoms of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, and unresolved grief. She also offers a variety of remedies, suggesting medical and non-medical approaches to finding emotional balance even in the most stressful times. Each chapter ends with a list of suggested readings and websites.
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Bakgrund: Depressioner hos äldre kan vara svårupptäckta till följd av en diffus symtombild samt då diagnossystemen DSM-5 och ICD-11 inte är anpassade för äldre. Många sjuksköterskor har svårigheter i att korrekt identifiera depressioner hos äldre personer. Mer kunskap och förståelse kring depressiva tillstånd hos äldre kan underlätta för psykiatrisjuksköterskor och andra specialistsjuksköterskor att identifiera dessa tillstånd samt leda till en förbättrad psykiatrisk omvårdnad av äldre personer. Syfte: Syftet var att belysa äldre personers erfarenheter av depressiva tillstånd i ålderdomen. Metod: En systematisk litteraturstudie baserad på nio kvalitativa studier genomfördes med Statens beredning för medicinsk och social utvärderings [SBU] metod som grundstruktur. Syntes av de kvalitativa studiernas resultat genomfördes enligt Howell Major och Savin-Baden. Resultat: Två tredje nivåns tema framkom: Det första tredje nivåns temat Att befinna sig på botten speglade den psykiska och existentiella förtvivlan de äldre befann sig i; en situation präglad av orkeslöshet, hopplöshet, självnedvärdering, skuld, skam, stigma, brist på stöd, ensamhet och alienation. Det andra tredje nivåns temat Att ta sig uppåt genom coping och andras stöd återgav de copingstrategier de äldre upplevde hjälpsamma samt betydelsen av andra människors stöd. Slutsats: Äldre personer som lider av depressiva tillstånd i ålderdomen bär erfarenheter av djup förtvivlan ur flera hänseenden och finner kraft i copingstrategier och stöd från andra. Nyckelord: depressiva tillstånd, erfarenheter, psykiatrisk omvårdnad, systematisk litteraturstudie, äldre
Background: Depressions in the elderly can be difficult to detect due to a diffuse symptomatology and because the diagnostic manuals DSM-5 and ICD-11 are not adapted for the elderly. Many nurses have difficulties in correctly identifying depressions in older people. More knowledge and understanding of depressive conditions in the elderly may facilitate for psychiatric-mental health nurses and other advanced practice nurses to identify these conditions and may conduce to an improved psychiatric-mental health nursing care for the elderly. Aim: To shed light on elderly persons’ experiences of depressive conditions in old age. Method: A systematic literature review based on nine qualitative studies was conducted, using Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services [SBU] as basic structure. Synthesis of the qualitative studies was carried out according to Howell Major and Savin-Baden. Result: Two third order themes emerged: The first third order theme, Being at rock bottom, reflected the existential and mental despair the elderly was in; a situation characterized by decrepitude, hopelessness, self-deprecating, guilt, shame, stigma, lack of support, loneliness and alienation. The second third order theme, Moving forward through coping and support from others, portrayed the coping strategies the elderly experienced as helpful and the importance of support from others. Conclusion: Elderly persons suffering from depressive conditions in old age experience different aspects of despair and find their path forward through coping strategies and support from others. Keywords: depressive conditions, elderly, experiences, psychiatric-mental health nursing, systematic literature review

The purpose of this study is to investigate how children as relatives of mentally ill parents are produced in picture books. It has been implemented through analysis of three selected picture books. The aim of this study is also to see what didactic function the literature has and how it can be applied in the pre-school activities. The study employes the ecological systems theory of child development by Urie Bronfenbrenner. The analysis has been conducted based on Dahlborg-Lyckhages analytical model and Nicolajevas model of person portrayal in picture books. The results shows that mental illness in picture books is equated with how the existing research defines mental illness. It also shows that the children's influence of mental illness is visualized through parentification and lack of attachment. The result also shows that there is a didactic function in the literature, the books are suitable to increase the knowledge about children as relatives of mentally ill parents and to increase knowledge about mental illness.
Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur barn som anhöriga till psykiskt sjuka föräldrar framställs i bilderböcker, i relation till vad existerande forskning säger om densamma. Det har genomförts genom analys av tre utvalda bilderböcker. Studien har även till syfte att se vilken didaktisk funktion litteraturen har och hur den kan tillämpas i förskoleverksamheten. Analysen har genomförts utifrån Dahlborg-Lyckhages modell för analys av berättelser samt Nikolajevas modell för bilderbokens personskildring och ses genom det utvecklingsekologiska perspektivet. Resultatet av analysen visar att den psykiska ohälsan likställs med hur den existerande forskningen definierar psykisk ohälsa och att barnens påverkan av den psykiska ohälsan synliggörs genom föräldrafiering och bristande anknytning. Resultatet visar också på att det finns en didaktisk funktion i litteraturen, böckerna lämpar sig för att öka kunskapen om barn som anhöriga till psykiskt sjuka föräldrar och för att öka kunskapen om psykisk ohälsa bland barn och pedagoger.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Psicologia, Departamento de Psicologia Clínica, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia Clínica e Cultura, 2016.
Texto liberado parcialmente pelo autor. Conteúdo restrito: Artigo 1 e Artigo 2.
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Diante da incipiência de pesquisas em saúde mental que levem em consideração o viés de gênero, a presente dissertação se propõe a discutir a “depressão masculina” seguindo os aportes teóricos dos estudos das masculinidades advindos dos movimentos e debates feministas. Estudos de gênero afirmam que a ideia de potência, de virilidade está no cerne da dominação masculina. E nesse sentido, os homens sofreriam, também, com esta dominação? E de que forma e por quais razões? A literatura tem feito a relação entre os fatores de risco e os fatores de proteção a saúde mental com as categorias analíticas de gênero e raça? No que diz respeito à depressão, esta foi construída como categoria, no ocidente, ao longo dos séculos e tem sido abordada em larga medida pelos grandes manuais psiquiátricos (DSM E CID). Diante de tais reflexões teóricas, o presente trabalho está constituído por dois artigos, os quais foram resultantes de duas etapas distintas da pesquisa. O primeiro artigo resulta de um levantamento bibliográfico e de uma revisão sistemática sobre o referido tema em duas das principais plataformas científicas brasileiras, a saber: LILACS e SciELO Brasil, entre os anos de 2003 a 2013. Foram encontrados na plataforma LILACS 1378 artigos e na base SciELO Brasil 386. Dentre os dezessete artigos analisados, enquadrados nos critérios de inclusão, a maioria foi de caráter epidemiológico e comparativo com as mulheres e foram quase inexistentes as pesquisas qualitativas com esse público. Além disso, as categorias analíticas tais como gênero e raça foram em sua maioria, menosprezadas pelos/as pesquisadores/as. Devido à inexistência de pesquisas qualitativas e que levassem em consideração as interseccionalidades referidas, o segundo artigo visou fomentar uma discussão sobre as masculinidades e a depressão, que ouvisse, então, as narrativas masculinas. Diante desse propósito, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, em que foram ouvidas e analisadas três histórias de vida de homens diagnosticados com depressão (sem comorbidades), em um hospital público em uma capital brasileira. Em todas as histórias narradas, percebe-se que falta a eles uma consciência de gênero no sentido de não percepção do sofrimento relacionado às normativas de gênero. Houve especificidades nos achados quanto à faixa etária e interseccionalidades de classe e raça. Sobretudo, as queixas, em geral, se localizaram na esfera sexual e laborativa, seja pela falta do que não se pode ser/realizar no passado, marcada pelo pretérito imperfeito ou pela ruptura da idealização no presente. São afetos e vivências caracterizados pelo endurecimento do corpo e dos afetos, pela competição e comparação com outros homens, com tonalidades de culpa e fracasso. Diante dessa pesquisa, portanto, sugere-se o investimento e o desenvolvimento de mais pesquisas que levem em consideração os aportes teóricos das masculinidades e que conversem com a psicologia clínica, e que podem ser efetivas e úteis para as políticas públicas de saúde mental e de saúde do homem no Brasil. Ademais, que possam romper com a psicologização e a essencialização do “masculino”, ao considerar as contribuições dos estudos de gênero e das masculinidades. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT
Given the paucity of mental health research that takes into account the gender bias, this thesis is to discuss the "male depression" according to the theoretical contributions from the studies of masculinities originated from feminist movements and debates. Gender studies claim that the power in the idea of manhood is at the heart of male dominance. In this sense, would men suffer too with this rule? How and for what reasons? Has the literature pointed out the relationship between risk factors and protective factors to mental health and the analytical categories of gender and race? As far as depression is concerned, it was built as a category in the West over the centuries and has been addressed largely by major psychiatric manuals (DSM and ICD). Given these theoretical reflections, this study is composed of two articles, resulting from two distinct stages of research. The first article originates from a literature survey and a systematic review on the topic in two main Brazilian scientific data bases, namely LILACS and SciELO Brazil between the years 2003 to 2013. LILACS platform provided 1378 articles and SciELO Brazil 386. Most of the seventeen articles analyzed, after passing the inclusion criteria, were of epidemiological character and comparative with women. Qualitative research with men was almost nonexistent. In addition, analytical categories such as gender and race were mostly overlooked by the researchers. Due to the absence of qualitative research that took into account those intersectionalities, the second article aimed to foster the discussion on masculinities and depression, having an ear to male narratives. With this purpose, a qualitative survey was conducted, in which three life stories were heard and analyzed of men diagnosed with depression (without comorbidities) in a public hospital in a capital city of Brazil. In all the stories it was clear that the men lack gender consciousness in the sense that they do not perceive the suffering generated by gender norms. There were specifics on the findings regarding age and class and race intersectionalities. Above all, complaints were generally related to sexual and productive work sphere, either because of not having done or been in the past, marked by the past continuous, or because of disruption of idealization in the present. Those are feelings and experiences characterized by hardening of the body and the emotions, by competition and comparison with other men, with shades of guilt and failure. It is suggested, therefore, investment on and development of further research that takes into account the theoretical contributions of masculinities, and that dialogues with clinical psychology. This research can be effective and useful for public policies on mental health and men’s health in Brazil. Moreover, it can break the psychologizing and essentializing the "masculine", when considering the contributions of gender and masculinities studies. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ RESUMEN
Delante de la insipiencia en investigaciones en salud mental que lleven en consideración la cuestión de género, la presente disertación se propone discutir la "depresión masculina" siguiendo los aportes teóricos de los estudios de las masculinidades derivadas de los movimientos y debates feministas. Estudios de género afirman que la idea de potencia, de virilidad está en el centro de la dominación masculina ¿Y en este sentido, los hombres sufrirían también con esta dominación?¿De qué forma y por cuales razones? ¿La literatura ha hecho la relación entre los factores de riesgo y los factores de protección a la salud mental con las categorías analíticas de género y de raza? En lo que dice respecto a la depresión, esta fue construida como categoría, en occidente, a lo largo de los siglos ha sido abordada en larga medida por los grandes manuales psiquiátricos (DSM y CID). Frente a tales reflexiones teóricas, el presente trabajo está constituido por dos artículos, los cuales fueron resultantes de dos etapas distintas del estudio. El primer artículo resulta de un levantamiento bibliográfico y de una revisión sistemática sobre el referido tema en dos de las principales plataformas científicas brasileñas, estas son: LILACS y SciELO Brasil, entre los años 2003 y 2013. Fueron encontrados en la plataforma LILACS 1378 artículos y en la base SciELO Brasil 386. Entre los diecisiete artículos analizados, encuadrados en los criterios de inclusión, la mayoría fue de caráctere pidemiológico y comparativo con las mujeres y fueron casi inexistentes las investigaciones cualitativas con ese público. Además de eso, las categorías analíticas tales como género y raza fueron en su mayoría, menospreciadas por los/las investigadores/as. Debido a la inexistencia de investigaciones cualitativas y que llevasen en consideración las interseccionalidades referidas, el segundo artículos buscó fomentar una discusión sobre las masculinidades y la depresión, que escuchara, entonces, las narrativas masculinas. Frente a este propósito, fue realizada una investigación cualitativa, en que fueron oídas y analizadas tres historias de vida de hombres diagnosticados con depresión (sin comorbilidades), en un hospital público en una capital brasileña. En todas las historias narradas, se percibe que les falta una conciencia de género en el sentido dela no percepción del sufrimiento relacionado a las normativas de género. Hubo especificidades en lo encontrado en cuanto al rango etario e interseccionalidades de clase y raza. Principalmente, las quejas, en general, se localizaron en la esfera sexual y laboral, sea por la falta de lo que no se puede ser/realizar en el pasado, marcada por el pretérito imperfecto o por la ruptura de la idealización en el presente. Son afectos y vivencias caracterizados por el endurecimiento del cuerpo y de los afectos, por la competición y comparación con otros hombres, con tonalidades de culpa y fracaso. Frente a esta investigación por lo tanto, se sugiere la inversión y desarrollo de más investigaciones que lleven en consideración los aportes teóricos de las masculinidades y que conversen con la psicología clínica, que en ocasiones pueden ser efectivas y útiles para las políticas públicas de salud mental y de la salud del hombreen en el Brasil. Además, que puedan romper con la psicologización y la esencialización del masculino, al considerar las contribuciones de los estudios de género y de las masculinidades.

Cognitive theory of depression predicts that the illness is associated with an information processing bias that interprets ambiguous information in a mood-congruent or depressive fashion. This negative interpretative bias may serve as a vulnerability factor or maintenance mechanism for a depressive illness. The majority of studies investigating such interpretative biases rely primarily on subjective experimental methodologies (eg., evaluative feedback and self-report) that are vulnerable to experimenter demand effects, response selection biases, and the influence of autobiographical memories. In addition, the results from these studies have been mixed, leading to no firm evidence for the existence of a depression-linked interpretative bias for ambiguous material. In order to avoid the limitations that have plagued subjective research, the present study utilised two of the most promising objective physiological measures of assessing interpretation: the Rapid Serial Viewing Presentation (RSVP) procedure and the affective modulation of the human eye blink reflex. The modified RSVP experiment recorded the reaction time of participants reading a textual scenario that was composed of an opening ambiguous sentence and various emotionally valenced continuations. Interpretation of the ambiguous sentence could be inferred from the reaction time as comprehension latency is inversely related to perceived plausibility. The affective modulation experiment recorded the blink amplitudes of participants startled while performing an imagery task. Blink amplitudes are augmented by negative stimuli and inhibited by hedonic stimuli. Thus, the affective interpretation of ambiguous stimuli could be inferred from the size of the recorded blink response. The results of both experiments did not support the predictions made by cognitive theory. There was no difference in the reaction time responses to the various textual stimuli between 2 depressed outpatients and healthy controls. However, antidepressant medication did have an influence upon the ability of patients to correctly judge the plausibility of the emotionally valenced continuation sentences. With regard to the eye blink experiment, there was also no difference between the depressed outpatients and the controls in terms of size of blink amplitude to the various categories of affective stimuli. Depressive, ambiguous, and distorted stimuli did not augment blink amplitudes in healthy controls or depressed patients without social anxiety disorder. However, depressed patients with a comorbid diagnosis of social anxiety disorder did react to the ambiguous stimuli in an aversive and anxious manner as indicated by increased blink amplitudes. This may be due to the social aspect of the experimental context, which engenders fears of evaluation and performance anxiety. The eye blink procedure can therefore be compromised by group selection, as the comorbidity of anxiety and depression can confound the investigation of depression-linked interpretative biases. In addition, the failure of depressive stimuli to augment blink amplitudes may render the procedure insensitive to the selection of such biases

This study explored the relationship between counterfactual thinking and depressive self-schemata. Specifically, the effect of depression on the focus, direction, and action versus inaction of counterfactual thoughts was studied. It was found that the positive and negative outcome events containing action resulted in a greater range of affect (regret and joy) for the depressed group, and positive and negative outcome events with inaction resulted in greater affect (regret and joy) for the nondepressed group. The depressed and nondepressed groups did not differ in their focus on the self or other within their counterfactual thoughts in response to a positive or negative eventAlso, no differences between the depressed and nondepressed groups use of upward and downward counterfactual thoughts were found.
Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The assessment of depression in patients following a stroke is complex with the consequence that there are few well validated tools to aid identification. The aim of this thesis was to examine a range of approaches to detecting depression in people who have suffered a stroke. A series of three studies was performed ( casenote review, feasibility study and main study) exploring the effectiveness of different strategies for diagnosing and screening for depression in hospitalised stroke patients. The casenote review included 159 patients; median age 74 years (IQR 68-79), 86 (54.1 %) were male. The Psychology Assistant assessed patients using a clinical interview, and found 78 (55%) patients were depressed. The MDT often identified depression in patients who were not depressed (sensitivity 96.6%; specificity 15.2%). It was also apparent that there was no systematic assessment or recording of depression following a stroke. The feasibility study piloted validation of the Geriatric Mental State [GMS-AGECAT] and the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) as diagnostic interviews when performed by the research nurse in comparison to the "gold standard" the Psychiatrist. In addition the utility of an observational screening tool, the Signs of Depression Scale [SODS] for mood problems in people who have had a stroke, including those with cognitive and communication problems, was explored. The feasibility study informed some minor changes to the main study, which was undertaken. Seventy-four patients were seen by both the research nurse and by the Psychiatrist and were therefore included in the main analysis. The median age was 70 (IQR, 59-78) and 40 (54%) were male. Nearly half (49%) had abnormal communication with only 10% having normal memory function. According to the Psychiatrist, 27 (36%) patients were depressed. According to the research nurse, the GMS AGECAT and the MADRS classified 32/74 (43%) and 38/71 (54%) patients respectively as depressed. Relative to the psychiatric interview, the GMS-AGECA T had a sensitivity of 66. 7% and a specificity of 70.2%. The MAD RS had a sensitivity of 80.8% and a specificity of 62.2%. Seventy-one patients had the SODS completed by a ward nurse, 55 by a therapist and 31 by a carer.

This study focused on depression-proneness in the creative achiever compared to the eminent but non-creative achiever. Forty-eight subjects' (25 male, 23 female) autobiographies were assessed on personality using the California Q-Set (Block, 1961). Creative achievers were divided into visual and literary creators while the control group was made up of political, military and social leaders. The Q-Set items were divided into the five factors of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness) according to McCrae, Costa and Busch (1986). Using factor analysis, neuroticism was further divided into 6 facets, two of which corresponded to Costa and McCrae's depression and impulsivity items. Results showed that creative achievers scored significantly higher than controls on neuroticism and openness, while controls scored significantly higher on conscientiousness. Creative achievers rated significantly higher than controls on depression-proneness and impulsivity, with literary artists scoring particularly high on depression-proneness. Creativity as a method for controlling depression is discussed.

Depression is a disorder that can affect every aspect of one's life, ranging from physical health issues to interpersonal relationship difficulties. Therefore, it is imperative that the depressive symptoms of college students be identified, evaluated, and treated. Self-report measures are a common technique to identify depressive symptomatology in individuals and assist in diagnosis and treatment. Existing measures are often used as a criterion by which to validate the psychometric properties and effectiveness of newly designed, self-report measures. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the concurrent validity of a newly published self-report measure of depression, the Clinical Assessment of Depression (CAD; Bracken & Howell, 2004) with an existing measure, the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996). The sample used for this investigation consisted of 125 college students (38 males and 87 females) ranging in age from 18 to 52 years. Internal consistencies for the sample were computed for the BDI-II and the CAD and were found to be in the acceptable range with computed coefficient alphas from r - .87 to .97. Significant, moderate to strong positive correlations were found between the CAD total score and the CAD subscales with the BDI-II total score and ranged from .55 to .97. This study also investigated gender differences on both measures. Independent f-tests were computed and found no significant difference between male and female mean scores on either the CAD or the BDI-II. Classification consistency between the CAD diagnosis of depression and the BDI-II diagnosis of depression using the BDI-II as the criterion was 82%. The measures have high consistency when identifying individuals as falling within a clinically significant diagnostic category of depression. Overall, results indicate that the CAD is a valid measure of depressive symptomatology in college students.

The basic purpose of the study was to examine the effects of intake interviews an the anxiety and depression of clients. It was hypothesized that intake interviews would reduce symptomology, as it has been shown that even brief interactions with clinicians can be beneficial. Gender of both client and counselor were also examined for main effects and/or interactions. No difference in symptomology based on gender of client or counselor was anticipated.Two hundred ninety-nine adult out-patients of a university training practicum clinic were administered anxiety and depression inventories either before or after intake interviews. Intake interviews were performed by doctoral or masters level students assigned to fellowship duties at the clinic.The intake interview consisted of two parts. The First part was the gathering of relevant demographic information and questions which solicited information about the problems clients were experiencing which prompted the need For counseling. The second part of the intake consisted of a testing battery composed of the Beck Depression Inventory (SDI), Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Tennessee Self-Concept Scale CTSCS). Only the BDI and State component of the STAI were used in the study.Each of the parts in the intake took approximately 45 minutes to complete. Intakes were scheduled in two-hour time blocks which allowed sufficient time For completion of the entire intake. The experimental manipulation was accomplished by having counselors alternate the order of the interview and assessment battery.The design of the study was a 2 x 2 x 2 (order of interview/assessment battery, client gender, counselor gender). Analysis of the data was performed using a Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) procedure.There were no significant results for any of the BDI score analyses, and only one significant result For the STAI score analyses. The intake interview was not found to affect the anxiety or depression of clients, failing to support the main hypothesis of the study. Depression and anxiety were also not affected by client gender. However, anxiety was significantly lower for clients of Female vs. male counselors. Depression was not affected. No interactions were found to be significant.
Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The proliferation of social media-based research on mental health offers exciting possibilities to complement traditional methods in mental health care. As ascertained by psychology experts, the online platform should get priority over offline as it offers considerably reliable diagnosis than granted in person. Early detection does not only alleviate the effects of depression on the patient but also benefits the whole community. In this thesis, we explore computational methods in tackling some of the research challenges in depression analysis and make four contributions to the body of knowledge. First, we develop a binary classification model for classifying depression-indicative text from social media. We propose three feature engineering strategies and assess the effectiveness of supervised model to enhance the classification performance in predicting posts indicate depression. To tackle the short and sparse social media data, we particularly integrate the coherent sentiment-topic extracted from the topic model. Additionally, we propose strategies to investigate the effectiveness of affective lexicon in the task of depression classification. Second, we propose a computational method for analysing potential causes of depression from text. With this study, we demonstrate the ability to employ the topic model to discover the potential factors that might lead to depression. We show the most prominent causes and how it evolved over time. Furthermore, we highlight some differences in causes triggered between two different groups, i.e. high-risk of depression and low-risk. Hence, this study significantly expands the ability to discover the potential factors that trigger depression, making it possible to increase the efficiency of depression treatment. Third, we develop a computational method for monitoring the psychotherapy outcome from the individual psychotherapy counselling. Third, we develop a computational method for monitoring the psychotherapy outcome from the individual psychotherapy counselling. By doing this, we show the possibilities of utilising the topic model to track the treatment progress of each patient by assessing the sentiment and topic discussed throughout the course of psychotherapy treatment. Fourth, we propose an unsupervised method called split over-training for identifying user's intention expressed in social media text. We develop a binary classification model for classifying intentions in texts. With this study, we want to show the possibility of applying the intention analysis in mental health domain. Overall, we demonstrate how computational analysis can be fully utilised to benefit clinical settings in mental health analysis. We suggest that more future work could be further explored to complement the traditional settings in mental health care.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004.
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This thesis explores the utility of Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 1969; 1973; 1980) as a framework for understanding both the personality and cognitive processing styles associated with depression and vulnerability to depression. In two separate but related studies, the present investigation identified depressive personality characteristics and depressive cognitive processing styles associated with each of the styles of adult attachment defined by Bartholomew and Horowitz's (1991) four-category attachment model. Using self-report data from a sample of 305 respondents (225 female; 80 male), Study 1 explored associations among each of the adult attachment styles and sociotropic and autonomous personality-based vulnerabilities to depression (Beck, 1983). Extending the work of Zuroff and Fitzpatrick (1995; Study 2), associations among the attachment styles and the specific components of the two depressive personality styles, as defined by Robins et al. (1994), were examined. Using cued recall of autobiographical memories for a subsample of 44 of the same respondents (35 female; 9 male), Study 2 explored attachment style group differences in autobiographical memory retrieval, thereby identifying specific depressive cognitive processing biases associated with each adult attachment style. Past research has focused on the assessment of memory accessibility, using either recall latency (Mikulincer & Orbach, 1995; Mikulincer, 1998a) or memory generality (Tasker, MacLeod & Maynard, 1996) to indicate accessibility. In the present study, both latency and generality were used as indicators of memory accessibility, and the content of memories was also examined. In addition, use of a four-category rather than a three-category measure of attachment style permitted distinction of cognitive biases for the fearful-avoidant and dismissive-avoidant styles. The present findings support a notion that the two adult attachment styles understood to be characterised by a negative self-view, namely fearful and preoccupied attachment, are associated with depressive vulnerability. Replicating previous findings (Carnelley, Pietromonaco & Jaffe, 1994), both the fearful and preoccupied styles were associated with state depression and with perceptions of negative parental bonding. The fearful style in particular was associated with perceptions of 'affectionless control' in childhood. As the major focus of this thesis, the fearful and preoccupied attachment styles were each associated with both personality styles and cognitive processing deficits which have previously been linked with depression and depressive vulnerability. In terms of personality styles (Study I), the fearful attachment style was broadly associated with the autonomous personality style, whereas the preoccupied attachment style was broadly associated with the sociotropic personality style, as previously demonstrated by Zuroff and Fitzpatrick (1995; Study 2). By focusing on associations with the individual components of the autonomous and sociotropic vulnerabilities, as defined by Robins et al. (1994), the more specific 'depressive' personality characteristics were identified for both these insecure attachment styles. In particular, the findings suggest that a fearful attachment style involves both avoidant and self-critical characteristics, whereas a preoccupied attachment style involves both dependent and self-critical characteristics. In terms of cognitive processing deficits (Study 2), fearful individuals had difficulty accessing autobiographical memories, indicated by delayed memory recall and reduced memory specificity across a range of memory cues. Indeed, these individuals demonstrated a globalised 'mnemonic interlock' typical of depressed individuals (Williams, 1996) and their memories were predominantly negative in content. In contrast, preoccupied individuals demonstrated a ruminative cognitive processing style, indicated by relatively fast recall of predominantly specific and negative memories across a range of memory cues. However, these individuals had difficulty accessing personally-relevant memories of abandonment, arguably due to both encoding and retrieval deficits emanating from their hypersensitivity to abandonment experiences. Dismissive attachment was associated with the avoidant but not the self-critical aspect of the autonomous personality style and involved a repressive cognitive processing style. This repressive style was indicated by delayed recall of specific negative memories. Nonetheless, unlike the fearful and preoccupied styles, dismissive attachment was not shown to be associated with state depression, suggesting that an avoidant attachment style does not necessarily contribute to depressive vulnerability. Instead, dismissive individuals' use of defensive repression of negative affects and memories appears to be an effective coping mechanism in the maintenance of a positive self-concept and a non-self-critical approach. Furthermore, in light of self-narrative models of personality (e.g., McAdams, 1993; Bruhn, 1990; 1992; 1995; Singer & Salovey, 1993), dismissive individuals' easy access to positive memories, particularly personally-relevant memories of independence, can be viewed as maintaining their positive self-concept. Overall, the findings of the present thesis support the proposition that Attachment Theory provides a framework for understanding both the personality and cognitive processing styles associated with depression. Indeed, the findings suggest that the fearful and preoccupied adult attachment styles can both be regarded as constituting vulnerability factors for depression. As expected, the fearful attachment style was highlighted as conferring greater depressive vulnerability. Thus, the findings provide further insight into the factors involved in the onset and maintenance of depression and highlight the importance of assessing adult attachment style during therapy for depression. Other clinical implications, as well as directions for future research, are outlined.

Musicians often feel the extremes of highs and lows based on the nature of their work. In order to effectively communicate with an audience, the performer needs to express his or her musical ideas. This form of expression leaves the performer vulnerable, since the audience may either enjoy or disapprove of the performer’s interpretation. With each performance, musicians are evaluated or judged by their peers and audiences as to whether or not they have performed at a level expected. Additionally, to have a successful performance, a musician must put on a good show in order to communicate to the audience. If the performance is not positively received by the audience, the performer may feel ashamed or embarrassed, and may even think that the severe reception reflects the performer’s lack of aptitude as a musician. Furthermore, since musicians dedicate so much of their lives and time to practicing, preparing, and performing, oftentimes their identity revolves around being a successful musician. To speak to the audience successfully, a musician must be vulnerable with his or her performance. However, vulnerability can lead to degradation, and thus, a breakdown of mental health. An unfavorable critique of their performance may also make them feel inadequate as a human and professional. Therefore, musicians often suffer different types of anxiety connected with their performances. Depression is one dominant mental health issue prevalent in many musicians.

Not only is it the professional nature of the musicians’ work that highlights their depression, it is also the creative component of their work that intensifies their depression. Such was the case with Christian Ferras, a French violinist born in 1933. Ferras was considered a prodigy as a violinist and performed with many well known conductors, orchestras, and accompanists. Unfortunately, he battled with his depression throughout his career. Ferras took some time off from performing and teaching from 1967–1975, but ultimately was not able to regain the career that he wanted. In 1982 at the age of forty-nine, Ferras committed suicide by jumping out of his Paris apartment window.

This qualitative descriptive study described how seven older homeless women with depression characterized their homelessness, depression, and aging. The women, with a mean age of 54 years, were concerned with day-to-day survival, and contemplating aging while remaining homeless was frightening. The women described feeling depressed and most had received treatment for depression; however they did not describe their depression as hindering their ability to find housing. The themes were aging, homelessness, depression, and chronic health conditions. Homelessness contained the subthemes of addictions, loss of relationships, and lack of income. Depression contained the subthemes of history, experience, and treatment of depression. Although chronic health conditions and chronic pain were concerns for all participants, only one woman had access to ongoing health care. The majority of the women had no income. Nearly all the women had attended school beyond high school but this did not translate into better paying employment because most of them had worked at jobs with no benefits. Implications for policy development included expanding the safety net to provide housing options for homeless women in the 50-60 year range. Recommendations for practitioners included the suggestion that older homeless women be viewed as geriatric clients with care provided at that level. Future research should explore the connection between addictions and homelessness for older homeless women, the impact of chronic pain or chronic illness on their daily functioning, and the potential benefits of treating older homeless women according to standards of care developed for the geriatric general population.

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.