School of Public Health

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1633

The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.

Note: Prior to July 1, 2007, the School of Public Health was named the College of Health & Human Performance.

Browse

End date: 2009Subject: search.filters.subject.Health Sciences, Mental Health

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 30
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Exercise and Depression: Causal Sequence Using Cross-Lagged Panel Correlation Analysis
    (2009) Scott, Virginia Anne; Andrews, David L; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study sought to determine what kind of causal relationship, if any, exists between exercise and depression. A university student population (N = 178) was given the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory-II at two time points separated by approximately one month. Cross-lagged panel correlation was used to make causal inferences based on the strength of the temporal relationships. After meeting the assumptions of synchronicity and stationarity, there was no significant difference between the cross-lagged correlations (ZPF = -0.4599, p = 0.65). Thus, no single causal pathway was dominant. While equal cross-lagged correlations can indicate spuriousness, it can also signify reciprocal causation. Exercise was not clearly the cause of reductions in depression, but neither was depression clearly the cause of physical inactivity. More complex causal pathways, such as reciprocal causation, warrant further investigation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Prevalence and Role of Avoidance Coping Methods for Latinos in the United States
    (2009) Stevenson, Tiffani Debra; Leslie, Leigh A; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Current research concerning Latinos in the United States has indicated that they are at a higher risk for mental illness (e.g., PTSD) than other racial/ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to understand the possible function a culturally normative coping style plays in the occurrence of depression for Latinos when compared to other racial/ethnic groups. The prevalence of avoidance coping methods and the relationship of depression and avoidance coping was examined for a sample (N=429) of Latino (n=129) White (n=150) and Black (n=150) clients. Results indicated that the frequency with which Latinos engaged in avoidance coping was no different than other groups. However, Black participants were significantly more likely to use avoidance coping that White participants. Furthermore, the use of defensive avoidance coping was linked to high depression; however there was no race/ethnicity by avoidance coping interaction. The empirical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Stressor Events, Resources, and Depressive Symptoms in Rural, Low-Income Mothers
    (2008-08-11) Waldman, Joanna; Braun, Bonnie; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study, based on stress theory, sought to understand whether resources moderate the effects of stressors on depressive symptoms over time among a sample of rural, low-income mothers. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to explain the phenomena under investigation. Results revealed that higher numbers of stressors were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. At time one, resources were found to moderate the effects of stressors on depressive symptoms, with higher levels of resources and higher levels of stress producing the greatest level of depressive symptoms. At time two, resources did not moderate the effects of stressors on depressive symptoms. This study found that resources do not always serve a protective function. One explanation appears to be the "hidden cost" of resources revealed in the mothers' interviews. Recommendations for future research and practical applications are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Understanding Bulimia: A Qualitative Exploration of the Roles of Race, Culture, and Family
    (2008-07-21) Southard, Ashley Larsen; Leslie, Leigh A.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, is a serious physical and mental illness destroying the lives of millions of men, women, and their families. It is characterized by recurrent binge eating and compensatory behaviors (e.g., self-induced vomiting), and afflicts 1-5% of the general U.S. population. Unlike other eating disorders that appear to affect specific racial groups, bulimia more equally affects people of all races. Yet, very little attention has been given to learning about the ways in which women from diverse racial/cultural backgrounds experience bulimia. Thus, the present qualitative study explored the question: How do young African American, Latina, and Caucasian women describe their experiences with bulimia within their racial, cultural, and familial contexts? Open-ended, in-person interviews were conducted with 33 young adult women (ages 18-30) who self-identified as African American, Latina, or Caucasian and who experienced bulimia while living with a parent. Questions were based on sensitizing concepts taken from feminist and family systems theories, and encouraged women to explore their perceptions of how their racial, cultural, and familial contexts influenced their experiences with bulimia. A modified grounded theory approach was used to interpret the data, and findings were organized at sociocultural, familial, and individual levels. Common experiences for many of the women, regardless of race, included sociocultural pressure to be thin; unhealthy family environments that included poor communication, strained relationships, and emphasis on members' appearances; and individual management of comorbid psychological disorders and emotions. Unique processes related to African American women's and Latinas' experiences with bulimia included living in a bicultural context with cultural and familial stigmas surrounding mental health. Additionally, African American women reported overall healthier family environments, in which they had supportive relationships and more open communication. Based on these findings, the theoretical framework was enhanced with race- and culture-specific models. Implications for research related to diverse families' experiences with eating disorders, policies designed to help people of all backgrounds affected by eating disorders, as well as the development of culturally sensitive therapy interventions for families affected by bulimia are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Attachment and Demand/Withdraw Behavior in Couple Interactions: The Moderating Role of Conflict Level
    (2008-05-05) Opel, Katelyn Cogan; Epstein, Norman; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study examined the relations between clinical couples' secure, preoccupied, dismissive, and fearful avoidant attachment styles and their constructive, demanding, and withdrawing dyadic conflict resolution communication behavior. It also tested whether overall level of relationship conflict moderated the relation between attachment style and communication. The study was a secondary analysis of preexisting data, using a sample of 72 couples who completed assessments at the Center for Healthy Families at the University of Maryland, College Park. The subset of assessment material used for this study included the Relationship Questionnaire, Dyadic Adjustment Scale and Communication Patterns Questionnaire. Results indicated that attachment style was related to types of conflict communication behavior. Also, couples reporting low levels of conflict used more mutual constructive communication than those reporting high levels of conflict. Implications of the study's findings for therapeutic work with couples and suggestions for future research are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Associations of Depression Symptoms, Withdrawal Behaviors, and Withdrawal Cognitions with Intimate Behavior and Pleasure from Partner's Intimate Behaviors Among Clinical Couples
    (2008-05-05) Finkbeiner, Nicole; Epstein, Norman; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study examined the association between withdrawing behaviors, withdrawal cognitions, and depression symptoms and both the degree of the individual's own intimate behavior and his/her pleasure from receiving intimate behavior from a partner. Results indicated that thoughts or cognitions involving the desire to distance oneself from an interaction were significantly related to lower levels of intimate behavior and lower levels of pleasure experienced from a partner's intimate behavior. Further, there was a trend toward support for the notion that individuals with higher levels of depression symptoms engage in lower levels of intimate behavior. For females, the presence of depression symptoms was associated with less pleasure experienced from a partner's intimate behavior. In contrast, avoidant behavior during conflict was not found to be associated with the initiation of intimate relationship behavior and was only associated with the amount of pleasure that females experienced from intimate behavior.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Examining evidence of reliability and validity of mental health indicators on a revised national survey measuring college student health
    (2008-05-15) Jackson, Theresa Katherine; Glover, Elbert D; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA), which began surveying college students in 2001, is currently the only large scale survey available for colleges and universities to measure a variety of health constructs among their student populations. Beginning in December 2005, the survey underwent an extensive revisions process in an effort to improve its measurement quality and to better capture the current health status of college students. Revisions were guided by changing student health priorities, feedback from respondents, literature focused on characteristics of reliable and valid survey questions, and the Model of Survey Response. As mental health concerns continue to rise on campuses today, this content area of the ACHA-NCHA was dramatically expanded, as it now includes constructs such as diagnosis and treatment with multiple mental health conditions, difficult life experiences, stress, and help-seeking. This dissertation, which is a secondary data analysis of data collected from the original and revised ACHA-NCHA surveys during an experimental field pre-test of the modified survey, documents the survey revisions process, provides results from more than 40 mental health indicators by various demographic characteristics, and establishes the reliability and validity of the mental health indicators. The data analyzed in this study were collected from students from 7 U.S. college and universities who were randomized to complete either the original (final N = 6,216) or the revised (final N = 6,110) online ACHA-NCHA from February through May 2007. It was hypothesized that (1) changes to survey indicators designed to measure comparable constructs would result in significant differences in student response patterns across versions of the ACHA-NCHA; (2) mental health indicators on the revised survey would demonstrate evidence of internal consistency reliability, construct-related validity, and criterion-related validity; and (3) modified mental health indicators on the revised ACHA-NCHA would demonstrate greater evidence of reliability and validity than comparable indicators on the original ACHA-NCHA. Findings from this study at least partially support all hypotheses, and the revised ACHA-NCHA demonstrates preliminary evidence that is it a psychometrically sound survey tool to measure college student mental health constructs.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Relations Among Maternal Depression, Parenting Behaviors, and Adolescents' Perceptions of Family Functioning: The Moderating Effect of Mothers' Couple Relationship Status
    (2008-05-05) Drescher, Amanda; Epstein, Norman; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study examined relations among maternal depression, parenting behaviors, and adolescents' perceptions of family functioning. It also investigated whether parenting behavior mediated the relation between maternal depression and adolescents' perceptions of family functioning, as well as whether mother's couple relationship status moderated the relation between depression and parenting behavior. Maternal depression was not associated with adolescents' perceptions of family functioning. Maternal depression was associated with authoritarian and permissive parenting but not with authoritative parenting. Authoritarian and permissive parenting was associated with adolescents' perceptions of less positive family functioning, whereas authoritative parenting was associated with perceptions of more positive family functioning. Parenting behavior did not mediate between maternal depression and adolescents' perceptions of family functioning. Overall, mother's couple relationship status did not moderate the relation between maternal depression and parenting behavior; but there was a trend for the relation between depression and permissive parenting to be stronger when mothers were unpartnered.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Association between Psychopathological Symptoms and Relationship Satisfaction: Direct Effect and Mediation through Partner Cognitions
    (2007-05-08) Cunningham, Janey E; Epstein, Norman B.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Previous research has identified links between psychopathological symptoms and levels of satisfaction within couple relationships. Findings have shown associations between low levels of relationship satisfaction and depressive and neurotic symptoms. However, the process or mechanism through which an individual's psychopathology and the couple's relationship problems are linked has yet to be determined. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which psychopathological symptoms are directly related to the level of relationship satisfaction for each partner in the relationship. It also explored the degree to which the relation between psychopathology and relationship distress is mediated by partners' cognitions about each other that are associate with relationship conflict. The study involved secondary analysis of a sample of 83 couples. Findings did not support current literature that psychopathological symptoms directly affect relationship satisfaction. Gender differences were found in the association between psychopathological symptoms and cognitions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    THE RELATIONS AMONG DIFFERING FORMS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY SYMPTOMS, COUPLE COMMUNICATION, AND RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION
    (2007-05-07) Resnick, Elise M; Epstein, Norman B; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study investigated the degree to which forms of psychopathology symptoms -- psychotic, mood/anxiety-based and trauma-based -- are associated with relationship satisfaction, the degrees to which positive and negative communication are related to satisfaction, and whether communication mediates the relation between psychopathology and satisfaction. The sample was 83 couples who sought therapy at a university-based clinic. The findings indicated no relation between psychopathology symptoms and relationship satisfaction. There was an association between females' psychoticism symptoms and males' negative communication, as well as between females' psychoticism and mood/anxiety symptoms and males' positive communication. More positive communication was associated with greater relationship satisfaction for both partners, and males' negative communication was associated with lower satisfaction for female partners. Communication was not tested as a mediator between symptoms and satisfaction because no association between psychopathology symptoms and relationship satisfaction was found.