Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2020, Psychology, Clinical

Depression occurs at striking rates among youth populations (Costello, Erkanli, & Angold, 2006). Increases in adolescent suicide rates and antidepressant prescriptions have led to public perceptions of an offspring depression “epidemic” (Costello et al., 2006). Existing research demonstrates that neighborhood disadvantage (ND; Hill & Maimon, 2013), maternal depression (Shih & Brennan, 2004), and deficits in parenting are independently linked to elevated levels of depression in children (Radziszewska, Richardson, Dent, & Flay, 1966). However, our understanding of the interdependency among these risk factors is incomplete. The current study assessed quality of parenting according to four major domains: Autonomy, Disharmony, Intimacy, and Joint Activities (Hart, Atkins, & Ford, 1999). Using PROCESS (Hayes, 2013), I examined data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Child and Young Adult cohort (CNLSY) to determine: (1) if maternal depression and parenting factors moderate the relationship between ND and offspring depression; and, (2) if maternal depression and parenting factors mediate the relationship between ND and offspring depression. The results of the moderation analyses did not find that maternal depression and parenting deficits moderate the relationship between ND and offspring depression, although a significant negative main effect was found for parental intimacy. The results for mediation analyses provided evidence for serial mediation via maternal depression and parental intimacy, but not for pathways involving other parenting dimensions. This finding suggests that exposure to adverse neighborhood conditions may contribute to risk for offspring depression by elevating risk for maternal depression, which may diminish a mother's ability to foster a close, affectionate relationship with her child.The findings of this study contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of children at risk of developing depression and suggest possible avenues for in (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jackson Goodnight PhD (Committee Chair) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2011, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology

Research demonstrates that parenting efficacy is linked to numerous positive outcomes for both new parents and their children. A common finding in the literature also indicates that parenting inefficacy is associated with negative mental health outcomes for new parents, particularly postpartum depressive symptomatology and anxiety. Because prenatal mood and behavior are important determinants of postpartum outcomes, this thesis examines the impact of unmet parenting efficacy expectations on the mental health statuses of new parents as measured during the prenatal and postpartum periods. Specifically, I focus on the mental health consequences for new mothers and fathers when prenatal expectations of parenting efficacy are unmet at 1-month postpartum. Consistent with the stress process model, I examine the role of parenting efficacy in the relationship between parental transition and postpartum distress. Two waves of data from the Baby Transitions in Marital Exchanges (Baby T.I.M.E.) study will be used in this thesis: time 1/Baseline (third trimester of pregnancy) and time 2 (1 month following the birth of the child). Results indicate that mothers whose parenting efficacy experiences were more negative than their prenatal expectations of parenting efficacy reported higher levels of postpartum depressive symptomatology. Fathers with parenting efficacy experiences that were more negative than expected reported higher levels of both postpartum depressive symptomatology and postpartum anxiety. In addition to the implications of these findings, directions for future research are discussed.

Committee: Kristen Marcussen PhD (Advisor); Richard E. Adams PhD (Committee Member); Kristin D. Mickelson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

BA, Kent State University, 2013, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

The current study aimed to examine the relationship between maternal and child depression while also identifying different parenting characteristics that may be associated with depression in pre-adolescence. It was hypothesized that maternal depression and certain parenting characteristics would be related, while the same parenting characteristics would also be related to child depression. Participants include 103 children and their mothers, who completed several self-report forms measuring Parental Monitoring, Psychological Autonomy, Overreactivity, Laxness, and Acceptance, and depression. It was discovered that maternal depression and child depression were significantly related, and that child depression was significantly associated with all five parenting characteristics measured. Maternal depression was only found to be related to Laxness. A set of regression analyses revealed that when analyzed together, all parenting characteristics remained significantly associated with child depression except for Acceptance. When a mediation analysis was performed, it was revealed that Laxness mediated the relationship between maternal and child depression. These results support the hypothesis that certain parenting traits may foster the development of childhood depression. These findings may be useful in developing efficacious treatment plans for children with depression.

Committee: Jeffrey Ciesla Ph.D. (Advisor); Christopher Flessner Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michelle Foster M.A. (Committee Member); Manfred van Dulmen Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Anthropology

To deliver the level of care infants need for survival, the Homo genus evolved to engage in cooperative breeding. In fact, a large cross-cultural review found that most cultures have a set of structured postpartum practices to protect women and infants during the immediate postpartum—all requiring social support. Cooperative breeding researchers have focused on non-maternal support to older offspring and on infant outcomes, without regard for the vulnerable immediate postpartum or the reciprocal mother-infant impact. Considering the well-being of the infant without consideration for that of the mother, or vice versa, limits understanding of this integrated system. By including maternal mental health in the immediate postpartum, my project served to advance the cooperative breeding model, thereby providing a conceptual framework to further understand the development of postpartum depression. Finally, cooperative breeding models have examined social support primarily in terms of its presence or absence overlooking the fact that practices vary locally and recipients will thus expect and value different forms of support. Postpartum depression afflicts approximately 13% of women globally, with exceptionally high rates in Latin America. While it often resolves with only minor impact on subsequent quality of life, it does not always do so. In addition to creating serious mental health consequences for mothers, postpartum depression can result in serious and sometimes fatal results for infants. Despite our species' expectation of postpartum social support, very few studies have examined the relationship between mental health and postpartum practices, and among the few that have, there are methodological limitations that I addressed in this dissertation. My study objectives were: (1) describe the local cultural model of postpartum social support in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico; (2) determine the congruence of women's postpartum experiences with their cultural expecta (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Barbara Piperata (Advisor); Douglas Crews (Committee Member); Benedetta Leuner (Committee Member); Mark Moritz (Committee Member); Alejandra Núñez-de la Mora (Committee Member) Subjects: Physical Anthropology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2020, Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program

Introduction: Adolescence is a vulnerable period in which the physical and mental development of an individual can be impacted by adverse events, which may cause major structural and functional changes within the brain. However, the psychopathology of these changes is not well understood and no potential treatments have been reported. These changes can manifest as psychiatric disorders in adolescence and adulthood. The majority of rodent models have studied the effects of early life stress in adult behavior, however, there are limited studies on adolescent behavior. This study investigated the effect of early life stress on anxiety-related and depression-like behavior in adolescence and adulthood, as well as examined differences in male and female behavior. Additionally, we tested a novel compound, M3, for the purpose of ameliorating any enhanced anxiety or depressive-like behavior observed. Methods: A “three-hit” early life stress model was used on C57BL/6J male and female mice. The three stressors included (i) prenatal stress, (ii) maternal separation, and (iii) physical stressors. Anxiety and depressive-like behavior were evaluated using different tests in adolescence, early adulthood, and late adulthood. Results: We observed that early life stress-induced an anxiety-like phenotype in adolescence, early adulthood, and late adulthood. Both males and females displayed anxiety in adolescence, they also displayed the phenotype in adulthood but at different behavioral testing time points. Additionally, the novel treatment ameliorated the anxiety-related phenotype in stressed mice in late adulthood.

Committee: Robert Boyd (Advisor); Georgia Bishop (Advisor); Glenn Lin (Committee Member) Subjects: Neurosciences

BS, Kent State University, 2020, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Biological Sciences

Early-life adversity (ELA) increases the risk for development of psychopathologies in adolescence and adulthood. Childhood neglect is a potent form of ELA and can be modeled through neonatal maternal separation. Maternal separation has been shown to alter cognition, learning and memory later in life. Here, we examined the contribution of maternal separation to the development of substance use disorder in adolescence, and whether changes in regional protein expression in the brain persist into adulthood. First, male and female rats exposed to maternal separation were compared to controls for changes in localized expression of the developmental growth factor, fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), in several brain regions using immunohistochemistry. FGF2 is known to be upregulated by cocaine experience, is protective against fear over-expression and is a candidate biomarker for vulnerability and resilience to development of comorbid psychopathologies. Next, we examined whether maternal separation impacted sensitivity in adolescence to cocaine using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm, in which one of two chambers is associated with cocaine. Learning and memory impairment was observed in the maternally separated rats during the CPP tests in adolescence as they exhibited a delay in showing preference for the previously cocaine - associated chamber compared to the control group. Finally, we collected the brain tissues of animals following maternal separation to examine changes in baseline levels of FGF-2 expression. However, due to covid-19 University closure we were unable to complete immunohistochemistry but the tissues were collected and frozen to process it at a later date. Our results will determine whether FGF-2 is a potential risk or resilience factor for the development of psychopathologies and will pave the way for future studies examining comorbid addiction and fear disorders as well as for the development of potential drug addiction treatmen (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Devin Mueller Ph.D (Advisor); Alison Smith Dean/Ph.D (Committee Member); John Johnson Ph.D (Committee Member); Aaron Jasnow Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Biomedical Research; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Psychobiology; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, Social Work

Maternal health and parenting play an essential role in supporting healthy child development. Families spend time in their neighborhoods. Where families live shape family outcomes including maternal mental health and parenting behaviors. Behavioral health services available in the neighborhood enable families' access to needed services. However, behavioral health services do not necessarily equally distribute across the geographical landscape. This unequal spatial distribution in health services could contribute to disparities in maternal mental health and parenting outcomes, and especially put vulnerable families at risk for poor life outcomes. As one key context for families to access resources, neighborhoods provide essential supports for families to thrive. Examining the role of the neighborhood service environment in supporting families draws growing policy and research interest, so the contributions of equitable distribution in behavioral health services towards more positive family outcomes and processes can be better understood and promoted. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, this study examines that behavioral health services resources in the neighborhood environment as an supportive opportunity structure that may reduce maternal depressive symptoms and negative parenting behaviors. This study uses longitudinal design to unravel the temporal association among neighborhood behavioral health services, maternal depression and parenting behaviors across three time points (kindergarten, third grade, and eighth grade). Specifically, multilevel model for change (MLM) and autoregressive cross-lagged models (ARCL) were fitted to address the research question. Results show that maternal depression does not mediate the linkage from behavioral health resources in the neighborhood and maladaptive behaviors. However, behavioral health resources in the lagged areas surrounding the focal residential neighborhood prevents (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mo Yee Lee (Advisor); Natasha Bowen (Committee Member); Bridget Freisthler (Committee Member); Kathryn Maguire-Jack (Committee Member) Subjects: Social Work

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2017, Psychology

The purpose of this study was to examine whether depression and employment status are predictive of maternal use of spanking. Participants were 248 mothers of 2- to 4-year-old children, recruited from a number of Facebook groups focused on motherhood. Participants anonymously completed self-report measures of depression, beliefs about the effects of maternal employment on children, and spanking. Participants who reported working outside the home for at least 10 months out of the last year (working mothers) reported significantly fewer depression symptoms that mothers who were not employed outside the home (stay at home mothers). Mothers whose employment was congruent with their beliefs reported significantly fewer depression symptoms than mothers whose employment was incongruent with their beliefs. Stay at home mothers were significantly more likely to report the use of spanking than working mothers, but there was no significant difference between the reported depression symptoms of the do spank and do not spank groups. Further analyses were used to further clarify the differences between the working and stay at home mother groups that may account for the difference in the reporting of spanking.

Committee: Janet R. Schultz Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Kathleen J. Hart Ph.D. (Committee Member); Nicholas Salsman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Psychology

PHD, Kent State University, 2016, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology

The transition to parenthood can be a challenging, stressful period for individuals across a range of social locations (e.g., Cowan and Cowan 1995; Doss, Cicila, Hsueh, Morrison and Carhart 2014). This dissertation research focuses on a key factor that may influence the success of this transition: the age of mothers during the birth of their first child. Although U.S. couples are increasingly delaying entry into parenthood (National Center for Health Statistics 2009), the impact of maternal age on postpartum mental health during this transition remains an understudied area within the social sciences. To address this existing gap in the literature, I examine the relationship between maternal age at first birth and postpartum depression, with a specific focus on the structural and individual level factors that contribute to this relationship. I draw on two social psychological approaches, the life-course perspective and the social structure and personality framework, to highlight the connections between social position and personal resources in the context of this important transition. To examine these theoretical relationships, I analyze data from a national survey on motherhood, Listening to Mothers II: Second National U.S. Survey of Women's Childbearing Experiences (Childbirth Connection 2006). Contrary to my expectations, I found that maternal age was not significantly associated with PPD for the mothers in my sample. My results also suggest that perceptions regarding maternal physical health and baby's physical health, as well as factors associated with the childbirth process, such as experiencing negative feelings during birth and level of perceived control during birth, mattered toward mothers' psychological well-being during this critical transitional period.

Committee: Kristen Marcussen PhD (Committee Chair); Tiffany Taylor PhD (Committee Member); Manacy Pai PhD (Committee Member); Adrianne Frech PhD (Committee Member); Rhonda Richardson PhD (Committee Member); Josefina Grau PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Mental Health; Social Psychology; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2016, Psychology

Differences in emotion processing and regulation are implicated in many psychosocial outcomes in youth, and may be measured not only by self-report, but also by objective psychophysiological response to stimuli. A growing literature identifies central nervous system patterns of emotion regulation and processing to be a risk/resilience factor in childhood and adolescent depression, yet relatively little is known about what can affect and predict these patterns. The current study will extend research on peripheral measures of emotion regulation into investigation of the role that electroencephalographic (EEG) emotion regulation and processing patterns play in risk for youth depression, especially in the context of maternal depression. Mothers and their daughters (ages 10-14) participated as dyads (N = 26) in a laboratory visit after completing self-report assessments. Daughters viewed a series of emotional faces to provoke brain response to affective stimuli via the late positive potential (LPP) EEG component. Outcome measures are daughter LPP to happy, neutral, and sad faces, youth self-report of cognitive emotion regulation style, youth-report of parenting behaviors, and maternal and youth self-report of depressive symptomology near time of visit. Results showed the relationship between maternal depression and youth LPP was moderated by two youth cognitive emotion regulation scales - acceptance and positive reappraisal - as well as two youth-reported parenting styles - parental involvement and positive parenting. Clinical implications suggest that these operate as risk/resilience factors for adaptive emotion processing.

Committee: Arin Connell PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Neurosciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common complication following childbirth experienced by almost one in every five new mothers. The epidemiology, symptomology, and prognosis of PPD have been intensely investigated, especially in light of its adverse effects on infant development and the entire family's wellbeing. Yet, little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying PPD, which in addition to limiting our ability to understand the diathesis of this disorder, cast many challenges in developing novel pharmaceutical interventions. The main aim of this dissertation was to develop a translational model for PPD in the rat in order to better understand the neurobiological underpinnings of this disorder and how it can be more effectively treated. We chose gestational stress as a translational model since exposure to stress during pregnancy is designated as a main risk factor for PPD. In chapter one we show that gestational stress induces behavioral despair during the postpartum period. In addition, we reveal that gestational stress alters the morphology of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) within the NAc –a critical brain center for reward and motivation. Mothers with PPD are often prescribed Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants. In chapter two we show that postpartum administration of Citalopram (Celexa ©), a commonly used SSRI, successful reversed gestational stress-induced behavioral despair and rescued MSNs altered morphology. Mothers with PPD frequently show deficits in maternal responsiveness and oftentimes experience difficulties bonding with their infants. In chapter three we reveal that exposure to gestational stress induces deficits in several aspects of maternal behavior and impairs maternal motivation. In addition, exposure to gestational stress increased anhedonic-like behavior and anxiety-like behavior, which further validate our model. Maternal behavior is mediated through dopaminergic projections from the vent (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Benedetta Leuner (Advisor); Gary Wenk (Committee Member); Courtney DeVries (Committee Member); Lenz Kathryn (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Neurosciences

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2014, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

Mothering is a rich and complex experience involving challenging tasks, a developing relationship with one's child, and socially defined roles. How mothering is viewed varies depending on the cultural norms and historical era under consideration. This study is a textual interpretation of three books written about perinatal mental health, especially how those texts describe the challenges and struggles of birthing and mothering. I develop understandings about how clinicians respond to those issues and in the process understand themselves, their practices, and their sociocultural roles. I consider the shape of the current social terrain that brings to light the experiences of birthing women and the clinicians who treat them. Drawing on philosophical hermeneutics I interpret three books concerned with perinatal mental health (Stone & Menken, 2008; Bennett & Indman, 2010; Shields, 2005). Considering the themes that emerged, I describe how the beliefs of this era regarding birthing and mothering and corresponding therapeutic practices are reflected in these texts. Five main themes are identified. First, is that maternal suffering is overlooked and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are undertreated. Second, suffering is reduced to a medicalized disorder located within the mother and her biochemistry. This created disorder in the mother and prevented her from enacting her role as mother and necessitated an individualist response. Third, the mother is viewed as an object whose wellbeing is important primarily because it serves others in her family. Fourth, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are seen as being universal. Finally, the clinician is viewed as a professional expert tasked with bringing order to the mother's biochemical disorder. I discuss how particular ways of being for clinicians and mothers are highlighted within these texts, and the implications of such for therapeutic practices. The beliefs expressed in these texts reflect and reinforce (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Philip Cushman PhD (Committee Chair); Melissa J. Kennedy PhD (Committee Member); Leslie Butterfield PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Gynecology; Health Care; Medicine; Nursing; Obstetrics; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Womens Studies

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2014, Human Ecology: Human Development and Family Science

This study tested a model of children's emotionality as a moderator of the links between maternal emotion-related socialization and depressive symptoms and child emotion regulation. Participants were 129 mother-preschooler dyads. Child affect and emotion regulation were assessed observationally during a laboratory mood induction task, and were factorized into 3 categories: passive soothing, negative focus on distress, and positive engagement. Hierarchical linear regression models indicated that child positive emotionality moderated the links between maternal emotion-related socialization and depressive symptoms and child emotion regulation; whereas child negative emotionality moderated the links between maternal support and child emotion regulation. Findings suggest a transactional perspective to understand the effects of both child characteristics and familial influence on child emotion regulation.

Committee: Xin Feng (Advisor); Natasha Slesnick (Committee Member); Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan (Committee Member) Subjects: Developmental Psychology

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2012, School of Professional Psychology

Maternal depression is often a prevalent disorder in society, which has far reaching effects on the psychological well being of both the mother as well as her child(ren). Research has indicated that maternal depression impacts the parenting skills of a woman and thereby puts her children at risk for maladaptive ways of behaving. Children of mothers who are depressed are at a higher risk of developing externalizing and internalizing problems. Many of the empirically supported treatments for depression focus on the individual aspects of the person, without considering the roles and stress of being a parent. Many treatments for children with behavior problems include parent training. Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is one such parent training program that focuses on fostering a positive relationship between the mother and her child and helps the mother manage behavior problems of the child. This dissertation describes a proposal to amend the current PCIT to cater towards the parenting needs of a depressed mother. Based on the literature review of various treatment modalities for depressed mothers, this dissertation conceptualizes the use of Wait Watch Wonder (WWW) technique, psychoeducation, home visitation, and motivational interviewing to augment the original PCIT while intervening with depressed mothers.

Committee: Janeece Warfield PsyD (Committee Chair); Eve Wolf PhD (Committee Member); Lane Pullins PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Clinical Psychology; Counseling Psychology; Gender; Gender Studies; Health Care; Multicultural Education; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Womens Studies

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2011, Anatomy

Early attachment disruption is thought to promote later onset of depressive illness through a process involving sensitization. Maternal separation in guinea pig pups (~21 days of age) produces depressive-like behavior and core body temperature fluctuations that appear to be mediated by proinflammatory activity. These responses are enhanced during repeated separations over several days. Here, enhanced depressive-like behavior and core body temperature responses were observed from the early pre-weaning to the periadolescent period (~10-40 days of age) and persisted for more than a week. The greatest temperature response was observed during the final separation. These results demonstrate persisting sensitization of behavioral and thermogenic responses to maternal separation over the age range in which these responses are known to occur. Further, the findings are consistent with the hypothesis that proinflammatory activity contributes to the sensitization response and suggest that the impact of early attachment disruption on susceptibility to depression involves proinflammatory processes.

Committee: Michael Hennessy PhD (Advisor); Timothy Cope PhD (Other); Patricia Schiml PhD (Committee Member); John Pearson PhD (Committee Member); Andrew Hsu PhD (Other) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Psychobiology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2009, Anatomy

The current study examined the behavioral sensitization of guinea pig pups in response to consecutive days of maternal separation. In the first experiment, guinea pigs that received centrally administered artificial cerebrospinal fluid or IL-10 exhibited sensitization of passive behaviors from Day 1 to Day 2. IL-10 decreased the levels of passive behaviors on Day 1, as well as the increase on Day 2. The second experiment used unoperated pups, which also showed sensitization of the passive response from Day 1 to Day 2, though the effect appeared reduced relative to control pups of Experiment 1. Collectively, this investigation confirms previous evidence that passive behaviors are due in part to pro-inflammatory cytokines. It also provides evidence that the increase in passive measures from the first separation to the second may be caused by a sensitization of pro-inflammatory mechanisms.

Committee: Michael Hennessy (Advisor); Patricia Schiml-Webb (Committee Member); John Pearson (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Human Development and Family Science

The quality of mother-child interaction has been identified as a salient element associated with child development. Extant literature shows that sensitive and responsive maternal interactive behaviors have a positive effect on child outcomes. This work explores the use of the Emotional Availability Scale which assesses dyadic emotional attunement between caregiver and child. Six dimensions of mother-child interaction are rated: maternal sensitivity, structuring, nonintrusiveness, nonhostility, and child involvement and responsiveness. This study examines 1) the reliability and the validity of the Emotional Availability Scale; 2) the influence of maternal psychological well-being (i.e., depression and parenting stress) on EA; 3) the relationship between EA and child cognitive functioning; and 4) the relationships among EA, maternal psychological well-being, and child behavioral problems (i.e. externalizing and internalizing problems). Three different study samples with different demographic characteristics were employed. The Study 1 sample consisted of the 3-years-olds, Study 2 consisted of 6-years-olds, and Study 3 consisted of different age groups ranging from 1½ to 5 ½ years-old. In study 3, the population was characterized as low income, mothers had more depressive symptoms, higher parental stress levels, and there were more child behavior problems. Both maternal and child EA were strongly associated with child cognitive functioning, regardless of differences in child age and populations. In addition, maternal nonintrusiveness appeared to have the strongest influence on child cognitive functioning in all three studies. Further, our data suggests that children who have higher EA scores and children whose mothers have higher scores experienced fewer externalizing and internalizing problems. Among the EA dimensions, maternal nonhostility was most significantly and negatively associated with child externalizing problems and maternal nonintrusiveness was strongly r (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ellen Hock (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 1990, Psychology

The present study examines the relation between depressive symptoms in mothers of preschool children and attributional style for the child's behavior. The subjects were 54 mothers of preschool children, ages 3 to 6. Two groups of mothers were formed, the depressed group and the nondepressed group, based on score on the Beck Depression Inventory. Other measures used were the Parental Attitude Test, the parent and teacher forms of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, the Attributional Style Questionnaire, and the Maternal Attribution Test. The Maternal Attribution Test, devised by the author, measures the dimensions of the mother's perception of the causes for her child's behaviors. The hypotheses were that the depressed mothers would have more negative perceptions of their children, that they would be more accurate in their perception than the nondepressed mothers, that the depressed mothers would have a "depressive attributional style", and finally, that maternal attribution style would be a predictor of the mother's perception of her child. Results included the finding that the two groups were significantly different in SES and mother's age. These findings were explained in terms of the social context of depression in women. Differences were found between the depressed and nondepressed m others' perceptions of their children as measured by parental attitude, and perception of number of behavior problems. On some analyses, SES had an effect on the variation of perception scores, and this finding was discussed. Age of the mother did not have an effect on perception scores of the mother. There were no differences between boys and girls in how their mothers perceived them and there was one difference in perception based on age of the child. Although the depressed mothers felt more negatively about their children, the teachers of those children reported no significant difference in their behavior in school. Depressed mothers were found to have an "even-handed" attrib (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jane Kessler (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, Case Western Reserve University, 2013, Psychology

Vagal tone, an index of emotion regulation, is related to a number of mental health outcomes in youth, including depressive risk and symptomology. The current study examined the role that vagal tone, as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) at rest and during emotionally relevant stressors, plays in adolescent symptoms of depression. Mothers and their adolescents (ages 11-17) participated as dyads (N = 58) in paced-breathing and real-time family interaction tasks to assess patterns in vagal tone. Outcome measures were resting RSA, RSA reactivity, and adolescent-report of depressive symptomology at the time of visit and during two follow-up sessions. Multilevel modeling significantly predicted adolescent depression from multiple interactions between RSA and affect, including a three-way interaction between adolescent resting and reactive RSA and positive maternal affect during the conflict task. These analyses provide novel evidence that adolescent RSA reactivity measured during a parent-adolescent interaction task is related to youth depressive symptomology over time.

Committee: Arin Connell PhD (Committee Chair); H. Gerry Taylor PhD (Committee Member); Sandra Russ PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology