Mental state
Constructing Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty
Jennifer Silva
American Sociological Review, August 2012, Pages 505-522
Abstract:
Past research in both the transitions to adulthood literature and cultural sociology more broadly suggests that the working class relies on traditional cultural models in their construction of identity. In the contemporary post-industrial world, however, traditional life pathways are now much less available to working-class men and women. I draw on 93 interviews with black and white working-class young people in their 20s to 30s and ask, in an era of increasing uncertainty, where traditional markers of adulthood have become tenuous, what kinds of cultural models do working-class young people employ to validate their adult identities? In contrast to previous studies of working-class identity, I found that respondents embraced a model of therapeutic selfhood - that is, an inwardly directed self preoccupied with its own psychic development. I demonstrate that the therapeutic narrative allows working-class men and women to redefine competent adulthood in terms of overcoming a painful family past. Respondents required a witness to validate their performances of adulthood, however, and the inability to find one left many lost in transition.
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Awe Expands People's Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being
Melanie Rudd, Kathleen Vohs & Jennifer Aaker
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
When do people feel as if they are rich in time? Not often, research and daily experience suggest. However, three experiments showed that participants who felt awe, relative to other emotions, felt they had more time available (Experiments 1 and 3) and were less impatient (Experiment 2). Participants who experienced awe also were more willing to volunteer their time to help other people (Experiment 2), more strongly preferred experiences over material products (Experiment 3), and experienced greater life satisfaction (Experiment 3). Mediation analyses revealed that these changes in decision making and well-being were due to awe's ability to alter the subjective experience of time. Experiences of awe bring people into the present moment, and being in the present moment underlies awe's capacity to adjust time perception, influence decisions, and make life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise.
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Maria Armento, James McNulty & Derek Hopko
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, August 2012, Pages 206-222
Abstract:
Although spiritual or religious behaviors are sometimes targeted within behavior activation therapy (Hopko & Lejuez, 2007; Lejuez, Hopko, & Hopko, 2001) the efficacy of a protocol that ideographically assesses and develops a religiously based behavioral repertoire has not been investigated. This randomized study investigated the efficacy of a single-session behavioral activation of religious behaviors (BARB) protocol relative to supportive therapy (ST) among mild to moderately depressed undergraduate students (n = 50). Clinical outcomes assessed depression, anxiety, environmental reward, and quality of life. Results indicated that BARB successfully increased religious behaviors, attitudes, and coping skills at posttreatment. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that the BARB group also had significantly greater decreases in depression and anxiety, and increased quality of life at posttreatment. At 1-month follow-up, these treatment gains were maintained and 84% or BARB participants reported continued religious activation. Finally, mediation analysis indicated that religious behaviors and attitudes were significant mediators of the relation between treatment condition and attenuation of depression. This study provides encouraging preliminary support for the efficacy of a parsimonious religious-based behavioral activation intervention for depression in college students.
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Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Mental Disorders
Katie McLaughlin et al.
American Journal of Public Health, September 2012, Pages 1742-1750
Objectives: Although previous research has shown that low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with mental illness, it is unclear which aspects of SES are most important. We investigated this issue by examining associations between 5 aspects of SES and adolescent mental disorders.
Methods: Data came from a national survey of US adolescents (n = 6483). Associations among absolute SES (parental income and education), relative SES (relative deprivation, subjective social status), and community level income variation (Gini coefficient) with past-year mental disorders were examined.
Results: Subjective social status (mean 0, variance 1) was most consistently associated with mental disorder. Odds ratios with mood, anxiety, substance, and behavior disorders after controlling for other SES indicators were all statistically significant and in the range of 0.7 to 0.8. Associations were strongest for White adolescents. Parent education was associated with low risk for anxiety disorder, relative deprivation with high risk for mood disorder, and the other 2 indicators were associated with none of the disorders considered.
Conclusions: Associations between SES and adolescent mental disorders are most directly the result of perceived social status, an aspect of SES that might be more amenable to interventions than objective aspects of SES.
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Letters of Gratitude: Further Evidence for Author Benefits
Steven Toepfer, Kelly Cichy & Patti Peters
Journal of Happiness Studies, March 2012, Pages 187-201
Abstract:
This study examined the effects of writing letters of gratitude on three primary qualities of well-being; happiness (positive affect), life-satisfaction (cognitive evaluation), and depression (negative affect). Gratitude was also assessed. Participants included 219 men and women who wrote three letters of gratitude over a 3 week period. A two-way mixed method ANOVA with a between factor (writers vs. non-writers) and within subject factor (time of testing) analysis was conducted. Results indicated that writing letters of gratitude increased participants' happiness and life satisfaction, while decreasing depressive symptoms. The implications of this approach for intervention are discussed.
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Doron Kliger, Gregory Gurevich & Abraham Haim
Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, August 2012, Pages 131-151
Abstract:
Standard economic theory presumes invariant preferences. We refute this presumption on chronobiological grounds, documenting the impact of seasonal affective disorder on investors' demand for initial public offerings (IPOs). We found that seasonal mood substantially influences short- and long-run IPO performance: (a) examining IPO first trading days indicates that, in the short run, stocks issued in short, decreasing, photoperiods (i.e., days associated with depressing daylight conditions), earn lower returns than stocks issued in long, increasing, photoperiods (i.e., cheerful days); (b) by a quarter of a year, the stocks' cum-initial-returns are equated, implying that the short-run initial excess returns of the stocks issued in the cheerful periods are fully absorbed by subsequent performance; and (c) in the long run, the stocks issued in the cheerful periods continue to underperform (until about a year and a half) and subsequently (up to 3 years) possibly revert to the grand average of IPO underperformance. The average initial return differential between the IPOs issued in depressing and cheerful days is in the sizable order of between 5 and 10% of the offering, approaching 15-25% for the relatively less publicly exposed firms, as assessed using a database of 1,526 IPOs with average gross proceeds of $15 million.
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The Double-Edged Sword: Does Biomechanism Increase or Decrease Judges' Sentencing of Psychopaths?
Lisa Aspinwall, Teneille Brown & James Tabery
Science, 17 August 2012, Pages 846-849
Abstract:
We tested whether expert testimony concerning a biomechanism of psychopathy increases or decreases punishment. In a nationwide experiment, U.S. state trial judges (N = 181) read a hypothetical case (based on an actual case) where the convict was diagnosed with psychopathy. Evidence presented at sentencing in support of a biomechanical cause of the convict's psychopathy significantly reduced the extent to which psychopathy was rated as aggravating and significantly reduced sentencing (from 13.93 years to 12.83 years). Content analysis of judges' reasoning indicated that even though the majority of judges listed aggravating factors (86.7%), the biomechanical evidence increased the proportion of judges listing mitigating factors (from 29.7 to 47.8%). Our results contribute to the literature on how biological explanations of behavior figure into theories of culpability and punishment.
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David Feldman & Diane Dreher
Journal of Happiness Studies, August 2012, Pages 745-759
Abstract:
Despite extensive research demonstrating relationships between hope and well being, little work addresses whether hope is malleable. We test a single-session, 90-min intervention to increase college students' hopeful goal-directed thinking (as defined by Snyder et al. in, Pers Soc Psychol 60:570-585, 1991). To date, this study represents the only test of hope's malleability in fewer than five sessions and contributes to the small but growing literature regarding positive-psychology interventions. This intervention is especially relevant to college students, given the increasing psychological distress and lack of perceived control noted among this population (Lewinsohn et al. in, J Abnorm Psychol 102:110-120, 1993; Twenge et al. in, Pers Soc Psychol Rev 8:308-319, 2004). Ninety-six participants were assigned to the hope intervention or one of two comparison/control conditions - progressive muscle relaxation or no intervention. Assessment occurred prior to intervention (pre-test), following intervention (post-test), and at one-month follow-up. Participants in the hope intervention showed increases in measures of hope, life purpose, and vocational calling from pre- to post-test relative to control participants. They also reported greater progress on a self-nominated goal at one-month follow-up. Counterintuitively, although hope predicted goal progress, hope did not mediate the relationship between intervention condition and goal progress. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.
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Richard Wight et al.
Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, forthcoming
Background: Little is known about how a neighbourhood's unemployment history may set the stage for depressive symptomatology. This study examines the effects of urban neighbourhood unemployment history on current depressive symptoms and subsequent symptom trajectories among residentially stable late middle age and older adults. Contingent effects between neighbourhood unemployment and individual-level employment status (ie, cross-level interactions) are also assessed.
Methods: Individual-level survey data are from four waves (2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006) of the original cohort of the nationally representative US Health and Retirement Study. Neighbourhoods are operationalised with US Census tracts for which historical average proportion unemployed between 1990 and 2000 and change in proportion unemployed between 1990 and 2000 are used to characterise the neighbourhood's unemployment history. Hierarchical linear regressions estimate three-level (time, individual and neighbourhood) growth models.
Results: Symptoms in 2000 are highest among those residing in neighbourhoods characterised by high historical average unemployment beginning in 1990 and increasing unemployment between 1990 and 2000, net of a wide range of socio-demographic controls including individual-level employment status. These neighbourhood unemployment effects are not contingent upon individual-level employment status in 2000. 6-year trajectories of depressive symptoms decrease over time on average but are not significantly influenced by the neighbourhood's unemployment history.
Conclusions: Given the current US recession, future studies that do not consider historical employment conditions may underestimate the mental health impact of urban neighbourhood context. The findings suggest that exposure to neighbourhood unemployment earlier in life may be consequential to mental health later in life.
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Juliana Breines & Serena Chen
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Self-compassion, which involves treating one's own suffering with compassion, mirrors the interpersonal experience of giving support to others. In four experiments we examined the hypothesis that activating support-giving schemas can increase state self-compassion. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants first recalled a negative event (Expt. 1) or experienced a lab-based test failure (Expt. 2), then were randomly assigned to recall an experience of giving support to versus having fun with another person, and finally completed a measure of state self-compassion. Experiments 3 and 4 examined the effects of actually giving support to another person (via written advice), compared to not giving support or simply reading about another's problem, and assessed effort invested in writing a self-comforting statement, operationalized as statement length (Expt. 3), and self-reported self-compassion (Expt 4). As predicted, both forms of support-giving schema activation increased self-compassion. Alternative explanations involving affect, self-esteem, and awareness of others' problems were addressed. These results suggest that one way to increase compassion for the self is to give it to others.
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Martin Binder & Tom Broekel
Journal of Happiness Studies, August 2012, Pages 621-645
Abstract:
Happiness measures, reflecting individuals' well-being, have received increasing attention by policy makers. Policies could target absolute happiness levels when aiming at increasing a society's well-being. But given upper bounds of happiness measures, as well as the possibilities of decreasing returns to happiness resources, we argue that an important measure of interest is the efficiency with which individuals convert their resources into happiness. In order to examine the effects of policies on this efficiency and to better understand the trajectories of human well-being over time, we suggest an efficiency measure that is calculated via a nonparametric order-m approach borrowed from the production efficiency literature. Our approach is exemplified using micro level data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). Between 20 and 27% of the British populace are efficient in attaining happiness during our sample period. A negative influence on "happiness efficiency" is being unemployed while a positive influence is cohabitation with a partner. Our results are robust with respect to using a more comprehensive subjective well-being measure, but there are gender differences, for example in the (positive) influence that retirement has on males' efficiency, or the (positive) influence of maternity leave on females.
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Britt Morthorst et al.
British Medical Journal, August 2012
Objective: To assess whether an assertive outreach intervention after suicide attempt could reduce the frequency of subsequent suicidal acts, compared with standard treatment.
Design: Randomised, parallel group, superiority trial with blinded outcome assessment.
Setting: Outpatient intervention at one location at Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark.
Participants: Patients older than 12 years admitted to regional hospitals in Copenhagen with a suicide attempt within the past 14 days. We excluded patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and patients living in institutions.
Intervention: Case management through assertive outreach that provided crisis intervention and flexible problem solving. This approach incorporated motivational support and actively assisted patients to scheduled appointments to improve adherence with after-treatment as an add on to standard treatment.
Main outcome: Repeated suicide attempt and death by suicide, recorded in medical records and death register at 1-year follow-up.
Results: 243 patients were included. During 12 months of follow-up, 20/123 (16%) patients in the intervention group had been registered in hospital records with subsequent suicide attempt, compared with 13/120 (11%) in the control group (odds ratio 1.60, 95% confidence interval 0.76 to 3.38; P=0.22). By contrast, self reported data on new events showed 11/95 (12%) in the intervention group versus 13/74 (18%) in the control group (0.61, 0.26 to 1.46; P=0.27). By imputing missing data on the selfreported outcomes, we estimated 15/123 (12%) events in the intervention group and 23/120 (19%) in the control group (0.69, 0.34 to 1.43; P=0.32).
Conclusion: Assertive outreach showed no significant effect on subsequent suicide attempt. The difference in rates of events between register data and self reported data could indicate detection bias.
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Decreased expression of synapse-related genes and loss of synapses in major depressive disorder
Hyo Jung Kang et al.
Nature Medicine, forthcoming
Abstract:
Previous imaging and postmortem studies have reported a lower brain volume and a smaller size and density of neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) of subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD). These findings suggest that synapse number and function are decreased in the dlPFC of patients with MDD. However, there has been no direct evidence reported for synapse loss in MDD, and the gene expression alterations underlying these effects have not been identified. Here we use microarray gene profiling and electron microscopic stereology to reveal lower expression of synaptic-function-related genes (CALM2, SYN1, RAB3A, RAB4B and TUBB4) in the dlPFC of subjects with MDD and a corresponding lower number of synapses. We also identify a transcriptional repressor, GATA1, expression of which is higher in MDD and that, when expressed in PFC neurons, is sufficient to decrease the expression of synapse-related genes, cause loss of dendritic spines and dendrites, and produce depressive behavior in rat models of depression.
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Yvette Peeters et al.
Journal of Happiness Studies, August 2012, Pages 589-600
Abstract:
Numerous studies on affective forecasting have demonstrated that people frequently underestimate their ability to adapt to adverse circumstances. But to date, these studies have not assessed people's affective forecasts early in the experience of these new circumstances. We present two longitudinal studies of people experiencing new adversities. In the first study 54 patients experiencing new limb amputations were recruited to participate in a mailed survey. Patients assessed their well-being, functioning and general health (1) two weeks after discharge from the hospital and (2) three months later. At the first time point patients also predicted their well-being, functioning and general health at three months. In the second study 55 patients experiencing new colostomies were recruited and received mailed surveys at three time points; (1) at baseline (within one week after leaving the hospital), (2) one month after baseline, and (3) seven months after baseline. Again we assessed their actual and predicted well-being, functioning and general health. In both studies the actual change was compared to the change expected by patients. Across both studies, patients expected to significantly improve on all three domains but reported little actual improvement. Together, these studies demonstrated that people with new disabilities overestimate hedonic adaptation - they expect their overall well-being to improve more than it actually does.
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CREB1 modulates the influence of childhood sexual abuse on adult's anger traits
R. Hasler et al.
Genes, Brain and Behavior, August 2012, Pages 720-726
Abstract:
Childhood maltreatment and genes underlie vulnerability to suicidal behaviours (SB), possibly by affecting the constitution of endophenotypes such as anger traits. The CREB protein has been implicated in antidepressant response, suicide and mood disorders in general. The aim of this study was to investigate if CREB1 gene is associated with SB and/or anger-related traits and if these associations are modulated by childhood maltreatment. Five hundred and thirty-four male suicide attempters and 357 male non-suicide attempters were genotyped for several polymorphisms within CREB1 gene. Four hundred and thirty-seven (156 non-suicide attempters and 281 suicide attempters) completed the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) and 288 (265 suicide attempters and 23 controls) fulfilled the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). In total, 72 males had experienced childhood sexual abuse. Our results did not show any significant association between CREB1 and suicide behaviour. We found a significant interaction showing that CREB1 rs4675690 polymorphism modulated the effect of childhood sexual abuse on adulthood anger-out levels (P = 0.003). Sexually abused subjects carrying the CC genotype showed higher anger-out scores than T allele carriers, whereas no difference was observed in non-sexually abused subjects. CREB1 rs4675690 polymorphism modulates the association between childhood sexual abuse and adulthood anger-trait level. This is, to our knowledge, the first study to show such an interaction and to highlight the main effect of this gene on modulating the effect of child abuse on psychopathologies and warrant further investigation on this topic.