Amber L. Paukert

Affective and attributional features of acculturative stress among ethnic minority college students

Little is known about the affective features of acculturative stress or its relation to attributional styles for negative events. The authors examined associations among acculturative stress, attributional style, and positive and negative affect among 96 ethnic minority college students. They hypothesized that acculturative stress would be characterized by elevated negative affect and global and stable attributions for negative events. Consistent with prediction, acculturative stress was significantly associated with negative affect and global attributions, even when controlling for other relevant predictors. Attributional style did not account for the association between negative affect and acculturative stress. Positive affect and stable and internal attributional styles were not related to acculturative stress. The authors discuss implications for reducing stress associated with acculturation.

The Roles of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in Physical Health’s Impact on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adults

Physical illness may precipitate psychological distress among older adults. This study examines whether social support and self-efficacy moderate the associations between physical health and depression and anxiety. Predictions were tested in 222 individuals age 60 or older presenting for help with worry. Physical health was assessed through self-report (subjective) and physical diagnoses (objective). Objective physical health did not have a significant association with depression or anxiety. Worse subjective physical health was associated with increased somatic anxiety, but not with depression or worry. The relationship between subjective physical health and depressive symptoms was moderated by self-efficacy and social support. As predicted, when self-efficacy was low, physical health had its strongest negative association with depressive symptoms such that as physical health improved, depressive symptoms also improved. However, the moderation effect was not as expected for social support; at high levels of social support, worse physical health was associated with increased depressive affect.

Systematic Review of the Effects of Religion-Accommodative Psychotherapy for Depression and Anxiety

Integrating religion into psychotherapy may improve treatment for depression and anxiety. This review systematically examines clinical trials of religion-accommodative psychotherapy for depression or anxiety. Results indicate that integrating religion into psychotherapy does not lead to significantly more improvements in depression or anxiety than equivalent therapy without religious components. However, when compared with less stringent control groups, such as supportive psychotherapy, religion-accommodative therapy may be more effective, at least immediately post-treatment. Results from the 11 studies reviewed indicate that psychotherapy integrating religion is at least as effective for treating depression and anxiety as other forms of psychotherapy. Conclusions were limited by lack of power, comparable control groups, focus on anxiety, and treatment manuals.

The Assessment of Active Listening Skills in Helpline Volunteers

This research attempted to determine if the active listening skills of helpline volunteers are improved through training and maintained after training and if the assessment tool currently used by helplines to objectively measure active listening skills, the Crisis Center Discrimination Index CCDI; (Delworth, Rudow, & Taub, 1972), is a valid measure. The lack of significant correlations between CCDI scores and supervisor ratings of active listening skills does not support the CCDIs validity. When the CCDI was altered so that the volunteers ranked responses to a caller instead of rated them, moderate correlations between CCDI scores and supervisor ratings resulted. In this form, scores on the CCDI improved with training. This indicates that active listening skills improve with training. Although scores on the CCDI did not change significantly from immediately after training to a follow-up period, supervisor ratings of active listening skills increased significantly, indicating that active listening skills improve with experience on helplines.

Refining moderators of mood contagion: Men's differential responses to depressed and depressed-anxious presentations

Research has established the existence of mood induction in conditions of moderate to intense affective displays. Findings are less consistent with regard to for whom and under what circumstances mood induction occurs. The present study expands upon past work by examining the unique and interactive effects of target mood state (“depressed” vs. “depressed-anxious”) and participant gender on mood induction and interpersonal rejection. Participants viewed a video of either a pure depressed or concurrently depressed and anxious female target, then completed measures of mood symptoms, regard for the target, and willingness to interact with the target. Women reported similar mood symptoms in response to both videos, but men reported elevated depressed and anxious mood following the depressed-anxious video. Men were also more likely to hold the depressed-anxious target in lower regard, but no gender differences were found in willingness to interact with the target. The present findings suggest that womens displays of concurrent depressed and anxious mood, as compared to depressed mood alone, have particularly negative effects upon mens mood.

The involvement of multiple caregivers in cognitive-behavior therapy for anxiety in persons with dementia

Objectives: Peaceful Mind, a cognitive-behavioral therapy for treating anxiety in persons with dementia, is a promising new treatment currently under investigation. This article reports results of our examination of a modification of the treatment protocol in two cases that included multiple caregivers in treating two persons with dementia. Method: Two case presentations of the benefits and challenges of including multiple caregivers in treatment are discussed. Treatment outcome data for these cases were collected as part of a larger investigation of Peaceful Mind. Results: The involvement of multiple collaterals resulted in several benefits, including increased family communication, as well as increased opportunities for the practice of new skills. These cases have also presented unique challenges requiring alterations in therapy structure and attention to issues of family conflict. Conclusions: Including multiple collaterals in cognitive-behavioral therapy for treating anxiety in persons with dementia is feasible and may be beneficial in maximizing treatment gains and increasing the familys investment in therapy.

The Peaceful Mind Manual: A Protocol for Treating Anxiety in Persons With Dementia

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among individuals with dementia and have a significant negative impact on their lives. Peaceful Mind is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety in persons with dementia. The Peaceful Mind manual was developed, piloted, and modified over 2 years. In an open trial and a small randomized, controlled trial, it decreased anxiety and caregiver distress. The treatment meets the unique needs of individuals with dementia by emphasizing behavioral rather than cognitive interventions, slowing the pace, limiting the material to be learned, increasing repetition and practice, using cues to stimulate memory, including a friend or family member in treatment as a coach, and providing sessions in the home. The manual presented here includes modules that teach specific skills, including awareness, breathing, calming self-statements, increasing activity, and sleep management, as well as general suggestions for treatment delivery.

Interpersonal reactions to suicide attempt: the role of respondent causal attributions.

Interpersonal responses to a depressed person with or without a suicide attempt were examined. It was hypothesized that the depressed person who attempted suicide would receive higher negative attributions and interpersonal rejection, and that attributions would mediate the relationship between exposure to a depressed person and rejection. Contrary to hypotheses, respondents were more willing to interact with, held higher esteem for, and endorsed lower negative attributions for the depressed person who attempted suicide. Mediation hypotheses were supported. Findings suggest that a suicide attempt may promote less negative attributions toward depressed individuals, which in turn dampen negative interpersonal reactions.