Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Childhood depressive disorder symptoms: relations with two physiological indices of emotion regulation(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Armstrong, Eleanor Jane; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Brandon ScottTheoretical models of depression postulate that one's ability to regulate emotions may be a core factor in the development of depressive disorder symptoms. The present study aimed to understand how physiological measures of emotion regulation are related to depressive disorder symptoms among a community sample of 7-10 year-old children. Specifically, we sought to investigate how resting heart rate variability and the change in heart rate variability from a resting baseline to a stressor are related to child- and-caregiver- reported depressive symptomology. The children's physiological measures (i.e., heartbeat patterns, respiration) used to calculate high-frequency heart rate variability for each task were collected as the child sat quietly (3 minutes), watched a relaxing Coral Reef video (3 minutes), traced a star pattern while looking in a mirror (3 minutes), and played Hungry, Hungry Hippos on an iPad (3 minutes). In addition, children and their primary caregivers completed a series of questionnaires about the child and family demographics and child's depressive disorder symptoms. We conducted bivariate correlations, paired samples t-tests, multiple regression analyses (controlling for age, gender, and mean respiration rate at baseline) to examine the relations between both resting heart rate variability and change in heart rate variability in response to a stressor or positive task and child- and caregiver-reported depressive disorder symptoms. We found a significant relation between the child-reported depressive disorders and the change in HRV from resting baseline (traditional and video) to the stress task. However, we did not find that gender moderated this relation, nor did we find any significant relations between the resting baseline (traditional and video) and child-or-caregiver-reported depressive symptoms. Finally, not associations were found between and the change in HRV from resting baseline (video) or the Mirror Star Tracer task Baseline to the Hungry Hungry Hippo task and child-or-caregiver-reported depressive symptoms. Future research should consider the nature of the task demands relative to arousal and also the diversity and size of the sample. Our findings demonstrated a unique pattern in HRV change from resting baseline (traditional and video) to a stress task that allow for new questions to be asked and a foundation for further research.Item I know who I am : a true self-knowledge intervention to improve college students' anxiety, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2016) Leal, Stephanie Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Matthew VessThe transition into college is fraught with the potential for anxiety, depression and risky health behaviors. The goal of my thesis was to design and test an intervention focused on perceived true self-knowledge, or the feeling of knowing who one really is. I hypothesized that increasing perceived true self-knowledge would decrease depression, anxiety, and risky alcohol use. Undergraduate students (N= 91) first completed an online survey that included baseline measurements of anxiety, depression and alcohol use. The day after completing this baseline survey, participants were randomly assigned to complete conditions of the intervention. The intervention phase consisted of four days of writing tasks. Participants in the true self-knowledge intervention condition identified characteristics that define who they truly are daily for four consecutive days. Participants in the control condition did the same thing but were asked to identify office supplies. Two-weeks following the intervention, participants (N=61) completed a second survey that assessed anxiety, depression, and alcohol use. I hypothesized that, controlling for baseline, participants in the true self-knowledge condition would report lower levels of anxiety, depression, and alcohol use compared to the control condition. The results indicated that the intervention did not successfully increase perceived true self-knowledge. Additionally, the results did not support my hypothesis. The only significant effect to emerge was an unexpected increase in the self-reported number of drinks consumed in a typical drinking event among those in the true self-knowledge intervention condition. The limitations of the intervention and potential avenues for future research are discussed.