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Depression or mood disorder is a common illness that impacts mentally, depression affects the way people act and think. Depression is identified by a loss of pleasure and interest in activities they usually enjoy. In the present century, technology has been remarked upon internationally in various fields, especially health care and mental health. Previous researchers described physical activities and sleeping patterns as used methodology to predict the risk of depression, but social avoidance was never minded. Social interaction avoidance can indeed contribute to feelings of depression and exacerbate existing depressive symptoms. In this research, we have proposed an integrated system (wearable device+chatbot and Machine Learning) to detect early depression using a mobile application linked with wearable device APIs that can predict a chance of getting depression by using machine learning, as well as social interaction activities including several interactions with friends or family where we will use chatbot to get some data related to social interactions and emotions. Qualitative-cum-quantitative data collection methods have been considered. The proposed model correctly predicted 0.88% of depressed people with an accuracy of 0.96%, which shows that it can be helpful in depression prevention. As an outcome of this research, there is a benefit from regular personalized well-being advice delivered through this technology, resulting in increased productivity and a stronger sense of purpose as feelings of worthlessness diminish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baby Blues Syndrome and Postpartum Depression are types of depression that often occur in postpartum mothers. Baby Blues Syndrome or often also called Maternity Blues is understood as a mild affective disorder syndrome that often appears in the first week after delivery and peaks on the third to fifth day and attacks within 14 days after delivery. The incidence of baby blues or postpartum blues in Asia is quite high and varies between 26-85%, while in Indonesia the incidence of baby blues or postpartum blues is between 50-70% of postpartum women. For this reason, this study tries to create a system to make predictions in the diagnosis of Baby Blues Syndrome and Postpartum Depression in Mothers during the Postpartum Period by applying the Perceptron Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. The data needed in this study are symptoms and cases of depression such as Baby Blues Syndrome and Postpartum Depression, where the sample data will be taken from postpartum women. The data taken is divided into two, namely training data and testing data. Where the performance results of the perceptron neural network model in this test have the ability to predict postpartum syndrome with an accuracy of 98%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Postpartum period is a period of risk for the development of mood disorders, including postpartum depression. The onset and persistence of postpartum distress and depressive symptoms may be influenced by several obstetric and psychosocial factors. A body of research studies has shown an association between quality and satisfaction with the partner support and postpartum depression. Aim of this study was to examine relationship between selected obstetric (e.g. type of labour, complications during labour) and psychosocial factors (e.g. level of perceived partner support; satisfaction with health care) and symptoms of postnatal depression in postpartum period. Methods: 204 mothers 6-8-weeks postpartum were included in the study; mean age 30.92±4.75. Data were collected by using self-administered measures of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (cut off score 10) and the Postpartum Partner Support Scale. Frequency distribution, Pearson correlation, Student’s t-test and one-way analysis of variance were employed to analyse the data. Results: In the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, the respondents achieved an average score of 6.21 ± 4.9; and the prevalence of symptoms of psychological distress was 18.7% (N=37). Women who were more likely to suffer from higher depressive symptoms more often reported complications during pregnancy (p=0.046); were less satisfied with health care during postpartum period (p=0.000) and their financial situation (p=0.020). Significant negative correlation was found between perceived partner support and psychosocial distress (p=0.000). Conclusion: The study findings suggest that there is an association between various factors and symptoms of depression following childbirth. Although some risk factors are difficult to control (eg complicated pregnancies) and may have a negative impact on maternal mental health, enhancing social support among new mothers may have the potential protective role in reducing psychological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose We examine the consequences of self-stigmatization for mental health patients' everyday social interactions. Past research demonstrates that people with mental illness who self-stigmatize have much lower self-esteem, efficacy, and personal agency, leading to the likely adoption of roleidentities that are at the periphery of major social institutions. We further research on self-stigma by examining the likely interactional consequences of enacting a highly stigmatized self-identity, and the affective tone of the interactions the highly self-stigmatized would likely have. Design Using affect control theory (ACT), we generate predictions related to the interactional consequences of self-stigmatization. We use the Indianapolis Mental Health Study and Interact, a computerized version of ACT, to generate empirically-based simulation results for patients with an affective disorder (e.g., major depression and bipolar disorder), comparing simulations where the focal actor is a person with a mental illness with either high or low self-stigma. Findings Self-stigma dampens patients' behavioral expression, leading the highly self-stigmatized to enact behaviors that are lower in goodness, powerfulness, and liveliness. Their corresponding emotional expressions from these types of interactions are similarly dulled. Even though these likely interactions are the most confirmatory for people with high levels of self-stigma, they lead to interactions that are behaviorally and emotionally flat or neutral. Implications and Originality This piece has implications for the literature on the social interactional and life course challenges faced by psychiatric patients and contributes to the self-stigma literature more broadly. This work will hopefully inform future research involving the collection of non-simulation-based data on the everyday interactional experiences of people with mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abuse experienced in childhood including physical and emotional neglect, has been identified as a major risk factor for a variety of negative outcomes for mental and physical health. Objective: We aimed to find out whether history of family violence experienced in childhood and adolescents predicts affective disorders in Romanian youth assessed by depression, anxiety (GAD) and risk for suicide. Method: Data were drawn from a large-scale, national representative sample of 1497 young adults (Mean Age 21,5) evaluated in the second wave of study after finishing high school. Findings: Using linear and logistic regressions. Findings add to our previous results showing that lack of social support and experienced forms of violence in childhood increased the likelihood for affective disorders and increased vulnerability for suicide risk. Discussion focuses on necessity of designing social interventions - both within and outside the health sector - which strengthen social inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the education system has become more challenging as compared to the previous days. It requires the student to a multi-tasker. The practice of multi-tasking among the students could lead to a stressful life which may eventually cause depression among them. A cross-sectional study with stratified sampling was conducted at UiTM Campus Seremban from September until October 2015 through dissemination of questionnaires. A sample of 360 selected undergraduate students aged between 18 - 24 years were participated in this study. Two research instruments, namely, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21-item (DASS-21) and Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) were adopted. A logistic regression analysis was applied to find out the factors associating with depression. Hosmer and Lemeshow Test reported that, the estimated model fit the data well (p > 0.05). Nagelkerke's R2 of 0.145 indicated that there is a slightly poor relationship between the predictors and grouping. The Wald Criterion and odds ratio also revealed that male adolescents were 1.933 times more likely to be depressed (p = 0.034, OR = 1.933). Parents who were divorced were 3.534 times more likely to contribute to adolescents' depression (p = 0.006, OR = 3.534). The other significant predictors were loneliness and bully. The odds ratio for both predictor variables indicated that loneliness was 2.371 times more likely to contribute to adolescents' depression (p = 0.009, OR = 2.371) while bully was 2.381 times more likely to contribute to adolescents' depression (p = 0.036, OR = 2.381). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University / Daugavpils Universitates Starptautiskas Zinatniskas Konferences Materiali is the property of Daugavpils University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University / Daugavpils Universitates Starptautiskas Zinatniskas Konferences Materiali is the property of Daugavpils University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University / Daugavpils Universitates Starptautiskas Zinatniskas Konferences Materiali is the property of Daugavpils University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University / Daugavpils Universitates Starptautiskas Zinatniskas Konferences Materiali is the property of Daugavpils University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study explores the gender differences across the study variables which are depression, social anxiety, morbid fears, and parenting among adolescents, moreover test the direction of correlations between depression and previous variables. Finally determine the best predictors of depression. Based on a sample of 300 Kuwaiti secondary school adolescents, whereas (150 males150 females) with a mean age of 16.6 years (SD=1.2). The results have generally showed that there is difference between males and females in the variables of depression, social anxiety, morbid fears and parenting. The results of the correlation relationships revealed that depression was found to be significant positive correlated with social anxiety, morbid fears, but a negative correlated with parenting. The best predictors of depression were social anxiety and parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess how comorbid mood disorders were associated with health service utilization of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias in a Canadian household population. Methods: The study utilized a population-based secondary data analysis approach, using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 2011-2012 annual component. Results: Mood disorders were found to be more prevalent among persons with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias compared to those without (26.7% vs 7.7%). Individuals with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias and a comorbid mood disorder were more likely to use mental health services (Adj OR: 6.58, P=0.000). Conclusion: The increased usage of health services in persons with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias and a comorbid mood disorder exhibit the importance of understanding the needs of these individuals to help shift public policy. This will aid researchers in developing and implementing improved services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a chronic and disabling disease that usually appears around 20 to 30 years old. Patients who suffer with BD may struggle for years to achieve a correct diagnosis, and only 50% of them generally receive adequate treatment. In this work we apply a machine learning technique called Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) in order to model relapse and no-relapse patients in a first attempt in this area to improve diagnosis and optimize psychiatrists' time spent with patients. We use ILP because it is well suited for our multi- relational dataset and because a human can easily interpret the logical rules produced. Our classifiers can predict relapse cases with 92% Recall and no-relapse cases with 73% Recall. The rules and variable theories generated by ILP reproduce some findings from the scientific literature. The generated multi-relational models can be directly interpreted by clinicians and researchers, and also open space to research biological mechanisms and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 1 in 10 adults are reported to exhibit clinical depression and the associated personal, societal, and economic costs are significant. In this study, we applied the MTERMS NLP system and machine learning classification algorithms to identify patients with depression using discharge summaries. Domain experts reviewed both the training and test cases, and classified these cases as depression with a high, intermediate, and low confidence. For depression cases with high confidence, all of the algorithms we tested performed similarly, with MTERMS' knowledge-based decision tree slightly better than the machine learning classifiers, achieving an F-measure of 89.6%. MTERMS also achieved the highest F-measure (70.6%) on intermediate confidence cases. The RIPPER rule learner was the best performing machine learning method, with an F-measure of 70.0%, and a higher precision but lower recall than MTERMS. The proposed NLP-based approach was able to identify a significant portion of the depression cases (about 20%) that were not on the coded diagnosis list. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In evaluating interactive systems, several attempts have been made to broaden the traditional focus on the efficient achievement of goals and incorporate an understanding of additional aspects linked to the User eXperience (UX). In this direction, usability tests also based on the users emotional level should be performed. This requires the introduction of suitable methods which can capture and convert subjective feelings into concrete design parameters. In this paper we propose a user centered approach to the evaluation of the UX in a 3D Educational Virtual Environment, in which the user is required to explore of cultural places and to solve games for educational purposes by using innovative controllers. We employ a commercial Brain Computer Interface to collect information on the users feelings. The preliminary results of this research show that our method allows the identification of elements that do not result in high subject agreement in terms of elicited emotions. Moreover, it provides the opportunity to redesign the environment. The domain-independent nature of the presented approach allows designers to apply it in a wide range of 3D interactive environments, such as games and serious games, training simulators, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The survey was focused on the influence of canis therapy against anxiety and depression in older adults in two retirement homes in the Czech Republic. Methodology: Mixed design approach was chosen for the research. Two questionnaires were used for data collection: BDI-II and Beck anxiety inventory. Interviews investigate the opinion with subjective benefit of canis therapy. The survey was conducted in 2014. Survey group consisted of 80 elderly. This group underwent canis therapy. The control group consisted of 82 elderly without canis therapy. The statistical analysis was performed using the Mann - Whitney test and Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: Average age of survey participants was 78. There were not significant differences in both, anxiety and depression scores between the survey and the control group. Subjective benefit of canis therapy for the participants was the first "feeling of pleasure", the second "feeling of calm", and the third "reducing the feeling of solitude". Conclusion: Although quantitative approach did not show significantly canis therapy affect against anxiety and depression, the results cannot be generalized because of small number of research participants. We can assume that the results could be influenced by the coexistence of clients with a partner, including their social support, which has demonstrated a protective effect in relation to depression and anxiety. Results may be affected by the fact that clients are suitable for canis therapy and there were select according to their health condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present research is theoretical, empirical and practical. Thus, we tried to highlight and observe the difference between the parents of children diagnosed with schizophrenia who have dysfunctional cognitive schemas and the parents who have mentally healthy children and the way in which some differences are more pronounced in the first case than in the second. The research was conducted on a sample of 89 people, divided into three groups: the first group comprised 29 patients with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder, the second group comprised 29 parents of schizophrenia patients and the third group, consisting of 31 subjects, parents of mentally healthy children with no family history. The conclusions argue that there are significant differences in terms of dysfunctional cognitive schemas among parents of schizophrenia patients and parents of mentally healthy children. The dysfunctional cognitive schemas found in parents with schizophrenia children are even more pronounced than those of mentally healthy children; they were supported by checking the average scores obtained by each participant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a control structure for affective-cognitive study of a biomimetic structure. This structure allows the mixing of the basic facial expressive states. Basic facial expressive states can be expressed at different intensities and can be mixed to reproduce a certain emotional state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions have held a central place in sociological understandings of the self, both as a facet of identity management and as an outcome of primarily cognitive self processes such as reflected appraisals. In this paper, we extend research on emotions by suggesting that emotions need to also be theorized as having the potential to shape individuals' understandings of who they are. To develop our ideas, we draw upon existing control models of the self that provide a theoretical account of cognitive processes in the production of emotion and identity change. We then extend this model to include emotion as another source of identity change and empirically examine our ideas using a longitudinal sample of newly married couples, focusing on the mood disorder of depression. While we do not find that discrepancies between individuals' identities and others' views affect depression, we do find that individuals' identities change to become consistent with the views of others. We also find that, when compared to reflected appraisals, emotion is an equally powerful source of identity change. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a theoretical extension of affective disposition theory that incorporates the mere exposure effect. In this model, mere exposure initially leads to liking for both good and bad media characters, but liking is misattributed to dislike for bad characters when contextual cues are introduced in narratives. An experiment (n = 99) provides evidence to support the model. The results suggest that the default mode that individuals bring to mediated communication experiences is to develop a positive disposition towards all characters unless contextual cues indicate otherwise. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness with a significant negative impact on quality of life. People with bipolar disorder benefit when family and friends provide social support, but quantity and quality of support are often lacking. Prior research suggests the existence of multiple barriers that may prevent support-seeking or impede support provision. The current study provides a focused analysis of barriers to support-seeking and provision as identified in semi-structured interviews with people who have bipolar disorder (N = 29). These barriers include characteristics of bipolar disorder (e.g., its phasic nature), the stigma associated with mental illness, the desire for independence, lack of support-seeking skill, and fear of over-reaction by others. These and other barriers identified by interviewees are discussed with respect to their implications for improving the lives of people with bipolar disorder. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses data from the World Values Survey and the National Survey of Families and Households to determine why the sex gap in depression is wider in high gender equity societies. Using hierarchical logistic modeling, we find that the sex difference in depression is wider in high gender equity societies because children increase depression for women in high gender equity societies, while they reduce depression for women in low gender equity societies. There is little difference in the effect of children on depression for men across societies. Further analysis of U.S. data finds that closeness to parents ameliorates the positive effect of number of children on the probability of depression for both men and women. This is highly suggestive of the role of positive kin ties in buffering individuals with children from depression in both high and low gender equity societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is the severe depressive syndrome occurring during decreased light periods (e.g., winter). Connections between communication and SAD, its symptoms, and who sufferers from it, are all defined. Medical aspects involving hormonal imbalances and secretions occurring with the disorder, how depression and communication are related, and how hormonal balances/imbalances impact communication are examined. Survey results involving correlations and ANOVA tests are articulated, as well as SAD treatment methods including communication. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines predictors of mood disorders among a group of African American (N = 2,909) and Afro-Caribbean (N = 1,297) adults using recent prevalence data collected in the National Survey of American Life. We find that African American women are more likely than their male counterparts to report ever having a mood disorder but no gender differences among Afro-Caribbean adults. The type of early life demographics that were important varied across the two groups but stress had a predictable impact on mood disorders. For both groups, chronic stress and racial discrimination were associated with an increase in the odds of reporting a mood disorder. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The researchers collected a data set of consumer-directed print advertisements for antidepressant medications from three female-directed magazines, three male-directed magazines, and four common readership magazines from 1997-2003. The investigators discuss the use of gendered language, images, and references in the data and identify strategies that may lead readers to associate emotional distress with women. The researchers examine the implications of the gendering of mood disorders in advertisements, and suggest that such techniques may facilitate the medical social control of women. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is an ever-growing literature on negative spillover, very little research has focused on positive spillover and even less has examined the relationship between positive spillover and depression. Our paper examines the relationship between work-to-home and home-to-work positive spillover and depression. We address four questions; 1) Do home roles and demands in these roles mediate the relationship between positive spillover and depression? 2) Do resources in home and work roles moderate the relationship between positive spillover and depression? 3) Is there an interactive effect between positive work-to-home and home-to-work spillover? 4) Are there gender differences in these relationships? Using the 500 employed individuals drawn from a random sample telephone survey of the Northeast Ohio area, we find that positive home-to-work spillover is associated with lower rates of depression while positive work-to-home spillover is associated with higher rates of depression. However, neither roles nor role resources explain variation in positive spillover and no gender differences are observed. Our results also indicate that the two types of spillover interact, such that depression is highest among workers who report high work-to-home positive spillover and low home-to-work spillover. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the work-home interface and in terms of work-family policy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bipolar disorder is a relatively common and disabling psychiatric disorder that is characterised as being principally a disorder of ‘mood’. What is of some interest is that ‘mood’ is a conceptually fuzzy term that remains generally unexplicated in the clinical literature, and also appears highly ramified in vernacular usage. The current paper reports an empirical investigation of how ‘moods’ feature in therapy talk involving a clinical psychologist and bipolar clients, drawing upon ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, and membership categorisation analysis. Analysis is presented that describes some perspicuous instances of ‘moods’ operative as kinds of devices; as collections of various categories that are vernacularly rendered, reflexively organised, normatively accountable descriptions of conduct. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of volunteering on mental depression. Volunteering is defined as any voluntary activity in which time and efforts are given to benefit another person, group, or organizations with no financial compensation expected. Several studies have found that volunteer work decreased depressive symptoms in people, and many have found that effects of volunteer work on depression vary by age. Rewards or benefits from volunteering are one of critical impetuses for why people contribute time and efforts to unpaid work.

The article cites a study which focuses on the differences in the application of psychotropic medications in substance abuse treatment centers for the treatment of mood disorders. The use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in public and private treatment facilities in the U.S. was investigated during the study. The study examined whether there is any impact of organizational characteristics and interorganizational relationships on the adoption of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in such facilities.

This research used growth curve modeling to study within person change in depressed mood, parent support and the self-concept during adolescence. I investigated whether changes in parental support and the self-concept in adolescence can account for the increasing rates of depressed mood and/or gender variation in adolescent depressed during adolescence. Results indicate that depressed mood increases for both boys and girls. Although the rate of increase for adolescent boys is significantly steeper than adolescent girls, girls consistently report higher rates of depressed mood than boys between early and middle adolescence. Decreasing levels of parental support appear to indirectly influence higher levels of depressed mood via the self-concept. Changes in self-esteem and self-efficacy explain a significant and substantial amount of the increase in depressed mood during adolescence. Adolescent girls consistently report lower levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy in adolescence; however, gender variation in the self-concept failed to explain gender variation in depressed mood. Future analyses will explore interaction among social support, the self-concept and gender on depressed mood. I also plan on using Growth Mixture Modeling to also explore increases in depressed mood and gender variation in depressed mood during adolescence. The aggregated increases and gender variation could primarily stem from a sub-sample of adolescents who experience the most adolescent storm and stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health and, more specifically, depression are areas of growing concern to health professionals and the public alike. Effective communication campaigns can be used to increase the number of people receiving treatment for depressive disorders. The purposes of this study are: (a) to explore communication campaigns combining mass and interpersonal communication, (b) to investigate the effectiveness of the extended parallel process model and risk perception attitude framework for an intervention-based depression campaign, and (c) to assess how knowledge and empathy may influence intervention behaviors. Results indicate that the EPPM and RPA framework provide valuable theoretical guidance for an intervention campaign targeting depression in college students. In addition, knowledge and empathy play a significant role in this depression intervention situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the ways partners in relationship with a depressed individual interpret the depressive behavior and how this interpretation is related to their types of attempts to control depression and to relationship satisfaction and cohesiveness. It describes the paradoxical nature of the power structure in the romantic relationship with a depressed individual, and how the power structure limits the types of control strategies the non-depressed partner can use. Results indicate that individuals with higher external attribution for control feel their partner's behavior is unpredictable and not influenced by what they say or use fewer strategies to curtail depression and instead use more strategies that reinforce depression and punish alternative behavior.

Does the frequency of depression follow a life-course trajectory, declining in early adulthood, bottoming out in middle age, and then rising again in old age? Following people over time seems the best indication of how people change with age. Sample attrition can undermine that assumption. To answer the question we estimate growth-curve models for a sample of 2,592 U.S. adults ages 18 and up at baseline in 1995, with followup interviews of 1,372 in 1998 and of 1,139 in 2001. We introduce vector graphs and synthetic cohort trajectories as methods of illustrating the growth-curve results. We compare results that correct for attrition using all available data to those that use only cases with complete data. Our results confirm the decline of depression in early adulthood and rise in old age. They also show changes in age specific levels of depression over the followup period, with some decreases in early adulthood but substantial increases in late adulthood. The methodological explorations suggest that two model-based corrections for attrition provide estimates superior to those based on complete cases only: equality constraints across groups defined by followup status, and imputation by Expectation Maximization (EM). Multiple indicators appear to improve the quality of the corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is the purpose of this paper to examine the roles of drug use and depression in preventative care utilization. Specifically, this paper examines the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics (gender, ethnicity, and age), socio-economic characteristics (education, income and insurance), high risk behaviors (alcohol, tobacco, and drug use), depression (as measured by the Zung scale) and preventative care (obtaining a physical in the last 12 months). The sample consisted of a community population of injecting and chronic drug users and non-drug users. These data indicate that not getting preventative care is independently and significantly related to both drug use and depression. The data demonstrate that the population least likely to use preventative care are often those that the research literature suggests are most in need of health care (substance users and those who are depressed). The data reported in this paper were a part of the research activities of the Health Services Research Center funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the University of Miami. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an increased prevalence of Bipolar Disorder in the United States, yet little is known as to the social and cultural precipitants of the disease. This is particularly the case for the Latino populations in our country. As Mexican Americans represent the majority of the Latino groups in the country, it is of particular importance to understand how symptoms of this disease may be affected by cultural factors such as religion. This study uses the MAPSS dataset to examine the relationship of self-reported manic symptoms and problem behavior to church attendance, religious coping, and importance in daily life. Church attendance was found to most significantly reduce the likelihood of self-reported symptoms overall. Religious coping increased the likelihood for self-reported manic symptoms. The effect of religious coping, however, benefits Mexican born participants. There is not a gender difference in the influence of religion to report symptoms. The findings from this investigation suggest the importance of religion in minimizing the report of psychological symptoms in Mexican Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Impoverishment Risk and Reconstruction Model (IRR) has been widely used to study policy maker's risk evaluation and mitigation efforts in developmental project-induced population relocation process, less effort has been made to understand the effects of risk perception of the relocatees on their relocation outcomes. This study was devoted to the understanding of the role of relocatees' risk perception in their mental health experiences. Using data collected per-and post- relocation on a sample of Chinese who were relocated to make way for the Three Gorges Dam Project, this study confirmed the hypothesis that risk perception is beneficial to individual relocatees. The lack of risk perception is associated with higher levels of relocation-related depression while risk perception reduces depression by enabling relocatees to mobilize more protective resources and coping mechanisms. Our study indicates that risk evaluation and mitigation by government alone could not guarantee successful relocation. Engaging individual relocatees in the risk evaluation and mitigation process is of great importance to improve relocation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association of social support network changes before and after immigration with the level of depressive symptoms among community dwelling Korean elderly immigrants aged 60 years and older (N=124) was investigated. Survey participants currently receive more support (esp., from children) than they did before immigration. Along with consistent emotional support, Korean elderly immigrants have sought for more instrumental and practical supports, i.e., informational and financial supports from their family members than they did before immigration. Nested multiple regression analysis revealed that along with poor health and recent occurrences of stressful life events, elderly Koreans who used to have nonkin-oriented support history turned out to be more depressed than their peers who have continued to have support from their family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a large-scale preliminary investigation that explored the relationship between Taiwanese teenagers' depressive mood and their Internet-mediated communication. A total of 6,341 teenagers completed a questionnaire that examined this relationship. Chi-square and correlation analysis showed that, depending on their level of depressive mood, respondents used the Internet especially for establishing new relationships, finding people who care for them, and expressing feelings they could not express otherwise. These results shed new light on earlier research that focused exclusively on U.S. Internet users (Kraut et al., 1998, 2002) and suggest that the role which the Internet plays for people with depressive mood depends for an important part on the way this disorder is perceived and dealt with in a particular cultural context. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive-Experiential Self Theory (CEST) and dynamical systems concepts were employed to account for the effects of threat-oriented news stories that varied with respect to their emotional intensity on rational and experiential processing in affectively and cognitively oriented judgment domains. The main hypothesis investigated was whether increases in the emotional intensity of threat-oriented stories would increase experiential processing such that its effects would extend beyond affective to cognitive domains. In addition, it was predicted that the rational system would modulate the effects of experiential processing at low but not at higher emotional intensity levels. Individuals with varying proclivities to process information rationally and experientially were exposed to a news story scaled for its emotional intensity. They indicated the degree to which the story: (a) was diagnostic of the threatening phenomenon's prevalence, (3) represented a serious problem, (c) made them feel apprehensive, and (d) made them feel sorrow and sadness. Experientiality exerted significant effects on all of these judgments, thus demonstrating that within the narrative domain, experientiality can influence cognitively-oriented judgments; however, although rationality exhibited significant effects on the first 3 judgments, it did not impact on the empathic, sorrow-sadness judgments. These results were accounted for by potential dynamical relationships between the rational and experiential systems when they process emotional narratives. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]