Levels Of Negative Mood Research Articles

Gender, Distress, and Coping in Response to Terrorism

This study assessed women's vulnerability to the threats of terrorism; 326 Israeli citizens (198 women and 128 men) from cities that were hit hard by terrorist violence were interviewed to identify their level of exposure to terrorist events, symptoms of posttraumatic distress, and coping styles. Although the women were less exposed to terrorist events than were the men, they reported higher levels of indirect and subjective exposure (such as helping survivors or having the sense of a lucky escape). They suffered higher levels of negative mood and posttraumatic distress and reported using coping behaviors, particularly problem-solving strategies, more intensely than did the men. The results are discussed from the sociological and feminist perspectives.

Sad Kids, Sad Media? Applying Mood Management Theory to Depressed Adolescents' Use of Media

Mood management studies typically have found that adults will select media that enhance positive moods and reduce negative moods. In this study, adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder and control adolescents without psychiatric disorders were called on customized cell phones up to 4 times a day and asked about their current mood state and media use for five extended weekends across an 8-week period. Mood effects on subsequent media use, mood during media consumption, and media effects on subsequent mood were examined. Results indicated that adolescents who consumed fun media tended to do so in a way that sustained, rather than enhanced their prior positive mood levels during and after consumption-if they turned to media. Adolescents in more negative moods did not often use media to improve their moods. When they did, boys were more likely than girls to use media that ultimately reduced negative mood levels. Findings are discussed in light of the literature on mood management, adolescence, and depression.

An Examination of the Relationship between Early Maladaptive Schemas, Coping, and Emotional Response to Athletic Injury

The present study examined the relationship between cognitive vulnerabilities, coping strategy, and emotional response to athletic injury among 40 NCAA Division I injured athletes. It was hypothesized that the presence of early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and avoidant coping strategies would predict greater emotional distress among injured athletes. Early maladaptive schemas were assessed by the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form, which injured athletes completed upon injury. Coping strategies were measured by the Coping Response Inventory Adult Form, which was completed upon the completion of recovery. The Profile of Mood States was used to assess mood, and was completed during three phases of injury: upon injury, middle of rehabilitation, and upon recovery. As predicted, hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrate that EMSs and avoidance-focused coping were associated with higher levels of negative mood among injured athletes. The results also indicate that the relationship between EMS and mood vary based on the phase of injury, suggesting that different EMSs are differentially related to subtle differences in stressors encountered during each phase of the injury process.

The independent relationships of objective and subjective workload with couples’ mood

Mood signifies general well-being and a positive mood benefits self, one’s spouse and the family unit. Dual-earner couples are particularly susceptible to spillover and crossover of mood. A lack of studies on the relationship between workload and mood and the repeated calls for more couple-level research served as the primary impetus for this study. Using data from 629 couples, we examined the relationship between objective (i.e. hours of paid work) and subjective (i.e. time pressure) workload on 1) one’s own (positive and negative) mood, 2) spouse’s mood, and 3) mood at the couple level. Results of two-level regression analyses indicated that subjective workload was positively related to negative mood. In contrast, objective workload was related to decreased negative mood and to increased positive mood. In addition to support for spillover effect, results supported one crossover effect, such that wives of husbands who devote more hours to paid work reported higher levels of negative mood, even as the husbands themselves reported lower levels of negative mood. Implications of results are discussed.

Models of attachment, confirmation of positive affective expectations, and satisfaction with vacation activities: A pre–post panel design study of leisure

Utilizing a pre–post panel design, we explored direct and mediated associations between models of adult attachment (positive Model of Self [PS] and positive Model of Other [PO]) on one hand, and negative mood during vacation and satisfaction with vacation leisure activities on the other. Our sample consisted of 112 community-based vacationers measured at entrance and checkout after spending a week at an all-inclusive vacation village. Higher PO ratings were related to lower negative mood during vacation, higher confirmation of positive affective expectations, and greater satisfaction with vacation leisure activities. The confirmation of positive affective expectations mediated the effect of PO on low negative mood during vacation. Participants with high PO felt they had fulfilled their positive affective expectations, which lowered their levels of negative mood during the vacation and promoted higher levels of satisfaction with various vacation leisure activities. The reported quasi-field study shows one way in which attachment theory contributes to the theoretical framework of positive psychology.

Negative Mood and Quality of Life in Patients with Asthma

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of negative mood states at the moment of questionnaire, and other patient and disease characteristics on quality of life (QoL) in patients with asthma. The study groups were composed of 116 stable adult asthmatic patients and 116 age and sex matched healthy subjects. We used Short-Form Health Survey-36 (SF-36) for the assessment of general QoL in all participants, and the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) for the assessment of disease specific QoL in patients with asthma. We evaluated negative mood in all subjects with a questionnaire including six mood subscales in three categories (nervous-anxious, hostile-angry and fearful-panicky). Negative mood scores were not different between asthmatic and comparison groups (p=0.4), but both SF-36 Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores were significantly lower in asthmatic group (p=0.003 and p=0.001, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis in all study population indicated that both reduced PCS and MCS scores of SF-36 were associated with negative mood score (beta=-0.28, p<0.001 and beta=-0.37, p<0.001, respectively) and with FEV(1)% (beta=0.19, p=0.001 and beta=0.25, p<0.001, respectively) after adjusting for age, female sex, and the presence of asthma. On the other hand, multiple linear regression analysis in patients with asthma revealed that negative mood score and disease severity score were significant predictors for overall score of AQLQ after adjusting for other patient and disease characteristics (beta=-0.17, p=0.008 and beta=-0.64, p<0.001, respectively). The level of negative mood and disease severity in asthmatics significantly impair QoL. Thus, considering that one of the main objectives of health care should be preserving a satisfactory QoL in asthmatics, the presence and seriousness of negative mood and their effects on QoL should be taken into account as part of the clinical evaluation in asthmatics.

Mindfulness and Coping with Dysphoric Mood: Contrasts with Rumination and Distraction

Past research has shown that rumination exacerbates dysphoric mood whereas distraction attenuates it. This research examined whether the practice of mindfulness meditation could reduce dysphoric mood even more effectively than distraction. A dysphoric mood was induced in 139 female and 38 male participants who were then randomly assigned to a rumination, distraction, or meditation condition. As predicted, participants instructed to meditate reported significantly lower levels of negative mood than those in either of the two other conditions. Distraction was associated with a lessening of dysphoric mood when compared to rumination but was not as effective as mindfulness meditation. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Differences in Fear of Isolation as an explanation of Cultural Differences: Evidence from memory and reasoning

Previous research suggests that members of East Asian cultures show a greater preference for dialectical thinking and sensitivity to context information than do Westerners. We suggest this difference is rooted in a greater chronic Fear of Isolation (FOI) in East Asians than in Westerners. To support this hypothesis, we manipulated FOI in a group of Westerners and assessed their relative preference for dialectical proverbs and sensitivity to context. For cross-cultural validation of our hypothesis, we assessed the relationship between chronic levels of FOI and dialectical reasoning in Koreans. Consistent with our proposal, both experimentally primed FOI (Experiment 1A and 2) and chronic levels of FOI (Experiment 1B) were positively related to relative preference for dialectical proverbs. This effect was independent of participants’ level of negative mood (Experiment 2). A third experiment showed that sensitivity to context was affected by FOI in a manner consistent with previous studies of cultural differences (Experiment 3).

Written Emotional Expression and Emotional Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Fear of Rejection

Empirical research shows that individuals high in fear of rejection typically report low levels of perceived social support and are more vulnerable to stressful experiences. At the same time, writing about stressful experiences in an emotional way seems to help people adapt to current stressors and not-yet-assimilated stressful experiences. Therefore, the authors suggest that written emotional expression may be a particularly effective strategy to manage negative emotions for individuals high in fear of rejection. Three studies were conducted to test these assumptions. Study 1 found that high fear of rejection is linked to a lack of perceived social support. Longitudinal Studies 2 and 3 supported our main hypothesis, demonstrating that written emotional expression is linked to lower levels of negative mood among individuals high (but not among individuals low) in fear of rejection.

Impact of Interaction With a Partner or Friend on the Exposure Effects of Pornography and Erotica

Past studies on the effects of sexually explicit materials on women have tended to study them alone, in pairs, or in groups of strangers. By contrast, our study randomly assigned women to bring either a same-sex friend or a male partner to reflect more natural viewing conditions. Discussion between the participant and her companion followed exposure to the sexual images. Women who viewed pornography maintained their (quite high) level of negative mood, whereas women who viewed erotica experienced a substantial improvement in mood. The sex of the companion did not have a direct influence on participants' mood, with discussion improving mood across the board. However, participants' ratings of their satisfaction with the discussion were significantly influenced by the sex of their companion. We suggest that future research should focus more on the interpersonal aspects of male-female relationships when exploring the effects of sexually explicit materials on heterosexual women.

THE CATASTROPHIZING WORRY PROCESS IN GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF AN ANALOG POPULATION

Effects of structured worry interviews were examined among analog-GAD and nonanxious college students. Thirty-four analog-GAD and 29 nonanxious control participants generated sequences of possible catastrophic outcomes for each of six worry topics using the Catastrophizing Interview Technique (Vasey and Borkovec, 1992). Threat ratings for each topic were collected, and ratings of subjective distress, likelihood of the feared outcome, and perceived control over the feared outcome were obtained immediately following each interview. Results indicated that the analog-GAD group rated the worry topics of achievement, social relations, and economics as more threatening than their nonanxious counterparts. The analog-GAD group also generated more catastrophizing steps and reported higher levels of negative mood following the worry interviews. In addition, the eventual fear underlying each worry was determined by coding the content of the final outcome step from each interview. Results from the coded interview responses indicated that fears of negative emotion and of failure were the most frequently coded categories in each of the six topical domains for the analog-GAD group. Although there was no difference in the proportion of negative emotion codes between analog-GAD and nonanxious groups, the analog-GAD group did receive a greater proportion of failure codes than the nonanxious control group. Results largely replicated the findings of Vasey and Borkovec in an analog-GAD sample. In addition, results suggest that fear of negative emotion underlies worry in general, regardless of diagnostic status, while fears of failure or ineffectiveness are more specific to GAD.

Daily supportive equity in close relationships.

Receiving support in committed relationships has frequently been associated with negative psychological outcomes in the recipient, such as increased distress. The authors hypothesized that these negative effects could be offset by support recipients' reciprocation of support, that is, by creating a sense of supportive equity. To investigate this hypothesis, the authors obtained daily reports of mood and of received and given emotional support from both partners in 85 couples throughout a 4-week period. Reciprocity in support transactions was associated with higher levels of positive mood and lower levels of negative mood. In line with previous research, receiving support without reciprocation was associated with increases in negative mood. Giving support, regardless of receipt, was associated with a decrease in negative mood.

Negative Mood and Adult Place Preference

The association between negative mood and place preferences was studied in an adult sample. The respondents described their experiences of favorite and unpleasant places and their mood in a questionnaire mailed to the residents of three housing areas in the metropolitan area. In comparison with low negative mood scorers, high negative mood scorers were significantly more often alone in their favorite places or only with passers-by. Adults with high negative mood were also more likely to choose natural favorite places than other places. No association between the level of negative mood and type of unpleasant place or reasons for disliking that place was found. Speculatively, people with high levels of negative emotion in comparison with other people may not recognize any different negative environmental features but are more tuned for recognizing the physical environment as an opportunity to improve mood through occasional retreat to favorite settings.

Maternal phenylketonuria: A case study suggesting the use of prenatal psychotherapy to help control phenylalanine levels.

Maternal phenylketonuria (MPKU) is an increasingly common concern for health professionals involved in prenatal care. This single-participant study investigated the efficacy of prenatal psychotherapy in improving metabolic control, an important consideration in MPKU pregnancies. Results indicated a robust and positive relationship between psychotherapy and metabolic control. Levels of negative mood and levels of phenylalanine control were also strongly and positively correlated. Implications for treating MPKU are discussed, and prenatal psychotherapy is forwarded as a means of improving birth outcomes in this population.

Self-Focused Attention and Mood During Everyday Social Interactions

This study examined the association of dispositional self-focused attention to mood rated at the time of a negative social interaction in 100 employed, middle-age adults using experience sampling methodology. Results revealed that a self-focusing style was associated with higher negative mood and lower positive mood at the time of a negative social interaction during 3 days of everyday activities. Women who were chronically self-focused were particularly vulnerable to these negative social interactions in the daily environment; they were more likely than men to report lower positive mood during the interaction. In addition, 30 minutes after the negative social interaction, self-focused individuals with higher preexisting levels of depressive symptoms continued to report higher levels of negative mood and lower levels of positive mood relative to individuals who were not self-focused and did not report higher depressive symptoms. These results provide support for the role of self-focused attention in the etiology and maintenance of negative moods.

Interpersonal behavior moderates "kindness norm" effects on cognitive and affective reactions to physical disability.

Subjects viewed a videotaped interview of a confederate who appeared to be either with or without a physical disability, and who enacted either depressed or socially appropriate roles. Subjects were also told either they could choose to meet the target, they had to meet the target immediately following the tape, or nothing in regards to meeting the target. Results indicated that subjects reported higher levels of negative mood when they expected to meet the target, and depressed targets elicited higher rates of negative cognitions regardless of the physical appearance of the target. Furthermore, consistent with predictions, confederates appearing disabled and depicting socially appropriate behavior elic- ited significantly higher rates of positive cognitions from subjects. Findings are integrated with past research of reactions to depression and disability. The term kindness norm (Kleck, 1968) has been used to describe the apparent positive biases people display in their interactions with and evaluations of persons who are physically stigmatized despite experiencing higher levels of physiolog- ical anxiety and inhibited nonverbal behavior during the interaction (Hastorf, Northcraft, & Picciotto, 1979; Kleck, 1968; Kleck, Ono, & Hastorf, 1966). Although these studies have yielded rather consistent findings, certain criticisms of this work have yet to be thoroughly considered and researched. These short- term, contrived laboratory studies make the physical disability of the confederate artificially salient to subjects, and the possible mitigating effects of other variables such as interpersonal strategies utilized by many persons with disability in real- life situations are obfuscated (Fine & Asch, 1988). Wright (1988) argues these experiments ignore the possibility that the overt positive responses of subjects may reflect genuine surprise in reaction to the nonstereotypic behavior of a person with disability. Instead, these studies have been biased in the extent that they are framed to interpret positive reactions of subjects as evidence of prejudicial, ingenuine attitudes.

Coping with Radiation Treatment for Gynecologic Cancer: Mood and Disruption in Usual Function

Research on coping with cancer treatment can benefit from the use of outcome measures (emotion and disruption of usual activities) derived from theories of coping. These outcomes were examined in a sample of women (N = 30) receiving external radiation treatment (RT) for gynecologic cancer. The subjects were interviewed during the first, third and last weeks of treatment and monthly for 3 months following the completion of treatment. Level of negative mood (Profile of Mood States) peaked during the last week of RT and decreased over the 3 months following treatment, with the overall level of negative mood being relatively low at all points of measurement. Disruption in usual function (Sickness Impact Profile) remained at about 10% during treatment and gradually decreased to 3% at 3 months after treatment. The number and severity of the side effects of radiation treatment increased from the beginning to the third week of treatment and gradually declined over the post-treatment measures. Severity of side eff...