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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF WEATHER ON THE MOOD AND ENERGY OF PEOPLE WITH WINTER DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: AN EXPERIENCE SAMPLING METHOD
Title
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF WEATHER ON THE MOOD AND ENERGY OF PEOPLE WITH WINTER DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: AN EXPERIENCE SAMPLING METHOD
Creator
Mosqueda, Andrea I.
Date
2016, 2016-05
Description
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a depressive disorder characterized by recurrent episodes most often beginning in the fall and remitting...
Show moreSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a depressive disorder characterized by recurrent episodes most often beginning in the fall and remitting in spring and summer. Individuals with SAD experience both vegetative symptoms (e.g., fatigue, increased appetite and weight gain, and an increased need for sleep) and psychological symptoms (e.g., sadness, difficulty concentrating, and feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness. In addition to the seasonal variations in vegetative and psychological functioning in SAD, daily weather also can potentially affect these phenomena. Symptoms such as mood, cognition, and energy can vary between and within days as a function of weather variables in a population experiencing seasonal symptoms. Using experience sampling method (ESM), which allows for less reliance on participant memory, we examined the impact of weather on day-to-day variability of mood and fatigue, and specifically in individuals with seasonal symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use ESM to examine the impact of weather on this symptomatology. Results failed to find evidence of a relationship between variability in daily weather and either daily mood or fatigue in this sample of seasonal individuals. This was the case for both same day weather and weather aggregated over the previous six days. Future studies would benefit from a longer data collection period in order to determine if there are long-term effects of weather variables on mood or fatigue. ESM would be useful in studying the effect of various time-varying variables on a variety of time-related aspects of SAD symptomatology.
M.S. in Psychology, May 2016
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A Network Analysis to Examine the Construct of Acculturative Stress in Mexican Americans
Title
A Network Analysis to Examine the Construct of Acculturative Stress in Mexican Americans
Creator
Mosqueda, Andrea I
Date
2020
Description
Acculturative stress (AS) is a negative consequence of acculturation and occurs when acculturation is problematic for the individual. There is...
Show moreAcculturative stress (AS) is a negative consequence of acculturation and occurs when acculturation is problematic for the individual. There is a substantial variation in AS phenomena across different cultural/ethnic groups, across individual variables (e.g., sex, age, education, attitude, cognitive style), and across social variables (e.g., contact, social support, status). There does not seem to be one specific way in which AS affects all groups or individuals. Elevated levels of AS are associated with multiple manifest difficulties, including family dysfunction, geographical separation from family, low-income levels, and non-positive expectations for the future. AS has been associated with outcomes such as anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and feelings of isolation and alienation. Using a network analysis approach, this exploratory study examined the structure of the construct of AS as represented in the Social, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental (SAFE) AS Scale, a measure used to assess the AS construct across four contexts. Results of the network analysis of AS aspects suggest that the AS construct is best understood as a latent variable rather than as a network of interacting AS aspects, and that distress is related to particular aspects of AS. The present study findings suggest a particular model of relations between latent AS, its manifest aspects, and clinical outcomes. Further research can help to better understand the relationship between individual AS aspects (i.e., treatment targets) and treatment goals of impacting AS-related outcomes (e.g., distress), as well as the mechanisms of change.
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