Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
Klein, Daniel | Davila, Joanne | Moyer, Anne | Brown, Stephanie.
Date
2013-12-01
Keywords
Psychology | capitalization, depression, emotion, mood, positive events
Department
Department of Clinical Psychology.
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/77189
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
This dissertation examined the social sharing of positive life events, referred to as capitalization, among a sample of individuals with a range of current depressive symptomatology. Capitalization is an interpersonal strategy that has the potential to enhance positive emotions, build cognitive resources, and strengthen relationships. Remiss in the depression research has been an examination of responses to positive life events in an interpersonal context. Some data suggests that those with depressive symptoms may be particularly responsive to the capitalization process; other data suggests that those with greater depressive symptoms may be less likely to engage in this behavior and might also experience fewer intra- and interpersonal benefits. To examine these competing hypotheses, I collected data from an ethnically diverse group of 73 females with a range of current depressive symptomatology. Questionnaire data assessed rates of capitalization (disclosing positive life events) compared to rates of social support (disclosing negative life events). Experimental data included an actual capitalization interaction in the laboratory with a highly supportive confederate. Key findings suggested that in daily life, depressive symptoms were not associated with a lower frequency of positive events or capitalizing on those events; the whole sample on average shared about 50% of all positive events. Of note, greater depressive symptoms were associated with the perception that responses to capitalization attempts were less supportive, a variable that is closely associated with intimacy development. In contrast to positive events, depressive symptoms were significantly associated with a greater frequency of negative events across multiple domain areas. However, depressive symptoms again were not associated with greater rates of seeking social support for those events. In the lab, I found that the greater the depressive symptoms, the more likely the subject was to prefer to discuss a negative event. Nevertheless, when all participants did engage in a positive event discussion, the greater the depressive symptoms, the larger the increases in positive mood and the larger the decreases in negative mood. Implications for treatment, particularly extensions of behavioral activation, are discussed. | 105 pages
Recommended Citation
Hershenberg, Rachel Eva, "Tell Me Something Good: Depression and the Social Sharing of Positive Life Events" (2013). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 3023.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/3023