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    An evaluation of the relationship between stressful life events, social support and depressive symptoms: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1985) Jensen, Margaret Ada Stewart
    A replication of Bell, Le Roy and Stephenson's (1982) study in New Zealand Rural, Country Town and City living conditions found no significant differences between the three communities in overall measurements of Stressful Life Events, Social Support and Depressive Symptoms. There were significant differences, however, within the communities. Sociodemographic groups within both Rural and City communities shared similarities that were conspicuously absent in Country Town living where significant differences were shown for Race, Sex, Age, and Socioeconomic Status. With the same levels of Social Support, New Zealand numbers of Stressful Events and Depressive Symptoms were significantly higher than in the United States study. The best model for explaining the findings in terms of this study, is that Stressful Events have a direct negative effect on Depressive Symptoms and that Social Support has a weak beneficial direct effect at intermediate levels of support. There was a tendency for Depressive Symptoms to increase at both low and high levels of support. While the number of depressive symptoms increased with increasing numbers of stressful events there was no evidence that this was a contingent relationship with the level of Social Support or that the effect was other than of the additive variety. The New Zealand study did did not confirm the Bell et al. (1982) conditional effect finding but as in the Bell et al. study, there was no evidence of interactive effects.
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    Response style, gender, and depressed mood : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology
    (Massey University, 1998) Madsen, Suzanne Mary
    The present study was an attempt to replicate and extend the observational study reported by Nolen-Hoeksema, Morrow, and Fredrickson (1993). Nolen-Hoeksema et al. found support for Nolen-Hoeksema's 'response style' theory -- which explains the gender difference in depression rates as a byproduct of gender-specific styles of responding to depression (a ruminative style being associated with longer and more severe episodes of depression). Sixty-four students completed three initial pencil-and-paper measures and then tracked their naturally occurring depressed moods for thirty consecutive days via a 'Daily Emotion Report'. Participants recorded the characteristics of their depressed moods (e.g., severity and duration), their responses to these moods (e.g., type and effectiveness), and the characteristics of any event precipitating the mood (e.g., seriousness). Over the 30-day period, individuals showed a high consistency in response to depressed mood. However, contrary to Nolen-Hoeskema et al.'s findings, there were no sex differences in levels of depression nor in response styles to depressed mood. Of Nolen-Hoeksema's two response styles, distraction was used predominantly by respondents and 'distracters' tended to fare better than 'ruminators'. The number of initial ruminative and distractive responses and the initial severity of the moods at episode onset did not differ significantly over the month, nor did they prolong episodes. Regression analyses showed that severity of sadness was the most important and consistently significant predictor of the duration of depressed mood.
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    A grounded theory study of depression in a sample of men participating in a clinical trial examining the effect of a dietary supplement on depression : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North
    (Massey University, 2002) Watts, Peter Murray
    Male depression is one of the most misunderstood and under diagnosed disorders in psychology today. Recent research examining male depression has suggested that this misunderstanding is due to an over reliance on positivist research practices. In addition the application of homogenous theories of depression developed from research using predominantly female samples to understand depression in males has clouded the area. In light of this research there have been calls to examine masculine depression, by looking at the experiences of affected males, using a qualitative methodology. The primary objective of the present study was to conceptualise depression based on the experiences of affected males using a grounded theory methodology. The sample consisted of 31 New Zealand males participating in a 12-week, double blind, placebo controlled trial examining the effectiveness of dietary supplementation as an adjunct to usual therapy in the treatment of depression. The basic social process emerging from the men's lived experience of depression involved participants developing a personal paradigm of depression. The development of this paradigm influenced the way the men understood and managed their depression. It evolved with the accumulation of experiential knowledge of their distress, which included experiencing the symptoms of depression, using personal coping strategies, experiencing the build up of depression, and receiving professional treatment. The implications of these findings for researchers and clinicians working in the area of male depression are discussed.
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    Adults' perspectives of causes and influences on their depression : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Bradley, Hilary
    Parallel robots have been found in many applications where the work requirements are beyond the capabilities of serial robots. Mouth movements during the chewing of foods are ideally suited to the parallel robot due to relatively high force together with 6 degree of freedom (DOF) motion all occurring in a small workspace. The Massey Robotic Jaw (MRJ) is a life sized mastication robot of 6RSS parallel mechanism designed with human physiology in mind, and to be capable of recreating the movements and forces of human mastication. The MRJ consists of a movable mandible attached to a fixed 'skull' through 6RSS crank mechanisms enabling six degree of freedom motion. In order to perform targeted movements of the MRJ, inverse kinematics of mechanism are solved. Target movements of the lower jaw can then be translated to six individual movements of each actuator. The synchronised motion of all six actuators is implemented using appropriate motion control to create the desired motion at the lower jaw. Motion control in context of the MRJ involves position control during the non-occluding phases of the mastication cycle. The kinematic and dynamic models of a generic 6RSS robot are discussed and are then simplified considering the special features of a practical chewing robot and the requirements of controller design. The issue of dynamic position and force control of a chewing robot with a 6RSS mechanism is addressed. An impedance control scheme is proposed to achieve the position and force control of the robot. A detailed description on the steps to implement the controller is also presented. The application of the 6RSS parallel chewing robot to food chewing experiments was described. The force vector applied on the active molar was calculated from the measured torques applied on the six actuators using an analysis of forces through the linkage mechanism. A series of experiments were carried out using model and real foods. The work shows promise for application of the robot to characterise food texture, however a number of future developments are required. To make the robot more human-like, a tongue, cheek and mouth chamber need to be included. Furthermore, accurate force sensing and position sensing of the mandible in Cartesian space is suggested as a means to validate the impendence control method proposed and to verify the force measurement strategy implemented in chapter 6.
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    Explanatory style and depression : the role of activity : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Findlay, Rachel Helen
    Learned helplessness theory and its subsequent reformulation propose that a pessimistic explanatory style renders an individual vulnerable to depression. A large body of literature has supported this association within various samples and utilising a range of methodologies. No prior study has explored explanatory style and depression among a New Zealand sample of clinically depressed adults. Furthermore, no prior research has examined the role of activity level or activity type in relation to these variables. Given the importance of behavioural activation in recovery from depression, Study 1 aimed to bridge this gap. The sample consisted of 29 adult clients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and receiving a 20 session protocol of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as part of The Depression Study; a treatment outcome study conducted at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand. Data were derived from intake assessment scores for explanatory style and depression severity, as measured via the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and Beck Depression Inventory–Second Edition (BDI-II) respectively. Data were also derived from several activity level and activity type indices formulated for Study 1 by the use of information contained within activity charts; a tool used for a between-session task (homework) conducted early in CBT. Study 1 supported an association between a pessimistic explanatory style and depression severity and provisional support was found for the proposed model of the current project, implicating the role of activity among interactions between explanatory style and depression. In collecting data for Study 1 it became apparent that an adaptation to the activity chart may yield greater information particularly with regard to activity type, such as the extent to which social interaction occurred. Study 2 of the current research project aimed to compare the original activity chart with the adapted chart, by grouping The Depression Study clients according to whether they completed the original (n = 15) or the adapted (n = 8) activity chart, and comparing the data obtained. Mann-Whitney U tests confirmed that the adapted chart was more successful in collecting information regarding social interaction and ratings for mastery and pleasure. It is suggested that the adapted chart could be more beneficial in contrast to the chart typically used in CBT to date; this advantage could extend across both research and clinical settings for the examination of client activity.