Papers by Rebecca A Burwell
Cogent mental health, Jan 29, 2024
Self-stigma (also known as internalized stigma) is common among individuals with mental illness, ... more Self-stigma (also known as internalized stigma) is common among individuals with mental illness, though less is known about its risk factors. We propose that social self-worth contingencies (over-reliance on others’ approval to maintain self-worth) confer risk for self-stigma, and that community connectedness and ally support build resilience against it. The current study investigates links between self-worth contingencies, community/ally support, and self-stigma among 96 undergraduates (MAge = 20.33, SD = 1.66) from a medium-sized state university who self-reported one or more mental health conditions. We propose that community/ally support mediate the association between self-worth contingencies and self-stigma. Results support hypothesized correlations between social self-worth contingencies, ally support (participant-defined), and self-stigma, though do not support links with community connectedness or researchers’ definition of ally support. Participant-defined ally support predict self-stigma, controlling for self-worth contingencies, though do not meet all conditions for mediation. Rather, self-worth contingencies and ally support independently predict self-stigma. Participants’ descriptions of stigma and suggestions for addressing it are presented. Results have implications for prevention/intervention by addressing self-worth contingencies and fostering ally support, supporting a multi-prong (individual and community) approach to reduce self-stigma.
Cogent Mental Health, 2024
Self-stigma (also known as internalized stigma) is common among individuals with mental illness, ... more Self-stigma (also known as internalized stigma) is common among individuals with mental illness, though less is known about its risk factors. We propose that social self-worth contingencies (over-reliance on others’ approval to maintain self-worth) confer risk for self-stigma, and that community connectedness and ally support build resilience against it. The current study investigates links between self-worth contingencies, community/ally support, and self-stigma among 96 undergraduates (MAge = 20.33, SD = 1.66) from a medium-sized state university who self-reported one or more mental health conditions. We propose that community/ally support mediate the association between self-worth contingencies and self-stigma. Results support hypothesized correlations between social self-worth contingencies, ally support (participant-defined), and self-stigma, though do not support links with community connectedness or researchers’ definition of ally support. Participant-defined ally support predict self-stigma, controlling for self-worth contingencies, though do not meet all conditions for mediation. Rather, self-worth contingencies and ally support independently predict self-stigma. Participants’ descriptions of stigma and suggestions for addressing it are presented. Results have implications for prevention/intervention by addressing self-worth contingencies and fostering ally support, supporting a multi-prong (individual and community) approach to reduce self-stigma.
International Journal of Eating Disorders, Mar 1, 2000
This study investigates both the impact of eating disorders (ED) on pregnancy outcome and the imp... more This study investigates both the impact of eating disorders (ED) on pregnancy outcome and the impact of pregnancy on cognitive and behavioral symptoms of EDs. Data on pregnancy outcome (live birth [LB], therapeutic abortion [TAB], and spontaneous abortion [SAB]) and ED symptomatology were collected as part of a large, prospective longitudinal study of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Data were gathered using a semistructured interview administered every 6 months to 246 subjects. We identified 54 women who reported 82 pregnancies (46 LB, 25 TAB, and 11 SAB). Pregnancy outcome was not significantly related to any of the clinical variables studied. Women with BN showed a significant decrease in the severity of their ED symptoms during pregnancy, and this decrease was sustained through 9 months postpartum. Women with AN also demonstrated a significant reduction in ED symptoms, however, these symptoms returned to prepregnancy levels by 6 months postpartum. Our prospective findings reveal an elevated TAB rate for ED women along with a general reduction in the severity of ED symptoms during pregnancy.
COGNITIVE THERAPY WITH CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS Strategies to Modify Low Self-Esteem 8 Strategies... more COGNITIVE THERAPY WITH CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS Strategies to Modify Low Self-Esteem 8 Strategies to Modify Low Self-Esteem in Adolescents STEPHEN SHIRK REBECCABURWELL SUSAN HARTER Concerns about poor self-image and low self-esteem are common ...
Development and Psychopathology, 2009
Although much has been written about the utility of applying Sameroff and Chandler's transactiona... more Although much has been written about the utility of applying Sameroff and Chandler's transactional perspective to the study of child psychopathology, relatively few researchers have used such an approach to trace the emergence of child problem behavior from infancy to adolescence. Using a sample of 289 male toddlers from predominantly low-income families, the current study examined associations between various forms of early child disruptive behavior, subsequent trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms over the course of 8 years, and adolescent problem behavior. Results indicated that early child noncompliance was the most robust predictor of more chronic and elevated trajectories of maternal depression, which in turn discriminated teacher and youth reports of adolescent antisocial behavior but not internalizing symptoms. The findings were consistent with transactional perspectives of developmental psychopathology that have emphasized the dynamic interplay between child and parent characteristics.
British Journal of Psychiatry, Jun 1, 2002
Background Background There are no There are no published studies evaluating the impact published... more Background Background There are no There are no published studies evaluating the impact published studies evaluating the impact of introduction of television on disordered of introduction of television on disordered eating in media-na|ve populations. eating in media-na|« ve populations. Aims Aims To assess the impact of novel, To assess the impact of novel, prolonged exposure to television on prolonged exposure to television on disordered eatingattitudes and behaviours disordered eatingattitudes andbehaviours among ethnic Fijian adolescent girls. among ethnic Fijian adolescent girls.
Psyccritiques, 2012
Reviews the book, Depression in Adolescent Girls: Science and Prevention edited by Timothy J. Str... more Reviews the book, Depression in Adolescent Girls: Science and Prevention edited by Timothy J. Strauman, Philip R. Costanzo, and Judy Garber (see record 2011-15058-000). This book is a timely, well-researched, and well-organized volume addressing a long-standing and important issue: sex differences in depression. Various experts in the field provide a theoretically grounded and substantive review of sex differences in risks for and consequences of depression, and summarize the extant empirical support. The text not only addresses individual biological, cognitive, interpersonal, and affective risk factors, but also provides complex models in which these specific risk factors interact and/or mediate the development/prevention of depression. From descriptive epidemiological data, to examination of the causes and consequences of depression, to a review of prevention programs for depression, this text covers a wide range of salient information that may be particularly useful for academic and clinical professionals, policy makers, and graduate students in the field.
International Journal of Eating Disorders, Oct 13, 2003
Objective: Although the cross-cultural prevalence of anorexia and bulimia nervosa has been invest... more Objective: Although the cross-cultural prevalence of anorexia and bulimia nervosa has been investigated in multiple studies, little is known about the prevalence and correlates of binge eating and binge eating disorder (BED) cross-culturally. No published studies to date have explored BED in small-scale, indigenous, or developing societies. The current study investigated the prevalence and correlates of binge eating in a community sample of Fijian women living in rural Fiji. Methods: Fifty ethnic Fijian women completed a self-report measure developed for this study on dieting and attitudes toward body shape and change, a Nadroga-language questionnaire on body image, and the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-Revised (QEWP-R). Their height and weight were also measured. Patterns of dieting, high body mass index (BMI), and attitudes toward eating and body image were compared between women with and without a history of binge eating. Results: Ten percent of respondents reported at least weekly episodes of binge eating during the past 6 months and 4% endorsed symptoms consistent with BED. Binge eating in this sample was associated significantly with a BMI value above 35, a history of dieting, and a high concern with body shape. Binge eating was not associated with several markers of acculturation in this sample, although it was associated with a key, nontraditionally Fijian (i.e., acculturated) attitude toward the body. Discussion: Binge eating occurred in a social context with traditions concerning weight and diet widely disparate from Western populations. However, correlates of binge eating in this sample suggest that nontraditional Fijian attitudes toward weight and body shape play a contributory role.
Obesity Research, 2005
Objective: To investigate changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity and in body image among... more Objective: To investigate changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity and in body image among ethnic Fijian women in Fiji during a period of rapid social change and the relationship between changes in body image and BMI. Research Methods and Procedures: The study design was a multiwave cohort study of BMI in a traditional Fijian village over a 9.5-year period from 1989 to 1998. Cohorts were identified in 1989 (n ϭ 53) and in 1998 (n ϭ 50). Selection criteria included Fijian ethnicity, female gender, age of at least 18 years, and residence in a specific coastal Fijian village in 1989 and 1998, respectively. Assessments consisted of measurement of height and weight, collection of demographic data by written survey, and administration of the Nadroga Language Body Image Questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly different between the cohorts, increasing from 60% in 1989 to 84% in 1998 (p ϭ 0.014). In addition, the age-adjusted mean BMI was significantly higher in 1998 compared with 1989 (p ϭ 0.011). Finally, there were significant between-cohort differences in multiple measures of body image, which were mostly independent of BMI. Discussion: At 84%, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in this community sample of Fijian women is among the highest in the world. The dramatically increased prevalence over the 9.5-year period studied corresponds with rapid social change in Fiji and significant shifts in prevailing traditional attitudes toward body shape.
Journal of Adolescence, Apr 17, 2015
Rumination has been linked with a number of deleterious outcomes, though relatively little is kno... more Rumination has been linked with a number of deleterious outcomes, though relatively little is known about self-evaluative and emotion processes by which it develops. The current investigation uses a prospective, longitudinal design and self-report measures to examine the role of contingent self-worth, perfectionism, negative emotion beliefs, and suppression of negative emotion in predicting the development of brooding and reflective forms of rumination among 168 adolescents (98 girls, 79.6% European-American) undergoing the transition to high school (M age = 13.58). Results of structural equation modeling indicate that self-evaluative vulnerability (i.e., self-worth contingencies, perfectionism) and negative emotion beliefs, but not the suppression of negative emotion, predict brooding (but not reflective) rumination. The current study demonstrates how brooding is intertwined with views of self and core assumptions about emotion.
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Mar 1, 2007
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Feb 1, 2005
We assessed the role of self-evaluative and support-seeking processes as mediators of the relatio... more We assessed the role of self-evaluative and support-seeking processes as mediators of the relation between maternal representations and depressive symptoms in a sample of 168 young adolescents. Representations of mother as unavailable, unresponsive, and unsupportive were associated with depressive symptoms measured by semistructured interview and self-report. Moderation tests revealed that the association between maternal representations and depressive symptoms varied as a function of stress level for self-reported symptoms only. Subsequent mediation analyses for higher and lower stress groups showed that support seeking functioned as a mediator in the higher, but not lower, stress group. When depressive symptoms were assessed via interview, results with the full sample indicated that self-worth contingencies mediated the association between maternal representations and symptoms. Findings are discussed in terms of the identification of proximal targets for intervention.
Psychology Press eBooks, Dec 7, 2018
This study examined age and gender differences and similarities in stress responses to September ... more This study examined age and gender differences and similarities in stress responses to September 11th. Adolescents, young adults, and adults reported using a variety of strategies to cope with the terrorist attacks including acceptance, positive thinking, and emotional expression. In addition, involuntary stress responses such as physio-logical arousal, rumination, and emotional numbing were common. A number of age trends emerged, showing increases across the three groups in emotion-based coping strategies and decreases in some forms of disengagement coping. In addition, rumi-nation decreased with age, whereas intrusive thoughts were more prevalent in the older groups. Females in both the adolescent and young adult samples reported using emotion-based strategies more than males, and these strategies were related to better functioning for females only. In addition, males reported higher levels of disengage-ment responses; and these responses were related to worse functioning, but only for females. The utility of using the Responses to Stress Questionnaire (Connor-Smith, Compas, Wadsworth, Thomsen, &amp; Saltzman, 2000) to examine coping and involun-tary stress responses in reference to terrorism and across a wide age range was exam-ined. Implications for coping theory and empirical research are explored. Although much of the world has faced the reality of living with terrorism for many years, September 11th marked a new era for those living in the United States. An emerging agenda for applied developmental scien-tists in the United States post September 11th concerns how best to help children and adults living in the United States cope with terrorism. Recent funding ini-
Cognition & Emotion, Feb 1, 2013
We tested the hypothesis that less effective responses during a cognitive challenge would relate ... more We tested the hypothesis that less effective responses during a cognitive challenge would relate to higher levels of self-reported rumination in children. The sample was 100 children (55 boys, 45 girls), aged 7-14 years. A portion (n = 65) was at high risk for depression due to having a parent with a childhood-onset mood disorder, and 35 were a low-risk comparison group. Using an impossible puzzle task, we assessed children's responses following failure across several domains: emotions (expressed anger, sadness, and negative self-statements), performance (being off-task, the time to solve subsequent puzzles, and the number solved), and physiology (heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia). Results indicated that making negative self-blaming statements during the solvable puzzles and taking more time to solve the puzzles were associated with higher levels of self-reported rumination. Our findings advance the understanding of potential correlates of children's tendency to ruminate and may have implications for children's performance on cognitive tasks.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, Sep 1, 2006
Although biased self-evaluation is a component of several disorders, most measures focus on the c... more Although biased self-evaluation is a component of several disorders, most measures focus on the content of self-concepts or level of self-worth rather than the process by which self-worth is maintained. This longitudinal study examines the distinctive role of self-worth contingencies-the extent to which adolescents link self-worth to external feedback and success in four domains (social, academic, activities, and appearance) in the development of depressive symptoms among a sample of 110 adolescents (age mean 5 13.62, SD 5 .52; 58.2% girls). Contingencies predicted change in depressive symptoms over time, but depressive symptoms did not predict change in contingencies over time. This pattern did not hold for the association between self-worth and depression. Findings provide support for contingencies as a predictor, rather than a symptom, of depressive symptoms among adolescents. Evaluation of contingencies as a diathesis revealed an interaction effect for the social, but not academic domain. The findings have implications self-worth contingencies as an important cognitive vulnerability to depressive symptoms during adolescence. Among the most well-established cognitive vulnerabilities for depression is low self-worth (e.g., Lewinsohn, Gotlib, & Seeley, 1997). Despite these consistent findings, some have argued that low self-worth and depressed affect are so highly associated that they represent different facets of the
Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 2007
Two studies examined how non-interpersonal forgiveness (when there is no social relationship betw... more Two studies examined how non-interpersonal forgiveness (when there is no social relationship between the transgressor and forgiver) related to coping and involuntary responses to stress, psychological distress, and religiosity. Three to six weeks after September 11th, 2001, forgiveness had non-linear associations with other responses to the terrorist attacks. Among college students (N0488), those who were trying or had forgiven (pro-forgiveness) the terrorists reported less involuntary engagement, more primary and secondary control coping, and more meaning finding than those who were unsure about forgiveness (ambivalent) and those who did not believe the perpetrators should be forgiven (anti-forgiveness). Ambivalent students reported the most distress, even after controlling for religion. Anti-forgiveness students reported less religiosity than ambivalent and proforgiveness students. Most findings were consistent among middle schoolers (N0154), particularly regarding psychological distress and responses to stress. Also, forgiveness of strangers for acts against one's community functioned separately from religion.
Although much has been written about the utility of applying Sameroff and Chandler’s (1975) trans... more Although much has been written about the utility of applying Sameroff and Chandler’s (1975) transactional perspective to the study of child psychopathology, relatively few researchers have used such an approach to trace the emergence of child problem behavior from infancy to adolescence (Sameroff & MacKenzie, 2003). Using a sample of 289 male toddlers from predominantly low-income families, the current study examined associations between various forms of early child disruptive behavior, subsequent trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms over the course of 8 years, and adolescent problem behavior. Results indicated that early child noncompliance was the most robust predictor of more chronic and elevated trajectories of maternal depression, which in turn discriminated teacher and youth reports of adolescent antisocial behavior but not internalizing symptoms. The findings were consistent with transactional perspectives of developmental psychopathology that have emphasized the dyna...
PsycCRITIQUES, 2012
Reviews the book, Depression in Adolescent Girls: Science and Prevention edited by Timothy J. Str... more Reviews the book, Depression in Adolescent Girls: Science and Prevention edited by Timothy J. Strauman, Philip R. Costanzo, and Judy Garber (see record 2011-15058-000). This book is a timely, well-researched, and well-organized volume addressing a long-standing and important issue: sex differences in depression. Various experts in the field provide a theoretically grounded and substantive review of sex differences in risks for and consequences of depression, and summarize the extant empirical support. The text not only addresses individual biological, cognitive, interpersonal, and affective risk factors, but also provides complex models in which these specific risk factors interact and/or mediate the development/prevention of depression. From descriptive epidemiological data, to examination of the causes and consequences of depression, to a review of prevention programs for depression, this text covers a wide range of salient information that may be particularly useful for academic and clinical professionals, policy makers, and graduate students in the field.
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Papers by Rebecca A Burwell