Here are some of the studies we are conducting in our laboratory:

Sleep impairment, ruminative thought, and depression

This is a daily investigation of how sleep impairments can lead to depression. Interestingly, though sleep impairments can lead to increases in depressive feelings and symptoms, in the short term, they can also have paradoxical effects. That is, after a single night’s moderate sleep deprivation, individuals can experience increases in positive emotions, even though they are tired and otherwise cognitive impaired. Our laboratory has previously examined the role of increases in ruminative thought as a mediator (causal mechanism) of the effect that depressive symptoms can have on sleep and vice versa. Thus, we will be exploring rumination and other cognitive variables as explanatory factors in this relationship. However, we will also be examining the hypothesis that rumination could be a mechanism for even the increase in positive emotions after a poor night’s sleep. That is, does the cognitive impairment associated with losing a night’s sleep lead to a temporary benefit of interfering with a person’s ability to sustain ruminative thought? Thus, the individual may temporarily feel better.

Social media use, depression and sleep

Social media use is near universal in early adulthood and adolescence, developmental periods associated with increases in risk for depression. Unfortunately, some research has suggested that excessive social media use is detrimental to mental health (with increases in depression, anxiety, and loneliness). Yet this research has often been cross-sectional, has considered all social media to be equivalent (e.g., Facebook, texting, and 4Chan all represent a similar thing and have similar effects), and has also not addressed questions of mechanisms. This longitudinal investigation seeks to examine both potential costs and benefits to social media use, seeks to understand the multidimensional nature of social media use, and also seeks to explore reasons why and when social media use could be detrimental. Does excessive social media use lead to maladaptive social comparisons? Does it provide opportunities for people to experience the worst of humanity (e.g., trolls, harassment)? Does excessive social media use actually lead to sleep impairments due to the common practice of the cell phone being the last item gazed upon at night, and the first item gazed upon in the morning?

Mindfulness, rumination, and sleep

This represents a series of studies complete, underway, and being planned. Our laboratory has demonstrated, in daily within-person studies, that late-night rumination is associated with sleep impairments. We have also found that it mediates the effects of depression on sleep, and vice versa. Mindful mediation, however, appears to alleviate these effects. Through the use of simple guided nightly meditations, we have demonstrated that nightly ruminative thoughts can be quieted. More importantly, these guided meditations improve sleep quality. We have established this in separate studies of highly ruminative college students as well as among adolescents. We are now looking to test whether these guided meditations can improve “treatment as usual” for unipolar depressive disorders.

Perfectionism, stress, and depression

We have examined in both laboratory-based experiments and longitudinal studies, the effects of perfectionism on depression. Perhaps not surprising, high degrees of maladaptive perfectionism appears to be a risk factor for affective problems. Importantly, though, this effect appears to be restricted to times of high stress or following failure experiences. Yet at the same time, other types of perfectionism appear to be adaptive. Some forms of perfectionism appear to be more motivating than undermining. We have recently become interested in the relationship between perfectionism and mindfulness in this regard. Generally, these concepts are, at least on their face, contradictory. To be mindful, one needs to live in the present and accept even negative parts of life. Yet adaptive perfectionism leads an individual to strive to improve their current situations. Is it possible to benefit from both concepts, or do they tend to undermine each other?

Interpretive biases, depression, and anxiety

In this study, we are examining the predictive value of the emotional BADE (Bias Against Disconfirming Evidence) task as a predictor of depression and anxiety over time. In collaboration with Dr. Jonas Everaert at Ghent University, we are recruiting healthy controls as well as those with depressive and anxiety disorders, and are having them complete the BADE task in our laboratory. We are then examining the degree to which their interpretive biases are predictive of changes in pathology over time.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders now includes the diagnosis of PMDD. However, studies providing clear validation of PMDD as a distinct diagnostic entity separate from MDD are lacking. In fact, some evidence strongly suggests that these may not be separate disorders at all (MDD is the strongest predictor of PMDD, and studies have found no normative cyclical affective pattern of time among healthy menstruating women). These studies are attempting to examine whether PMDD is a unique diagnostic construct, and if they are, what mechanisms are involved which link the menstrual cycle to mood fluctuations, given that prior research has suggested that this is not explained by hormone fluctuations. We are examining the potential roles of anxiety sensitivity, effects of physical discomfort, and social beliefs about menstruation as potential explanatory factors.