Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: Main Research Portfolio

: 1) HOW EFFECTIVE ARE MEDIUM-TERM COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER?; 2) AN EVALUATION OF THE CURRENT SCREENING TOOLS USED IN THE OFFENDER PERSONALITY DISORDER ; 3)MENTAL DEFEAT IN LONG TERM HEALTH CONDITIONS.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to explore whether mental defeat (MD) occurs in longterm health conditions (LTCs) and if it does, whether it differs across conditions withdiffering symptomology.Design: This study used a cross sectional questionnaire design with two groups;Inflammatory Arthritis (IA) and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).Methods: Participants in both groups completed a battery of questionnaires about their experience of, and their beliefs and feelings about their health condition. A mixed model ANOVA and stepwise regressions were conducted to explore associations. Results: A mixed model ANOVA revealed no significant differences in levels of MD between the two groups. However, both groups reported higher levels of MD than healthy controls. A stepwise regression revealed that MD, health anxiety, disability and catastrophizing were all associated with psychological distress. A second regression revealed that MD, age, and health anxiety predict fear of disease progression. Conclusion: Mental defeat occurred in both LTCs in this study and there was no difference between the two conditions. Mental defeat was associated with psychological distress and fear of disease progression.

Date of Award	21 Aug 2018
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Megan Wilkinson-Tough (Supervisor), Cara Davis (Supervisor) & Paul Salkovskis (Supervisor)