This paper discusses premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which is a more extreme case of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and affects three to five percent of menstruating women.
Abstract This paper explains that women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) complain of irritability, anger, tension, marked depressed mood, mood lability, lethargy, sleep disturbance, limited concentration and many physical symptoms to such a degree of severity that their quality-of-life is seriously compromised. The author points out that inhibitors of serotonin reuptake, fluoxetine (Sarafem), may be an effective therapy. The paper states that PMS and PMDD are far more common in a woman's later years of fertility because these syndromes are caused by the lower estrogen levels and higher progesterone levels found more commonly in the latter half of a woman's reproductive life.
Table of Contents
Introduction
History and Background of PMS/PMDD
History
Inheritance and Relationship to Other Disorders
Cultural Aspects
The American Medical Association's Point of View
Conclusion
From the Paper "Rubinow and Schmidt note that unlike mood disorders associated with the abnormal function of other endocrine glands (e.g., the adrenal or thyroid glands), PMS occurs in the context of normal ovarian function. The question then is why different women have different responses to what is ostensibly the same stimulus. This question is central to understanding behavior and is currently best addressed by studies in animals. Pharmacologic sensitization, kindling, and conditioning provide experimental models in which both the biologic and behavioral responses to a given stimulus are profoundly altered and determined by past experience with the stimulus. In these models, a stimulus that originally produces little or no effect may change the biologic substrate in a way that dramatically increases the severity of behavioral effects, purely as a function of repetition and the passage of time. Although the relevance of these models to PMS is uncertain, it is noteworthy that PMS is most frequently observed more than a decade after the initiation of ovarian cyclicity."
Abstract This paper examines Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), which is a sever form of PMS that affects 2-8 percent of women. According ot the paper, the PMDD symptoms are so extreme and so incapacitating that women who experience it suffer socially, professionally and sexually. The paper discusses the hormonal causes of PMDD, explains how a diagnosis is reached, and reviews treatment options. Then the paper briefly addresses the controversy surrounding the determination of PMDD and asks whether this diagnosis is a fad or a medical fact. The paper concludes that when carefully made, PMDD is a valid diagnosis for a psychological/psychiatric condition that has physical, not emotional, causes, but which can have significant emotional, social and cognitive effects on the individual.
Outline:
Cause
Diagnosis
Treatment
Critics of the Diagnosis
Conclusion
From the Paper "Although a lot has been learned about both PMS and PMDD, researchers have not been able to identify a clear cause for PMDD, which has both physical and psychological symptoms. The studies done so far tend to conflict with each other, denying both those who have PMDD and the doctors trying to help them a clear explanation for what is going on (Bosarge, 2003). However, recent research suggests that PMDD may result from an interaction between hormones released by the ovaries at ovulation and certain neurotransmitters in the brain (Bosarge, 2003). This would at least explain why the severe symptoms of PMDD appear during the second half of the reproductive cycle. Most researchers and doctors now believe that ovarian function rather than a hormonal imbalance causes PMDD, and that the condition is an interaction between the ovaries, the central nervous system and other organs (Steiner, 2000)."
Abstract This research paper examines the relationship between adolescence beliefs about the impact of rumination and stability of traits on depression. As part of the research, an affluent sample of fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders are examined. The paper attempts to uncover correlations, if any, between depression and rumination, attributional style, and stability of traits and attempts to determine if there are any differences between girls and boys in terms of depression, rumination, attributional style, and stability of traits. The paper also looks at whether or not older children are more likely to suffer from depression than younger children.
Outline
Theory of Rumination and Attribution
Learned Helplessness Theory
The Hopelessness Theory
Stability of Traits
Literature Review
Major Depression
Dysthymia
Bi Polar
Causes of Depression
Depression in Adolescence
Gender Differences in Depression
Attribution Style in General
Attribution in Adolescence
Gender Differences in Attribution Style
Stability of Personality Traits
Stability of Traits in Adolescence
Gender Differences in Stability of Traits
Rumination (Introspection) Style in General
Rumination in Adolescence
Gender Differences in Rumination
From the Paper "Depression is the preeminent mental health issue of our time. (Klerman, Markowitz, and Weissman, 2000 World Bank, 1993) Depression affects millions of people each year and can have deadly consequences if it goes untreated. (Bernal et al 1995) The National Institutes of Mental health reports that, depression effects 9.5% or nearly 19 million of the American population (Depression, 2000) Researchers have consistently attempted to understand why some individuals are more prone to the development of the disorder than others are. The disorder affects men, women, children and adults. Over the last decade, the number of adolescents suffering from depression has also increased considerably. In addition, the number of adolescents committing suicide because of prolonged depressive episodes has increased dramatically. In fact, an estimated 4% of teenagers suffer from depression (Lerner 1993). In addition, studies have suggested that adolescents as young as seventh grade are significant moodier than younger children."
