By Tammy Gay

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"Thinking negatively is a bad habit usually developed when a person is a child. As situations in life worsen, the habit increases. But, it is a habit and it can be changed. So, we teach them how change it."

- Ann Peden, D.S.N., associate professor, UK College of Nursing

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The three-year clinical trial, funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will test the effects of a group intervention in increasing self-esteem and reducing negative thoughts in low-income single mothers who are experiencing depressive symptoms.

The grant – awarded to UK College of Nursing faculty, Ann Peden, D.S.N., associate professor, Lynne A. Hall, Dr.P.H., assistant dean for research and doctoral studies, and Mary Kay Rayens, Ph.D., assistant professor – is the largest NIH research grant ever received by the UK College of Nursing.

Peden, principal investigator, has tested the group intervention in three previous studies. The intervention entails practicing positive self-talk and using affirmations – a positive statement about one’s self.

"We tested the intervention with three groups – women being treated for depression by a psychiatrist, college women at risk for depression, and finally with college women being treated for depression by a primary care provider," said Peden, who was named the 1999 Psychiatric Nurse of the Year by the Kentucky Nurses Association.

"In all of these studies, the intervention decreased depressive symptoms and negative thinking. In other words, it has enhanced the mental health of these three groups of women. Many low-income single mothers are at risk for depression. We are hopeful that the intervention will also reduce depressive symptoms in this vulnerable group."

Peden, Hall, and Rayen’s most recent study using the group intervention, also funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health, tested the group intervention with 92 college women with depressive symptoms, but who had never been diagnosed or treated for depression.

Study participants who received the intervention had improved self-esteem and fewer negative thoughts and depressive symptoms compared to the women who did not receive the intervention.

The recently funded study will include 160 women taking part in a one-hour group session for six weeks. They will be surveyed at one month, six months and
12 months to determine whether the group intervention helped reduce their depressive symptoms and improve their self-esteem.

"High levels of depressive symptoms are extremely debilitating in terms of social functioning," Peden said. "We are concerned about the effects of a mother’s mental health on her child."

"Thinking negatively is a bad habit usually developed when a person is a child. As situations in life worsen, the habit increases. But, it is a habit and it can be changed. So, we teach them how change it," Peden said.