Nicole Kurzer Eberhart, Ph.D.
Research Program
My program of research focuses on interpersonal predictors of stress and depression. I conducted my master's thesis (Eberhart & Hammen, 2006) on interpersonal predictors of onset of depression during the transition to adulthood. In this study, we found that poor peer and family relationship quality and anxious attachment cognitions longitudinally predict onset of depression. These results underlined the importance of interpersonal factors in young women's depression. However, it was unclear whether males respond differently to interpersonal factors; if so, this might explain why so many more women are depressed. To explore this question, I conducted two studies examining sex differences in adolescent depression in a large adolescent data set. In the first study, we found that girls experience more interpersonal stressors and are more reactive to these stressors, increasing their likelihood of becoming depressed (Shih, Eberhart, & Hammen, 2006). In the second project (Eberhart, Shih, & Hammen, in 2006), we found that girls' higher incidence of depression is in part due to their higher levels of negative self-perceptions, while positive interpersonal factors serve to protect them from depressive episodes.
In my dissertation project (Eberhart, 2007), I continued my efforts to understand how interpersonal factors impact depression. I contrasted a transactional, mediation model in which interpersonal factors contribute to stress, and in turn depressed mood, with a more traditional diathesis-stress model in which interpersonal vulnerabilities interact with stressors to predict depression. I found greater support for the mediation model of stress and depression, in contrast to the strong emphasis on diathesis-stress models in the literature. I found that interpersonal styles such as anxious attachment, excessive reassurance-seeking, and dependency, as well as specific maladaptive interpersonal behaviors, predicted an increased tendency to generate stressors in romantic relationships, which in turn contributed to depressive symptoms. I have examined interpersonal predictors of stress generation in another sample as well, focusing on sex differences and the effect of prior depression (Shih & Eberhart, in press; Shih & Eberhart, 2007). Currently, I am preparing manuscripts for publication based on my dissertation research. The next step will be to replicate the findings over a longer prospective period in a large sample of adolescents making the transition to adulthood. A future goal of this program of research will be to determine whether interpersonal vulnerability factors are specific to depression, or nonspecific predictors of psychopathology. To this end, I have examined interpersonal predictors of eating pathology (Ferriter, Eberhart, & Hammen, 2007; Eberhart & Hammen, 2004), and plan to examine whether the transactional, interpersonal model of stress and depression supported in my dissertation extends to anxiety symptoms and potentially ADHD.
Publications
Shih, J. H. & Eberhart, N. K. (in press). Understanding the impact of prior depression on stress generation: Examining the roles of current depressive symptoms and interpersonal behaviors. British Journal of Psychology.
Eberhart, N. K., Shih, J. H., Hammen, C. L., & Brennan, P.A. (2006). Understanding the sex difference in vulnerability to adolescent depression: An examination of child and parent characteristics. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34(4), 495-508.
Eberhart, N. K. & Hammen, C. L. (2006). Interpersonal predictors of onset of depression during the transition to adulthood. Personal Relationships, 13(2), 195-206.
Shih, J.H., Eberhart, N. K., Hammen, C. L., & Brennan, P.A. (2006). Differential exposure and reactivity to interpersonal stress predict sex differences in adolescent depression. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35(1), 103-115.
Rozin, P., Kurzer, N., & Cohen, A. B. (2002). Free associations to "food": The effects of gender, generation, and culture. Journal of Research in Personality, 36 (5), 419-441.
Kuyken, W., Kurzer, N., DeRubeis, R. J., Beck, A. T., & Brown, G. K. (2001). Response to cognitive therapy in depression: The role of maladaptive beliefs and personality disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69 (3), 560-566.
Manuscripts in Submission
Ferriter, C., Eberhart, N. K., & Hammen, C. L. (2007). Peer interpersonal functioning as a predictor of eating pathology in the transition to adulthood: The moderating role of depressive symptoms. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Manuscripts in Preparation
Eberhart, N. K. & Hammen, C. L. (2007). Interpersonal predictors of stress generation. Manuscript in preparation.
Eberhart, N. K. & Hammen, C. L. (2007). Interpersonal vulnerability, stress, and depressed mood: A comparison of transactional and diathesis-stress models. Manuscript in preparation.
Eberhart, N. K. & Hammen, C. L. (2007). Unique effects of interpersonal style, neuroticism, and social context in predicting conflict stressors and depressed mood. Manuscript in preparation.
Shih, J. H. & Eberhart, N. K. (2007). Sex Differences in the effects of interpersonal behaviors on stress generation. Manuscript in preparation.
Posters and Presentations
Eberhart, N. K. (2007). Interpersonal predictors of stress generation and depressed mood. In J.H. Shih (Chair), Recent findings and new directions in stress generation research. Symposium to be presented at the 41st annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
Shih, J. H. & Eberhart, N. K. (2007). Understanding the interpersonal processes that contribute to stress generation: The roles of prior depression, interpersonal behaviors, and sex. In J. H. Shih (Chair), Recent findings and new directions in stress generation research. Symposium to be presented at the 41st annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
Eberhart, N. K. (2007). Interpersonal vulnerability, stress, and depression: A comparison of transactional and diathesis-stress models. Poster to be presented at the 41st annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
Eberhart, N. K., Hammen, C. L., & Brennan, P. A. (2006). Gender differences in interpersonal predictors of onset of depression. Poster presented at the 40th annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Chicago, IL.
Ferriter, C., Eberhart, N.K., & Hammen, C. L. (2006). Social competence as longitudinal predictor of chronic eating pathology in the transition to adulthood. Poster presented at the 40th annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Chicago, IL.
Shih, J.H., Eberhart, N. K., & Hammen, C. L. (2006). Understanding the sex difference in adolescent depression: A longitudinal examination of youth and parent characteristics. Poster presented at the 11th biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Francisco, CA.
Eberhart, N. K., Shih, J. H., & Hammen, C. L. (2005). Understanding the gender difference in vulnerability to adolescent depression: An examination of child and parent characteristics. Poster presented at the 39th annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Washington, DC.
Eberhart, N. K. & Hammen, C. L. (2004). Attachment cognitions longitudinally predict development of eating disorder symptomatology. Poster presented at the 38th annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New Orleans, LA.
Shih, J.H., Eberhart, N. K., & Hammen, C. (2004). Greater Exposure and Reactivity to Interpersonal Stress Predict Gender Differences in Adolescent Depression. Poster presented at the 38th annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New Orleans, LA.
Kurzer, N. C. & Hammen, C. L. (2003). Interpersonal predictors of onset of depression during the transition to adulthood. Poster presented at the 37th annual meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Boston, MA.
Kuyken, W., Kurzer, N., DeRubeis, R.J, Brown, G.K, & Beck, A.T (2000). Response to cognitive therapy in depression: The role of maladaptive beliefs and personality disorders. Paper presented at the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies, London, UK.