Kimberly Matheson

Carleton University · Canadian Health Adaptations, Innovation and Mobilization Centre

Introduction Stemming from a stress appraisal and coping perspective, the present investigation developed a methodology for assessing how individuals appraise abusive dating relationship conflicts (Study 1) and the implications of such appraisals for informing coping responses to abusive interactions (Study 2). Methods Participants ranging in age...

Background: Addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action on including anti-racism and cultural competency education is acknowledged within many health professional programs. However, little is known about the effects of a course related to Indigenous Peoples and colonialism on learners' beliefs about the causes of inequities and intergr...

Indigenous education curriculum has been implemented in health professional programs as a potential solution to addressing commonly held false beliefs, as well as negative social attitudes and behaviours. As such it is important to map and analyze the current literature on educational initiatives that teach about historical and ongoing colonialism...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked with increased reports of depression, anxiety, and stress. Stay-at-home directives during the pandemic-imposed lifestyle changes, including eating and sedentary behaviors that can further undermine mental health outcomes. Physical activity is a vital component for metabolic health, as well as for mental health...

Loneliness has been described as endemic among young people. Such feelings of social isolation ‘even in a crowd’ are likely linked to adverse early life experiences that serve to diminish perceptions of social support and intensify negative social interactions. It was suggested in the present series of survey studies that childhood abuse, which com...

The policies and actions that were enacted to colonize Indigenous Peoples in Canada have been described as constituting cultural genocide. When one considers the long-term consequences from the perspective of the social and environmental determinants of health framework, the impacts of such policies on the physical and mental health of Indigenous P...

Resilience among Indigenous Youth in Northern Canada

The historical trauma associated with the Indian Residential School (IRS) system was recently brought to the awareness of the Canadian public. Two studies investigated how the salience of this collective victimization impacted non-Indigenous Canadians’ expectations that Indigenous peoples ought to derive psychological benefits (e.g., learned to app...

The ability to effectively contend with racism is likely undermined by factors that promote uncertainty regarding racist motives. A national policy of multiculturalism exists in Canada, which is intended to encourage cultural diversity, but can also serve to mask systemic racism. This may contribute to uncertainty when racism is encountered, with i...

The relationship between adverse experiences and the emergence of pathology has often focused on characteristics of the stressor or of the individual (stressor appraisals, coping strategies). These features are thought to influence multiple biological processes that favor the development of mental and physical illnesses. Less often has attention fo...

To limit the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many individuals were instructed to stay at home, and teleworking became commonplace. Meanwhile, many others were laid off or worked reduced hours, and some front line workers were required to work longer hours. Concurrently, a surge in reports of “pandemic baking” suggested a cascade effe...

Women, more so than men, are using social media activism to respond to sexism. However, when they do, they are also faced with gendered criticisms 'hashtag feminism' that may instead serve to silence them. Based on social identity theory, this research examined how women's social media activism, in response to sexism, may be a first step towards fu...

The health and wellness of Indigenous peoples continue to be impacted by the harmful colonization practices enforced by the Government of Canada. While the long-term health impacts of the Indian Residential School (IRS) system are documented, empirical evidence elucidating the relationship between the IRSs and the risk of offspring experiencing oth...

Reduced levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), through its role in neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, may be involved in the evolution and maintenance of depression. Depression has also been tied to fewer social connections and relationships, which can vary according to gender. Thus, we assessed whether the functional single nucleotide...

Because the underdog in a conflict typically gains the support of observers, nations will often adopt a narrative that persuades both their domestic following and international allies that they are the true victim in the conflict. Three survey studies were conducted to assess the perceptions of citizens of a third-party observer nation (Canada) in...

Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), are thought to play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of depression within a subset of individuals. However, the involvement of IL-1β has not been as consistently linked to depression, possibly owing to difficulties in detecting this cytokine in blood s...

Two studies assessed the nature of parental communication about the trauma of Indian Residential Schools (IRSs) in relation to the psychological distress of their adult offspring, and whether the link between parental communication and distress was mediated by offsprings’ greater awareness of collective discrimination or sense of pride in cultural...

Perceived discrimination has consistently been shown to be associated with diminished mental health, but the psychological processes underlying this link are less well understood. The present series of four studies assessed the role of a history traumatic events in generating a proliferation of discrimination stressors and threat appraisals, which...

Acute stressor experiences may influence cognition, possibly through actions of cognitive flexibility, which comprises the ability to modify cognitive and behavioral strategies in response to changing environmental demands. In the present investigation, we examined the effects of an acute psychosocial stressor (the Trier Social Stress Test) on a sp...

Cognitive control and (cognitive) flexibility play an important role in an individual’s ability to adapt to continuously changing environments. In addition to facilitating goal-directed behaviors, cognitive control and flexibility have been implicated in emotion regulation, and disturbances of these abilities are present in mood and anxiety disorde...

The Indian residential school (IRS) system in Canada ran for over a century until the last school closed in 1996. Conditions in the IRSs resulted in generations of Indigenous children being exposed to chronic childhood adversity. The current investigation used data from the 2008–2010 First Nations Regional Health Survey to explore whether parental...

The present research explored whether components of social identity, namely ingroup ties, affect, and centrality, were differentially linked to mental health and inflammatory immune responses, and whether rumination mediated those relations. Study 1 (N = 138) indicated that stronger ingroup ties were associated with fewer mental health (depressive...

Preliminary analyses. (DOCX)

This study examined the relations among women’s experiences of abuse, forgiveness, revenge, psychological health, and physiological stress reactivity. Both dispositional (Study 1; N = 103) and state (Study 2; N = 258) forgiveness and vengeance were associated with psychological symptoms. However, the relation between revenge and greater depression...

Background: Social support can serve as a protective factor against the negative impacts of stressors and may thereby promote well-being. As well, exogenous administration of oxytocin has been tied to diminished stress responses and might also enhance the effects of social support. Methods/Results: In the current study, conducted among female under...

Rejection sensitivity is a cognitive-affective processing disposition that has been linked to interpersonal difficulties. In this regard, the neuropeptide hormone, oxytocin, is thought to underlie social cognitions and behaviors that promote social affiliation. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR), in which gu...

Objective: Suicide rates among Indigenous peoples in Canada are at least twice that of their non-Indigenous counterparts. Although contemporary stressors contribute to this increased risk, historical experiences such as the Indian Residential School (IRS) system may also have continuing links with the risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The...

Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on oxytocin-related genes, specifically the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) rs53576 and the CD38 rs3796863 variants, have been associated with alterations in prosocial behaviors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students (N = 476) to examine associations between the OXTR and CD38 polymorp...

In this chapter, we outline the historical trauma experienced by Aboriginal peoples in Canada, focusing on the intergenerational impacts of Indian Residential Schools (IRSs). The IRS system was part of the government’s policy of assimilation, with the goal of eradicating the cultural identities of Aboriginal children by forcing them to live in chur...

Embracing a shared social identity typically serves to protect group members in the face of threats. However, under some conditions, intragroup dynamics are diverted so that instead, they contribute to disturbances in collective well-being. The present analysis applies a social identity framework to understand how intragroup processes elicited in I...

Although the neuropeptide oxytocin has been associated with enhanced prosocial behaviors, it has also been linked to aggression and mental health disorders. Thus, it was suggested that oxytocin might act by increasing the salience of social stimuli, irrespective of whether these are positive or negative, thus increasing vulnerability to negative me...

In this paper we examine the variability in the associations between discrimination/stigma and vulnerability to poor health outcomes in light of psychosocial and neurobiological processes that might contribute to these relations. Depending on the features of the discrimination or stigma, different neurobiological stress reactions occur (i.e., corti...

A key factor to the prevalence of mental illness might be the disinclination to seek help, perhaps owing to the stigma of mental illness. In two studies, the contribution of severity of depressive symptoms, social support, and unsupport, coping strategies, and salience of psychological versus biological features of depression in relation to perceiv...

Stress responses in humans can be attenuated by exogenous oxytocin administration, and these stress-buffering properties may be moderated by social factors. Yet, the influence of acute stressors on circulating endogenous oxytocin levels have been inconsistent, and limited information is available concerning the influence of social support in modera...

Oxytocin is a hormone that is thought to influence prosocial behaviors and may be important in modulating responses to both positive and negative social interactions. Indeed, a single nucleotide polymorphism, rs53576, of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has been associated with decreased trust, empathy, optimism, and social support seeking, which...

A single-nucleotide polymorphism on the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR), rs53576, involving a guanine (G) to adenine (A) substitution has been associated with altered prosocial features. Specifically, individuals with the GG genotype (i.e. the absence of the polymorphism) display beneficial traits including enhanced trust, empathy and self-esteem. Ho...

Abstract Living with a chronic illness can be challenging, but the ability to derive benefits and grow from this experience may enhance well-being. However, the possibility of obtaining such benefits may be dependent on the levels of stigmatization and lack of social support experienced by an individual as a result of the illness. Chronic fatigue s...

Social identity threats, depending on the content of the identity targeted, may evoke varying socio-political responses. In this regard, religious discrimination may be especially threatening, challenging both the social group and its belief system, thereby promoting more active collective responses. This research examined how religious and ethnic...

Aboriginal peoples are at greater risk of experiencing early life adversity relative to non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and as adults frequently experience high levels of discrimination that act as a further stressor. Although these factors appear to contribute to high rates of depressive disorders and suicidality in Aboriginal peoples, the psych...

H1N1 reached pandemic proportions in 2009, yet considerable ambivalence was apparent concerning the threat presented and the inclination to be vaccinated. The present investigation assessed several factors, notably appraisals of the threat, intolerance of uncertainty, and familiarity with the virus, that might contribute to reactions to a potential...

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia are disabling conditions without objective diagnostic tests, clear-cut treatments, or established etiologies. Those with the disorders are viewed suspiciously, and claims of malingering are common, thus promoting further distress. It was hypothesized in the current study that levels of unsupportive so...

Negative emotions trigger eating in some individuals (emotional eaters) possibly by influencing stress hormones that contribute to eating regulation (e.g., cortisol), or eating-related peptides (e.g., ghrelin) signalling food initiation. The present study assessed whether stressor-elicited cortisol and ghrelin changes would differ between emotional...

Although many individuals are affected by psychological disorders, few will seek professional help. Cultural perceptions might complicate this, as emotional suppression and shame of mental illness predominate in some cultures. This online study investigated factors contributing to the stigma of seeking help among Asian (n=81) and Euro-Caucasian (n=...

In humans, stressful events, more often than not, are fairly chronic, especially when one considers that apparently acute stressors have enduring psychological repercussions. It is important to consider the differential impacts of acute and chronic stressors. Field studies assessing the impact of stressors on immune and endocrine functioning are ce...

European and Chinese Canadians' perceptions and expectations of the Canadian government's apology for the head tax placed on Chinese immigrants during the early twentieth century were examined, along with Chinese Canadians' willingness to forgive the transgression. Among both European and Chinese Canadians, beliefs about the importance attributed t...

The current paper reviews research that has explored the intergenerational effects of the Indian Residential School (IRS) system in Canada, in which Aboriginal children were forced to live at schools where various forms of neglect and abuse were common. Intergenerational IRS trauma continues to undermine the well-being of today's Aboriginal populat...

Several prosocial behaviors may be influenced by the hormone oxytocin. In line with this perspective, the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs53576, has been associated with a broad range of social behaviors. In this regard, the G allele of the OXTR SNP has been accompanied by beneficial attributes such as increase...

Objectives: Although ambiguous and uncertain situations, such as those dealing with the threat of widespread viral illness, may have pronounced psychological ramifications, there have been few studies that examined the factors that contributed to such outcomes. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine emotional reactions to a health...

As part of a government policy of assimilation beginning in the mid-1800s, a large proportion of Aboriginal children in Canada were forcibly removed from their homes to attend Indian Residential Schools (IRSs), a practice which continued into the 1990s. This traumatic experience had lasting negative effects not only on those who attended but also o...

After continued pressure, the Canadian government offered an apology to Aboriginal peoples for its role in the Indian Residential School (IRS) system, where children were removed from their families in an effort to assimilate the Aboriginal population. Although the apology was sought after, it was unclear what Aboriginal peoples expected it to acco...

The transition from secondary school to university is often perceived as stressful, perhaps more so for students who are the first in their family to seek higher education, as they might face challenges unique to their situation. Yet, the majority are less likely to acknowledge problems and are unlikely to engage in help-seeking behaviour. The pres...

Swine flu (H1N1) reached pandemic proportions in 2009, yet ambivalence was met concerning intentions to be vaccinated. The present investigation determined predictors of perceived H1N1 contraction risk and vaccination intentions among Canadian adults (N = 1,027) responding to an online questionnaire. The relatively low rate of vaccination intent (3...

Psychopathologies, such as depression, are frequently accompanied by poor coping strategies, including impaired social support resources. As well, unsupportive social interactions have been related to adverse health outcomes beyond any contribution of limited social support resources. There is reason to believe that increased eating associated with...

Considerable research has examined the experiences of women at risk, during diagnosis, and throughout treatment of breast cancer; however, less in known about these women posttreatment. Many women report dealing with extensive long-standing ailments such as lymphedema and fatigue, as well as a fear of illness recurrence. However, women posttreatmen...

Recognizing discrimination does not necessarily translate into victim support. Willingness to provide support to a female victim of gender discrimination was hypothesized to vary as a function of whether the participant was male or female, along with the emotions conveyed by the victim (anger, shame, or no affect). Participants (N = 198) heard an a...

The divide between religious traditionalists and secular humanists has been widening for decades; yet, little is known about factors that attenuate hostility between these groups. Two studies examined whether (ir)religious identification could mitigate negative feelings toward (ir)religious outgroups. Following priming to make salient religious gro...

From 1863 to 1996, many Aboriginal children in Canada were forced to attend Indian Residential Schools (IRSs), where many experienced neglect, abuse, and the trauma of separation from their families and culture. The present study examined the intergenerational impact of IRS exposure on depressive symptomatology in a convenience sample of 143 First...

Following a diagnosis of breast cancer women experience considerable distress and often present with elevated symptoms of depression. A woman's relationship with her oncologist, and particularly trust in the physician, might influence depressive symptoms, as well as emotional and cognitive reactions to medical decisions made concerning treatment. T...

Religiosity is typically related to positive outcomes following distress, yet it remains unclear how religiosity may alter responses when one's religious identity itself is challenged. The present investigation examined the role of appraisal-coping processes in the relations between religious orientations, emotions, and action intentions following...

Stressful events and reminders of such events may influence circulating cytokine levels, just as they influence several neuroendocrine processes. However, these cytokine changes may vary with the severity and chronicity of the stressor experienced, as well as the specific mood responses that participants express. In the present investigation, women...

The present investigation examined the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among First Nations adults in Canada (N = 220). It was considered that specific aspects of ethnic identity (in-group affect, centrality, in-group ties) could serve as resilience and/or vulnerability factors. Whereas in-group affect (positive...

Food consumption in stressful situations vary as a function of individual difference factors (e.g., emotional vs. non-emotional eating), and may be related to hormonal responses elicited by the stressful event. These hormonal responses may be tied to specific emotions elicited by the stressful event. The present investigation examined the emotional...

As a social identity anchored in a system of guiding beliefs and symbols, religion ought to serve a uniquely powerful function in shaping psychological and social processes. Religious identification offers a distinctive "sacred" worldview and "eternal" group membership, unmatched by identification with other social groups. Thus, religiosity might b...

In light of the financial harm that often accompanies problem gambling, and the difficulty in resolving it, there is a pressing need for prevention resources. In the present study, we examined the preventive effects of an animation-based video that educated participants on how slot machines function, the prudence of setting financial limits, and st...

The present study evaluated the traumatic stressors experienced by Somali refugees to Canada (N = 169) that might be associated with poorer cultural adaptation and greater depressive and trauma symptoms. As well, it was suggested that indices of social support might mediate the relations between traumatic experiences and psychological outcomes. Reg...

Discrimination often elicits anger, and yet group members typically do not take actions to confront their situation. It may be that other emotions that run contrary to action-taking also arise (e.g., shame), limiting the active expression of anger. Indeed, Study 1 (N = 36) revealed that, using a failure feedback paradigm, women expressed greater sh...

The present investigation assessed the mediating role of appraisal-coping processes in the relation between forgiveness and depressive symptoms associated with intimate relationship conflicts. Study 1 assessed the role of forgiveness in the context of a severe relationship stressor, namely women experiencing dating abuse, along with the appraisal-c...

The present study assessed gambling appraisals and specific coping styles among 400 young male (n = 230) and female (n = 170) gamblers. Of particular interest was to determine whether gender variations in stress-related responses are associated with the degree of gambling pathology, depressive symptoms, and attitude to seeking treatment. Results sh...

Stressful events may have immediate effects on well-being, and by influencing appraisal processes, coping methods, life styles, parental behaviours, as well as behavioural and neuronal reactivity, may also have long lasting repercussions on physical and psychological health. In addition, through these and similar processes, traumatic experiences ma...

A high degree of comorbidity exists between depression and a constellation of other illnesses. The comorbidity between major depressive disorder (MDD) and several neurodegenerative disorders, the aftermath of stroke, and heart disease, might involve several common mechanisms This chapter provides a broad overview of some of the neurochemical proces...