- Abstract
- This study was a correlation design study of
the connection between the self reported levels
of yawning and depression by 31 participants.
The researcher administered the Goldberg
Depression Inventory with a yawning inventory
questionnaire. Correlations were computed
between yawning and depression and found to be
statistically significant. This study is unique
because it looks at the connection between
yawning frequency and levels of depression. If
yawning can be used as a diagnostic tool to
screen for depression more people might be
willing to seek help after taking a yawning
questionnaire. One surprise in the results shows
a significant negative relationship between age
and yawning.
-
- Examining the Possible Connection between
Yawning and Depression
-
- A yawn is defined as an involuntary opening
of the mouth, with maximal stretching of the jaw
with a deep inhalation of air through the nose
and mouth followed by a slow expiration
(Askenasy, 2001). For thousands of years the
yawn has been a source of intrigue and mystery,
not so much for what happens during the yawn but
for "why" it happens at all, including its
contagion effect in men as well as animals
(Schurmann et al., 2005). The yawn is most
commonly thought to be the body's way of waking
up the mind (Schiller, 2002).
-
- The inability to yawn has been linked to
certain mental disorders in the schizophrenic
spectrum (Platek, Critton, Myers, & Gallup,
2003). These symptoms involve a lack of social
and self-awareness, along with
schizophrenia-like symptoms. Nancy Andreason
(1987) looked for a connection between
schizophrenia and creativity and instead, found
a substantial link between mood disorders, such
as, depression and creativity in creative
writers and their immediate families. It seemed
to be a logical conclusion that frequent yawners
were also more aware of themselves and social
situation and in turn could be more depressed.
It also seems reasonable that if a yawning
questionnaire can be used to screen for
schizotypal or schizoid personality disorders
then it could also be used to test for something
near it's opposite, such as depression.
-
- Talking about and seeking help for
depression is difficult for people as well. This
study is unique because it looks at the
connection between yawning frequency and levels
of depression. If yawning can be used as a
diagnostic tool to screen for depression more
people might be willing to seek help after
taking a yawning questionnaire. Teachers in
schools might be able to set up an early
intervention with a child that exhibits
excessive yawning in class.
-
  - Methods
- Participants
- This study surveyed 31 participants, 13 men,
18 women, with an average age of 32 and a median
age of 24. The sample was gathered from Holyoke
Community College, work, and friends.
Participants were recruited by availability. No
particular attributes were chosen other than the
willingness to participate in the study.
-
- Materials
- The participants were asked to fill out The
Goldberg Depression Scale Questionnaire (Holm,
Holm and Bech, 2001). This questionnaire
consists of 18 questions scored on a likert
scale from 1-5. Each Participant was also asked
to out a Yawning questionnaire from the Greco
and Baenninger study (1993). This questionnaire
also has a likert scale from 1-5 with 24
questions. (See questionnaires in appendix a and
b). The questionnaires were self report devices
that look at depression and yawning in different
scenarios such as how much and when a respondent
yawns and when or how much a he or she thinks
about suicide.
-
- Procedure
- Each participant was asked to fill out a
consent form, yawning survey, and depression
screening questionnaire. In cases where a
telephone survey was conducted, a phone number
was placed on the consent form. Each participant
was either read or had the opportunity to read
the consent form and proceeded with the survey.
After the survey was completed each participant
was debriefed as to the reason for the survey.
None of the participants had any concerns with
effects of taking the survey. The combined
surveys took 3-5 minutes to complete.
-
- Results
- The number of participants were n=31 with =
32.1 years and _ =14.3 years. The maximum age
was 62 and the minimum age was 18. The mean
yawning score was = 58.2 with _ = 17.08. The
maximum and minimum yawning scores were 98 and
28 respectively. The depression score = 36.2 and
_ = 13.8 with the maximum and minimum scores
being 79 and 18 respectively. There was a
positive correlation of depression with higher
incidences of yawning with r = .4171 and
p<.05 (see scatter plot in figure 1). There
was also a significant negative correlation
between age and yawning, with r = .4543 and
p<.01 (see scatter plot in figure 2). The
data show that there is a significant
relationship between age and depression and
depression and yawning. There were no other
significant results for any other factors such
as, Grade Point Average and the aforementioned
statistics.
-
- Discussion
- After compiling, the data it appears that
there is a significant relationship between the
frequency of yawning and the level of depression
according to self-reports of the respondents. If
yawning can be shown to be caused by depression,
it could be possible for clinicians to test for
depression using a yawning index. For example
the more times a clinician can elicit a yawn
from a client the higher the probability is that
the client is depressed. This method could be
used to expose malingerers.
-
- One expected relationship, was that of age
and depression. It is assumed that as people
age, levels of depression would go up slightly
and would therefore cause an increase in
yawning. The results show a significant negative
relationship between yawning and age and a very
slight negative correlation between age and
depression. Why is the strength of the
relationship much weaker between age and
depression? If the hypothesis is correct then as
a person gets older they are less depressed and
therefore yawn less. If older people yawn less,
it could mean they are less depressed or
suffering from some disorder. It may be that
contagious yawning is a sign of mental health
but that yawning excessively at other time may
be indicative of depression.
-
- There should be more research on the
significance of yawning. It appears to be a very
powerful response with very little control by
the organism exhibiting this behavior. Yawning
is one of life's little idiosyncrasies that
keeps science wondering and may help humans to
understand each other better.
-
- References
- Andreason, N.C. (1987). Creativity and
Mental Illness: Prevalence Rates in Writers and
Their First-Degree relatives. American Journal
of Psychiatry, 144, 1288-1292
- Askenasy,
J. (2001) Is Yawning an Arousal Defense
Reflex? The Journal of Psychology, 123(6),
609-621.
- Greco,
M., Baenninger, R. (1993) On the Context of
Yawning: When, where, and why? Psychological
Record, 43(2), 175-184.
- Holm, J., Holm, L. and Bech, P. (2001)
Monitoring Improvement Using a Patient-Rated
Depression Scale During Treatment with
Anti-depressants in General Practice: A
Validation Study on the Goldberg Depression
Scale. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health
Care 19(4) 263-266.
- Platek,
S.M., Critton, S.R., Myers, T.E., & Gallup,
G.G., Jr. Contagious yawning: The Role of
Self-awareness and Mental State Attribution.
Cognitive Brain Research, 17(2) 223-7.
- Schiller,
F. (2002) Yawning? Journal of the History of the
Neurosciences, 11(4), 392-401.
- Schurmann,
M., Hesse, Stephan, K.E., Saarela, M., Zilles,
K., Hari, R., & Fink, G.R. (2005).
Yearning to Yawn: The Neural Basis of Contagious
Yawning. Neuroimage, 24(4), 1260-1264.
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