They're often weak, they tend to be homebound and not to do a lot, and many of them are low-income. Isolation is a particular danger for one group that Malkin has worked with extensively. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the leisure attitudes of women hospitalized for severe depression and suicide attempts. She found that these patients held negative views not just about themselves, but about women in general, and that their negativity about life encompassed leisure activities as well. They also saw many obstacles to participating in such activities.
Some obstacles are only too real, especially for working moms.
Their negative thinking carries over also to leisure, and you would need to change that in order for them to even begin to think about how they could use their leisure time more constructively or more enjoyably. Malkin is interested in using cognitive therapy techniques to help depressed patients regain self-esteem and enjoyment from recreation. By producing a shift in thinking, cognitive therapy techniques can improve mood and change behavior. Because cognitive therapy has proven useful in treating depression, Malkin believes it can help patients overcome such artificial barriers to leisure and become more active. Earlier this year, master's student Amy Beth Cook began testing cognitive techniques with a small group of patients, and Malkin hopes to expand this line of research.