Date
12-4-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Kevin Ganey
Keywords
Diet, CBT, Depression, Anxiety, Ketogenic, Mediterranean
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Wright, Deborah J., "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: The Relationship Between Diet, Anxiety, And Depression And the Moderating Effect of CBT" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7751.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7751
Abstract
This study examined how cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques including cognitive restructuring and positive affirmations affect the relationship between dietary patterns and depression and anxiety symptoms. Research has established that CBT and diet affect depression and anxiety independently, but less research examines their collective impact. The study included 154 adult participants who filled out the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 alongside a Dietary Habits Checklist and a CBT Engagement Checklist during the previous two weeks. The results from multiple linear regressions showed no statistically significant moderation effects of CBT engagement on the relationship between diet and depression or anxiety. The results showed that diet type was not significantly correlated with depression or anxiety scores. Although descriptive statistics revealed that participants following the Mediterranean diet had numerically lower mean depression and anxiety scores compared to other groups, these differences were not statistically significant. Additionally, participants who practiced self-directed CBT techniques had slightly higher depression scores than those who did not, although the difference was not statistically significant. However the non-significant descriptive trend may suggest that people who experience more severe depressive symptoms may tend to seek CBT strategies for personal help. The study demonstrates that diet type and CBT engagement failed to influence depression and anxiety results in this population yet reveals how diet interacts with coping methods and mental health in a complex, individualized way. The research reveals that diet and CBT interact differently than expected which supports the need for individualized multi-faceted strategies depression and anxiety.
