P.2.b.037 Increase of alertness correlates with early brain-derived neurotrophic factor serum level rise and treatment outcome in major depression

Abstract

should be taken into consideration, affecting emotional states and appraisals of daily life situations and social contexts in a variety of ways. Within the framework of our study on early treatment response to antidepressants, we explored how attachment style, alexithymia and social support influence the emotional states and daily experiences in healthy individuals. Methods: The Experience Sampling Method was used to collect repeated reports of daily affect and experiences from 104 healthy university students during one week of their normal lives. Affective states were assessed using words adapted from the circumplex model of affect [2]. Daily life experiences were assessed by asking the subjects to report their current activities, recent events, social context and appraisals of them. Attachment styles, alexithymia and perceived social support were assessed using self-report questionnaires (ECR, TAS and PSSS-R, respectively). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze their effect on daily emotional processes, e.g. on daily life level of affect and on daily life contexts. Results: Effect on level of affect: Both anxious and avoidant attachment style were associated with lower total level of positive affect, as well as with higher total level of negative affect. Alexithymia and its subscales ‘difficulty describing feelings’ and ‘difficulty identifying feelings’ predicted higher total level of negative affect, whereas perceived social support predicted lower level of negative affect, higher level of positive and low arousal affect. Effect on daily life contexts: Both anxious and avoidant attachment style were associated with more negatively appraised daily life activities and social interaction. Anxious attachment style was also associated with more negatively appraised daily life events. Alexithymia and its subscales’ difficulty describing feelings’ and ‘difficulty identifying feelings’ predicted more negatively appraised daily life activities, whereas perceived social support predicted more positive appraisals of daily life events, activities, social situations and interaction. Conclusions: The association of attachment style, social support and alexithymia on daily emotional states and experiences was investigated in healthy individuals. Insecure attachment style and alexithymia were found to predict higher levels of experienced negative affect and more negatively appraised daily life activities, whereas perceived social support predicted lower level of negative affect and higher positive affect as well as more positive appraisals of daily life events, activities, social situations and interaction. The results indicate that these psychological factors have an impact on daily life emotional states and experiences and should therefore be taken into account in experience sampling studies of every day mood experiences. This could have implications for future intervention studies of affective disorders.