The mediating role of depressive symptoms and subjective cognitive dysfunction in the relationship between stressful life events and functional disability in adult community volunteers

Abstract

BackgroundStressful life events (SLE) impact psychosocial functioning. However, the psychological mechanism underlying the association between SLE and functional disability (FD) has not been fully elucidated. This study focused on whether depressive symptoms (DS) and subjective cognitive dysfunction (SCD) mediated the influence of SLE, comprising negative SLE (NSLE) and positive SLE (PSLE), on FD. MethodsA total of 514 adults from Tokyo, Japan, completed the self-administered questionnaires to evaluate DS, SCD, SLE, and FD. We investigated the relationships among the variables using path analysis. ResultsPath analyses showed that NSLE positively affected FD directly (β = 0.253, p < .001), and indirectly via DS and SCD (β = 0.192, p < .001). PSLE negatively affected FD indirectly via DS and SCD (β = −0.068, p = .010), although PSLE did not affect FD directly (β = −0.049, p = .163). LimitationsCausal relationships could not be determined owing to the cross-sectional design. All participants were recruited in Japan, which limits the generalization of findings to other countries. ConclusionsDS and SCD, in this order, may partially mediate the positive effect of NSLE on FD. DS and SCD may fully mediate the negative effect of PSLE on FD. When considering the impact of SLE on FD, evaluating the mediating role of DS and SCD could be useful. Our findings may elucidate how perceived life stress affects daily functioning via depressive and cognitive symptoms. In the future, it is desirable to conduct a longitudinal study based on our results.