Current Depressive Symptoms Research Articles

Ambient greenness, access to local green spaces, and subsequent mental health: a 10-year longitudinal dynamic panel study of 2·3 million adults in Wales

Living in greener areas, or close to green and blue spaces (GBS; eg, parks, lakes, or beaches), is associated with better mental health, but longitudinal evidence when GBS exposures precede outcomes is less available. We aimed to analyse the effect of living in or moving to areas with more green space or better access to GBS on subsequent adult mental health over time, while explicitly considering health inequalities. A cohort of the people in Wales, UK (≥16 years; n=2 341 591) was constructed from electronic health record data sources from Jan 1, 2008 to Oct 31, 2019, comprising 19 141 896 person-years of follow-up. Household ambient greenness (Enhanced Vegetation Index [EVI]), access to GBS (counts, distance to nearest), and common mental health disorders (CMD, based on a validated algorithm combining current diagnoses or symptoms of anxiety or depression [treated or untreated in the preceding 1-year period], or treatment of historical diagnoses from before the current cohort [up to 8 years previously, to 2000], where diagnosis preceded treatment) were record-linked. Cumulative exposure values were created for each adult, censoring for CMD, migration out of Wales, death, or end of cohort. Exposure and CMD associations were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression, stratified by area-level deprivation. After adjustment, exposure to greater ambient greenness over time (+0·1 increased EVI on a 0-1 scale) was associated with lower odds of subsequent CMD (adjusted odds ratio 0·80, 95% CI 0·80-0·81), where CMD was based on a combination of current diagnoses or symptoms (treated or untreated in the preceding 1-year period), or treatments. Ten percentile points more access to GBS was associated with lower odds of a later CMD (0·93, 0·93-0·93). Every additional 360 m to the nearest GBS was associated with higher odds of CMD (1·05, 1·04-1·05). We found that positive effects of GBS on mental health appeared to be greater in more deprived quintiles. Ambient exposure is associated with the greatest reduced risk of CMD, particularly for those who live in deprived communities. These findings support authorities responsible for GBS, who are attempting to engage planners and policy makers, to ensure GBS meets residents' needs. National Institute for Health and Care Research Public Health Research programme.

Perceptions of psychedelic-assisted therapy among Black Americans

The present study investigated differences in perceptions of psychedelic-assisted therapy between Black and White Americans, as well as factors that may influence these perceptions. A final sample of 294 adults (42% female, 44% Black/African American or Mixed Race (of Black/African ancestry), 56% White American; Mage = 36.3 years) completed an online survey which assessed baseline knowledge and views of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Participants were then provided brief psychoeducation related to MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapy. After psychoeducation, participants were queried on their perceptions of psychedelic-assisted therapy and factors potentially influencing these perceptions, including trauma history, current depressive and PTSD symptoms, perceived stress, and perceived barriers to psychological treatments. Psychoeducation had a positive impact on both level of interest and positivity of views of psychedelic-assisted therapy across groups. Black American participants reported more positive views of psychedelic-assisted therapy than White participants following psychoeducation. Greater depression and PTSD symptom severity was associated with greater baseline interest in Black and White Americans and there was significant interactions in predicting baseline view and interest, such that Black participants who reported greater depression symptom severity were more interested and had more positive views of PAT. Despite historical exclusion from psychedelic clinical trials and experiences of unethical treatment in research, Black Americans demonstrate more positive views of psychedelic therapy, and Black Americans more in need of novel mental health care demonstrate more interest and more positive views. Our findings demonstrate that the onus for diversification of psychedelic research samples is on research groups. These findings also provide an impetus for the psychedelic research community to rebuild trust in psychedelic research among Black Americans, conduct outreach, and provide culturally attuned psychedelic-assisted interventions that are accessible to Black Americans.

Expectancies for Subjective and Antidepressant Effects in Psilocybin Users

Expectancy effects for many psychoactive substances appear to play a role in consumption, problematic use, subjective responses to acute administration, and subsequent effects. Expectancies of psychedelics have received little attention in published research despite their reputation for creating dramatic changes in subjective state. Psilocybin-assisted treatment (PAT) improves depression, but details of associated expected effects remain incomplete. Previous work suggests that PAT-induced changes in depression and other forms of well-being covary with specific subjective effects of psilocybin. Self-reports from over 500 psilocybin-using individuals revealed correlations with relevant subjective effects that appeared to mediate antidepressant effects in previous work (e.g., Mystical Experiences, Ego dissolution, and Emotional Breakthrough). Correlations with demographic variables, current depressive symptoms, and general hallucinogen involvement were markedly smaller. Expectancies on specific depressive symptoms also paralleled retrospective reports of other psychedelic-induced antidepressant effects. Regression revealed that current depressive symptoms, ego dissolution, and emotional breakthroughs accounted for unique variance in expected antidepressant effects, but expectancies on mystical effects did not. Although limitations suggest cautious interpretation, psilocybin-using individuals appear to hold relevant expectancies about subjective and antidepressant effects, which might play a role in treatment outcomes worthy of monitoring in clinical trials.

Interpersonal Trauma Effects on Adolescent Depression: The Moderating Role of Neurophysiological Responses to Positive Interpersonal Images.

Trauma exposure is associated with a heightened risk for depression and such risk is thought to vary based on the type of traumatic events (e.g., interpersonal, including abuse and domestic violence, or non-interpersonal, including accidents or natural disasters). Depression is often accompanied by altered emotional reactivity, and the late positive potential (LPP) serves as a reliable neurophysiological measure of sustained attention towards emotional stimuli, raising questions regarding the role of the LPP in moderating trauma effects on depression. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 201 adolescents aged 14-17years (61.2% female) who were oversampled for current depression and elevated risk of depression based on maternal history. Clinical interviews were conducted to assess diagnoses and lifetime trauma exposure, and participants reported on current depressive symptoms. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was continuously recorded while participants completed a previously validated interpersonal emotional images task. Cumulative trauma (CT) and interpersonal trauma (IPT) were both associated with greater depressive symptoms, but non-interpersonal trauma (NIPT) was not significantly related to depressive symptoms. The association between IPT and depressive symptoms was moderated by the LPP to positive interpersonal images, such that IPT-exposed adolescents with blunted neural responses to such images showed the greatest symptoms. This result was specific to IPT, and the LPP to threatening interpersonal images did not significantly moderate the effects of IPT on depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the unique effects of interpersonal trauma on depressive symptoms and elucidate a potential vulnerability linking trauma exposure to depression risk among adolescents.

Childhood bullying victimization, emotion regulation, rumination, distress tolerance, and depressive symptoms: A cross-national examination among young adults in seven countries.

Existing research suggests a robust association between childhood bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in adulthood, but less is known about potential mediators of this link. Furthermore, there is limited cross-national research evaluating similarities and differences in bullying victimization and its associations with mental health. The current study addressed gaps in the literature by evaluating cognitive and affective responses to stress (i.e., emotion regulation, rumination, and distress tolerance) as potential mediators of the link between recalled bullying victimization and current depressive symptoms among 5909 (70.6% female) college students from seven countries. Results revealed specific indirect associations of bullying victimization through distress tolerance and three out of four facets of rumination, as well as a persistent direct association of childhood bullying on adulthood depression. Emotion regulation strategies were not significantly associated with bullying victimization and did not mediate its association with depressive symptoms. Constrained multigroup models indicated that results were invariant across country and gender. Findings provide evidence of statistical mediation in a cross-sectional sample and await replication in prospective studies. Rumination and distress tolerance may be promising targets for resilience-promoting interventions among children experiencing peer victimization. Ongoing research is needed to clarify cross-national patterns in childhood bullying, identify additional mediators accounting for the remaining direct association, and evaluate emotion regulation as a potential moderator of associations between bullying victimization and adult mental health.

Sense of mastery in first-episode psychosis-a one-year follow-up study.

A sense of mastery refers to beliefs about having control over one's life and has been found to protect health and buffer the effect of stressful experiences. We investigated sense of mastery in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients and population controls at baseline and at one-year follow-up. Pearlin and Schooler's Sense of Mastery scale was completed by 322 participants at baseline and by 184 participants at follow-up. People having experienced FEP reported lower mastery than controls at both time points, but a modest increase was seen in patients at follow-up. The strongest correlates of high baseline mastery in FEP were lower depressive symptoms and higher perceived social support, whereas positive or negative psychotic symptoms did not associate with mastery. Current depressive symptoms also correlated with mastery at the follow-up point, and change in depressive symptoms correlated with change in mastery. Higher mastery at treatment entry predicted remission of psychotic symptoms one year later. Sense of mastery was also found to mediate the association of perceived social support with depressive symptoms. The usefulness of mastery measures should be further tested for estimations of patient prognosis in early psychosis.

Perceived antidepressant efficacy associated with reduced negative and enhanced neutral mnemonic discrimination.

While antidepressants are one of the first-line treatments for depression, the mechanisms underlying antidepressant action are unclear. Furthermore, the extent to which antidepressants impact emotional and cognitive dysfunction in depression requires more fine-grained approaches toward measuring these impacts in humans. Depression is associated with emotion and mood dysregulation in addition to cognitive deficits. Depressed individuals experience general memory impairment as well as a negativity bias in episodic memory, where negative events are better remembered than positive or neutral events. One potential mechanism hypothesized to underlie the negativity bias in memory is dysfunctional hippocampal pattern separation, in which depressed individuals tend to show impaired general pattern separation but enhanced negative pattern separation. Mnemonic discrimination tasks have been designed to tax hippocampal pattern separation in humans and provide a powerful approach to develop a mechanistic account for cognitive dysfunction in depression. While antidepressants have been examined primarily in rodent models in the context of hippocampal pattern separation, this has yet to be examined in humans. Here, we investigated how antidepressant usage and their perceived efficacy was associated with emotional mnemonic discrimination, given our prior work indicating a negativity bias for mnemonic discrimination in individuals with greater depressive symptoms. We found that individuals who reported a greater improvement in their depressive symptoms after taking antidepressants (responders) showed reduced negative and enhanced neutral mnemonic discrimination compared to those with little to no improvement (non-responders). Perceived antidepressant efficacy was the strongest predictor of a reduction in the negativity bias for mnemonic discrimination, even when controlling for current depressive symptoms, antidepressant type, and other relevant factors. These results suggest that antidepressants, when effective, can shift memory dynamics toward healthy function.

Expression of ANK3 moderates the association between childhood trauma and affective traits in severe mental disorders

Exposure to early life trauma increases the risk of psychopathology later in life. Here we investigated if ANK3 mRNA levels influence the relationship between childhood trauma experiences and clinical characteristics in mental disorders. A sample of 174 patients with bipolar disorder and 291 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder were included. Patients were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, and childhood trauma was assessed using the childhood trauma questionnaire. Age at illness onset and number of psychotic and affective episodes were assessed from interview and medical records. Current depressive symptoms were measured using the calgary depression scale for schizophrenia and the inventory for depressive symptomatology. ANK3 expression was analyzed in whole blood using the Illumina HumanHT-12 v4 Expression BeadChip. Analyses were carried out with the Process adjusted for confounders. Within the total sample, patients with both high ANK3 expression and with the most severe childhood sexual abuse had more manic/hypomanic episodes and an earlier age at onset of the first episode. ANK3 mRNA levels also moderated the relationship between emotional neglect and manic/hypomanic episodes. Our results suggest that ANK3 expression levels moderate the association between specific types of childhood trauma and affective traits in mental disorders.

Depression and PTSD among Houston Residents who Experienced Hurricane Harvey and COVID-19: Implications for Urban Areas Affected by Multiple Disasters.

Little is known about the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other major disasters on mental health. Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast in 2017, resulting in substantial costs, significant levels of displacement, and approximately 100 deaths, and was followed in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. We randomly sampled 1167 Houstonians from 88 designated super-neighborhoods and surveyed them about their demographics, event-specific traumas and stressors, and symptoms of current depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We estimated the prevalence of depression (5.8%) and PTSD (12.6%) more than three years after Hurricane Harvey, and assessed the relative influence of event-specific stressors and traumas on current mental health. Overall, we observed evidence for two key findings that are salient for residents of urban environments in the context of multiple disasters. First, stressors were primary influences on depression, whereas both stressors and traumas influenced PTSD. Second, the influences of stressors and traumas on depression and PTSD symptoms faded with time.

Prevalence and Risk Factors Underlying Occupational Stress and Depression Among Clinical Nurses in Secondary and Tertiary Hospitals of China During COVID-19 Setting.

This study was designed to develop an effective measurement tool for occupational stress among medical staff and to identify the underlying risk factors among clinical nurses in China under depression during and after COVID-19. In the first stage, an occupational stress scale was developed for medical staff based on qualitative and quantitative methods. The dimensions of the scale were based on childhood stress and seven other parameters of working stress. In the second stage, a provincial survey was conducted among clinical nurses in Hainan. The structure of Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale was tested in secondary and tertiary hospitals. The socio-demographic information, occupational stress (measured using the developed scale), and current depression symptoms (assessed with the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire) were evaluated. The risk factors for occupational stress-induced depression were tested using multivariate logistic regression. The Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale consisted of 42 items under eight dimensions with strong reliability and validity. Almost 80% of the clinical nurses reported obvious symptoms of depression. Based on multivariate logistical regression analysis, the significant risk factors for depression in nurses at secondary hospitals and tertiary hospitals were childhood stress, teaching stress, relationship with patient stress, and administration stress. The Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale utilized in nursing population is based on strong psychometric features. Childhood stress contributes to occupational stress in nurses. The selection of nurses for clinical work may require evaluation of past history for childhood stress to prevent occupational depression. Teaching stress, relationship with patient stress and administration stress play significant roles in the prevention of depression among clinical nurses.

Social support as a resilience factor for parent-infant dyads experiencing homelessness.

Despite the considerable prevalence of homelessness among very young children in the United States, there is a notable lack of research on risk, resilience, and developmental well-being of infants who experience family homelessness. In the present study, we considered social support as a resilience factor for quality of parent-infant relationships and parent depression among a sample of 106 parents and their infants (ages birth to 12 months) residing in emergency shelters for families experiencing homelessness. We assessed social support, parent histories of adverse experiences during childhood and adulthood, and parent current depression symptoms via structured interview measures, and we assessed quality of the parent-infant relationship with an observational approach. Results showed different patterns for the roles of adversity the parents had experienced during childhood compared to adversity experienced more recently, as adults. Childhood adversity predicted parent-infant responsiveness, with a positive association that was moderated by level of perceived social support. Parents with more childhood adversity showed more responsiveness with their infants only when they had access to high levels of social support. Adulthood adversity predicted higher scores for parent depression, while social support predicted lower parent depression scores. This work contributes to the very limited literature on the functioning of families with infants in shelters. Our discussion includes implications for research, policy, and prevention and intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

An Investigation of the Cumulative Effects of Depressive Symptoms on the Cognitive Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Analysis of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging

This study investigated the cumulative effects of depressive symptoms on cognitive function over time in community-dwelling older adults. Data were investigated from 2,533 community-dwelling older adults who participated in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) from the 5th (2014) to the 8th wave (2020). The association between cumulative depressive symptoms and cognitive function was identified through multiple regression analysis. When the multiple regression analysis was conducted from each wave, the current depressive symptoms scores and cognitive function scores were negatively associated, regardless of the waves (B5th = -0.26, B6th = -0.26, B7th = -0.26, and B8th = -0.27; all p < .001). Further, when all the previous depressive symptoms scores were added as explanatory variables in the 8th wave, the current one (B8th = -0.09, p < .001) and the previous ones (B5th = -0.11, B6th = -0.09, and B7th = -0.13; all p < .001) were also negatively associated with the cognitive function score. The delta R², which indicates the difference between the model's R² with and without the depressive symptoms scores, was greater in the model with all the previous and current depressive symptoms scores (6.4%) than in the model with only the current depressive symptoms score (3.6%). Depressive symptoms in older adults have a long-term impact. This results in an accumulated adverse effect on the cognitive function. Therefore, to prevent cognitive decline in older adults, we suggest detecting their depressive symptoms early and providing continuous intervention to reduce exposure to long-term depressive symptoms.

Prevalence of diagnosed psychiatric disorders among adults who have experienced and internalized weight stigma.

Experiences and internalization of weight stigma are associated with greater self-reported psychological distress and symptoms of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. However, little is known about the extent to which individuals who have experienced and internalized weight stigma are diagnosed with or provided treatment for psychiatric conditions. The current study aimed to characterize the prevalence of diagnosed psychiatric disorders among adults with obesity who had experienced and internalized weight stigma. Weight-loss treatment-seeking adults with a history of experiencing weight stigma and high levels of internalized weight stigma were recruited for two clinical trials. In Study 1 (n=84, 83.3% women, 67.9% Black), 25% of participants reported a lifetime history of a mood disorder. Few participants (<10%) reported current psychiatric diagnoses or use of psychiatric medications. In Study 2 (n=129, 88.4% women, 65.1% white), one-third of participants reported a mood disorder history, and 21.7% reported an anxiety disorder history, with approximately 16%-18% reporting current diagnoses. In both studies, few participants reported a history of a diagnosed eating disorder despite high rates of current full- or subthreshold symptoms. Based on Beck Depression Inventory-II scores, approximately 54%-64% of participants reported mild or greater symptoms of depression. Overall, lifetime history of diagnosed psychiatric disorders and current symptoms of depression and eating disorders were relatively high across two samples. More research is needed to determine the impact of weight stigma on the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders and other psychiatric concerns.

Cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor predicts increases in depressive symptoms in perinatal and nulliparous women during population-level stress

BackgroundResearch suggests a link between stress and depression, especially in high-risk groups. The perinatal period is known as a time of increased risk for depression and pregnancy has been associated with alterations in cortisol levels; however, limited research has assessed cortisol reactivity during pregnancy. Finally, no studies have yet examined whether cortisol reactivity predicts later depressive symptoms during a population-level stressor, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsThe current study examined whether cortisol reactivity in perinatal and nulliparous women a year before the onset of COVID-19 predicted increases in depressive symptoms during the initial stage of the pandemic. Participants were 68 women (33 pregnant, Mage = 30.6; 35 nulliparous, Mage = 28.4) who, approximately a year before COVID-19, responded to a depressive symptoms questionnaire and completed a psychosocial stress test, during which they provided salivary cortisol samples. Shortly after the onset of pandemic-related closures (April 2020; postpartum for previously pregnant participants), participants completed follow-up questionnaires assessing current depressive symptoms. ResultsAnalyses showed that cortisol reactivity at baseline predicted increases in depressive symptoms at follow-up. Perinatal and nulliparous women did not differ in this association. LimitationsThe present study was limited by a moderate sample size and heterogeneity in terms of gestational week, restricting inferences about specific stages of pregnancy. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor is a biomarker of risk for increased depressive symptoms during ecological stress in women. Biomarkers like these increase our understanding of depression risk and may help to identify individuals in need of interventions.

Symptoms of borderline personality and related pathologies behave as temporal and contemporaneous networks.

In contrast to latent variable models suggesting a common etiology, network theory proposes that symptoms of psychopathology co-occur because of direct, dynamic associations among them. We examined how symptoms associated with borderline personality disorder, depression, and anxiety mutually reinforce one another over time, forming a network. We further identified symptoms that drove the network by exerting the most influence on other symptoms. Participants were 37 undergraduate students aged 18 to 26. Following baseline assessment, participants were prompted to answer a Qualtrics-based survey of current symptoms of BPD, depression, and anxiety twice daily for 40 days. Multilevel time-series network analyses were conducted with (a) BPD symptoms alone and (b) BPD, depressive and anxiety symptoms. In the network of BPD symptoms, momentary interpersonal difficulties predicted later dissociation, which predicted later affective fluctuation at the within-person level. Dissociation exerted the strongest influence on the overall symptom network. When depressive and anxiety symptoms were included, the networks identified several cross-disorder connections, such as anhedonia and feeling tense, which highlight potential pathways that describe the comorbidity of BPD with anxiety and depressive syndromes. Overall, cognitive symptoms and dissociation were identified as the most influential symptoms across the networks. This study indicates that BPD, depression, and anxiety symptoms may mutually reinforce one another concurrently and over time. Cognitive symptoms exert the highest influence on the cross-disorder networks, such that they influence BPD, depressive, and anxiety symptoms. Our results support the need of targeting cognitions in the treatment of comorbid BPD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of reminiscence therapy combined with memory specificity training (RT-MeST) on depressive symptoms in older adults: a randomized controlled trial protocol

BackgroundGeriatric depression has become a serious public health problem, and reduced autobiographical memory and increased overgeneral memory, as the main cognitive markers of depression, are not only associated with current depressive symptoms but also associated with the onset and course of depression, which can lead to a range of harms. Economic and effective psychological interventions are urgently needed. The aim of this study is to confirm the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy combined with memory specificity training in improving autobiographical memory and depressive symptoms in older adults.MethodsIn this multicentre, single-blind, three-arm parallel randomized controlled study, we aim to enrol 78 older adults aged 65 years or older with a score of ≥ 11 on the Geriatric Depression Scale, and participants will be randomly assigned to either a reminiscence therapy group, a reminiscence therapy with memory specificity training group or a usual care group. Assessments will be conducted at baseline (T0) as well as immediately post-intervention (T1) and 1 (T2), 3 (T3) and 6 (T4) months post-intervention. The primary outcome measure is self-reported depressive symptoms, measured using the GDS. Secondary outcome measures include measures of autobiographical memory, rumination, and social engagement.DiscussionWe believe that the intervention will play a positive role in improving autobiographical memory and depressive symptoms in older adults. Poor autobiographical memory is a predictor of depression and a major cognitive marker, and improving autobiographical memory is of great significance in alleviating depressive symptoms in older people. If our program is effective, it will provide a convenient and feasible strategy for further promoting healthy ageing.Trial registrationChiCTR2200065446.

Abnormal neurophysiological sensitivity to rewards in depression is moderated by sex and age in middle adulthood

A candidate pathophysiological process in major depressive disorder is diminished neural reactivity to reward delivery, which is theorized to give rise to anhedonia. Reduced amplitude in the reward positivity (RewP), which captures initial reward evaluation, has been linked to current symptoms of depression among child, adolescent, and young adult samples. However, the developmental trajectory of this association is incomplete, with relatively few studies in middle and older adulthood. Further, emerging evidence in the literature also suggests that this association may be linked to female sex-specific processes, but no studies to date have directly contrasted the effect of sex on the depression-RewP association. The current study sought to address these gaps by testing how sex and age may moderate the depression-RewP association within a mature adult community sample. Symptoms of depression were evaluated using a survey and a clinical interview, and the RewP was elicited using a simple guessing task. There was a three-way interaction between depression symptom severity, age, and sex in predicting RewP amplitude. This was driven by younger (late 30’s to early 40’s) female-sexed people such that for this group, elevated symptoms of depression were associated with blunting of the RewP. This association tapered around age 50. This effect was specific to clinician-rated rather than self-reported depressive symptom severity. This pattern of effects suggests that among female-sexed people, developmental processes continue to shape the association between reward responsiveness and depression throughout middle adulthood.

A-68 The Relationship Between Brain Injury And Substance Use Patterns In University Students

Abstract Purpose Our prior research has suggested that athletes with history of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are at greater risk of single and polysubstance use. The present study further explored the factors associated with this relationship in a large undergraduate population. Methods 894 university students (44% athletes) completed self-reported TBI history (blows to the head or whiplash causing loss of consciousness or memory, or feeling dazed), substance use (Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Tests (AUDIT; CUDIT)) and psychological measures. Relationships between these factors were examined using linear regression models. Results 200 (22.4%) students reported a history of one or more TBIs (45.63% sport-related). TBI history predicted current cannabis and alcohol use, with those with a history of multiple TBIs reporting more problematic use of each substance (ps&amp;lt;.01) as well as greater polysubstance use (p&amp;lt;.001). Past history of depression predicted more problematic cannabis use (p=.007), while past history of anxiety and depression predicted more problematic alcohol use. When examining multiple factors associated with use, history of TBIs (p=.008) and higher current depression symptoms (p=.006) predicted more problematic cannabis use, whereas for alcohol users, history of TBI and female sex was related to more problematic use (p=.041). Conclusions History of TBI predicts higher levels of substance use and polysubstance use and increased number of TBIs and mental health problems may be related to greater risk of hazardous substance use. Consideration of TBI history is essential for identifying players at risk for engaging in problematic behaviours such as hazardous substance use.

Cumulative Family Risk and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Friendship Quality.

Family risk is inimical to adolescent development. The relationship between cumulative family risk and adolescent depressive symptoms was explored in the current study, with friendship quality examined as a moderator of the relationship. A sample of 595 seventh-grade students was tracked at 10-month intervals. Results suggested that exposure to cumulative family risk predicted adolescents' current and subsequent depressive symptoms, and that there was a linear, additive relationship between cumulative family risk and depressive symptoms. Friendship quality moderated the linear relationship between cumulative family risk and adolescents' current depressive symptoms. It is worth noting that the protective role of friendship quality is limited. The results highlight that the detrimental impact of family risk needs to be recognized and addressed.

Autistic traits and borderline personality disorder traits are positively correlated in UK and US adult men and women

Co-occurrence of autism and borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been reported and may be more prevalent in women than men. However, the association between these conditions remains poorly understood, as does that between traits found throughout the general population. We present two studies which measured self-reported autistic traits (Autism Spectrum Quotient [AQ]) and BPD traits (McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder [MSI-BPD]) in UK (N = 695) and US (N = 700) adults. As predicted, autistic and BPD traits correlated positively in both samples. However, there were no significant sex differences in the correlation strength. In the UK sample, the association between autistic traits (AQ total score) and BPD traits was no longer significant once current anxiety and depression symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]) were controlled for. However, AQ subscales for Details/Patterns and Communication/Mindreading (but not Social Skills) remained significantly associated with MSI-BPD scores in the US sample. Our findings suggest that an overrepresentation of autistic women in patient populations with BPD may not be explained by traits of these conditions co-occurring to a greater degree in women than men. They also suggest that although both conditions are associated with elevated levels of anxiety and depression, BPD traits remain independently associated with specific domains of autistic traits.