Elevated Levels Of Depression Research Articles

Adjustment of Children Facing the Death of a Parent Due to Cancer

To compare predeath and postdeath levels of depression and anxiety reported by a sample of children who lost a parent to cancer ("study children") with the levels reported by children in a community sample who did not experience such a loss. T scores for depressive symptomatology (Children's Depression Inventory) and state and trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) were compared. Both samples were weighted to control for multiple participants from the same family. Weights for children in the community sample were further adjusted to match the distribution of the two samples with regard to gender, age, and number of children in the household. Comparisons were made using t tests and chi 2 tests. Whereas study children reported significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety in the predeath period, levels of symptomatology reported for both measures postdeath were similar in both samples. The data suggest that while many children experiencing the loss of a parent to cancer report elevated levels of depression and anxiety predeath, by 7 to 12 months postdeath their reports of depression and anxiety are comparable with those of similarly situated children in the community who did not experience such a loss.

Relationship of depression with measures of social functioning in adult drug abusers

The present study describes the relationship between depression and several measures of social functioning — including employment, criminal activity, incarceration, marital functioning, and alcohol and drug use — in a population of adult drug abusers. Our investigation extends past work in this area by specifically investigating the effects of depression (as opposed to simple substance use) on social and interpersonal functioning. Predictably, elevated levels of depression were associated with increased use of hard drugs and alcohol, greater levels of institutionalization, reduced attendance at work or school, and lower overall rates of marital satisfaction. Consistent with previous reports, level of marijuana use was not related to severity of depression. It appears that depressed substance abusers experience significantly more social, vocational, and interpersonal dysfunction than their nondepressed counterparts. It is proposed that the efficacy of existing treatment programs for adult drug abusers will be enhanced through the addition of strategies to assess and ameliorate depression.

Corporal Punishment as a Stressor among Youth

This article addresses impact of corporal punishment by parents on psychological well-being of youth. The present research used National Youth Victimization Prevention Study (NYVPS nationally representative sample of 1,042 boys and 958 girls, ages 10-16. Based on a stress-process framework, we examine: (a) effects of frequency of corporal punishment experienced by youth ages 10-16 on psychological distress and clinically relevant depression and (b) moderating influence of parental support on associations between corporal punishment and psychological outcomes. Controlling for sociodemographic factors and physical abuse, our findings indicate a positive association between frequency of corporal punishment and both psychological distress and depression. Although distress is greatest at higher frequencies of punishment, association is also present at low and moderate levels of corporal punishment. An interaction between corporal punishment and parental support was also evident, showing that impact of frequent punishment relative to no corporal punishment was greater in context of high parent support. Corporal punishment or physical punishment refers to the use of physical force with intention of causing a child pain, but not injury, for purposes of correction or control of child's (Straus Donnelly, 1993, p. 420). The corporal punishment of children by parents is a normative form of discipline in our society. In fact, spanking and slapping children are not only considered acceptable, but generally believed to be highly effective and quite Straus (1991) found that 84% of a national sample of adults agreed that a good, hard spanking is sometimes necessary. Parents who refuse to use corporal punishment on children are viewed as too lenient and ineffective--in essence, poor parents (Carson, 1986). Consistent with these norms, almost all parents use corporal punishment on their toddlers (Straus, 1991, 1994). While prevalence of corporal punishment declines with age of child, it still remains high even into adolescence. Recently, Straus and Donnelly (1993) found that almost half of children in early adolescence experience corporal punishment by a parent. Moreover, adolescents report being physically punished at a median frequency of four times per year. Straus and Donnelly suggest that this is likely a lower bound estimate, since it only includes punishment from one parent. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AS A CHILDHOOD STRESSOR A variety of negative health and behavioral outcomes suggests that acts involving physical punishment are stressful for children. The most well-known outcome of corporal punishment is that it increases violent behavior by punished child (Larzelere, 1986; Lefkowitz, Eron, Walder, & Huesmann, 1977; Maurer, 1974; Parke & Slaby, 1983; Straus, 1991). For example, Straus (1991) found that children who received ordinary corporal punishment were 3 times more likely to assault siblings than those who were never physically punished. Similarly, Larzelere (1986) reported a linear relationship, across several age groups of children, between frequency of corporal punishment and aggressive acts. Although most research on effects of physical punishment has focused on child aggression, other negative effects on behavior and health have been reported also. For example, several studies related physical punishment to depression in children (Holmes & Robins, 1988; Maurer, 1974; Straus, 1994). Bryan and Freed (1982) found that college students who were physically punished in childhood manifested several long-term effects, including having fewer friends and a greater frequency of negative social interactions, as well as elevated levels of depression and anxiety. Similarly, Straus and Kaufman-Kantor (1994) found that corporal punishment experienced in teenage years was positively associated with drinking problems, depressive symptoms, and thoughts of suicide. …

Factors facilitating adjustment to unemployment: Implications for intervention

Conducted a community survey in the Fall of 1984 in a sample of high unemployment blue-collar census tracts in southeastern Michigan. Results of earlier analyses using these data showed that involuntarily unemployed workers had significantly elevated levels of depression, anxiety, somatization, and self-reported physical illness relative to a stably employed comparison group (Kessler, House, & Turner, 1987). Results presented in this paper document that this relationship is modified by social support (as measured by social integration and the availability of a confidant), self-concept, and various coping processes. Further analyses allowed us to determine the way in which these modifiers operate. The modifying effects of social support and coping operate primarily by buffering the impact of unemployment-related financial strain on the health outcomes. Self-concept operates primarily by attenuating vulnerability to other stressful life events. The implications of these results for the design and implementation of preventive interventions are discussed.

A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Measures of emotional health and styles of responding to negative moods were obtained for 137 students 14 days before the Loma Prieta earthquake. A follow-up was done 10 days again 7 weeks after the earthquake to test predictions about which of the students would show the most enduring symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. Regression analysis showed that students who, before the earthquake, already had elevated levels of depression and stress symptoms and a ruminative style of responding to their symptoms had more depression and stress symptoms for both follow-ups. Students who were exposed to more dangerous or difficult circumstances because of the earthquake also had elevated symptom levels 10 days after the earthquake. Similarly, students who, during the 10 days after the earthquake, had more ruminations about the earthquake were still more likely to have high levels of depressive and stress symptoms 7 weeks after the earthquake.

Narcissistic Concerns in the Educational Experience of Law Students

Elevated levels of depression and anxiety have consistently been found to be prevalent among law students. Various explanations have been offered to account for these findings, with many commentators pointing to specific features of legal education as causative factors. Law students are confronted with an educational environment that poses many threats to their self-esteem. Responses to this situation have taken many forms; some of these adaptations have been identified as obsessive, paranoid, schizoid, hysterical, and acting out. An understanding of the critical role of self-esteem in psychological development has been the focus of the work of Heinz Kohut. Applying his ideas to the experience of law students has highlighted their struggle with narcissistic aspirations as well as their efforts to develop a professional sense of self. His constructs of grandiose self and idealized parental imago are not only helpful in illuminating the experiences of law students, but have broad implications for the policies and structures of legal education.

A comparison of the mood and activities of depressed, previously depressed and non-depressed women

Clinically depressed, previously depressed and non-depressed women were compared on measures of activity and mood. It was hypothesized on the basis of earlier reports in the literature of lingering social impairment following depressive episodes, that previously depressed women would report engaging in fewer activities than non-depressed women, and that they would rate the emotional valence of activities more negatively than non-depressed women. Ss completed individualized activity checklists and measures of mood for 14 consecutive days. Contrary to prediction, non-depressed and previously depressed women were remarkably similar to each other and dissimilar from depressed women with regard to their reporting of activity on a daily basis. This finding was especially unexpected given that a number of the women in the previously depressed group evidenced elevated levels of depression. The findings provide additional support to suggest that mild and severe depression do not lie on the same continuum, and raise questions regarding the nature of depression as experienced by the previously depressed.

Points From Letters: Hospital Advisory Service

<h3>Summary</h3> <h3>Background</h3> The impact of COVID-19 on mental health is unclear. Evidence from longitudinal studies with pre pandemic data are needed to address (1) how mental health has changed from pre-pandemic levels to during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2), whether there are groups at greater risk of poorer mental health during the pandemic? <h3>Methods</h3> We used data from COVID-19 surveys (completed through April/May 2020), nested within two large longitudinal population cohorts with harmonised measures of mental health: two generations of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALPSAC): the index generation ALSPAC-G1 (n= 2850, mean age 28) and the parent’s generation ALSPAC-G0 (n= 3720, mean age = 59) and Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (GS, (n= 4233, mean age = 59), both with validated pre-pandemic measures of mental health and baseline factors. To answer question 1, we used ALSPAC-G1, which has identical mental health measures before and during the pandemic. Question 2 was addressed using both studies, using pre-pandemic and COVID-19 specific factors to explore associations with depression and anxiety in COVID-19. <h3>Findings</h3> In ALSPAC-G1 there was evidence that anxiety and lower wellbeing, but not depression, had increased in COVID-19 from pre-pandemic assessments. The percentage of individuals with probable anxiety disorder was almost double during COVID-19: 24% (95% CI 23%, 26%) compared to pre-pandemic levels (13%, 95% CI 12%, 14%), with clinically relevant effect sizes. In both ALSPAC and GS, depression and anxiety were greater in younger populations, women, those with pre-existing mental and physical health conditions, those living alone and in socio-economic adversity. We did not detect evidence for elevated risk in key workers or health care workers. <h3>Interpretation</h3> These results suggest increases in anxiety and lower wellbeing that may be related to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or its management, particularly in young people. This research highlights that specific groups may be disproportionally at risk of elevated levels of depression and anxiety during COVID-19 and supports recent calls for increasing funds for mental health services. <h3>Funding</h3> The UK Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust and University of Bristol.