Implications For Depressive Symptoms Research Articles

Gray divorce and parent–child disconnectedness: Implications for depressive symptoms

AbstractObjectiveDrawing on the divorce‐stress‐adjustment framework, the authors assessed whether parent–adult child relationship dynamics, including disconnectedness from an adult child, exacerbates the negative impact of gray divorce on parental well‐being.BackgroundDivorce after age 50 is increasingly common but the role of parent–child relationships in parents' adjustment to gray divorce is largely unknown.MethodUsing panel data from 1998 to 2018 Health and Retirement Study in the US, the authors estimated growth curve models to track depressive symptoms prior to, during, and after gray divorce among 930 gray divorced individuals. The authors examined whether the lack of any contact with an adult child in the past 12 months (i.e., parent–child disconnectedness) was associated with depressive symptoms trajectories surrounding divorce and subsequent repartnering.ResultsHaving no contact with at least one adult child aggravated the negative effect of divorce on parent's mental health. This association was robust for mothers and fathers. Having no contact with at least one child, however, did not diminish the temporarily positive effect of subsequent repartnering on mental health.ConclusionThe study contributes to the literature by showing that parent–child disconnectedness adds another blow to parents who are convalescing from divorce.

A Latent Class Analysis of Personal Coping Resources and Depressive Symptoms Among Middle-Aged and Older Latinx Adults.

Objectives: To identify coping profiles and evaluate their implications for depressive symptoms among Latinx adults. Methods: Data come from a community-dwelling sample of Latinx adults ages 45+ in Florida (N = 461). Latent class analysis was used to identify profiles of personal coping resources based on patterns across spirituality (spiritual coping, divine fate), ethnic identity (centrality, connectedness), and personal control (mastery, self-esteem). Multivariable linear regression assessed differences in depressive symptoms across coping resource classes. Results: Four coping resource profiles were identified: (1) low resources overall, yet high spiritual coping; (2) high spirituality and personal control; (3) high spirituality and ethnic identity; and (4) high resources overall. Members of Class 4 had significantly fewer depressive symptoms than members of Class 1 and Class 3, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, p < .001. Discussion: Results elucidate nuances in personal coping resources among aging Latinx adults, identify under-resourced groups, and suggest that resource profiles characterized by few personal coping resources are linked with more depressive symptoms. Findings clarify the underpinnings of the latent coping construct and have implications for mental health promotion interventions among aging Latinx adults.

Disorganized attachment, mentalization and dissociation in context of childhood trauma: Implications for depressive symptoms

AbstractExtensive evidence indicates that adults with experience of childhood trauma and disorganised attachment are at a higher risk of suffering from depressive symptoms, while at the same time dissociation and mentalisation are very important risk and protective factors in this relation. Although mentalisation and dissociation are mentioned as potential mediators of this relationship, very few studies have analysed the mutual relations between these variables. Bearing in mind the importance of creating more specific and effective ways for dealing with depression, especially within vulnerable groups such as the traumatised, the aim of this research is to examine a serial mediation model in which disorganisation is modelled as effecting a decrease in mentalisation, in turn lead to dissociation, thereby resulting in depressive symptoms. Adult respondents (N = 153) with a history of interpersonal childhood trauma were selected from a larger geographical cluster sample from the general population of Serbia. The respondents filled in a battery of instruments, including The Childhood Traumatic Events Scale, Relationship Questionnaire – CV, Patient Health Questionnaire, Short Scale for the Assessment of Stress‐Related Dissociation Symptomatology and the Mentalisation Scale. Our findings suggest that disorganisation has an effect on depression by leading to a decrease in the ability to mentalise, which further triggers dissociation, resulting in depressive symptoms as a final consequence (estimated indirect effect = 0.014, 95 percent CI = 0.005 to 0.026). Additionally, the specific indirect effect involving dissociation as the sole mediator was also significant (estimated indirect effect = 0.058, 95 percent CI = 0.030 to 0.091). Targeting dissociative symptoms in the treatment in patients struggling with depression aftermath of traumatic experience could gain a great benefit for recognition and selection of more adequate treatment strategies.

Financial Problems in Established Adulthood: Implications for Depressive Symptoms and Relationship Quality with Parents.

Using two waves of data from the Family Exchanges Study (2008 and 2013), this study examined changes in financial problems before and after the Great Recession and investigated the implications for adults’ depressive symptoms and relationship quality with parents. Participants in established adulthood (N = 170, age 30–46 in 2013) provided information about their financial difficulties and depressive symptoms, as well as negative relationship quality with each parent (parent–child tie; N = 316) at baseline and 5 years later. Results showed that a growing number of participants experienced financial problems between the two waves, rising from 16 to 72% of participants. Moreover, 14% of participants indicated continuing financial problems and 33% reported decreased income over the 5 year observation period. Financial problems at baseline, continuing financial problems across the observation period, and decreased income over time were associated with participants’ increased depressive symptoms, after controlling for their baseline depressive symptoms. Results from multilevel models also revealed that adult participants had more strained relationships with their parents if they experienced more financial problems at the follow-up interview. The harmful effect of financial problems on relationship quality with parents was partially explained by adult participants’ depressive symptoms. Findings of this study highlight the important role of financial hardship for persons in established adulthood and their intergenerational ties.

Electronic Dating Violence in Adolescence: Trajectories, Implications for Depressive Symptoms and Delinquency, and Identifying Events and Behaviors that are Most Predictive of EDV Engagement

Electronic Dating Violence in Adolescence: Trajectories, Implications for Depressive Symptoms and Delinquency, and Identifying Events and Behaviors that are Most Predictive of EDV Engagement

Depression is Associated with Moderate-Intensity Physical Activity Among College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Differs by Activity Level, Gender and Gender Role.

PurposeThe novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and associated restrictive measures have implications for depressive symptoms (henceforth depression) of young people and risk may be associated with their reduced physical activity (PA) level. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between depressive symptoms and PA among college students with different gender and gender role (masculinity traits and femininity traits) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Participants and MethodsCross-sectional study included 628 healthy college students from nineteen different locations. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scales (CES-D), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF), and the 50-item Chinese Sex-Role Inventory (CSRI-50) were used to measure depressive symptoms, PA continuous (weekly metabolic equivalent minutes, MET-minutes/week) and categorical indicators (activity level category) and gender role, respectively. The statistical analyses were used in partial correlation analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA, moderation model tests, and linear regression model tests.ResultsTotal of 34.72% participants had clinically relevant depression (16, CES-D scale). Total of 58.6% participants were classified as a “low” activity level for spending less time on PA. Depression significantly negatively correlated with MET-minutes/week in moderate-intensity PA but not vigorous and walking scores. Of note, the depression-PA association was only moderated by the “low” activity level group in terms of categorical scores across gender groups. Participants with higher masculinity traits were less likely to have depression among all participants. Moreover, more recovered cases and fewer deaths could also predict the lower depression risk in the “high” activity level group.ConclusionModerate-intensity PA is beneficial for reducing depression risk among college students at a low activity level. College students with fewer masculinity traits (regardless of gender) are highly vulnerable to depression during the outbreak of COVID-19. Effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic seems critical to alleviating the burden of mental disorders of the public including depression.

Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Lung Cancer: Implications for Depressive Symptoms and Survival.

Background:Depression very commonly appears in the presence of lung cancer. Multiple contexts have shown that depression is associated with inflammation. The Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) provides an easy to interpret the measure of both inflammation and immunity, but its use as an inflammatory biomarker has not been evaluated in patients with lung cancer. We hypothesize that NLR will be elevated in depressed patients with lung cancer and that both elevated NRL and depression will have prognostic implications.Methods:Patients (n=109) were assessed for depression and anxiety using the Hospital .Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and for distress using the Distress Thermometer. NLR was derived from a complete blood count obtained on the day of the cross-sectional survey. Data were dichotomized (NLR ≥5 and HADS-D ≥8) and analysed for survival estimations using Kaplan-Meier plots.Results:NLR was found to be significantly correlated with depression (r=.21, p=.03) and was associated with depression while controlling for age, sex, and marital status (β=.21, p=.004). NLR trended toward correlation with anxiety (r=.19, p=.07). Elevated NLR (≥5) predicted for worse survival (chi square= 10.08, p=.001), which was similarly seen when combined with meeting depression criteria (chi square = 16.00,p<.001).Conclusion:NLR provides a reasonable assessment of lung cancer related inflammation with survival implications that may indicate the presence of depression. These results warrant further research.

DISCORDANT CHRONIC CONDITIONS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER COUPLES

Discordant chronic conditions (i.e., those with competing management requirements) have adverse consequences for well-being, yet little is known about their implications among couples. We evaluated how depressive symptoms are linked to discordant conditions within individuals and between spouses across an 8-year period. The U.S. sample included 1,116 middle-aged and older couples from five waves (2006 – 2014) of the Health and Retirement Study. Longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models controlled for age, minority status, education, depressive symptoms in the previous wave, and each partner’s report of baseline marital quality and number of chronic conditions in each wave. Wives and husbands with their own discordant conditions reported higher depressive symptoms, and this association intensified over time. Over and above this link, husbands had higher depressive symptoms when there were discordant conditions between spouses. Both individual-level and couple-level discordant chronic conditions appear to have enduring implications for depressive symptoms in middle and later life.

Reward and avoidance learning in the context of aversive environments and possible implications for depressive symptoms

BackgroundAversive stimuli in the environment influence human actions. This includes valence-dependent influences on action selection, e.g., increased avoidance but decreased approach behavior. However, it is yet unclear how aversive stimuli interact with complex learning and decision-making in the reward and avoidance domain. Moreover, the underlying computational mechanisms of these decision-making biases are unknown.MethodsTo elucidate these mechanisms, 54 healthy young male subjects performed a two-step sequential decision-making task, which allows to computationally model different aspects of learning, e.g., model-free, habitual, and model-based, goal-directed learning. We used a within-subject design, crossing task valence (reward vs. punishment learning) with emotional context (aversive vs. neutral background stimuli). We analyzed choice data, applied a computational model, and performed simulations.ResultsWhereas model-based learning was not affected, aversive stimuli interacted with model-free learning in a way that depended on task valence. Thus, aversive stimuli increased model-free avoidance learning but decreased model-free reward learning. The computational model confirmed this effect: the parameter lambda that indicates the influence of reward prediction errors on decision values was increased in the punishment condition but decreased in the reward condition when aversive stimuli were present. Further, by using the inferred computational parameters to simulate choice data, our effects were captured. Exploratory analyses revealed that the observed biases were associated with subclinical depressive symptoms.ConclusionOur data show that aversive environmental stimuli affect complex learning and decision-making, which depends on task valence. Further, we provide a model of the underlying computations of this affective modulation. Finally, our finding of increased decision-making biases in subjects reporting subclinical depressive symptoms matches recent reports of amplified Pavlovian influences on action selection in depression and suggests a potential vulnerability factor for mood disorders. We discuss our findings in the light of the involvement of the neuromodulators serotonin and dopamine.

Interpersonal Trauma Exposure and Depression in Young Adults: Considering the Role of World Assumptions.

The transition to young adulthood confers heightened risk for depression, and exposure to interpersonal trauma (IPT) can magnify this risk. However, not all IPT-exposed young adults develop depressive symptoms, and not all young adults with depressive symptoms report past IPT, suggesting a need to identify moderators of the IPT-depression link. This study investigated whether four different world assumptions-core beliefs about the nature of the world-moderated the association between IPT exposure and depressive symptoms in college students (N = 1,084, M age = 19.5, 74.1% female). Participants self-reported IPT exposure, depressive symptoms, and world assumptions via an online survey. We predicted that the IPT-depressive symptom association would be weaker among young adults with more positive assumptions about the safety of the world, trustworthiness of people, predictability of people, and controllability of events, versus those with more negative world assumptions in these domains. Hierarchical regression results supported this prediction with respect to one world assumption type: more positive beliefs about the world's safety significantly attenuated the relation between past IPT exposure and present depressive symptoms, ΔF(1, 1061) = 9.54, ΔR2 = 0.01, p = .002. The IPT-depressive symptom link was over 3 times as strong for young adults with weak "world-is-safe" assumptions, versus those with strong "world-is-safe" assumptions. No other world assumption types emerged as moderators. Lay theories of the world's safety may represent a basic, survival-oriented belief with implications for depressive symptoms following safety threats, such as IPT. Addressing "world-is-safe" assumptions may enhance depression prevention efforts for IPT-exposed young adults.

Intersectional health-related stigma in persons living with HIV and chronic pain: implications for depressive symptoms

ABSTRACT“Intersectional health-related stigma” (IHRS) refers to stigma that arises at the convergence of multiple health conditions. People living with HIV (PLWH) and chronic pain have two highly stigmatized health conditions, and thus may be at especially high risk for internalizing these stigmas and consequently experiencing depression. This study examined the intersectionality of internalized HIV and chronic pain stigma in relation to depressive symptoms in a sample of PLWH and chronic pain. Sixty participants were recruited from an HIV clinic in the Southeastern United States. Chronic pain was defined as pain that has been present for at least three consecutive months, and that has been an ongoing problem for at least half the days in the past six months. All participants completed the HIV Stigma Mechanisms Scale, Internalized Stigma in Chronic Pain Scale, the Short-Form Brief Pain Inventory, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale. Clinical data was collected from medical records. An intersectional HIV and chronic pain composite variable was created and participants were categorized as either high (28%), moderate (32%), or low (40%). Results revealed that intersectional HIV and chronic pain stigma was significantly associated with severity of depressive symptoms (p = .023). Pairwise contrasts revealed that participants with high (p = .009) and moderate (p = .033) intersectional stigma reported significantly greater mean depressive symptom severity than those with low intersectional stigma. Participants who reported the highest levels of internalized HIV and chronic pain stigma also reported the greatest severity of depressive symptoms. This suggests that the experience of both HIV and chronic pain stigma (i.e., IHRS) among PLWH and chronic pain may synergistically perpetuate negative mood in a more profound manner than experiencing either one stigma alone.

Resource or Hindrance? The benefits and costs of social support for functional difficulties and its implications for depressive symptoms

ABSTRACTObjectives:The impact of social support on the relationship between stress and well-being remains somewhat inconclusive, with work suggesting either null, buffering, or amplification effects. The current study investigated the conditions in which perceived social support is likely to act as a buffer or amplifier by considering individual differences in self-perceptions of aging.Methods: Using data from two subsamples of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (graduates: 70–74 years, siblings: 40–92 years), we examined how perceived social support (emotional versus instrumental) and self-perceptions of aging (SPA) moderated the effect of functional limitations on depressive symptoms (DS).Results: Although emotional support positively predicted DS, its effects did not depend on SPA. Instrumental support was associated with both increases and decreases in well-being that were dependent upon SPA. Functional limitations predicted more DS at both low and high levels of instrumental support when SPA were negative. However, when SPA were positive, low levels of social support were found to decrease depressive symptoms, and high levels were found to increase depressive symptoms.Conclusions: The impact of social social may enhance or deteriorate well-being, depending on how it interacts with self-evaluative beliefs. Findings offer insights as to the boundary conditions associated with the (positive) effects of social support and SPA, and highlight the need for continued research on the mechanisms associated these effects.

Intergenerational ambivalence in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for depressive symptoms over time.

The parent-child relationship is often characterized by ambivalence, defined as the simultaneous experience of positive and negative relationship quality. This study examines reports of intergenerational ambivalence in 3 developmental periods: adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood, as well as its implications for depressive symptoms over a 12-year period. Participants ages 13 to 29 (n = 255) were interviewed in 1992 and again in 2005 at ages 25 to 41 (n = 186). Results indicate that offspring's reports of intergenerational ambivalence decreased over time. Greater ambivalence toward mothers predicted increased depressive symptoms over time while greater ambivalence toward fathers predicted decreased depressive symptoms over time. These results suggest that depressive symptoms in adulthood are vulnerable to the quality of the parent-child relationship earlier in the life course. (PsycINFO Database Record

Intersectionality of internalized HIV stigma and internalized substance use stigma: Implications for depressive symptoms

We adopted an intersectionality framework and examined whether the relationship between internalized HIV stigma and depressive symptoms is moderated by internalized substance use stigma. A total of 85 people living with HIV with a history of substance use in the Bronx, New York, completed a survey. Results revealed evidence of moderation: Participants who internalized HIV stigma experienced greater depressive symptoms only if they also internalized substance use stigma. Researchers should examine stigma associated with multiple socially devalued characteristics to best understand how stigma impacts mental health among people living with HIV. Healthcare providers should address stigma associated with the full range of socially devalued characteristics with which people living with HIV live.

Forgiveness and the appraisal-coping process in response to relationship conflicts: Implications for depressive symptoms

The present investigation assessed the mediating role of appraisal-coping processes in the relation between forgiveness and depressive symptoms associated with intimate relationship conflicts. Study 1 assessed the role of forgiveness in the context of a severe relationship stressor, namely women experiencing dating abuse, along with the appraisal-coping responses and depressive symptoms associated with such a stressor. Study 2 evaluated the function served by forgiveness among men and women in response to non-abusive relationship stressors, including the dissolution of the relationship, and also assessed the relations among forgiveness, appraisal-coping processes, and depressive symptoms. Women who encountered dating abuse were less likely to forgive their partners, and this was linked to higher levels of depressive symptoms. The relation between forgiveness and lower depressive symptoms was partially mediated by lower threat appraisals, secondary appraisals of the effectiveness of emotion-focused coping, and the reduced endorsements of this coping strategy (Study 1). Appraisal-coping processes similarly mediated the relation between forgiveness and depressive symptoms among men and women reporting conflict in an ongoing (non-abusive) relationship or a relationship break-up (Study 2). It is suggested that the relation between forgiveness and diminished distress operates primarily by guiding individuals' appraisals of the conflict and by diminishing the reliance on emotion-focused coping.

Perfectionism and ethnicity: Implications for depressive symptoms and self-reported academic achievement.

Perfectionism and ethnicity: Implications for depressive symptoms and self-reported academic achievement.

Racial differences in the multiple social roles of older women: implications for depressive symptoms.

The relationship between multiple role participation and depressive symptoms experienced by African American (n = 547) and White (n = 2,152) women aged 55-61 was explored. Data were obtained from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Racial differences in the social roles of marriage, employment, grandmother, care provider, and volunteer and their influence on level of depressive symptoms were examined. African Americans reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than Whites. Additionally, marriage, employment, and total number of social roles were the most powerful predictors of depressive symptoms for both African American and White women. However, employment was more important in diminishing depressive symptoms among African American than White women occupying multiple social roles.