Life History Calendar Research Articles

Investigating the Relationship Between Comorbid Headaches and Depression

ObjectiveThree possibilities may explain headache and depression comorbidity: (a) headaches cause depression; (b) depression causes headaches; and (c) third variables cause both. Evidence supports all three possibilities. This study sought to examine which of these has the most support among a sample of people seeking psychological treatment.MethodThis was achieved firstly by establishing the order of onset of the most recent episode of headaches and depression, comparing these groups on headache severity, depression heritability, and exploratory variables, and asking participants open‐ended questions. Thirty participants had been diagnosed with a primary headache disorder and major depressive disorder. The order of onset was assessed using the Life History Calendar, while depression heritability was estimated by probable depression in a parent.ResultsAlthough the order of onset was statistically random, it was more frequent for participants to state that depression caused headaches than the reverse. Most participants identified life events or circumstances as contributing to both conditions. Unusually intense headaches may be contributing to depression in the headaches first group, although headaches causing depression may be infrequent.ConclusionsSuccessful headache treatment for individuals with major depressive disorder will most likely necessitate treatment of the comorbid depression. This study was limited by a small sample size.

Strategies employed by sexual minority adolescents to cope with minority stress.

Sexual minority adolescents (SMA) experience disparities in health and behavioral health outcomes, including high rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, substance use, HIV risk behavior, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. These outcomes are commonly attributed to minority stress. Stress experiences are different for SMA than their adult counterparts. For example, disclosing their sexual orientation may be more likely to result in homelessness because these youth more often live with parents or other family members. Although stress in this population has been explored in previous research, very little is known about how SMA cope. Relying upon an adolescent coping model, this study examined the coping strategies, responses, and resources of SMA related to stress. Forty-eight racially and ethnically diverse SMA (age 14-19) were recruited for 90-minute tape-recorded interviews. The semi-structured interviews were guided by a life history calendar. Recordings were transcribed verbatim and entered into QSR NVivo. All transcripts were coded by two members of the research team and went through a consensus process. Forty-three unique coping statements emerged that fit with the Compas model of adolescent coping. SMA cope with minority stress in similar ways to heterosexual youth coping with general stress, but findings suggest that SMA may also use different kinds of coping resources. Although further research is needed, the present study identified a variety of ways SMA cope with stress and can inform future research on the development interventions.

Unemployment and substance use problems among young adults: Does childhood low socioeconomic status exacerbate the effect?

The current study tested whether unemployment predicted young adults' heavy episodic drinking, cigarette smoking, and cannabis use after taking into account individual development in substance use. Furthermore, building on the life course perspective, this study examined whether the link between unemployment and substance use among young adults differed for those who experienced low childhood SES compared to those who did not. Data for the present study came from the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP), a panel study examining a broad range of developmental outcomes from ages 10 to 33. A life history calendar (LHC) was administered to assess substance use and unemployment status during young adulthood. Covariates included baseline symptoms of psychopathology, baseline substance use, gender, ethnicity, and adult educational attainment. Results suggest that unemployment is associated with young adults' heavy episodic drinking and possibly cigarette use, but not cannabis use. Moreover, for all three substances, the detrimental impact of unemployment on substance use seems to be exacerbated among young adults who spent their childhood and adolescence in a lower SES household. Public health efforts that provide other viable and affordable options to cope with unemployment among young adults from low SES backgrounds are needed to address this disproportionate concentration of adverse impacts of unemployment on behavioral health.

Ich will nicht nach Berlin! – Life course analysis of inter-regional migration behaviour of people from the field of design and advertising

Florida's idea that people, rather than the business climate, attracts talents from outside a region has induced a huge number of studies that test his concept of a ‘creative class’. Most studies are quantitative in nature and deal with ‘observed choices’. Qualitative research can complement these studies by revealing the intrinsic motivations for migration. However, many qualitative studies lack a life course perspective that is essential for understanding migration. This article presents results from a case study that applied the life history calendar method using in-depth interviews with individuals from the field of design and advertising in three German regions. The results show that the intention to move and the motives of migration vary significantly over a person's lifetime. Social relations, qualifications and employment opportunities as well as self-employment are the main reasons for moving or staying. There is little evidence that soft location factors such as openness and tolerance shape migration decisions and destination choices. The stories of the interviewees are lively accounts why not all creative people gravitate towards creative hubs like Berlin and instead settle down in second-tier cities.

Impact of Victim, Offender, and Relationship Characteristics on Frequency and Timing of Intimate Partner Violence using Life History Calendar Data

Objectives: To examine whether victim, offender, and relationship characteristics increase the risk and frequency of intimate partner violence (IPV). The effect of separation length on the risk of IPV is also evaluated. Methods: Using abuse incident data ( N = 4,960) from IPV victims ( n = 497), who accessed a health-care facility over a one-year period, between-individual differences in the frequency and timing of abuse were assessed. Dependence of event times within respondents was accounted for with conditional risk set “gap time” models, which stratified participants across event number and failure order. Results: Employment of both partners and only the victim decreased the risk and frequency. Employment of only the abuser and length of separation decreased frequency but was not significantly associated with timing of abuse. Separated and non-separated respondents were not significantly different in frequency (incident risk ratio = 1.06, p > .05) and timing of abuse, (exp ( b) = 0.95, p > .05). Conclusions: By capturing the timing between abuse incidents, insight into the long-term risk of abuse is provided and accounts for selection effects. Findings call for an improvement in measuring relationship status indicators, including relationship length and time since separation. Future research should examine within-individual changes in separation and IPV risk.

The Pain Management Life History Calendar: A Pilot Study

Pain management trajectory data that includes previous pain treatments, timing, changes, and outcomes provide crucial data for patients with chronic pain and their practitioners to use when discussing ways to optimize pain management regimens. The aim of this study was to test the use of the life history calendar method to identify pain treatments, treatment regimens, timing, and outcomes of the pain management trajectory of individuals with chronic pain, and to examine feasibility. A pilot, descriptive, methodological design was used. Settings included community-based sites such as congregate housing. Nineteen community-dwelling older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) pain of at least 1 year's duration participated. Participants were interviewed and asked to chronicle from the beginning of the OA pain to the present all of their pain treatments and treatment effects (pain outcomes and adverse events). Raters independently content analyzed the transcribed interviews to identify pain treatments, treatment groupings (regimens), and treatment effects on pain. Feasibility of patients reporting their pain management trajectories was content analyzed by identifying participant difficulty identifying pain treatments, treatment effects, treatment sequence; and difficulty discriminating between treatments, and between OA pain and other pain sources. Individual pain management trajectories were constructed that depicted chronological order of pain treatment regimens and treatment effects. Participants identified pain treatments, discriminate between treatments and between OA and other conditions, and identified treatment effects. Treatment sequence was identified, but more precise timing was generally not reported. Pain management trajectories could provide a helpful way for practitioners to discuss safe, efficacious pain management options with patients.

Unequal burdens of loss: examining the frequency and timing of homicide deaths experienced by young Black men across the life course.

I examined the frequency and developmental timing of traumatic loss resulting from the health disparity of homicide among young Black men in Baltimore, Maryland. Using a modified grounded theory approach, I conducted in-depth semistructured interviews with 40 Black men (aged 18-24 years) from January 2012 to June 2013. I also constructed adapted life history calendar tools using chronologies of loss, and (1) provided a comprehensive history of loss, (2) determined a specific frequency of homicide deaths, (3) indicated participants' relationship to the decedents, and (4) identified the developmental timing of deaths. On average, participants knew 3 homicide victims who were overwhelmingly peers. Participant experiences of homicide death started in early childhood, peaked in adolescence, and persisted into emerging adulthood. The traumatic loss of peer homicide was a significant developmental turning point and disrupted participants' social networks. The traumatic loss of peer homicide was a prevalent life course experience for young Black men and identified the need for trauma- and grief-informed interventions. Future research is needed to examine the physical and psychosocial consequences, coping resources and strategies, and developmental implications of traumatic loss for young Black men in urban contexts.

Poly-victimization among girls in the justice system: trajectories of risk and associations to juvenile offending.

Life History Calendars and the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire were used to collect data from 100 delinquent girls to (a) examine range and co-occurrence of different types of violence over the life span, (b) examine independent and cumulative trajectories of risk for varied types of victimization, and (c) examine the relationship of victimization to girls' offending. Risk trajectories demonstrate critical risk periods for different forms of violence exposure. Cox regression was used to examine the predictive value of different forms of violence exposure for the onset of delinquent and criminal behavior. Findings illuminate the need for programs addressing substance use and alternative coping mechanisms.

Child Maltreatment and Social Connectedness Among Formerly Institutionalized Females: Links With Depression.

This study aimed to examine the effects of child maltreatment subtypes (physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence) and cumulative child maltreatment on depressive symptoms in adulthood, and examine the protective effects of social connectedness in a sample of formerly institutionalized females. The sample consisted of 124 females who were institutionalized in a Dutch juvenile justice institution during adolescence and were followed-up when they were on average 32 years old. Information about child maltreatment was extracted from treatment files. Retrospective data on social connectedness in young adulthood were established during interviews using a Life History Calendar. Relationship quality at follow-up was assessed with items derived from the Rochester Youth Development Study. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Scale for Depression (CES-D) was used to measure depressive symptoms in adulthood. Results showed that 85.5% of the females experienced child maltreatment, and co-occurrence of subtypes was high. Cumulative child maltreatment increased the risk of depression in adulthood. Furthermore, social connectedness, that is, more employment over time and the quality of the romantic relationship at follow-up, protected against the development of depression. However, social connectedness did not buffer the effect of maltreatment on depression. Our findings indicate that treatment of these girls should focus on improving the social-emotional development to promote positive interpersonal relationships and include educational and vocational components to guide these girls toward increased opportunities on the labor market.

Interpersonal relationship narratives of older adults with schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses.

Shared themes connected to interpersonal relationships across the life courses of older adults with schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses were identified in first-person life history narratives and explored in depth. Findings were developed through thematic narrative analysis of 35 interviews with 7 older adults currently in treatment for schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses. A combination of open-ended questions, life history calendars, and time diaries were used to structure interviews, and narrative and analytical development. Themes of relational losses, relational voids, relational adjustments, relational adaptations, and the need for solitude were identified and located as they occurred in patterns across the life course. Specific implications for theoretical development, practice, policy, and future research on interventions that address social recovery for older adults with schizophrenia are discussed.

A biographical approach to studying individual change and continuity in walking and cycling over the life course

Most research studies seeking to understand walking and cycling behaviours have used cross-sectional data to explain inter-individual differences at a particular point in time. Investigations of individual walking and cycling over time are limited, despite the fact that insights on this could be valuable for informing policies to support life-long walking and cycling. The lack of existing longitudinal data, difficulties associated with its collection and scepticism towards retrospective methods as a means to reconstruct past behavioural developments have all contributed to this deficit in knowledge. This issue is heightened when the time frame extends to longer term periods, or the life course in its entirety. This paper proposes and details a retrospective qualitative methodology that was used to study individual change and stability in walking and cycling within a life course framework. Biographical interviews supported by a life history calendar were developed and conducted with two adult birth cohorts. Interpretive, visual biographies were produced from the interview materials. Analysis focused on identifying the occurrence, context and timing of behavioural change and stability over the life course. Typologies of behavioural development were generated to resolve common and distinct behavioural patterns over the life course. Whilst the validity of reconstructed biographies of walking and cycling cannot be proven, this is an approach which offers credible and confirmable insights on how these behaviours increase, diminish, persist, cease, are restored or adapted through the life course, and how behavioural trajectories of walking and cycling may be evolving through historical time.

“Vivre/Leben/Vivere”: An interdisciplinary survey addressing progress and inequalities of aging over the past 30 years in Switzerland

In this paper, we present the rationale and the design of “Vivre/Leben/Vivere” (VLV), a large interdisciplinary survey looking at the life and health conditions of individuals who are aged 65 and older and living in Switzerland. VLV is of the third survey of a repeated cross-sectional study, previously conducted in 1979 and 1994 in two French-speaking areas of Switzerland (the cantons of Geneva and Valais). Launched in 2011, VLV extends the original design to additional German and Italian-speaking areas and targets a sample of 4200 individuals. Quantitative data are collected by means of two questionnaires and a life history calendar, assessing current resources in multiple spheres of the individuals’ life (e.g. household conditions, physical and psychological health, social relations, participation, and values) and their accumulation across the life course. The objectives of VLV are twofold: first it aims to provide an updated view of life and health conditions of the population aged 65 and older in Switzerland, with a major concern in assessing diversity and inequalities. Second, VLV aims to compare these conditions to those observed in 1979 and 1994; hence, it aims providing means to question the sustainability of the positive trends, reported in the previous surveys. VLV is a rare opportunity in Europe to acquire exhaustive and cardinal knowledge about the heterogeneity of the life conditions of the aged and their changes over the past 30 years.

Substantial Symptom Changes in Naturalistic Recovery from Aversive Events

Researchers have recommended examining trajectories of recovery from aversive events, including sudden gains and spikes. We examined rates, attributions for, and outcomes associated with substantial symptom improvements and brief exacerbations after aversive events. Sixty-three women completed questionnaire measures of mood, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. They used a Life History Calendar (LHC) to draw the trajectory of symptom levels from the event to the present, and were interviewed regarding the course of their symptoms. Based on the LHC and interview, we coded whether each participant experienced substantial improvements and/or brief exacerbations and reasons for them. Participants frequently experienced substantial improvements and brief exacerbations, most of which they attributed to external events. Substantial improvements-but not substantial brief exacerbations-were associated with significantly lower symptom levels. Substantial improvements are similar to sudden gains in therapy samples. Substantial improvements in avoidance and mood have positive, bidirectional effects on each other.

Adapting data collection methods in the Australian Life Histories and Health Survey: a retrospective life course study

ObjectiveIdeally, life course data are collected prospectively through an ongoing longitudinal study. We report adaptive multimethod fieldwork procedures that gathered life history data by mail survey and telephone interview, comparable...

Factors Affecting Initial Intimate Partner Violence–Specific Health Care Seeking in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Japan

This study examined the factors affecting a women's initial intimate partner violence (IPV)-specific health care seeking event which refers to the first health care seeking as a result of IPV in a lifetime. Data were collected using the Life History Calendar method in the Tokyo metropolitan area from 101 women who had experienced IPV. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to assess the time to initial IPV-specific health care seeking. IPV-related injury was the most significant factor associated with increased likelihood of seeking IPV-specific health care seeking for the first time. In the presence of a strong effect of formal help seeking, physical and sexual IPV were no longer significantly related to initial IPV-specific health care seeking. The results suggest some victims of IPV may not seek health care unless they get injured. The timing of receiving health care would be important to ensure the health and safety of victims.

Feasibility of applying the life history calendar in a population of chronic opioid users to identify patterns of drug use and addiction treatment.

Uncovering patterns of drug use and treatment access is essential to improving treatment for opioid dependence. The life history calendar (LHC) could be a valuable instrument for capturing time-sensitive data on lifetime patterns of drug use and addiction treatment. This study describes the methodology applied when collecting data using the LHC in a sample of individuals with long-term opioid dependence and aims to identify specific factors that impact the feasibility of administering the LHC interview. In this study, the LHC allowed important events such as births, intimate relationships, housing, or incarcerations to become reference points for recalling details surrounding drug use and treatment access. The paper concludes that the administration of the LHC was a resource-intensive process and required special attention to interviewer training and experience with the study population. These factors should be considered and integrated into study plans by researchers using the LHC in addiction research.

Trajectory of intimate partner violence and healthcare seeking over the life course: study of Japanese women in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan

ObjectivesTo describe the trajectory of, and examine factors affecting, intimate partner violence (IPV) and IPV-specific healthcare seeking among Japanese women over the life course. Study designLife course study. MethodOne hundred and one women, aged 24–80 years, who had a lifetime history of IPV were interviewed in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan in 2005 and 2006. Life course data were collected according to the life history calendar method. Hierarchical linear modelling was used to examine IPV-specific healthcare seeking over the life course. ResultsInjury, formal or informal help seeking, public assistance, worse self-rated health status and smoking significantly increased the likelihood of IPV-specific healthcare seeking over the life course. There are significant cohort effects on healthcare seeking. The results suggest that women who experience IPV may seek healthcare services not only immediately after the first occurrence of IPV, but also later in life. ConclusionsIPV is not always associated with immediate healthcare seeking. In particular, sexual IPV is not significantly associated with healthcare seeking. Pursuing formal and informal help is associated with healthcare seeking.

Antecedents and Consequences of Transitional Pathways to Adulthood Among University Students: 18-Year Longitudinal Study

This study combined sociological life-course modeling on education-, employment-, residency-, and partnership/parenthood-related transitions with a psychological life-span approach to achievement and social strategies by examining the extent to which achievement and social strategies, and depressive symptoms contribute to pathways to adulthood among 182 first-year Finnish university students who were followed for 18 years. The Life History Calendar was used to collect data on individual life histories. The participants followed six pathways to adulthood that differed with respect to postponing (slow starters, singles with slow career) or being on time (career and family, fast starters, fast partnership, and late parenthood, career with unsteady partnerships) in various transitions. Those who followed a postponed pathway showed more depressive symptoms, less optimism, and more task-avoidance in both social and achievement situations at the beginning of their studies than those who followed a non-postponed pathway. Following a postponed pathway predicted a higher level of depressive symptoms later, after controlling for initial depressive symptoms.

Hospitalization-Based Treatment for Postpartum Depressed Mothers and Their Babies: Rationale, Principles, and Preliminary Follow-Up Data

This paper describes the rationale and treatment principles of a mother-infant unit for severely depressed mothers and their infants in Flanders (Belgium). The unit integrates systemic, psychodynamic, and cognitive behavioral treatment approaches, and aims at improvements on three levels: (1) improving mood and interpersonal relationships in depressed mothers, (2) fostering a positive motherinfant relationship, and (3) establishing a supportive environment outside the treatment setting for both mother and infant. In addition, we present preliminary data of a 3.5–year naturalistic follow-up study of postpartum depressed mothers (n = 41) admitted at this mother-infant unit between April 2003 and April 2005. Results showed that at 3.5–year follow-up a considerable subgroup of mothers (61%) were functioning relatively well, as indicated by low levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety and anger, negative affect, and relatively high levels of positive affect. Yet, in line with other studies, a relatively large subgroup of mothers (39%) continued to suffer from (severe) depression during follow-up. Using a Life History Calendar method, it was found that, compared to currently nondepressed mothers, mothers who were depressed at follow-up did not have more depressive episodes but had longer depressive episodes, received more psychotherapy after hospitalization, and experienced more negative life events during the 3.5–year follow-up period. Implications of these findings for future research and intervention strategies in postpartum depression are discussed.

Queering Data Collection: Using the Life History Calendar Method With Sexual-Minority Youth

ABSTRACT A challenge for research with sexual-minority youth is to capture their unique stories in a way that heightens understanding of lived experience and promotes the development of culturally relevant programs and policies tailored for this population. One data collection approach that may be particularly useful for research with sexual-minority youth is the life history calendar (LHC) method. The LHC provides a visual, calendar-based assessment of life events and behaviors anchored by contextual cues to enhance retrospective recall. The purpose of this article is to examine the utility of the LHC method with sexual-minority youth and its potential to address three methodological and conceptual challenges: developmental complexity, shifting and evolving identities, and timing. The LHC method is illustrated using three studies conducted by the author as case examples. Findings suggest that the LHC offers several potential benefits for research with sexual-minority youth including its adaptable and flexible structure, capacity to assess event timing and sequence, mixed-methods capability, and its ability to engage and empower youth to co-create the interview process. Strengths and limitations of the LHC method and implications for research and practice with sexual-minority youth in a range of social service settings are discussed.