Predictors Of Stress Generation Research Articles

Predictors of stress generation in Turkish young adults: The role of rumination and excessive reassurance seeking.

The stress generation model posits that not only stressful life-events predict depressive symptoms, but also depressive-prone individuals think and behave in ways that make them more vulnerable to experience life-stress. Evidence has supported the bi-directional relationship between stress and depressive symptoms, and there has been an attempt in identifying vulnerability factors for stress generation. Yet, there is a need for studies focusing on multiple risk factors and a replication of findings in non-Western samples. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of rumination and excessive reassurance seeking (ERS) in stress generation in a sample of Turkish young adults. A sample of 318 Turkish college students reported on their rumination, ERS, intensity of stressful life-events and depressive symptoms. A subsample of 162 participants also completed a measure of life-events 5 months later. Cross-sectional results showed that rumination and ERS contribute to life-stress over and above depressive symptoms and gender. Mediational analyses indicated that ERS does not mediate the relationship between rumination and life-stress at 5 months. Rather, rumination fully mediated the relationship between ERS and future life-stress. Results provide evidence for stress generation, and highlight the interconnection between rumination and ERS.

Predictors of Stress Generation in Adolescents in Mainland China.

The current longitudinal study examined whether the personality vulnerabilities of self-criticism and dependency prospectively predicted stress generation in Chinese adolescents. Participants included 1,116 adolescents (588 girls and 528 boys), aged 15 to 18years from rural, urban and ultra-urban mainland China. Participants completed self-report measures of personality, depressive and anxious symptoms and participated in a clinical interview assessing lifetime history of depression. The occurrence of negative life events was measured using a contextual-threat interview every 6-months for a total period of 18-months. Logistic regression analyses showed that after controlling for past depressive episodes and current depressive and anxious symptoms, self-criticism was prospectively associated with the occurrence of interpersonal stress generation, but not noninterpersonal stress generation. Dependency also predicted interpersonal stress generation, although only in girls and not boys. In line with previous Western findings, girls reported more interpersonal stress generation. Analyses across 3 levels of urbanization revealed several significant differences including higher reported interpersonal stress generation in urban girls than urban boys and overall higher levels of negative life events in ultra-urban youth. In sum, findings from the current study suggest that the stress generation process may be generalizable to Chinese youth.

Cognitive vulnerabilities as predictors of stress generation in early adolescence: pathway to depressive symptoms.

Although individuals with depression have been found to experience a higher rate of stress in their lives, it remains unclear to what extent other personal characteristics may contribute to stress generation. The current study extended past research by examining the effects of two theoretically and empirically supported cognitive vulnerabilities to depression (negative cognitive style and rumination) as predictors of dependent interpersonal and achievement events, independent events, and relational peer victimization. In a diverse sample of 301 early adolescents (56 % female; M(age) = 12.82 years), we found that negative cognitive style prospectively predicted the experience of dependent interpersonal stress and relational victimization, and that rumination did not predict stress in any of the domains. Furthermore, the occurrence of intervening stress mediated the associations between negative cognitive style and subsequent depressive symptoms. Additionally, whereas negative cognitive style predicted relational victimization among both boys and girls, girls were particularly vulnerable to developing depressive symptoms following the occurrence of relational victimization. Thus, a negative cognitive style may contribute to the occurrence of stressful events, which in turn increases depressive symptoms. Girls may be particularly reactive to relational victimization, representing one pathway through which sex differences in depression may emerge.

Aggression and impulsivity as predictors of stress generation in bipolar spectrum disorders

BackgroundSome evidence suggests that individuals with bipolar spectrum disorders (BSD) generate stressful life events, contributing to a more severe course of disorder. A recent update to the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) dysregulation theory of BSD highlights the need to investigate anger as approach motivation. Although research has shown that individuals with BSD generate stress, it is unclear whether personality traits characteristic of BSD, such as aggression and impulsivity, are related to this stress generation. MethodsThe current longitudinal study employed multilevel modeling to examine stress generation in a sample of 104 individuals with BSD and 96 healthy controls. We examined rates of BAS-deactivating, BAS-activating, and Anger-evoking life events over a period of up to 4.5 years as a function of levels of aggression and impulsivity. ResultsIndividuals with BSD reported significantly higher numbers of dependent Anger-evoking events and BAS-deactivating events, but not dependent BAS-activating events, than controls. Trait levels of hostility and impulsivity predicted all types of events, although bipolar diagnosis remained a significant predictor of BAS-deactivating and Anger-evoking events. LimitationsThe life events measures were not designed to assess Anger-evoking events; further research should replicate these findings and develop more finely tuned assessments of stressful anger events. In addition, the sample was not a clinical sample. ConclusionsThis study adds to the literature on stress generation in BSD; trait level personality differences predict stress generation, beyond bipolar diagnosis. This also further establishes the importance of including anger-evoking events in the BAS model of BSDs and stress generation.

Stress Generation and Vulnerability in Adolescents in Mainland China

The current study examined enduring vulnerability factors and depression as predictors of stress generation in Chinese adolescents. Participants included 622 adolescents aged 15 to 18 years in both urban and rural mainland China. Participants completed self-report measures of vulnerability factors and depressive symptoms and participated in interviews that assessed lifetime depression and negative life events over the previous 6 months. In addition, high dependency, self-criticism, neuroticism, and low self-perceived competence were associated with stress generation, independent of the effect of depressive symptoms and lifetime diagnosis of depression. Of note, no gender-by-vulnerability interactions were found in the present sample of youth. The findings suggest that the stress generation process may be generalizable to Chinese youth.

Stress Generation: A Special Section

Hammen (1991) demonstrated that depressed women experienced higher levels of nonrandom (dependent) stressful life events compared to comparison groups of medically ill, bipolar, and healthy women. Research on depression has shifted from examining diathesis-stress models where individuals are passive recipients of their environment to a transactional model in which individuals both contribute to and react to their environment. In the last two decades, research on stress generation has proliferated that included examination of clinical predictors and enduring vulnerability factors as predictors of stress generation. This special topics issue presents five empirical articles that represent some of the exciting new research in this area and a commentary that highlights the key conceptual issues in stress generation research.

Gender and Stress Generation: An Examination of Interpersonal Predictors

The goal of the current study was to examine interpersonal predictors of stress generation as well as explore gender differences. Two hundred and six (67 male and 139 female) college students completed an initial online assessment of reassurance seeking and sociotropy and maintained a 14-day diary of their mood and stressful life events. Logistic regression analyses examined male and female participants separately, and results indicated that reassurance seeking and sociotropy predicted stress generation in women but not men. More specifically, whereas greater reassurance seeking predicted a greater occurrence of dependent interpersonal stress, greater sociotropy predicted lower levels of such stress. It is important to note that irrespective of gender, neither reassurance seeking nor sociotropy predicted significant fluctuations in achievement dependent or independent stress. Overall, the results indicated that there are significant gender differences when examining interpersonal predictors of stress gene...

Cognitive and Interpersonal Predictors of Stress Generation in Children of Affectively Ill Parents

Stress generation is a process in which individuals, through their depressive symptoms, personal characteristics, and/or behaviors, contribute to the occurrence of stressful life events. While this process has been well documented in adults, few studies have examined it in children. The present study examines whether cognitive and interpersonal vulnerability factors to depression contribute to stress generation in children, independent of their current depressive symptoms. Participants included 140 children (ages 6 to 14) and one of their parents. During an initial assessment, children completed self-report measures assessing cognitive and interpersonal vulnerability factors to depression. Children and their parents also completed measures assessing depressive symptoms. One year later, children and their parents participated in a semi-structured interview assessing the occurrence of stressful life events in the past year. Multi-level modeling results provided strong support for the stress generation process in children of affectively ill parents and highlight the importance of considering gender and age moderation effects.