Types Of Negative Life Events Research Articles

Negative Life Events and Emotional Symptoms From Ages 2 to 30 Years

Exposure to different types of negative life events, including traumatic events, is common across the lifespan and associated with increased mental health symptoms. To assess whether vulnerability to negative life events varies across 5 developmental periods from preschool to young adulthood. This cohort study analyzed data from 3 community-representative studies set in the southeastern US (1992-2015) with harmonized assessment approaches that included a total of 13 775 assessments of individuals aged 2 to 30 years with up to 21 years of follow-up. Data analysis occurred from July 2023 to June 2024. Each study assessed lifetime exposure to (1) traumatic events (ie, severe events associated with posttraumatic stress disorder) and (2) recent stressful events (eg, loss of a friend or moving). All assessments were completed with structured interviews with participants and/or their caregivers. The primary outcome was emotional symptoms (ie, anxiety and depressive symptoms). Associations of both categories of life events with emotional symptoms were compared across preschool (<7 years), childhood (7-12 years), adolescence (13-17 years), late adolescence (18-22 years), and young adulthood (23-30 years). Analyses were based on 13 775 assessments of 3258 participants (1519 female [weighted percentage, 50.0%]). Recent stressful events were associated with emotional symptoms across each developmental period, ranging from a low in preschool (B =0.14; SE = 0.05) to a high in young adulthood (B = 0.57; SE = 0.12) in cross-sectional analyses and ranging from a low in childhood (B = 0.10; SE = 0.06) to a high adolescence (B = 0.19; SE = 0.05) in longitudinal analyses. Lifetime traumatic events were associated with emotional symptoms across each developmental period, ranging from a low in preschool (B = 0.18; SE = 0.05) to a high in adolescence (B = 0.28; SE = 0.04) in cross-sectional analyses and ranging from a low in childhood (B = 0.09; SE = 0.06) to a high in late adolescence (B = 0.21; SE = 0.05) in longitudinal analyses. Associations had overlapping 95% CIs across the different developmental periods with one exception: stressful events had a larger-magnitude cross-sectional association with emotional symptoms in young adulthood than in other developmental periods. Results were consistent with additive, rather than interactive, associations of traumatic and stressful events with emotional symptoms at each developmental period. In this cohort study of 3 community-representative samples, vulnerability to traumatic and stressful events was generally similar across the first 3 decades of life; both types of events had an independent association with emotional functioning. These findings suggest response to stressful events is similar from childhood to adulthood.

Relationships between negative life events and suicidal ideation among youth in China: The direct and moderating effects of offline and online social support from gender perspective.

BackgroundSuicidal ideation was proved to be a critical precondition leading to the occurrence of subsequent suicidal behavior. Studies have confirmed that negative life events and forms of social support that youth are experiencing in the current socio-cultural context might have unique impacts on their suicidal ideation. However, the specific mechanism is relatively underexplored.ObjectiveWe sought to investigate the impacts of offline and online social supports on Chinese students’ suicidal ideation under the pressure of various negative life events, as well as potential gender differences in these relationships.MethodsParticipants were 2,018 middle – high school and university students from Northwestern China, who completed a demographics questionnaire and self-report measures of negative life events, social support, and suicidal ideation.ResultsOffline social support had a significant direct effect on suicidal ideation across genders. Among male youth, offline social support only had a moderating effect on the relationship between punitive negative life events and suicidal ideation. Among female youth, offline social support had a significant moderating effect on suicidal ideation under the pressure of all types of negative life events; Online social support only had a significant direct effect on female youth’s suicidal ideation, although it did significantly moderate the relationship between all types of negative life events and suicidal ideation, across genders.ConclusionOur findings revealed direct and moderating effects of offline and online social support on suicidal ideation among youth under the pressure of different types of negative life events, as well as gender-specific patterns in these relationships.

What matters: Money, values, perceived negative life events? Explanative factors in embitterment.

Embitterment can occur as a reaction to unjust life events that damage the person's life values. It can be associated with severe impairment of the ability to work or participate in life generally. Socioeconomic status, general mental well-being, and number of perceived negative life events are all factors that may be related to embitterment. A better understanding of this is necessary for diagnostics and intervention planning Method: This observational study investigates the role of socioeconomic status (net monthly income), perceived negative life events, and life values in relation to embitterment perception. Two hundred eighty-one people from the general population and primary care offices completed a survey. People with high levels of embitterment reported more negative life events and had lower general well-being and lower income. However, they had similar values to those with a low perception of embitterment. Age, well-being, and the number of perceived negative life events explained the degree of embitterment more than values. The types of negative life events reported were similar in the different income groups; general blow of fates and injustice from a person who was privately important to them were reported most often. Clinicians should be aware of the potential influences of socioeconomic status and general well-being on embitterment and potentially associated illness development. Although life values are important in the individual etiology of embitterment disorders (PTED), there is no specific life value which is generally susceptible to embitterment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Various Types of Negative Life Events Among Youth Predict Suicidal Ideation: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on Gender Perspective.

We sought to investigate potential gender differences in various types of negative life events and suicidal ideation among Chinese high school and university students, as well as to analyze the interrelations between different types of negative life events and suicidal ideation among these young students. Participants were 2,018 high school and university students from northwestern China, who completed a demographics questionnaire and self-report measures of negative life events and suicidal ideation. Significant gender differences emerged in the types of negative life events reported and in students’ degree of suicidal ideation. Within each gender group, different types of negative life events were predictive of the intensity of suicidal ideation. The present study provides evidence of the role of negative life events in predicting adolescents’ and young adults’ suicidal ideation regardless of their gender. However, gender differences did emerge in the specific type of negative life events that were predictive of suicidal ideation. For males, greater reports of punishment and adaptation had a significant positive impact on the intensity of their suicidal ideation. For females, greater reports of academic stress, personal loss, interpersonal relationships, and adaptation were all significantly and positively predictive of their suicidal ideation. Parents’ marital status emerged as a significant indicator of suicidal ideation across genders, while age was significant negative predictor of suicidal ideation among females only.

Associations between non-suicidal self-injury and negative romantic relationship life events in male justice-involved adolescents

BackgroundIn the current study we investigated impulsivity and negative life events in relation to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in correctional settings.MethodsA total of 141 male justice-involved juveniles participated in our cross-sectional study, aged between 14 and 21 years old (M = 17.75; SD = 1.38). Data collection took place in correctional institutions in Hungary. A binary logistic regression was conducted to investigate possible associations between NSSI, impulsivity and negative life events.ResultsLifetime prevalence of NSSI was 53.9% (N = 76). In a binary logistic regression model, only negative romantic relationship events were significantly associated with the risk of current NSSI (OR = 1.29; 95% CI = [1.06–1.56]). Other types of negative life events (family-related, friendship-related), impulsivity, age and conviction status did not have a significant role in the model.ConclusionsThe results suggest that juvenile offenders should receive additional support to manage stress that is associated with negative life events, especially problems in romantic relationships. It is essential to help young inmates to find an adaptive way of reducing stress caused by negative relationship life events.

Associations between negative life events and anxiety, depressive, and stress symptoms: A cross-sectional study among Chinese male senior college students

The aims of this study were to explore the associations between negative life events and anxiety, depressive, and stress symptoms among male senior college students who experience negative life events in daily life. Data were obtained from 582 male senior college students recruited from universities in Chongqing China. Participants completed the Adolescent Self-rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Socio-demographic information, lifestyle information, and a blood sample were acquired. 39 (6.7%), 74 (12.7%), and 39 (6.7%) subjects were depressed, anxious, and stressed, respectively. The results confirmed that negative life events were positively related to mental health problems. Different types of negative life events had their specific associations with being depressed, anxious, or stressed. With respect to different types of negative life events, subjects with more “interpersonal relationship” related problems had a higher probability of being anxious and stressed; whereas, subjects with more “change for adaptation” related problems had a higher probability of being depressed and anxious. These results indicate that more concerns over the events with both high occurrence rate and severity might be helpful to mental health prevention and promotion for senior college students.

Media exposure related to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake predicted probable PTSD among Chinese adolescents in Kunming, China: A longitudinal study.

This study examined the prevalence and the psychosocial predictors of probable PTSD among Chinese adolescents in Kunming (approximately 444 miles from the epicenter), China, who were indirectly exposed to the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008. Using a longitudinal study design, primary and secondary school students (N = 3577) in Kunming completed questionnaires at baseline (June 2008) and 6 months afterward (December 2008) in classroom settings. Participants' exposure to earthquake-related imagery and content, perceptions and emotional reactions related to the earthquake, and posttraumatic stress symptoms were measured. Univariate and forward stepwise multivariable logistic regression models were fit to identify significant predictors of probable PTSD at the 6-month follow-up. Prevalences of probable PTSD (with a Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale score ≥30) among the participants at baseline and 6-month follow-up were 16.9% and 11.1% respectively. In the multivariable analysis, those who were frequently exposed to distressful imagery had experienced at least two types of negative life events, perceived that teachers were distressed due to the earthquake, believed that the earthquake resulted from damages to the ecosystem, and felt apprehensive and emotionally disturbed due to the earthquake reported a higher risk of probable PTSD at 6-month follow-up (all ps < .05). Exposure to distressful media images, emotional responses, and disaster-related perceptions at baseline were found to be predictive of probable PTSD several months after indirect exposure to the event. Parents, teachers, and the mass media should be aware of the negative impacts of disaster-related media exposure on adolescents' psychological health. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Impact of Negative Life Events on Attempted Suicide in Rural China.

This study aims to explore the impact of negative life events (NLEs) on attempted suicide in a Chinese cultural setting. The sample comprised 791 suicide attempters and an equal number of controls matched on age, sex, and location from selected rural counties in China. Conditional logistic regression model was used to examine the association between NLEs and suicide risk. The impact of NLEs on attempted suicide was further examined using regression-based method to explore its mediation effect. The types of NLEs that were most likely to precede a suicide attempt in rural sample included the events in marriage/love, family/home, and friend/relationship. Rural women were more likely to experience more interpersonal conflicts than rural men. Approximately 75.6% of suicide attempters had experienced at least one NLE, and NLEs were strongly associated with attempted suicide. Total effect (0.676), direct effect (0.501), and the total indirect effect (0.301) of NLEs on suicide attempts were significantly mediated by hopelessness and depression. NLEs play a crucial role in predicting suicidal attempt in rural China, and they are mediated by depression and hopelessness.

Assessment of Undergraduates' Real-World Outcomes of Critical Thinking in Everyday Situations.

Critical thinking is a kind of "good" thinking that integrates a set of cognitive skills and dispositions to use those skills with knowledge to increase the chances of success in academic settings, job market, and daily life. The impact of critical thinking on life events, in face of everyday decisions and challenges, is still unclear, and further research is needed. In this exploratory study, a sample of 230 first-year students of a Bachelor's Degree or a Master's Degree in Portugal completed an experimental Portuguese version of the Real-World Outcomes, a self-report inventory measuring everyday negative life events that are mediated by a lack of critical thinking. Based on exploratory factor analysis results and theoretical premises, changes were made to the Portuguese version of the inventory that was administered, and items were aggregated into six dimensions, creating a new version that is more familiar to Portuguese young adults in college. This original proposal of the inventory presents six types of negative life events resulting from a lack of critical thinking: health neglect, mismanagement, slackness, poor impulse control, academic negligence, and rashness. Both limitations and future potentialities of this version are presented.

Neural correlates of three types of negative life events during angry face processing in adolescents.

Negative life events (NLE) contribute to anxiety and depression disorders, but their relationship with brain functioning in adolescence has rarely been studied. We hypothesized that neural response to social threat would relate to NLE in the frontal-limbic emotional regions. Participants (N = 685) were drawn from the Imagen database of 14-year-old community adolescents recruited in schools. They underwent functional MRI while viewing angry and neutral faces, as a probe to neural response to social threat. Lifetime NLEs were assessed using the 'distress', 'family' and 'accident' subscales from a life event dimensional questionnaire. Relationships between NLE subscale scores and neural response were investigated. Links of NLE subscales scores with anxiety or depression outcomes at the age of 16 years were also investigated. Lifetime 'distress' positively correlated with ventral-lateral orbitofrontal and temporal cortex activations during angry face processing. 'Distress' scores correlated with the probabilities of meeting criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Major Depressive Disorder at the age of 16 years. Lifetime 'family' and 'accident' scores did not relate with neural response or follow-up conditions, however. Thus, different types of NLEs differentially predicted neural responses to threat during adolescence, and differentially predicted a de novo internalizing condition 2 years later. The deleterious effect of self-referential NLEs is suggested.

Just World Beliefs Are Associated With Lower Levels of Metabolic Risk and Inflammation and Better Sleep After an Unfair Event.

This study's goal was to conduct a preliminary test of the theory that just world beliefs can buffer against negative physiological outcomes after people experience certain types of negative life events by testing associations between just world beliefs and physiological outcomes among people with different life event histories. In a sample of 247 adults (Mage = 46.01; 24.31% men; 60.78% White), this research investigated the relationship between just world beliefs and metabolic symptoms, inflammation, and sleep among people who had recently experienced an unfair event, another type of negative event, or no negative event. Stronger just world beliefs correlated with lower metabolic risk, lower inflammation, and better sleep among people who had recently experienced an unfair event, but not among those in the other two event groups. These findings suggest that people's beliefs about the world may interact with their life experiences in ways that have implications for health-relevant outcomes.

Dependent negative life events and sleep quality: An examination of gene–environment interplay

Objectives Negative life events are associated with sleep disturbances. Further understanding of these associations is beneficial as sleep disturbances are common. We assessed the association between two commonly distinguished types of negative life events (dependent vs. independent) and sleep quality. The extent to which genetic and environmental influences explained the association between dependent negative life events and sleep quality was also assessed. Finally, we examined the presence of gene–environment interaction by assessing whether genetic liability to sleep disturbance varied as a function of dependent negative life events. Methods Structural equation modelling was used to perform the statistical analyses on questionnaire data collected from 1556 twin and non-twin siblings. Results Poor sleep quality was more strongly associated with dependent as compared to independent negative life events ( r = .34 and .15, respectively). There was substantial overlap in the genetic influences on the association between dependent negative life events and poor sleep quality ( rA = .62 [.43–.81]), suggesting gene–environment correlation. Environmental overlap was small ( rE = .16 [.04–.28]). Genetic influences accounted for a large proportion of the association (70% [.47–.92]) with the remaining co-variance due to non-shared environment (30% [.08–.53]). Genetic liability to sleep quality was not moderated by dependent negative life events. Conclusions Genetic and environmental effects on sleep are not necessarily distinct but to some extent work in concert. This should be considered in future studies assessing the genetic and environmental effects on sleep.

The relationship between adult romantic attachment anxiety, negative life events, and compliance

This study investigates the role of attachment anxiety and the experience of intense life adversity in the development of compliance. It also seeks to specify which types of negative life events may be especially relevant in encouraging compliant behaviour, and whether gender may moderate this effect. Participants ( N = 125) completed the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale, the Life Events Questionnaire and the Relationship Scale Questionnaire. Contrary to previous research, attachment anxiety and the reported experience of intense negative life events appear to be associated with significantly lower compliance scores. Gender appears not to moderate this relationship. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses show that inter-personal negative life events and attachment anxiety together predict lower compliance scores. This is the first study to show that adult romantic attachment anxiety and the experience of intense negative life events can also lead to psychological resilience, reducing the probability of false confessions and statements during police interview.

Ethnographic experiences of HIV-positive nurses in managing stigma at a clinic in rural Uganda

This paper explores the workplace experiences of HIV-positive nurses and their attempts to manage HIV/AIDS stigma. An HIV diagnosis can have a major impact on an individual's psychological and emotional wellbeing. Moreover, caring for those suffering from chronic HIV-related illnesses comes with additional stress, which makes providing care more complex. Stigma-reduction and assisting with psychosocial support and wellbeing is an integral part of ensuring that care providers who are HIV-positive have good outcomes both for themselves and their patients. An ethnographic study with HIV-positive nurses was conducted from August 2005 to December 2007 at a Health Centre IV HIV clinic in rural Luweero district, Uganda. Data were gathered through clinical participant observation, informal conversations, recorded life histories, open-ended in-depth interviews and topical focus group discussions. Nurses are in a position to help people through negative life events, yet they may personally experience the same types of negative life events. In the absence of a system to provide support for HIV and AIDS clinical care providers, a group of HIV-positive nurses initiated a support process by creating safe spaces for interacting and seeking psychosocial support among themselves in a relatively secretive way. This process provided the nurses with a solid foundation for developing interventions to assist them through difficult times.

Recent Life Events Preceding Suicide Attempts in a Personality Disorder Sample: Findings From the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study.

Few studies have examined the relationship between life events, suicide attempts, and personality disorders (PDs), in spite of the strong associations between PDs and suicidal behavior, and the poor coping strategies often exhibited by these individuals. The authors examined whether participants with PDs who attempted suicide during the first 3 years of a prospective, longitudinal study were more likely to experience specific life events in the month during and preceding the suicide attempt. Of 489 participants with PDs, 61 attempted suicide during the 3-year, follow-up interval. Results indicated that negative life events, particularly those pertaining to love-marriage or crime-legal matters, were significant predictors of suicide attempts, even after controlling for baseline diagnoses of borderline PD, major depressive disorders, substance use disorders, and a history of childhood sexual abuse. Therefore, certain types of negative life events are unique risk factors for imminent suicide attempts among individuals with PDs.

Red flags and religious coping: Identifying some religious warning signs among people in crisis1

AbstractThis study attempts to identify some of the signs of ineffective religious involvement in coping. Drawing from a process/integration model of efficacious coping, three broad types of religious warning signs were defined and 11 subscales were developed. These subscales were administered to a group of Roman Catholic church members and two groups of college undergraduates who had experienced different types of negative life events in the past two years. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between these subscales and measures of general mental health and event specific outcome. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are considered. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol.

Negative life events and depression in elderly persons: a meta-analysis.

In a meta-analysis of 25 studies, the relationship of both specific types of negative life events and the total number of experienced events to depression in old age was studied. Almost all negative life events appeared to have a modest but significant relationship with depression. The total number of negative life events and the total number of daily hassles appeared to have the strongest relationship with depression (respectively, combined r =.15, n = 5,037, and combined r =.41, n = 461), whereas sudden unexpected events were the only cluster of negative life events that seemed not to be related to depression scores (combined r =.05, n = 857). These findings suggest that providers and developers of intervention and prevention programs for elderly people should pay attention to the occurrence of negative life events. Special attention should be given to elderly people who have experienced an accumulation of stressful events and daily hassles, because they seem to be a group at greater risk.

Red flags and religious coping: identifying some religious warning signs among people in crisis.

This study attempts to identify some of the signs of ineffective religious involvement in coping. Drawing from a process/integration model of efficacious coping, three broad types of religious warning signs were defined and 11 subscales were developed. These subscales were administered to a group of Roman Catholic church members and two groups of college undergraduates who had experienced different types of negative life events in the past two years. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between these subscales and measures of general mental health and event specific outcome. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are considered.

Red flags and religious coping: Identifying some religious warning signs among people in crisis

This study attempts to identify some of the signs of ineffective religious involvement in coping. Drawing from a process/integration model of efficacious coping, three broad types of religious warning signs were defined and 11 subscales were developed. These subscales were administered to a group of Roman Catholic church members and two groups of college undergraduates who had experienced different types of negative life events in the past two years. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between these subscales and measures of general mental health and event specific outcome. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are considered. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 54: 77–89, 1998.