Affective and cognitive characteristics of depression in 10- and 11-year-old children.

Used an index of childhood depression to regress indices of emotion experiences, attribution style, and intellectual performance of 82 male and 64 female 5th graders from a rural public school. All Ss completed a children's depression inventory, a differential emotion scale, and an attributional style questionnaire. Teachers rated Ss on their frequency of expression of 3 categories of emotion. 45 Ss whose scores were high, low, or intermediate on the depression inventory also completed the PPVT and the Block Design subscale of the WISC. Results indicate that the depressed Ss were like depressed adults in that they reported experiencing a pattern of emotions including sadness, anger, self-directed hostility, and shame, and they tended to explain negative events in terms of internal, stable, and global causes. The similarity between depressed children and depressed adults on these measures was greater for girls than for boys. Depression was not related to performance on a verbal task, but depressed girls performed worse than nondepressed girls on the Block Design task. The measures of emotion experiences accounted for 78.1 and 46.1% of the variance in girls' and boys' depression scores, respectively, after the variance accounted for by attribution style was partialed out. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in the relation between interview-derived hostility scores and resting blood pressure

We examined the correlations between Structured Interview (SI)-derived hostility scores and resting blood pressure (BP) to see if they would be the same or different for healthy men and women. Standard risk factor information and resting BP measures were obtained from 193 undergraduates (109 men, 84 women), who underwent the SI. Subjects were rated for Potential for Hostility, Hostile Style, Intensity and Content, and completed Antagonism and Neuroticism scales. As expected, SI hostility scores were related to higher resting SBP in men, however; in women, they were related to lower resting SBP and Neuroticism. Regression analyses controlling for standard CHD risk factors indicated that SI-derived hostility predicted resting SBP and hypertensive status in both men and women, though in opposite directions. Thus, SI-derived hostility may assess a different construct in women than in men.     

Effects of attachment bereavement and pre-event conditions on subsequent depressive symptoms in older adults.

A sample of 1,411 older adults (age 55+) who had been interviewed both prior to and after bereavement was studied, allowing for pre-event controls. Those who had lost a parent, spouse, or child had the strongest depressive reactions, as predicted by an attachment-bonding hypothesis; however, material losses were also related to depression. Although bereavement/loss events were clearly related to subsequent depression even after pre-event depression, resources, and events were controlled, certain pre-event characteristics were predictive of the bereavement/loss events, including prior undesirable events, age, and urban/rural residency. A further analysis of 1,007 persons with two post-event interviews (at 6-month to 1-year follow-up) revealed an initial depressive reaction to a bereavement/loss event, which then dissipated completely within 1 year's time. Generally, bereavement appeared to have limited etiologic importance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recurrent syndromal depression in caregivers

The authors investigated recurrent syndromal depression in 103 caregivers using a structured clinical interview. Participants who cared for a family member with a progressive dementia were assessed annually for 3 years and divided into 3 groups: never depressed (47%), episodically depressed (33%), and chronically depressed (20%). Compared with the other 2 groups, the chronically depressed caregivers reported greater levels of stress, upsetting social support, depressive symptomatology, along with higher frequencies of negative life events and more negative reactions to disruptive patient behavior. Precaregiving depression predicted depression during caregiving but did not sufficiently explain recurrent depression in caregivers. Lower levels of positive social support and higher number of life events were related to chronically elevated depressive symptoms and stress.     

Dynamic processes in health outcomes among caregivers of patients with spinal cord injuries.

The developmental trajectories of health outcomes in caregivers of patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) were studied as a function of caregiver and patient characteristics. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis examined (a) intraindividual developmental patterns of depressive behavior, anxiety, and physical symptoms over the 1st year of the caregiving career and (b) correlates of heterogeneity in the developmental patterns among 62 caregivers of persons with SCIs. Physical symptoms and anxiety were highly interdependent. Anxiety was a salient predictor of initial levels of and the rate of change in physical symptoms of caregivers. Physical symptoms and younger patient age were significantly predictive of initial levels of anxiety. Physical symptoms and positive affect predicted initial levels of depressive behavior among caregivers. Expressive support predicted the rate of change in anxiety and depressive behavior over time. These findings illustrate the value of studying caregiving as a developmental process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patients' anxiety as a function of expectation and degree of initial interview ambiguity.

Each of 9 psychiatric residents administered 5 structured and 5 unstructured initial interviews to patients of an adult outpatient clinic. Patients' expectations about psychotherapy were obtained before the interviews. As predicted, when patients experienced interviews compatible with their expectations, they tended to rate their anxiety significantly lower than did patients experiencing interviews incompatible with their expectations. The kind of interview alone did not make a significant difference. Residents rated those interviews incompatible with the patients' expectations as most difficult. The implications for psychotherapy of these and related findings are discussed. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of caffeine on anxiety and depression.

Administered the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List to 157 Ss (mean age, 24.88 yrs) both before and 1 hr after double-blind administrations of 0, 150, or 300 mg of caffeine per 45.36 kg and after controlling for caffeine tolerance. Caffeine increased anxiety, depression, and hostility. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support, life events, and stress as modifiers of adjustment to bereavement by older adults.

As part of a larger panel study, interviews were obtained from 3 samples of older adults: 45 persons who had recently lost a spouse, 40 who had lost a parent or child, and 45 who were not bereaved. Assessments were conducted before and after the deaths. In the widowed sample, health remained quite stable, but depression increased sharply, then remained elevated. Changes were minimal in the sample who had lost a parent or child and in the nonbereaved sample. Multiple regression procedures were used to identify factors that contribute to depression and health 9 months after the spouse's death. Postbereavement depression was associated with higher prebereavement depression, higher financial pressures, higher global stress, fewer new interests, and lower social support. Health was a function of prebereavement health, new interests, financial pressures, and global stress. In general, life events and resources had stronger effects in the widowed sample than in the comparison samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symptom severity in bilingual Hispanics as a function of clinician ethnicity and language of interview.

Research on bilingual patients is equivocal about how language influences clinical judgment in psychiatric interviews. In this study, 148 Hispanics with schizophrenia depression, and anxiety disorders were interviewed in English, Spanish, or both. Hispanic clinicians rated symptoms more severe than did Anglo clinicians, and severity was rated highest in bilingual interviews, followed by Spanish, and lowest in English. Results have implications for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) cultural considerations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal attachment cognitions and prediction of symptomatic responses to interpersonal stress.

The authors tested a cognitive-interpersonal hypothesis of depression by examining the role of interpersonal cognitions in the prediction of depression associated with interpersonal stressors. A measure of adult attachment assessed interpersonal cognitions about ability to be close to others and to depend on others and anxiety about rejection and abandonment. Participants were women who had recently graduated from high school; they were followed for 1 year with extensive interview evaluation of life events, depression, and other symptomatology. Generally, cognitions, interpersonal events, and their interactions contributed to the prediction of interview-assessed depressive symptoms, but the effects were not specific to depression and predicted general symptomatology measured by diagnostic interviews as well, and results also varied by attachment subscale. Results were discussed in terms of a developmental psychopathology approach to disorders in young women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult Attachment, Social Self-Efficacy, Self-Disclosure, Loneliness, and Subsequent Depression for Freshman College Students: A Longitudinal Study.

This longitudinal study examined whether social self-efficacy and self-disclosure serve as mediators between attachment and feelings of loneliness and subsequent depression. Participants were 308 freshmen at a large Midwestern university. Results indicated that social self-efficacy mediated the association between attachment anxiety and feelings of loneliness and subsequent depression, whereas self-disclosure mediated the association between attachment avoidance and feelings of loneliness and subsequent depression. These relationships were found after controlling for the initial level of depression. A total of 55% of the variance in loneliness was explained by attachment anxiety, social self-efficacy, and self-disclosure, whereas 42% of the variance in subsequent depression was explained by the initial level of loneliness and depression. Implications of the findings for enhancing freshman adjustment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's state anxiety in reaction to disaster media cues: A preliminary test of a multivariate model.

This study examined a multivariate conceptual model regarding the relations among life events, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, social support, and negative coping, and how these relations influence children's state anxiety in reaction to disaster media cues. Participants were 248 Hispanic/Latino elementary school students (Grades 2–5) from a hurricane prone region. To first examine whether children would show elevated state anxiety in response to disaster media cues, 185 (75%) of the 248 children were shown disaster media cues. These children's state anxiety was compared with the state anxiety of a comparison group: 63 children (25%) of the 248 children, who were shown a neutral weather film. The data from the 185 children shown the disaster media were used to evaluate the study's conceptual model. State anxiety was statistically significantly higher in the children shown the disaster media cues than the children shown the neutral weather film. Structural equation modeling results indicated that children's perceived available social support and use of coping strategies predicted state anxiety following exposure to the media cues of disaster. Life events and preexisting depression symptoms did not significantly predict social support and coping; child anxiety symptoms significantly predicted perceived social support. The study represents an initial step toward establishing and empirically evaluating a multivariate model of children's reactions to disaster cues. The study's findings are discussed in the context of developing preventive interventions for children at-risk for exposure to disasters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosis proneness and clinical psychopathology: Examination of the correlates of schizotypy.

The present report examined the associations between the Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS), a prominent psychometric index of hypothetical psychosis proneness, and several measures of clinical psychopathology in a nonpsychotic psychiatric sample (N?=?101). Patients were examined by experienced clinicians using structured psychiatric interviews to assess Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III—Revised (DSM-III—R) Axis I and II conditions and rated for anxiety, depression, severity of illness, and current adult social competence. Elevated scores on the PAS were most closely associated with anxiety and depression as well as schizotypal, schizoid, avoidant, and obsessive–compulsive personality disorder symptomatology. Hierarchical regression analysis identified schizotypal symptoms and anxiety as the two underlying psychopathological processes most useful in explaining variance in PAS scores. Results are interpreted as supporting both the clinical relevance and research utility of the PAS and enhancing the construct validity of Meehl's model of schizotypy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stressful life events, anxiety sensitivity, and internalizing symptoms in adolescents.

Anxiety sensitivity represents a robust risk factor for the development of anxiety symptoms among both adolescents and adults. However, the development of anxiety sensitivity among adolescents remains inadequately understood. In this study, the authors examined the role of stressful life events as a risk factor for the development of elevated anxiety sensitivity. Anxiety sensitivity was then examined in a longitudinal design as a mechanism linking stressful life events to changes in anxiety symptoms. Stressful life events, anxiety sensitivity, and internalizing symptoms were assessed in a diverse community sample of adolescents (N = 1,065) at 3 time points spanning 7 months. The results indicated that stressful life events were longitudinally associated with increases in anxiety sensitivity and that certain types of stressful life events, specifically events related to health and events related to family discord, were differentially predictive of increases in anxiety sensitivity. Moreover, anxiety sensitivity mediated the longitudinal relation between stressful life events and anxiety symptoms. Evidence was also found for the predictive specificity of anxiety sensitivity to symptoms of anxiety but not depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes, values, and attributions: Explanations of unemployment.

Two studies demonstrated statistically reliable correlations between attribution measures and the attitudes and values that people hold. Ss in both studies rated 27 explanations of unemployment in regard to their importance as causes of youth unemployment, and subscales were derived on the basis of a factor analysis. In Study 1 (95 male and 170 female undergraduates), scores on these subscales were consistently related in the predicted direction to both general conservatism assessed by a conservatism scale by G. D. Wilson and J. R. Patterson (see record 1969-15017-001) and to conservative voting preference. In Study 2 (167 male, 164 female, and 3 unspecified high school students), scores on the derived scales were related in the predicted direction to the relative importance of some of the terminal and instrumental values from the Rokeach Value Survey—Form D. Results also indicate a number of sex differences and social class differences in the variables that were assessed. The major findings support the assumption that causal attributions for events are not simply the products of neutral information processing but are linked to the cognitive–affective system. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) and the concept of alexithymia--a preliminary study

Twenty women suffering from burning mouth syndrome (BMS) were rated with regard to alexithymic traits, depressive symptoms and anxiety; values were compared to disability level assessed by interviews. Results confirm earlier reports that BMS symptomatology is associated with depression and anxiety. The majority of patients were rated as alexithymic and, supported by interview data; these results indicate that somatization should be taken into consideration during clinical evaluation of BMS symptoms. The study included a psychological analysis of the communication pattern in the patient-doctor relationship, leading to the assumption that the patient's appeal for somatic treatment, dependency and hopelessness may activate defensive reactions in the dentist. Such reactions can be either rejection of, or compliance with, the patient's demands. The importance of a differentiated assessment and treatment approach for these patients is emphasized. Due to lack of control data the report should be viewed as a pilot study.     

Latent variable analysis of coping, anxiety/depression, and somatic symptoms in adolescents with chronic pain.

Reports of adolescents' coping with recurrent pain, symptoms of anxiety/depression, and somatic complaints were obtained from a sample of 164 adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain and their parents. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that coping consisted of 3 nonorthogonal factors: Primary Control Engagement Coping (problem solving, emotional expression, and emotional regulation), Secondary Control Engagement Coping (positive thinking, cognitive restructuring, acceptance, and distraction), and Disengagement Coping (denial, avoidance, and wishful thinking). Structural equation modeling using latent variables revealed that secondary control engagement coping predicted lower levels of anxiety/depression symptoms and somatic complaints, and disengagement coping was related to higher levels of anxiety/depression and somatic complaints. Implications for understanding child and adolescent coping with pain are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Trust Me...": Psychological and Behavioral Predictors of Perceived Physician Empathy.

A sociocognitive model of distal and proximal predictors of empathic judgments was tested among 100 physicians. The authors hypothesized that physician perceived control would affect empathy ratings via physician communication style. Specifically, physicians with high perceived control would use more open communication and be rated as more empathic. Physicians with low perceived control would use a controlling communication style and be rated as less empathic. Physicians completed a medical attribution questionnaire prior to a structured patient consultation exercise, during which patients and assessors rated physician empathy. The exercise was audiotaped, transcribed, and content analyzed for verbal behaviors. Support was found for the hypotheses; however, patients, but not medical assessors, associated empathy with reassurance and provision of medical information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Caregiver models of self and others, coping, and depression: Predictors of depression in children with chronic pain.

In a sample of 59 chronically ill pediatric patients and their maternal caregivers, both child-reported pain and caregiver-reported depression predicted child-reported depression. Results further suggested that the association between pain and depression in children is ameliorated by caregiver coping strategies and that how caregivers cope is a function of their attachment-related representations of the self and others. Caregivers with a negative model of the self were more depressed, and those with a negative model of others were more prone to use avoidant coping strategies, and, in turn, to be more depressed. However, the extent to which caregivers with negative models of self used more avoidant and less approach coping appeared to depend on whether they perceived that others were likely to respond to their needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)