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Physiological Markers of Stress Generation and Affect Reactivity in Depression
Hamilton, Jessica Leigh
Hamilton, Jessica Leigh
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Thesis/Dissertation
Date
2017
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Psychology
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http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/1357
Abstract
Although existing research has evaluated physiological and environmental risk factors for depression, these processes are often examined in isolation without considering the dynamic relationships in risk for depression. The present study evaluated physiological markers of resting and stress-reactive respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA and RSA reactivity) as predictors of depressive symptoms and interpersonal stress generation, a mutable and potent vulnerability for depression. Further, we examined whether stress generation predicted subsequent depressive symptoms. In a sample of late adolescents (N = 105; 18-22 years; 76% female), individuals who screened in for a history of clinical and subclinical depression participated in a micro-longitudinal assessment with a diagnostic interview, in-laboratory socio-evaluative stressor task, and two weeks of daily assessments of stressful events and depressive symptoms. First, results indicated that there were no clinical or physiological differences between individuals with a clinical or subclinical depression history. Our multilevel modeling analyses revealed that: 1) only lower levels of resting RSA predicted depressive symptoms over the two-week period; 2) only lower RSA reactivity predicted greater interpersonal stress generation, but not independent stressors; 3) interpersonal stress generation mediated the relationship between RSA reactivity and depressive symptoms, but not resting RSA and depressive symptoms; 4) sex differences only occurred in the relationship between resting RSA and depressive symptoms; and 5) there were no interactive effects of resting RSA and RSA reactivity on depression or interpersonal stress generation. These findings highlight the importance of assessing both resting RSA and RSA reactivity in the examination of depression and depression-related processes.
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