Depression,anxiety, hostility,and physical health

This study assessed the relationship of depression, anxiety, and hostility to physical health in a multicultural student population (N=106). When controlling for a variety of demographic and health risk factors (viz., age, sex, body mass, smoking, alcohol, salt, caffeine, and exercise), hostility, depression, and anxiety were related to higher reported incidences of physical symptoms and somatic illness. Depression and hostility had the strongest relationships with physical health, although the most striking single relationship was between depression and illness. Results suggest that it may be premature to focus our attention on hostility in research on the personality-illness relationship. They also suggest that the health behavior model of the relationship between personality and disease does not provide an adequate explanation, since negative affect was significantly associated with illness even when controlling for a variety of health risk factors. This work was supported, in part, by an intramural grant from the University of Hawaii, #R511.     

Some correlates of health locus of control among multicultural individuals

The relationship of locus of control to depression, anxiety, hostility, and physical health was assessed in a sample of multicultural college students (N = 162). Powerful Others Health Locus of Control was correlated with depression, anxiety, hostility, and recent physical symptoms while Chance Health Locus of Control (CHLC) was correlated with all of the above as well as chronic physical symptoms and major health problems. When controlling for a variety of health risk factors (viz., age, sex, body mass, exercise, smoking, salt, alcohol, and caffeine), only CHLC remained significant in the physical health models. Results support the cognitive model of mental health which emphasize the importance of adaptive beliefs. Specifically, they suggest that issues about control are related to negative affect and indicate that the often-cited relationship of an external locus of control to depression and anxiety also holds for hostility. The findings do not, however, support the view that anxiety and depression are associated with different types of external locus of control but rather suggest a unified set of locus of control beliefs underlying the three types of negative affect. In addition, evidence is provided for the external validity of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales with respect to mental health. Further, the results indicate that belief about one’s health may play a significant role in one’s physical health and that the health behavior model of the relationship between locus of control and physical health is insufficient to explain the relationship. As the Chance and Powerful Others MHLC scales were not related to health habits in this sample but were related to mental health (viz., depression, anxiety, and hostility), locus of control beliefs may be related to physical health via their relationship with mental health.     

Prediction of Health Patterns from General Appraisal,Attributions, Coping,and Trait Anxiety

We examined the relationships among general appraisal style, attributional style, trait anxiety, coping styles, and health status (i.e., depression, hostility, and flu-like symptoms) in a study for which we also examined the validity of a trait measure of general appraisal. Participants completed personality measures at the beginning of an academic semester, and health assessments at regular intervals throughout the semester. Consistent with our predictions, after removing the influence of neuroticism and attributional style, general appraisal style led to more negative, and less positive affect 2 weeks later, and to more stressful and threatening appraisals of a life event occurring 3 months later. Multiple regression techniques showed that as predicted, after controlling for baseline health general appraisal style and attributional style predicted hostility and flu-like symptoms, and attributional style also predicted depression. These effects were mediated by trait anxiety. We discuss why both negative general appraisal and attributional styles may be risk factors for ill health.     

Belief systems and coping styles as mediating variables in the relationship between hostility and illness

The present study investigated the relationship between hostility, belief systems, coping styles, and illness. Hostility is of interest when considering the stress-illness relationship because it has been associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease as well as general mortality. The results suggest that individuals prone toward hostility are more likely to succumb to illness and adhere to irrational beliefs than individuals not so oriented. In addition, hostile individuals were found to employ different, and perhaps less adaptive, coping styles than their low hostility counterparts. It was concluded that the belief systems and coping styles typically employed by individuals prone toward hostility may be important mediating variables in the relationship between hostility and illness. These factors may also be important to take into account in treatment programs designed to reduce illness risks for such individuals. Finally, this study suggests that stress-induced impairment of health for hostility-prone individuals may begin much earlier than the vast majority of the literature currently suggests.     

中学组织气氛测量及其与教师心理健康的相关分析

在借鉴国外有关学校组织气氛理论研究成果和我国教育实践调查的基础上,对中学组织气氛的结构因素进行了理论构想。通过探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析,发现学校组织气氛主要由管理气氛、教学气氛、学习气氛、人际气氛四个维度共23个因子构成的。在此基础上,编制了中学组织气氛量表。经考察,该量表具有较好的信度与效度。应用该量表探讨学校组织气氛与教师心理健康的关系。结果发现：学校管理气氛与教师心理疾病中的敌意因子,学习气氛与强迫、人际敏感、焦虑和敌意因子具有显著的正相关;教师心理疾病各因子与学校组织人际气氛具有负相关,但不显著;学习气氛与敌意和焦虑、管理气氛与敌意因子回归显著。     

Constructive anger verbal behavior predicts blood pressure in a population-based sample.

The creation of an observational Constructive Anger Behavior-Verbal Style Scale (CAB-V) and its relation to resting blood pressure (BP) in an age- and sex-stratified, population-based sample is examined. Participants (N = 1,862) provided hypertension risk factor information, had resting BP assessed multiple times, and completed a videotaped interview, which was later coded for CAB-V and Hostile Style. High CAB-V scores remained a significant predictor of lower resting BP when controlling for the effects of standard hypertension risk factors (age, sex, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol use, smoking status, parental myocardial infarction history, education, and diabetic status) and psychosocial measures (anxiety, depression, hostility, social support, and Hostile Style). This relation also remained when excluding known hypertensive persons. Results suggest that constructive anger expression may have an independent beneficial association with resting BP.     

The Roles of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in Physical Health’s Impact on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adults

Physical illness may precipitate psychological distress among older adults. This study examines whether social support and self-efficacy moderate the associations between physical health and depression and anxiety. Predictions were tested in 222 individuals age 60 or older presenting for help with worry. Physical health was assessed through self-report (subjective) and physical diagnoses (objective). Objective physical health did not have a significant association with depression or anxiety. Worse subjective physical health was associated with increased somatic anxiety, but not with depression or worry. The relationship between subjective physical health and depressive symptoms was moderated by self-efficacy and social support. As predicted, when self-efficacy was low, physical health had its strongest negative association with depressive symptoms such that as physical health improved, depressive symptoms also improved. However, the moderation effect was not as expected for social support; at high levels of social support, worse physical health was associated with increased depressive affect.     

Quality of social support in mental and physical health

The current study investigates the relationship between social support and mental and physical health. Results indicate that poor functional support (or quality of support) is related to physical health problems while structural support (or social network size) is not. Moreover, although both poor functional and structural support are related to depression and anxiety, functional support is more strongly related to these outcome variables, the strongest relationship being associated with depression. Depression and hostility are also related to social isolation, although the relationship is again stronger for depression. The results suggest that the quality of social relationships is more important than quantity for optimal mental and physical health. The clinical relevance of these findings is that the quality of social support in the lives of individuals is central to recovery and should be addressed in medical and mental health treatment planning whenever it is an etiological or maintaining factor. The author dedicates this paper to her beloved father, Charles VanderVoort and her colleagues Dr. Uwe Stuecher and Dr. Gay Barfield whom she describes as “natural altruists, the rarest and most loving type of people in the world.”     

Quality of Social Support in Mental and Physical Health

The current study investigates the relationship between social support and mental and physical health. Results indicate that poor functional support (or quality of support) is related to physical health problems while structural support (or social network size) is not. Moreover, although both poor functional and structural support are related to depression and anxiety, functional support is more strongly related to these outcome variables, the strongest relationship being associated with depression. Depression and hostility are also related to social isolation, although the relationship is again stronger for depression. The results suggest that the quality of social relationships is more important than quantity for optimal mental and physical health. The clinical relevance of these findings is that the quality of social support in the lives of individuals is central to recovery and should be addressed in medical and mental health treatment planning whenever it is an etiological or maintaining factor. The author dedicates this paper to her beloved father, Charles VanderVoort and her colleagues Dr. Uwe Stuecher and Dr. Gay Barfield whom she describes as “natural altruists, the rarest and most loving type of people in the world.”     

Positive Affect and Health

ABSTRACT— Negative affective styles such as anxiety, depression, and hostility have long been accepted as predictors of increased risk for illness and mortality. In contrast, positive affective styles have been relatively ignored in the health literature. Here we highlight consistent patterns of research associating trait positive affect (PA) and physical health. The evidence we review suggests an association of trait PA and lower morbidity and decreased symptoms and pain. PA is also associated with increased longevity among community-dwelling elderly. The association of PA and survival among those with serious illness is less clear and suggests the possibility that PA may be harmful in some situations. We conclude by raising conceptual and methodological reservations about this literature and suggesting directions for future research.     

The longitudinal relationships of interpersonal openness trait,hostility, and hostile attribution bias

While the relationship between personality, hostility, and hostile attribution bias (HAB) has been explored in previous studies, their longitudinal relationship is unclear, and no related study has utilized the indigenous Chinese personality. This research explored the longitudinal relationships of interpersonal openness (IO; an indigenous Chinese personality construct), hostility, and HAB. The 942 valid participants (38.5% male, mean age = 20.83, standard deviation = 1.04) were from six different provinces in China. Measurements were completed on two separate occasions (Times 1 and 2), with a 6-month interval. Results showed that IO has longitudinal effects on hostility, after controlling for the Big Five, and HAB could be longitudinally predicted by IO and hostility as well. Moreover, hostility served as a mediator in the relationship between IO and HAB. These results suggest that IO can affect the development of hostility and HAB, and some indigenous Chinese personality factors may complement Western personality theories.     

Dimensions of impulsivity and aggression associated with suicide attempts among bipolar patients: a preliminary study

Impulsivity and hostility are often thought to be interrelated among depressed patients with suicidal behavior, but few studies have examined this relationship empirically. In this study, we assessed trait impulsivity and hostility among 52 DSM-IV bipolar subjects with and without histories of suicide attempts. Impulsivity and hostility were correlated among attempters (r = .41, p = .03) but not non-attempters (r = .22, p = .28). As compared to non-attempters, attempters had significantly higher levels of overall hostility, more extensive subcomponents of hostility, and a trend toward higher overall impulsivity. Associations between lifetime suicide attempts and overall hostility were significant while controlling for current depression severity and lifetime illness duration. Aggression and impulsivity appear linked among bipolar patients with lifetime suicide attempts but may be independent constructs among non-attempters. The presence of both factors may elevate risk for suicidal behavior.     

Locus of control,anxiety, and depression in infertile patients

This study aimed to examine the relationship of locus of control (LoC) with anxiety and depression disorders, applying multivariate statistical techniques to control for the effects of demographic/fertility variables. This cross-sectional study included 312 infertile patients in a referral fertility center in Tehran, Iran via convenience sampling. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Levenson’s Locus of Control Scale were administered to all participants. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were used to identify factors associated with anxiety and depression. After controlling for demographic/fertility variables, hierarchical regression analyses showed that internal LoC was negatively associated with anxiety (β = –.213, p < .001) and depression (β = –.269, p < .001). Powerful others subscale was positively associated with anxiety (β = .176, p < .001), but there was no significant relationship between this subscale and depression (β = .047, p = .467). The findings of this study merit the understanding of the role of demographic/fertility characteristics and LoC orientations in anxiety and depression of infertile patients to identify beforehand those patients who might be at risk of experiencing high anxiety and depression and in need of support.     

Psychosocial correlates of health status among Asians, Caucasians, and multiracial subjects

The present study assessed the relationship between race and physical health in a multicultural sample. When controlling for a variety of health risk factors, the results revealed a significant relationship between race and recent and chronic physical symptoms (i.e., minor health problems) as well as past major health problems. Multiracial individuals reported more health problems than Asians or Caucasians. These findings may reflect the differences in diet and socioeconomic status (SES) as well as conditions associated with low SES such as decreased likelihood of seeking medical services and a variety of psychosocial variables.     

Psychosocial correlates of health status among Asians, Caucasians, and multiracial subjects

The present study assessed the relationship between race and physical health in a multicultural sample. When controlling for a variety of health risk factors, the results revealed a significant relationship between race and recent and chronic physical symptoms (i.e., minor health problems) as well as past major health problems. Multiracial individuals reported more health problems than Asians or Caucasians. These findings may reflect the differences in diet and socioeconomic status (SES) as well as conditions associated with low SES such as decreased likelihood of seeking medical services and a variety of psychosocial variables.     

Arousal seeking as a moderator of life stress

This study investigated the relationship between life stress and measures of anxiety, depression, and hostility as a function of subjects' arousal-seeking status. Results indicated significant relationships between negative life change and measures of both anxiety and hostility. These relationships, however, held only for subjects who were low on the arousal-seeking dimension. The results suggest that arousal-seeking status may serve as a moderator variable in determining the relationship between life stress and other variables.     

The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire in the Norwegian Context: Relations to Mental Health,Quality of Life,and Self-Efficacy

The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe) offers dimensional measures of meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and 26 sources of meaning. It allows for a clearer understanding of the variety of existential orientations, which are known to be linked to both mental and physical health. The Norwegian version of the SoMe was validated by testing 925 randomly selected individuals who were representative for the Norwegian population. Reliability scores were satisfactory; factor analyses suggested a 6-factor structure of the sources of meaning scales. Expected patterns of associations with mental health and quality-of-life factors attested the instrument’s construct validity: Meaningfulness showed positive relationships to all quality-of-life factors. There was no relationship with anxiety but negative relationships with depression and distress. Crisis of meaning established a strong positive relationship with anxiety, depression, and distress and a negative relationship with quality-of-life factors. Criterion validity was documented by expected differences in meaningfulness and crisis of meaning between groups with and without presence of depression disorder. Self-efficacy correlated strongly with sources of meaning from the dimension “accomplishment” and moderately negatively with sources of meaning from the dimension “vertical selftranscendence.”     

Subjective social status, objective socioeconomic status, and cardiovascular risk in women.

OBJECTIVE: Subjective perceptions of personal social status may relate to health beyond the effects of objective socioeconomic status (SES). The authors examined the relationship between subjective social status (SSS) and psychosocial, behavioral, and physical cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged women. DESIGN: Ninety-two women (90.2% White) completed ladder-based, pictorial self-report measures of SSS relative to others in their community and in the United States. Psychosocial measures of depression, anxiety, pessimism, stress, and social support and behavioral risk factors of fruit and vegetable consumption, leisure physical activity, and body-mass index were obtained. In addition, women underwent measurement of clinic blood pressure and assessment of daytime ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP; DBP) over 2 consecutive days. RESULTS: Community SSS was significantly inversely related to anxiety, pessimism, stress, and daytime ambulatory DBP after controlling for objective SES and U.S. SSS. Women with lower U.S. SSS showed less healthy dietary and exercise behaviors and, contrary to predictions, lower clinic and ambulatory DBP. CONCLUSION: This study provides additional evidence that perceptions of one's position in the social hierarchy could have important health implications beyond the impact of objective SES. Further, the cardiovascular risk implications of perceived community versus U.S. social status appear to be distinct.     

Longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and health in normal older and middle-aged adults

Comorbidity between health and depression is salient in late life, when risk for physical illness rises. Other community studies have not distinguished between the effects of brief and long-standing depressive symptoms on excess morbidity and mortality. S. Cohen and M. S. Rodriguez's (1995) differential hypothesis of pathways between depression and health was used to examine the relationships between health and depression in a prospective probability sample of 1,479 community-resident middle-aged and older adults. Findings suggest that different durations of depressive symptoms have different relationships to health. Health had an impact on short-term increases in depressive symptoms but depressive symptoms had a weaker impact on health. The reciprocal impact was indistinguishable from the health influence on depression. In contrast, longer term depressive symptoms had a clear impact on health. The results imply that physical illness can affect depressive states; depressive traits but not states can affect illness.