Low-end specificity of childhood measures of emotional distress: consistent effects for anxiety and depressive symptoms in a nonclinical population

Previous research regarding the low-end specificity of self-report measures of affective distress in children suggests that defensiveness acts differentially to lower scores on self-report measures of depressive symptoms, but not on self-report measures of anxiety. This investigation examined this issue in a nonclinical sample of 442 children, ages 7 to 16. Participants completed measures of depressive symptoms (Children's Depression Inventory), anxiety symptoms (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children) and defensiveness (Children's Social Desirability Scale). In contrast to previous research, the results in this study indicated similar effects of defensiveness on measures of depressive symptoms and anxiety. Low-end depression participants obtained significantly higher defensiveness scores, as did low-end anxious participants. In an attempt to circumvent the effects of defensiveness, we measured anhedonia (Pleasure Scale for Children, or PSC) as a proxy of depressive symptoms. We also found the PSC to be subject to the effects of defensiveness at approximately the same magnitude as the measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms.     

Depressive symptoms in Swedish adolescents

This study examined the prevalence of self-reported depressive symptoms in a Swedish urban school sample (n=547) aged 13 to 18 years using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The data obtained were examined with respect to sex and age differences and compared with a clinical sample of adolescents hospitalized because of psychiatric disturbances. The results indicated a strong preponderance of depressive symptoms among girls in the school sample, in particular for the severe symptom level. Eight percent of subjects reported depressive symptoms sufficiently high to be classified as a moderate, and 2% as a severe, level of depression. Factor analysis yielded four factors representing dysphoric mood, social activity, relationship, and food-related dimensions. The BDI showed a high internal consistency, and test-retest reliability calculated for a 2-week and a 2-month interval revealed strong correlations. The means of total scores on the BDI for the clinical sample were significantly higher than for those in the school sample.     

Sex differences in social support, loneliness, and depression among Korean college students

This study examined the sex differences in reports of social support (network size and satisfaction), loneliness, and depression among Korean college students and examined whether measures of social support and loneliness predicted depression scores. In the sample were 452 college students enrolled in four universities in Korea. The women reported a larger social support network size and being less satisfied with their support than the men. Women reported higher scores on the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory than men. Social support satisfaction scores and network size on the Social Support Questionnaire-6 and scores on the Loneliness Scale predicted scores on Depression in both the groups. Loneliness was the largest predictor of Depression for either sex. The amount of variance in Depression accounted for by Loneliness was 35% for women and 24% for men.     

Oral Pessimism and Depressive Symptoms

I examined the relation of oral optimistic and oral pessimistic personality traits to depressive symptoms to assess the psychoanalytic claim that fixation at the early phase of the oral stage of psychosexual development is related to depression. College students (N = 140) were administered the Oral Optimism Questionnaire (OOQ; Kline, 1978) and Oral Pessimism Questionnaire (OPQ; Kline, 1978) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Ward, Mendelsohn, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961). Oral pessimism and levels of depressive symptoms were positively correlated, and a subsample of subjects with clinical levels of depressive symptoms also scored significantly higher on the Oral Pessimism Questionnaire than the rest of the sample. For the whole sample, 10 BDI items correlated significantly with the OPQ scores, and 5 OPQ items correlated significantly with the total BDI scores. The psychoanalytic claim relating fixation at the oral pessimism stage to depressive symptoms was supported.     

Task feedback effects on conflict monitoring and executive control: relationship to subclinical measures of depression

Emerging evidence suggests that depression is associated with executive dysfunction, particularly after committing errors or receiving negative performance feedback. To test this hypothesis, 57 participants performed two executive tasks known to elicit errors (the Simon and Stroop Tasks) during positive or negative performance feedback. Participants with elevated depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory scores >or= 13) were characterized by impaired posterror and postconflict performance adjustments, especially during emotionally negative task-related feedback. Additionally, for both tasks, depressive symptoms were inversely related to postconflict reaction time adjustments following negative, but not positive, feedback. These findings suggest that subclinical depression is associated with impairments in behavioral adjustments after internal (perceived failure) and external feedback about deficient task performance.     

The role of coping, anxiety, and stress in depression post-acute coronary syndrome

Depressive symptoms are common and can affect prognosis following acute coronary syndromes (ACS). This study examined the psychological factors, coping, anxiety, and perceived stress associated with depression following ACS. Psychological variables were assessed in 15 females and 66 males (M = 57 years, SD = 12). Repeated measures at 2, 12, and 24 weeks post-ACS compared depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and coping resources as determined by the Cardiac Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, and Coping Resources Inventory. Depression, anxiety, and perceived stress remained high in the depressed group across time. Coping scores at 2 weeks post-ACS predicted depression scores at 24 weeks post-ACS. It appears that trait anxiety and coping resources are related to depressive symptoms post-ACS.     

Suicide ideation and its relationship to depressed mood in a community sample of adolescents in Hong Kong.

A sample of 996 Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong provided information about their suicide ideation. Their depressive symptoms were measured by the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory (C-BDI), and a broad range of stressors were also assessed as potential predictors to level of suicide ideation. The stressors and C-BDI scores predicted 33% of the variance in suicide ideation. In boys, most of the prediction was attributable to C-BDI scores, suggesting that depression mediated the effects of stressors. In girls, C-BDI scores, perceptions of low parental caring, and high conflict with parents had additive effects in predicting level of suicide ideation. This study contributes needed information about a non-Western population and highlights gender differences.     

The contributions of interpersonal attachment and friendship group identification to depressive symptoms in a nonclinical sample

Drawing on previous literature from the separate areas of adult attachment and group processes, we explored attachment and group identification as predictors for depressive symptoms in a nonclinical sample. We found that attachment anxiety and friendship group identification predicted scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, such that higher attachment anxiety resulted in higher depressive symptoms, and greater friendship group identification resulted in lower depressive symptoms. Mediational analysis suggested that group identification partially mediated the effect of attachment avoidance on depressive symptoms, but did not mediate the effect of attachment anxiety on depressive symptoms.     

Depression and cocaine dependence

Presence of depression in cocaine-dependent users is relevant for treatment of these persons. This study assessed the presence of depressive symptomatology with a published Spanish translation of the Beck Depression Inventory for a sample of 115 Spanish cocaine-dependent users who were in outpatient treatment at Centers of Drug Dependence of Galicia, Spain. The mean score was 13.7 (SD = 10.3), with 24.3% of the sample having scores which indicate clinical depression (cut off > or =21). These data underscore the need to assess the presence of depression in cocaine-dependent users who require treatment.     

Specificity of Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality in a Juvenile Delinquent Population

Research which has related scores on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) to suicidality have generally neglected to examine the possibility that specific depressive factors within the CDI may be more predictive of suicidality than the full scale score. Knowledge of such factors would help to explain the relationship between depression and suicidality and improve the prediction of suicidal behavior. The current study examined the relationship of depressive factors to suicidality in a sample of 200 incarcerated juvenile delinquents. The published factor structure for the CDI and one derived from the delinquent population were compared. Results revealed two factors from the derived solution, hopelessness and low self-esteem, to be more powerful predictors of suicidal ideation than the full-scale CDI score. These results suggest that symptoms such as low self-esteem and hopelessness may be responsible for the well-documented relationship between depression and suicidality. Furthermore, it appears that the prediction of suicidality may be improved by examining specific depressive factors in suicide research as opposed to full-scale scores from depression inventories such as the CDI.     

Problem‐Solving Appraisal and Depression: Evidence for a Recovery Model

The purpose of this study was to examine whether problem‐solving appraisal plays a role in recovery from depression in a university population. It was predicted that self‐appraised effective problem solvers would be more likely to recover from a depressive episode than self‐appraised ineffective problem solvers. Consistent with this hypothesis, there was a significant Time 1 problem‐solving appraisal x Time 1 depression interaction in predicting Time 2 depression scores. More specifically, by Time 2 the self‐appraised effective problem solvers reported only mild levels of depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] = 12), whereas the self‐appraised ineffective problem solvers reported levels of depression that were moderate to severe (BDI = 20).     

Symptoms of depression in Swedish fathers in the postnatal period and development of a screening tool

Methods for detecting depression in fathers after the birth of their child are scarce. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), used to screen mothers for postpartum depression (PPD), lacks somatization and externalizing items. This potentially decreases its sensitivity in detecting depression in fathers, as many men actually express depression with somatization or externalizing symptoms. The present study assessed depressive symptoms in fathers of children 0–18 months old, and evaluated whether addressing both typical depression and externalizing, so‐called “depressive equivalent” symptoms, might be more suitable for such assessment. The Beck Depression Inventory‐II (BDI‐II), EPDS, and Gotland Male Depression Scale (GMDS) were responded to by 447 Swedish fathers online. Among participants, 27% reported depressive symptoms above the BDI‐II cut‐off suggestive of depression. Most fathers reported both traditional and depressive equivalent symptoms and a subgroup expressed exclusively depressive equivalent symptoms. Consistently, a scale combining items from the EPDS and GMDS showed higher sensitivity than the EPDS alone in identifying fathers with elevated depressive symptoms, at equal levels of specificity. Our findings suggest that a combination of EPDS and depressive equivalent symptom items results in a more suitable instrument for screening for depression in fathers during the postnatal period.     

自我调节失败与抑郁和焦虑症状的关系：纵向追踪研究

对200名不同调节定向的大学生进行为期6个月的追踪调查以探索长期自我调节失败与抑郁和焦虑症状及两者共存的关系。结果发现：(1)促进定向组在抑郁、焦虑以及自我调节失败得分上低于预防定向组;(2)控制基线期抑郁和焦虑症状,促进和预防定向系统的自我调节失败均可正向预测3个月后抑郁–焦虑症状共存;(3)抑郁症状的维持和发展与促进目标失败有关,焦虑症状的维持和发展与预防目标失败有关;(4)基线期抑郁不仅通过促进目标失败程度来维持和发展,还通过促进和预防目标失败程度来正向预测继发的焦虑;基线期焦虑不仅通过预防目标失败程度来维持和发展,还能正向预测继发的抑郁。     

Longitudinal assessment of the low-end specificity of maternal reports of depressive symptoms

Recent studies have raised concerns about the specificity of self-report measures of depression with respect to low-end scores. Because of the high face validity of measures such as the Beck Depression Inventory, it is suspected that extremely low scores may reflect individuals who may harbor depressive symptoms or other psychological abnormalities, yet are inclined to 'fake-good', or respond in a socially desirable manner on the BDI. The presence of this phenomenon was tested in a sample of adolescent mothers who were assessed at four time points over 8 years. It was hypothesized that low-scoring mothers (compared with medium- and high-scoring mothers) would have more negative outcomes on a variety of self-report and observational measures of parenting, as well as have children with more negative outcomes on adjustment and behavior. This study employed multiple assessments, multiple informants and multiple domains of functioning. The analyses controlled for the possible effects of social desirability and demographic differences between the depression groups. The hypotheses were not supported. The majority of analyses found no differences between the groups; where differences did exist, there were no indications that the low-scoring group was at a disadvantage to the medium or high scoring groups.     

Dietary patterns are associated with the prevalence of alexithymia

Recent evidence supports the association between healthy dietary patterns and a reduced risk of depression. The objective was: (1) to examine the associations between dietary patterns and alexithymic features; and (2) investigate whether these possible associations are explained by depressive symptoms in a cross‐sectional study among the Finnish general population aged 25–65 years. The study population was a part of the population‐based Kuopio Depression Study (KUDEP) conducted in central‐eastern Finland (n = 1747). Dietary data were collected using a food frequency questionnaire and dietary patterns from 22 predefined food groups, which were extracted by factor analysis. Alexithymia was assessed using the 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS‐20) and depression using the 21‐item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI‐21). Altogether, 173 of the study subjects (9.9%) were alexithymic. Three dietary patterns were identified: “prudent,” “Western” and “traditional.” Lower scores for a healthy prudent dietary pattern and higher scores for an unhealthy Western dietary pattern were associated with an increased likelihood of belonging to the alexithymic group among subjects with elevated depressive symptoms. Among subjects without depressive symptoms, alexithymia was associated with lower scores in the prudent dietary pattern, but also with higher scores in the traditional dietary pattern. General population subjects with alexithymic features may have unhealthier dietary patterns than non‐alexithymic subjects.     

Spirituality and Its Relationship with Personality in Depressed People: Preliminary Findings

The relationship between spirituality and personality in patients with depression is complex and not much explored. The aim of our study is to examine the interconnection between the spiritual quality of life (QoL) and Cloninger’s psychobiological model of personality in patients with depression. The sample consisted of 85 consecutive outpatients treated for depression. The measurements used were: Beck Depression Inventory, WHO-Quality of Life-Spiritual, Religious, Personal Beliefs, and Temperament and Character Inventory. The results have shown that higher harm avoidance, lower self-directedness and lower cooperativeness are personality dimensions associated with depression. The spiritual QoL has showed to play a significant role in depression, just as it has proved to be a unique predictor of lower depressive symptoms, adjusted for personality dimensions. The spiritual QoL itself is predicted by personality dimensions, self-directedness and self-transcendence implying that spirituality is a broader construct than the character dimension. Our findings may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of depression, spirituality and personality.     

Depression as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II among injecting drug users

This study conducts a confirmatory factor analysis of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) with a sample of 598 individuals who reported recent injecting drug use. Findings indicate that out of four models tested, the best model for this sample is a three-factor solution (somatic, affective, and cognitive) previously reported by Buckley, Parker, and Heggie. The findings that nearly 50% of participants provided BDI-II scores indicating significant depressive symptomatology reveals that these individuals are in need of treatment for their psychiatric symptoms as well as substance use. Somatic symptoms are endorsed more strongly than affective or cognitive symptoms of depression, suggesting a possible, but yet poorly defined, relationship between depressive symptomatology and drug use that centers on shared somatic symptomatology.     

Protective and vulnerability factors of depression in normal adolescents

The present study investigated the role of various protective and vulnerability factors in the development of depressive symptoms. A sample of normal adolescents (N=373) completed the Children's Depression Inventory and measures of a negative attributional style, parental rearing behaviour, coping styles, and perceived self-efficacy. In addition to computing the correlations between depression and these protective and vulnerability factors, the present data were also subjected to structural equations modelling to examine the correlational structure of the data. Depression was accompanied by high levels of parental rejection, negative attributions, and passive coping, and by low levels of active coping and self-efficacy. Furthermore, a model in which negative parental rearing behaviour and a negative attributional style featured as the primary sources of depression, while coping styles and self-efficacy played a mediating role in the formation of depressive symptoms, provided a reasonable fit for the data.     

Affective ratings and startle modulation in people with nonclinical depression

This study tested predictions based on the emotion context insensitivity (ECI) hypothesis of Rottenberg, Gross, and Gotlib (2005) that a nonclinical sample of people with depressive symptoms would show reduced responses to both positive and negative stimuli relative to people without depression and would show an enhanced response to novelty. Seventy individuals completed diagnostic questionnaires, made ratings of 21 affectively valenced pictures, and then viewed the same 21 pictures and 21 novel pictures while startle blink responses were recorded from electromyographic activity of the orbicularis oculi. People with scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961) indicative of depression demonstrated a lack of affective startle modulation compared to the nondepression group. For all participants, the startle response was larger for novel pictures than for previously viewed pictures, but scores on the BDI were not related to response to novelty. Taken together, the results suggest that nonclinical depression is associated with a lack of affective modulation of startle, as has been shown for clinical depression.     

Cannabis use and the risk behavior syndrome in Italian university students: are they related to suicide risk?

The aim of this study was to examine the association of cannabis use with risky behaviors and suicide risk in university students. A convenience sample of 246 students was recruited from four universities in Rome during the 2004 academic year. Participants completed the Zung scales for anxiety and depression, the Suicide Score Scale, and an ad hoc questionnaire assessing risky behaviors. The findings indicated a widespread use of cannabis among students and its association with risky behaviors, anxiety and depression, and suicide risk. A regression tree analysis resulted in 3 splits indicating that the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale is a good predictor of suicide risk, discriminating individuals at lower risk from those at higher risk. Individuals at higher risk for suicide could also be discriminated by self-reported lifetime drug use. Limitations of the study are related to the small sample size and use of a convenience sample.