Personal relationships,personal attributes,and stress resistance: Mothers' reactions to their child's illness

The contribution to emotional distress of mastery, intimacy, received social support, and discomfort in seeking support was examined over a year period among 107 Israeli mothers of well, acutely ill, or chronically ill children. The following was found: (a) Women initially high in mastery experienced less psychological distress and benefited more from social support than did women low in mastery. (b) The greater social support women generally received the lower their psychological distress. (c) Independent of the level of generally received support, women who experienced greater distress received greater social support at the time of crisis. (d) Intimacy with spouse was related to better stress resistance, but the opposite was found for intimacy with family. (e) Women who felt uncomfortable seeking support were more distressed at the time of initial crisis than women who were more comfortable seeking support and became less intimate with significant others.     

Gender differences in stress reactions: Women filling the gaps

Abstract

Competing hypotheses explaining gender differences in depression were compared in a one-year longitudinal study of parents of ill children in Israel. Women were found to have more depressed mood than men when their children were ill or well, but both men and women responded with increased depression when their child was ill. Women were more likely than men to be with an ill child at the hospital, even if employed, suggesting role overload. Women did not report fewer personal or social resources than men, indicating that poverty of resources could not explain sex differences on depression. Nor did women use their resources less effectively than did men. Women were less depressed the greater their intimacy with their spouse and friends, but at all levels of intimacy were more depressed than men. Men, in contrast, isolated themselves from social support at the time of their child's illness and it was argued that men might be avoiding stress contagion. The importance of examining differential responding of men and women to stressors that have common meaning for both sexes was discussed.     

Program evaluation in community psychology

American Journal of Community Psychology -     

Behavioral and emotional problems among Chinese and American children: Parent and teacher reports for ages 6 to 13

This study compared behavioral and emotional problems reported by parents and teachers in Chinese urban and rural samples and demographically similar American samples. Parents of 469 6-to-13-year-old children of each nationality completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Teachers completed the Teacher's Report Form (TRF). Cross-cultural differences were generally modest in magnitude. Chinese children scored higher on TRF Delinquent Behavior and Anxious/Depressed syndromes, and on Internalizing. American children scored higher on CBCL Aggressive Behavior and TRF Attention Problems syndromes. Boys exhibited more externalizing behaviors across both cultures. The mean correlation between parent and teacher ratings was .36 in the Chinese sample and .29 in the American sample, a nonsignificant difference. Findings indicate considerable similarity between problems reported for children in very different societies.This work was supported by NIMH grant MH40305 and by University Associates in Psychiatry, a nonprofit health service and research corporation of the University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.The authors are grateful to David Jacobowitz and Catherine Howell for their help in the analyses.     

Resource loss,resource gain,and emotional outcomes among inner city women

The authors examined a dynamic conceptualization of stress by investigating how economic stress, measured in terms of material loss, alters women's personal and social resources and how these changed resources impact anger and depressive mood. Resource change in women's mastery and social support over 9 months was significantly associated with changes in depressive mood and anger among 714 inner city women. Greater loss of mastery and social support was associated with increased depressive mood and anger. Loss of mastery and social support also mediated the impact of material loss on depressive mood and anger. Resource loss and worsening economic circumstances had more negative impact than resource gain and improving economic circumstances had positive impact, suggesting the greater saliency of loss than gain.     

Posttraumatic stress and depression: potential pathways to disease burden among heart failure patients

Background and Objectives: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are associated with high disease burden. Pathways by which PTSD and MDD contribute to disease burden are not understood. Design: Path analysis was used to examine pathways between PTSD symptoms, MDD symptoms, and disease burden among 251 low-income heart failure patients. Methods: In Model 1, we explored the independent relationship between PTSD and MDD symptoms on disease burden. In Model 2, we examined the association of PTSD symptoms and disease burden on MDD symptoms. We also examined indirect associations of PTSD symptoms on MDD symptoms, mediated by disease burden, and of PTSD symptoms on disease burden mediated by MDD symptoms. Results: Disease burden correlated with PTSD symptoms (r = .41; p < .001) and MDD symptoms (r = .43; p < .001) symptoms. Both models fit the data well and displayed comparable fit. MDD symptoms did not mediate the association of PTSD symptoms with disease burden. Disease burden did mediate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and MDD symptoms. Conclusions: Results support the importance of detection of PTSD in individuals with disease. Results also provide preliminary models for testing longitudinal data in future studies.