Life Stress and Major Depression

ABSTRACT— People have long believed that adversity and stress contribute to emotional problems in general and to depression in particular. A considerable body of research has supported this intuition, documenting a consistent association between major stressful life events and the onset of clinical depression. However, most individuals under stress do not become depressed, sometimes depression develops without prior stress, and distinguishing psychological distress from major depression can be diagnostically challenging. In varying forms and degrees, life stress may play multiple roles in relation to major depression. In this article, we outline the opportunities and obstacles associated with conceptualizing depression from a life-stress perspective and discuss the implications for future research.     

教师压力影响职业倦怠:教学效能感的调节作用

采用问卷法以743名中小学在职教师为被试研究了教学效能感在职业压力影响职业倦怠过程中的调节作用。结果发现:①教师的工作特征、学生等压力源能有效预测教师职业倦怠。随着从业年限的增加,影响职业倦怠的主要压力源从工作特征过渡到社会特征。②教学效能的调节作用因教师不同的人口学分布而异,其中一般教学效能和个体教学效能所表现出来的调节效应也不同。③个体教学效能表现出线性调节作用,一般教学效能表现出曲线调节作用,两种调节作用的性质取决于不同的压力源。     

内质网应激和胰岛素抵抗

2型糖尿病的发病机制主要涉及胰岛素抵抗.近年来研究表明内质网应激可诱导胰岛素抵抗的形成,并使与改善胰岛素受体敏感性相关的内质网应激标志物分子氧调节蛋白150和转录因子X盒结合蛋白-1表达增强,表明内质网应激对细胞具有双重作用,一方面可诱导胰岛素抵抗,另一方面激发对应激的适应反应.     

Validity of the Short Form of the Parenting Stress Index for Fathers of Toddlers

We examined the psychometric properties of two scales of the parenting stress index-short form (PSI-SF) in a low-income sample of fathers of toddlers. The factor structure, reliability, and validity of the parental distress and parent–child dysfunctional interaction subscales were assessed for 696 fathers in a multi-site study of Early Head Start. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) compared the fit of the developer recommended two-factor scales with five-factor scales theoretically derived and supported with mothers. Our results suggested that two subscales from the PSI-SF were reliable and valid for this sample of racially diverse, low-income fathers of toddlers. However, these subscales capture multiple dimensions of parenting stress and results also supported the use of more narrowly defined aspects of parenting stress that included general distress, distress specifically related to parenting demands, problematic interactions of the father–toddler dyad, perceptions of the child, and parental perceptions of self as a parent. These unidimensional scales may prove useful in research and clinical activities by allowing researchers to elucidate the mechanisms through which stress impacts parenting and permitting clinicians information to develop more targeted interventions for young children and their families.     

The Role of Parental Stress, Mother’s Childhood Abuse and Perceived Consequences of Violence in Predicting Attitudes and Attribution in Favor of Corporal Punishment

We investigate maternal attitudes toward corporal punishment and the attribution of blame to the child on the basis of data gathered from a population survey of a representative sample of mothers and mother figures. A total of 3,148 women living at least half of the time with a child participated in a telephone survey. The independent variables included in the multivariate model predicting maternal attitudes and attributions include the child’s, the mother’s and the family’s characteristics and social support. Results of the multiple regression analysis demonstrate the unique contribution of variables according to the mother’s characteristics (mother’s sensitivity to the consequences of violence, mother’s experience of childhood violence and parental stress related to child’s temperament). These results partially support the importance of prevention programs that would reduce stress and increase the level of parental empathy through the means of parental training.     

The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are differentially involved in serial memory retrieval in non-stress and stress conditions

We previously showed that 24 h after learning, mice significantly remembered the first (D1) but not the second (D2) discrimination in a serial spatial task and that an acute stress delivered 5 min before the test phase reversed this memory retrieval pattern.A first experiment evaluated the effects of dorsal hippocampus (HPC) or prefrontal cortex (PFC) lesions, these two brain areas being well-known for their involvement in serial and spatial memory processes. For this purpose, six independent groups of mice were used: non-lesioned (controls), PFC or HPC-lesioned animals, submitted or not to an acute stress (electric footshocks; 0.9 mA). Results show that (i) non-stressed controls as well as PFC-lesioned mice (stressed or not) remembered D1 but not D2; (ii) stressed controls and HPC-lesioned mice (stressed or not) remembered D2 but not D1; (iii) stress significantly increased plasma corticosterone in controls and PFC-lesioned mice, but not in HPC-lesioned mice which already showed a significant plasma corticosterone increase in non-stressed condition.Since data from this first experiment showed that stress inhibited the hippocampal-dependent D1 memory retrieval, a second experiment evaluated the behavioral effect of intrahippocampal corticosterone injection in non-stressed mice. Results show that intrahippocampal corticosterone injection induced a reversal of serial memory retrieval pattern similar to that induced by acute stress.Overall, our study shows that (i) in non-stress condition, the emergence of D1 is HPC-dependent; (ii) in stress condition, the emergence of D2 requires the PFC integrity; moreover, intrahippocampal corticosterone injection mimicked the effects of stress in the CSD task.     

工作满意度研究述评

工作满意度一般被定义为员工对工作的情感或态度.但仔细斟酌起来,相关定义还有待完善.鉴于此,该文对什么是工作满意度进行了分析,提出应当从系统论的观点对它进行考察;讨论了工作满意度的结构划分、测量方法;分析了工作满意度与工作绩效关系研究中存在的问题,并提出了解决之道;对未来工作满意度的研究作了展望.     

慢性应激诱导的抑郁小鼠神经肽Y的表达及抗抑郁药的作用

神经肽Y是一个多肽,广泛分布于周围和中枢神经系统,以下丘脑的浓度为高,参与机体神经内分泌、情绪、行为等的调节。 为探讨慢性应激诱导的抑郁模型小鼠脑内神经肽Y (NPY)的表达,以及抗抑郁药的作用机理,采用慢性应激与孤养方法,建立抑郁小鼠模型。用旷场行为 (Open-Field)法,观察模型组与正常对照组行为学改变方面的差异。将36 只抑郁模型小鼠随机分成盐酸氟西汀组、盐酸阿米替林组、生理盐水治疗组,并与12 只正常对照组比较。用半定量逆转录－聚合酶联反应(RT－PCR) 法、细胞酶联免疫法及蛋白免疫印迹(Western－blot) 法、免疫组织化学法,比较四组小鼠下丘脑NPY 的表达。结果表明：(1)与正常组比较,抑郁模型组小鼠活动总路程与活动次数减少（p< 0.01）,体重增速下降（p< 0.05）。（2）与正常组比较,抑郁模型组小鼠下丘脑NPY 的mRNA 表达下降（p< 0.01）;经盐酸氟西汀、盐酸阿米替林治疗后,下丘脑NPY 的mRNA 及蛋白表达增高,与生理盐水组比较差异显著（p< 0.01）。(3) 与正常组比较,生理盐水治疗组胞膜和胞质呈棕黄色染色,显示出明显的免疫组化阳性反应;经盐酸氟西汀、盐酸阿米替林治疗后,胞膜和胞质的着色与背景色接近,免疫组化呈弱阳性、阴性反应。提示抑郁模型组小鼠脑内NPY 表达水平有显著下降,使用抗抑郁药有利于提高脑内NPY 的mRNA 及蛋白表达,可能是此类药物产生抗抑郁效应的机制之一。     

The influence of experiences of discrimination on psychological stress: a comparison of seven immigrant groups

The aim of this study was to compare experiences of discrimination and their influence on trust in authorities and psychological distress among immigrants in Finland. A sample of 1146 immigrants, aged between 20 and 36 and representing seven immigrant groups (Russians, Ingrian/Finnish returnees, Estonians, Somalis, Arabs, Vietnamese and Turks), answered a mailed questionnaire based on traditional acculturation research as well as victim research. In accordance with our expectations, discrimination experiences in various realms of life were highly predictive of the psychological well‐being of all immigrants, as well as of lack of trust in the Finnish authorities. However, contrary to our hypotheses regarding the effects of visibility and cultural proximity, group differences in psychological distress did not correspond to the group differences observed in perceived discrimination. These results are discussed in the light of the opposing predictions concerning self‐damage effects of discrimination, made by social identity theory on the one hand and the theory on self‐protecting functions of external attributions (Crocker and Major, 1989) on the other. It is concluded that the low level of stress observed in the most visible and most culturally distant group, despite high levels of perceived discrimination, is better explained by the latter than the former. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.