Benjamin W. Nelson

Does Context Matter? A Multi-Method Assessment of Affect in Adolescent Depression Across Multiple Affective Interaction Contexts

This study utilized a multimethod approach (self-reported affect, observed behavior, and psychophysiology) to investigate differences between clinically depressed and nondepressed adolescents across three different affective interaction contexts with their parents. A total of 152 adolescents (52 males, 14–18 years old), and their parents, participated in a laboratory session in which they discussed positive and negative aspects of their relationship and reminisced on positive and negative memories. We found that across contexts depressed adolescents exhibited higher negative affect and behaviors, lower positive behaviors, and greater autonomic and sympathetic activity. Context-specific findings indicated that (a) depressed adolescents exhibited greater persistence of negative affect and dysphoric behavior across the sequence of tasks, whereas these phenomena declined among their nondepressed peers; (b) depressed adolescents had greater increases in aggressive behaviors during negative interactions; and (c) depressed adolescents had greater parasympathetic withdrawal during negative interactions, whereas this response characterized the nondepressed group during positive interactions.

Course of ante-and postnatal depressive symptoms related to mothers' HPA axis regulation

Given high health costs of depression during pregnancy and the first postnatal year, it is important to understand mechanisms involved in the emergence and perpetuation of symptoms during this time. In a series of 2 studies, we aim to clarify bidirectional relations between mothers’ physiological stress regulation—stress-related activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis—and their course of depressive symptoms. In Study 1, 230 pregnant women recruited from a women’s mental health program gave 3 saliva samples in the context of psychosocial stress at 24, 30, and 36-weeks gestation. They self-reported depressive symptoms across the three trimesters of pregnancy and first year postpartum. Multilevel models revealed women with elevated salivary cortisol during pregnancy showed a course of escalating ante- and postnatal symptoms, implicating HPA hyperactivation as a precursor to worsening mood problems. In Study 2, 54 mothers from a community sample self-reported depressive symptoms at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months postnatal. At 18 months, they participated in a dyadic stress task with their infant and gave 4 saliva samples for cortisol assay. For mothers with a lifetime depression diagnosis, an escalating course of postnatal symptoms predicted a higher, flatter cortisol response profile. Together, the results of these studies suggest that for high-risk mothers, a trajectory of worsening depression may both follow from and give rise to neuroendocrine stress hyperactivation. These findings suggest greater attention is warranted to course of depressive symptoms across the ante- and postnatal period, rather than symptom levels at any given time, to characterize health risks.

Adolescent Sympathetic Activity and Salivary C-Reactive Protein: The Effects of Parental Behavior.

Objective: This study utilized a novel multisystem approach to investigate the effect of observed parental behavior on the relationship between biological mechanisms associated with disease processes (i.e., autonomic physiology and immune response) among their adolescent children. Method: Thirty-three adolescents (23 males), aged 11–13, and their parents participated in a laboratory session in which adolescents provided baseline measures of autonomic (sympathetic) activity, and adolescents and 1 parent participated in a laboratory based dyadic conflict resolution interaction task. This included 3 male parent/male adolescent dyads, 20 female parent/male adolescent dyads, 3 male parent/female adolescent dyads, and 7 female parent/female adolescent dyads. Approximately 3 years later, adolescents provided a salivary measure of C-Reactive Protein (sCRP) to index inflammation. Results: Analyses revealed a positive association between sympathetic activity and sCRP, as well as a moderating role of positive parental behavior in this relationship, such that the association between sympathetic activity and sCRP was greater among adolescents whose parents displayed shorter duration of positive affect. Conclusions: Overall findings indicate parental behavior may influence the association between adolescent sympathetic activity and inflammatory processes. These findings have important implications for understanding the impact of psychosocial factors on biological mechanisms of disease.

Infant HPA axis as a potential mechanism linking maternal mental health and infant telomere length

Maternal depression has been suggested to be an independent risk factor for both dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) functioning and shorter telomere length in offspring. In contrast, research suggests that individual differences in mindfulness may act as a protective factor against ones own telomere degradation. Currently, research has yet to investigate the association between longitudinal changes in maternal mental health (depressive symptoms and mindfulness) and salivary infant telomere length, and whether such changes might be mediated by alterations in infant cortisol response. In 48 mother-infant dyads, we investigated whether the changes in maternal mental health, when infants were 6-12 months of age, predicted change in infant cortisol reactivity and recovery over this period. We also investigated whether these changes in infant HPA functioning predicted subsequent infant salivary telomere length at 18 months of age. Furthermore, we investigated whether change in infant HPA functioning provided a potential pathway between changes in maternal mental health factors and infant salivary telomere length. Analyses revealed that increases in maternal depressive symptoms over that six-month period indirectly related to subsequent shorter infant telomere length through increased infant cortisol reactivity. Implications for the ways in which maternal mental health can impact offspring stress mechanisms related to aging and disease trajectories are discussed.

Extending the Passive-Sensing Toolbox: Using Smart-Home Technology in Psychological Science

New smart-home devices provide the opportunity to advance psychological science and theory through novel research opportunities in home environments. These technologies extend the in vivo research and intervention capabilities afforded by other assessment techniques such as Ecological Momentary Assessment methods as well as mobile and wearable devices. Smart-home devices contain a multitude of sensors capable of continuously and unobtrusively collecting multimodal data within home contexts. These devices have some complementary strengths and limitations compared with other assessment methods. This article (a) briefly reviews data collection methods in home environments, (b) discusses the unique advantages of smart-home devices, (c) describes the extant smart-home literature, (d) explores how these devices may advance evaluation and refinement of psychological theories, (e) describes examples of psychological processes that are potential targets for smart-home assessment and intervention, (f) considers methodological challenges and barriers, (g) discusses ethical considerations, and (h) concludes with a discussion of future directions for research and the merging of passive-sensing technologies with active self-report methods. This article aims to highlight the potential utility of smart-home devices within psychological research to evaluate psychological theories related to behavior within the home context.

Replication and reproducibility issues in the relationship between C-reactive protein and depression: A systematic review and focused meta-analysis

One of the most common inflammatory markers examined in depression is C-reactive protein (CRP). However, the magnitude of the association between CRP and depression when controlling for potentially confounding factors such as age, sex, socio-economic status, body mass index, medication and other substance use, and medical illness, is unclear. Inconsistencies in other methodological practices, such as sample collection, assaying, and data cleaning and transformation, may contribute to variations in results. We aggregate studies that examined the association between CRP and depression in two ways. First, a systematic review summarizes how studies of CRP and depression have reported on methodological issues. Second, a tiered meta-analysis aggregates studies that have adhered to various levels of methodological rigor. Findings from the systematic review indicate a lack of protocol detail provided. The effect between depression and CRP was small, but highly significant across all stages of the meta-analysis (p < 0.01). The effect size in the most methodologically rigorous stage of the meta-analysis, which included studies controlling for age, sex, obesity, medical conditions and substance, medication, or psychosocial factors, was small (r = 0.05). There were also only 26 articles in this stage (13% of studies from the systematic review), suggesting that more studies that consistently account for these confounding factors are needed. Additionally, an a priori quality score of methodological rigor was a significant moderator in this stage of the meta-analysis. The effect size was strikingly attenuated (r = 0.005) and non-significant in studies with higher quality scores. We describe a set of recommended guidelines for future research to consider, including sample collection and assaying procedures, data cleaning and statistical methods, and control variables to assess.

Perspective-taking influences autonomic attunement between partners during discussion of conflict

This study investigated the effects of dispositional and experimentally induced perspective-taking (PT) on physiological attunement between romantic partners during a conflict resolution task. Young adult couples (N = 103 dyads) rated their trait PT 1 week prior to participating in a conflict resolution session with their romantic partner. Immediately before the conflict task, participants were given one of the following three instructions: to take their partner’s perspective (PT condition), to approach the conflict mindfully (mindfulness condition), or to focus on their own perspective regarding the conflict (control condition). Participants provided four saliva samples over the course of the laboratory session, and the samples were assayed for alpha-amylase to measure autonomic nervous system activity. Multilevel modeling results revealed that couples in the PT condition displayed greater autonomic attunement over the course of the conflict session compared to those in the other conditions. In addition, female partners’ dispositional PT enhanced the effect of the PT induction on couples’ attunement. Furthermore, secondary analyses provided support for the beneficial role of autonomic attunement. Specifically, attunement was decreased by negative conflict behaviors and predicted increased post-conflict negative affect in females. Implications for dyadic functioning and intervention are discussed.