Joanne Davila

Marital functioning and depressive symptoms: evidence for a stress generation model.

The present study applied C.L. Hammens (1991) stress generation model to depressive symptoms in the context of marriage. The authors predicted that depressive symptoms would lead to increased marital stress, which would in turn lead to increased depressive symptoms. Social support processes were hypothesized to function as a mechanism by which dysphoric spouses generate stress. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 154 newlywed couples. Depressive symptoms, marital stress, support perceptions, and support behavior (assessed using observational procedures) were assessed initially and 1 year later. Results provided evidence of marital stress generation among wives, and social support processes functioned as a mechanism of stress generation for wives. Results highlight the cyclical course of dysphoria and stress among wives.

Interpersonal attachment cognitions and prediction of symptomatic responses to interpersonal stress.

The authors tested a cognitive-interpersonal hypothesis of depression by examining the role of interpersonal cognitions in the prediction of depression associated with interpersonal stressors. A measure of adult attachment assessed interpersonal cognitions about ability to be close to others and to depend on others and anxiety about rejection and abandonment. Participants were women who had recently graduated from high school; they were followed for 1 year with extensive interview evaluation of life events, depression, and other symptomatology. Generally, cognitions, interpersonal events, and their interactions contributed to the prediction of interview-assessed depressive symptoms, but the effects were not specific to depression and predicted general symptomatology measured by diagnostic interviews as well, and results also varied by attachment subscale. Results were discussed in terms of a developmental psychopathology approach to disorders in young women.

Psychiatric history and stress: Predictors of severity of unipolar depression.

Unipolar depression is frequently a recurrent or chronic disorder. In studies on predicting its course, outcomes are typically linked to either psychiatric features or stressful life events. In order to integrate the 2 approaches, 51 unipolar patients were assessed periodically over at least 1 year for symptoms, stressful events, and chronic stressors. It was hypothesized that adverse family history and early age of onset impair role functioning and coping capabilities, thereby contributing to stressful circumstances that predict severity of depressive reactions. Results of causal modeling analyses supported a model in which background factors were associated with severity of depressive outcomes as mediated by their effects on stress variables. Such a model implicates the self-perpetuating nature of clinical depression, both for the individual and across generations.

The relationship between attachment cognitions and psychological adjustment in late adolescent women

This longitudinal study of 137 female high school seniors investigated the relationship of attachment cognitions, current psychological functioning, and psychological functioning 12 months later. Attachment cognitions, assessed with the Revised Adult Attachment Scale and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, were significantly associated with current symptomatology. The Revised Adult Attachment Scale, in interaction with initial symptomatology, predicted depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and personality disorders 12 months later. The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment parent subscales predicted eating disorder and personality disorder symptomatology, whereas the peer subscales predicted substance abuse, eating disorder, and personality disorder symptomatology.

Axis II symptomatology, depression, and life stress during the transition from adolescence to adulthood

This study examined 2 models of the relationship between personality disorder symptomatology and depression, incorporating life stress as an intervening variable. In a community sample of late adolescent women, symptoms of Cluster B disorders predicted interpersonal chronic stress and self-generated episodic stress over 2 years, controlling for initial depression. Cluster A symptoms also predicted subsequent chronic interpersonal stress, over initial depression. Cluster C pathology did not predict subsequent stress. Personality disorder symptomatology was also associated with partner-reported relationship dissatisfaction. Support was found for a mediation model whereby women with higher levels of initial personality disturbance in Clusters A and B generated excessive amounts of episodic stress and interpersonal chronic stress in the next 2 years, which, in turn, increased vulnerability for depressive symptoms. A moderation model, whereby the presence of greater personality disorder symptoms would increase the likelihood of depression in response to stress, was not supported.

Sociotropic and Autonomous Personality Styles: Contributions to Chronic Life Stress

Sociotropy and autonomy are personality styles that are believed to moderate the effects of stressors on depression. This study tested the hypothesis that these styles may actually contribute to the occurrence of chronic stress. Specifically, we tested whether the personality styles are associated with increased chronic stress in the domain of vulnerability or in the cross domain. In a longitudinal study of 115 young women followed over 18 months, results indicated that one facet of autonomy, need for control, is a risk factor for increases in chronic interpersonal stress. Sociotropy was a risk factor for increases in future chronic achievement stress when coupled with either poor problem solving or low levels of perceived interpersonal competence. These results are consistent with Hammens stress generation model, which emphasizes how individuals play a role in the creation of their own stress. Results also suggest that those with highly sociotropic or autonomous personality styles are more likely to create stress in the domain that they value less.

Cognitive/interpersonal correlates of adult interpersonal problem-solving strategies

Two potential correlates of interpersonal problem-solving strategies were studied: attachment cognitions, and global beliefs about self-worth. Problem-solving strategies were assessed through an interview in which participants were asked to conceptualize and solve hypothetical interpersonal problems. Direct and indirect associations between the variables were tested in a sample of 94 women making the transition to adulthood. The results showed that poor problem solving was associated with both low levels of global self-worth and attachment insecurity. Furthermore, global self-worth mediated the relationship between attachment cognitions and interpersonal problem-solving strategies, indicating that attachment insecurity had an indirect association with poor problem solving through low self-worth. A model for how early experience could lead to negative beliefs about self and others, and how these beliefs could lead to poor problem solving, is discussed.