Pia Schönfeld

The effects of daily stress on positive and negative mental health: Mediation through self-efficacy

Daily stressors, compared to traumatic events, are increasingly recognized as important risk factors for mental health. The role of general self-efficacy on the relationship between daily stress and aspects of mental health has not yet been examined. Taking into account the dual factor model of mental health, which postulates that mental health is more than the absence of psychopathological symptoms, we tested mediation effects of self-efficacy separately for positive and negative mental health. Total, direct and indirect effects were estimated using data from a large nationally representative German population sample (N = 1,031) by bootstrapped mediation analyses providing 95% bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. Results indicated self-efficacy as a mediator of the effects of daily stressors on mental health, with superior effect sizes for positive compared to negative mental health. Mediation effects were replicated in student samples from Germany (N = 394), Russia (N = 604) and China (N = 8,669). Findings suggest that self-efficacy operates as a buffer of daily stress. However, a full mediation model was not supported as multiple psychological resources can have protective effects. This study provides the first transnational evidence for different stress-buffer effects for the two dimensions of mental health.

Remembering under stress: Different roles of autonomic arousal and glucocorticoids in memory retrieval

It is commonly assumed that stress impairs memory retrieval. Glucocorticoids, released with a delay of several minutes in response to stressful experiences, are thought to play a key role in the stress-induced retrieval impairment. Accordingly, most studies on the impact of stress on retrieval tested memory a considerable time after stressor exposure, when glucocorticoid levels were elevated. Here, we asked how stress affects memory when retrieval takes place under stress, that is, when stress is part of the retrieval situation and glucocorticoids are not yet increased at the time of testing. To contrast stress effects on ongoing and delayed memory retrieval, 72 participants learned first neutral and emotional material. Twenty-four hours later, half of the learned material was tested either in a stressful, oral examination-like testing situation or in a standard, non-stressful free recall test. Memory for the other half of the learned material was assessed 25 min after the first, stressful or non-stressful retention test. Significant increases in blood pressure and salivary cortisol confirmed the stress induction by the first, examination-like testing situation. Retrieval performance under stress was positively correlated with the blood pressure response to the stressor but unaffected by cortisol. Conversely, retrieval performance 25 min post stress was negatively correlated with the cortisol response to the stressor, particularly for emotional items. These results suggest that the same stressor may have opposite effects on ongoing and delayed memory retrieval, depending on the presence of autonomic arousal and glucocorticoids.

Universal Happiness? Cross-Cultural Measurement Invariance of Scales Assessing Positive Mental Health.

Research into positive aspects of the psyche is growing as psychologists learn more about the protective role of positive processes in the development and course of mental disorders, and about their substantial role in promoting mental health. With increasing globalization, there is strong interest in studies examining positive constructs across cultures. To obtain valid cross-cultural comparisons, measurement invariance for the scales assessing positive constructs has to be established. The current study aims to assess the cross-cultural measurement invariance of questionnaires for 6 positive constructs: Social Support (Fydrich, Sommer, Tydecks, & Brähler, 2009), Happiness (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), Life Satisfaction (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), Positive Mental Health Scale (Lukat, Margraf, Lutz, van der Veld, & Becker, 2016), Optimism (revised Life Orientation Test [LOT-R]; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) and Resilience (Schumacher, Leppert, Gunzelmann, Strauss, & Brähler, 2004). Participants included German (n = 4,453), Russian (n = 3,806), and Chinese (n = 12,524) university students. Confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance testing demonstrated at least partial strong measurement invariance for all scales except the LOT-R and Subjective Happiness Scale. The latent mean comparisons of the constructs indicated differences between national groups. Potential methodological and cultural explanations for the intergroup differences are discussed.

Stress and the city: impact of urban upbringing on the (re)activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Objective Urbanization is a major challenge for the 21st century with a significant impact on health; mental health, in particular, can be negatively affected. The mechanisms linking urban living to psychopathology, however, remain unclear. We tested the hypothesis that urban upbringing may alter the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, one of the body’s major stress response systems. Methods In three independent experiments (n = 248 in total), we measured the changes in cortisol, the end-product of the HPA axis, in response to different stress tasks (memory recall with critical social evaluation [Experiment 1] or Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test [Experiment 2] and to awakening in participants raised in cities or more rural areas. Results Urban upbringing was associated with elevated cortisol responses to acute stress (task × time point of measurement × urbanicity interaction: F(2,132) = 3.10 [p = .048] in Experiment 1 and F(2,112) = 3.29 [p = .041] in Experiment 2) but with a blunted cortisol awakening response (time point of measurement × urbanicity interaction: F(1,114) = 4.00, p = .048). The autonomic stress response, as indicated by blood pressure measurements, was not affected by urban upbringing. Moreover, current city living was not associated with any changes in the physiological responses to stress or awakening. Conclusions Our findings suggest that urban upbringing changes the (re)activity of the HPA axis. Given that changes in HPA axis regulation have been associated with several psychiatric disorders, this may represent a mechanism that contributes to the increased risk for psychopathology in urban populations.

Costs and benefits of self-efficacy: Differences of the stress response and clinical implications

HIGHLIGHTSSelf‐efficacy is crucial for neuroendocrine and psychological reactivity of stress.Evidence for protective effects of self‐efficacy has a broad scope.The role of self‐efficacy is however heterogeneous.It can also increase autonomic responses, decrease performance and diminish mental health.Experimental research and interventions aimed at promotion are reflected critically. ABSTRACT Encounters with stressors induce diverse idiosyncratic neuroendocrine, behavioral and psychological reactions across people. Perceived self‐efficacy can alter autonomic responses and their effects on mental health. The beneficial effects of self‐efficacy in buffering physiological arousal, enhancing performance, and diminishing psychopathological symptoms have been observed in diverse contexts. We show that the role of self‐efficacy is not uniformly beneficial, and that higher levels of self‐efficacy can sometimes lead to increases in neuroendocrine and psychological stress responses and decreases in performance, a phenomenon that has been widely neglected. We discuss specific conditions under which self‐efficacy effects do not uniformly ameliorate or prevent the consequences of stress. These conditions suggest that therapeutic interventions need not always promote self‐efficacy in principal. Simultaneously, they to do suggest that keeping self‐efficacy high might be disadvantageous or detrimental.

Positive and negative mental health across the lifespan: A cross-cultural comparison

Background/Objective Mental health and well-being are closely related to age. Complete mental health includes psychopathological symptoms (negative mental health) and subjective well-being (positive mental health). The aim was to compare indicators of complete mental health across the lifespan cross-culturally. Method: We tested age trends in measures of resilience, social support and positive and negative mental health, including the subscales depression, anxiety and stress using data from national representative samples from Germany, Russia and the United States (U.S.) ranging in age from 18 to 100 (N = 6,303). Results: The effects of age differed in each country. Todays older Germans experienced more positive and less negative mental health whereas todays older Russians experienced less positive and more negative mental health than the younger people. In the U.S., positive mental health was higher among the older adults, but there was no effect of age for negative mental health. Age also had significant linear and curvilinear effects on resilience and social support. Conclusions: The pattern of mental health across the lifespan is clearly dependent on the nation.

A Cross-Cultural Study in Germany, Russia, and China: Are Resilient and Social Supported Students Protected Against Depression, Anxiety, and Stress?:

This study cross-culturally investigated resilience and social support as possible protective factors for mental health. The values of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, resilience and social support were collected from German (N = 4433), Russian (N = 3774), and Chinese students (N = 4982). The samples were split (two-thirds vs. one-third) to cross-validate the results. In all samples, resilience and social support were significantly negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. While in Germany those associations were stronger for social support, in Russia and in China stronger associations were found for resilience. Furthermore, in all samples, resilience was found to mediate the association between social support and the negative mental health variables significantly. In conclusion, resilience and social support are universal interrelated protective factors for mental health independently of historical, cultural, social, and geographical conditions of a country.

Self-Efficacy as a Mechanism Linking Daily Stress to Mental Health in Students: A Three-Wave Cross-Lagged Study

Background and Objectives While stress is generally well established to be predictive for different indicators of mental health, little is known about the longitudinal effects of daily life stressors and the role of self-evaluation factors. We tested whether perceived general self-efficacy is a mediator for the association between daily life stressors and psychopathological symptoms as well as subjective well-being. Methods Data derived from 2160 Chinese university students was assessed at three time points with one-year intervals. We used the Brief Daily Stressor Screening, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Positive Mental Health Scale, and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales. Total, direct, and indirect effects were estimated using 95% bootstrapped confidence intervals and structural equation modeling. Results Latent variable mediation analyses showed that daily stressors were associated with increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress and with decreased subjective well-being. All cross-lagged mediational paths via self-efficacy were significant in predicting positive and negative mental health. Conclusions Considering stress of daily life as well as including the two dimensions of mental health may be important for future research and practice. This study provides novel evidence for mediating stress effects by perceived self-efficacy, which should be focused in intervention- and prevention-based approaches.