The Relationships of Personality and Cognitive Styles with Self-Reported Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety

Many studies have reported concurrent relationships between depressive symptoms and various personality, cognitive, and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities, but the degree of overlap among these vulnerabilities is unclear. Moreover, whereas most investigations of these vulnerabilities have focused on depression, their possible relationships with anxiety have not been adequately examined. The present study included 550 high school juniors and examined the cross-sectional relationships among neuroticism, negative inferential style, dysfunctional attitudes, sociotropy, and autonomy, with a wide range of anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as the incremental validity of these different putative vulnerabilities when examined simultaneously. Correlational analyses revealed that all five vulnerabilities were significantly related to symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Whereas neuroticism accounted for significant unique variance in all symptom outcomes, individual cognitive and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities accounted for small and only sometimes statistically significant variance across outcomes. Importantly, however, for most outcomes the majority of symptom variance was accounted for by shared aspects of the vulnerabilities rather than unique aspects. Implications of these results for understanding cognitive and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety are discussed

Association between labour market trends and trends in young people's mental health in ten European countries 1983-2005

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mental health problems have become more common among young people over the last twenty years, especially in certain countries. The reasons for this have remained unclear. The hypothesis tested in this study is that national trends in young people's mental health are associated with national trends in young people's labour market.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>National secular changes in the proportion of young people with mental health problems and national secular labour market changes were studied from 1983 to 2005 in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The correlation between the national secular changes in the proportion of young people not in the labour force and the national secular changes in proportion of young people with mental health symptoms was 0.77 for boys and 0.92 for girls.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Labour market trends may have contributed to the deteriorating trend in mental health among young people. A true relationship, should other studies confirm it, would be an important aspect to take into account when forming labour market policies or policies concerning the delivery of higher education.</p

Evaluation of a Dutch school-based depression prevention program for youths in highrisk neighborhoods: study protocol of a two-armed randomized controlled trial

Contains fulltext : 102517.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Background Research has indicated that depression prevention programs attenuate the development of symptoms of depression in adolescents. To implement these programs on a large scale, implementation in a school setting with teachers providing the programs is needed. In the present study, the effectiveness of the Dutch depression prevention program Op Volle Kracht (OVK) provided by school teachers during school hours with adolescents from high risk neighborhoods will be tested. The mediating effects of cognitive distortions and alexithymia will be evaluated as well. We hypothesize that the OVK program will prevent or decrease reported depressive symptoms, and that this association will be mediated by cognitive distortions and alexithymia. Methods/Design Schools with at least 30% of their pupils living in low income areas in the Netherlands are invited to participate in the study. Classes from vocational training up to pre-university level are eligible and 1324 adolescents (11-14 years) will be participating in the study. Randomisation will be done at class level, randomly assigning participants to an intervention group (OVK) and a control group (care as usual), stratifying by school level (high versus low). Trained school teachers will be delivering the program, which covers cognitive-behavioral and social problem-solving skills. Longitudinal data will be collected with self-report measurements administered in the school setting at baseline, post intervention and at two follow ups (at 6 and 12 months). Primary outcome is the level of depressive symptoms, and secondary outcomes include: cognitive errors, response style, attributional style, alexithymia, stressful life events, substance use, happiness, and school grades. Discussion If the OVK program proves to be effective when it is provided by school teachers, a structural implementation of the program in the school curriculum will enhance the quality of the lives of adolescents and their families and will reduce costs in health care. In addition, the results of the study advances current knowledge on the underlying mechanisms of the development of depression and may aid the improvement of depression prevention programs in general.7 p

A randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of a universal school-based depression prevention program 'Op Volle Kracht' in the Netherlands

Contains fulltext : 102521.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Background: The incidence of depressive symptoms increases during adolescence, from 10.0% to 24.5% at age 11 to 15, respectively. Experiencing elevated levels of depressive symptoms increases the risk of a depressive disorder in adulthood. A universal school-based depression prevention program Op Volle Kracht (OVK) was developed, based on the Penn Resiliency Program, aimed at preventing the increase of depressive symptoms during adolescence and enhancing positive development. In this study the effectiveness of OVK will be tested and possible mediators of program effects will be focus of study as well. Method: The effectiveness of OVK will be tested in a randomized controlled trial with two conditions, intervention (OVK) and control condition (care as usual). Schools are randomly assigned to research conditions. OVK will be incorporated in the school curriculum, maximizing program attendance. OVK consists of 16 lessons of 50 min, given by trained psychologists to groups of 11-15 students. OVK contains Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, social skills training, problem solving and decision making. Outcomes are measured at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months follow up, to monitor long term program effects. Primary outcome is level of depressive symptoms, secondary outcomes are: anxiety, hopelessness, cognitive bias, substance use, truancy, life satisfaction, coping, self-efficacy, optimism, happiness, friendship, school performance and school attitude. The questionnaires for students will be administered in the school setting. Parents will complete a questionnaire at baseline only. Discussion: In this paper the study into the effectiveness of the depression prevention program OVK was described. It is expected that OVK will prevent the increase in depressive symptoms during adolescence and enhance positive development in the intervention condition, compared to the control condition. If OVK will be effective, it can be implemented in the school context by which numerous adolescents can be reached.9 p

Pothead or pot smoker? a taxometric investigation of cannabis dependence

BACKGROUND: Taxometric methods were used to discern the latent structure of cannabis dependence. Such methods help determine if a construct is categorical or dimensional. Taxometric analyses (MAXEIG and MAMBAC) were conducted on data from 1,474 cannabis-using respondents to the 2001–2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Respondents answered questions assessing DSM-IV criteria for cannabis dependence. RESULTS: Both taxometric methods provided support for a dimensional structure of cannabis dependence. CONCLUSION: Although the MAMBAC results were not entirely unequivocal, the majority of evidence favored a dimensional structure of cannabis dependence

In Search of HPA Axis Dysregulation in Child and Adolescent Depression

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis in adults with major depressive disorder is among the most consistent and robust biological findings in psychiatry. Given the importance of the adolescent transition to the development and recurrence of depressive phenomena over the lifespan, it is important to have an integrative perspective on research investigating the various components of HPA axis functioning among depressed young people. The present narrative review synthesizes evidence from the following five categories of studies conducted with children and adolescents: (1) those examining the HPA system’s response to the dexamethasone suppression test (DST); (2) those assessing basal HPA axis functioning; (3) those administering corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) challenge; (4) those incorporating psychological probes of the HPA axis; and (5) those examining HPA axis functioning in children of depressed mothers. Evidence is generally consistent with models of developmental psychopathology that hypothesize that atypical HPA axis functioning precedes the emergence of clinical levels of depression and that the HPA axis becomes increasingly dysregulated from child to adult manifestations of depression. Multidisciplinary approaches and longitudinal research designs that extend across development are needed to more clearly and usefully elucidate the role of the HPA axis in depression