Why Does Classroom‐Level Victimization Moderate the Association Between Victimization and Depressive Symptoms? The “Healthy Context Paradox” and Two Explanations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Pan ◽  
Tengfei Li ◽  
Linqin Ji ◽  
Sarah Malamut ◽  
Wenxin Zhang ◽  
...  
2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Madjar ◽  
S. Ben Shabat ◽  
R. Elia ◽  
N. Fellner ◽  
M. Rehavi ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundRecent studies regarding non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents have focused primarily on individual characteristics (e.g., depressive symptoms) and background factors (e.g., parental relationship), whereas less emphasis has been given to the role of school-related factors in NSSI. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore the relationships between teachers’ support, peer climate, and NSSI within the school context.MethodsThe sample consisted of 594 high school students nested within 27 regular classes (54.4% boys; mean age 14.96, SD = 1.33 years). The students were evaluated for NSSI behaviors, perception of teacher support, peer climate, relationships with mothers, and depressive symptoms using validated scales.ResultsThe primary analysis used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), controlling for gender and age. The main findings indicated that teacher support was positively associated with NSSI at the classroom-level (OR = 6.15, 95% CI = 2.05–18.5) but negatively associated at the student-level (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.49–0.89). There was a trend toward an association between positive peer climate and NSSI at the classroom-level (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.18–1.05), while negative peer climate was associated with NSSI at the student-level (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.00–1.87).ConclusionsSchool-related factors are associated with NSSI behaviors among students. Teachers and educators should focus on both individual-level and classroom-level perceptions of school context. Students who feel supported by their teachers and who are exposed to a positive peer climate are less likely to engage in NSSI.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 2203-2213
Author(s):  
Hye-Young Yun ◽  
Jaana Juvonen

Abstract The healthy context paradox—an unexpected pattern in which victims’ psychological adjustment worsens as the overall level of victimization in a classroom or school declines—implies that reducing the frequency of bullying or victimization incidents does not do enough to help victims of bullying. In light of this finding, it is imperative to identify protective factors that alleviate victimization-related distress in the peer ecology. The current study examines classroom-level peer victimization and peer-defending behaviors as moderators of the association between individual-level victimization and psychological adjustment. These classroom-level moderators were tested with a sample of 1373 adolescents (40% girls, Mage: 14 years) from 54 classrooms in South Korean middle schools. Consistent with past findings documenting the healthy context paradox, the results of multilevel modeling indicated that victimized youth experienced a lower level of depressive symptoms in classrooms where victimization was more common. Most importantly, bullied students reported fewer depressive symptoms, on average, in classrooms with relatively high levels of bully-oriented (i.e., confronting the bully), rather than victim-oriented (i.e., comforting the victim), defending behavior. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the role of peers’ defending behaviors toward bullied adolescents and have significant implications for anti-bullying interventions.


Author(s):  
Angel L. Ball ◽  
Adina S. Gray

Pharmacological intervention for depressive symptoms in institutionalized elderly is higher than the population average. Among the patients on such medications are those with a puzzling mix of symptoms, diagnosed as “dementia syndrome of depression,” formerly termed “pseudodementia”. Cognitive-communicative changes, potentially due to medications, complicate the diagnosis even further. This discussion paper reviews the history of the terminology of “pseudodementia,” and examines the pharmacology given as treatment for depressive symptoms in the elderly population that can affect cognition and communication. Clinicians can reduce the risk of misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment by having an awareness of potential side effects, including decreased attention, memory, and reasoning capacities, particularly due to some anticholinergic medications. A team approach to care should include a cohesive effort directed at caution against over-medication, informed management of polypharmacology, enhancement of environmental/communication supports and quality of life, and recognizing the typical nature of some depressive signs in elderly institutionalized individuals.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 153-153
Author(s):  
I LESMANLEEGTE ◽  
T JAARSMA ◽  
H HILLEGE ◽  
R SANDERMAN ◽  
D VANVELDHUISEN

GeroPsych ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 246-251
Author(s):  
Gozde Cetinkol ◽  
Gulbahar Bastug ◽  
E. Tugba Ozel Kizil

Abstract. Depression in older adults can be explained by Erikson’s theory on the conflict of ego integrity versus hopelessness. The study investigated the relationship between past acceptance, hopelessness, death anxiety, and depressive symptoms in 100 older (≥50 years) adults. The total Beck Hopelessness (BHS), Geriatric Depression (GDS), and Accepting the Past (ACPAST) subscale scores of the depressed group were higher, while the total Death Anxiety (DAS) and Reminiscing the Past (REM) subscale scores of both groups were similar. A regression analysis revealed that the BHS, DAS, and ACPAST predicted the GDS. Past acceptance seems to be important for ego integrity in older adults.


Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. DeCou ◽  
Monica C. Skewes

Abstract. Background: Previous research has demonstrated an association between alcohol-related problems and suicidal ideation (SI). Aims: The present study evaluated, simultaneously, alcohol consequences and symptoms of alcohol dependence as predictors of SI after adjusting for depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption. Method: A sample of 298 Alaskan undergraduates completed survey measures, including the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire, the Short Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory – II. The association between alcohol problems and SI status was evaluated using sequential logistic regression. Results: Symptoms of alcohol dependence (OR = 1.88, p < .05), but not alcohol-related consequences (OR = 1.01, p = .95), emerged as an independent predictor of SI status above and beyond depressive symptoms (OR = 2.39, p < .001) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.08, p = .39). Conclusion: Alcohol dependence symptoms represented a unique risk for SI relative to alcohol-related consequences and alcohol consumption. Future research should examine the causal mechanism behind the relationship between alcohol dependence and suicidality among university students. Assessing the presence of dependence symptoms may improve the accuracy of identifying students at risk of SI.


Crisis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 272-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison S. Christian ◽  
Kristen M. McCabe

Background: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) occurs with high frequency among clinical and nonclinical youth populations. Although depression has been consistently linked with the behavior, not all depressed individuals engage in DSH. Aims: The current study examined maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., self-blame, distancing, and self-isolation) as mediators between depression and DSH among undergraduate students. Methods: 202 students from undergraduate psychology courses at a private university in Southern California (77.7% women) completed anonymous self-report measures. Results: A hierarchical regression model found no differences in DSH history across demographic variables. Among coping variables, self-isolation alone was significantly related to DSH. A full meditational model was supported: Depressive symptoms were significantly related to DSH, but adding self-isolation to the model rendered the relationship nonsignificant. Limitations: The cross-sectional study design prevents determination of whether a casual relation exists between self-isolation and DSH, and obscures the direction of that relationship. Conclusions: Results suggest targeting self-isolation as a means of DSH prevention and intervention among nonclinical, youth populations.


Crisis ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Sarfati ◽  
Blandine Bouchaud ◽  
Marie-Christine Hardy-Baylé

Summary: The cathartic effect of suicide is traditionally defined as the existence of a rapid, significant, and spontaneous decrease in the depressive symptoms of suicide attempters after the act. This study was designed to investigate short-term variations, following a suicide attempt by self-poisoning, of a number of other variables identified as suicidal risk factors: hopelessness, impulsivity, personality traits, and quality of life. Patients hospitalized less than 24 hours after a deliberate (moderate) overdose were presented with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression and Impulsivity Rating Scales, Hopelessness scale, MMPI and World Health Organization's Quality of Life questionnaire (abbreviated versions). They were also asked to complete the same scales and questionnaires 8 days after discharge. The study involved 39 patients, the average interval between initial and follow-up assessment being 13.5 days. All the scores improved significantly, with the exception of quality of life and three out of the eight personality traits. This finding emphasizes the fact that improvement is not limited to depressive symptoms and enables us to identify the relative importance of each studied variable as a risk factor for attempted suicide. The limitations of the study are discussed as well as in particular the nongeneralizability of the sample and setting.


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette M. Aanes ◽  
Maurice B. Mittelmark ◽  
Jørn Hetland

This paper investigated whether the lack of social connectedness, as measured by the subjective feeling of loneliness, mediates the well-known relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological distress. Furthermore, a relationship between interpersonal stress and somatic symptoms was hypothesized. The study sample included 3,268 women and 3,220 men in Western Norway. The main findings were that interpersonal stress was significantly related to psychological distress as well as to somatic symptoms, both directly and indirectly via paths mediated by loneliness. The size of the indirect effects varied, suggesting that the importance of loneliness as a possible mediator differs for depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and somatic symptoms. In the case of depressive symptoms, more than 75% of the total effect was mediated through loneliness, while in the case of somatic symptoms just over 40% of the total effect was mediated through loneliness. This study supports the hypotheses that social connectedness mediates a relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological distress. The study also provides the first link between interpersonal stress, as measured by the Bergen Social Relationships Scale, and somatic symptoms, extending earlier research on the relationship between interpersonal stress and psychological distress.


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