scholarly journals Cardiac Vagal Control, Regulatory Processes and Depressive Symptoms: Re-Investigating the Moderating Role of Sleep Quality

Author(s):  
Danböck ◽  
Werner

Lower cardiac vagal control (CVC), which is often understood as an indicator for impaired regulatory processes, is assumed to predict the development of depressive symptoms. As this link has not been consistently demonstrated, sleep quality has been proposed as a moderating factor. However, previous studies were limited by non-representative samples, cross-sectional data, and focused on CVC as a physiological indicator for impaired regulatory processes, but neglected corresponding subjective measures. Therefore, we investigated whether sleep quality moderates the effects of CVC (quantified by high-frequency heart rate variability) and self-reported regulatory processes (self- and emotion-regulation) on concurrent depressive symptoms and on depressive symptoms after three months in a representative sample (N = 125). Significant interactions between CVC and sleep quality (in women only), as well as self-/emotion-regulation and sleep quality emerged, whereby higher sleep quality attenuated the relation between all risk factors and current depressive symptoms (cross-sectional data). However, there were no significant interactions between those variables in predicting depressive symptoms three months later (longitudinal data). Our cross-sectional findings extend previous findings on sleep quality as a protective factor against depressive symptoms in the presence of lower CVC and subjective indices of impaired regulatory processes. In contrast, our conflicting longitudinal results stress the need for further investigations.

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 451-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela G. Werner ◽  
Brett Q. Ford ◽  
Iris B. Mauss ◽  
Manuel Schabus ◽  
Jens Blechert ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 605-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Marroquín ◽  
Jennifer De Rutte ◽  
Casey L. May ◽  
Blair E. Wisco

Introduction: Emotion regulation in healthy functioning and in depression is typically examined as an intrapersonal phenomenon, but growing evidence suggests social factors affect individuals' strategy use and effectiveness. We examined whether the role of emotion regulation in depression—concurrently and over four weeks—depends on social connectedness, predicting that higher social connectedness would dilute effects of one's own strategy use regardless of specific strategy. Methods: Young adult participants (n = 187) completed measures of perceived social connectedness, depressive symptoms, two avoidant emotion regulation strategies (ruminative brooding and experiential avoidance), and two approach-oriented strategies (positive reappraisal and planning), and depressive symptoms again four weeks later (n = 166). Results: Cross-sectional associations of emotion regulation with symptoms were moderated by social connectedness: effects of both avoidant and approach strategies were weaker among more connected individuals. Prospectively, social connectedness moderated effects of approach strategies, but not avoidant strategies. Among more socially connected individuals, using approach strategies—which are typically adaptive—was associated with higher symptoms over time. Discussion: Results partially replicate previous research and support the role of social factors as important contexts of intraper-sonal emotion regulation and dysregulation in depression. Findings suggest that social resources can dilute intrapersonal effects regardless of strategy type—more in the shorter term than in the longer term—and can even lead seemingly adaptive strategies to backfire over time. Implications for research integrating emotion regulation, relationships, and depressive psychopathology are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 117 ◽  
pp. 32-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Codie R. Rouleau ◽  
Lianne M. Tomfohr-Madsen ◽  
Tavis S. Campbell ◽  
Nicole Letourneau ◽  
Maeve O’Beirne ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Galhardo ◽  
B Monteiro ◽  
N Carolino ◽  
M Cunha

Abstract Study question Does pain-related psychological inflexibility play a role in the relationship between psychopathological symptoms (depression, anxiety, stress) and pain intensity in women with endometriosis? Summary answer Pain-related psychological inflexibility acts as a mediator exclusively between depressive symptoms and pain intensity. Psychopathological symptoms did not reveal a direct effect on pain intensity. What is known already Endometriosis is a chronic and incapacitating condition frequently involving the experience of pain (e.g., dysmenorrhea, ovulation pain, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain). Women dealing with endometriosis may present impaired health-related quality of life and psychological distress, with depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms being commonly reported. Pain-related psychological inflexibility involves emotion regulation processes, such as avoidance of pain and cognitive fusion with pain. Cognitive and behavioural processes influence the relationship between pain and psychopathological symptoms, and pain-related psychological inflexibility showed to be an underlying mechanism in this relationship. Study design, size, duration Cross-sectional study. Participants’ recruitment was completed through the Associação Portuguesa de Apoio a Mulheres com Endometriose and the Associação Portuguesa de Fertilidade (endometriosis and infertility patients’ associations). Inclusion criteria were age (18 years or older) and an endometriosis medical diagnosis (self-reported). Data collection occurred between February 2018 and May 2018. Participants/materials, setting, methods A sample encompassing 209 women with an endometriosis diagnosis completed online a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS – 21), the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), and the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS-PT). Descriptive and correlational analyses were carried out using SPSS v. 26, and path analyses were estimated in AMOS (v. 24) with bootstrap procedures (2000 samples). Main results and the role of chance Participants’ age ranged from 18 to 50 years old with a mean of 34.03 (SD = 6.44) years. The majority of participants were married (n = 112; 53.6%), followed by single (n = 54; 25.8%). Regarding years of education, a mean of 14.62 years (SD = 2.80) was found. Participants reported that their endometriosis diagnosis had been established for 4.55 years (SD = 4.56). Correlation analyses showed that depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms were significantly and positively associated with pain intensity and pain-related psychological inflexibility. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine whether pain-related psychological inflexibility mediated the effect of psychopathological symptoms on pain intensity. Paths showing not to be statistically significant were removed. The final model defining an effect of depressive symptoms on pain intensity mediated by pain-related psychological inflexibility explained 26% of the variance. This model showed a good fit to the empirical data: χ2(5) = 10.75, p = .057, CMIN/DF = 2.15; TLI = .98; CFI = .99; RMSEA = .07, 95% CI = .00 to .14. Depressive symptoms predicted elevated pain intensity fully through higher pain-related psychological inflexibility (b = .05; SEb = .01; Z = 8.45; p < .001; β= .51). Limitations, reasons for caution Although path analysis is a powerful statistical technique, our findings rely on cross-sectional and self-report data. The study was disseminated through patients’ associations, limiting the inclusion of people who do get in touch with such organizations. Moreover, online recruitment tends to recruit participants with more access to online platforms. Wider implications of the findings: Pain-related psychological inflexibility seems to be a relevant construct to be addressed in the psychological assessment of women dealing with endometriosis. Furthermore, results suggest the relevance of targeting emotion regulation processes, and not only focus on reducing pain, in pain management interventions. Trial registration number N/A.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-220
Author(s):  
Ahmed Waqas ◽  
Aqsa Iftikhar ◽  
Zahra Malik ◽  
Kapil Kiran Aedma ◽  
Hafsa Meraj ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectivesThis study has been designed to elucidate the prevalence of stress, depression and poor sleep among medical students in a Pakistani medical school. There is a paucity of data on social support among medical students in Pakistan; an important predictor of depressive symptoms. Therefore, this study was also aimed to demonstrate the direct and indirect impact of social support in alleviating depressive symptoms in the study sample.MethodsThis observational cross-sectional study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, where a total of 400 students at a medical school were approached between 1st January to 31st March 2018 to participate in the study. The study sample comprised of medical and dental students enrolled at a privately financed Pakistani medical and dental school. The participants responded to a self-administered survey comprising of five parts: a) demographics, b) Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), c) Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), d) Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and e) Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4). All data were analysed using SPSS v. 20. Linear regression analysis was used to reveal the predictors of depression.ResultsIn total, 353 medical students participated, yielding a response rate of 88.25%. Overall, poor sleep quality was experienced by 205 (58.1%) students. Mild to severe depression was reported by 83% of the respondents: mild depression by 104 (29.5%), moderate depression by 104 (29.5%), moderately severe depression by 54 (15.3%) and severe depression by 31 (8.8%) respondents. Subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, daytime dysfunction and stress levels were significantly associated with depression symptoms. Social support was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the regression model (Beta = -0.08, P < 0.09); however, it acted as a significant mediator, reducing the strength of the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep quality and stress.ConclusionsAccording to our study, a large proportion of healthcare (medical and dental) students were found to be suffering from mild to moderate depression and experienced poor sleep quality. It is concluded that social support is an important variable in predicting depressive symptomatology by ameliorating the effects of poor sleep quality and high stress levels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyan Wang ◽  
Xiaoling Dai ◽  
Zichuan Yao ◽  
Xianqing Zhu ◽  
Yunzhong Jiang ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction To explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms and the associated risk factors in frontline nurses under COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from February 20, 2020 to March 20, 2020 and involved 562 frontline nurses. The effective response rate was 87.68%. After propensity score matched, there were 498 participants left. Extensive characteristics, including demographics, dietary habits, life-related factors, work-related factors, and psychological factors were collected based on a self-reported questionnaire. Specific scales measured the levels of sleep quality, physical activity, depressive symptoms, perceived organization support and psychological capital. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined by binary paired logistic regression. Results Of the nurses enrolled in the study, 50.90% had depressive symptoms. Three independent risk factors were identified: poor sleep quality (OR = 1.608, 95% CI: 1.384–1.896), lower optimism of psychological capital (OR = 0.879, 95% CI: 0.805–0.960) and no visiting friend constantly (OR = 0.513, 95% CI: 0.286–0.920). Conclusions This study revealed a considerable high prevalence of depressive symptoms in frontline nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak, and identified three risk factors, which were poor sleep quality, lower optimism of psychological capital, and no visiting friend constantly. Protecting mental health of nurses is important for COVID-19 pandemic control and their wellbeing. These findings enrich the existing theoretical model of depression and demonstrated a critical need for additional strategies that could address the mental health in frontline nurses for policymakers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Francesca Favieri ◽  
Andrea Marini ◽  
Maria Casagrande

The worldwide prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased, mostly in children and adolescents. The Emotional Eating theoretical model has proposed that the failure in emotional regulation could represent a risk factor for establishing maladaptive overeating behavior that represents an inadequate response to negative emotions and allows increasing body-weight. This systematic review investigates the relationship between overeating and both emotional regulation and emotional intelligence in childhood and adolescence, considering both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Moreover, another goal of the review is evaluating whether emotional regulation and emotional intelligence can cause overeating behaviors. The systematic search was conducted according to the PRISMA-statement in the databases Medline, PsychArtcles, PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciences, and allows 484 records to be extracted. Twenty-six studies were selected according to inclusion (e.g., studies focused on children and adolescents without clinical conditions; groups of participants overweight or with obesity) and exclusion (e.g., studies that adopted qualitative assessment or cognitive-affective tasks to measure emotional variables; reviews, commentary, or brief reports) criteria detailed in the methods. Cross-sectional studies showed a negative association between emotional regulation and overeating behavior that was confirmed by longitudinal studies. These findings highlighted the role of maladaptive emotion regulation on overeating and being overweight. The relationship between these constructs in children and adolescents was consistent. The results indicated the complexity of this association, which would be influenced by many physiological, psychological, and social factors. These findings underline the need for further studies focused on emotion regulation in the development of overeating. They should analyze the mediation role of other variables (e.g., attachment style, peer pressure) and identify interventions to prevent and reduce worldwide overweight prevalence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habibolah Khazaie ◽  
Ali Zakiei ◽  
Saeid Komasi

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe current study compares the measures of sleep quality and intensity of insomnia based on the clustering analysis of variables including dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, experiential avoidance, personality traits of neuroticism, and complications with emotion regulation among the individuals struck by an earthquake in Kermanshah Province.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional study that was carried out among earthquake victims of Kermanshah Province (western Iran) in 2017. Data were gathered starting 10 days after the earthquake and lasted for 2 weeks; of 1,200 standard questionnaires distributed, 1,001 responses were received, and the analysis was performed using 999 participants. The data analysis was carried out using a cluster analysis (K-mean method).ResultsTwo clusters were identified, and there is a significant difference between these two clusters in regard to all of the variables. The cluster with higher mean values for the selected variables shows a higher intensity of insomnia and a lower sleep quality.ConclusionsConsidering the current results, it can be concluded that variables of dysfunctional attitudes and beliefs about sleep, experiential avoidance, the personality traits of neuroticism, and complications with emotion regulation are able to identify the clusters where there is a significant difference in regard to sleep quality and the intensity of insomnia. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:745–752)


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 536-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Duriez ◽  
Theo A. Klimstra ◽  
Koen Luyckx ◽  
Wim Beyers ◽  
Bart Soenens

Because the authoritarian personality was introduced to explain the rise of fascism during World War II, research focused on its ability to predict prejudice, leaving its associations with well–being largely unexplored. Studies that did examine these associations yielded inconsistent results, and some authors even argued that authoritarianism buffers against the negative effects of psychological vulnerability factors (i.e. D–type personality) and negative life events on well–being, especially among people in an authoritarian environment. Using a cross–sectional community sample (N = 1010), Study 1 failed to support the idea that authoritarianism relates to depressive symptoms and buffers against the negative effects of D–type personality on depressive symptoms. Using a longitudinal college student sample (N = 499), Study 2 showed that authoritarianism did not moderate the effects of life events either and even predicted over–time increases in depressive symptoms. Using a longitudinal high school sample (N = 590), Study 3 showed that this effect emerged regardless of degree of fit with the social environment (i.e. with family and friends). Taken together, results suggest that authoritarianism constitutes a risk factor for rather than a protective factor against depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


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