Tag: Stressors

Causes of Anxiety Disorders

Published on by Andrew Marshall11 Comments

The causes of anxiety disorders are not fully known, but the following may be involved:

  • Genetic factors (including a family history of an anxiety disorder);
  • Environment (such as experiencing a traumatic event or stress);
  • Psychologic makeup; and/or
  • A physical condition.

An anxiety disorder can be triggered by environmental stresses, such as the breakup of a significant relationship or exposure to a life-threatening disaster.

When an individual’s response to stresses is inappropriate or an individual is overwhelmed by events, an anxiety disorder can arise. For example, some individuals find speaking before a group exhilarating. But others dread it, becoming anxious with symptoms such as sweating, fear, a rapid heart rate, and tremor. Such individuals may avoid speaking even in a small group.

Anxiety tends to run in families. Doctors think some of this tendency may be inherited, but some is probably learned by living with anxious individuals.

Did You Know?

  • Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental health disorder.
  • Individuals with an anxiety disorder are more likely than other individuals to have depression.

Resilience Training: Guided Self-reflection as an Alternative to Coping Skills in Military Officer Cadets

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Research Paper Title

Strengthening resilience in military officer cadets: A group-randomized controlled trial of coping and emotion regulatory self-reflection training.

Background

This group-randomised control trial examined the efficacy of guided coping and emotion regulatory self-reflection as a means to strengthen resilience by testing the effects of the training on anxiety and depression symptoms and perceived stressor frequency after an intensive stressor period.

Methods

The sample was 226 officer cadets training at the Royal Military College, Australia. Cadets were randomised by platoon to the self-reflection (n = 130) or coping skills training (n = 96). Surveys occurred at 3 time points: baseline, immediately following the final reflective session (4-weeks post-baseline), and longer-term follow-up (3-months post-initial follow-up).

Results

There were no significant baseline differences in demographic or outcome variables between the intervention groups. On average, cadets commenced the resilience training with mild depression and anxiety symptoms. Analyses were conducted at the individual-level after exploring group-level effects.

No between-groups differences were observed at initial follow-up. At longer-term follow-up, improvements in mental health outcomes were observed for the self-reflection group, compared with the coping skills group, on depression (Cohen’s d = 0.55; 95% CI [0.24, 0.86]), anxiety symptoms (Cohen’s d = 0.69; 95% CI [0.37, 1.00]), and perceived stressor frequency (Cohen’s d = 0.46; 95% CI [0.15, 0.77]).

Longitudinal models demonstrated a time by condition interaction for depression and anxiety, but there was only an effect of condition for perceived stressor frequency. Mediation analyses supported an indirect effect of the intervention on both anxiety and depression via perceived stressor frequency.

Conclusions

Findings provide initial support for the use of guided self-reflection as an alternative to coping skills approaches to resilience training.

Reference

Crane, M.F., Boga, D., Karin, E., Gucciardi, D.F., Rapport, F., Callen, J. & Sinclair, L. (2019) Strengthening resilience in military officer cadets: A group-randomized controlled trial of coping and emotion regulatory self-reflection training. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 87(2), pp.125-140. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000356. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Can Emotional Responses to Stressors in Everyday Life Predict Long-Term Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms?

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Research Paper Title

Emotional Responses to Stressors in Everyday Life Predict Long-Term Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms.

Background

Individuals’ emotional responses to stressors in everyday life are associated with long-term physical and mental health. Among many possible risk factors, the stressor-related emotional responses may play an important role in future development of depressive symptoms.

The current study examined how individuals’ positive and negative emotional responses to everyday stressors predicted their subsequent changes in depressive symptoms over 18 months.

Methods

Using an ecological momentary assessment approach, participants (n = 176) reported stressor exposure, positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA) five times a day for 1 week (n = 5,483 observations) and provided longitudinal reports of depressive symptoms over the subsequent 18 months.

A multivariate multilevel latent growth curve model was used to directly link the fluctuations in emotions in response to momentary stressors in everyday life with the long-term trajectory of depressive symptoms.

Results

Adults who demonstrated a greater difference in stressor-related PA (i.e., relatively lower PA on stressor vs. nonstressor moments) reported larger increases in depressive symptoms over 18 months.

Those with greater NA responses to everyday stressors (i.e., relatively higher NA on stressor vs. nonstressor moments), however, did not exhibit differential long-term changes in depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

Adults showed a pattern consistent with both PA and NA responses to stressors in everyday life, but only the stressor-related changes in PA (but not in NA) predicted the growth of depressive symptoms over time.

These findings highlight the important-but often overlooked-role of positive emotional responses to everyday stressors in long-term mental health.

Reference

Zhaoyang, R., Scott, S.B., Smyth, J.M., Kang, J.E. & Sliwinski, M.J. (2019) Emotional Responses to Stressors in Everyday Life Predict Long-Term Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. pii: kaz057. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaz057. [Epub ahead of print].