Elevated Tendency to Appraise Events as Stressful in the Risk for Depression and

描述（由申请人提供）：目前的项目将在一项抑郁症和焦虑症风险的研究中，从对个人幸福产生负面影响的角度，研究个体在评价事件为压力的倾向方面的差异。这个项目的主要目的是确定是否一个升高的倾向，评价事件作为压力构成的风险增加抑郁症和焦虑症的发展。这个项目的另一个目的是确定哪些因素可能导致个体差异的倾向，评价事件的压力。在预测将事件评价为压力的倾向的差异时，要检查的变量包括性别、抑郁症和焦虑症的家族风险以及童年时期暴露于不利环境的情况。该项目的目标是确定是否一个升高的倾向，评价事件作为压力代表一个核心脆弱性因素，通过其他风险因素传递抑郁症和焦虑症的风险。拟议的项目将利用以前从青年及其家庭的大型纵向抽样中收集的数据进行（例如，Hammen & Brennan，2001），最初是为了研究抑郁母亲的后代抑郁的预测因素。该样本包括800多名（约50%为男性）青年和他们的母亲，他们从青年出生、5岁、15岁和20岁时开始纵向跟踪。在15岁的青少年中评估了将事件评价为压力的倾向，并将与15岁以下的抑郁症和焦虑症病史以及15至20岁之间的抑郁症和焦虑症的预期发作相关。将通过比较女性与男性青年之间的压力评估倾向来检查将事件评估为压力的倾向的性别差异。在儿童生命的前五年，从母亲那里收集了关于青年暴露于不利条件的数据，并将其作为15岁青年评价事件压力倾向的预测因素进行研究。抑郁症和焦虑症的家庭风险由15岁以下青少年一生中抑郁症和焦虑症的母亲病史决定，也将作为青少年在15岁时评价事件压力倾向的预测因素进行研究。最后，家庭风险的相互关系，暴露于早期的逆境，和性别对青年的倾向，评价事件的压力和青年抑郁症和焦虑症的发病将使用被称为路径分析的统计建模程序进行检查。拟议研究的潜在益处包括增加对可能造成抑郁症和焦虑症脆弱性的因素的理解，以及阐明其他风险变量对这些疾病构成风险的机制。支持研究假设的证据最终可能会对识别抑郁症和焦虑症的内在表型以及识别可能成为预防目标的高危个体产生影响。当前项目的相关性在于，它可能有助于更准确地阐明抑郁症和焦虑症的脆弱性，并有助于描述其他风险因素（特别是家庭风险，早期环境风险和女性风险）赋予其影响的过程。建立一个升高的倾向，评价事件的压力是抑郁症和焦虑症的核心脆弱性因素，并了解性别影响和家庭，早期环境风险因素赋予这些风险的机制可能有助于预防和干预策略的发展，并最终减少与这些疾病相关的负担。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The current project will examine individual differences in the tendency to appraise events as stressful, in terms of having negative impact on personal well-being, in a study of risk for depression and anxiety disorders. The primary aim of this project is to establish whether an elevated tendency to appraise events as stressful poses increased risk for the development of depression and anxiety disorders. An additional aim of this project is to determine what factors may contribute to individual differences in the tendency to appraise events as stressful. Variables to be examined in predicting differences in the tendency to appraise events as stressful will include gender, familial risk for depression and anxiety disorders, and exposure to adverse circumstances in childhood. The goal of this project is to establish whether an elevated tendency to appraise events as stressful represents a core vulnerability factor through which other risk factors transmit risk for depression and anxiety disorders. The proposed project will be conducted using previously collected data from a large longitudinal sample of youth and their families (e.g., Hammen & Brennan, 2001), originally designed to examine predictors of depression in offspring of depressed mothers. This sample included over 800 (about 50% male) youths and their mothers who were followed longitudinally beginning at the time of the youth's birth, youth age 5, youth age 15, and youth age 20. The tendency to appraise events as stressful was assessed in youth at age 15 and will be examined in relation to depression and anxiety disorder history up to age 15, as well as in relation to prospective onsets of depression and anxiety disorders between age 15 and 20. A gender difference in the tendency to appraise events as stressful will be examined by comparing the stressful appraisal tendency among female compared to male youth. Data on youth exposure to adverse conditions were collected from mothers during the first five years of the child life and will be examined as a predictor of the tendency to appraise events as stressful at youth age 15. Familial risk for depression and anxiety disorders was determined by mother history of depression and anxiety disorder during the youths lifetime up to age 15 and will also be examined as a predictor of youth's tendency to appraise events as stressful at age 15. Finally, the interrelations of familial risk, exposure to early adversity, and gender on youth's tendency to appraise events as stressful and youth depression and anxiety disorder onset will be examined using a statistical modeling procedure known as path analysis. Potential benefits of the proposed study include increased understanding of factors that may pose vulnerability for depression and anxiety disorders as well as the elucidation of mechanisms by which other risk variables pose risk for these disorders. Evidence in support of study hypotheses may eventually have implications for identifying endophenotypes for depression and anxiety disorders, as well as the identification of at-risk individuals who may be targeted for prevention. The relevance of the current project is that it may help elucidate more precisely what constitutes vulnerability for depression and anxiety disorders and help to delineate the processes by which other risk factors (specifically, familial risk, early environmental risk, and risk as a function of female gender) confer their effects. Establishing that an elevated tendency to appraise events as stressful represents a core vulnerability factor for depression and anxiety disorders and understanding the mechanisms through which gender effects and familial, and early environmental risk factors confer risk for these may contribute to the development of prevention and intervention strategies and ultimately reduce the burden associated with these disorders.