Affective and physiological responses to stress in girls at elevated risk for depression
Christian E Waugh1, Luma Muhtadie, Renee J Thompson
1Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, WinstonSalem, NC 27109, USA. waughce@wfu.edu
Insights
Children of depressed parents show altered physiological stress responses. Their emotional reactions during stress predict changes in cortisol and heart rate, unlike children of non-depressed parents.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Children of depressed parents have higher risks for mental health disorders.
- Previous research focused on basal physiological functioning, not stress reactivity.
- Physiological responses to stress are crucial for mental and physical health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if children of depressed parents exhibit altered physiological stress responses.
- To examine the relationship between affective responses and physiological reactivity to stress in adolescents.
Main Methods:
- Two studies involved never-depressed adolescent daughters of either depressed or never-depressed mothers.
- Participants underwent social stressors while physiological responses were measured (cortisol and heart rate).
- Affective responses during stress were analyzed in relation to physiological outcomes.
Main Results:
- Affective responses to stressors predicted physiological responses in adolescent daughters of depressed mothers (RISK group), but not in controls (CTL group).
- For RISK girls, reduced positive affect predicted increased cortisol reactivity.
- Reduced positive affect and increased negative affect were linked to poorer heart rate recovery and habituation, respectively.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent daughters of depressed mothers show a coherence between affect and physiology during stress.
- This affect-physiology link may be a mechanism contributing to the elevated risk for psychopathology.
- Further research is needed to confirm this mechanism.
Abstract:
Children of depressed parents are significantly more likely to develop depression and other mental health disorders than are children of never-depressed parents. Investigations of the physiological mechanisms underlying this elevated risk have generally focused on basal functioning. It is important to note, however, that physiological reactivity or responses to stress are also critical determinants of mental and physical health. In the current study, we examined whether children of depressed parents exhibit altered physiological responses to stress. In two studies, never-depressed adolescent daughters of either recurrently depressed mothers (RISK) or never-depressed mothers (CTL) underwent social stressors while their physiological responses were measured (cortisol in Study 1, heart rate in Study 2). In both studies, affective responses to the stressors predicted physiological responses in RISK girls, but not in never-depressed girls. For RISK girls, decreased positive affect in response to stress predicted increased cortisol reactivity; in addition, decreased positive affect and increased negative affect were associated with poorer heart rate recovery and habituation, respectively. Future research is needed to examine explicitly whether this coherence between affect and physiology is a mechanism underlying the increased risk for psychopathology in children of depressed parents.
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