Psychosocial variables and the life event/anxiety-depression link. A community study

Attention has shifted from the simple association between life events and psychological disturbance towards more complex models. Additional variables which may modify this simple association include personality factors, the nature and extent of social relationships, "vulnerability" factors and general coping skills. Four hypotheses concerning the influence of additional variables were described and their clinical relevance discussed. A general population study of 408 individuals was described. The influence of additional variables on the simple association between stressful life events and "anxiety-depression" was examined, using a hierarchical regression model. A range of demographic, personality, "vulnerability" and social relationship variables were considered in these analyses. The relevance of these results for our understanding of life events was discussed.