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Depressive symptom trajectory following romantic relationship breakup and effects of rumination, neuroticism and cognitive control.

ABSTRACT: Studying individuals who recently experienced a romantic reltionship breakup allows us to investigate mood disturbances in otherwise healthy individuals. In our study, we aimed to identify distinct depressive symptom trajectories following breakup and investigate whether these trajectories relate to personality traits and cognitive control. Subjects (n = 87) filled out questionnaires (RRS-NL-EXT trait rumination and NEO-FFI neuroticism) and performed cognitive tasks (trail making test, Stroop task) during a period of 30 weeks. To identify distinct depressive symptom trajectories ('trajectory groups'), we performed K-means clustering on the consecutive (assessed every 2 weeks) Major Depression Inventory scores. This resulted in four trajectory groups; 'resilience', 'fast recovery', 'slow recovery' and 'chronic distress'. The 'slow recovery group' and the 'chronic distress group' were found to have higher neuroticism and trait rumination levels compared to the 'resilience group', and the 'chronic distress group' also had higher neuroticism levels than the 'fast recovery group'. Moreover, the 'chronic distress group' showed worse overall trail making test performance than the 'resilience group'. Taken together, our findings show that distinct patterns of depressive symptom severity can be observed following breakup and that personality traits and cognitive flexibility seem to play a role in these depressive symptom patterns.

SUBMITTER: Verhallen AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9786723 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Depressive symptom trajectory following romantic relationship breakup and effects of rumination, neuroticism and cognitive control.

Verhallen Anne M AM Alonso-Martínez Sonsoles S Renken Remco J RJ Marsman Jan-Bernard C JC Ter Horst Gert J GJ

Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress 20211223 4

Studying individuals who recently experienced a romantic reltionship breakup allows us to investigate mood disturbances in otherwise healthy individuals. In our study, we aimed to identify distinct depressive symptom trajectories following breakup and investigate whether these trajectories relate to personality traits and cognitive control. Subjects (n = 87) filled out questionnaires (RRS-NL-EXT trait rumination and NEO-FFI neuroticism) and performed cognitive tasks (trail making test, Stroop ta ...[more]

PMID: 34921589

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Project description:Experiencing stress can have a disadvantageous effect on mental well-being. Additional to the relation between suffering from chronic stress and depression, both stress (acute and chronic) and depression are associated with cognitive alterations, including working memory. The breakup of a relationship is considered to be a stressful event that can lead to symptoms of depression in otherwise healthy people. Additional to elevated depression scores, stress-related cognitive alterations may occur in this population as well. Therefore, in the present fMRI study we investigated whether experiencing a relationship breakup is associated with working memory alterations and whether this is related to depressive symptom severity. A three workload version of the n-back task (0-back, 1-back, 2-back) was used to measure working memory in subjects who experienced a breakup in the preceding 6 months ("heartbreak group", n = 70) and subjects in a romantic relationship ("relationship group", n = 46). Behavioral task performance was compared between the two groups. Functional MRI scans were analyzed using General Linear Model (GLM) activation analyses. Workload conditions were contrasted to each other and to baseline and group differences were assessed. To investigate whether brain networks are associated with depressive symptom severity within the heartbreak group specifically, a post hoc feature-based Independent Component Analysis was performed on the 2-back > 0-back contrast images to identify brain regions that covaried across subjects. Behaviorally, the heartbreak group performed similar at high workload (i.e., 2-back) and better at moderate workload (i.e., 1-back) than the relationship group. GLM analysis revealed an interaction between group and 2-back > 0-back, 2-back > 1-back and 2-back > baseline; the heartbreak group showed less precuneus activation compared to the relationship group. Furthermore, within the heartbreak group, we found a negative association between depressive symptom severity and a brain network representing mostly the precuneus, anterior cingulate gyrus and supplementary motor cortex. Our findings suggest that the effect of a breakup is accompanied by workload-dependent working memory alterations. Therefore, we propose that this population can potentially be used to investigate the interplay between stress, cognitive functioning and depression.

Project description:The occurrence of a stressful event is considered to increase the risk of developing depression. In the present study we explore whether the breakup of a romantic relationship can be used as an experimental model to study a depression-like state during a period of stress in individuals without a psychiatric disorder. The primary aim of our study was to investigate: 1) whether individuals with a recent romantic relationship breakup (''heartbreak") demonstrate symptoms of depression, 2) how to describe heartbreak characteristics based on data from a comprehensive questionnaire battery, and 3) whether this description can capture severity of depression symptoms. Secondary, we were interested in gender differences with regard to the above study objectives. Subjects who have experienced a relationship breakup in the preceding six months (N = 71) or are in a romantic relationship (N = 46) participated in our study. A questionnaire battery was administered to acquire information related to depression, mood, the breakup and (former) relationship. Principal Component Analysis with Procrustes bootstrapping was performed to extract components from the questionnaire data. Even though our sample of individuals who recently have experienced a relationship breakup can be on average considered non-depressed, group-level depression scores were elevated compared to individuals in a relationship (p = .001) and 26.8% reported symptoms corresponding to mild, moderate or severe depression. We described heartbreak by two principal components interpreted as ''sudden loss" and ''lack of positive affect", respectively. Highly significant correlations between the component scores and depression scores were found (p < .001 and p < .001, respectively), although these correlations differed between the genders. Based on these findings, we propose that the experience of a romantic relationship breakup is a viable experimental model to examine symptoms of depression in individuals without a psychiatric disorder. This way, stress-related coping and depression vulnerability can be studied in further research.

Project description:BackgroundTo investigate the associations between five depressive symptom trajectories and cognitive impairment in Taiwan's older population. In addition, we investigated the moderating factors influencing these associations.MethodsThis population-based, longitudinal, cohort study was conducted on the basis of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging. Data corresponding to the fifth (2003), sixth (2007), and seventh (2011) survey waves were analyzed, focusing on individuals aged ≥ 65 years. Depressive symptom trajectories were analyzed using the 10-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale, and cognitive function was assessed using the Short Portable Mental State Questionnaire. Logistic regression models were adjusted for various covariates such as sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related variables. We also investigated moderating effects of sex, age, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and coronary heart disease.ResultsFive trajectories of depressive symptoms included 1,549 older individuals were identified. Approximately 36.09%, 47.13%, 5.68%, 6.20%, and 4.91% exhibited no, mild, decreasing, increasing, and persistent depressive symptom trajectories, respectively. The odds ratios for cognitive impairment were 3.17 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.41-7.15) in Model 1; 3.24 (95% CI: 1.42-7.41) in Model 2; and 2.95 (95% CI: 1.24-7.00) in Model 3 in individuals with persistent depressive symptom trajectory. Only persistent depressive symptom trajectory reached statistical significance in all three models. Cognitive decline was evident across all trajectories. The rate of cognitive decline was more rapidly in the persistent depressive symptom trajectory, nearly twofold to no depressive symptom trajectory, which the corresponding β values (score/year) were - 0.0862, - 0.1020, - 0.1192, - 0.1206, and - 0.1683 for the no, mild, decreasing, increasing, and persistent depressive symptom trajectories, respectively. Female sex, older age, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and coronary heart disease were significant moderators on the risk of cognitive impairment.DiscussionPersistent depressive symptoms is associated with cognitive impairment in older adults. Identifying high-risk subgroups is crucial for targeted assistance. Policymakers and health-care professionals should be informed accordingly.

Dataset Information

Depressive symptom trajectory following romantic relationship breakup and effects of rumination, neuroticism and cognitive control.

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Depressive symptom trajectory following romantic relationship breakup and effects of rumination, neuroticism and cognitive control.

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