Effect of Acute Chronic Stress - Research Paper Example

? The effect of Acute Stress and Chronic Stress on the extent to which College Freshmen exhibit Depressive Symptoms Introduction Depression is a disorder that affects Affective, behavioral and cognitive aspects of an individual’s functioning, and affects anywhere between 8 – 12 % of individuals in the population (Kessler, Berglund, Demler, Jin, Merikangas, & Walters, 2005). Women are more susceptible to depression as compared to men, and nearly twice the number of women are diagnosed with depression as compared to men (Kessler et al, 2005). Individuals in their early adulthood are most likely to show signs of depression, and there seems to be a strong relationship between stressful events and the onset of depression (Kessler et al, 2005). Individuals who experience stressful life events are more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms as compared to those who do not (Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008), and individuals who have higher levels of stress on a regular basis are also more sensitive to episodes of depression(Morris, Ciesla, & Garber, 2010). From this data, it seems that certain groups of college going students may be at considerable risk for depressive symptoms. Depression is associated with lowered achievement as well as an increased risk for suicidal ideation and attempts (Robbins, 2008). It is thus important to identify and provide support to at risk individuals. Towards this end, this study attempts to explore whether existing life stress and moving away from home to attend college can increase the risk faced by college freshmen for depressive symptoms. Review of Literature Depression is a mood disorder that finds its causes in a number of factors that include biological, sociological, hereditary and psychological ones. there have been many theories that have attempted to explain the nature and incidence of Depressive symptoms(Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008) that range from theories that postulate the role of chemical changes in brain functioning(Tanti & Belzung, 2010) to evolutionary theories that attempt to explain the value of depression in survival. Tanti & Belzung, (2010) have attempted to explain depression using a connectivist approach that uses information about different possible causes for a depressive episode as input nodes to an explanation of the individual’s symptoms and intensity of the condition. The theory also uses this model to suggest the utility of different treatment options so that it may become possible to choose the most appropriate treatment, and thus increase the chances of success (Tanti & Belzung, 2010). Depression is not uniformly manifest across individuals, and can differ in its severity, particular symptoms and duration (Tennant, 2002). Typical symptoms of depression include depressed mood, reduced pleasure in objects and activities, changes in weight and sleep duration, fatigue, lack of concentration, feelings of lack of worth and suicidal thoughts(Kessler et al, 2005). According to the DSM IV, at least five of these symptoms need to be present for a period of two weeks for a diagnosis of a Major Depressive Episode (Robbins, 2008). While some individuals experience relatively low intensity symptoms, respond to medication and recover quickly(Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008); others may exhibit severe symptoms and may not respond well to mediation of other forms of therapy(Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008). Some individuals have a single episode, while others are susceptible to relapse and re-occurrence (Tennant, 2002). Individuals who have had one episode of depression are at 60% risk for a second episode, with the likelihood of reoccurrence increasing with each episode. Research into the causes of Depression have identified stress as an important factor that affects the likelihood of the onset of depression (Hammen, 2005), as well as the likelihood of recovery from an episode of depression (Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008). According to research findings, stress does play an important role in the incidence and treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (Tennant, 2002). Stress seems to play a causative role in depressive symptoms in different ways. Particularly stressful situations like an Acute stressful situation have been found to precede an episode of depression (Tennant, 2002). These Acute Events include any event that suddenly changes the stress experienced by the individual in some manner (Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008). These events may include loss of a loved one, work related events, moving from one place to another, and even positive events like marriage, child-birth and children moving out (Tennant, 2002, Hammen, 2005). Negative events are more likely to cause the onset of depression as compared to positive ones (Hammen, 2005). Although it seems counter intuitive that positive events can cause depressive symptoms to manifest themselves, people often do not realize the extent of stress they experience due to the changes in their life; and can often be over-whelmed by this stress. (Hammen, Kim, Eberhart & Brennan, 2009) Have found the Acute stress episodes do cause depressive symptoms in women. Acute stress can not only cause the individual to exhibit depressive symptoms (Hammen, 2005), but it can also inhibit the person’s ability to recover from them. When acute stress is experienced after the onset of depression, it can inhibit recovery (Tennant, 2002), and does so more when the acute event presents itself during a period of treatment (Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008). Such events also increase the time required by the individual to recover, and the likelihood of relapse (Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008). Stress can also pile up from minor events or from daily experiences. Such stress is called Chronic stress (Hammen, 2005), and it is believed that it can also play a valuable role in understanding the incidence of depression (Tennant, 2002). Hammen, Kim, Eberhart & Brennan, (2009) have verified that the presence of chronic stress made the individual sensitive to (increases the chances of) a Depressive Episode. Morris, Ciesla, & Garber (2010) have found that these findings are also applicable to children. It is possible that regular exposure to stressful situations can wear out the individual’s ability to cope, so that they may find themselves lacking in resources to cope effectively with these stressful situations (Morris, Ciesla, & Garber, 2010). It also seems that there is an interaction between Acute and Chronic Stress such that, when individuals suffering from chronic stress experience an Acute Stress Event, they are more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms (Hammen, 2005). Carrying forward the notion that chronic stress increases an individual’s chances of having a depressive episode; it may be that since Chronic Stress take up a large part of the individual’s coping resources; they are unable to effectively deal with the Acute stressor, and thus are affected to a greater extent by it (Robbins, 2008). Without adequate support, this experience could give rise to depressive symptoms. This interaction has been found true for women (Hammen, Kim, Eberhart & Brennan, 2009) and for children (Morris, Ciesla, & Garber, 2010). Individuals who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of chronic stress are individuals who are at risk due to hereditary factors (Robbins, 2008) and medical factors. Given the nature of this information, it is important to understand if stress affects all age groups and genders in the same manner (Tennant, 2002). A large amount of the research about the effects of stress has been concentrated on the effects of negative events (Hammen, 2005). Stress associated with positive events and its relationship with depression also needs to be studied in detail. One such positive event in an individual’s life is when they move away from a sheltered home environment to study at college. Although this is in many ways a positive experience, it requires a number of adjustments, and modifications of attitude and behavior. the sudden change, although expected, can cause some stress; and an individual who is unable to cope with these changes may experience negative emotions as well as distress. Those individuals who are also exposed to some form of chronic stress are more likely to be vulnerable (Hammen, 2005); and may not be able to cope effectively with all the changes. A depressed student is likely to find it difficult to work consistently; and their grades may suffer, as may their social life (Robbins, 2008). Without their close friends and family, such students are more vulnerable, and thus need external support. This study attempts to understand the manner in which Acute and Chronic Stress affects college freshmen, so that this and other information can be used to identify means to reach out to and help those students who need support. Hypotheses On the basis of the reviewed literature, this study shall attempt to verify the role of moving away from home (an acute stress event) and chronic stress on the risk for depression. The null hypotheses for this study are: Acute stress resulting from moving away from home does not affect the score on Beck’s depression Inventory in college freshmen. Preexisting Chronic stress does not affect the score on Beck’s depression Inventory in college freshmen. The alternate hypotheses tested by this study are: College freshmen experiencing Acute Stress resulting from moving away from home are more likely to score higher on Beck’s depression Inventory as compared to those who do not. College freshmen experiencing Chronic Stress are more likely to score higher on Beck’s depression Inventory as compared to those who do not. College freshmen experiencing both Acute and Chronic stress are most likely of all to score highest on Beck’s depression Inventory. Variables The study has two independent variables. 1. Acute Stress, which is operationally defined for this study as the event of moving away from home for the purpose of college education. The variable has two levels – High Acute Stress which includes individuals who do move away from home, and Low acute stress, which includes individuals who do not move away from their home or community. care was taken to ensure that participants in the Low Acute Stress condition had not experienced any other Acute Stress Experience in the preceding six months. 2. Chronic stress, which is operationally defined as the individual’s self rating of long standing stressful situations that they cope with on a regular basis. This variable also had two levels – Low Chronic Stress, and High Chronic Stress, based on the individual’s self ratings. The dependent variable in this study is the participant’s score on depressive symptoms. This is measured using scores of the individual on the Beck’s Depression Inventory. References Hammen, C. (2005). Stress and depression. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1:293–319. Hammen, C., Kim, E.Y., Eberhart, N.K. & Brennan, P.A. (2009). Chronic and acute stress and the prediction of major depression in women. Depression and Anxiety, 26(8): 718 – 723. Kessler, R.C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K.R. & Walters, E.E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6):593–602. Morris, M.C., Ciesla, J.A. & Garber J. (2010). A prospective study of stress autonomy versus stress sensitization in adolescents at varied risk for Depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119(2): 341–354. Monroe, S.M., Slavich, G.M. & Georgiades, K. (2008). The social environment and life stress in depression. In: Gotlib, I.H. & Hammen, C.L. (eds). Handbook of Depression. (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press. Robbins, P.R. (2008). Understanding Depression (2nd ed.). North Carolina: McFarland & Co. Tanti, A. & Belzung, C. (2010). Open questions in current models of antidepressant action.  British Journal of Pharmacology, 159 (9), 1187–1200. Tennant, C. (2002). Life events, stress and depression: a review of the ?ndings. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36:173–82. Read More