Personality diatheses and Hurricane Sandy: effects on post-disaster depression.

BACKGROUND: According to diathesis-stress models, personality traits, such as negative emotionality (NE) and positive emotionality (PE), may moderate the effects of stressors on the development of depression. However, relatively little empirical research has directly examined whether NE and PE act as diatheses in the presence of stressful life events, and no research has examined whether they moderate the effect of disaster exposure on depressive symptoms. Hurricane Sandy, the second costliest hurricane in US history, offers a unique opportunity to address these gaps. METHOD: A total of 318 women completed measures of NE and PE 5 years prior to Hurricane Sandy. They were also assessed for lifetime depressive disorders on two occasions, the latter occurring an average of 1 year before the hurricane. Approximately 8 weeks after the disaster (mean = 8.40, s.d. = 1.48 weeks), participants completed a hurricane stress exposure questionnaire and a measure of current depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Adjusting for lifetime history of depressive disorders, higher levels of stress from Hurricane Sandy predicted elevated levels of depressive symptoms, but only in participants with high levels of NE or low levels of PE. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the role of personality in the development of depression and suggest that personality traits can be useful in identifying those most vulnerable to major stressors, including natural disasters.

Investigating physiological symptoms associated with mental health symptoms in youth with cerebral palsy: An observational study.

Over 50 % of children and youth with cerebral palsy (CP) experience mental health challenges, with anxiety and depression most common. Youth with CP also experience several physiological symptoms such as fatigue, pain, sedentary lifestyle, and sleep disturbances that impact their daily living; however, little is known about the impact of these symptoms on mental health outcomes in these youth. This study addressed this gap and examined the individual and cumulative impacts of physiological symptoms on anxiety and depression symptoms in youth with CP. Forty youth with CP aged 8 to 18 years, and their caregiver, participated in this cross-sectional observational study. Pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were measured using caregiver- and self-reported questionnaires and participants wore accelerometers for seven consecutive days, providing non-invasive physical activity and sleep pattern data. Youth with CP experienced substantial physiological symptoms and elevated anxiety and depression symptoms. Linear regression models determined that all physiological factors were predictive of caregiver-reported youth anxiety (R2 = 0.23) and youth depressive symptoms (R2 = 0.48). Fatigue, pain severity, sleep efficiency, and physical activity outcomes individually and cumulatively contributed to caregiver-reported youth anxiety and depression symptoms. These findings highlight the important role of physiological symptoms as potential risk factors and potential targets for intervention for mental health issues for in youth with CP.