Download Effects of Paternal Depression on Parenting Behaviors: A Meta

Interpersonal Causes and Consequences of Psychopathology: Major Depressive Disorder,
Bipolar Disorder, and Personality Disorders
C. Emily Durbin (Chair)
Michigan State University
[email protected]
Sylia Wilson
University of Minnesota
[email protected]
Not only is psychopathology frequently associated with problematic interpersonal
interactions and impaired relationships, there is also ample evidence that the quality of
interpersonal relationships and social support plays a key role in the exacerbation and
maintenance of psychopathology symptoms. Less well developed is an understanding of
the precise interpersonal processes that are affected, their specificity to different
disorders, and which are implicated in the etiology of these conditions (as opposed to
being outcomes of psychopathology). In this symposium, we examine the role of
interpersonal factors in varied psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder,
bipolar disorder, and personality disorders. Using powerful and informative study designs
(prospective, high-risk samples) and diverse methods (behavioral observations, genetics,
meta-analysis), the talks provide evidence of the important role of interpersonal stress for
depression onset, interpersonal manifestations of disturbances in the dominance
behavioral system in bipolar disorder, the pervasive implications of personality disorders
for functioning across interpersonal domains, and the intergenerational transmission of
interpersonal dysfunction in the context of depression.
Interpersonal Stress as a Unique Prospective Predictor of Major Depression
Suzanne Vrshek-Schallhorn
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
[email protected]
Susan Mineka
Northwestern University
[email protected]
Richard E. Zinbarg
Northwestern University
[email protected]
Constance Hammen
University of California, Los Angeles
[email protected]
Michelle G. Craske
University of California, Los Angeles
[email protected]
When examined independently, different life stress variables inevitably significantly
predict major depressive episode (MDE) onsets. However, such variables also correlate
significantly with one another, obscuring which may be most important for precipitating
MDE onsets in a given sample. Multivariate models might reveal the stressors
contributing significant unique variance. Based in part on evidence of interpersonal
sensitivity in depression, we hypothesized that interpersonal forms of stress would be
among the most potent. Data come from the Youth Emotion Project, a longitudinal study
of risk for emotional disorders that began with high school juniors oversampled for high
levels of neuroticism. Person-month survival models utilize five years of annual
interview reports of stressful life events, chronic stress, and MDE onsets, plus later
childhood/adolescent adversity interviews, from 441 participants. Multivariate results
indicate that interpersonal recent major stressful life events (HR=2.23, p<.001) and
chronic stress (HR=1.82, p<.001) but not non-interpersonal recent major stressful life
events (HR=1.20, p=.165) and chronic stress (HR=1.52, p<.125), and not childhood
adversity (HR=0.98, p = .879) or adolescent adversity (HR=1.16, p=.070) contributed
significant unique variance to MDE onsets. These results have implications for
depression etiology, prevention, and treatment.
Dominance Behavior and Mania Risk
Sheri L. Johnson
University of California, Berkeley
[email protected]
Daniel Fulford
University of California, San Francisco
[email protected]
Morgan Bartholomew
University of California, Berkeley
[email protected]
A growing body of evidence suggests that bipolar disorder is related to disruptions of the
dominance behavioral system. That is, people with bipolar disorder and those at risk for
mania (as defined by the Hypomanic Personality Scale) show elevations in dominance
motivation and self-ratings of power, and testosterone increases have been found to
trigger manic symptoms among those with bipolar disorder. Little research, though, has
examined how this profile is expressed behaviorally. We will present two studies of
dominance behavior during interpersonal interactions. In the first, we found that mania
risk was correlated with peer ratings of dominance during a small group negotiation task,
particularly for men. In the second, we examined the ability to adjust nonverbal behavior
(measured via body span) appropriately in response to of cues of dominance and
submissiveness from a dyadic partner. Mania risk predicted a lack of fluidity in adjusting
nonverbal behavior when paired with a dominant partner. Together, findings suggest that
risk for mania is related to a tendency to inflexibly engage in dominance behavior, even
in contexts in which this might not be adaptive. Findings help provide insight into the
interpersonal struggles frequently observed within bipolar disorder.
Interpersonal Dysfunction in Personality Disorders: A Meta-Analytic Review
Sylia Wilson
University of Minnesota
[email protected]
Catherine B. Stroud
Williams College
[email protected]
C. Emily Durbin
Michigan State University
[email protected]
The defining features of the individual personality disorders (PDs) classified in the DSM
vary, but disturbances in interpersonal interactions and relationship quality are considered
fundamental to each. However, the extent to which interpersonal dysfunction is evident
across the different PDs and whether any exhibit specificity for particular interpersonal
domains remains unclear. We conducted a quantitative synthesis of the empirical
literature on the effects of PDs on interpersonal functioning that encompassed 141 studies
yielding a total of 2262 effect sizes. A series of meta-analyses were conducted for a
variety of measures of the interpersonal domain, including the quality of interpersonal
relationships (in romantic, parent-child, peer, parent, and family domains), attachment
insecurity (anxious, avoidant), characteristic patterns of interpersonal behavior (dominant
versus submissive, affiliative versus autonomous), and interpersonal aggression/violence
(as perpetrator, as victim). PDs were associated with significant dysfunction across
multiple interpersonal domains, though some PDs had larger effects and were associated
with more pervasive patterns of dysfunction (e.g., antisocial, borderline) while others had
smaller and more narrow effects (e.g., obsessive-compulsive). Results speak to the
pervasiveness of interpersonal dysfunction among individuals with PDs, while also
demonstrating effects for specific PDs that are consistent with their unique features.
Genetic Susceptibility to the Environment and Interpersonal Outcomes of Youth at Risk
for Depression
Constance Hammen
University of California, Los Angeles
[email protected]
It is in the nature of depression that its etiological processes and behavioral consequences
underscore difficulties in interpersonal relationships, involving maladaptive cognitiveemotional attachment processes, conflictual relationships, and dysfunctional choices and
problem-solving in close relationships. It is unsurprising, therefore, that like depression,
interpersonal discord is transmitted intergenerationally, creating continuing cycles of
stress and depression within and between parents and offspring. The study is based on a
20-year longitudinal follow-up of youth at risk due to maternal depression, including
extensive diagnostic and stress assessments of youth and mothers from pregnancy to age
5, ages 15 and 20, and genotyping of a subsample in the early 20’s. Several patterns of
the transmission of interpersonal dysfunction are noted: the association of maternal
depression with interpersonal discord over a 20-year period; with selection into violent
relationships and teen pregnancy associated with parenting dysfunction; and with
romantic relationship discord in early adulthood. Genetic susceptibility to the
environment takes a particularly malevolent form in high risk families. Several
gene*environment interactions will be reported, highlighting candidate genes such as
5HTTLPR (serotonin transporter), OPRM1 (mu opioid receptor), and OXTR (oxytocin
receptor) and their particular associations with interpersonal outcomes and depression.