Understanding depressive symptoms through psychological traits and physiological stress reactivity

Cogent Psychology

Jussi Palomäki¹  Julius Väliaho²  Joni Martikainen²  Pentti Henttonen²  Ilmari Määttänen²  Maisa Thibault² 

[1] Cognitive Science, Department of Digital Humanities, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finlan;Psychology, Medicum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finlan;

关键词: depressive symptoms;    heart rate variability;    stress;    personality;    harm avoidance;    rumination;   

DOI  :  10.1080/23311908.2019.1575654

来源: Taylor & Francis

【 摘 要 】

Understanding the relationship between psychological and physiological factors in depression and depressive symptoms may help us define depression subcategories based on their parasympathetic nervous system activity and reactivity, and perhaps in the future, develop more effective symptom-based treatments. In this study we aimed to shed light on the relationship between selected psychological traits (harm avoidance and self-rumination) and physiological stress (high-frequency heart rate variability, HF-HRV). We recruited 58 females to participate in a laboratory study where they completed a public speech preparation task designed to induce stress. We found that participants with higher scores in self-reported harm avoidance and self-rumination had lower HF-HRV during the stress task, indicating a parasympathetic withdrawal (i.e. more stress). The associations between self-reported depressive symptoms and HF-HRV were not statistically significant. Thus, we linked psychological depression risk factors to specific indices of higher physiological stress.

【 授权许可】

CC BY