Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:23:59.520Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Which depressions are related to life stress?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

E. S. Paykel
E. S. Paykel*
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship of recent life events to specific kinds of depression using published studies and the author's own work. An overall effect of life events on depression has been found consistently and is moderate in degree. In suicide attempts there are stronger and more immediate effects than in depression. Life events precede both non-melancholic and melancholic depressions. It is only in recurrent depressions that life events are less common with melancholic pictures. Life events influence bipolar disorder as well as unipolar. Mania may be preceded by life events, particularly those involving social rhythm disruption, but it is harder to rule out events which are consequences of insidious development of illness. There are strong effects of life events and social support in postpartum depressions but in postpartum psychoses these effects are absent. Events precede depression comorbid with other disorders as well as pure depression. The course of depression is also influenced by life stress with less remission where negative events occur after onset and better outcome where earlier adverse events are neutralized. Relapse is related to immediately preceding life events. However, where depressions are both severe and recurrent life stress effects weaken and as the number of episodes increases preceding life events lessen. These findings suggest that some kinds of depression are more related to psychosocial causation and some are more biological in origin.

Keywords

depressionstresslife events
Type
Original Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , August 2002 , pp. 167 - 172
Copyright
Copyright © Blackwell Munksgaard 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Paykel, ES, Cooper, Z. Life events and social stress. In: Paykel, ES, ed. Handbook of affective disorders, 2nd edn. Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone, 1992. Google Scholar
Paykel, ES. Life events, social support and depression. Acta Psychiatr Scand: Suppl. 1994;377: 50–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, ES. Stress and affective disorders in humans. Seminars Clin Neuropsychiatr 2001;6: 4–11. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, ES. Contribution of life events to causation of psychiatric illness. Psychol Med 1978;8: 245–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paykel, ES. Stress and life events. In: Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration. Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide, Vol. 2.Risk factors for youth suicide. DHHS publ. no. ADM 90–1622. Washington, DC: Superintendant of Documents, US Government Printing Office, 1989: 110–130. Google Scholar
Paykel, ES, Prusoff, BA, Myers, JK. Suicide attempts and recent life events: a controlled comparison. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1975;32: 327–337.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slater, J, Depue, RA. The contribution of environmental events and social support to serious suicide attempts in primary depressive disorder. J Abnorm Psychol 1981;90: 275–285.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen-Sandler, R, Berman, AL, King, RA. Life stress and symptomatology: determinants of suicidal behaviour in children. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry 1982;21: 178–186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, GW, Ni Bhrolchain, M, Harris, TO. Psychotic and neurotic depression. Part 3: Aetiological and background factors. J Affect Disord 1979;1: 195–211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benjaminsen, S. Stressful life events preceding the onset of neurotic depression. Psychol Med 1981;11: 369–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matussek, P, Neuner, R. Loss events preceding endogenous and neurotic depressions. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1981;64: 340–350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, ES, Rao, BM, Taylor, CN. Life stress and symptom pattern in outpatient depression. Psychol Med 1984;14: 559–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katschnig, H, Berner, P. The poly-diagnostic approach in psychiatric research. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Diagnosis and Classification of Mental Disorder and Alcohol and Drug Related Problems, Copenhagen, April 1982. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1984. Google Scholar
Monroe, SM, Thase, ME, Hersen, M, Himmelhoch, JM, Bellack, AS. Life events and the endogenous–nonendogenous distinction in the treatment and posttreatment course of depression. Compr Psychiatry 1985;26: 175–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bebbington, PE, Tennant, C, Hurry, J. Adversity and the nature of psychiatric disorder in the community. J Affect Disord 1981;3: 345–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, A, Breier, A, Doran, AR, Pickar, D. Life events in depression: relationships to subtypes. J Affect Disord 1985;9: 143–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, RJ, Calloway, SP, Fonagy, P, De Souza, FVA, Wakeling, A. Life events, depression and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function. Br J Psychiatry 1985;147: 429–433.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brugha, TS, Conroy, R. Categories of depression: reported life events in a controlled design. Br J Psychiatry 1985;147: 641–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paykel, ES. The interview for recent life events. Psychol Med 1996;27: 301–310. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, GW, Harris, TO, Hepworth, C. Life events and endogenous depression: a puzzle re-examined. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1994;51: 525–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, E, Anderson, B, Reynolds, CF, Rietnour, A, Kupfer, DJ. Life events and the Research Diagnostic Criteria endogenous type. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1994;51: 519–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ambelas, A. Life events and mania: a special relationship? Br J Psychiatry 1987;150: 235–240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kennedy, S, Thompson, R, Stancer, HC, Roy, A, Persad, E. Life events precipitating mania. Br J Psychiatry 1983;142: 398–403.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Joffe, RT, MacDonald, C, Kutcher, S P. Life events and mania: a case–controlled study. Psychiatr Res 1989;30: 213–216. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sclare, P, Creed, F. Life events and the onset of mania. Br J Psychiatry 1990;156: 508–514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malkoff-Schwartz, S, Frank, E, Anderson, BPet al. Social rhythm disruption and stressful life events in the onset of bipolar and unipolar episodes. Psychol Med 2000;30: 1005–1015.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellicott, A, Hammen, C, Gitlin, M, Brown, G, Jamison, K. Life events and the course of bipolar disorder. Am J Psychiatry 1990;147: 1194–1198.Google Scholar
Hunt, N, Bruce-Jones, W, Silverstone, T. Life events and relapse in bipolar affective disorder. J Affect Disord 1992;25: 13–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, K S, Dunner, DL, Zeller, G, Fieve, RR. Bipolar illness: a prospective study of life events. Compr Psychiatry 1977;18: 497–502.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aronson, TA, Shukla, S. Life events and relapse in bipolar disorder: the impact of a catastrophic event. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1987;75: 571–576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paykel, ES, Emms, EM, Fletcher, J, Rassaby, ES. Life events and social support in puerperal depression. Br J Psychiatry 1980;136: 339–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watson, JP, Elliot, SA, Rugg, AJ, Brough, DI. Psychiatric disorder in pregnancy and the first postnatal year. Br J Psychiatry 1984;144: 453–462.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Hara, MW. Social support, life events and depression during pregnancy and the puerperium. Arch General Psychiatry 1986;43: 569–573. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, PJ, Stein, A. Life events and postnatal depression: the Oxford study. In: Cox, JL, Paykel, ES, Page, ML, eds. Current approaches: childbirth as a life event. Southampton: Duphar Laboratories Ltd, 1989: 38–45. Google Scholar
Dowlatshahi, D, Paykel, ES. Life events and social stress in puerperal psychoses: absence of effect. Psychol Med 1990;20: 655–662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brockington, IF, Martin, C, Brown, GW, Goldberg, D, Margison, F. Stress and puerperal psychosis. Br J Psychiatry 1990;157: 331–334.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marks, MN, Wieck, A, Checkley, SA, Kumar, R. Contribution of psychological and social factors to psychotic and non-psychotic relapse after childbirth in women with previous histories of affective disorder. J Affect Disord 1992;29: 253–264. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, A, Thompson, R, Kennedy, S. Depression in chronic schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 1983;142: 465–470.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prusoff, B, Thompson, W D, Sholomskas, D, Riordan, C. Psychosocial stressors and depression among former heroin-dependent patients maintained on methadone. J Nerv Ment Dis 1977;165: 57–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fowler, RC, Liskow, BI, Tanna, VL. Alcoholism, depression and life events. J Affect Disord 1980;2: 127–135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roy, A, Custer, R, Lorenz Linnoila, M. Depressed pathological gamblers. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1988;77: 163–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tennant, C, Bebbington, P, Hurry, J. The short-term outcome of neurotic disorders in the community: the relation of remission to clinical factors and to ‘neutralising’ life events. Br J Psychiatry 1981;139: 213–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parker, G, Blignault, I, Manicavasagar, V. Neurotic depression: delineation of symptom profiles and their relation to outcome. Br J Psychiatry 1988;152: 15–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, C, Zisook, S, Click, M, Jaffe, KD. Life events and response to antidepressants. J Hum Stress 1981;7: 2–15. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murphy, E. The prognosis of depression in old age. Br J Psychiatry 1983;142: 111–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leenstra, AS, Ormel, J, Giel, R. Positive life change and recovery from depression and anxiety: a three stage longitudinal study of primary care attenders. Br J Psychiatry 1995;166: 333–343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, GW, Adler, Z, Bifulco, A. Life events, difficulties and recovery from chronic depression. Br J Psychiatry 1988;152: 487–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Surtees, PG. Social support, residual adversity and depressive outcome. Soc Psychiatry 1980;15: 71–80. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paykel, ES, Tanner, J. Life events, depressive relapse and maintenance treatment. Psychol Med 1976;6: 481–485.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Giel, R, Ten Horn, GHMM, Ormel, J, Schudel, WJ, Wiersma, O. Mental illness, neuroticism and life events in a Dutch village sample: a follow up. Psychol Med 1978;8: 235–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendlewicz, J, Charon, F, Linkowski, P. Life events and the dexamethasone suppression test in affective illness. J Affect Disord 1986;10: 203–206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andrew, B, Hawton, K, Fagg, J, Westbrook, D. Do psychosocial factors influence outcome in severely depressed female psychiatric outpatients? Br J Psychiatry 1993;163: 747–754.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paykel, ES, Cooper, Z, Ramana, R, Hayhurst, H. Life events, social support and marital relationships in the outcome of severe depression. Psychol Med 1996;26: 121–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perris, H. Life events and depression, part 2. Results in diagnostic subgroups, and in relation to the recurrence of depression. J Affect Disord 1984;7: 25–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ezquiaga, E, Gutierrez, JLA, López, AG. Psychosocial factors and episode number in depression. J Affect Disord 1987;12: 135–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cassano, GB, Akiskal, HS, Musetti, L, Perugi, G, Soriani, A, Mignani, V. Psychopathology, temperament and past course in primary major depression. Psychopathol 1989;22: 278–288. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghaziuddin, M, Ghaziuddin, N, Stein, GS. Life events and the recurrence of depression. Can J Psychiatry 1990;35: 239–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruce, ML. Divorce and psychopathology. In: Dohrewnwend, BP, ed. Adversity, stress and psychopathology. UK: Oxford University Press, 1997: 219–234. Google Scholar
Kendler, KS, Thornton, LM, Gardner, CO. Stressful life events and previous episodes in the etiology of major depression in women: an evaluation of the ‘kindling’ hypothesis. Am J Psychiatry 2000;157: 1243–1251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paykel, ES, Scott, J, Teasdale, JD, Johnson, ALet al. Prevention of relapse in residual depression by cognitive therapy. A controlled trial. Arch General Psychiatry 1999;56: 829–835. CrossRefGoogle Scholar