Citation

Madison AA, Andridge R, Shrout MR, Renna ME, Bennett JM, Jaremka LM, Fagundes CP, Belury MA, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Psychol. Sci. 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Association for Psychological Science, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1177/09567976211031225

PMID

34932407

Abstract

The social-signal-transduction theory of depression asserts that people who experience ongoing interpersonal stressors and mount a greater inflammatory response to social stress are at higher risk for depression. The current study tested this theory in two adult samples. In Study 1, physically healthy adults (N = 76) who reported more frequent interpersonal tension had heightened depressive symptoms at Visit 2, but only if they had greater inflammatory reactivity to a marital conflict at Visit 1. Similarly, in Study 2, depressive symptoms increased among lonelier and less socially supported breast-cancer survivors (N = 79). This effect was most pronounced among participants with higher inflammatory reactivity to a social-evaluative stressor at Visit 1. In both studies, noninterpersonal stress did not interact with inflammatory reactivity to predict later depressive symptoms.

Language: en

Keywords

depression; stress; loneliness; inflammation; interpersonal; interpersonal relationships; social; social-signal-transduction theory of depression