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Article
Life stressors and resources and the 23-year course of depression
Journal of Affective Disorders (2013)
  • Ruth C. Cronkite, Stanford University
  • Erin L. Woodhead
  • Andrea Finlay, VA Palo Alto Center for Health Care Evaluation, Menlo Park, CA, United States
  • Christine Timko, Stanford University
  • Kirsten Unger Hu, VA Palo Alto Center for Health Care Evaluation, Menlo Park, CA, United States
  • Rudolf H. Moos, Stanford University
Abstract
Background
Life stressors and personal and social resources are associated with depression in the short-term, but little is known about their associations with the long-term course of depression. The current paper presents results of a 23-year study of community adults who were receiving treatment for depression at baseline (N=382).

Methods
Semi-parametric group-based modeling was used to identify depression trajectories and determine baseline predictors of belonging to each trajectory group.

Results
There were three distinct courses of depression: high severity at baseline with slow decline, moderate severity at baseline with rapid decline, and low severity at baseline with rapid decline. At baseline, individuals in the high-severity group had less education than those in the moderate-severity group, and more medical conditions than those in the moderate- and low-severity groups. Individuals in the high- and moderate-severity groups evidenced less psychological flexibility, and relied more on avoidance coping than individuals in the low-severity group.

Limitations
Results are limited by use of self-report and lack of information about depression status and life events in the periods between follow-ups.

Conclusions
These results assist in identifying groups at high risk for a long-term course of depression, and will help in selecting appropriate interventions that target depression severity, coping skills and management of stressors.
Keywords
  • Depression,
  • Stressful events,
  • Coping,
  • Social resources
Disciplines
Publication Date
September, 2013
DOI
10.1016/j.jad.2013.04.022
Publisher Statement
This is an Author's Accepted manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, 2013. Find the published version of this article at this link.

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Citation Information
Ruth C. Cronkite, Erin L. Woodhead, Andrea Finlay, Christine Timko, et al.. "Life stressors and resources and the 23-year course of depression" Journal of Affective Disorders Vol. 150 Iss. 2 (2013) p. 370 - 377
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/erin_woodhead/18/