Clusters and exam review (9/25)

Question 1

What does the BDI stand for (and what population does it measure)?

Answer 1

Beck Depression Inventory –> Measures depression scores of CLINICAL populations.

Question 2

What does CES-D stand for (and what population does it measure)?

Answer 2

Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale –> Measures depression scores of NON-CLINICAL populations (general public).

Question 3

What does the ISEL measure (and what does it stand for)?

Answer 3

Interpersonal Support Evaluation List –> measures perceived interpersonal support

Question 4

What are some things that cluster with low SES?

Answer 4

Higher levels of depression, hostility and anxiety

High job strain

More stressful life events

Question 5

What did a study on “SES and Optimism and Pessimism in 10,650 Scottish Adults” find?

Answer 5

Optimism stayed relatively constant across social classes

HOWEVER, pessimism was the highest in low SES groups (and decreased as SES rose)

Question 6

What have studies shown about the link between childhood SES and adult optimism?

Answer 6

Lower SES in childhood is associated with lower optimism in adulthood.

Question 7

What are the effects of childhood parental loss and family environment (good, moderate or poor) on adult depression?

Answer 7

• In the group that didn’t lose parents in childhood, family environment did not have a strong effect on depression level in adulthood.

In the group that lost a parent:
- Poor family environment resulted in depression levels in the CLINICAL range on the BDI (over 10)

• On the other hand, GOOD family environment was protective, and resulted in depression scores that were even lower than all participants in the non-loss group (loss + good family environment may make children even more resilient!)

Question 8

How does parental loss and childhood family environment affect perceived social support in adulthood (based on ISEL scores)?

Answer 8

Loss group:

• Those in good family environments had the HIGHEST ISEL score - once again shows that losing a parent in a good family environment may make you more resilient against depression
• Those in poor family environments had the lowest ISEL score

Question 9

What did studies find about the link between positives in parent-child interactions and child’s development (e.g. Hostility in adulthood, IQ)?

Answer 9

• Fourth graders whose parents expressed less positives in a role-play situation = greater hostility 3 years later
• More positives during first 3 years of life = higher IQ at age 7-8

Question 10

What were the main findings of the study that investigated how Social Support Predicts Change in Depressive Symptoms in Low SES CAD Patients?

Answer 10

In the lowest income level:

• Low social support elicited the greatest rise in depression scores (when patients were followed up 1 month after leaving the hospital).
• HOWEVER, high social support elicited the greatest drop in depression scores (shows that social support is most impactful on low SES persons)

In the highest income level:
- Regardless of level of social support, these individuals experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms

Trends:
- The lower the SES, the greater the increase in depression scores in response to low social support)

Question 11

What did researchers find when they assessed 2711 CAD patients for social support (ISEL) and depressive symptoms (CES-D) and followed over 11 years for mortality rates?

Answer 11

• High social support = 16% reduced mortality

- High depressive symptoms: 20% increased mortality

Question 12

What were the main findings of the study of “Optimism, Cynical Hostility and All-Cause Mortality in 97,253 Women”?

Answer 12

High optimism was associated with:

• 13% decreased mortality in WHITES
• 23% decreased mortality in BLACKS

High hostility was associated with: 
- 13% higher mortality in WHITES
- 62% higher mortality in BLACKS!!! 
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Note that: 
- Effects of both optimism and hostility were magnified in Blacks - perhaps due to discrimination!