title: Life stressors and resources and the 23-year course of depression.
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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: VA Palo Alto Center for Health Care Evaluation, Menlo Park, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Ruth C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Cronkite
authors.forename: Erin L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Woodhead
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finlay
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Timko
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Unger Hu
authors.forename: Rudolf H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Moos
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological
keywords: Coping; Depression; Longitudinal trajectories; Social resources; Stressful events