title: Associations Between Negative and Positive Life Events and the Course of Depression: A Detailed Repeated-Assessments Study.
abstract: Although the effects of life events on the onset of depression are well documented, little is known regarding their effects on the course of symptoms in depressed persons. We prospectively examined the associations between negative and positive life events and the course of depressive symptomatology in depressed primary care patients. A total of 267 depressed patients were followed for 3 years using a repeated-assessments design consisting of 36 monthly assessments of the 9 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders depression symptoms and positive and negative life events. We examined whether the severity of depressive symptomatology changed directly after the occurrence of a life event. Negative events were not associated with short-term changes in depressive symptomatology. In contrast, positive events were followed by a significant decrease in depressive symptoms one and two months after their occurrence. These findings may translate into emphasis during treatment on engagement in activities that may increase the chance of positive life experiences.
authors.affiliation: *Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion regulation, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen; and †Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Simon C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Blonski
authors.forename: Henk Jan
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Conradi
authors.forename: Albertina J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Oldehinkel
authors.forename: Elisabeth Henriette
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Bos
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Jonge
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012720:Severity of Illness Index