Browsing by Subject "harm avoidance"

Depression is a phenomenon determined by multiple factors and it can be conceptualized both from psychological and physiological point of view. Psychological and physiological risk factors form a vulnerability that predispose to depression. The purpose of this study was to research the relationship between the psychological risk factors of depression and physiological stress reactivity. Cloninger's temperament trait harm-avoidance (Temperament and Character Inventory) and tendency for ruminative thinking (Self-rumination Scale) were used as psychological risk factors in this study. The physiological stress reactivity was measured by the individual differences in the heart rate variability. 58 women were invited to laboratory based on the earlier web-based study (n=588). In laboratory the women answer to self-report questionnaires and their EKG was measured under a stressful task. Study found a statistically significant association between psychological risk factors of depression and physiological stress reactivity. Psychological risk factors of depression constituted a whole that predicted physiological stress reactivity in a specific experimental setting in a statistically significant way. The results of this study can be used as a foundation for the development of more effective medical interventions and psychotherapies, and for the development of more specific categorization of depressive subcategories.