Frequent Interpersonal Stress and Inflammatory Reactivity Predict Depressive-Symptom Increases: Two Tests of the Social-Signal-Transduction Theory of Depression
Annelise A. Madison, Rebecca Andridge, M. Rosie Shrout, Megan E. Renna, Jeanette M. Bennett, Lisa M. Jaremka, Christopher P. Fagundes, Martha A. Belury, William B. Malarkey, Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser
Psychological Science · 2022 · Volume 33 · Issue 1
DOI: 10.1177/09567976211031225
Abstract
The social-signal-transduction theory of depression asserts that people who experience ongoing interpersonal stressors and mount a greater inflammatory response to social stress are at higher risk for depression. The current study tested this theory in two adult samples. In Study 1, physically healthy adults ( N = 76) who reported more frequent interpersonal tension had heightened depressive symptoms at Visit 2, but only if they had greater inflammatory reactivity to a marital conflict at Visit 1. Similarly, in Study 2, depressive symptoms increased among lonelier and less socially supported breast-cancer survivors ( N = 79). This effect was most pronounced among participants with higher inflammatory reactivity to a social-evaluative stressor at Visit 1. In both studies, noninterpersonal stress did not interact with inflammatory reactivity to predict later depressive symptoms.
Keywords
inflammation, depression, social, interpersonal, stress, interpersonal relationships, loneliness, social-signal-transduction theory of depression
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