Dampening of positive feelings found to predict postpartum depressive symptoms

'I don't deserve to be this happy'

2014-04-29

(Press-News.org) A new KU Leuven study shows for the first time that the dampening or suppression of positive emotions plays an important role in the development of postpartum depression. This has implications for the treatment of depressed mothers.

We often forget that depression is characterised by both negative feelings and a lack of positive feelings. Researchers suspect that this may have to do with the way depression-prone individuals deal with positive or happy feelings. These individuals downplay or suppress positive feelings through a cognitive response style called dampening. Typical dampening responses include: "These good feelings won't last, you'll see"; "I can't forget that things weren't always this good" and "I probably don't deserve to be this happy".

Professor Filip Raes (Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences) is the first to investigate whether dampening of positive emotions also lies at the root of postpartum depression.

The study polled around 200 women once during and twice after their pregnancies. The women answered a questionnaire between the 24th and 34th weeks of pregnancy to determine depressive symptoms and cognitive responses to negative and positive emotions. They were then polled for depressive symptoms at 12 weeks and 24 weeks postpartum.

In about 8% of the mothers, responses indicated symptoms consistent with postpartum depression. Dampening was found to be a statistically significant predictor of women's depressive symptoms postpartum. The more a mother indicated dampening responses to happy feelings, the higher the level of depressive symptoms experienced postpartum.

In contrast – and surprisingly – dwelling on negative feelings (depressive rumination) was not found to be indicative of postnatal depression.

The results show for the first time that the suppression of positive feelings plays a significant role in depression. In determining the contributing factors of postpartum depression, the manner in which respondents deal with positive feelings appears to be at least as important as – and in some cases even more important than – the manner in which they deal with negative feelings.

In turn, these findings point to a need for (preventive) treatment techniques to address the suppression or dampening of positive feelings alongside maladaptive responses to negative feelings (such as depressive rumination).

The researchers are currently working to develop a treatment method focused specifically on counteracting dampening. Existing methods, such as mindfulness, may also have a positive effect on dampening, say the researchers.

INFORMATION: The full study, published online in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, can be accessed at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022399914001895

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New research shows increasing ocean temperatures affecting coral reefs

2014-04-29

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – It seems that coral reefs are experiencing something their human counterparts have been for years – a shrinking "empty nest" syndrome. That's right – researchers have found that increasing ocean temperatures due to climate change will soon see reefs retaining and nurturing more of their own coral larvae, leaving large reef systems less interconnected. The study brought together an international group of researchers from NSU's Oceanographic Center; the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and the School ...

Stress research in therapy dogs reveals animals' needs

2014-04-29

So-called animal-assisted therapy is being used increasingly often to treat physical and mental diseases in man. "For stressed persons, animals may serve as "social ice-breakers" and thus motivate them to enroll in therapy in the first place," says Lisa Maria Glenk, the lead author of the study. Scientific investigations on animal-assisted therapy do exist, but these have been largely confined to studying the effects of such therapy on man. Lisa Maria Glenk conducts research at the Department of Comparative Medicine at Messerli Research Institute. She is a pioneer in ...

Drug monitoring information improves regimen adherence, Carnegie Mellon researchers say

2014-04-29

PITTSBURGH—Most people want to take mediations as prescribed, even if they sometimes need a little help remembering. For them, an automated system that monitors drug taking and provides feedback after the fact may be more useful than one that nags people when it is time to take a pill, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University say. In a 10-month study of such a system in the homes of older adults with chronic health problems, the researchers found that adherence to a medication regimen improved when people had ready access to a digital display of their medication-taking ...

'Race, risk and behaviors: A type 2 diabetes update'

2014-04-29

Philadelphia, April 29, 2014 – Clinical Therapeutics features a special report in its April issue focusing primarily on the behavioral issues associated with patients' self-management of type 2 diabetes. "Diabetes, perhaps more so than any other chronic disease, requires people to significantly modify their behaviors—sometimes in ways that are contrary to their cultural norms and backgrounds—even when they don't 'feel' sick or experience symptoms of the disease," said John G. Ryan, Dr.PH., Topic Editor for Endocrinology and Diabetes, and guest editor for the April 2014 ...

Facial transplantation: Almost a decade out, surgeons prepare for burgeoning demand

2014-04-29

Plastic and reconstructive surgeons leading the first retrospective study of all known facial transplants worldwide conclude that the procedure is relatively safe, increasingly feasible, and a clear life-changer that can and should be offered to far more carefully selected patients. Reporting in The Lancet online April 27, NYU Langone plastic and reconstructive surgeon and senior author Eduardo Rodriguez, MD, DDS, says results after nearly a decade of experience with what he calls the "Mount Everest" of medical-surgical treatments are "highly encouraging." The review ...

Stroke risk reduced if brain blood vessel disorder is left alone

2014-04-29

Treating patients who suffer from a common condition that affects blood vessels in the brain increases their risk of stroke, a study has found. People with a condition known as arteriovenous malformation (AVM) – which causes blood vessels in the brain to tangle – have a better outcome if doctors treat their symptoms only and not the AVM. A team of doctors looked at the long-term outcome of patients with the condition, which is caused by abnormal connections between the arteries and veins in the brain. They found that, over a 12 year period, patients who chose not ...

In a commanding position -- and now cheaper

2014-04-29

It is a requirement of the touchscreens for all our everyday gadgets that they are transparent and at the same time electrically conductive. Solar cells are also unable to operate without such a film, which allows sunlight to pass through it, but can also conduct the current generated. Conventional "transparent conductive oxide" (TCO) films consist of a mixture of indium and tin oxide. Indium in very much in demand in the electronics industry, but is rare, and therefore expensive. A cheaper option (at least in terms of the materials used) employs zinc oxide mixed with ...

Study highlights importance of parents talking to kids about money

2014-04-29

A new study from North Carolina State University and the University of Texas finds that children pay close attention to issues related to money, and that parents should make an effort to talk with their children to ensure that kids don't develop misconceptions about finance. "We wanted to know what kids are learning, or not learning, about money from their parents," says Dr. Lynsey Romo, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and lead author of a paper on the research. "This is one of the first studies to look at what young school-age children know about ...

Man landing on Madeira could be 4 centuries prior to its colonization by the Portuguese

2014-04-29

VIDEO: Four centuries before its colonization by the Portuguese, man may have landed on Madeira Island. This can be deduced from a study led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC),... Click here for more information. According to the results, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal, house mice may have landed on the island before 1036, most likely transported by a ship. The article suggests that the introduction of this species would result in an ...

Immunology touted as next big thing for popular science

2014-04-29

A University of Manchester professor says scientific jargon could be making the science of the human immune system a turn-off for the general public. Professor Daniel Davis says that scientists are using a number of innovative ways to generate public discussion on immunology and the time is right for people to get to grips with the subject. His paper, published today in Nature Reviews Immunology, coincides with the International Day of Immunology, argues that now is the right time for immunology to become the next big trend in popular science – to inform new discussions ...

Unraveling cancer’s neural connections: NIH-funded study investigates how stem cell regulation influences tissue renewal and cancer development

David B. Allison, PhD (Baylor College of Medicine), Lauren Hunt PhD, RN, FNP (UCSF), and Arlan Richardson, PhD (University of Oklahoma Health Sciences) to be honored with AFAR annual scientific Awards

Dampening of positive feelings found to predict postpartum depressive symptoms

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: