Aug 2026· South African Journal of Psychology· 0 citations· 37 references
TL;DR
Regression analysis showed that resilience significantly moderated the relationship between current symptoms of anxiety and depression, but there was no such moderation effect regarding the influence of PTSD symptoms and sleep disruption on depressive symptomatology.
Abstract
Depression is associated with worse clinical outcomes when comorbid with anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and sleep disturbances. Many affected individuals experience barriers to accessing adequate care, especially in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). Psychological resilience can protect against psychiatric symptoms, especially in the context of comorbidity, and can be enhanced through various learnable cognitive-behavioural strategies. This study examined whether psychological resilience may mitigate the worsening of depressive symptoms associated with anxiety, PTSD, and sleep disruption and evaluated which component(s) of resilience (Positive Affect, Stress Mastery, and Early-Life Stability) may be the strongest predictors of any protective effect. A total of 291 young adults completed an online survey measuring symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, sleep disturbance, and resilience. Regression analysis showed that resilience significantly moderated the relationship between current symptoms of anxiety and depression, but there was no such moderation effect regarding the influence of PTSD symptoms and sleep disruption on depressive symptomatology. Furthermore, the Positive Affect and Early-Life Stability components of resilience were responsible for the moderation effect. Positive Affect consists of several learnable cognitive and emotional skills, underscoring that building psychological resources may enhance mental health in LMICs. However, Early-Life Stability is less malleable and emphasises the need for systemic and social improvements to the circumstances in which many children in LMICs are reared to enhance their adult mental health.
It is hypothesized that individuals with greater childhood maltreatment severity, particularly severity of emotional abuse and neglect, will exhibit stronger DACS, reflecting greater temporal coupling between depression and anxiety symptoms, and whether childhood maltreatment severity and subtype predict stronger coupling and more persistent symptom trajectories.
Exposure to traumatic experiences is a well-documented risk factor for the development of depressive disorders; however, considerable variability exists in psychological outcomes following trauma exposure, with many individuals demonstrating resilience despite significant adversity. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these divergent trajectories is essential for improving prevention and intervention strategies. This narrative review integrates current empirical evidence on rumination, emotion dysregulation, and self-compassion to propose a cognitive-emotional framework explaining how maladaptive and protective processes may contribute to post-traumatic depression and resilience. The literature examined indicates that maladaptive rumination and difficulties in emotion regulation are consistently associated with elevated depressive symptoms following trauma and may contribute to the persistence of psychological distress through repetitive negative thinking, impaired emotional processing, and reduced adaptive coping. Conversely, self-compassion appears to be associated with lower levels of rumination, improved emotional functioning, and greater resilience. However, the extent to which self-compassion exerts unique effects beyond related processes such as mindfulness, acceptance, and broader emotion regulation capacities remains insufficiently understood. Overall, the available evidence supports a transdiagnostic perspective in which cognitive, emotional, and self-relational processes interact to influence post-traumatic adaptation. Nevertheless, the predominance of cross-sectional designs, reliance on self-report measures, and heterogeneity across trauma populations limit causal interpretations and the definitive identification of underlying mechanisms. Future longitudinal, experimental, and mechanistically informed studies are required to clarify the temporal relationships among these constructs and to determine how targeted interventions may strengthen protective processes while reducing vulnerability to depression following trauma.
OBJECTIVE
Previous research suggests an association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) but has not disentangled effects of trauma exposure, PTSD, and psychological resilience following trauma. This study investigated risk of MetS by psychological resilience following trauma exposure.
METHODS
Data are from 42,425 women in the Nurses' Health Study II who completed a survey in 2008 evaluating PTSD symptoms, psychological distress, facets of positive psychological well-being (PWB), and a broad range of covariates. Psychological resilience to trauma was characterized as: resilient (no PTSD and high positive PWB), coping without thriving (no PTSD and low positive PWB), and PTSD, with a no trauma control group. Probable MetS was derived using data on weight, height, diagnosed hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, and medication use from biennial surveys between 1989-2019. Time to probable MetS was approximated as the return date of the first questionnaire at which 3+ probable MetS criteria were met.
RESULTS
Proportional hazards models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics indicated that, relative to women with no trauma, women categorized as having PTSD (aHR=1.34 [1.05, 1.71]) or as coping without thriving (aHR=1.29 [1.03, 1.62]) experienced a greater hazard of developing MetS, whereas resilient women experienced a similar hazard of developing MetS (aHR=1.06 [0.84, 1.34]). Results remained similar after adjusting for health behaviors and antidepressant use.
CONCLUSIONS
Future research on trauma and MetS should consider varied trauma responses and assess if interventions that not only reduce psychological distress but also promote PWB could mitigate MetS risk.
A. Hillcoat, Arielle A. J. Scoglio, K. Serier et al.· Biopsychosocial science and...· 0 citations
Introduction: Anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental health disorders worldwide, placing an increasing burden on public health systems. However, certain transdiagnostic factors may modulate vulnerability to these disorders: personality traits, emotional regulation, and social support. Objective: To examined these factors, classifying them as either risk or protective through correlation analyses and qualitative comparative analyses in a clinical sample. Methods: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final sample consisted of 61 participants (73.8% female, 24.6% male, 1.6% other genders) aged between 20 and 66 years (M = 43.79; SD = 12.75). Results: Neuroticism was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression, whereas extraversion predicted better mental health. Additionally, emotion dysregulation correlated positively with both psychopathologies. Finally, perceived social support emerged as a sufficient condition for lower anxiety levels; conversely, its absence was linked to higher levels of both anxiety and depression. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of further investigating risk and protective factors related to highly prevalent mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Better understanding these factors can help improve assessment, diagnosis, and treatment within clinical practice.
Selene Valero-Moreno, Olga Ribera-Asensi, Saray Giménez-Benavent et al.· Universitas Médica· 0 citations
INTRODUCTION
Psychological distress is a major determinant of impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with epilepsy. Although resilience has been associated with better psychosocial adjustment and well-being, its contribution to this relationship remains unclear. We investigated whether resilience mediates the association between psychological distress and HRQoL while adjusting for seizure frequency.
METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, 89 adults with focal and generalized epilepsy completed measures of HRQoL (QOLIE-31), psychological symptoms (DASS-42), and resilience (CD-RISC-10). Regression analyses and bootstrapped mediation models (PROCESS Model 4) were conducted to examine the mediating role of resilience.
RESULTS
Resilience was significantly associated with psychological symptoms and HRQoL, but not with demographic or most clinical variables. Mediation analyses demonstrated that stress was associated with poorer HRQoL both directly and indirectly through lower resilience, indicating partial mediation (effect = -0.36, 95% CI [-0.66, -0.02]). Seizure frequency (β = -0.37, p < 0.001) independently predicted poorer HRQoL but was not significantly associated with resilience, suggesting that psychological and clinical factors contribute through distinct pathways to patient well-being.
CONCLUSION
These findings identify resilience as a potential mechanism linking stress to HRQoL in epilepsy and support a multidimensional understanding of overall well-being that encompasses both psychological and clinical determinants. Interventions targeting stress reduction and resilience enhancement may contribute to improved patient-reported outcomes.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the key psychiatric disorders that significantly predicts suicidal ideation and the likelihood of suicide attempts. As such, understanding the factors contributing to this risk in affected individuals is crucial. In this regard, the current study aimed to investigate the correlates of suicide risk in individuals with PTSD, focusing on PTSD symptom clusters, negative posttraumatic cognitions and beliefs, prior suicide attempt history, and comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders.
A sample of 80 participants with PTSD was gathered through a purposeful sampling method and completed study measures, including the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for
DSM-5
(PCL-5), the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI), and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R).
Correlation and hierarchical regression analyses indicated that prior suicide attempts, psychiatric comorbidity, re-experiencing symptoms, and negative cognitions about the self were significantly associated with suicide risk. Of note, re-experiencing symptoms were the only PTSD symptom cluster that remained significantly associated with suicide risk. Similarly, among the PTCI dimensions, only negative cognitions about the self demonstrated a significant association.
Findings emphasize the importance of symptom-level, cognitive, and clinical factors in suicide risk in patients with PTSD, which could inform suicide risk assessment and future intervention research.
