Psychiatric disorder in a rural and an urban population: 1. Aetiology of depression

Abstract

SYNOPSISAn earlier survey of a random sample of women in Camberwell in South London has shown that the majority of new occurrences of depressive disorders were brought about by certain kinds of life event and ongoing difficulty (provoking agent) and that the risk was increased under these circumstances by the presence of certain other social factors (vulnerability factors). Working-class women were much more likely to develop depression because they experienced more of these factors. A new survey in a rural population in the Outer Hebrides has confirmed the importance of these factors in the genesis of depression, although provoking agents occurred much less frequently in this rural setting. However, integration into the traditional way of life, rather than a middle-class status, was related to a lower chance of developing depression, and this appears to be explained by the relationship of provoking agents and vulnerability factors to such integration in the Outer Hebrides, and to social class status in Camberwell.

Social competition in rats: Cell proliferation and behavior

“…Since it has been proposed that the onset of depression in humans is associated more commonly with nonviolent social interactions in the family or workplace as opposed to physical stress [6,21], paradigms that utilize social stressors to establish the context of dominance-subordinate hierarchies may help identify morphological differences between dominant and subordinate animals that can elucidate important biological underpinnings associated with depression. Chronic stress decreases cell proliferation in the hippocampus, whereas chronic administration of antidepressants produces the opposite effects [12].…”

“…Although numerous studies have examined the effects of chronic stress on animals in the laboratory, most have used unnatural stressors such as electric shock, restraint or forced swimming. Social stressors, however, are believed to play a special role in the onset of depression in people [1,6], although they may be difficult to study under controlled circumstances. Therefore, controlled studies of social stress present during interactions between animals in social hierarchies, may aid in the understanding of the role of social stress in contributing to stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as depression or anxiety.…”

Adolescent social stress does not necessarily lead to a compromised adaptive capacity during adulthood: A study on the consequences of social stress in rats

“…However, the social environment not only has positive effects on physical and mental well-being. In case social interactions become unpleasant or even threatening, individuals experience social stress which may produce stress pathology in animal models reflecting for instance an increased risk for depressive disorders in humans (Brown and Prudo, 1981;Post, 1992;Cutrona et al, 2005;Kessler et al, 2010). A seriously compromised social environment is experienced by a substantial amount of children being victims of bullying peers (Juvonen et al, 2003).…”

L’intervention en situation de crise

“…Les résultats obtenus ont par-fois mis complètement en doute la validité de ces quatre facteurs (Tennant et Bebbington, 1978) ou en ont réduit la portée générale (Cook, 1980;1981 ;1983). D'autres ont constaté qu'en milieu rural, le fait d'avoir trois enfants et plus de 14 ans et moins à la maison semble exercer une influence (Brown et Prudo, 1981). Enfin, l'absence d'un partenaire ou d'un confident semble jouer un rôle important, surtout auprès des femmes (Costello, 1982;Roy, 1981;Salomon et Bromet, 1982).…”