Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T01:09:47.271Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Interpersonal sensitivity predicts depressive symptom response to the circadian rhythm disruption of nightwork

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

R. Adeniran
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine and Department of Psychology, University of Wales, Bangor; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester
D. Healy*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine and Department of Psychology, University of Wales, Bangor; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester
H. Sharp
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine and Department of Psychology, University of Wales, Bangor; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester
J. M. G. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine and Department of Psychology, University of Wales, Bangor; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester
D. Minors
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine and Department of Psychology, University of Wales, Bangor; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester
J. M. Waterhouse
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine and Department of Psychology, University of Wales, Bangor; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr David Healy, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine, Hergest Unit, Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, North Wales LL57 2PW.

Synopsis

This paper reports the results of a study designed to explore the validity of a shiftwork model of affective disorders. Fifty-five student nurses doing nightwork for the first time were recruited to a study designed both to replicate an earlier study of the effects of nightwork on cognitive, emotional and neurovegetative measures and to assess the effects of nightwork on personality measures and the role of personality factors and nightwork induced disturbances in predicting accommodation to nightwork. As in the earlier study, concentration, interest, energy, sleep and appetite were significantly disturbed by nightwork and there was an increased perception of recent criticism from others. The findings from both studies were, therefore, aggregated to explore further possible relations between outcomes and the pre-nightwork level of affective symptoms and sensitivity to interpersonal criticism. These predicted poor response. In contrast, measures of cognitive style and symptom interpretation did not predict outcome. The findings are not inconsistent with proposals that disturbance of circadian rhythms consequent on psychosocial disruptions may play a part in the genesis of or maintenance of depression. They also support a proposal that nightwork induced changes may be a suitable human model for investigation of aspects of the affective disorders.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bohle, P. & Tilley, A. J. (1989). The impact of nightwork on psychological wellbeing. Ergonomics 32, 10891099.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehlers, C. L., Frank, E. & Kupfer, D. J. (1988). Social zeitgebers and biological rhythms: a unified approach to understanding. Archives of General Psychiatry 45, 948952.Google Scholar
Elkin, I., Shea, T. M., Watkins, J. T., Imber, S. D., Sotsky, S. M., Collins, J. F., Glass, D. R., Pilkonis, P. A., Leber, W. R., Docherty, J. P., Fiester, S. J. & Parloff, M. B. (1989). NIMH treatment of depression collaborative research programme: general effectiveness of treatments. Archives of General Psychiatry 46, 971982.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frank, E., Kupfer, D. J., Ehlers, C., Monk, T. H., Cornes, C., Carter, S. & Frankel, D. (1994). Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy. Behavior Therapist 17, 143149.Google Scholar
Haider, M., Kundi, M. & Koller, M. (1981). Methodological issues and problems in shift work research. In Biological Rhythms, Sleep and Shift Work (ed. Johnson, L., ColquhounD. Tepas, W. D. Tepas, W. and Colligan, M.), pp. 145163. S P Medical & Scientific Books: New York.Google Scholar
Healy, D. & Waterhouse, J. M. (1991). Reactive rhythms and endogenous clocks. Psychological Medicine 21, 557564.Google Scholar
Healy, D. & Waterhouse, J. M. (1995). The circadian system and the therapeutics of the affective disorders. Pharmacology and Therapeutics 65, 241263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Healy, D. & Williams, J. M. G. (1988). Dysrhythmia, dysphoria and depression: the interaction of learned helplessness and circadian dysrhythmia in the pathogenesis of depression. Psychological Bulletin 103, 163178.Google Scholar
Healy, D. & Waterhouse, , (1990). The circadian system and affective disorders: clocks or rhythms? Chronobiology International 7, 524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Healy, D., Minors, D. S. & Waterhouse, J. M. (1993). Shiftwork, helplessness and depression. Journal of Affective Disorders 29, 1725.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hooley, J. M., Orley, J. & Teasdale, J. D. (1986). Levels of expressed emotion and relapse in depressed patients. British Journal of Psychiatry 148, 642647.Google Scholar
Horne, J. A. & Ostberg, D. (1976). A self-assessment questionnaire to determine morningness-eveningness in human circadian rhythms. International Journal of Chronobiology 4, 97110.Google ScholarPubMed
Horwath, E., Johnson, J., Klerman, G. L. & Weissman, M. M. (1992). Depressive symptoms as relative and attributable risk factors for first-onset major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 49, 817823.Google Scholar
Klerman, G. L., Weissman, M. M., Rounsaville, B. J. & Chevron, E. S. (1984). Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression. Basic Books: New York.Google Scholar
Minors, D., Healy, D. & Waterhouse, J. M. (1994). The attitudes and general health of student nurses before and immediately after their first 8 weeks of nightwork. Ergonomics 37, 13551362.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monk, T. H., Kupfer, D. J., Frank, E. & Ritenour, A. (1991). The social rhythm metric (SRM): measuring daily social rhythms over 12 weeks. Psychiatry Research 36, 195207.Google Scholar
Peterson, C., Semmel, A.,von Bayer, C., Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I. & Seligman, M. E. P. (1982). The attributional style questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research 6, 287298.Google Scholar
Robbins, J. M. & Kirmayer, L. J. (1991). Attributions of common somatic symptoms. Psychological Medicine 21, 10291045.Google Scholar
Snaith, R. P. & Taylor, C. M. (1985). Irritability: definition, assessment and associated factors. British Journal of Psychiatry 147, 127136.Google Scholar
Szuba, M. P., Yager, A., Guze, B., Allen, E. & Baxter, L. R. (1992). Disruption of social circadian rhythms in major depression: a preliminary report. Psychiatry Research 42, 221230CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Teasdale, J. D. & Barnard, P. J. (1993). Affect, Cognition and Change: Remodelling Depressive Thought. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Hillsdale, NJ.Google Scholar
Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. & Williams, J. M. G. (1995). How does cognitive therapy prevent depressive relapse and why should attention control (mindfulness) training help? Behaviour Research and Therapy 33, 2539.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van den Hoofdakker, R. H. (1994). Chronobiological theories of nonseasonal affective disorders and their implications for treatment. Journal of Biological Rhythms 9, 157183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallston, K., Wallston, B. S. & DeVellis, R. (1978). Development of the multidimensional; locus of control (MHLC) scales. Health Education Monographs 6, 160171.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M. & Markowitz, J. C. (1994). Interpersonal psychotherapy. Current status. Archive of General Psychiatry 51, 599606.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed