Parental bonding and depressive affect: The mediating role of coping resources

COVID-19 Adaptive Interventions: Implications for Wellbeing and Quality-of-Life

Social bonds may assist in cultivating a more positive attitude to life through commonly shared meanings about the COVID-19 pandemic. The key challenge, however, is how to foster social bonds meeting the changing demands in a post pandemic world. Yet, it is in the middle of a crisis that the conversation needs to start about how to strategically plan for the recovery. This is important not only in the current pandemic, but also in a post pandemic world. Reinforcing or fostering new social bonds is likely to bring positive experiences. The latter is central to human health and wellbeing, and has potential to contribute greatly in enhancing people's quality of life. In an attempt to foster place social bonding in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond to subsequently contribute to wellbeing, this paper develops and proposes a new conceptual framework suggesting the need for adaptive social bonding interventions in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This is an essential measure to manage the significant impacts on our global health services due to a decline in people's mental health in addition to COVID-19 physical impacts. The paper discusses how promoting adaptive social bonding interventions (psycho-socio, digital and nature social bonding) can make people more resilient. It further discusses how they can be empowered psychologically, socially, and emotionally in the current challenging times. The conceptual framework posits that social bonding interventions can assist in maintaining better mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing and discusses how these wellbeing outcomes may also be experienced post the pandemic. This has important benefits and is of relevance to governments, policy makers and healthcare professionals in delivering better health care and equipping people with coping mechanisms both throughout the pandemic and in the long run.

Parental bonding, depressive experiences, and symptomology: An investigation among college students in Malaysia

This study examined the perceptions of parental bonding, depressive experiences of self-criticism and dependency, and the current level of depressive symptomology among 212 college students from Sabah, Malaysia. The participants completed the brief version of the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Reconstructed Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, and the Patient Health Questionnaire. The results showed significant direct effects of maternal care, maternal overprotection, paternal care, self-criticism, and dependency on depressive symptomology. In contrast, the indirect effects of self-criticism and dependency on the relationship between parental bonding and depressive symptomology were not significant. These findings were in line with previous studies that have highlighted the significance of parent-child bonding, self-criticism, and dependency in the development of depressive symptomology. However, they contradicted previous results on the significant indirect effects of self-criticism and dependency. This study highlights the importance of parental care and overprotection, as they can predict the manifestation of depressive symptomology at a later stage in life.

Relational and Spiritual Coping Among Emerging and Young Adult Cancer Survivors

Cancer presents uncertainties for individuals of any age; however, emerging and young adults (EYA) are challenged to cope with developmental tasks in addition to cancer-related stressors. Guided by the double ABC-X model and biopsychosocial-spiritual framework, the current study investigates coping strategies used by this population and the role of psychological resources (perception of parental care/control and spirituality) on their coping ability. Recruited from online social media, 210 EYA cancer survivors self-reported demographic, medical information, and completed the Brief Cope scale. In addition, spirituality reliance, perceived parental care, and parental control were measured and examined in relation to coping ability. While nearly half of participants experienced positive adaptation in relation to multiple stressors, hierarchical multiple regression revealed the developmental nature of coping and indicated that higher spirituality reliance and higher degree of parental care were predictive of adaptive coping among EYA cancer survivors. Content analyses of the open-ended questions confirmed these results. In order to facilitate adaptive coping, attention must be paid to the unique biopsychosocial-spiritual and developmental needs of young cancer survivors while encouraging family support and spirituality reliance as significant tools in coping. Practical recommendations for nursing support and healthcare teams are discussed.

Traumatic Experiences, Perceived Discrimination, and Psychological Distress Among Members of Various Socially Marginalized Groups

Perceived discrimination has consistently been shown to be associated with diminished mental health, but the psychological processes underlying this link are less well understood. The present series of four studies assessed the role of a history traumatic events in generating a proliferation of discrimination stressors and threat appraisals, which in turn predict psychological distress (depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms) (mediation model), or whether prior traumatic events sensitize group members, such that when they encounter discrimination, the link to stress-related symptoms is heightened (moderation model). Each of the studies assessed a different marginalized group in Canada, including Indigenous peoples, Blacks, Jews, and a diverse sample of women. Participants completed measures assessing history of traumatic events, perceived explicit and ambiguous discrimination, discrimination threat appraisals, and symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. The four populations varied in their experiences, with Indigenous peoples encountering the highest levels of trauma, discrimination, and psychological distress symptoms. A mediated model was evident among Indigenous peoples and women, possibly reflecting the role of systemic processes that engender discrimination when traumatic events are experienced. There was evidence for a moderating role of a history of traumatic events on the relations between discrimination and depressive symptoms among Jewish and Black participants. Although the hypothesized synergistic effects of traumatic experiences were noted when assessing the relation between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among Jews, the presence of trauma blunted these relations among Blacks. The results suggest that trauma-informed approaches to addressing stress-related processes and psychological outcomes need to consider the unique social context of members of various socially marginalized groups.

Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation among Irish Undergraduate College Students

This study examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among 220 first year undergraduate university students in Ireland. Data were collected using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and the Suicidal Behaviours Questionnaire. Findings indicated that 59% of participants experienced depressive symptoms and 28.5% had suicidal ideation. Financial stress and poor relationships with both parents, increased the odds of experiencing depressive symptoms. Sexual orientation, financial stress, and poor relationships with fathers, increased the odds of experiencing suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation was also higher in those who had sought help in the past from mental health professionals. Nurses need to be aware of the factors associated with mental ill-health in this population.

Suicidal thoughts and attempts in First Nations communities: links to parental Indian residential school attendance across development

The Indian residential school (IRS) system in Canada ran for over a century until the last school closed in 1996. Conditions in the IRSs resulted in generations of Indigenous children being exposed to chronic childhood adversity. The current investigation used data from the 2008-2010 First Nations Regional Health Survey to explore whether parental IRS attendance was associated with suicidal thoughts and attempts in childhood, adolescence and in adulthood among a representative sample of First Nations peoples living on-reserve across Canada. Analyses of the adult sample in Study 1 (unweighted n=7716; weighted n=186,830) revealed that having a parent who attended IRS was linked with increased risk for suicidal thoughts and attempts in adolescence and adulthood. Although females were negatively affected by having a parent who attended IRS, the link with suicidal ideation in adulthood was greater for males. Analyses of the youth sample in Study 2 (unweighted n=2883; weighted n=30,190) confirmed that parental IRS attendance was associated with an increased risk for suicidal ideation and attempts. In contrast to the adult sample, parental IRS attendance had a significantly greater relation with suicidal ideation among female youth. A significant interaction also emerged between parental IRS attendance and age in the youth sample, with the influence of parental attendance being particularly strong among youth ages 12-14, compared with those 15-17 years. These results underscore the need for culturally relevant early interventions for the large proportions of Indigenous children and youth intergenerationally affected by IRSs and other collective traumas.

Escala de funcionamiento familiar. Propiedades psicométricas modificadas en una muestra mexicana

El objetivo de este estudio fue validar las propiedades psicométricas de la versión modificada de la Escala de Funcionamiento Familiar (García Méndez, 2006). Colaboraron de manera voluntaria 1196 participantes de la Ciudad de México: 471 padres (39.4 % de la muestra) y 725 madres (60.6 % de la muestra), con un rango de edad de 25 a 43 años (M = 34, DT = 5.10). La muestra fue no probabilística y se dividió en dos grupos con igual número de integrantes cada uno. Con un grupo de 598 participantes, se realizó un análisis factorial exploratorio que agrupó 32 ítems distribuidos en cinco factores, los cuales evalúan el funcionamiento familiar. La varianza total explicada fue de 44.08% y la consistencia interna global de la escala fue de 0.79. Los factores fueron: ambiente familiar positivo (α = .885), conflicto (α = .848), diversión (α = .791), hostilidad (α = .721) y coaliciones (α = .660). Para probar la estructura de la escala se realizó un análisis factorial confirmatorio con esos 598 participantes. Los valores obtenidos en los ajustes NFI, CFI, NFI y RMSEA demostraron la estabilidad del modelo con los 5 factores. Se concluyó que la escala cumple con las propiedades psicométricas requeridas para evaluar el funcionamiento familiar en población mexicana.

Clarifying the Relationship of Parental Bonding to Suicide Ideation and Attempts

Suicide and suicidal behavior are major public health problems, especially among adolescents and young adults. Previous research has established links between parental bonding and suicidality; however, it remains unclear whether parental bonding is associated with suicide ideation, the progression from suicide ideation to suicide attempts, or both. This study examined the relation of parental bonding to suicide ideation and suicide attempts in adolescents from two settings: (1) acute psychiatric care (n = 172) and (2) high school (n = 426). All participants were administered validated measures of parental bonding, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts, as well as emotion dysregulation, loneliness, and self-worth. In the psychiatric sample, lower parental care significantly differentiated adolescents with a history of suicide attempts from those with suicide ideation only or without histories of suicidality. This pattern remained even after controlling for other known correlates of suicidality (i.e., emotional dysregulation, loneliness, and low self-worth). Similar effects were found in the community sample, although these findings failed to reach statistical significance. In both samples, parental overprotection was not associated with suicide ideation or suicide attempts. Results suggest that parental care may be an important risk factor for youth suicidal behavior and may help differentiate suicide attempters from suicide ideators.

Does Harm Avoidance mediate effects of recollected parental bonding on mental distress in adulthood?

BACKGROUND

Adverse early life conditions such as perceived low quality of parental bonding increase vulnerability to stress and psychopathology in adulthood. However, the mechanisms by which perceptions of parental bonding translate into vulnerability are unclear and remain sparsely investigated in healthy populations. We proposed a model, in which the personality trait Harm Avoidance would mediate effects of recollected parental bonding during the first sixteen years of life on measures of perceived stress and mental distress severity in adulthood.

METHOD

Five-hundred-eighteen adults (65.1 % women), aged 18-53years, completed questionnaires of parental bonding, perceived stress, trait Harm Avoidance, and severity of mental distress. Direct and indirect effects mediated through trait Harm Avoidance were examined in a structural equation model.

RESULTS

Under the causal assumptions of our proposed model, indirect effects of trait Harm Avoidance mediated the relationship between parental overprotection and severity of mental distress, while significantly attenuating the direct effects of parental care on severity of mental distress. Moreover, indirect effects of trait Harm Avoidance significantly attenuated the direct effects of parental overprotection and care on perceived stress.

CONCLUSION

In this large sample of mentally healthy adults, recollected parental bonding was significantly associated with levels of perceived stress and severity of mental distress. The results from our proposed model further suggest that trait Harm Avoidance may be a developmental link, by which the quality of recollected parental bonding in childhood translates into adult vulnerability to stress and mental distress.

Parents living with HIV and children's stress and delinquent behaviors in China

OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to explore the association of parents living with HIV (PLHs) and their children's self-esteem, everyday stress, and delinquent behaviors. DESIGN: The study samples included 79 families with 79 PLHs and 79 children. METHODS: Multiple regression analysis was used on baseline data collected in 2009 from a pilot study in Anhui Province, China. RESULTS: The results indicated that children from a family with both parents infected with HIV or children from families having multiple children were more likely to report a higher level of everyday stress. Male PLHs have significant influence on their children's everyday stress compared with female PLHs. Children reporting a lower level of parental care and lower self-esteem were significantly more likely to report a higher level of delinquent behaviors. In addition, we have found a strong positive correlation between families with multiple children and their children's delinquent behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the severity of psychological and behavioral problems of children living in different HIV-affected families may be dependent not only on factors related to the children but also on factors related to their parents and families. Therefore, parental and family level factors should be considered when providing care and support to children living in HIV-affected families.

Attachment insecurity and psychological resources associated with adjustment disorders

This study examined the adult attachment styles, interpersonal distance from potential attachment figures and strangers, coping strategies, perceived social support, and stress-related self-variables among patients diagnosed with adjustment disorders (AJD). Seventy patients at an outpatient clinic and 61 matched controls completed a battery of standardized questionnaires. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used to evaluate the parameters of interest. Using attachment theory (J. Bowlby, 1988) and the dynamic stress-vulnerability model of depressive disorder (G. W. Brown & T. O. Harris, 1989) as the analytical frameworks, the authors hypothesized that participants with AJD would: (a) display more insecure attachment styles, (b) be less tolerant of close interpersonal proximity, (c) use more emotion-oriented coping strategies, (d) display lower self-efficacy and self-esteem, and (e) perceive less social support from family, friends, and significant others. We further hypothesized that these variables would be predictive of depressive symptoms. All of the hypotheses were confirmed. The results suggest that the insecure fearful-avoidant attachment style is associated with severe depressive symptoms in patients with AJD. However, other psychosocial factors, such as low self-esteem and poor social support from friends, were more predictive of AJD symptoms. The findings warrant further studies on the risk and protective effects of these factors in the development of AJD and other stress-induced disorders.

Parental division of labor, coordination, and the effects of family structure on parenting in monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

Family relationships help shape species-typical social and emotional development, but our understanding of how this shaping occurs is still relatively limited. Prairie voles are a socially monogamous and biparental species that is well situated to complement traditional animal models, such as rats and mice, in investigating the effects of family experience. In this series of studies, we aimed to test hypotheses relating to how prairie vole families function under undisturbed, standard laboratory conditions. In the first study, we compared the parental behavior of primiparous biparental (BP) and single-mother (SM) prairie vole family units for 12 postnatal days and then tested for sex differences, behavioral coordination, and family structure effects. Under BP conditions, nest attendance was coordinated and shared equally by both sexes, while pup-directed and partner-directed licking and grooming (LG) were coordinated in a sex and social-context-dependent manner. Contrary to our expectations, SMs showed no evidence of strong parental compensation in response to the lack of the father, indicating a minimal effect of family structure on maternal behavior but a large effect on pup care. In the second study, we examined the effects of these BP and SM rearing conditions on family dynamics in the next generation and found that SM-reared adult parents exhibited lower rates of pup-directed LG in comparison to BP-reared counterparts. Situated in the context of human family dynamics and psychology, these results suggest that the study in prairie voles may help improve our understanding of family systems and how perturbations to these systems can affect adults and offspring.

Mother's affection at 8 months predicts emotional distress in adulthood

BACKGROUND

Long-standing theory suggests that quality of the mother's (or primary caregiver's) interaction with a child is a key determinant of the child's subsequent resilience or vulnerability and has implications for health in adulthood. However, there is a dearth of longitudinal data with both objective assessments of nurturing behaviour during infancy and sustained follow-up ascertaining the quality of adult functioning.

METHODS

We used data from the Providence, Rhode Island birth cohort of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project (mean age 34 at follow-up, final N=482) to conduct a prospective study of the association between objectively measured affective quality of the mother-infant interaction and adult mental health. Infant-mother interaction quality was rated by an observer when infants were 8 months old, and adult emotional functioning was assessed from the Symptom Checklist-90, capturing both specific and general types of distress.

RESULTS

High levels of maternal affection at 8&emsp14;months were associated with significantly lower levels of distress in adult offspring (1/2 standard deviation; b=-4.76, se=1.7, p<0.01). The strongest association was with the anxiety subscale. Mother's affection did not seem to be on the pathway between lower parental SES and offspring distress.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that early nurturing and warmth have long-lasting positive effects on mental health well into adulthood.

The association between individual attachment patterns, the perceived social support, and the psychological well-being of Turkish informal caregivers

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the relations among the psychological well-being (i.e. depression and state/trait anxiety levels), attachment patterns (i.e. secure, ambivalent, avoidant), and the perceived social support from family/friends/significant others of caregivers of cancer patients in Turkey.

METHODS

Fifty-one caregivers of adult cancer patients were recruited from the oncology outpatient clinic of the Marmara Medical School Hospital in Istanbul. Caregivers were assessed with the Adult Attachment Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, State-trait Anxiety Inventories, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.

RESULTS

Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that depression was predicted by ambivalent attachment and the perceived social support from family. The support from significant others was the significant predictor of trait anxiety and the caregivers' ambivalent attachment score was the significant predictor of state anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

We assert that ambivalent attachment pattern could confer a vulnerability to psychological distress in cancer caregivers. Assessing the psychological experiences and needs of caregivers and being aware of possible risk factors (such as attachment patterns) and protective factors (social support network) for depression and anxiety might be helpful for successful programmes and interventions that support the caregivers of cancer patients.

Mental Symptoms in Different Health Professionals During the SARS Attack: A Follow-up Study

AIM

The aims of the study were to assess the psychological impact of SARS bio-disaster on healthcare workers.

METHODS

The participants were 127 healthcare workers who had taken care of suspected SARS patients. All participants completed the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Parental Bonding Instrument at the first stage and the CHQ again a year later.

RESULTS

Healthcare workers that had mental symptoms at follow-up reported the symptoms were associated with daily-life stress and not the SARS crisis. The physicians had more somatic symptoms than nurses, suggesting different professions have different impact on mental health. Additionally, individual's early maternal attachment and neuroticism were found to have greater effect on mental health of life-threatening stress.

CONCLUSIONS

Life-threatening and daily-life stress show two different patterns of influence on mental health. These results provided a preclinical model for understanding, and preventing, human stress-related psychiatric disorders in the future.

Nonverbal communication sets the conditions for the relationship between parental bonding and the short-term treatment response in depression

The role of parental bonding and nonverbal communication in the short-term treatment response was investigated in 104 depressed outpatients. At baseline patients completed the Parental Bonding Instrument. We registered the nonverbal involvement behaviour of patients and interviewers from video recordings of baseline clinical interviews and calculated the convergence between patient-interviewer behaviour over the interview. The course of depression was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory. As hypothesized, low maternal care and high paternal overprotection predicted a poor response to an 8-week treatment. Maternal care was positively correlated with nonverbal convergence. Moreover, convergence moderated the relationship between maternal care and the response to treatment: Lack of convergence between patients and interviewers turned out to annul the positive effects of maternal care on the treatment response. The findings link theories on early parenting to interpersonal theories of depression.

Early environment and major depression in young adults: a longitudinal study

Post-natal incubator care represents an early specific environment that may affect the risk for major depression later in life. A subsample of 1212 young adults from the French-speaking general population of the region of Quebec were selected from an ongoing longitudinal study that started during their kindergarten years. Information on peri-natal condition, obstetrical complications and incubator care was collected by consulting hospital medical records. Participants were evaluated using DSM III-R based psychiatric assessment when they were 15 and 21 years old. Incubator care predicted an approximate two- to three-fold decreased risk for depressive disorder at age 21. Results from three different logistic models adjusting for family adversity and for maternal depression confirmed this relationship. Analyses were replicated for depression at age 15, showing the same association in female adolescents. This study suggests that post-natal incubator care may paradoxically decrease the occurrence of major depression later in life. This protective effect might be direct (through optimized biological, physiological and sensory parameters) or indirect (induction of specific parent-child interactions due to the perception of their infant's vulnerability). This study could enhance understanding of the links between early post-natal environment and affective disorders later in life.

When parents matter to their adult children: filial reliance associated with parents' depressive symptoms

A neglected topic in aging depression research is the potential role of the parent-adult child relationship. In this study we examined whether adult children's reports of having relied upon parents for instrumental and expressive support are associated with parents' depressive symptoms. The sample included 304 parents (aged 50-72 years), matched to a randomly selected adult offspring, from the University of Southern California Longitudinal Study of Generations. We measured parents' depressive symptoms by using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale at baseline and 3 and 6 years later. The final longitudinal analysis showed that, when we adjusted for relevant variables including age, gender, income, self-rated health, and child's depressive symptoms, the adult child's reliance on instrumental support was associated with fewer parental depressive symptoms (p =.036). Expressive support did not show the same pattern. Thus, adult children's reliance on instrumental support might contribute to their parents' mental health.

Interplay between childhood maltreatment, parental bonding, and gender effects: impact on quality of life

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine associations between childhood adversity, parental bonding, gender, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in non-treatment-seeking adults from the community.

METHOD

Effects of differential parental rearing were compared in adults who reported a high degree of childhood maltreatment (n=72) and those who reported no significant adverse events in childhood (n=69). Subjects completed retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment and perceived parenting style, as well as measures of current depressive symptoms and quality of life.

RESULTS

The subjects without childhood maltreatment were younger and endorsed less current depressive symptomatology than did subjects with childhood maltreatment. While the subjects without a history of maltreatment reported more "optimal" bonding experiences with their parents, the maltreatment group members were more likely to characterize their early parental bonding experiences in terms of "affectionless control" (p<.001 for both maternal and paternal parenting), "affectionate constraint" (p=.025 for maternal parenting and p=.004 for paternal parenting), or "weak or absent" bonding (p<.001 for both maternal and paternal parenting). Results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that overall quality of paternal care (p=.015) and current level of depressive symptoms (p<.001) were significant independent predictors of adult quality of life. Gender effects between subjects providing parental bonding data were limited to the group with childhood maltreatment.

CONCLUSION

These findings extend previous work documenting a relationship between early life maltreatment and suboptimal parental bonding, suggesting gender-specific effects of maternal and paternal care. Effects of childhood maltreatment on quality of life in adulthood appear to be linked with the quality of childhood paternal care and the occurrence of depressive symptomatology in adulthood, suggesting possible targets for primary or secondary prevention.

Ruminative coping among patients with dysthymia before and after pharmacotherapy

The pivotal role of rumination in relation to other coping strategies was assessed in chronically depressed (dysthymic disorder) individuals versus nondepressed controls. Individuals with dysthymia demonstrated elevated use of rumination and other emotion-focused strategies (emotional expression, emotional containment, self- and other-blame). Among patients with dysthymia, rumination was linked to this limited array of emotion-focused efforts and diminished use of cognitive disengagement, whereas among controls, rumination was correlated with a broad constellation of problem- and emotion-focused strategies. Following 12 weeks of pharmacotherapy (sertraline), despite attenuation of depressed mood and reduced rumination, the limited relations between rumination and emotion-focused efforts persisted. Inflexibility in the ability to combine various coping efforts effectively may be characteristic of individuals with dysthymia, potentially increasing risk for recurrence.

The limits of 'adaptive' coping: well-being and mood reactions to stressors among women in abusive dating relationships

Coping is typically thought to be adaptive if it reduces immediate distress and promotes well-being. However, coping strategies might appear beneficial in a given situation, but when considered in the broader stressor context, those situational benefits may actually undermine well-being. Two studies (N = 473 and N = 80 women) demonstrated that, in the context of psychologically or physically abusive dating relationships, coping orientations were rooted in women's stressor history (prior assault trauma) and elevated emotion-focused and lower problem-focused efforts were predictive of greater depressive symptoms. Yet, in response to a stressor video that acted as a reminder of women's abusive experiences (but not to a stressor video unrelated to abuse), affective benefits (lower hostility, higher positive agency) were associated with abused women's emotion-focused coping endorsements, but were not linked to problem-focused coping. It seems that in some contexts, reduced distress might limit active efforts to alter a dysfunctional situation.

Stress, depression, and anhedonia: caveats concerning animal models

Numerous animal models of depression have been advanced, each having multiple attributes and some limitations. This review provides caveats concerning etiologically valid animal models of depression, focusing on characteristics of the depressive subtype being examined (e.g. typical vs atypical major depression, dysthymia, melancholia), and factors that contribute to the interindividual behavioral variability frequently evident in stressor-related behavioral paradigms. These include the stressor type (processive vs systemic stressors), and characteristics of the stressor (controllability, predictability, ambiguity, chronicity, intermittence), as well as organismic variables (genetic, age, sex), experiential variables (stressor history, early life events) and psychosocial and personality factors that moderate stressor reactivity. Finally, a model of depression is reviewed that evaluates the effects of stressors on hedonic processes, reflected by responding for rewarding brain stimulation. Anhedonia is a fundamental feature of depression, and assessment of stressor-related reductions in the rewarding value of brain stimulation, especially when coupled with other potential symptoms of depression, provides considerable face, construct and predictive validity. Stressful events markedly impact rewarding brain stimulation, and this effect varies across strains of mice differentially reactive to stressors, is modifiable by antidepressant treatments, and allows for analyses of the contribution of different brain regions to anhedonic processes. The paradigm is sensitive to several factors known to acts as moderators of stress responses, but analyses remain to be conducted with regard to several such variables.