No abstract

Theories on the aetiology of depression in humans are intimately linked to animal research on stressor controllability effects. However, explicit translations of established animal designs are lacking. In two consecutive studies, we developed a translational paradigm to study stressor controllability effects in humans. In the first study, we compared three groups of participants, one exposed to escapable stress, one yoked inescapable stress group, and a control group not exposed to stress. Although group differences indicated successful stress induction, the manipulation failed to differentiate groups according to controllability. In the second study, we employed an improved paradigm and contrasted only an escapable stress group to a yoked inescapable stress group. The final design successfully induced differential effects on self-reported perceived control, exhaustion, helplessness, and behavioural indices of adaptation to stress. The latter were examined in a new escape behaviour test which was modelled after the classic shuttle box animal paradigm. Contrary to the learned helplessness literature, exposure to uncontrollable stress led to more activity and exploration; however, these behaviours were ultimately not adaptive. We discuss the results and possible applications in light of the findings on learning and agency beliefs, inter-individual differences, and interventions aimed at improving resilience to stress-induced mental dysfunction.

Recent theories propose moderate (compared to high or no) stressor exposure to promote emotion regulation capacities. More precisely, stressful situations are expected to serve as practice opportunities for cognitive reappraisal (CR), that is, the reinterpretation of a situation to alter its emotional impact. Accordingly, in this study, we expect an inverted U-shaped relationship between exposure to daily hassles and performance in a CR task, that is, best reappraisal ability in individuals with a history of moderate stressor exposure. Participants (N = 165) reported the number of daily hassles during the last week as indicator of stressor exposure and completed the Script-based Reappraisal Test (SRT). In the SRT, participants are presented with fear-eliciting scripts and instructed to either downregulate negative affect via reappraisal (reappraisal-trials) or react naturally (control-trials). Two measures indicate CR ability: (1) reappraisal effectiveness, that is, the difference between affective ratings in reappraisal-and control-trials and (2) reappraisal inventiveness, that is, the number of valid and categorically different reappraisal thoughts. Multiple regression analyses revealed positive linear, but not quadratic, relationships of exposure to daily hassles and both indicators of CR ability. Potential benefits of stressor exposure for emotion regulation processes are discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted severe restrictions on everyday life to curb the spread of infections. For example, teaching at universities has been switched to an online format, reducing students' opportunities for exchange, and social interaction. Consequently, their self-reported mental health has significantly decreased and there is a pressing need to elucidate the underlying mechanisms—ideally considering not only data collected during the pandemic, but also before. One hundred seventeen German university students aged 18-27 were assessed for known resilience factors (optimism, self-care, social support, generalized self-efficacy) and subsequently completed surveys on stress experiences and mental health every 3 months over a period of 9 months before the outbreak of the pandemic and once during the first lockdown in Germany. For each timepoint before the pandemic, we regressed participants' mental health against the reported stressor load, such that the resulting residuals denote better or worse than expected outcomes, i.e., the degree of resilient functioning. We then tested whether different expressions in the resilience factors were predictive of distinct resilient functioning trajectories, which were identified through latent class growth analysis. Finally, we investigated whether trajectory class, resilience factors, and perceived stress predicted resilience during the pandemic. Results show rather stable resilient functioning trajectories, with classes differing mainly according to degree rather than change over time. More self-care was associated with a higher resilient functioning trajectory, which in turn was linked with the most favorable pandemic response (i.e., lower perceived stress and more self-care). Although findings should be interpreted with caution given the rather small sample size, they represent a rare examination of established resilience factors in relation to resilience over an extended period and highlight the relevance of self-care in coping with real-life stressors such as the pandemic.