Rejection sensitivity and depression: mediation by stress generation
Open accessAbstract
Rejection sensitivity has been found to confer risk for depression. The process through which this occurs remains unclear. This risk factor also has been associated with negative behavioral tendencies and interpersonal difficulties. Drawing on these different lines of research, the current investigation aimed to evaluate stress generation, the tendency for depression-prone individuals to experience higher rates of life stressors that are at least in part influenced by their own behavior, as a potential mechanism mediating the link between rejection sensitivity and subsequent depressive symptoms. Sixty-six adults with a history of depression were followed over a 4-month interval and completed assessments of rejection sensitivity and depressive symptoms at baseline, and depressive symptoms, a diagnostic interview for depression, and a contextual threat life stress interview at 4-month follow-up. Consistent with the stress generation hypothesis, rejection sensitivity predicted higher rates of dependent stressors, but not independent ones, over the 4-month prospective follow-up period. Furthermore, prospectively occurring dependent stressors mediated the relationship between baseline rejection sensitivity and depressive symptoms at follow-up. The finding that stress generation may operate as a mediating mechanism underlying the pathway between rejection sensitivity and depression lends preliminary support for the importance of targeting maladaptive behavioral tendencies in rejection-sensitive individuals in clinical settings.
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Increased rejection sensitivity predicts higher rates of internal life stressors, which are at least partially influenced by the behavior and cognition of the individual.
“Increased rejection sensitivity has been shown to predict higher rates of internal life stressors, which are at least partially influenced by the behavior and cognition of the individual (Liu et al., 2014).”
From Social functioning in major depressive disorder (2016) · cites this paper as Liu et al., 2014
Internal generation of stress functions as a mediational mechanism for the link between rejection sensitivity and subsequent depressive symptoms.
“This internal generation of stress functioned as a mediational mechanism for the link between rejection sensitivity and subsequent depressive symptoms (Liu et al., 2014).”
From Social functioning in major depressive disorder (2016) · cites this paper as Liu et al., 2014
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- Authors
- Liu, R. T., Kraines, M. A., Massing-Schaffer, M., & Alloy, L. B.
- Affiliations
- Brown University (US)
- Temple University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Liu, Richard T.
- Venue
- Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes
- Publisher
- Guilford Publications
- Published
- 2014-03
- Volume
- 77
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 86-97
- ISSN
- 0033-2747 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4064307
- OpenAlex
- W2148233898
- Cited by
- 79
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 8.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH079369, R01MH101168)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- rejection sensitivity, depression, stress generation, depressive symptoms, mediation, interpersonal problems, maladaptive behavior, history of depression
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Depressive Disorder, Disease Susceptibility, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Life Change Events, Male, Models, Psychological, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Rejection, Psychology, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Sex Factors, Stress, Psychological, Linear Models, Young Adult
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