relationships & mood: handout see the sheet: Relationships are important for our health as an introduction to some of the connections between relationships and psychological wellbeing

relationships & wellbeing: research  Argyle M The psychology of happiness London: Routledge, 1987  Barnett PA et al Psychosocial functioning & depression: distinguishing among antecedents, concomitants, & consequences Psychol Bull 1988;104:  House JS et al Social relationships & health Science 1988;241:540-5 [2547]  Silove D et al Perceptions of general and specific therapist behaviors J Nerv Ment Dis 1990;178:292-9  Brown GW et al Self-esteem and depression: II & III Soc Psychiatry Psychiat Epidemiol 1990;25: &  Hickie I et al Perceived interpersonal risk factors of non-endogenous depression Psychol Med 1991;21:  Csikszentmihalyi M Flow: the psychology of happiness London: Rider, 1992  Goleman D Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ London: Bloomsbury, 1996

relationships & mood: importance Barnett PA et al Psychosocial functioning & depression: distinguishing among antecedents, concomitants, & consequences Psychol Bull 1988;104:  research review on connection between depression & social support, attributional style, personality, dysfunctional attitudes, marital distress and coping style  little evidence of cognitive vulnerability to depression  marital distress and low social integration seem to be involved in the aetiology of depression

toxic to interpersonal competence Rodgers B Reported parental behaviour and adult affective symptoms 1. Associations and moderating factors & 2. Mediating factors Psychol Med 1996;26:51-61 & childhood “affectionless control” adult psychological suffering toxic to inter- personal competence

adult relationships can heal  high quality relationships in adulthood can heal the negative effects on mood of earlier poor quality parenting  conversely poor quality adult relation- ships can damage mood despite high quality parenting during childhood  there is a danger too that poor parenting is a bit more likely to be associated with poor adult relationships because of damage to interpersonal competence Hickie I et al Perceived dysfunctional intimate relationships: a specific association with non-melancholic depressive subtype J Affect Disord 1990;19: Palosaari UK et al Parental divorce, self-esteem & depression: an intimate relation- ship as a protective factor in young adulthood J Affect Disord 1995;35:91-6

what keeps us afloat on life’s voyage!  the construction materials - genetics, aptitudes  how the boat was built - early life experiences  major events on the voyage - significant life events  the other boats around us - social support, relationships  quality of our seamanship - appropriate coping skills if some areas are weak it’s all the more important to be strong in the others