Abstract

Prior research suggests that depression and chronic inflammation have a bidirectional relationship. This study examined how depressive symptoms and the inflammatory marker, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interact over time in 287 older adults (54% female, 63% White, Mage = 66, SDage = 10.9) from the Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study and whether religious coping moderated this relationship. Depressive symptoms and IL-6 were assessed in 2006-7 and 2010-11. Results of the hierarchical multiple regressions indicate that initial depressive symptoms predicted IL-6 three to five years later, and that this relationship was moderated by positive religious coping. Moreover, negative religious coping predicted depressive symptoms three to five years later but IL-6 did not. Therefore, depression likely increases inflammation and positive religious coping may exacerbates these effects when depressive symptoms are higher. Finally, IL-6 did not predict later depressive symptoms and so the relationship between depression and inflammation may be unidirectional with depressive symptoms increasing inflammation over time. It may be that in a religious sample, any negative religious coping adversely effects inflammation. And, positive religious coping in those with depressive symptoms also adversely effects inflammation perhaps because any negative religious coping can counteract the benefits of positive religious coping.

LLU Discipline

Clinical Psychology

Department

Psychology

School

School of Behavioral Health

First Advisor

Morton, Kelly R.

Second Advisor

Ballinger, Denise L.

Third Advisor

Boyd, Kendal C.

Fourth Advisor

Haerich, Paul

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2016

Date (Title Page)

9-2016

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Depression; Religion and Psychology; Seventh-day Adventists

Subject - Local

Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study; Hierarchical Multiple Regression; Religious Coping

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

93

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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