Depression is a psychopathological condition that significantly impairs functioning in all areas of an individual's life (e.g., emotional, social, occupational). It is one of the mental disorders with the highest lifetime prevalence in industrialized nations and a leading cause of global disability. Evidence in the literature demonstrates that individuals with higher levels of resilience, defined as a positive and functional adaptation to stressful and/or traumatic events, have a lower risk of developing depressive symptoms. Therefore, resilience could be considered a protective factor against various maladaptive conditions, including depressive disorder. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been proposed as a physiological biomarker of resilience. HRV is a measure that indicates the variation in heart rate over a specific period of time, serving as an index of an individual's overall capacity to regulate psychophysiological responses adaptively in the face of daily stressors. This study explores how the relationship between increased levels of psychological distress and vulnerability factors (lower resting HRV, reduced emotional regulation capabilities) is moderated by levels of resilience in individuals with symptoms of psychological distress. From the results of the study, no statistically significant relationship emerged between resting HRV and resilience levels, as well as between resting HRV and depressive symptoms. However, a negative relationship emerged between depressive symptoms and resilience levels, i.e. higher resilience levels were associated with lower severity of depressive symptoms, suggesting the importance of resilience as a protective factor for the development of several psychopathological conditions, including depressive disorder.
La depressione è una condizione psicopatologica significativamente invalidante in tutte le sfere del funzionamento di un individuo (es. affettivo, sociale, lavorativo) e che rappresenta uno dei disturbi mentali con prevalenza lifetime più alta nelle nazioni industrializzate, nonché una delle più importanti cause di disabilità planetaria. Evidenze in letteratura mostrano come individui con più alti livelli di resilienza, ovvero un adattamento positivo e funzionale di fronte ad eventi stressanti e/o traumatici, hanno un minor rischio di sviluppare sintomi depressivi. La resilienza, quindi, potrebbe essere considerata un fattore protettivo per l’insorgenza di diverse condizioni disadattive, tra cui anche il disturbo depressivo. Come biomarcatore fisiologico della resilienza, è stato proposto la variabilità della frequenza cardiaca (HRV), una misura che indica di quanto varia il battito cardiaco in un determinato periodo di tempo, e che rappresenta un indice della capacità globale di un individuo di regolare le risposte psicofisiologiche in modo adattivo di fronte agli stressor quotidiani. In questo elaborato viene presentato uno studio che ha indagato come la relazione tra l’aumento del livello di distress psicologico e alcuni fattori di vulnerabilità (più bassa HRV a riposo, minori capacità di regolazione emozionale) sia moderato dai livelli di resilienza in individui con sintomi di distress psicologico. Dai risultati dello studio, non è emersa alcuna relazione statisticamente significativa tra l'HRV a riposo e livelli di resilienza, così come tra l’HRV a riposo e i sintomi depressivi. Tuttavia, è emersa una relazione negativa tra sintomi depressivi e livelli di resilienza, ovvero maggiori livelli di resilienza si associano ad una minore gravità dei sintomi depressivi, suggerendo così l'importanza della resilienza come fattore protettivo per lo sviluppo di diverse condizioni psicopatologiche, tra cui il disturbo depressivo.
Il ruolo della variabilità della frequenza cardiaca a riposo e della resilienza nella depressione
MONZALI, MARTINA
2022/2023
Abstract
Depression is a psychopathological condition that significantly impairs functioning in all areas of an individual's life (e.g., emotional, social, occupational). It is one of the mental disorders with the highest lifetime prevalence in industrialized nations and a leading cause of global disability. Evidence in the literature demonstrates that individuals with higher levels of resilience, defined as a positive and functional adaptation to stressful and/or traumatic events, have a lower risk of developing depressive symptoms. Therefore, resilience could be considered a protective factor against various maladaptive conditions, including depressive disorder. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been proposed as a physiological biomarker of resilience. HRV is a measure that indicates the variation in heart rate over a specific period of time, serving as an index of an individual's overall capacity to regulate psychophysiological responses adaptively in the face of daily stressors. This study explores how the relationship between increased levels of psychological distress and vulnerability factors (lower resting HRV, reduced emotional regulation capabilities) is moderated by levels of resilience in individuals with symptoms of psychological distress. From the results of the study, no statistically significant relationship emerged between resting HRV and resilience levels, as well as between resting HRV and depressive symptoms. However, a negative relationship emerged between depressive symptoms and resilience levels, i.e. higher resilience levels were associated with lower severity of depressive symptoms, suggesting the importance of resilience as a protective factor for the development of several psychopathological conditions, including depressive disorder.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/51593