The Role of Positive and Negative Aspects of Life Events in Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms

Negative or stressful life events are robust risk factors for depression and anxiety. Less attention has been paid to the positive aspects of events and whether positivity buffers the impact of the negative aspects of events. In this study, we examined the positivity and negativity of interpersonal and noninterpersonal episodic life events in predicting anxiety and depressive symptoms in a sample of 373 young adults. Regressions tested the main and interactive effects of positivity and negativity ratings of events in predicting symptom factors (fears, anhedonia-apprehension, general distress) relevant to anxiety and depression. A significant interaction demonstrated that positivity protected against high levels of negativity of noninterpersonal events in predicting general distress. A main effect of interpersonal negativity predicting higher anhedonia-apprehension was observed. Results for fears were nonsignificant. Findings suggest that the positivity of life events may buffer against negativity in predicting symptoms shared between anxiety and depression.

Automated summary

Negative or stressful life events are strong risk factors for depression and anxiety. This study investigated the role of positivity in buffering against negativity and predicting anxiety and depressive symptoms. The findings demonstrated that positivity protected against high levels of negativity in noninterpersonal events, while interpersonal negativity predicted higher levels of anhedonia-apprehension. The results suggest that the positivity of life events may play a buffering role in predicting symptoms shared between anxiety and depression.