Minor stressors and depressed mood: reactivity is more strongly correlated than total stress

Abstract

This study evaluated how strongly total stress and stress reactivity to minor stressors were correlated with depressed mood in traditional and non-traditional college women (n = 146). Stress reactivity, which was conceptualized as mean stress per stressor, accounted more strongly than number of potentially stressful encounters for total stress, and was more strongly correlated than total stress with symptoms of depressed mood, after controlling for initial depressed mood and neuroticism. Reactivity was associated with greater use of avoidance coping and higher levels of neuroticism, which suggest that it may represent a stable individual difference and possibly serve as a predictor of depressed mood, especially in response to minor stressors.