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Major depression is among the most common comorbid conditions in problem gambling. However, little is known about the effects of comorbid depression on problem gambling. The present study examined the prevalence of current major depression among problem gamblers (N = 105) identified from a community sample of men and women in Alberta, and examined group differences in gambling severity, escape motivation for gambling, family functioning, childhood trauma, and personality traits across problem gamblers with and without comorbid depression. The prevalence of major depression among the sample of problem gamblers was 32.4%. Compared to problem gamblers without depression (n = 71), problem gamblers with comorbid depression (n = 34) reported more severe gambling problems, greater history of childhood abuse and neglect, poorer family functioning, higher levels of neuroticism, and lower levels of extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Furthermore, the problem gamblers with comorbid depression had greater levels of childhood abuse and neglect, worse family functioning, higher neuroticism, and lower agreeableness and conscientiousness than a comparison sample of recreational gamblers with depression (n = 160). These findings underscore the need to address comorbid depression in assessment and treatment of problem gambling and for continued research on how problem gambling is related to frequently co-occurring disorders such as depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are risk factors for interpersonal difficulties in adulthood, however the mechanism that underlies this association is unknown. The current study investigated the association of a wide range of ACEs with interpersonal difficulties in adulthood, and tested whether emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between ACEs and interpersonal difficulties. Patients over the age of 18 were recruited from primary care clinics (N = 4006). Participants completed self-report questionnaires that assessed ACEs, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal difficulties. Results indicated that, after controlling for a range of demographic variables, each type of ACE significantly predicted increased interpersonal difficulties and that cumulative ACEs predicted increased interpersonal difficulties, F(8, 3137) = 39.68, p < .001, R 2  = 0.09. Further, emotion dysregulation mediated the association between ACEs and interpersonal difficulties, B = 0.79, SE = 0.09, 95% CI [0.64, 0.97]. These findings emphasize the role of childhood adversity on interpersonal functioning in adulthood, and highlight emotion dysregulation as a mechanism by which this association occurs. Results have the potential to inform preventative and treatment efforts to improve adaptive outcomes among individuals with a history of childhood adversity., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Inducing various mood states -- sad or depressed mood in particular -- has become a widely employed and accepted means of experimentally examining the link between emotion and cognition, particularly with research on cognitive theory and depression. Using various criteria, studies utilizing mood induction procedures (MIPs) have reported successful induction of the desired mood in participants at rates ranging from 50 to 75%, clearly reflecting substantial individual variation. Individual differences in response to MIPs, however, have received little attention. Drawing on both theory and previous research, the present study identified and examined a range of possible predictors of response to depressive mood induction in a sample of 100 undergraduate students. Results indicated that of the examined predictors, experience with recent negative events prior to the mood induction and participant mood state, including self-reported symptoms of anxiety, significantly predicted reported mood state following the MIP. The implications of these results for models of vulnerability and resilience to negative mood states are discussed, and future research directions are provided., ((c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)