Quantitative Research, Article Critique Example

The (putative) relationship between stressful life events (SLE) and depression is well-established in the literature. However, the precise direction of the relationship, and what other mechanisms may be subsumed in the macro concepts, is still an area of rich exploration in psychological research. The authors in this study are concerned with exploring the relationship between SLE and depression; however, their main focus is exploring how different SLEs impact and are connected to depression. For example, are some SLEs, such as health problems, confounded with the pathology of depression? Do other SLEs such as the sudden death of a family member a potential trigger of depressive symptoms? The study aimed to explore this complicated relationship via understanding how specific SLEs impacted individuals and their mental health.

The authors analyze data that is part of the Mother-Child Research Project: a longitudinal, prospective study of 267 women with first-born children. In the end, the authors only used 152 women from the original sample due to the lack of complete data on all the collected variables. The measures used in the study to represent depression were self-report. Although using self-report measures save time and money by not going through a formal diagnostic procedure, due to the variation in responses, they might not be valid. In order to measure depression, the authors initially use BDI as a baseline for assessment of depression symptomology in adults. To measure SLE, the authors used Cochrane and Robertson’s Life Event Inventory.

The statistical strategies used in the strategy were appropriate in light of the research question: That is, the research question is interested in understanding how, in general, stressors from time 1 predicted the level of depression in time 2, also looking at what the specific SLE was leading to the result. The authors ran a total of four different regression equations: Two equations for the outcome variables (SLE and BDI) for year 1 and year 2. In order to explore this relationship, the authors correctly chose to use hierarchical linear regression in order to understand the changes in temporal order, and how it changed over time. Because hierarchical linear regression is able to indicate changes in the model’s explanatory power by replacing the specific type of stressor event, it is a dynamic analysis of the change rather than a static one that would depend on mere correlations. Indeed, mere correlations between two variables in time 1 and 2 would not be sufficient to explore this hypothesis. A longitudinal/ prospective research design is also more appropriate in this context than a cross-section analysis. The authors likely used a longitudinal/ prospective research design because they were interested in exploring how the variables changed over time rather than a simple cut point during a period of time that might (or might not) be generalizable of how that individual actually felt. That is, in order for the authors to sufficiently control for variation in the study subjects, they needed more data points over a period of time rather than observations taken at fixed points that might (mis) represent the mental health of the individual.

Overall, the paper affirmed the relationship between SLE and depression, but added texture regarding how different SLEs might contribute to that depression. Some SLEs may be a function of already existent depressive symptoms; some SLEs may be an independent factor leading to the onset of depressive symptoms. If one wanted to study the impact of attachment on spiritual motivation, the researcher could employ a similar research methodology that would use longitudinal data to understand how an individual’s motivation changes over time.

References

Pianta, R.C. & Egeland, B. (1994). Relation between depressive symptoms and stressful life events in a sample of disadvantaged mothers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 62 (6) , 1229-1334.