Stress-amplifying effects of negative social exchanges among female Japanese college students

The role of negative social exchanges that amplify the association between stressor and depressive symptoms was examined. Data collected from 121 female college students (mean age = 18.9, SD = 0.7) were analyzed to determine whether the effect of life event stress on depression differs depending on participants' negative exchanges with members of their social network. The results indicated that the association between the total number of experienced life events and depressive symptoms was not amplified by negative exchanges. However, analyses testing life events individually indicated that negative exchanges significantly amplified the association of depressive symptoms with life events that were related to participants' financial strain or salient social roles.