Social interaction is a primary aspect of communicating how others judge us. It allows us to update ourselves and our expectations about others. While humans generally exhibit self-related positive biases in their updating behavior, theoretical accounts propose that this biased processing is attenuated, absent, or negatively biased in participants with depressive symptoms. The process of aligning and integrating social evaluative feedback in realistic interaction scenarios that would test this assumption is, however, lacking. We provide an event-related potential (ERP) study that combines neuronal (feedback-related negativity [FRN] and late positive potential [LPP]) and behavioral measures of evaluative feedback processing and updating behavior.

We selected healthy adults (N = 62) with depression scores spanning a range of low to high values, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Participants received feedback from supposed experts and peer senders, with the feedback being manipulated to be worse, congruent, or better than the participants’ self-ratings.

Participants with higher depression scores exhibited more negative initial self-ratings and developed a more negative feedback expectation across the experiment. In addition, we found that higher depression scores led to more negative updating toward worse expert feedback and less positive updating after better peer feedback. Concerning ERPs, unexpected but not self-incongruent feedback increased the FRN, while both types of incongruence increased the LPP. Finally, BDI scores correlated with LPP amplitudes for all feedback.

The results contribute to a deeper understanding of how individuals process and integrate social evaluative feedback and its relation to depressive symptoms.

The January 2025 Los Angeles wildland-urban interface wildfires represent a significant environmental disaster, resulting in widespread evacuations. Beyond the immediate physical and economic devastation, wildfires can have profound and lasting impacts on the mental well-being of affected populations. This study compared mental health outcomes between Southern California residents who evacuated due to the fires and those who did not evacuate.

Southern California residents (N = 739) were surveyed 2-3 months after the January 2025 wildfires. Logistic regression models assessed the association of evacuation status with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, adjusting for demographics and baseline pre-fire levels of depression and anxiety.

Evacuating was significantly associated with higher odds of depression (AOR = 1.75 [1.08-2.85]) and PTSD (AOR = 2.44 [1.36-4.35]), after controlling for pre-fire mental health status and other demographic covariates. Evacuation status was not associated with anxiety.

These findings support previous research linking wildfire exposure to adverse mental health outcomes and highlight the importance of targeted mental health screening and support for wildfire evacuees, who are at increased risk for depression and PTSD.

As populations age rapidly, understanding the psychological benefits of sustained employment has become increasingly important. In South Korea, where the suicide rate among older adults is one of the highest among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, identifying modifiable social determinants, such as employment, may inform effective prevention strategies.

This retrospective cohort study used data from the Korean Welfare Panel Study (2009–2024), a nationally representative longitudinal survey. Individuals with depressive symptoms or suicidal ideation at baseline were excluded. The main exposure was participation in a government-led senior employment program. We employed discrete-time survival analysis using a generalized linear model with a complementary log–log link function, which appropriately handled the interval-censored structure of the panel data.

Older adults who participated in the employment program had a significantly lower risk of developing depressive symptoms (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.67–0.86) and suicidal ideation (adjusted HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.45–0.81) compared to those who did not participate. Subgroup analyses revealed that the strength of the association was particularly strong among individuals aged ≥80 years, those with chronic illness, poor self-rated health, and those who were previously or never married.

Structured government-supported employment may mitigate the risk of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in later life. These findings support the potential of senior employment programs as effective mental health promotion and suicide prevention strategies for aging populations.

Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), defined as worry about cancer progression or return, is a common concern among patients and survivors. This study aims to identify factors influencing the onset of FCR and to evaluate its impact on emotional distress and quality of life (QoL) in patients undergoing systemic cancer treatment.

A sample of 175 patients undergoing systemic cancer treatment completed self-report questionnaires assessing socio-demographics, clinical factors and fear of cancer recurrence, anxiety, depression and QoL (FCRI, HADS, EORTC-QLQ-C30).

Data analysis using linear and generalized linear models revealed that FCR is inversely associated with QoL and positively correlated with anxiety and depression. These associations were independent of socio-demographic and clinical variables, with anxiety and depression fully mediating the FCR-QoL relationship. Gender and time since diagnosis emerged as significant predictors, with an increase in FCR at 12 months post-diagnosis.

Our results indicate that FCR, anxiety and depression linked, are present after several months post-diagnosis, suggesting that FCR tends to intensify over time. These findings carry important psychological implications, highlighting the need to support patients in recognizing and managing their fear and emotional distress. Implementing a psychoeducational counseling approximately six months after diagnosis – engaging oncologists, psycho-oncologists, and patients within a “stepped-care” framework – may be effective in mitigating FCR and its emotional consequences.

Depression rates are higher in women, especially during periods of hormonal fluctuation. Reproductive system disorders (RSDs), which often disrupt hormonal balance, may contribute to this mental health burden. Despite their prevalence and significant health implications, the link between RSDs and depression remains underexplored, leaving a gap in understanding these women’s mental health risks.

Using Danish nationwide health registers (2005–2018), we conducted a cohort study of 2,295,824 women aged 15–49, examining depression outcomes in 265,891 women diagnosed with 24 RSDs, including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, and pain-related diagnoses. For each RSD, age-matched controls were selected. We calculated incidence rates, incidence rate ratios, and prevalence proportions of depression diagnoses or antidepressant use around RSD diagnosis.

Across all RSD subtypes, women demonstrated higher rates of depression both before and after diagnosis, with a peak within the year following diagnosis. Incidence rate ratios within 1 year of RSD diagnosis ranged from 1.15 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06–1.25) to 2.09 (95% CI 1.98–2.21), depending on RSD subtype. Elevated depression prevalence was observed 3 years before diagnosis, suggesting mental health impacts may have preceded clinical RSD identification.

This study reveals a striking association between RSDs and depression. Women with RSDs are more likely to suffer from depression, before and after RSD diagnosis, highlighting the need for integrated mental health screening and intervention. With over 10% of women affected by RSDs, addressing this overlooked mental health burden is imperative for improving well-being in a significant portion of the population.

Sexual minorities have continuously been found to experience poorer mental health compared to the general population, despite promising changes in attitudes and legislation throughout the 21st century in many Western countries. The present study is one of the first to assess group-level changes over time in mental health among sexual minorities compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

We used four waves of a Finnish population-based survey spanning 16 years (2006–2022) to compare heterosexual and sexual minority adults on depression and anxiety symptoms, alcohol use, and sexual distress.

Sexual minority individuals reported more depression and anxiety symptoms, sexual distress, and alcohol use relative to their heterosexual counterparts at all time points. There were no group differences in the direction or rate of change in group means from 2006 to 2022. Depression and anxiety symptoms showed equally large increases, and alcohol use showed equally large decreases among both heterosexual and sexual minority participants.

Contrary to our expectations based on minority stress theory, differences in mental health between sexual minority and heterosexual individuals persist despite changes in the sociolegal status of sexual minorities during the first two decades of the 21st century. Our findings align with the increasing general trend in anxiety and depression symptoms, which seems to affect the whole population regardless of sexual orientation. We conclude that the effect of legislative societal improvements seems to be small, and the mental health gap between sexual minority and heterosexual adults is likely maintained by factors not included in our study.

Anhedonia and depression symptoms have been linked to potential deficits in reward learning. However, how anhedonia impacts the ability to adjust and learn about the effort required to obtain rewards remains unclear.

We examined young people (N = 155, 16–25 years) with a range of depression and anhedonia symptoms using a probabilistic instrumental reward and effort learning task. Participants were asked to learn which options to choose to maximize reward or minimize effort for reward. We compared the exerted effort (button pressing speed) for high (puppy images) vs low (dog images) rewards and collected subjective reports of “liking,” “wanting,” and “willingness to exert effort.” Computational models were fit to the learning data and estimated parameter values were correlated with depression and anhedonia symptoms.

As depression symptoms and consummatory anhedonia increased, reward liking decreased, and as anticipatory anhedonia increased, liking, wanting, and willingness to exert effort for reward decreased.

Participants exerted more effort for high rewards than for low rewards, but anticipatory anhedonia diminished this difference.

Higher consummatory anhedonia was associated with poorer reward and effort learning, and with increased temperature parameter values for both learning types, indicating a higher tendency to make exploratory choices. Higher depression symptoms were associated with lower reward learning accuracy.

We provide novel evidence that anhedonia is associated with difficulties in modulating effort as a function of reward value and with the underexploitation of low effort and high reward options. We suggest that addressing these impairments could be a novel target for intervention in anhedonic young people.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and unfavourable lifestyle are both significant risk factors for mental health disorders, yet their combined effects on adolescent depression and anxiety remain poorly understood. This study aims to determine whether PM2.5 exposure and lifestyle are independently associated with adolescent depression and anxiety, and whether there are joint effects between these factors on mental health outcomes.

In this cross-sectional study, 19852 participants were analysed. PM2.5 concentrations were obtained from the ChinaHighAirPollutants (CHAP) dataset. Lifestyle factors were assessed through self-reported questionnaires, and a healthy lifestyle score was developed based on eight lifestyle risk factors. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scales. Restricted cubic spline analysed dose–response relationships between PM2.5 exposure and mental health outcomes. The independent and joint effects were assessed using logistic regression models. Both multiplicative and additive interactions (relative excess risk due to interaction, RERI) were examined. Multiple classification approaches were incorporated to ensure robust results.

The study included 19852 participants with a mean age of 15.16 years (SD 1.60), comprising 9886 (49.8%) males and 9966 (50.2%) females. Depression and anxiety were identified in 3845 (19.37%) and 3230 (16.27%) participants, respectively. PM2.5 exposure showed a linear dose-response relationship with depression and anxiety. Joint effects analysis at the 75th percentile of PM2.5 with a lifestyle risk score of 4 revealed the strongest associations, with adjusted odds ratios of 4.49 (95% CI: 3.79–5.33) for depression, 4.01 (95% CI: 3.36–4.78) for anxiety and 4.24 (95% CI: 3.52–5.10) for their comorbidity. Simultaneously, significant additive interactions (RERI > 0) between high levels of PM2.5 exposure and unfavourable lifestyle factors were detected, suggesting synergistic effects on mental health outcomes. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.

High PM2.5 exposure and unfavourable lifestyle factors demonstrated significant independent and joint effects on depression and anxiety among adolescents. These findings highlight that implementing stringent air pollution control measures, combined with promoting healthy lifestyle practices, may be crucial for protecting adolescent mental health.

Previous studies have indicated that depression is common among young adults. However, these studies have mainly focused on risk factors rather than protective factors, especially in the context of Vietnam.

To explore protective factors such as self-compassion and the mediating role of gratitude, crucial for informing targeted interventions aimed at reducing depression in this population.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in September 2023 using convenience sampling of individuals aged 18–25 years (n = 356, mean age 21.23 years) living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, recruited via online surveys distributed through social networks. The required sample size was determined using Monte Carlo power analysis to ensure adequate statistical power for mediation analysis. Data were analysed to examine the mediating role of gratitude (Gratitude Questionnaire – Six Item Form, GQ-6) in the relationship between self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale – Short Form, VSCS-SF) and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9).

Self-compassion showed a significant negative association with depression (β = −0.50, t = −11.42, p < 0.001), accounting for 27% of the variance in depression scores. Gratitude significantly mediated this relationship, with an indirect effect of a × b = −0.07 (s.e. = 0.02, 95% CI −0.11 to −0.04]). Specifically, self-compassion positively predicted gratitude (β = 0.34, t = 6.80, p < 0.001), and gratitude, in turn, negatively predicted depression (β = −0.20, t = −4.42, p < 0.001). The direct effect of self-compassion on depression remained significant after controlling for gratitude (β = −0.43, t = −9.52, p < 0.001), indicating a complementary partial mediation. Bootstrap analysis with 5000 resamples further confirmed the robustness of the indirect effect.

The pivotal roles of self-compassion and gratitude in mitigating depression among young adults were explored, informing tailored intervention strategies for mental health practitioners.