DEPRESSION RISK AND RESILIENCE: GENETIC VULNERABILITY, POSITIVE EXPERIENCES, AND AFFECT DYNAMICS
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This dissertation consists of three interconnected papers examining the relationships between genetic risk for depression, clinical depression status, daily positive experiences, affect, and affective dynamics. While much of the research on depression and genetic vulnerability has focused on risk and deficit, less is known about how these factors relate to positive affective processes and experiences. This work addresses this gap by exploring how polygenic risk for depression (PGS) and depression history interact with positive affect (PA) and daily positive events (PE), influence affective reactivity, and shape future depressive symptoms. The first paper examines whether positive experiences and positive affect can buffer genetic vulnerability to depression using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study (N=1,293). Results showed that both positive affect and positive events attenuated the impact of genetic risk on depressive symptoms, with positive events emerging as particularly influential when tested jointly. These findings highlight the potential protective role of positive experiences, especially for individuals at heightened genetic risk. The second paper examined whether genetic risk is associated with affective reactivity to daily positive events and whether this association varies by clinical depression status. Using daily diary data from the MIDUS study (N = 864) showed that polygenic risk or depression status alone did not predict affective reactivity to positive events. A marginally significant three-way interaction suggested that individuals with both high genetic risk and a depression diagnosis exhibited heightened positive affective responses to positive events, pointing to potential emotional sensitivity among those with elevated risk. The third paper investigated whether positive affective reactivity to daily events mediates the relationship between depression risk and subsequent depressive symptoms. Drawing on longitudinal data across MIDUS waves (N=553), results indicated that PA reactivity mediated the link between depression history and later symptoms, but not for polygenic risk, suggesting altered emotional dynamics may represent risk for future depression. Collectively, these studies highlight the relevance of positive emotional processes and experiences in the context of genetic and clinical depression risk.