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Mediating effect of environmental rewards on the relation between goal-directed behaviour and anhedonia

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Abstract

Depression can be explained by certain behavioural patterns, especially low levels of environmental rewards; it is generally accompanied by infrequent goal-directed behaviour, increased depressed mood, and anhedonia. However, no research has statistically examined the mediating effect of environmental rewards on the relation between goal-directed behaviour and the symptoms of depressed mood or anhedonia. This study sought to determine whether such a mediating effect of environmental rewards is present in cross-sectional study. The participants included 101 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorders. Data were collected through three questionnaires measuring depression and behavioural patterns that maintain depression: the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Environmental Reward Observation Scale (EROS), and the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale—Short Form (BADS-SF). Mediation analysis was conducted using depressed mood and anhedonia as dependent variables, environmental rewards as the mediating variable, and goal-directed behaviour as the independent variable. Environmental rewards significantly mediated the relationship between goal-directed behaviour and anhedonia but not that between goal-directed behaviour and depressed mood. No significant relationships were found among depressed mood, goal-directed behaviour and environmental rewards. From these results, we conclude that low levels of environmental rewards accompanied by infrequent goal-directed behaviour can lead to increased anhedonia but not depressed mood.

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Funding

This work was supported in part by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant Number JP 16 J11293.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Medical Education and Career Development, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan

    Shuntaro Aoki

  2. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan

    Shuntaro Aoki

  3. Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan

    Satomi Doi

  4. Faculty of Social Welfare, Iwate Prefectural University, 152-52, Sugo, Takizawa, Iwate, 020-0693, Japan

    Satoshi Horiuchi

  5. Health Service Center, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, 734-8553, Japan

    Koki Takagaki

  6. School of Psychological Science, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, 2-5, Ainosato, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 002-8072, Japan

    Asaka Kawamura & Yuji Sakano

  7. Oita Prefectural Board of Education, 3-10-1, Funaimachi, Oita, Oita, 870-8503, Japan

    Reiji Umeno

  8. Wellness Boyo Hospital, 2-2-13, Boyo, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0155, Japan

    Masahiko Fujita

  9. Hokudai-dori Mental Health Clinic, 1-13, Kita 10 Jo Nishi 4 Chome, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 001-0010, Japan

    Nobuki Kitagawa

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  1. Shuntaro Aoki
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  2. Satomi Doi
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  3. Satoshi Horiuchi
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  4. Koki Takagaki
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  5. Asaka Kawamura
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  7. Masahiko Fujita
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  8. Nobuki Kitagawa
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  9. Yuji Sakano
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Correspondence to Shuntaro Aoki.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed Consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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Aoki, S., Doi, S., Horiuchi, S. et al. Mediating effect of environmental rewards on the relation between goal-directed behaviour and anhedonia. Curr Psychol 40, 3651–3658 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00312-y

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