The impact of general functioning on depression
Document Type
Poster
Start Date
28-4-2026 12:00 PM
End Date
28-4-2026 2:00 PM
Description
Introduction A wealth of research across the psychology, counseling, and medical fields has examined the many antecedents of depression. Research typically focuses on specific mental health conditions or physiological symptoms in order to better understand depression. However, less attention has been paid to how being able to generally function and interact with society impacts depression. This is important to examine because general functioning, as we propose, may significantly impact a patient's well being, thereby affecting their proclivity for depression. Assessment of general functioning is also meaningful because it can be universally examined across patients with varying medical and mental health conditions.
Purpose Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between general functioning and depression, with our hypothesis being that increased difficulty general functioning would lead to increased depression scores.
Methods Difficulty in general functioning included variables that affect a patient's ability to function with society, including diminished ability to remember, concentrate, communicate, and utilize their hands and fingers to interact with the world. Depression was measured using a depression mental health screener. All data was obtained via the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Results A one-way ANOVA and subsequent post-hoc comparisons were run, resulting in statistically significant support for our hypothesis. More specifically, it was found that high levels of general functioning difficulty resulted in higher depression scores than patients with low levels of general functioning difficulty.
Discussion While more research should be conducted, we recommend assessing general functioning as a significant predictor of depression.
Recommended Citation
Allsbrook, Deborah; Higgins, Teviyell; Lee, Miranda; and Todd, Erin Michelle, "The impact of general functioning on depression" (2026). School of Allied Health Professions Research Day. 22.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/ahrd/2026/posters/22
The impact of general functioning on depression
Introduction A wealth of research across the psychology, counseling, and medical fields has examined the many antecedents of depression. Research typically focuses on specific mental health conditions or physiological symptoms in order to better understand depression. However, less attention has been paid to how being able to generally function and interact with society impacts depression. This is important to examine because general functioning, as we propose, may significantly impact a patient's well being, thereby affecting their proclivity for depression. Assessment of general functioning is also meaningful because it can be universally examined across patients with varying medical and mental health conditions.
Purpose Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between general functioning and depression, with our hypothesis being that increased difficulty general functioning would lead to increased depression scores.
Methods Difficulty in general functioning included variables that affect a patient's ability to function with society, including diminished ability to remember, concentrate, communicate, and utilize their hands and fingers to interact with the world. Depression was measured using a depression mental health screener. All data was obtained via the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Results A one-way ANOVA and subsequent post-hoc comparisons were run, resulting in statistically significant support for our hypothesis. More specifically, it was found that high levels of general functioning difficulty resulted in higher depression scores than patients with low levels of general functioning difficulty.
Discussion While more research should be conducted, we recommend assessing general functioning as a significant predictor of depression.