SUBCLINICAL DEPRESSION AND PERFORMANCE AT WORK

The relationship between subclinical depression and the fulfillment of important work roles is the focus of this study. The analysis control s for social processes (i.e., interpersonal stress) that may precede t he development of depressive symptomatology and potential depressive d istortion associated with self-report of symptoms and performance. Usi ng interview data collected from 265 community-dwelling adults, multip le regression analyses indicated that depressive symptomatology was si gnificantly related to externally rated performance at work. This rela tionship was independent of other important social influences of inter personal stress attributed to coworkers, spouses and others, and job s tress related to dissatisfying work. Subclinical depression thus appea red related to decrements in job performance. Further, this effect was not entirely due to other social influences not measured in previous studies or to the problem of depressive mood affecting the direction o f self-report measures.