The Relationship between Subjective Evaluation of Stressors and Depression in Menopausal Women: The Mediating Role of Life Satisfaction

Objective: Previous studies have shown that menopausal women are more likely to experience depression. However, there are few studies that investigated the cognitive mechanism that may have a role in developing depression in menopausal women. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of life satisfaction in the relation between subjective evaluation of stressors and depression in the middle-aged menopausal women. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 107 female staff were selected by available sampling method from women aged 47 to 58 years, who were working at Shaid Beheshti University. The participants completed the Beck depression inventory (BDI-II), Kern lifestyle scale (KLS), and the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). The data were analyzed by path analysis using hierarchical regression analysis. All statistics were done by SPSS 16.  Results: The results indicated that subjective evaluation of stressors of control, self-esteem, and perfectionism that measured by KLS in menopausal women was associated with depression and mediated through their life satisfaction (P<0.01). The control, self-esteem, and perfectionism styles are indirect predictors of depression through life satisfaction. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that subjective evaluation of stressors contributed to depression in menopausal women through affecting their life satisfaction. Objective sources of menopausal women stress (stressors) can be considered only as the potential sources of stress. These sources can lead to the real stress if the menopausal women perceives them as the threats to satisfaction of fundamental needs presented through their lifestyle.