Depression-related cognitions: Antecedent or consequence?

Abstract

The goal of this longitudinal study was to determine whether cognitions known to be correlated with depression precede, accompany, or follow an episode of depression. Depression-related cognitions and self-esteem were measured in a large community sample (N = 998) that was subsequently followed for 1 year. Sixty-three subjects were depressed at the time of assessment, 85 became depressed during the follow-up period, and 115 had a history of depression but were not depressed at the initial assessment. The results were generally consistent with the hypothesis that depression-related cognitions arise concomittantly with an episode of depression. The currently depressed subjects differed from nondepressed subjects as expected; however, participants who were to become depressed during the course of the study did not differ from controls on the cognitive measures. In addition, depressive cognitions did not seem to be permanent residuals of an episode. Although the depression-related cognitions did not predict future depression, they did predict improvement; depressed subjects with more negative cognitions were significantly less likely to improve during the follow-up period.

Risk for recurrence in depression

“…In contrast to the evidence of a cognitive scar found by Nolen-Hoeksema and colleagues (1992), Lewinsohn, Steinmetz, Larson, and Franklin (1981) did not find evidence of a depression-related scar on cognitions in their community sample of adults. They followed 998 adults for one year, and compared scores on several cognitive measures (locus of control, expectancies of positive and negative outcomes, irrational beliefs, perception of control, and self-esteem) among eight subgroups in their sample, classified according to their history of depression at each time point.…”

“…The fact that the depressed children's explanatory styles deteriorated over time, and that they remained pessimistic even after the depression subsided, presumably left them at greater risk for future episodes of depression. However, the researchers did not formally test whether this hypothesis about risk for future depression was borne out, and thus their results suggest the possibility of a cognitive scar in children but do not fully support its presence.In contrast to the evidence of a cognitive scar found by Nolen-Hoeksema and colleagues (1992), Lewinsohn, Steinmetz, Larson, and Franklin (1981) did not find evidence of a depression-related scar on cognitions in their community sample of adults. They followed 998 adults for one year, and compared scores on several cognitive measures (locus of control, expectancies of positive and negative outcomes, irrational beliefs, perception of control, and self-esteem) among eight subgroups in their sample, classified according to their history of depression at each time point.…”

Sex and depression

“…Moreover, the attitudes and attributions supposed to contribute to the causation of depression may merely be symptoms of it (e.g. Lewinsohn et al 1981 ;Haaga et al 1991). The grail is to find markers of attributional style that can be detected during periods of well-being (Power, 1990) ; this underlying style might then be activated in appropriate circumstances.…”

Antidepressive therapy with Escitalopram improves mood, cognitive symptoms, and identity memory for angry faces in elderly depressed patients

“…According to the dominant cognitive paradigm for depression, Beck's model, maladaptive cognition is implicated in both the aetiology and maintenance of the depressive process (Beck et al, 1979). Depressed individuals have the tendency to appraise themselves, others and their daily events with negative expectancies (Beck et al, 1979 ;Lewinsohn et al, 1981), and to selectively recall negative information or exhibit an attentional bias towards negative emotional cues, a finding known as abnormal or negative emotional memory bias of depression (Bradley et al, 1995 ;Gotlib et al, 2004 ;Leppänen, 2006 ;Surguladze et al, 2004 ;Zakzanis et al, 1998). Additionally, depressive patients tend to attribute negative events (Sweeney et al, 1986) and negative self-evaluations to themselves (Giesler et al, 1996).…”