The hopelessness theory of depression: Attributional aspects

Abstract

In this article, we clarify, expand and revise the basic postulates of the hopelessness theory of depression (Abramson, Alloy & Metalsky, 1988a; Abramson, Metalsky & Alloy, 1987, 1988b; previously referred to as the reformulated helplessness theory of depression: Abramson, Seligman & Teasdale, 1978) and place the theory more explicitly in the context of work in descriptive psychiatry about the heterogeneity among the depressive disorders. We suggest that the hopelessness theory hypothesizes the existence in nature of an, as yet, unidentified subtype of depression--'hopelessness depression'--defined, in part, by its cause. We then give a critique of work conducted to test the hopelessness theory and explicate the limitations in research strategy associated with this line of work. Our critique includes a logical analysis that deduces the conceptual and methodological inadequacies of the research strategies used to test the theory. Finally, we suggest more adequate research strategies for testing the hopelessness theory and discuss conceptual and assessment issues that will arise in conducting such tests with special emphasis on attributional styles.

Effects of Rumination and Initial Severity on Remission to Cognitive Therapy for Depression

“…Having strong predictors of how long it will take for patients to remit could help in treatment and disposition planning. This study examined the extent to which rumination, a tendency to experience repetitive, intrusive, negative cognitions (Alloy, Abramson, Metalsky, & Hartlage, 1988;Ingram, 1984;Martin & Tesser, 1989Nolen-Hoeksema, Morrow, & Fredrickson, 1993;Philippot & Rime, 1998;Wells & Matthews, 1994) is associated with poorer and more delayed initial remission from depression in CT. In particular, we considered the "ruminative response style", defined as a tendency to reflect elaborately on the causes and consequences of one's symptoms of depression .…”

Hopelessness and Related Variables Among Cancer Patients in the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study (SEPOS)

“…[1][2][3] Symptoms of hopelessness, as a specific cluster within affective disorders, 4 have been shown to correlate more with each other than with other depressive symptoms and more than with other psychopathology symptoms. 5 Hopelessness has also been reported not only as being present in depressive disorders, but to be the major indicator of demoralization, independent of the presence of clinical depression.…”

REJOINDER: New Coke, Rosetta Stones, and Functional Data Analysis: Recommendations for Developing and Validating New Measures of Depression

“…Early accounts of depression tended not to assess symptoms of guilt (Jackson, 1986), and our own research suggests that the composition of scales has changed over time (Santor et al, this issue). Advances in both ethological (Gilbert, 1992;Price, 1967) and neurobiological models (Nestler et al, 2002) of depression have yet to influence the construction of measures of depression, but it is reasonable to assume that attempts to adopt constructs such as social withdrawal and feeling entrapped (Gilbert, 1992) or treatment response (Alda, 1999) may be considered in future depression scales or proposed as specific subtypes of depression, just as hopelessness depression has evolved out of learned helplessness and attributional theories of depression (Alloy, Abramson, Metalsky, & Hartlage, 1988).…”