Dysfunctional attitudes in depressed and recovered depressed patients and their first-degree relatives.
A series of depressed probands and their first-degree relatives were categorized as follows: (a) currently depressed; (b) recovered depressed; and (c) never-ill relatives. Their scores on a subscaled version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (the DAS-24) were compared. The DAS total scores mirrored previous findings in that the total scores for recovered individuals returned to normal or near-normal levels. However, the dependency subscale scores remained elevated for the recovered depressed group. It is proposed that these results support the conclusion that self-report measures of cognitive vulnerability should focus on specific rather than global effects, if progress is to be made in the search for true vulnerability factors.
Power
M J
MJ
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London.
Duggan
C F
CF
Lee
A S
AS
Murray
R M
RM
D000124:Achievement; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D012649:Self Concept