[Are negative cognitions symptoms of depression or also an expression of personality traits?].
This study examined the changes from hospital admission to discharge of different categories of cognitive distortions - automatic thoughts, self-concepts and dysfunctional attitudes - in 67 patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of a depressive episode. Furthermore, the relationships were analyzed between cognitive distortions, degree of depression, and personality dimensions (isolation tendency, extraversion, rigidity, schizoidia, frustration tolerance and neuroticism). There was a significant correlation between automatic thoughts and negative self-concepts on the one hand, and severity of depression on the other upon admission. There was a significant reduction of automatic thoughts and the negativity of self-concepts from admission to discharge. No significant association was observed, however, between the severity of depression and dysfunctional attitudes. In addition, dysfunctional attitudes showed a significant decrease until discharge only in patients with a full remission of depressive symptoms. These results underline the fact that automatic thoughts and self-concepts are more state-dependent than dysfunctional attitudes. Moreover - even taking into account the degree of depression - there was a significant relationship between the personality dimension neuroticism and all cognitive scales upon admission. This indicates that a high degree of neuroticism may facilitate the emergence of negative cognitions during a depressive episode.
Leucht
S
S
Psychiatrische Klinik und Poliklinik, Technische Universität München.
Wada
M
M
Kurz
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001290:Attitude; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D013850:Thinking; D016896:Treatment Outcome