People with external preoccupation are vulnerable to depression: a longitudinal study.
External preoccupation, the tendency to maintain an external focus of attention on a specific object, is believed to be a vulnerability factor for depression. The present study is an investigation of this hypothesis in a longitudinal design. At Time 1, external preoccupation as well as depressive symptoms were assessed. At Time 2, 4 months later, life events experienced between Time 1 and Time 2 and depressive symptoms at Time 2 were assessed. Data from 195 undergraduates (147 men and 48 women) were analyzed. The results supported the hypothesis. Specifically, when reporting a greater number of negative life events, those who scored high on external preoccupation became more depressed than those who scored low on that tendency. When there was a smaller number of negative events, this difference disappeared.
Sakamoto
S
S
Department of Human Relations, Otsuma Women's University, Tama, Tokyo, Japan. JCB00146@nifty.ne.jp
D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007564:Japan; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*