Autobiographical memory and post-psychotic depression in first episode psychosis.
OBJECTIVE
In unipolar depression, the action of early life events has been shown to be linked to a deficit in accessing details of such autobiographical events ('overgeneral memory'). In this study, we test whether a similar deficit can be observed in post-psychotic depression (PPD) in first-episode psychosis.


METHODS
A group of 29 patients were followed up during the 12 months after their first onset, and monitored for PPD.


RESULTS
Of the sample group, 45% developed PPD, which was associated with overgeneral memory (p <.05; effect size = 1.05) and a heightened awareness of the diagnosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings raise the possibility that anomalies of psychosocial development may confer vulnerability to depression in psychosis.
School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK.
Zaffer
Z
Iqbal
Max
M
Birchwood
David
D
Hemsley
Chris
C
Jackson
Emma
E
Morris
D001325:Autobiographies as Topic; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires