Rorschach variables and dysfunctional attitudes as measures of depressive vulnerability: a 9-year follow-up study of individuals with different histories of major depressive episodes.
Forty-six individuals with different histories of major depressive episodes (MDEs) completed the Rorschach (Exner,  2003 ) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS; Weissman & Beck, 1978) at 2 assessment points (T1, T2) over a 9-year follow-up. At T1, history of MDE and the Rorschach variable MOR (associated with negative self-image) emerged as significant predictors of number of MDEs over the follow-up. At T2, Rorschach markers of depressive vulnerability and scars were identified (i.e., WSum6, related to illogical thinking; X+%, related to conventional perception and social adjustment; X-%, linked to erroneous judgments; MQ-, associated with impaired social relations; and MOR). Test-retest analyses displayed significant temporal stability in Rorschach variables, with r ranging from .34 to .67 and in the DAS, r = .42. Our findings highlight MDE as a recurrent and serious disorder, number of MDEs as a risk factor for future depressions, and Rorschach variables as markers of depressive vulnerability and scars.
Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway. ellen.hartmann@psykologi.uio.no
Ellen
E
Hartmann
Marianne
M
Halvorsen
Catharina E A
CE
Wang
D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009664:Norway; D015588:Observer Variation; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012008:Recurrence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012392:Rorschach Test