The response styles theory of depression: A test of specificity and causal mediation

This prospective study tested the diathesis-stress and causal mediation components of the response styles theory of depression. In addition, it examined whether rumination predicts increases in anxious as well as depressive symptoms. At Time 1, 87 college students completed measures of rumination, hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms. Participants also completed measures of hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms at three time points later in the semester: immediately after receiving their most difficult midterm exam grade (Time 2), 4–8 hours later (Time 3), and 4 days later (Time 4). Regardless of exam outcome, the tendency to ruminate in response to depressed mood was associated with: (1) increases in anxious symptoms between Time 1 and Time 3; and (2) increases in both anxious and depressive symptoms between Time 1 and Time 4. In addition, the relationship between rumination and increases in both depressive and anxious symptoms was mediated by hopelessness. In other words, individuals with a ruminative response style exhibited increases in both depressive and anxious symptoms because they exhibited increases in hopelessness.     

Operationalizing the "vulnerability" and "stress" components of the hopelessness theory of depression: a multi-wave longitudinal study

The current study tested of the diathesis-stress component of the hopelessness theory (HT) using (1) a "weakest link" approach towards operationalizing vulnerability (e.g., an individual is as vulnerable to depression as his/her most depressogenic inferential style-DIS) and (2) an idiographic approach towards operationalizing high levels of stress. The procedure involved an initial assessment during which participants completed measures assessing DISs and depressive symptoms. The procedure also involved a series of eight follow-up assessments, occurring every 6 weeks, during which depressive symptoms and hassles were assessed. Hypotheses were tested in two samples of adults (i.e., adults diagnosed with a current MDE and adults diagnosed with a past MDE at Time 1). In line with hypotheses, in both samples, depressogenic weakest links were associated with greater elevations in depressive symptoms following elevations in hassles. At the same time, equally strong support was obtained for the HT when stress was operationalized from a nomothetic perspective and when vulnerability was operationalized as a DIS about causes (but not consequences or self).     

Depressogenic inferential styles, negative events, and depressive symptoms in youth: an attempt to reconcile past inconsistent findings

Research examining the diathesis-stress component of the hopelessness theory (HT) in youth has provided mixed support for the theory. One explanation for inconsistent findings is the failure to consider relationships among the three inferential styles posited to serve as vulnerability factors by the theory. The weakest link hypothesis posits that an individual is as vulnerable to depression as his/her most depressogenic inferential style (DIS) makes him/her. A second explanation is that researchers have operationalized "high stress" from a nomothetic, as opposed to an idiographic, perspective. The current study tested the diathesis-stress component of the HT in 230 third-grade and 152 seventh-grade schoolchildren using both a weakest link and an idiographic approach towards analysis. Children completed measures assessing depressive symptoms and DISs. Children subsequently completed measures assessing depressive symptoms and negative events once a week for 6 weeks. Hierarchical linear modeling and time-lagged analyses indicated that a depressogenic weakest link was associated with greater elevations in depressive symptoms following elevations in stress.     

The Hopelessness Theory of Depression: A Test of the Diathesis–Stress and Causal Mediation Components in Third and Seventh Grade Children

The goal of the current study was to test the diathesis–stress and causal mediation components of the hopelessness theory of depression in third- and seventh-grade children. The procedure involved an initial assessment of depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and the 3 cognitive styles posited as vulnerability factors by hopelessness theory. The procedure also involved a series of 6 weekly follow-up assessments in which depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and the occurrence of negative events were assessed. A depressogenic attributional style interacted with negative events to predict increases in depressive symptoms in seventh-grade children but not in third-grade children. A depressogenic inferential style about consequences interacted with negative events to predict increases in depressive symptoms in both third- and seventh-grade children. Last, a depressogenic inferential style about the self interacted with negative events to predict increases in depressive symptoms in third- and seventh-grade girls but not boys. None of these interactions were mediated by hopelessness.     

The problem-solving diathesis in depression,hopelessness, and suicide ideation: A longitudinal analysis

The problem-solving deficit (PSD) diathesis-stress model of suicide behavior proposed by Clum, Patsiokas, and Luscomb (1979) and expanded by Schotte and Clum (1982, 1987) was examined in a short-term longitudinal test. The present study assessed the relationship between problem-solving deficits at Time 1—prior to the stressor (a D or F on a midterm examination)—and adjustment at Time 2—after the Stressor. Evidence was found for an additive predictive relationship for stress and problem-solving deficits to Time 2 measures of depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and suicide ideation. Evidence was also found that PSD × Stress interactions uniquely predicted the three criteria. The results of this study were taken as evidence of problem-solving deficits functioning as a diathesis for depression, hopelessness, and suicide ideation.     

A test of the hopelessness theory of depression in youth psychiatric inpatients

Evaluated the hopelessness theory of depression among youth psychiatric inpatients. According to the hopelessness theory of depression, negative attributional style may cross-sectionally relate to an array of psychopathological symptoms. However, in the presence but not the absence of negative life events, negative attributional style relates to the onset and exacerbation of depressive (not other) symptoms. Moreover, negative attributional style relates to depression onset or exacerbation specifically via changes in hopelessness (not other mediators). This study of 60 youth psychiatric inpatients (22 boys and 38 girls; ages 9 to 17, M = 14.33, SD = 1.86), 34 of whom were assessed 2 months after leaving the hospital, tested hopelessness theory. At baseline, participants completed self-report questionnaires on attributional style, hopelessness, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety; at follow-up, questionnaires on negative life events and symptoms were completed. Chart diagnoses were available. Results were consistent with all hypotheses derived from hopelessness theory.     

Attributional style and depressive symptoms in adolescents: an examination of the role of various indicators of cognitive vulnerability

This study focuses on the hopelessness theory to explain depressive symptoms in adolescents. The aim is to assess which dimensions of the attributional style (causal attribution, attribution of consequences, implications for the self, total score, and weakest link score) better moderate the impact of negative events on the increase of depressive symptoms. For this purpose, 856 Spanish adolescents (449 girls and 407 boys, ages between 14 and 17 years) were assessed at the beginning of the school year and at follow-up 6 months later. They completed measures of depressogenic cognitive style [Hankin, B. L., & Abramson, L. Y. (2002). Measuring cognitive vulnerability to depression in adolescents: Reliability, validity, and gender differences. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31, 491-504], negative life events, and depressive symptoms. The results show that only the dimension of attribution of stable and global causes moderated the impact of the negative events on the increase of depression at follow-up. The results are discussed in terms of the meaning of the weakest link score and the construct of attributional style from a developmental perspective.     

An examination of the response styles theory of depression in third- and seventh-grade children: a short-term longitudinal study

The goal of this study was to test the response styles theory of depression in a sample of 3rd- and 7th-grade children. In addition, we examined whether the relationship between rumination and increases in depressive symptoms is mediated by hopelessness and low self-esteem. The procedure involved an initial assessment in which depressive symptoms, response styles, hopelessness, and self-esteem were assessed. The procedure also involved a follow-up assessment, 6 weeks later, in which depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and self-esteem were reassessed. Children with a ruminative response style exhibited increases in depressive symptoms over the 6-week period. In addition, the relationship between rumination and increases in depressive symptoms was mediated by both hopelessness and low self-esteem. Last, contrary to our hypotheses, neither distraction nor problem-solving response styles predicted decreases in depressive symptoms over the course of the study.     

Perfectionism,Stress, Daily Hassles,Hopelessness, and Suicide Potential in Depressed Psychiatric Adolescents

The current study examined dimensions of perfectionism, stress, hopelessness, and suicidality in a sample of adolescent psychiatric patients diagnosed with depression. This study evaluated the unique contribution of perfectionism in predicting suicidality after considering other predictors (i.e., hopelessness, depression) and it also examined the diathesis-stress model of perfectionism and suicide. A sample of 55 adolescents (41 females, mean age = 15.53, 25.5 % ethnic/racial minorities) who were psychiatric patients completed measures including the Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale, subjective and objective indices of life stress, daily hassles, depression, hopelessness, suicide ideation, prior attempts and suicide potential. In addition, other informants (i.e., adolescents’ parents) completed a diagnostic interview and an interview assessing major stressful experiences. Socially prescribed perfectionism (i.e., the perception that others require perfection of oneself) predicted concurrent levels of suicide potential and this association with suicide potential held even after controlling for the variances accounted for by depression and hopelessness. Hierarchical regression analyses provided partial support for the diathesis-stress model, that is, socially prescribed perfectionism interacted with daily hassles to predict concurrent suicide potential even after controlling for depression, hopelessness, and prior suicide attempt. Together, these findings suggest that socially prescribed perfectionism acts as a vulnerability factor that is predictive of suicide potential or risk among clinically depressed adolescents.     

Transactional Relationships among Cognitive Vulnerabilities, Stressors, and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence

The transactional cognitive vulnerability to stress model Hankin & Abramson (Psychological Bulletin, 127:773–796, 2001) extends the traditional diathesis-stress model by proposing that the relationships among cognitions, depressive symptoms, and stressors are dynamic and bidirectional. In this study three different pathways among these variables were assessed simultaneously: (1) cognitive vulnerabilities and stressors as predictors of depressive symptoms (vulnerability model), (2) depressive symptoms and cognitive vulnerabilities as predictors of stressors (stress generation model), and (3) depressive symptoms and stressors as predictors of cognitive vulnerabilities (consequence model). A fully cross-lagged design panel was employed with 1,187 adolescents (545 girls and 642 boys, Mean Age?=?13.42 years) who were assessed at two time points separated by 6 months. They completed measures of cognitive vulnerabilities (maladaptive schema domains and negative inferential style), stressors, and depressive symptoms. Inferential style and schemas of the disconnection and rejection domain predicted prospective increases in depressive symptoms. Initial levels of depressive symptoms and most cognitive vulnerabilities predicted greater stress generation. Initial levels of stressors and depressive symptoms predicted an increase in negative inferential style and maladaptive schema domains over time. These bidirectional relationships were mostly similar for boys and girls, although there were a few gender differences. The findings support a transactional model with reciprocal relationships among stress, depressive symptoms, and cognitive vulnerabilities. Transactional implications for depression interventions among adolescents are discussed.     

A cross-cultural investigation of cognitions and depressive symptoms in adolescents

Adolescents (N=2,272) from Hong Kong and the United States provided information regarding their depressive symptoms, cognitions (self-efficacy, negative cognitive errors, and hopelessness), and stressful events between 2 surveys 6 months apart. Depressive symptoms and hopelessness were higher, and self-efficacy and negative cognitive errors were lower in Hong Kong than in the United States. Cognitions were associated with concurrent depressive symptoms and predicted depressive symptoms 6 months later in both cultures. The "reverse" model was also supported with more variance predicted by depressive symptoms to later cognitions than from cognitions to depressive symptoms. There was some support for the hypothesis that self-efficacy is less salient in collective compared with individualistic cultures. These findings extend cognitive theories of depression to a non-Western culture.     

自我调节失败与抑郁和焦虑症状的关系：纵向追踪研究

对200名不同调节定向的大学生进行为期6个月的追踪调查以探索长期自我调节失败与抑郁和焦虑症状及两者共存的关系。结果发现：(1)促进定向组在抑郁、焦虑以及自我调节失败得分上低于预防定向组;(2)控制基线期抑郁和焦虑症状,促进和预防定向系统的自我调节失败均可正向预测3个月后抑郁–焦虑症状共存;(3)抑郁症状的维持和发展与促进目标失败有关,焦虑症状的维持和发展与预防目标失败有关;(4)基线期抑郁不仅通过促进目标失败程度来维持和发展,还通过促进和预防目标失败程度来正向预测继发的焦虑;基线期焦虑不仅通过预防目标失败程度来维持和发展,还能正向预测继发的抑郁。     

Dysfunctional attitudes, self-esteem, and hassles: cognitive vulnerability to depression in children of affectively ill parents

The current study tested the diathesis-stress component of Beck's [(1967). Depression: Clinical, experimental, and theoretical aspects. New York: Harper & Row, (1983). Cognitive therapy of depression: New perspectives. In P.J. Clayton, J.E. Barnett (Eds.), Treatment of depression: Old controversies and new approaches (pp. 265-290). New York: Raven Press] cognitive theory of depression in a sample of children between the ages of 6 and 14. We also examined whether high self-esteem buffers cognitively vulnerable youth against experiencing increases in depressive symptoms following increases in hassles. To provide a effective test of hypotheses, an at-risk sample (children of parents with a history of major depressive episodes) and a multi-wave longitudinal design were used. At Time 1, children (n=140) completed measures assessing dysfunctional attitudes, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Every 6 weeks for the next year, children completed measures assessing depressive symptoms and hassles. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that children possessing high levels of dysfunctional attitudes and low levels of self-esteem reported greater elevations in depressive symptoms following elevations in hassles than other children.     

Vulnerable self-esteem and depressive symptoms: prospective findings comparing three alternative conceptualizations.

Across diverse theoretical orientations, vulnerable self-esteem (SE) is thought to act as a diathesis for depression after life stress. In the present study, the roles of trait-level SE, low SE primed by depressed mood, and labile SE in prospectively predicting changes in depressive symptoms in a nonclinical sample (n = 192) were examined. Results indicated that labile SE predicted increases in symptoms. Furthermore, a 3-way interaction (Labile SE x Academic Stress x Initial Depression) suggested that in Ss who were initially asymptomatic, lability made Ss differentially vulnerable to increases in depressive symptoms after stress. In contrast to labile SE, trait-level SE and priming of low SE were relatively weak predictors of changes in depressive symptoms and did not interact with stress.     

Interpersonal Style, Stress, and Depression: An Examination of Transactional and Diathesis-Stress Models

The present study examines a transactional, interpersonal model of depression in which stress generation (Hammen, 1991) in romantic relationships mediates the association between aspects of interpersonal style (i.e., attachment, dependency, and reassurance seeking) and depressive symptoms. It also examines an alternative, diathesis-stress model in which interpersonal style interacts with romantic stressors in predicting depressive symptoms. These models were tested in a sample of college women, both prospectively over a four-week period, as well as on a day-today basis using a daily diary methodology. Overall, there was strong evidence for a transactional, mediation model in which interpersonal style predicted romantic conflict stress, and in turn depressive symptoms. The alternative diathesis-stress model of depression was not supported. These results are interpreted in relation to previous research, and key limitations that should be addressed by future research are discussed.     

Evaluation of cognitive diathesis-stress models in predicting major depressive disorder in adolescents

Diathesis-stress predictions regarding the onset of adolescent major depression and nonmood disorders were tested. Adolescents (N = 1,507) were assessed for dysfunctional attitudes and negative attributional style, as well as current depressive symptoms, current depressive and nondepressive diagnoses, and past and family histories of psychopathology. Approximately 1 year later, participants were reassessed on all measures. Analyses supported A. T. Beck's (1976) theory of depression (at the level of a trend) but not the hopelessness theory of depression. Findings were suggestive of a threshold view of vulnerability to depression; for those who experienced negative life events, depressive onset was related to dysfunctional attitudes but only when dysfunctional attitudes exceeded a certain level (low = intermediate < high). For participants who scored either very high or very low on both dysfunctional attitudes and negative attributional style, nonsignificant findings were obtained.     

Perfectionism,life events,and depressive symptoms: A test of a diathesis-stress model

The present research tested the hypothesis that perfectionists who experience stress are vulnerable to depression, in part because negative life events represent a failure to maintain control over negative outcomes. In Study 1, 215 subjects completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and control measures. The MPS assesses self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. It was confirmed that self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism were associated with both higher desire for control and greater perceived personal control. Study 2 examined whether trait levels of perfectionism moderate the link between life stress and symptoms of depression. In addition, prospective analyses investigated whether perfectionism accounts for changes in levels of depressive symptomatology over time. Two samples comprised of 374 students (Sample 1) and 173 students (Sample 2) completed the MPS and measures of major life stress and depression symptoms. Subjects in Sample 2 completed these measures at two timepoints separated by a three-month interval. Regression analyses indicated that self-oriented perfectionism and life stress interact significantly to produce higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Moreover, in Sample 2, self-oriented perfectionism at Time 1 was associated with increases in depression symptoms three months later for those individuals who had experienced a major life event. The results provide support for diathesis-stress models, which maintain that perfectionists exposed to life stress are vulnerable to symptoms of depression. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the study of personality, stress, and vulnerability to symptoms of depression. This research was supported by grants #410-89-0335, #410-91-8056, and #410-93-1256 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to the authors.     

Perfectionism, life events, and depressive symptoms: A test of a diathesis-stress model

The present research tested the hypothesis that perfectionists who experience stress are vulnerable to depression, in part because negative life events represent a failure to maintain control over negative outcomes. In Study 1, 215 subjects completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and control measures. The MPS assesses self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. It was confirmed that self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism were associated with both higher desire for control and greater perceived personal control. Study 2 examined whether trait levels of perfectionism moderate the link between life stress and symptoms of depression. In addition, prospective analyses investigated whether perfectionism accounts for changes in levels of depressive symptomatology over time. Two samples comprised of 374 students (Sample 1) and 173 students (Sample 2) completed the MPS and measures of major life stress and depression symptoms. Subjects in Sample 2 completed these measures at two timepoints separated by a three-month interval. Regression analyses indicated that self-oriented perfectionism and life stress interact significantly to produce higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Moreover, in Sample 2, self-oriented perfectionism at Time 1 was associated with increases in depression symptoms three months later for those individuals who had experienced a major life event. The results provide support for diathesis-stress models, which maintain that perfectionists exposed to life stress are vulnerable to symptoms of depression. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the study of personality, stress, and vulnerability to symptoms of depression. This research was supported by grants #410-89-0335, #410-91-8056, and #410-93-1256 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to the authors.     

Problem‐Solving Appraisal and Depression: Evidence for a Recovery Model

The purpose of this study was to examine whether problem‐solving appraisal plays a role in recovery from depression in a university population. It was predicted that self‐appraised effective problem solvers would be more likely to recover from a depressive episode than self‐appraised ineffective problem solvers. Consistent with this hypothesis, there was a significant Time 1 problem‐solving appraisal x Time 1 depression interaction in predicting Time 2 depression scores. More specifically, by Time 2 the self‐appraised effective problem solvers reported only mild levels of depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] = 12), whereas the self‐appraised ineffective problem solvers reported levels of depression that were moderate to severe (BDI = 20).