Are people changed by the experience of having an episode of depression? A further test of the scar hypothesis

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of individuals before and after their first depressive episode. Subjects were 49 older persons assessed before and after their first depressive episode on depression-related psychosocial variables. The control group consisted of 351 never-depressed individuals. Consistent with previous findings, patients were more likely to be younger, female, and mildly depressed both before and after the episode. In addition, they were more likely to be employed. Following an episode of depression, the recovered patients described their social skills and health as poorer and their interpersonal dependency as greater than the controls. However, on an experiment-wise basis, the number of significant differences were no greater than expected by chance. The stress activation model was examined but did not appreciably enhance the results. Results suggest that most of the psychosocial variables associated with depression are state dependent.     

Dimensionality of coping and its relation to depression

The dimensionality of coping, as measured by 65 items from 3 commonly used instruments, and the relation of coping and stress to concurrent and future depression were studied in a community sample of 742 older (greater than or equal to 50 years old) adults. Measures of coping, stress, and depression were obtained at 2 time points over a 2-year period. Depression was assessed by symptom checklist and by diagnostic interview. Three coping factors--Cognitive Self-Control, Ineffective Escapism, and Solace Seeking--that had adequate psychometric properties and accounted for 25% of the total item variance were identified. Ineffective Escapism was associated with current depression and had a direct and interactive effect on future depression, exacerbating the negative impact of stress rather than acting as a buffer. Although Cognitive Self-Control was unrelated to either concurrent or future depression, Solace Seeking significantly buffered the effect of stress in predicting a future diagnosis of depression. Stress and initial depression level predicted both measures of future depression. Gender (being female) predicted the future diagnosis of depression but not the increase of depressive symptoms.     

The Life Attitudes Schedule-Short Form: psychometric properties and correlates of adolescent suicide proneness

The goals of the present study were to describe the psychometric properties of the Life Attitudes Schedule-Short Form (LAS-SF) in adolescents and provide criterion and construct validity data, including bivariate and multivariate associations with related risk behaviors. Anonymous questionnaires containing the LAS-SF and related measures were administered to 1,742 high school students in three states. Psychometric properties for LAS-SF items and total score were very good, and the LAS-SF was correlated with almost all of the examined risk behaviors, illustrating the broad range of problems measured by the instrument. LAS-SF total scores were associated with past suicide attempt, even after controlling for the impact of current depression. Clinical and research uses for the LAS-SF are discussed.     

Comparisons Across Depression Assessment Instruments in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: An Item Response Theory Study Using Two Linking Methods

Item response theory (IRT) methods allow for comparing the utility of instruments based on the range and precision of severity assessed by each instrument. As adolescents and young adults can display rapid increases in depressive symptoms, there is a crucial need to sensitively assess mild elevations of symptoms (as an index of initial risk) and moderate-severe symptoms (as an indicator of treatment disposition). We compare the information assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to the newly developed Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System – Depression measure (PROMIS-Depression), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression (CES-D) scale. The present work is based on data from two fully independent samples of community adolescents and young adults. One sample completed the BDI and CES-D (n?=?1,482) and the second sample (n?=?673) completed the PROMIS-Depression measure and the CES-D. Using two different IRT-based linking methods, (1) equating based on common items and (2) concurrent calibration methods, analyses revealed that the PROMIS-Depression measure assessed information over the widest range of depressive severity with greatest measurement precision relative to the other instruments. This was true for both the 28-item and 8-item versions of the PROMIS-Depression measure. Findings suggest that the PROMIS-Depression measure assessed depression severity with greatest precision and over the widest severity range of the assessed instruments. However, future work is necessary to demonstrate that the PROMIS-Depression measure has reliable associations with external criteria and is sensitive to treatment response.