Dysfunctional attitudes and stressful life events: An interactive model of depression

Abstract

The focus of this research was the proposal that depressive symptomatology results from the interaction of an individual's dysfunctional attitudes with stressful life events that impinge on those attitudes. In Study 1, subjects completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS), and the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale-Contractual Conditions (DAS-CC). The DAS measures dysfunctional attitudes presumed to be characteristic of individuals cognitively vulnerable to depression. The DAS-CC is a modified version of the DAS, designed to measure the presence or absence of specific life events that might impinge directly on an individual's dysfunctional attitudes. Consistent with the proposed interactive model, the results from Study 1 indicated that the combination of high DAS-CC and high DAS scores successfully predicted high depression scores. This significant life events by vulnerability interaction was also predicted and found in Study 2, where subjects completed a different measure of stressful life events (the Life Experiences Survey), along with the DAS and BDI. Additional findings from the two studies revealed that those individuals scoring high on the DAS displayed more frequent thoughts about past, present, or expected future life difficulties than those individuals scoring low on this measure, and that they also rated these events as having a greater degree of importance and emotional impact. Furthermore, individuals with high DAS scores displayed increased levels of perceived stress, relative to individuals with low DAS scores. These findings were discussed in terms of a vulnerability model of depression that highlights the role of dysfunctional attitudes and appraisals in enhancing stress levels.