Interpretive bias of ambiguous facial expressions in older adults with depressive symptoms.

Abstract

Cognitive theories of emotional disorders indicate that biases in cognitive processes, such as attention, memory, and interpretation, are common factors that indicate vulnerability to these disorders, although their form varies according to the type of disorder. However, most of the studies have focused on adolescence and adulthood. It is still uncertain whether cognitive biases are risk factors for late-life depression. The present study sought to explore the role of interpretive bias in older adults with depressive symptoms and whether this effect is independent of basic cognitive abilities. Therefore, 18 older adults with depressive symptoms and 21 healthy controls were compared with an ambiguous facial expression identification task, a Mini Mental Status Examination, a Trail Making Test A and B, and a Word Fluency Test. Findings revealed that the depressive group was more likely to identify more ambiguous happy-sad facial expressions as indicative of sadness than were the healthy controls, but the two groups showed no significant differences in the cognitive test scores. These results suggest that interpretive bias indicates vulnerability to late-life depression, but basic cognitive abilities may have no influence in this context.