Self-report measures of defeat and entrapment during a brief depressive mood induction

Abstract

Recent studies have reported that depression is strongly associated with perceptions of defeat and entrapment, and have proposed that such perceptions are central features of depression. This study used experimental mood induction procedures to investigate the putative causal relationship between perceptions of defeat/entrapment and depressed mood. Two groups of female undergraduate volunteers (n = 16) completed visual analogue mood scales, as well as Defeat and Entrapment scales, before and after either a negative or a positive musical mood induction procedure (MIP). Scores on the Defeat and Entrapment Scales were significantly correlated with scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The negative MIP caused a worsening of mood and significantly increased perceptions of defeat and entrapment, particularly internal entrapment. The positive MIP caused a small but significant improvement in mood, and significantly decreased defeat scores. Individuals with elevated BDI or internal entrapment scores prior to the negative MIP showed the greatest increases in internal entrapment after the negative mood induction. The results demonstrate that induction of a depressed mood increases perceptions of defeat and entrapment, and suggest that, in the case of internal entrapment, this effect increases with the initial level of depression or entrapment.