Levels Of Dysfunctional Attitudes Research Articles

Effect of dysfunctional attitudes and postpartum state on vulnerability to depressed mood

BackgroundPostpartum depression (PPD) is the most common complication of childbearing with a 13% prevalence. Vulnerability to depressed mood has an important role in the onset of major depressive episodes (MDE), but has not been investigated in postpartum. The aim is to assess whether day-5 postpartum blues and severity of dysfunctional attitudes predicts vulnerability to depressed mood. MethodsAbout 45 healthy women were recruited: group 1 (n=12) was day-5 postpartum during the typical peak of postpartum blues. Group 2 (n=11) was within 18 months postpartum and reported a vulnerability to cry (and had elevated dysfunctional attitudes but no MDE). Group 3 (n=11) was within 18 months postpartum and no vulnerability to cry. Group 4 (n=11) was not recently postpartum. Vulnerability to depressed mood was measured by the change in the visual analog scale from the sad mood induction procedure (MIP). ResultsUnivariate analysis of covariance demonstrated that day-5 postpartum blues and level of dysfunctional attitudes were highly predictive of change in sad mood (postpartum blues: F(1,41)=12.9, p<0.005, dysfunctional attitudes scale score: F(1,41)=11.49, p<0.005). LimitationsAlthough the effects were robust, sample sizes were 11–12 within each group. ConclusionTwo factors (day-5 postpartum and severity of dysfunctional attitudes) predicted vulnerability to sad mood. Since the severity of postpartum blues predicts PPD, MIP on day-5 postpartum represents a quantitative measure that can be applied to screen novel, early interventions for preventing PPD. Interventions to prevent PPD through increasing resilience against mood induction should target postpartum women with greater severity of dysfunctional attitudes.

Mood state dependency of dysfunctional attitudes in bipolar affective disorder

Introduction. Studies of cognitive styles among euthymic people with bipolar affective disorder (BAD) without use of mood induction techniques to access those cognitive styles give misleading impressions of normality of those cognitions. The aim of this study was to assess dysfunctional attitudes of participants with BAD, and control participants with no previous psychiatric histories, after mood inductions. Methods. Sad and happy moods were induced within 49 BAD and 37 controls. Dysfunctional attitudes were measured following mood inductions using the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale—short form (DAS-24), which has three subscales of achievement, interpersonal, and goal attainment. Results. It was hypothesised that within BAD the sad mood induction would help in accessing dysfunctional attitudes in all three domains relative to the happy mood induction. This was supported. It was also hypothesised that the mood inductions would not affect dysfunctional attitudes within controls. This was supported. When diagnosis was entered as a between group variable, achievement dysfunctional attitudes were significantly higher in BAD compared to controls after a happy induction. Conclusions Both sad and happy moods provoked higher levels of dysfunctional attitudes within BAD. Euphoria may be related to elevated achievement dysfunctional attitudes, raising risk for mania.

Processes of Change in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A Mediation Reanalysis of Zettle and Rains

Several articles have recently questioned the distinction between acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and traditional cognitive therapy (CT). This study presents a reanalysis of data from Zettle and Rains that compared 12 weeks of group CT with group ACT. For theoretical reasons, Zettle and Rains also included a modified form of CT that did not include distancing, and no intent-to-treat analysis was included. Particularly because that unusual third condition did somewhat better than the full CT package, it contaminated the direct comparison of ACT and CT, which has of late become theoretically interesting. In the present study, data from participants in the ACT and CT conditions were reanalyzed. ACT was shown to produce greater reductions in levels of self-reported depression using an intent-to-treat analysis. Posttreatment levels of cognitive defusion mediated this effect at follow-up. The occurrence of depressogenic thoughts and level of dysfunctional attitudes did not function as mediators. This study adds additional evidence that ACT works through distinct and theoretically specified processes that are not the same as CT.

A Musical Mood Induction Alleviates Dysfunctional Attitudes in Needy and Self-Critical Individuals

The “mood-state hypothesis” (Miranda &amp; Persons, 1988) suggests that dysfunctional beliefs are latent in individuals vulnerable to depression until activated by a negative mood. The purpose of the current study was twofold: (a) to validate a new musical mood induction procedure and (b) to test the cognitive reactivity (or changes in the endorsement of dysfunctional beliefs) in individuals hypothesized to be vulnerable to depression (Blatt, Zohar, Quinlan, Zuroff, &amp; Mongrain, 1995). The mood induction procedure was found to be highly effective for both the positive and the negative conditions. Needy and self-critical participants reported increases in the endorsement of dysfunctional attitudes with the depressing music. With the elating music, needy and self-critical participants experiencing an increase in happiness reported lower levels of dysfunctional attitudes. The findings support state-trait models of depressive vulnerability (Zuroff, Blatt, Sanislow, &amp; Bondi, 1999) and further illustrate how positive mood states can ameliorate the report of maladaptive thoughts.

Mechanisms of recurrent depression: a cognitive battle model and some preliminary results

Theoretical models of cognitive mechanisms assumed to be involved in recurrent depression are discussed and a cognitive battle process between compensatory coping strategies and the automatic processing of negative information is suggested. Preliminary support for the model comes from a study that investigated preferences for positive and negative tape-recorded self-statements in clinically depressed (CD), previously depressed (PD) and never depressed (ND) individuals. The results showed (1) a positive correlation between dysfunctional attitudes and dysphoric symptoms in CDs and PDs, but not in NDs; (2) NDs preferred positive self-statements, whereas CDs preferred neither positive nor negative self-statements; (3) PDs exhibited different patterns of preference depending on the levels of dysfunctional attitudes and dysphoric symptoms. For example, simultaneous high levels of both dysfunctional attitudes and dysphoric symptoms in PDs resulted in a preference for positive self-statements. This finding is discussed as a possible compensatory strategy of avoiding negative information in PDs. Clinical implications for treatment and prevention of depression are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dysfunctional attitudes and vulnerability to depressive symptoms : A 14-week longitudinal study

Beck's acute-onset model of depression proposesthat initially asymptomatic individuals with high levelsof dysfunctional attitudes (DA) will become depressedwhen stressors occur. Using a large student sample (n = 275), we conducted a 14-weeklongitudinal study aimed at testing Beck's model as anacute-onset model. Consistent with past studies (Monroe,Bromet, Connell, & Steiner, 1986; Roberts & Monroe, 1992), a DA Stress interaction did notobtain when all subjects (both symptomatic andasymptomatic) were included in the data analyses.However, when analyses were restricted to initiallyasymptomatic subjects, the predicted DA Stress interactioneffect did obtain. Specifically, under conditions ofhigh stress, initially asymptomatic subjects with highlevels of dysfunctional attitudes showed greater increases in depressive symptoms than initiallyasymptomatic subjects with low levels of dysfunctionalattitudes. Follow-up analyses revealed that this DAStress interaction was specific to females and not males. Possible reasons for the female-specificeffect are discussed. In general, these findings callattention to the fact that subject selection proceduresmay affect a researcher's ability to predict future onset of depression.

Do levels of dysfunctional attitudes predict recovery in major depression?

Thirty-seven patients who fulfilled DSM-lll-R criteria for Major Depressive Disorder were recruited for a double-blind controlled trial of desipramine and placebo for 6 weeks. Initial levels of dysfunctional attitudes in the placebo group, particularly those related to achievement, were found to predict changes in Hamilton Ratings for Depression between the initial Hamilton scores and those at week 6 (Hamilton change scores) with the initial level of depression controlled for. For subjects taking desipramine, levels of dysfunctional attitudes did not predict Hamilton change scores. The findings suggest that dysfunctional attitudes impair spontaneous recovery from depression and that the effects of antidepressant drug treatment may obscure this effect. Recovery from depression may include a complex mixture of biological and psychological pathways. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

THE ROLE OF DYSFUNCTIONAL ATTITUDES, NEGATIVE LIFE EVENTS, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT IN THE PREDICTION OF DEPRESSIVE DYSPHORIA: A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY

The present study examined the role of dysfunctional attitudes, negative life events, and social support in predicting depressive dysphoria. Undergraduates (N = 196) completed the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS; Weissman, 1980); the Hammen Life Events Survey (HLES; Hammen, Marks, Mayol, &amp; deMayo, 1985); the Social Support Questionnaire-6 (SSQ-6; Sarason, Sarason, Shearin, &amp; Pierce, 1987); and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, &amp; Erbaugh, 1961) at three different times separated by five-week intervals. Multiple regression analyses revealed a significant three-way interaction between dysfunctional attitudes, negative life events, and social support predicting subsequent levels of depressive dysphoria. Decomposition of the three-way interaction using residualized change scores indicated that the combination of dysfunctional attitudes and negative life events, regardless of the size of their social support network, were associated with significantly higher levels of depressive dysphoria than individuals reporting lower levels of negative life events and larger social support networks, regardless of level of dysfunctional attitudes. These findings are discussed in terms of Beck's (1967, 1976) theory of vulnerability to depression and the need for additional research to clarify further the role of each factor.

Dependency, matching adversities, length of survival and relapse in major depression

This paper reports the 1-year follow-up of a sample of depressed patients. Social cognitive variables obtained during the index episode, including ideal emotional support, roles and goals investment in various domains and dysfunctional attitudes were used to predict subjects' likelihood for subsequent relapse. More subjects who experienced severe life events in the year were found to have relapsed. However, the predictive value of life events was improved if adversity was in the most invested domain according to the roles and goals questionnaire that subjects filled in during their index episode (matching adversity). Subjects who experienced matching adversity had a 3-fold chance of relapse compared with subjects with nonmatching adversity. The majority of the matching events were in the interpersonal domain. Levels of dysfunctional attitudes alone did not predict relapse. However, matching adversity and the dependency subscale of the dysfunctional attitude scale contributed significantly both to whether or not subjects relapsed and to the number of weeks subjects survived before they relapsed. The higher the level of dependency dysfunctional attitudes, the sooner subjects relapsed. The findings of the follow-up study supported the importance of psychological and social factors in determining relapse.

Toward an integration of psychologic, social, and biologic factors in depression: effects on outcome and course of cognitive therapy.

The present study attempted to integrate key variables from 3 major domains of theory in depression (cognition, stress, and psychobiology) that are typically studied separately in analyses of course and response to cognitive therapy. Dysfunctional attitudes, negative life events, or sleep electroencephalogram were assessed in 53 outpatients before treatment with cognitive therapy. High levels of dysfunctional attitudes were found to be associated with poorer response to treatment but not for those patients who had experienced a severe negative life event. Examination of the length of time required to achieve remission revealed an effect for rapid eye movement (REM) latency as well as the interaction between REM latency and life events. These results are discussed in terms of the promise of integrative research in the study of depression and its treatment.