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Hopelessness

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Encyclopedia of Adolescence

Overview

Cognitive theories of depression are concerned with the relationship between human mental activity and the experience of depressive symptoms and episodes (Ingram et al. 1998). Cognition is thought to encompass the mental processes of perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, judging, and reasoning. According to cognitive theorists, these cognitive variables have significant causal implications for the onset, maintenance, and remission of depression. Cognitive theories in the context of depression posit that the way in which individuals perceive and respond to negative events influences the likelihood of them experiencing depression (e.g., Beck 1967, 1983). This essay examines the role of hopelessness as an important cognitive factor linking to depression and other negative aspects of adolescent outcomes.

Hopelessness: A Proximal Sufficient Cause of Depression

One construct that figures prominently into many cognitive theories of depression is that of hopelessness. Although...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Tillett Hall – Livingston Campus, 53 Avenue E, 08854-8040, Urbana-Champaign, NJ, USA

    Joseph R. Cohen & John R. Z. Abela

  2. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA

    Chinmayi Tengsche

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Tillett Hall – Livingston Campus, 53 Avenue E, 08854-8040, Ottawa, Canada

    Dana M. Sheshko

  4. CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Raymond C. K. Chan

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, 2155 South Race St, 80208, Urbana-Champaign, CO, USA

    Benjamin L. Hankin

Authors
  1. Joseph R. Cohen
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  2. Chinmayi Tengsche
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  3. Dana M. Sheshko
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  4. Raymond C. K. Chan
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  5. Benjamin L. Hankin
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  6. John R. Z. Abela
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Correspondence to Joseph R. Cohen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Roger J.R. Levesque

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Cohen, J.R., Tengsche, C., Sheshko, D.M., Chan, R.C.K., Hankin, B.L., Abela, J.R.Z. (2017). Hopelessness. In: Levesque, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_185-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_185-2

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