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Characteristics of depressed patients with elevated levels of dysfunctional cognitions

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Abstract

The characteristics of subjects with elevated scores on both the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale and Cognitive Bias Questionnaire were studied in a sample of 72 depressed inpatients. In comparison with low cognitive dysfunctional subjects (n =48), subjects with elevated dysfunctional cognitions (n =24) revealed greater severity of depression, more hopelessness, higher frequencies of automatic thoughts, less social support, and overall poorer social adjustment. Furthermore, the data suggest that age of depression onset, duration of current depressive episode, and number of previous depressive episodes are associated with elevated levels of dysfunctional cognitions. There were no differences between high and low dysfunctional cognitive groups with respect to DSM-III melancholic diagnosis or response on the dexamethasone suppression test.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brown University and Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone boulevard, 02906, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    William H. Norman & Ivan W. Miller

  2. Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, USA

    Michael G. Dow

Authors
  1. William H. Norman
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  2. Ivan W. Miller
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  3. Michael G. Dow
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Additional information

This study was supported by NIMH Grants MH31640, MH35945 and by Biomedical Research Support Grant S07RR0517. The authors thank Marilyn Foulke and Dorothy Lampal for their valuable assistance in the completion of this project.

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Norman, W.H., Miller, I.W. & Dow, M.G. Characteristics of depressed patients with elevated levels of dysfunctional cognitions. Cogn Ther Res 12, 39–51 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172779

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