Thinking About How You Feel: The Relationship between Cognitive Variables in the Context of Depressive Symptoms

Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by multiple symptoms such as psychomotor retardation, sleep disturbances, and cognitive deficits in decision making. The current study explores the relationships between cognitive variables and depressive symptomology and seeks to determine what predictive relationships exist between these constructs and if items from these constructs can accurately classify depressed persons. A normal sample of N = 116 participants were administered the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) as well as the Adult Hope Scale (ADH; Snyder et al., 1991), the Index of Autonomous Functioning(IAF; Weinstein, Przybylski, & Ryan, 2012), the Life Orientation Test-Revised(LOT-R; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994), the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory(ZTPI; Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999), the Rumination Reflection Questionnaire(RRQ; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999), and the Automated Working Memory Assessment-II (AWMA; Alloway, 2012b). A stepwise linear regression analysis determined that the Pessimism and Optimism subscales of the LOT-R, the Present Fatalism subscale of the ZTPI, and the Hope Agency subscale of the AHS significantly predicted depression in participants. One item each from the Optimism and Pessimism subscales, two items from the Present Fatalism subscale, and one item from the Hope Agency subscale accurately classified between 67-82% of the depressed (n = 42) and non-depressed (n = 64) persons in the sample. The implications of these findings for therapy and cognitive approaches to understanding depression as well as the relationships between the predictor variables themselves are discussed. THINKING ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL 3 Thinking About How You Feel: The Relationships between Cognitive Variables in the Context of Depressive Symptoms Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by reoccurring thought processes with negative and self-defeating content as well as pessimistic orientations towards internal and external domains such as the self and the environment (Levens, Muhtadie & Gotlib, 2009). An estimated 15.7 million (about 6.7% of the United States population) adults aged 18 and older reported a least one major depressive episode in the past year, with the highest percentage of prevalence in females (8.1%), persons between ages 18 and 25 (8.7%), and Asians (8.9%; NSDUH, 2008). Persons diagnosed with MDD display marked impairments in cognitive abilities such as working memory, problem solving, shifting attention sets, and planning (Bearden et al., 2006; Paelecke-Habermann, Pohl, & Leplow, 2005). Severe depression is especially prevalent on college campuses, wherein 30% of college students have reported a major depressive episode (ACHA, 2012). Depression is a complex pathology with multiple contributing factors, yet some of these factors, such as working memory, autonomy, hope, and time perspective, have been primarily studied in isolation. The relationships between these factors are such that negative or maladaptive aspects of them are more likely to lead to depressive symptoms. For example, a person with little hope is more likely to experience depressive symptoms. Conversely, positive expressions of these constructs have been demonstrated to lessen the likelihood of depressive symptoms (Seligman, 1991; Buchanan & Seligman, 1995). In order to truly understand depression and the cognitive development of psychopathy, we must understand the multiple underlying relationships between associated cognitive constructs that moderate depression prevalence. This understanding enables us to develop targeted, non-invasive treatments to the THINKING ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL 4 disorder. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to examine the relationships of some of the cognitive constructs that underlie depression. Constructs will be introduced briefly and results will be discussed. Beck’s Cognitive Theory of Depression A widely taken cognitive perspective on depression is by Aaron Beck. Beck’s cognitive theory of depression (Beck, 1979) has been used in the fields of cognitive psychology and counseling as the primary model for depression diagnosis (Allen, 2003). The model is triadic, positing that depression is caused by improper application of cognitive processes in three areas of life; the self, experiences, and the future (see Figure 1). In this theory, the person may experience a traumatic or stressful event and begin to think negatively dysfunctional thoughts about his or herself. These negative thoughts activate and perpetuate a negative self schema that produces biases toward attenuating to, processing, and recalling negative information in experiences. The selective attention towards negative information in the environment produces a belief in the person that the future will be negative, as is the present (Beck, 2008). The present study will take the Beckian perspective on depression to inform its research questions and data analyses. In the present study, we will take the focus on the aspect of the Self in Beck’s theory by assessing cognitive constructs that are negatively associated with depressive symptoms. These constructs are Hope and Autonomy, which will be discussed below. We are also interested in expanding the Future component of Beck’s triadic model to include past, present, and future time perspectives (see Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999). For clarity, the literature review will be organized in congruence with the Self and Future components of Beck’s Triadic Model of Depression, notably excluding the Experiences component as there was no measure of this aspect in the present study. THINKING ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL 5