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Objectives Cognitive behavioural guided self-help has been shown to be effective in mild and moderate depressive disorder. It is not known, however, if it is effective in individuals with partially remitted depressive disorder, which is a serious clinical problem in up to 50-60% of treated patients. This study is the first one to examine the clinical benefit of this intervention in this patient population. Design For the purpose of this study, a single-blind, randomized controlled design was used. Method We randomized 90 individuals with partially remitted depressive disorder either to cognitive behavioural guided self-help plus psychopharmacotherapy ( n = 49) or psychopharmacotherapy alone ( n = 41). They were clinically assessed at regular intervals with ratings of depressive symptoms and stress-coping strategies over a 3-week run-in period and a 6-week treatment period. Results After 6 weeks, intention-to-treat analysis ( n = 90) showed that patients treated with cognitive behavioural guided self-help plus psychopharmacotherapy did not have significantly lower scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression (17-item version; HRSD-17) and on the Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI) compared to patients treated with psychopharmacotherapy alone. When negative stress-coping strategies were considered, there was a significant difference between the two groups at the end of treatment with respect to the BDI but not to the HRSD-17. Conclusions Guided self-help did not lead to a significant reduction in symptom severity in patients with partially remitted depressive disorder after a 6-week intervention. However, the intervention leads to a reduction of negative stress-coping strategies. Practitioner points Cognitive behavioural guided self-help did not significantly improve depressive symptoms measured with the Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression (17-item version; HRSD-17) in patients with partially remitted depressive disorder., Improvements were found in reducing negative stress-coping strategies for those allocated to the cognitive behavioural guided self-help, which significantly improved Beck Depression Inventory but not HRSD-17., These findings suggest that cognitive behavioural guided self-help may offer some assistance in managing negative stress-coping strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study investigates the attitude towards antidepressant treatment among general public., Methods: A total of 234 probands (139 women and 95 men) were asked to complete individually provided questionnaires examining socio-demographic data, psychoeducational levels, as well as personal beliefs concerning antidepressant treatment and levels of present stigmatisation. Three scales were used to quantify stigmatisation levels-"Revised Perceived Devaluation Discrimination Scale"/"Revised Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale"/"Attitudes Toward Mental Health Treatment Scale", "Revised Perceived Devaluation Discrimination Scale"., Results: 65 people (27.8 %) reported to have had one or more episodes of depression during their lifetime; 169 people (72.2 %) indicated to have never had any episode of that type before. The words "sickness" and "anxiety" were the terms primarily associated with the word "depression". It was a common belief among interviewees that lonely individuals or those not receiving social support have a higher risk of becoming depressed. We further found that people experience higher levels of internalized stigma when talking about their antidepressant drug-therapy, than the level of perceived stigma would suggest. Opposed to those not indicating depression depressed people indicated that they considered the use of antidepressant medication helpful and a good option, if necessary. Stigma can still be found among those not indicating depression as well as among those with symptoms of depression. Based on the current study we conclude that work in the field of destigmatisation is of great importance.

We examined 89 normal volunteers using Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Genotyping the 102T/C polymorphism of the serotonin 5HT2A receptor gene and the ser9gly polymorphism in exon 1 of the dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) gene was performed using PCR-RFLP, whereas the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism was investigated using PCR amplification followed by electrophoresis in an 8% acrylamide gel with a set of size markers. We found a nominally significant association between gender and harm avoidance (P=0.017; women showing higher scores). There was no association of either DAT1, DRD3 or 5HT2A alleles or genotypes with any dimension of the TCI applying Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum tests. Comparing homozygote and heterozygote DAT1 genotypes, we found higher novelty seeking scores in homozygotes (P=0.054). We further found a nominally significant interaction between DAT1 and 5HT2A homo-/heterozygous gene variants (P=0.0071; DAT1 and 5HT2A genotypes P value of 0.05), performing multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Examining the temperamental TCI subscales, this interaction was associated with persistence (genotypes: P=0.004; homo-/heterozygous gene variants: P=0.0004). We conclude that an interaction between DAT1 and 5HT2A genes might influence the temperamental personality trait persistence.