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Although individuals with depression have been found to experience a higher rate of stress in their lives, it remains unclear to what extent other personal characteristics may contribute to stress generation. The current study extended past research by examining the effects of two theoretically and empirically supported cognitive vulnerabilities to depression (negative cognitive style and rumination) as predictors of dependent interpersonal and achievement events, independent events, and relational peer victimization. In a diverse sample of 301 early adolescents (56 % female; M = 12.82 years), we found that negative cognitive style prospectively predicted the experience of dependent interpersonal stress and relational victimization, and that rumination did not predict stress in any of the domains. Furthermore, the occurrence of intervening stress mediated the associations between negative cognitive style and subsequent depressive symptoms. Additionally, whereas negative cognitive style predicted relational victimization among both boys and girls, girls were particularly vulnerable to developing depressive symptoms following the occurrence of relational victimization. Thus, a negative cognitive style may contribute to the occurrence of stressful events, which in turn increases depressive symptoms. Girls may be particularly reactive to relational victimization, representing one pathway through which sex differences in depression may emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Relatively little is known about psychological predictors of the onset of mania among individuals with bipolar disorder, particularly during episodes of depression. In the present study we investigated attributional style as a predictor of onset of hypomanic, manic or mixed episodes among bipolar adults receiving psychosocial treatment for depression. We hypothesized that “extreme” (i.e., excessively pessimistic or optimistic) attributions would predict a greater likelihood of developing an episode of mood elevation. Method: Outpatients with DSM-IV bipolar I or II disorder (N = 105) enrolled in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD) were randomly allocated to one of three types of intensive psychotherapy for depression or a brief psychoeducational intervention. Patients completed a measure of attributional style at baseline and were followed prospectively for up to one year. All analyses were by intent to treat. Results: Logistic regressions and Cox proportional hazards models indicated that extreme (both positively- and negatively-valenced) attributions predicted a higher likelihood of (and shorter time until) transition from depression to a (hypo)manic or mixed episode (ps < .04), independent of the effects of manic or depressive symptom severity at baseline. Extreme attributions were also retrospectively associated with more lifetime episodes of (hypo)mania and depression (ps < .05). Conclusions: Evaluating extreme attributions may help clinicians to identify patients who are at risk for experiencing a more severe course of bipolar illness, and who may benefit from treatments that introduce greater cognitive flexibility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: We examined the association of cognitive vulnerability to depression with changes in homogeneous measures of depressive symptoms. Methods: Baseline and 1-year follow-up data were obtained from 2981 participants of the Netherlands study of depression and anxiety. Multivariate regression analyses were carried out on cognitive reactivity, locus of control and implicit and explicit self-depressive associations in combination with negative life events. The purpose of this analysis was to predict changes on the mood/cognition and anxiety/arousal subscales of the inventory of depressive symptomatology - self report. Results: Cognitive reactivity, locus of control and explicit self-depressive associations were independently associated with changes in depressive symptoms after adjustment for covariates and baseline severity (all p<0.01). Negative life-events interacted with cognitive vulnerability to depression to predict depressive symptoms. Locus of control (b 1=0.16, SE=0.02, η 2=0.01; b 2=0.10, SE=0.02, η 2=0.004, F=8.69, p<0.01) and explicit self-depressive associations (b 1=0.10, SE=0.03, η 2=0.02; b2=0.02, SE=0.04, F=7.50, p<0.01) were more strongly associated with the cognitive (b 1) than the somatic (b 2) symptom dimension of depression. Limitations: The study sample is over-inclusive of depressed patients. Therefore it might be problematic generalizing the findings to the general population. Conclusion: Cognitive etiological factors may play a role in a “cognitive” subtype of depression. The findings strengthen the notion that homogeneous measures of depressive symptoms enable a greater degree of discrimination between subtypes than a multidimensional conception of depression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To test whether cognitive vulnerability could explain the link between depression and poor health. Methods: A 4-week longitudinal design was used to examine health problems (eg, diabetes), health behaviors (eg, smoking), depressive symptoms, cognitive vulnerability, and life stress in a sample of 154 undergraduates. Results: Contrary to hypotheses, depressive symptoms, but not cognitive vulnerability, were associated with health problems. However, as predicted, cognitive vulnerability was a better predictor of prospective changes in specific health behaviors than were depressive symptoms. Unexpectedly, life stress was the best predictor of prospective changes in specific health behaviors. Conclusions: These results are among the first to show that the factors associated with health problems are different than those associated with specific health behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Neuroticism is a strong predictor of future mental health problems. The informativeness of this association has been questioned because of the limited understanding of the mechanisms underlying Neuroticism. In this article the authors extend our understanding of the association between information processing and Neuroticism. Method Two independent studies involving separate sets of college students ( N = 89 and N = 33), use self-rated Neuroticism scores to compare individuals' ability to learn simple and more complex discriminations, between simple shapes and words presented alone and in compound. Results Neuroticism was found to be associated with differences in learning to discriminate simple stimuli from compounds containing the same simple stimuli. Individuals with high levels of Neuroticism appeared to process compounds of stimuli as whole units even when this ceased to be an effective strategy for learning. In contrast, individuals with lower levels of Neuroticism performed better with discriminations that could be solved while learning about separate stimuli, rather than compounds. Conclusions The authors discuss possible mechanisms of learning identified by these tasks and consider what implications their observations have for an understanding of the relationship between Neuroticism and mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Depressive and anxiety disorders are highly overlapping, heterogeneous conditions that both have been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cognitive vulnerability traits for these disorders could help to specify what exactly drives CVD risk in depressed and anxious subjects. Our aim is to examine sensitivity to depression or anxiety in association with indicators of subclinical CVD. Methods: Data from 635 participants (aged 20–66 years) of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety were analyzed. Depression sensitivity was measured by the revised Leiden Index of Depression Sensitivity. Anxiety sensitivity was measured by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Subclinical CVD was measured as (1) carotid intima-media thickness and plaque presence using B-mode ultrasonography and (2) central arterial stiffness (augmentation index) using calibrated radial applanation tonometry. Results: After adjustment for sociodemographics, blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol, higher scores of anxiety sensitivity were associated with both increased likelihood of carotid plaques (OR per SD increase=1.34, 95%CI=1.06–1.68) and increased arterial stiffness (β=.06, p=.01). No significant associations were found with carotid intima-media thickness nor for depression sensitivity. Limitations: The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference. Current mood state could have influenced the self-reported sensitivity data. Conclusions: The presence of carotid plaques and central arterial stiffness was especially increased in subjects who tend to be highly fearful of anxiety-related symptoms. These observations suggest that vulnerability to anxiety, rather than to depression, represents a correlate of subclinical CVD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While diathesis-stress models of cognitive vulnerability to depression (CVD) in childhood have been tested, few studies have included both parent- and child-reported negative life events, despite the fact that they provide unique information on events that may be relevant to depression risk in boys and girls. It was hypothesized that different types of stress may show moderation of CVD for boys and girls; specifically, we predicted that parent-reported stressors may moderate boys’ CVD, and that self-reported stress may play a more critical moderating role for girls. A community sample of 182 eight-year-olds completed measures of CVD at baseline, and child- and parent-reported measures of stress were collected at follow-up, one year later. Support for diathesis-stress models of CVD varied depending on child sex and the source of information on stress. Results highlight the importance of collecting multiple measures of stress in testing diathesis-stress models of CVD in middle childhood. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) is associated with depression and may confer risk for the development of depressed mood, but few longitudinal studies have evaluated OGM as a predictor of depressive symptoms in early adolescence, particularly in the context of environmental stressors. We investigated whether OGM and emotional maltreatment would interact to predict prospective increases in depressive symptoms in early adolescents and whether these effects differed by race. Among 174 seventh-graders, OGM and familial emotional abuse interacted to predict depressive symptoms eight months later, controlling for initial depressive symptoms. Specifically, emotional abuse predicted increases in depressive symptoms among Caucasian adolescents with more OGM, but not among those with less OGM. This association was not significant for African American adolescents. These results provide support for a cognitive vulnerability–stress relationship between OGM and emotional abuse in early adolescence and suggest that these mechanisms of risk for depression may be specific to Caucasian adolescents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cognitive models of child psychopathology rarely consider positive schemas in models of risk. This study presents the new Positive Schema Questionnaire (PSQ) for youth, evaluating relations of positive schema themes to depression, anxiety, and resilience. Adolescent boys ( n = 84) and girls ( n = 88), aged 9-14 ( M = 11.44), completed the PSQ, and measures of negative schemas, depression, anxiety, and resilience. Exploratory factor analyses of the PSQ supported a five-factor structure including themes of: Self-Efficacy, Optimism, Trust, Success, and Worthiness. Supporting its discriminant validity, the PSQ predicted additional variance in depression, anxiety, and resilience, beyond that predicted by negative schemas. Furthermore, the content specificity model as envisioned for negative schemas, was found to apply to positive schemas, with themes of Worthiness most predictive of depression and Self-Efficacy most predictive of anxiety and resilience. Findings have implications for incorporating positive schemas into cognitive models of psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cognitive models of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) posit that negative cognitions regarding the self and the world underlie the disorder. In contrast, scarring models — which postulate that distress brings about an elevation in vulnerability — predict the inverse relationship. Both models were tested amongst 156 Israeli trauma victims. Participants were assessed for PTSD symptoms and trauma-related cognitions (negative thoughts regarding self and world) over 2 weeks (T1), 4 weeks (T2), and 12 weeks (T3) following the traumatic event. A cross-lagged structural equation modeling analysis yielded evidence for both cognitive vulnerability and scarring. Baseline PTSD was prospectively associated with an increase in negative cognitions regarding both the self and the world during the T1–T2 period. Negative cognitions regarding the self were prospectively associated with an increase in PTSD symptoms during both T1–T2 and T2–T3 periods. PTSD symptoms and negative cognitions regarding the self thus appear to form a vicious cognitive-symptomatic cycle which might impede recovery. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study the main goal is the personal optimisation of some young subjects identified after a screening as having cognitive vulnerability for comorbid anxiety with depression. The dysfuncional and/or irrational cognitions cand be identified and changed by cognitive-behavioural techniques and I intend to validate a protocol for the mentioned aspects. Starting with this basic assumption I intend to conceptualise from a psychopathologic point of view the depression and anxiety, as the biggest part of psycopathology is the result of dysfuncional and/or irrational cognitions. The general conceptualisation in the I had 205 subjects which filled out fully the psychological tests battery for screening, then I chose some of them based on their scores which indicated cognitive vulnerability nor confirmed by a clinical board or by disorders from Axis II DSM IV. For the so chosen subjects based on the citeria of being included in the study we applied a protocol elaborated for the necessity of the study, using post- intervention measurements showing that these acquired efficient coping strategies for the dysfunctional cognitions which placed them in a cognitive vulnerability zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to adapt the Cognitive Styles Questionnaire to a university student population from Mexico's west-central region. A total of 600 undergraduate students sampled from all majors at the Autonomus University of Aguascalientes majors participated. An adapted version of the questionnaire, to Aguascalientes population was achieved through four process stages: Spanish translation, equivalence measurement, cultural adaptation, and empirical validation. The final version revealed high internal consistency, and the 11 extracted factors explained 63% of the total variance. This adapted version may be used with populations of similar regional characteristics and is likely to be useful for researching cognitive factors that confer vulnerability to individuals who suffer depressive symptoms or major depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a growing recognition of the role of memory processes in depressive vulnerability, as has been suggested by influential cognitive models of depressive disorders (Teasdale, 1988). In this study recovered depressed (n = 35) and never-depressed (n=49) participants recalled self-defining memories following either a sad or neutral mood induction. In a neutral mood, recovered depressed and never-depressed participants did not differ in terms of the characteristics of the memories that they recalled. However, in a sad mood recovered depressed participants recalled more vivid negative memories and less emotionally intense positive memories than never-depressed participants. This study provides support for aspects of Teasdale's differential activation model and contributes to the growing recognition that depressive disorders involve disturbances in both negative and positive memory processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A growing body of research indicates that cognitive bias modification (CBM) may be an effective intervention for individuals with anxiety. However, few studies have tested whether CBM works for other disorders characterized by negative cognitive biases such as depression. This experiment tested the efficacy of CBM for altering depressogenic self-worth biases. Consistent with hypotheses, results showed that CBM was more effective than a control condition in teaching participants a more adaptive cognitive style (i.e., increased attention for adaptive self-worth stimuli). Those who successfully learned a more adaptive style reported fewer depressive symptoms and exhibited greater persistence (i.e., less helplessness) on a difficult laboratory task. However, the task proved difficult for cognitively vulnerable participants; they were not able to maintain their new learning over the entire course of the CBM training. Rather, their negative cognitive bias began to re-emerge after only 20 learning trials. These results indicate that CBM attention training might be most effective in reducing cognitive vulnerability when initially used in small doses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raising a child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be associated with considerable distress, requiring continuing adjustment on the part of parents. This study examined the relationship between cognitive vulnerability factors such as negative automatic thoughts, irrational beliefs and meta-cognitive beliefs, and positive and negative emotions in parents of children with ASD. Twenty seven parents of children diagnosed with ASD completed questionnaires measuring frequency of negative automatic thoughts, irrational beliefs related to raising a child with a disability, meta-cognitive beliefs regarding negative and positive emotions, positive and negative emotions, and problem child behavior. Results indicated that irrational beliefs and negative meta-cognitive beliefs about positive emotions are salient cognitive vulnerability factors contributing to fewer positive emotions in parents of children with ASD. It is concluded that interventions for promoting positive coping and resilience in parents of children with ASD should consider cognitive vulnerability factors such as irrational beliefs and negative metacognitive beliefs about positive emotions and their potential effect on positive emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controversy still exists in the literature regarding the adaptive function of positive illusions. On the one hand, they are believed to be a key element of mental health; on the other hand they are held to reflect neurotic defenses. Whereas an abundance of studies have been devoted to the study of affective adaptation in relation to self-enhancement, less is known about the cognitive schemas of the self-enhancer. The present paper examines the relationship of self-enhancement to psychological distress by taking into consideration both cognitive adaptation and defensiveness. Participants were a sample of non-clinical young adults (N=304). Cognitive schemas were measured through dysfunctional attitudes, irrational beliefs and automatic thoughts. Path analysis was used to detect more complex relationships between data. Although overall results indicated no differences between the genuine mental health and defensive groups regarding the level of self-enhancing beliefs and distress, self-enhancement of defensive persons were related to cognitive vulnerability and self-deception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its strong relation to depression and theorized development across childhood and adolescence, cognitive schema organization has not been explored in early adolescence, a sensitive developmental period for first depression onset. Schema organization is theorized to derive from childhood cognitive internalizations of caregiving relationships, such as critical parenting experiences (e.g., Young et al. in Schema therapy: a practitioner's guide. Guilford Press, New York, ). Thus, the current investigation considers the organization of positive and negative schemas with youth's perceptions of parental warmth and psychological control and self-reported emotional functioning. Participants were 198 boys and girls aged 9-14 years who completed the Psychological Distance Scaling Task, measures of perceptions of parenting behaviors, anxiety symptoms and depression symptoms. Consistent with hypotheses, higher depression, but not anxiety symptoms were associated with a loosely-interconnected positive schema organization and a tightly-interconnected negative schema organization. Parental responsiveness emerged as the strongest predictor of negative schema structure. Implications for cognitive-developmental theories of depression and early identification of depression risk are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cognitive behavioral theories (CBT) posit deficiencies in selfhood processes as possible vulnerability factors for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). This paper presents two psychometric studies on the development of the Obsessional Concerns and Self Questionnaire (OCSQ), a measure of failure to attain self-worth in personal domains relevant to obsessionality. In the first study based on 563 community Spaniards, principal factor analysis of an 80 item pool resulted in a three factor solution and a final 35 item version (OCSQ-r). In the second study self-worth and symptom measures were administered to 152 Spanish, 142 Argentinean and 112 Canadian nonclinical samples. Group comparisons revealed few differences on the OCSQ-r subscales. Partial correlations indicated that the OCSQ-r had a significantly closer relationship with OCD symptoms and OC personality disorder than anxious or depressive symptoms. Hierarchical regression analysis further supported the convergent validity of the OCSQ-r by showing that measures of general self-worth contingencies and obsessionality but not worry were significant unique predictors of the OCSQ-r. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Prior research has found an association between parental bonding and depression and anxiety. Specifically, low levels of care and high levels of overprotection have been associated with increased risk for developing depression and anxiety. However little research has explored the relationship between factors of parental bonding and specific aspects of depression and anxiety. The present study investigated these relationships in a sample of undergraduate students (n = 680) who reported a range of affective symptomatology. Lower levels of maternal care were associated with negative beliefs about the self, negative interactions with others and fatigue; lower levels of maternal and paternal care were associated with generalized fear. Maternal overprotection was associated with physical symptoms of anxiety and a fear of dying, whereas paternal overprotection was a significant predictor of negative beliefs about the self and difficulty maintaining steadiness when anxious. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the role of parenting in the development of vulnerability to affective symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Life & School: a Magazine for the Theory and Practice of Education / Život i škola : časopis za teoriju i praksu odgoja i obrazovanja is the property of Zivot i Skola and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of this study was to identify the cognitive profile of university students with emotional dependency. This is considered as a pattern oriented to another person as a source of satisfaction and personal safety, where the cognitive profile will make them to interpret the facts in a different way in order to cover their unsatisfied emotional needs. We use a random sample of 569 university students. The results showed a characteristic profile which explains 89.3% of the variability and a high predictive model capacity (sensitivity 91.4% and specificity 97.7%), formed by the schema of mistrust/abuse, the cores beliefs of paranoid and dependent personality disorders, fallacy of change as cognitive distortion and underdeveloped autonomy as a coping skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple theories of cognitive vulnerability to depression have been proposed, each focusing on different aspects of negative cognition and utilising different measures of risk. Various methods of integrating such multiple indices of risk have been examined in the literature, and each demonstrates some promise. Yet little is known about the interrelations among these methods, or their incremental validity in predicting changes in depression. The present study compared three integrative models of cognitive vulnerability: the additive, weakest link, and keystone models. Support was found for each model as predictive of depression over time, but only the weakest link model demonstrated incremental utility in predicting changes in depression over the other models. We also explore the correlation between these models and each model's unique contribution to predicting onset of depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: We theorized the cognitive vulnerability factor featured in hopelessness theory to be a novel endophenotype for depression. We investigated two possible genetic contributors to individual differences in cognitive vulnerability (and, in turn, depression): the BDNF gene and the COMT gene. Results showed that individuals (n =95) with the BDNF Val66 genotype had significantly greater levels of cognitive vulnerability than individuals with a BDNF Met66 genotype. In addition, among individuals with high levels of cognitive vulnerability, those with the Val66 genotype were significantly more likely than participants with a Met66 genotype to experience increases in depressive symptoms when faced with increased stress. The COMT gene was not associated with cognitive vulnerability or risk for depression. Results support the use of the cognitive vulnerability factor featured in hopelessness theory as an endophenotype associated with depression as well as the role of the BDNF gene in a cognitive subtype of depression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are hypothesized to be stable, trait-like, enduring beliefs underlying chronic and recurrent psychological disorders. We studied the relation of EMSs with depressive symptom severity and tested the stability of EMSs over a course of evidence-based outpatient treatment for depression in a naturalistic treatment setting. Methods: The sample consisted of depressed outpatients (N =132) treated at a specialized mood disorders treatment unit in The Netherlands. Participants completed measures of depressive symptom severity and maladaptive schemas before treatment and 16-weeks after starting with treatment. Results: Specific maladaptive schemas (failure, emotional deprivation, abandonment/instability) were cross-sectionally related to depressive symptom severity. Moreover, the schema domain impaired autonomy & performance at pre-treatment related positively to depression levels at the 16-week follow-up assessment, whereas the schema domain overvigilance & inhibition at pre-treatment related negatively to depression levels at the follow-up assessment when controlling for pre-treatment depression severity. Finally, all EMSs demonstrated good relative stability over the course of treatment. Conclusions: Our results suggest that specific EMSs are related to depressive symptom severity in clinically depressed patients, that specific schema domains predict treatment outcome, and that schemas are robust to change over time, even after evidence-based outpatient treatment for depression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The looming vulnerability model proposes that individuals with anxiety generate dynamic mental scenarios of threats as intensifying and approaching faster than they can cope or respond. In addition to the looming cognitive style posing a general cognitive vulnerability for anxiety, the looming vulnerability model posits that different anxiety disorders can be distinguished based on the specific content of their looming vulnerability themes. The current study examined whether different anxiety disorders have distinct looming vulnerability content along the lines of disorder-specific themes. A treatment-seeking sample of individuals with DSM-IV anxiety disorders (N =172) completed measures of looming vulnerability prior to treatment initiation. Consistent with the looming vulnerability model, the results indicated that individuals with social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder reported significantly greater disorder-specific looming content compared to non-disorder specific looming content. Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder reported the same level of looming social threat as those with social phobia. The results suggest that different anxiety disorders can be distinguished by the specific content of looming vulnerability themes and provide empirical support for the convergent validity of the Looming Vulnerability Scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The hopelessness theory (HT) of depression is a diathesis-stress theory which construes cognitive vulnerability (CV) to depression. Neuroimaging studies examining depression have implicated the amygdala as an important potential locus of dysfunction in the processing of salient threatening stimuli. However, little is known about neural activation in the brain of subjects with CV to depression. Medication-free major depressive disorder (MDD) subjects (N =29), never depressed subjects with CV (N =26), and demographically matched never depressed healthy control (HC) subjects (N =31) were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an emotional matching task. The MDD subjects showed elevated left amygdala responses and reduced left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activation levels relative to HC subjects. Similarly, CV subjects had greater activity in the amygdala bilaterally and lesser activation in the dlPFC bilaterally, relative to HC subjects. The present findings raise the possibility that cognitive vulnerability to depression might be characterized by hypoactivation of the prefrontal cortex and hyperactivation of the amygdala in response to emotional stimuli; our observations might provide a potential interpretation to explain the abnormalities in neural networks mediating cognitive modulation of emotions in individuals with cognitive vulnerability to depression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the theory and research linking attachment relationships to cognitive vulnerability to depression and assesses evidence that early attachment experiences contribute to the development of these cognitive processes. Most research in this area has involved adult participants using self-report measures of both attachment and depressive vulnerabilities and thus cannot convincingly speak to the existence of such a developmental pathway. Several studies, however, have followed individuals from infancy and examined the emergence of self-esteem and responses to failure throughout childhood and adolescence. These studies suggest that early experiences in non-secure attachment relationships place an individual at-risk for developing a cognitive framework that increases their vulnerability to depression following stressful life events. The paper concludes with a discussion of how future research might best explore specific mechanisms through which distinct attachment relationships may lead to divergent developmental pathways sharing the common outcome of cognitive processes that place individuals at risk for depression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Psychiatria Polska is the property of Editorial Committee of Polish Psychiatric Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Many studies have reported concurrent relationships between depressive symptoms and various personality, cognitive, and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities, but the degree of overlap among these vulnerabilities is unclear. Moreover, whereas most investigations of these vulnerabilities have focused on depression, their possible relationships with anxiety have not been adequately examined. The present study included 550 high school juniors and examined the cross-sectional relationships among neuroticism, negative inferential style, dysfunctional attitudes, sociotropy, and autonomy, with a wide range of anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as the incremental validity of these different putative vulnerabilities when examined simultaneously. Correlational analyses revealed that all five vulnerabilities were significantly related to symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Whereas neuroticism accounted for significant unique variance in all symptom outcomes, individual cognitive and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities accounted for small and only sometimes statistically significant variance across outcomes. Importantly, however, for most outcomes the majority of symptom variance was accounted for by shared aspects of the vulnerabilities rather than unique aspects. Implications of these results for understanding cognitive and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ording to the hopelessness theory of depression ( Psychological Review 96:358-372, ), individuals with a cognitive vulnerability are at risk for depression because they generate event-specific negative inferences for stressful life events. Although prior studies have found an association between cognitive vulnerability and event-specific negative inferences, conclusions from these studies have been limited by weak correlations and a failure to examine how event-specific inferences change over time. The current study attempted to reconcile and extend prior work using a midterm design ( Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 43:612-617, , Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52:386-393, , Journal of Abnormal Psychology 102:101-109, ). Participants' event-specific negative inferences for a poor midterm grade were assessed at three time points during a 1-week prospective interval. Consistent with hypotheses, results showed that, if given enough time, the relationship between cognitive vulnerability and event-specific negative inferences becomes robust. Further, event-specific negative inferences on day 3, but not initial event-specific negative inferences, predicted increases in depressive symptoms over the prospective interval. The implications of these results for the cognitive theories of depression are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hopelessness theory of depression proposes that individuals with a depressogenic cognitive style are more likely to become hopeless and experience depression following negative life events. Although the neurophysiological underpinnings of cognitive style remain speculative, research indicates that decreased relative left frontal brain electrical activity holds promise as a traitlike marker of depression. This begs the question: Do measures of depressogenic cognitive style and resting frontal brain asymmetry index a common vulnerability? The present study provides preliminary support for this hypothesis. At baseline assessment, increased cognitive vulnerability to depression was associated with decreased relative left frontal brain activity at rest in individuals with no prior history of, or current, depression. Following baseline assessment, participants were followed prospectively an average of 3 years with structured diagnostic interviews at 4-month intervals. Both cognitive vulnerability and asymmetric frontal cortical activity prospectively predicted onset of first depressive episode in separate univariate analyses. Furthermore, multivariate analyses indicated that cognitive vulnerability and frontal asymmetry represented shared, rather than independent, predictors of first depression onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with negative cognitive style are at high risk for depressive disorders; however, the mechanisms linking cognitive vulnerability to depression are not fully understood. Here, we use an attentional blink task to test whether stimuli associated with negative attributions are especially salient to individuals with high negative cognitive style. We found that individuals high in negative cognitive style were able to attend to negative attribution words during a period of time when attentional resources would ordinarily be depleted. These individuals were not more likely than those with low or moderate negative cognitive style to detect neutral and negative non-self-relevant words during this period. These data suggest that cognitive style modulates the saliency of material that is relevant to negative attributions, and these alterations in information processing may link cognitive style to development of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background and Objectives: There are two lines of research examining the role of cognition in depression. One line of research focuses on risk for depression, and shows that a negative cognitive style interacts with stressful life events to create depression. The second line of research focuses on recovery, and shows that an enhancing cognitive style interacts with positive life events to reduce depression. The goal of this study was to integrate these two areas and provide a more comprehensive test of the cognitive model of depression. Methods: A 4-week prospective longitudinal design was used to test the interaction between cognitive style (both negative and enhancing) and life events (both negative and positive) in a sample of undergraduates (n = 128). Results: Cognitively vulnerable individuals were buffered from the depressive effects of stress if they also possessed an enhancing cognitive style or experienced high numbers of positive life events. Individuals with low levels of negative cognitive style and life stress, but high levels of enhancing cognitive style or positive life events were the most resilient to depressive symptoms. Limitations: Future research is needed to determine if the results of this study generalize to a more diverse sample as well as to clinically significant forms of depression. Conclusions: The results provide some of the first evidence for the protective role of enhancing cognitive style and positive live events among vulnerable individuals. These findings underscore the importance of examining a broader environmental context when investigating risk and resiliency to depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive therapy is a system of psychotherapy with a powerful theoretical infrastructure, which has received extensive empirical support, and a large body of research attesting to its efficacy for a wide range of psychiatric and medical problems. This article provides a brief overview of the conceptual and practical components of cognitive therapy and highlights some of the empirical evidence regarding its efficacy. Cognitive therapy (often labeled generically as cognitive behavior therapy) is efficacious either alone or as an adjunct to medication and provides a prophylaxis against relapse and recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]