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Gender in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for outcome for depression has been inadequately examined in previous research. Thirty-five men and 55 women diagnosed with a depressive disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) completed individual CBT at an outpatient community mental health clinic and 56 men and 105 women completed group CBT. Depression severity was measured before treatment and at endpoint using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) along with secondary outcomes of anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory; Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer, 1988) and quality of life (Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire; Endicott, Nee, Harrison, & Blumenthal, 1993). Men and women demonstrated equivalent pretreatment and posttreatment illness severity, a comparable gradient of improvement on outcomes, and attainment of clinically meaningful benchmarks. Keywords: depression; dysthymia; gender; cognitive-behavioral therapy; psychotherapy; quality of life; community study

The present study investigated the association of depressive personality traits to treatment outcome for depression. One hundred and nineteen patients with a primary diagnosis of major depression were divided into high- and low-depressive personality groups, and depression symptomatology was assessed pre- and postparticipation in a standardized group cognitive-behavioral intervention. Analyses revealed poorer pre-state and end-state functioning for the high-depressive personality group. However, rate of improvement pre- to posttreatment was comparable between the two groups. Subsequent multiple regression analyses revealed that when controlling for pretreatment depression severity, depressive personality was not a predictor of depression treatment outcome. Within the methodological parameters of the current study, depressive personality traits were not associated with a poorer response to cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression. Keywords: depressive personality; personality disorders; depression; treatment outcome; cognitive-behavioral therapy