Negative view about the self in depressive disorders

Abstract

According to cognitive theory of depression (Beck, 1967, 1976), negatively biased information processing is responsible for maintenance, severity and duration of depressive affect. However, the evidence does not consistently support this assumption. The present study was designed to ascertain if depressed patients have access not only to negative information about the self, but also to positive one. Twenty patients with major depressive disorder, 18 with distimic disorder, and 20 nonpsychiatric controls completed a self-referent task. Instructions to perform the task were manipulated in order to fulfill it taking into account three different time-periods: present, past, and future. Data showed that depressed patients had a different self-perception on each of the three time-periods investigated. Moreover, we observed that they had a more negative selfperception than nonpsychiatric controls during all of the time-periods. Implications for research and clinical practice are suggested.