Depression Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Depression, including details on clinical depression, medication, symptoms, treatment, counselling, therapy.

Why am I depressed?: An investigation of whether patients' beliefs about depression concur with their diagnostic subtype.

Tully LA, Parker GB, Wilhelm K, Malhi GS

School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

We investigated whether patients' beliefs about the causes of their depression concurred with their diagnostic subtype. Depressed patients (N = 196) attending a tertiary referral clinic completed a questionnaire regarding putative biological and nonbiological causes of their depression. Subtyping diagnoses of melancholic or nonmelancholic depression were made. Patients with nonmelancholic depression were more likely to attribute nonbiological factors as the cause of their depression than those with melancholic depression, whereas patients with melancholic depression were no more likely to attribute biological factors as the cause of their depression. Patients can distinguish differing causes of depression. The implications of the findings for the current classificatory systems of depression are discussed.

Published 14 July 2006 in J Nerv Ment Dis, 194(7): 543-6.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Depression Research Today. All Rights Reserved.