Negative self-beliefs are risk factor for depression in women
Apr 6, 2005 - 6:32:00 PM
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The size of the association between negative self-beliefs score at baseline and later onset of depression at 8 weeks, 8 months, 21 months and 32 months after childbirth remained relatively constant. By comparison, the association between baseline depressive symptom score and the later onset of depression diminished over time.
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By Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK,
[RxPG] Women who hold negative beliefs about themselves are at increased risk of becoming depressed, according to a new study.
These negative beliefs are not early symptoms of depression, but represent a vulnerability that persists over time.
It is known that negative beliefs about the self, the world and the future are common during an episode of depression. According to the American psychologist Aaron Beck's influential cognitive theory, people who hold negative self-beliefs when they are otherwise well are vulnerable to developing depression in the future.
To date this theory has not been verified experimentally. This prospective study set out to test whether women with negative self-beliefs were at risk of developing depression.
The information was collected from 12,003 women recruited during early pregnancy as part of the Children of the 90s project which is based at the University of Bristol*. Questionnaires included measures of depressive symptoms and negative self-beliefs. Regular follow-up questionnaires were sent during pregnancy and following childbirth.
The study published in the April 2005 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry was found that of 8540 women not depressed when recruited, 8.6% became depressed 14 weeks later. Those with the highest scores for negative self-beliefs were more likely to become depressed than those with the lowest scores.
The size of the association between negative self-beliefs score at baseline and later onset of depression at 8 weeks, 8 months, 21 months and 32 months after childbirth remained relatively constant. By comparison, the association between baseline depressive symptom score and the later onset of depression diminished over time.
The researchers comment that this is the first study to report that negative self-beliefs that are associated with a future onset of depression can be identified in people who are otherwise well.
The fact that high levels of negative self-beliefs can predict onset of depression more than three years later suggests that such beliefs represent a long-lasting vulnerability to depression, rather than being an early sign of a depressive episode.
These findings support a crucial part of Aaron Beck's theory of depression, which states that negative self-beliefs are stable patterns of thinking that lead to long-term vulnerability to developing depression.
The origins of negative self-beliefs have not been investigated. It is thought that they might arise from adverse experiences, particularly during childhood, when self-belief structures relating to other people and the world at large are first formed.
Understanding how people develop these negative self-beliefs could lead to preventive measures that could reduce the burden of depression in the population.
Publication:
Evans J, Heron J, Lewis G, Araya R and Wolke K on behalf of the ALSPAC study team (2005) Negative self-schemas and the onset of depression in women: longitudinal study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 186, 302-307.
On the web:
www.rcpsych.ac.uk 
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Additional information about the news article
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The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as Children of the 90s, is a unique on-going research project based in the University of Bristol.
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