Cognitive biases in depressed and non‐depressed referred youth

Abstract

This study examined cognitive vulnerability in both depressed and non-depressed referred youngsters. Formerly depressed (FD) children and adolescents (n = 16) were compared to a currently depressed (CD) group (n = 18) on a self-referent encoding and memory task imbedded in a mood induction paradigm. In order to test the specificity of the findings to depression, the results of the FD were further compared with those of a clinical but never depressed (ND) group (n = 39) diagnosed with anxiety and/or disruptive behaviour disorders. The study confirmed the hypothesized differences between the groups in terms of self-referent encoding bias. Both the ND (p < 0.001) and FD (p < 0.001) group rated more positive words than negative words as self-descriptive while the CD endorsed a closer balance of positive and negative words (non-significant difference). No interaction effect was found for the recall task. The FD group evinced a similar memory bias than the CD group. However, also in the ND group, the number of proportional recalled positive words did not differ from the proportional recalled negative words. The findings yielded no evidence for a depression-specific information-processing bias. However, all subjects (FD, CD as well as ND) exhibited a memory bias and therefore 'clinical status' is considered as a cognitive vulnerability risk factor for developing a depressive disorder in the future.

Predictors of functional impairment in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder

“…It may be that depressionrelated information processing biases or negative cognitive styles (Tibremont & Braet, 2004;Timbremont, Braet, Bosmans, & Van Vlierberghe, 2008) affected children's perceptions of their OCDrelated impairment. Or, children with comorbid depressive symptoms may have difficulty delineating the cause of impairment, resulting in inflated OCD ratings.…”

Efficacy of Interpretation Bias Modification in Depressed Adolescents and Young Adults

“…Numerous empirical studies have confirmed the presence of these negative biases in depressed adults (Butler & Mathews, 1983; Cane & Gotlib, 1985; Mogg, Bradbury, & Bradley, 2006; Norman, Miller, & Klee, 1983; Nunn, Mathews, & Trower, 1997) and youth (Dalgleish et al, 1997; Dineen & Hadwin, 2004; Eley et al, 2008; Gencoz, Voelz, Gencoz, Pettit, & Joiner, 2001; Neshat-Doost, Taghavi, Moradi, Yule, & Dalgleish, 1998; Reid, Salmon, & Lovibond, 2006; Timbremont, Braet, Bosmans, & Van Vlierberghe, 2008; Whitton, Larson, & Hauser, 2008). Adolescents with symptoms of depression are also prone to selective abstraction, or intent focus on the negative details in a situation to the exclusion of positive or neutral details (Weems, Berman, Silverman, & Saavedra 2001).…”

Determining optimal parameters of the Self Referent Encoding Task: A large-scale examination of self-referent cognition and depression

“…Indeed, some research has suggested that inducing sad mood may differentiate between those with a vulnerability to depression and those without (Kelvin, Goodyer, Teasdale, & Brechin, 1999;Taylor & Ingram, 1999). Such an induction has been occasionally used throughout the literature (e.g., Timbremont & Braet, 2004;Timbremont et al, 2008). This relationship between induced sad mood and depressive self-referential processing is theoretically rooted in cognitive vulnerability to depression, rather than current symptomatology; as such, it was not employed in the current studies.…”

“…Similarly, preferential recall for negative rather than positive words that were previously endorsed as describing the self is also commonly used to measure a negative memory bias (e.g., Bradley & Mathews, 1983;Gotlib et al, 2004). Some results suggest that differing levels of depressive symptoms may also impact on recall, endorsement, or reaction time (Derry & Kuiper, 1981;Kuiper & Derry, 1982;Timbremont & Braet, 2004;Timbremont, Braet, Bosmans, & Van Vlierberghe, 2008).…”