Pathogenic beliefs among patients with depressive disorders

Abstract

IntroductionPathogenic belief is a central construct within control-mastery theory, which is an integrated dynamic-cognitive-relational approach in psychotherapy. Pathogenic beliefs result from traumatic life experiences and are considered the root of any psychological disorders presented clinically. Nevertheless, how and what type of pathogenic beliefs are attributed to clinical depressive disorder is unknown. The present study aimed to examine this issue.Patients and methodsThirty patients with depressive disorder, who came for psychotherapy at a psychotherapy clinic, were matched based on age and gender with healthy controls who were medical students. The 54-item pathogenic belief scale (PBS) was administered and compared between depressive and control groups using odds ratio (OR).ResultsThe depressed group’s PBS mean score was significantly higher than the healthy controls (t=3.78, P<0.001). Thirteen of 54 items significantly differed between the two groups with ORs ranging from 3.76 to 16.79. The content of pathogenic beliefs centered on the issues of negative sense of self, lack of self-efficacy and control, and relational difficulties related to feelings of fear and humiliation. Influences of culture and gender differences on pathogenic beliefs were discussed.ConclusionPathogenic beliefs relate to depression such that the higher the number of pathogenic beliefs one has, the more the likelihood of having depression. Since the PBS was developed based on clinical data (rather than theory based), cultural issues as well as age and gender may influence the development of pathogenic beliefs. Further study should be warranted and implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Pathogenic beliefs among patients with schizotypal personality disorder

“…The PBS asks the respondents to rate whether they agree with each statement. In terms of psychometric properties, the PBS showed an excellent internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.92 (Silberschatz and Doorn, 2017), and being demonstrated as a unidimensional model (Neelapaijit et al, 2017). However, in the present study, the short version of PBS (PBS-27), meeting the criteria of the Rasch measurement model, i.e., no misfitting items, no local dependence, unidimensionality, and substantial person and item reliability (both greater than 0.80), were used for analysis (Wongpakaran et al, 2012).…”

“…The PBS was originally intended to be used by therapists to assess a patient's PBs according to control mastery theory (Silberschatz and Doorn, 2017). The Thai version was adapted by Wongpakaran (Neelapaijit et al, 2017). It is self-rated, consisting of 54 statements (items), each statement having three possible responses: 'no' (1), 'uncertain' (2) and 'yes' (3).…”

“…Personality disorders (PDs) occur in approximately 9% of the general population (Gawda and Czubak, 2017) and are comorbid with a wide range of clinical psychiatric disorders (Lenzenweger et al, 2007). Individuals with PDs typically suffer from interpersonal problems, insecure attachment, perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and somatization (Berry et al, 2006;Candrian et al, 2008;Neelapaijit, T Wongpakaran, Wongpakaran and Thongpibul, 2017).…”

“…Likewise, the relationships between specific PDs and PBs are underinvestigated. In addition to their relationships with personality pathology, PBs are related to psychopathology and psychiatric disorders such as agoraphobia (Shilkret, 2002), major depressive disorders (Neelapaijit et al, 2017), nightmare disorder (Wongpakaran et al, 2014), low self-esteem, pessimistic attitudes, and emotional instability (Silberschatz and Doorn, 2017). In addition, PBs are significantly correlated with the submissive or hostile quadrant of interpersonal communication, which reflects a negative sense of self and disappointment in one's ability to relate to others (Neelapaijit et al, 2018).…”

Resilience as a Mediator Between Interpersonal Risk Factors and Hopelessness in Depression

“…Indeed, humiliating experiences, such as discrimination, social isolation, and rejection could trigger a depressive episode (6,7). In fact, the enduring fear of being humiliated is considered one of the pathogenic negative beliefs in depression (8). Moreover, early humiliating experiences, such as bullying and peer victimization, are associated with hopelessness, depression, and suicidality (9).…”