Transcript Major Depression

Major Depression
By Mr Daniel Hansson
Major Depression
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Symptoms
Prevalence
Etiology
Evaluation
Conclusion
Symptoms (DSM-IV-TR)
 Affective: Feelings of guilt and sadness, lack of
enjoyment or pleasure in familiar activities or
company
 Behavioural: Passivity, lack of initiative
 Cognitive: Frequent negative thoughts, faulty
attribution of blame, low self esteem, suicidal
thoughts, irrational hopelessness, difficulties in
concentration and inability to make decisions
 Somatic: Loss of energy, insomnia, or
hypersomnia, weight loss/gain, diminished sex
drive
Symptoms
 One or two major
depressive episodes
 At least two weeks of
depressed mood or
loss of interest
accompanied with at
least four additional
symptoms of
depression
Prevalence
 Life time prevalence for the disorder: Women –
10-25% Men – 5-12%
 The average age to have the first major
depression: Mid 20s
 The onset age is decreasing
 One episode: 60 % of a second
 Two or three episodes: 70-90 % of a following
episode
 One year after diagnosis: 40 % are free of
symptoms, 20 % have some symptoms, 40 %
meet full criteria of the disorder
Prevalence
 More common in individualistic than collectivistic
cultures
 Seattle, Washington: 6.3 %
 China: 4 %
 Verona, Italy: 4.7 %
 Groningen, Germany: 15.9 %
 Manchester, United Kingdom: 16.9 %
 Ankara, Turkey: 11.6 %
 Nagasaki, Japan: 2.6 %
Etiology
 Biological
 Cognitive
 Sociocultural
Biological
 Genetic and
biochemical factors in
depression
 E.g. Caspi (2003),
Lykken & Tellegen
(1996)
Cognitive
 A depressed mood may lead to depressed
thoughts
 Depressed cognitions, cognitive distortions,
and irrational beliefs produce disturbances
in mood
 E.g. Goldapple (2004), Lyon & Woods
(1991)
Sociocultural
 Social and cultural
factors affect the
prevalence and
manifestation of the
disorder
 E.g. Harris (1978),
Cutrona, Wallace, &
Wesner (2006)
Evaluation
+Can be used for therapy
+Supporting research
-Methodological problems with research
-Simplistic: Each perspective emphasizes one
factor
Conclusion
 An interactionistic explanation of major
depressive disorder is preferable, e.g. the
diathesis-stress model or the
biopsychosocial model