Schemata related to depressive relapse: Comparison between first- episode, several- episode and normal subjects

The persent study investigated belief related to the possible depressive relapse. 93 subjects were assigned in three groups: first-episode depressed subjects, several episode depressed subjects and nonclinical subjects. All subjects, underlying beliefs were assessed before and after mood induction and after distraction. Results showed no difference between the two depressed groups, but a significant difference between nonclinical subjects and both depressed groups was found. When patients with less than 4 episodes were excluded from the several episode depressed group, the difference between two depressed groups was found to be significant. The results showed that depression-related schemata are developed during several episodes of depression, and can contribute to the new episodes of depression. The results propose that Beck’s model of depression can explain relapse of depression.