Pessimism-related cognitions and depressed mood: A longitudinal study of psychiatric inpatients

This study used a longitudinal design to investigate the relation between depression and pessimism-related cognitions about the self, world, and future in a clinical sample of psychiatric inpatients. A group of 30 inpatients diagnosed with major depressive illness was compared with a mixed-diagnostic comparison group of 28 inpatients on a measure of syndromal depression, as well as on pessimism-related cognitive measures of self-esteem, perceptions of the benevolence of the world, and hopelessness. All subjects completed the measures at two time points: within four days of admission to an psychiatric inpatient unit, and an average of 13.5 days later. It was expected that the nosologically depressed group would endorse more negative pessimism-related cognitions than the comparison group, that the pessimism-related cognitions would persist beyond remission of depressive symptoms, and that Time 1 cognitions would significantly predict Time 2 depression after controlling for depression at Time 1. Contrary to expectations, groups did not differ on the measure of syndromal depression, nor on the measures of cognitions pertaining to the self and future. Both groups exhibited a significant decline in depressive symptoms over time. Moreover, scores on the pessimism-related cognitive measures changed in concert with scores on the depression measure, and did not predict Time 2 depression. Additionally, significant interactions of group, gender, and time on the measure of syndromal depression, and interactions of group and gender on the cognitive measures, were found. These interactions revealed that men in the nosologically depressed group scored significantly lower than men in the comparison group on the measure of syndromal depression, and endorsed more positive cognitions about the self, world, and future. These findings refute major theoretical postulates regarding depressotypic cognitions, in that pessimism-related cognitions were: (1) not specific to nosological depression; (2) were mood-state dependent, with the exception of cognitions about the world; and (3) did not serve a maintenance function in syndromal depression. Exploratory analyses suggest that for the depressed group only, hopelessness may significantly predict Time 2 depression, and thus serve to prolong depression. The theoretical and clinical implications of all findings are discussed