Brief report: autobiographical memory and post-psychotic depression in first episode psychosis

Objectives. In unipolar depression, the action of early life events has been shown to be linked to a deficit in accessing details of such autobiographical events ("overgeneral memory"). In this study, we test whether a similar deficit can be observed in post-psychotic depression (PPD) in f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of clinical psychology 2004-03, Vol.43 (1), p.97-104
Main Authors: Birchwood, Max, Hemsley, David, Iqbal, Zaffer, Jackson, Chris, Morris, Emma
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autobiographical memory
Depression
Psychoses
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Summary:Objectives. In unipolar depression, the action of early life events has been shown to be linked to a deficit in accessing details of such autobiographical events ("overgeneral memory"). In this study, we test whether a similar deficit can be observed in post-psychotic depression (PPD) in first-episode psychosis. Method. A group of 29 patients were followed up during the 12 months after their first onset, and monitored for PPD. Results. Of the sample group, 45% developed PPD, which was associated with overgeneral memory (p < .05; effect size = 1.05) and a heightened awareness of the diagnosis. Conclusions. Our findings raise the possibility that anomalies of psychosocial development may confer vulnerability to depression in psychosis. (Original abstract)
ISSN:0144-6657