REVISION UNIT 4:
DEPRESSION
WHAT ARE THE KEY AREAS OF THE
SPECIFICATION?
 1. CLININCAL CHARACTERISITICS
 2. ISSUES SURROUNDING THE CLASSIFICATION
AND DIAGNOSIS OF DEPRESSION, INCLUDING
RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
 3. BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF DEPRESSION
FOR EXAMPLE, GENETICS, BIOCHEMISTRY
 4. BIOLOGICAL THERAPIES OF DEPRESSION,
INCLUDING THEIR EVALUATION IN TERMS OF
APPROPRIATENESS AND EFFECTIVENESS
 5. PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF
DEPRESSION FOR EXAMPLE, BEHAVIOURAL,
COGNITIVE, PSYCHODYNAMIC
 6. PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPIES FOR DEPRESSION
AND INCLUDING THEIR EVALUATION IN TERMS OF
APPROPRIATENESS AND EFFECTIVENESS.
CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS
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Outline clinical characteristics of depression
Outline three clinical characteristics of depression
What is depression?
How does it affect people? And who is it likely to affect?
What are the different types of depression recognised by the
DSM-IV-TR?
What is the diagnositic criteria for depression? (i.e. 2 wks)
What are the signs/symptoms of depression?
------------ KEEP IT CONCISE ------------------Q may vary from 5 / 6 / 9 marks.
ISSUES SURROUNDING THE CLASSIFICATION AND
DIAGNOSIS OF DEPRESSION, INCLUDING RELIABILITY
AND VALIDITY
 EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS:
 Describe and evaluate issues in classifying or diagnosing
depression
 Discuss the issues which apply to diagnosing depression
 To what extent are diagnoses of depression reliable and
valid?
 --------------------------------------------------------- WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
 What are the different ways of classifying depressive
disorder? –(reliability)
 How is diagnosis confirmed? – (reliability)
 How valid are the diagnostic categories? (validity)
 What are the issues surrounding differential diagnosis and
how do they relate to validity? (validity)
 What other issues affect the validity of diagnosis?
BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS
Describe each factor and evaluate
GENETIC

Describe and
evaluate (two
or more)
Wendler (1986)

Discuss
TWIN STUDIES: Allen (1976),

MOST
IMPORTANT:
MUST MAKE
REFERENCE TO
RESEARCH
STUDIES
FAMILY STUDIES:
Gershon(1990)
Weissman (1984), Oruc et al(1998)
ADOPTION STUDIES:
Bierut (1999), Kendler (2006)
Andrews (1998), Sevey (2000)
BIOCHEMICAL
AMINE HYPOTHESIS: Mcneal and
Cimbolic (1986), Mann(1986),
Delack (1995), Zhou (2005)
NEUROENDOCRINE FACTORS:
cortisols
FEMALE HORMONES: PNDCooper (1988). PMD-Dalton
(1964). MD low levels oestrogen
NEUROANATOMICAL
Head injuries – prefrontal lobes.
Starkstein and Robinson (1991),
Powell and Miklowitz (1994),
Nemeroff et al (1992)
Revision strategy
explanation
studies
Evaluation and
studies
kendler
Not 100% c rate:
Kendler diatheisis stress
model
genetic
twin
family
BIOLOGICAL THERAPIES
THERAPIES
DRUGS:
RESEARCH STUDIES
EVALUATION IN TERMS OF
EFFECTIVENESS AND
APPROPRIATENESS
Olfson et al (06) high suicide
attempts for 6-18 yr olds
David et al (09) rodents –
prozac
Kirsch (08) SRRI’s
Furukawa et al (03) placebos
Akira (09) increase
effectiveness
Treat symptoms not cause
Combining drugs and
psychological treatment
ECT
Explain the Procedures
Levy (1968) – less memory
loss
Paguin et al (08) ECT valid for
severe depression
Taylor (07) 80% response for
severe depression
side effects
Use of it 1970-1986
Coffey (1998) risk factors
Sackheim (2001) relapse
PSYCHOSURGERY
Surgery involving removal of
neural tissues in the brain
Last resort
Effectiveness
Issues of informed consent
ANTI-DEPRESSANTS
MAOIS / TRICYCLICS /
SSRI’S
Exam style questions:
 Outline and evaluate biological
therapies as treatments of depression
 Outline one biological therapy for the
treatment of depression
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS
 1. PSYCHODYNAMIC EXPLANATIONS:
Freud (1917) / Bowlby (1965), Bifulco et al (1987), Abela (2007), Swaffer
and Hollin (2001)
EVALUATION – Difficult to test, effects of loss of parents, significance of
findings
 2. BEHAVIOURAL EXPLANATIONS:
Lewinsohn (1974) Learning Theory, Seligman (1974) Learned Helplessness,
Rehm (1977), Rice and Mclaughlin (2001)
EVALUATION – not complete, Ferster (1973), Inconsistent findings
 3. COGNITIVE EXPLANATIONS:
Beck (1974) Hopelessness theory, Beck’s cognitive theory of depression,
Boury (2001), Saisto et al (2001), Mcintosh and Fischer (2000)
EVALUATION- Effective, successful, negative thinking linked
 4. SOCIO-CULTURAL EXPLANATIONS:
Diathesis-stress model. Genetic disposition and reaction to stressful
life/environmental factors. Leavey (2007), Cox (2007), Takaaki (2007)
Exam style questions:
 Discuss psychological explanations of
depression
 Outline one psychological explanation
of depression
 Discuss two or more psychological
explanations of depression
PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPIES: how
effective and appropriate are they?
EXPLANATION
THERAPY
EVALUATION/STUDIES
PSYCHODYNAMIC
PSYCHOANALYSIS – uses
free association/dreams/word
association/transference
ITP
De clerq (1999)
Burnard (2002)
Carreira (2009
Eysenck (1952)
BEHAVIOURAL
Behavioural therapy –
Lewinsohn (1974)
Houghton (2008)
Herson (1984)
La Fromboise and Rowe
(1983)
COGNITIVE
CBT – Beck (1976)
REBT – Ellis (1962)
Whitfield and Williams
(2003)
Flannaghan et al (1987)
Exam style questions:
 Outline one psychological therapy for
the treatment of depression
 Discuss psychological therapies
 Discuss the effectiveness and
appropriateness of two or more
psychological therapies
 Outline and evaluate psychological
therapies as treatments of depression