ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 discusses two of the most central topics in understanding the triggers and risk factors for depression – negative cognitive bias and stressful life events. When people are depressed they characteristically think negatively about themselves and their situations, selectively attending to and exaggerating the negative, and have difficulty releasing negative thoughts. Cognitive models of depression propose that such biases mark a vulnerability to develop depression. Cognitive vulnerability may result from rejecting parenting, certain personality traits and possibly genetic factors. Most cases of major depression are triggered by stressful life events. Theoretically even minor events if cognitively distorted can produce depression, but in reality most depression is due to actual major negative events. Increasingly, investigators have shown that childhood exposure to abuse and other serious family disruptions is a risk factor for depressive responses to stress. Unfortunately, people with depression histories often contribute to the occurrence of negative life events, especially interpersonal conflicts and difficulties or selection into chronically difficult situations such as violent marriages, resulting in a bidirectional, self-perpetuating association between stress and depression over time. Some evidence suggests that eventually recurrent depression may be triggered by less stress.
