Dataset Information

Measuring the bright side of being blue: a new tool for assessing analytical rumination in depression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diagnosis and management of depression occurs frequently in the primary care setting. Current diagnostic and management of treatment practices across clinical populations focus on eliminating signs and symptoms of depression. However, there is debate that some interventions may pathologize normal, adaptive responses to stressors. Analytical rumination (AR) is an example of an adaptive response of depression that is characterized by enhanced cognitive function to help an individual focus on, analyze, and solve problems. To date, research on AR has been hampered by the lack of theoretically-derived and psychometrically sound instruments. This study developed and tested a clinically meaningful measure of AR.

Methods

Using expert panels and an extensive literature review, we developed a conceptual framework for AR and 22 candidate items. Items were field tested to 579 young adults; 140 of whom completed the items at a second time point. We used Rasch measurement methods to construct and test the item set; and traditional psychometric analyses to compare items to existing rating scales.

Results

Data were high quality (<1% missing; high reliability: Cronbach's alpha?=?0.92, test-retest intraclass correlations >0.81; evidence for divergent validity). Evidence of misfit for 2 items suggested that a 20-item scale with 4-point response categories best captured the concept of AR, fitting the Rasch model (?2?=?95.26; df?=?76, p?=?0.07), with high reliability (rp?=?0.86), ordered response scale structure, and no item bias (gender, age, time).

Conclusion

Our study provides evidence for a 20-item Analytical Rumination Questionnaire (ARQ) that can be used to quantify AR in adults who experience symptoms of depression. The ARQ is psychometrically robust and a clinically useful tool for the assessment and improvement of depression in the primary care setting. Future work is needed to establish the validity of this measure in people with major depression.

SUBMITTER: Barbic SP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4232398 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Measuring the bright side of being blue: a new tool for assessing analytical rumination in depression.

Barbic Skye P SP Durisko Zachary Z Andrews Paul W PW

PloS one 20141114 11

<h4>Background</h4>Diagnosis and management of depression occurs frequently in the primary care setting. Current diagnostic and management of treatment practices across clinical populations focus on eliminating signs and symptoms of depression. However, there is debate that some interventions may pathologize normal, adaptive responses to stressors. Analytical rumination (AR) is an example of an adaptive response of depression that is characterized by enhanced cognitive function to help an indivi ...[more]

PMID: 25397902

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Project description:Depression is a mental health condition for which individuals commonly seek treatment. However, depressive episodes often resolve on their own, even without treatment. One evolutionary perspective, the analytical rumination hypothesis (ARH), suggests that depression occurs in response to complex problems. According to this perspective, depressive symptoms promote analytical rumination, i.e., distraction-resistant thoughts about the causes of problems [causal analysis (CA)] and how they can be solved [problem-solving analysis (PSA)]. By helping individuals solve complex problems, analytical rumination may contribute to remission from depression. The aim of this study was to investigate (1) whether clinically-depressed individuals have more complex problems and engage in more CA and PSA than non-depressed and (2) the effects of CA and PSA on decreases in problem complexity, depressive symptoms, and remission from the depression. Samples of 85 patients were treated for depression with antidepressants and psychotherapy, and 49 healthy subjects were assessed three times over a 4-month period (at Weeks 1, 5, and 16). At each assessment, they completed measures of depression, analytical rumination, and problem complexity. Depressed individuals reported having more complex problems and engaging in more CA than non-depressed participants. The two groups engaged in a similar degree of PSA. Findings from a multiple regression suggested that more PSA at Week 1 was related to a decrease in depressive symptoms at Week 5, even after controlling for baseline depression, problem number, and complexity. PSA at Week 1 did not predict the remission after hospitalization or at follow-up; however, having less complex problems at the baseline made it more likely that a patient would later remit. Engaging in more CA or PSA at Week 1 did not affect perceived problem complexity at Week 5 or at follow-up. However, these findings were not statistically significant when influential observations (or outliers) were included in the analysis. Our findings suggest that PSA may contribute to a decrease in symptoms of depression over time. However, alleviations in problem complexity and remission might only be achieved if problems are initially less complex. Future directions involve exploring how PSA might contribute to decreases in depressive symptoms and other mechanisms underlying remission from depression.

Project description:BackgroundDepression literacy has received extensive attention within mental health research. It has been studied by different social groups and professions in Western and non-Western cultures. The importance of this topic stems from the fact that depression literacy is strongly related to attitudes toward people who are diagnosed with depression, the tendency to stigmatize this mental disorder, and to the propensity to undertake help-seeking behaviors. Therefore, understanding and promoting depression literacy is crucial in contemporary mental health prevention and promotion. We propose a new two-factorial tool measuring beliefs about depression. This 14-item self-report measure captures how people vary across two dimensions of beliefs about depression-depression literacy and misconceptions about depression.MethodsIn ten studies with a total sample of over 4,600 participants from three countries, we demonstrated the two-factorial structure of the Depression Literacy and Misconceptions Scale (DepSter) in Polish (Studies 1 and 2), American (Study 4), and British (Study 5) samples. We showed measurement equivalence for the Polish and English versions of the scale (Study 3). Furthermore, we tested the discriminant meaning of the two dimensions of beliefs about depression analyzing its association with health literacy, mental health literacy, and prejudice toward people with mental illness (Study 4), depression literacy and depression stigma (Study 5), empathetic concerns (Study 7), social dominance orientation (Study 8), and the Big Five personality traits (Study 9). We also investigated whether individuals with formal education in psychology and direct or indirect experience with depression demonstrate a higher level of depression literacy and a lower level of misconceptions about depression (Study 6). Our measure showed high stability for two dimensions of beliefs about depression (Study 10), in both its Polish and English versions, with the measurement conducted after three weeks and three months.DiscussionWe conclude that the proposed approach to beliefs about depression capturing both depression literacy and misconceptions about depression measured with the DepSter scale can easily be applied in clinical and social settings, especially in studies concerning the perception of those diagnosed with depression.

Dataset Information

Measuring the bright side of being blue: a new tool for assessing analytical rumination in depression.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Measuring the bright side of being blue: a new tool for assessing analytical rumination in depression.

Similar Datasets

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