Perceptions of causes, experience, and treatments of depression in recovered depressed and never depressed lay people

This study investigated the differences between recovered depressed and never depressed adults on their perceptions of the causes, experience, and treatments (including self-help strategies) of depression. The subjects were 50 currently non-depressed adults. The 25 recovered depressed subjects (RDs) had a history of at least one major depressive episode, with at least two months of recovery without any symptoms or treatment. The never depressed controls (NDs) were 25 adults with no history of major depression. Subjects filled out measures assessing their beliefs in the causes and treatments of depression, the helpfulness of self-help activities, and the experience of having been depressed. No significant differences were found between the two groups' ratings of the theories and therapies of depression. RDs gave higher endorsement to professional help activities, lower endorsement to self help activities, and rated the experience of depression as having more severely disturbing symptoms and after-effects than did the NDs.