SENSATION-SEEKING AND EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES IN DEPRESSION - RELATIONSHIPS AND EVOLUTION

The French abbreviated form of the sensation-seeking scale was given t o 183 hospitalized depressed subjects meeting the DSM-III-R criteria f or major depression. Depressed subjects, men and women, scored signifi cantly lower than controls from the general population, paired as to a ge and sex, on all of the subscales. There was no relationship to the intensity of depression and anxiety. Relationships between emotional d isturbances and sensation-seeking were differentiated according to the specificity of each subscale and to age and sex. There was no signifi cant difference between baseline and after-treatment sensation-seeking scores and subjects at discharge still scored significantly lower tha n controls. Hypotheses on evolution at a later date after the hospital ization are made. The finding of positive relationships for some subje cts between sensation-seeking and anhedonia is interpreted in regard t o a compensatory process.