ATTITUDES TO DEPRESSION IN-HOSPITAL INPATIENTS - A COMPARISON BETWEENOLDER AND YOUNGER SUBJECTS

High rates of depression in medically ill inpatients have been reporte d, much of which goes unrecognized. Patients' own attitudes about seek ing help and their beliefs about treatments may contribute to this. We examined the relationships between age, the presence of depressive sy mptoms and attitudes to depression in physically ill inpatients. One h undred and sixty patients in a district general hospital were recruite d to the study and completed an Attitudes to Depression Questionnaire and a depression screening scale. Both older and younger patients show ed attitudinal barriers to treatment. In addition to that, the older s ubjects were less willing to seek help and less likely to acknowledge depressive symptoms than the younger group. Educational interventions would seem to be warranted in increasing the self-awareness of depress ion in the elderly and encouraging patients to seek help more readily.