HELPLESSNESS, SELF-EFFICACY, COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS, AND DEPRESSION INMULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS AND SPINAL-CORD INJURY

The aim of this study was to determine if learned helplessness, self-e fficacy and cognitive distortions would predict depression in a sample of 80 individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 80 individuals wit h a spinal cord injury (SCI). As MS and SCI usually present with dispa rate disease courses and etiologies, a secondary objective was to dete rmine if individuals with MS would exhibit greater levels of helplessn ess, cognitive distortions, and depression and lower levels of self-ef ficacy than those with SCI. Results indicated that helplessness and se lf-efficacy significantly predicted depression for both the MS and SCI groups after controlling for confounding variables. Cognitive distort ions had no independent effect, indicating that cognitive distortions may have caused feelings of helplessness and low self-efficacy and in this way, had indirect effects on depression. The MS group exhibited s ignificant try greater levels of depression and helplessness and signi ficantly lower levels of self-efficacy than the SCI group. It was hypo thesized that it may have been the combination of an unpredictable cou rse of disease activity and the possibility of being affected by MS in many different was that produced greater feelings of depression, help lessness, and low self-efficacy in the MS group.