GENERALIZATION, ADVERSE EVENTS, AND DEVELOPMENT OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

Many diathesis-stress models have been proposed in which cognitive pro cesses of various types are presumed to represent vulnerabilities to d evelopment of depressive symptoms. This study tested three potential v ulnerabilities as prospective predictors of such symptoms: the holding of especially high standards, the tendency to be self-critical after failure, and the tendency to generalize from a single failure to the b roader sense of self-worth. At the start of a semester, college studen ts completed a measure of these cognitive tendencies and a measure of depressive symptoms. Six weeks later they completed the same measure o f depressive symptoms and a brief measure of intervening life events. Hierarchical regression analysis yielded evidence that Generalization interacted with adverse events to predict subsequent depressive sympto ms. Self-Criticism also tended to predict later symptoms, but only if the symptoms were present initially. High Standards had no adverse eff ect.