FAMILY HISTORY OF PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDER AND LOW SELF-CONFIDENCE - PREDICTORS OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AT 12-MONTH FOLLOW-UP

We examined effects of two risk factors for depression, family psychiatric history and Low Self-Confidence, on (1) baseline characteristics of major depression and (2) depressive symptoms one year later. Subjects (N = 104) in the midst of a depressive episode were assigned to one of three family history subtypes identified in earlier research: Pure Depressive Disease (PDD) Depressive Spectrum Disease (DSD), Sporadic Depressive Disease (SDD). Results indicate that effects of Self-Confidence on depressive symptoms at follow-up varied by family subtype. In multivariate analyses with controls for demographic and illness characteristics, the mean follow-up depressive score was below the depressive threshold for PDD subjects and above it for SDD subjects regardless of the level of Self-Confidence. In contrast, DSD subjects with High Self-Confidence reported significantly more symptoms than those with Low Self-Confidence.