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Experienced events, represented events and depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2020

F Amiel-Lebigre*
Affiliation:
Département de Génétique, Neurogénétique et Comportement, Université Paris V, 45, rue des Saints-Pères, 75270Paris Cedex 06, France
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Summary

The growing number of studies on the relationship between life events and depression is indicative of interest in this area. In most studies, a standard impact scores is calculated for experienced events. These standard scores are means for representation of impact as rated by groups of subject-judges. In the present study, depressives and controls were asked to rate the impact of 51 experienced events and “represented” events in a list form derived from standard studies. The findings indicate that 1) Depressives rate experienced events and represented events more negatively than controls; 2) Both depressives and controls rate certain “represented” events more negatively than experienced events. Eleven “represented” events are rated higher than the same experienced events. The results verify our hypothesis: Representation and Reality are two different assessments and one cannot be used to estimate the other. Moreover, the extrapolation to another group of impact scores obtained with controls, although common practice in the literature, is not valid.

Résumé

Résumé

Les études concernant les événements de la vie et la dépression ont fait l’objet d’un grand intérêt ces trente dernières années. Bien souvent dans ces travaux, un score d’impact standard est attribué aux événements vécus par les sujets. Ces scores standard correspondent aux moyennes des représentations des impacts des événements, évalués par des groupes de sujets-juges. Nous avons réalisé une comparaison des impacts événementiels attribués par des sujets (déprimés et témoins) à des événements qu’ils avaient vécus et aux mêmes événements représentés. Les résultats montrent que les déprimés attribuent des impacts événementiels plus forts que ne le font les témoins pour les deux types d’approche; que tous les sujets (déprimés et témoins) ont tendance à noter plus fortement les Représentations que la Réalité. Onze événements sont particulièrement notés plus fortement dans la Représentation que dans la Réalité. Les résultats vérifient l'hypothèse formulée: Représentation et Réalité ” sons deux évaluations différentes et l'une ne peut être utilisée comme estimation de l’autre.

Type
Original article
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 1990

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References

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