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The role of life events in depressive illness: is there a substantial causal relation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Christopher Tennant ,
Paul Bebbington  and
Jane Hurry
Christopher Tennant*
Affiliation:
MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Paul Bebbington
Affiliation:
MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Jane Hurry
Affiliation:
MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Christopher Tennant, Department of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales Teaching Hospitals, The Prince Henry Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2036, Australia.
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Synopsis

Assessment of the relationship of life events to minor and major affective illness is beset by several methodological problems. The reliability and validity of measures is not entirely satisfactory. When the stress concept used is that of ‘threat’ or ‘emotional distress’ it becomes of crucial importance to define clearly the criterion variable: in particular, it is necessary to distinguish normal distress responses from depressive illness. In those studies using general practice or hospital patients it is important to determine whether life events provoke depressive illness or some illness behaviour such as service utilization. Because of these problems it is still not certain that life events cause depressive illness.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , May 1981 , pp. 379 - 389
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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