Brandon E. Gibb

History of Childhood Maltreatment, Negative Cognitive Styles, and Episodes of Depression in Adulthood

Participants at high (HR) and low (LR) cognitive risk for depression, based on the presence versus absence of negative cognitive styles, were followed longitudinally for 2.5 years. Reported levels of childhood emotional, but not physical or sexual, maltreatment were related to levels of hopelessness and episodes of nonendogenous major depression (NE-MD) and hopelessness depression (HD) during the prospective follow-up period. HR participants reported more childhood emotional maltreatment but less childhood physical maltreatment than did LR participants. In support of Becks (1967, 1987) theory, cognitive risk fully mediated the relation between childhood emotional maltreatment and NE-MD. In support of the hopelessness theory (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989), cognitive risk partially mediated the relation between childhood emotional maltreatment and hopelessness and fully mediated the relation between childhood emotional maltreatment and HD. Additionally, hopelessness partially mediated the relation between cognitive risk and HD.

Childhood maltreatment and negative cognitive styles. A quantitative and qualitative review.

The current article presents both quantitative and qualitative reviews of research examining the relation between childhood maltreatment and negative cognitive styles. The results of both reviews suggest that there is a small but significant relation between childhood emotional maltreatment and cognitive styles, and that this relation may be stronger for studies including maltreatment committed by both family and nonfamily members than for studies including only family member perpetrators. Similarly, there appears to be a small but significant relation between childhood sexual maltreatment and cognitive styles, but this relation was significant only among relatively older individuals. Finally, there was no evidence for a significant relation between childhood physical maltreatment and cognitive styles.

Factors That Mediate and Moderate the Link Between Partner Abuse and Suicidal Behavior in African American Women

Findings from a study comparing partner abuse in African American women suicide attempters (n = 148) and nonattempters (n = 137) revealed higher rates of physical and nonphysical partner abuse among attempters than their demographically similar nonsuicidal counterparts. The partner abuse--suicidal behavior link was mediated by psychological distress, hopelessness, and drug use and moderated by social support. Results also revealed that nonphysical partner abuse accounted for unique variance in the prediction of suicide attempt status beyond that attributable to childhood maltreatment. Implications of the findings for assessing both suicidal and abused women are discussed, and recommendations for preventive interventions for women at risk for suicidal behavior are provided.

Serotonin transporter genetic variation and biased attention for emotional word stimuli among psychiatric inpatients.

The short allele in a variable repeat sequence of the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) has been associated with stronger activation in brain regions critical for processing emotional stimuli. The authors examined whether variants of the 5-HTTLPR promoter polymorphism were also associated with individual differences in attentional biases for emotional stimuli. Words related to anxious and dysphoric emotional states were presented to psychiatric inpatients in a standard dot-probe reaction time task. Compared with participants with two long alleles, carriers of the short 5-HTTLPR allele exhibited a stronger attentional bias for anxious word stimuli. No genetic group difference was observed for dysphoric word stimuli. Findings from this preliminary study highlight the potential for integrating genetic and cognitive models of psychopathology.

A Prospective Test of the Hopelessness Theory of Depression in Children

Providing a developmental extension of the cognitive theories of depression, researchers and theorists (e.g., Cole & Turner, 1993; Rose & Abramson, 1992) have suggested that during early to middle childhood, attributional styles may mediate rather than moderate the association between negative life events and the development of depression. Within the context of the hopelessness theory of depression (e.g., Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989), we tested this hypothesis in a 6-month longitudinal study of 4th- and 5th-grade children. Using path analysis, we found support for the mediating role of attributional styles among both 4th and 5th graders. Supporting recent refinements in the hopelessness theory, the best fitting mediation model was one in which depressive symptoms exhibited reciprocal relations with the other variables. Specifically, attributional styles partially mediated the link between verbal victimization and residual change in depressive symptoms. In addition, initial depressive symptoms predicted negative changes in childrens attributional styles and increases in verbal victimization across the follow-up. Contrary to our hypothesis, we also found support for the moderating role of attributional styles, although this was significant only among 5th graders.

Measuring cognitive vulnerability to depression: Development and validation of the cognitive style questionnaire

The Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ) measures the cognitive vulnerability factor featured in the hopelessness theory of depression. The CSQ has been used in over 30 published studies since its inception, yet detailed information about the psychometric and validity properties of this instrument has yet to be published. In this article, we describe the development of the CSQ and review reliability and validity evidence. Findings to date using college samples, indicate that the CSQ is a reliable measure of cognitive vulnerability with a high degree of construct validity.

Emotional Abuse, Verbal Victimization, and the Development of Children’s Negative Inferential Styles and Depressive Symptoms

Given evidence that negative inferential styles contribute vulnerability to both symptoms and diagnoses of depression, it becomes important to examine factors that may contribute to the development of this cognitive vulnerability. The primary goal of the current studies was to test the hypotheses that experiences of emotional abuse from parents and verbal victimization from peers would contribute to negative changes in children’s inferential styles as well as increases in their depressive symptoms. We found support for these hypotheses among children of parents with a history of depression (Study 1) and among an unselected community sample of children (Study 2). These results add to the growing body of research suggesting the role of emotional abuse and verbal victimization in the development of depressive cognitions and symptoms.

An examination of non-suicidal self-injury in men: Do men differ from women in basic NSSI characteristics?

Researchers have reported similar prevalence rates for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among men and women, yet few studies have investigated gender differences in NSSI. This study describes and compares basic NSSI characteristics among a nonclinical sample by gender. Forty-eight individuals reporting a history of NSSI were interviewed (M = 18.52 years old, SD = 1.18 years). NSSI characteristics, including frequency, age of onset, method of NSSI, pain and control during NSSI, and degree of medical injury were compared between men (n = 19) and women (n = 29). Men and women differed significantly on age of onset, degree of medical injury, and NSSI methods. This study supports previous findings of gender differences in NSSI and suggests that further investigation of gender differences in NSSI is warranted.

Emotional Maltreatment from Parents, Verbal Peer Victimization, and Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression

Although a number of studies have examined possible developmental antecedents of cognitive vulnerability to depression, most have focused on parental variables. In contrast, the current studies examined the relation between reports by college students of peer victimization during childhood and cognitive vulnerability to depression, as defined by hopelessness (L. Y. Abramson, G. I. Metalsky, & L. B. Alloy, 1989) and Becks theories (A. T. Beck, 1967, 1987) of depression. Results from both studies supported the hypothesis that peer victimization contributes unique variance to the prediction of cognitive vulnerability beyond that accounted for by parent variables. The implications of these results for “third variable accounts” involving general parental factors (e.g., genetic transmission of cognitive vulnerability) of the relationship between peer victimization and cognitive vulnerability are discussed.

The Hopelessness Theory of Suicidality

We have reviewed promising evidence for the hopelessness theory of suicidality. Moreover, we have begun to explore the developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability to suicidality. Many important theoretical issues remain to be addressed such as further examination of the vulnerability-stress component of the theory. Moreover, prospective studies with young children are needed to more definitively explore the developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability to suicidality. A particularly intriguing question is how “plastic” is cognitive vulnerability to suicidality? How may this vulnerability change over the lifetime? Finally, the logic of the hopelessness theory suggests that some individuals may become so profoundly hopeless that they cannot muster the effort to kill themselves even though they desperately want to die. Will future research identify individuals who are too hopeless to commit suicide? If their hopelessness does not remit, what happens to such individuals?