Many aspects of personality and personality development constitute the onset and persistence of depression. There is a direct correlation between depressive episodes and negative events, and the way in which individuals are influenced by and cope with negative events may be related to their depressive episodes. Low self-esteem, self-loathing or distorted perceptions may be associated with depression. Depression is less likely to occur and more likely to resolve in people who are religiously committed. It is not entirely clear what psychological factors contribute to or influence depression, but correcting the mindset improves the person's state of mind and self-esteem.
The cognitive triangle of depression
The American psychologist Alan Baker developed the theory now known as the cognitive model of depression in the early 1960s. He asserted that three ideas caused depression: i. the cognitive triad - negative cognitions about oneself, about the world around one, and about one's future; ii. repeated negative cognitive patterns or schemas; and iii. distorted information processing. Based on this theory, he developed a systematic approach to treatment - cognitive behavioural therapy. And according to the American psychologist Martin Seligman, depressive symptoms in humans are similar to learned dishelp in laboratory animals.
Patients often blame themselves for negative events; in contrast, a 1993 study of adolescents hospitalised for depression showed that they were not satisfied even when things had a positive outcome, showing typical depressive qualities or pessimism. According to Canadian psycho-social psychologist Albert Bandura's social learning theory: based on experiences of failure, observations of social models of failure, lack of social support and their own physical and emotional state (including tension and stress), people with depression develop a negative perception of themselves. This creates a negative self-concept and a lack of self-efficacy, i.e. patients do not believe they can have an impact on things or achieve their goals.
A survey of depression in women showed that psychological susceptibility factors such as early motherhood, lack of trustworthy relationships, responsibility for younger children and unemployment can interact with stressful life stimuli to increase the risk of developing depression. In older people, vulnerability factors are often health problems, changing roles with children or spouses (from caregiver to cared-for), the death of a significant partner, and changes in social relationships due to friends' health problems.
Psychoanalysis, existential psychology and humanistic psychology also have theories about the nature of depression. According to the classical psychoanalytic theory of Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, depression or psychotic melancholy may be related to loss of relationships and early life experiences. Existential psychologists, on the other hand, link depression to a lack of meaning in the present existence and a vision of the future. The American psychologist Abraham Maslow, the founder of existential psychology, argued that depression may strike when people are unable to satisfy their needs or self-actualise in order to recognise their potential.
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