Hopelessness and depression

It has been proposed that suicidal wishes in depressed patients can be reduced by modifying hopelessness (Beck et al., 1979). Hopelessness, as measured by Beck's Hopelessness Scale, has been shown to correlate strongly with suicidal indices in clinical groups. However, normative data from depressed patients are lacking. Moreover, it has yet to be shown that hopeless individuals manifest the specific cognitive distortions on which cognitive therapy focuses. Eighty-six newly referred patients with primary depression completed the Hopelessness Scale. Results indicate that pessimism is common among depressed patients, although there can be considerable individual differences. Factor analysis revealed five cognitive factors which need replication from larger studies. In a second study, 20 depressed patients were interviewed to assess the significance of different levels of hopelessness. Greater hopelessness was associated both with an increase in suicidal wishes and with more negative expectations about real-life problems. These findings emphasize the importance of hopelessness in depressed suicidal patients, and provide indirect support for the intervention proposals advanced by cognitive theorists.