Abstract
In the current literature there is a general lack of research examining the impact of causal explanations on beliefs about psychotherapy, willingness to accept treatment, and treatment expectancies. The present study was aimed at experimentally investigating effects of causal explanations for depression on treatment-seeking behavior and beliefs. Participants at a large Southern university (N = 139; 78% female; average age 19.77) received bogus screening results indicating high depression risk, then viewed an explanation of depression etiology (fixed biological vs. malleable biopsychosocial) before receiving a treatment referral (antidepressant vs. psychotherapy). Participants accepted the cover story at face value, but some expressed doubts about the screening task’s ability to properly assess their individual depression. Within the skeptics, those given a fixed biological explanation for depression were relatively unwilling to accept either treatment, but those given a malleable biopsychosocial explanation were much more willing to accept psychotherapy. Importantly, differences in skepticism were not due to levels of actual depressive symptoms. Information about the malleability of depression may have a protective effect for persons who otherwise would not accept treatment.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Notes
Within the fixed biological explanation group (n = 67), the item “recent traumatic events” exhibited the most extreme skewness (− 1.76) and kurtosis (3.56) values. Within the malleable explanation group (n = 72), “day to day problems or stress” exhibited the greatest skew (− 2.06) and “substance abuse” exhibited the most extreme kurtosis (4.86). Although somewhat elevated, these skewness and kurtosis values are still within acceptable limits (Kline 2010). Mann–Whitney tests were also conducted comparing causal explanation groups and yielded similar results.
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Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under a Loan Repayment Award and Grant No. R15MH101573. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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Taban Salem, E. Samuel Winer, D. Gage Jordan, and Morgan M. Dorr declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Salem, T., Winer, E.S., Jordan, D.G. et al. Doubting the Diagnosis but Seeking a Talking Cure: An Experimental Investigation of Causal Explanations for Depression and Willingness to Accept Treatment. Cogn Ther Res 43, 971–985 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-019-10027-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-019-10027-w