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Interpretation of Ambiguous Information in Girls at Risk for Depression

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Abstract

Research has consistently documented that depressed individuals process information in a negatively biased manner. There is little evidence, however, concerning whether these biases represent risk factors for depression, as is hypothesized by cognitive models. In the present study we investigated whether a particular cognitive bias observed in currently depressed individuals, the tendency to interpret ambiguous information negatively, characterizes daughters of depressed mothers, a population known to be at increased risk for depression. Following a negative mood induction, young daughters of depressed and never-disordered mothers completed two information-processing tasks in which their interpretations of emotionally ambiguous stimuli were evaluated. Daughters of depressed mothers interpreted ambiguous words more negatively and less positively, and ambiguous stories more negatively, than did daughters of never-disordered mothers. These results provide support for cognitive vulnerability models of depression.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a Distinguished Scientist Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders (NARSAD) and grant MH074849 from the National Institute of Mental Health to Ian H. Gotlib.

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Dearing, K.F., Gotlib, I.H. Interpretation of Ambiguous Information in Girls at Risk for Depression. J Abnorm Child Psychol 37, 79–91 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9259-z

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