Abstract
In contrast to cognitive theories that emphasize negative self-views in depression, a recent study demonstrated that previously depressed individuals have higher implicit self-esteem (SE) than never depressed controls (Franck et al. in Cogn Emot 22(8):1588–1599, 2008). The present study was designed to extend this past work by measuring both implicit and explicit SE among previously and never depressed individuals and testing whether a rumination manipulation impacts SE more strongly among individuals with past depression. Previously (n = 28) and never depressed (n = 33) participants completed rumination and distraction conditions in sessions separated by 1 week. State explicit SE and implicit SE were measured both pre- and post-manipulation, whereas explicit trait SE was measured once at baseline. Previously depressed individuals had higher implicit SE, but lower explicit trait SE, at baseline compared to never depressed controls. Never depressed individuals experienced decreases in implicit SE following rumination relative to distraction, whereas previously depressed individuals experienced decreases in implicit SE following both rumination and distraction. Our findings demonstrate that previously depressed individuals have high implicit, but low explicit trait SE, compared to never depressed persons, and further suggest that they differ in either their response to repeated administrations of measures of implicit SE or to externally prompted shifts in attentional focus.
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Notes
The VAS also included 4 items reflecting state affect, which were not relevant to this particular study, and an item reflecting perceived competence. The competence item demonstrated substantively identical results as the worthlessness item, whereas there were no statistically significant effects of rumination on its own or in interaction with depression history on state affect (happy, nervous, calm, sad).
Similar analyses could not be conducted on trait SE because the RSE was only completed once during baseline.
We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for suggesting that both of these tasks could have exerted a cognitive load, which in turn diminished reflective processing.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Jan De Houwer for his insightful comments on a previous version of this manuscript.
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John E. Roberts, Andrew Porter, and Chrystal Vergara-Lopez declared that they have no conflict of interest.
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Roberts, J.E., Porter, A. & Vergara-Lopez, C. Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem in Previously and Never Depressed Individuals: Baseline Differences and Reactivity to Rumination. Cogn Ther Res 40, 164–172 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-015-9732-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-015-9732-2