Written by leading researchers in the field of cognitive vulnerability to depression, this volume is sure to be cited often and used faithfully by future generations of researchers, particularly those interested in psychological and cognitive variables. It is a treatise in the genuine sense of the word in that it proposes to review the current literature on cognitive vulnerability to depression, assess what we actually know from the existing data, and then ambitiously attempts to theorize about how these data fit together. In doing so, the authors deftly outline an agenda for future research on cognitive vulnerability to depression.
The book is divided into ten chapters. In Chapter 1 the authors provide a brief historical background of cognitive approaches to psychopathology; review current conceptualizations of the role of cognition in emotional disorders; and examine an information-processing view of psychopathology. Their stated goal is to understand how cognition might predispose individuals to depression. In particular, the role of specific representations which contain depressive information and can bias cognitive operations against encoding more adaptive information is explored. Those unfamiliar with cognitive theory and terminology may be put off by this chapter. However, it is useful because it briefly summarizes all of the major cognitive theories related to depression which is basic to understanding how the authors' eventually pull them together.
Chapter 2 contains a brief review of the construct of depression in our current understanding including nosology, epidemiology, prevalence, genetics, morbidity, the role of stressful life events, gender differences, diagnostic and demographic issues. The chapter also briefly comments on current interventions for depression. Although the information provided is rudimentary to mental health researchers and clinicians, it is a good summary of the basics of depression.
Chapter 3 is a review of the current cognitive theories of depression, the variables which are central to these theories, and the empirical evidence for them. Common to all of these theories is the assumption that certain cognitive processes are related to the onset, course, and/or alleviation of depression. Theories are grouped into four categories: cognitive products, cognitive structures, cognitive networks, and cognitive operations. The authors describe each and then illuminate common theoretical issues related to them.
Chapter 4 provides a general examination of the vulnerability construct and its origin, examines core