Center for General Education, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2014 Sep;68(9):666-73. doi: 10.1111/pcn.12174. Epub 2014 Apr 13.
Attribution theory claims that people who are stigmatized experience more negative emotional and behavioral reactions from others when they are thought to be responsible for their problems. Accordingly, this study proposed a neurobiology-based psychoeducational intervention, which attempted to reduce people's blameworthy attitudes toward and social distance from depressed individuals.
One hundred and thirty-two college students were randomly assigned to an experimental and control group. Participants in the experimental group received a 30-min lecture on neurobiology-based psychoeducation for depressive disorders, and were asked to fill out questionnaires before and 2 weeks after the intervention. The control group, with no intervention, also filled out the same questionnaires before and 2 weeks after the experiment. The main contents of the neurobiology-based psychoeducation concerned the neurotransmission processes and biological mechanisms of depression, in order to emphasize the biological attribution of depression.
An ancova indicated that the neurobiology-based psychoeducational intervention significantly elevated the biological attribution of depression and reduced the social distance from depressed individuals. Psychological blameworthy attitudes toward depression, however, did not significantly change.
Through a brief psychoeducation program about depression, knowledge of neuroscience could lead to positive benefits. Public awareness that depression can be effectively prevented and treated may be a way in which people can accept depressed individuals. Further studies are needed to certify the mechanisms of the effect of neurobiology-based psychoeducation.
归因理论认为，当人们被认为对自己的问题负责时，他们会从他人那里经历更多的负面情绪和行为反应。因此，本研究提出了一种基于神经生物学的心理教育干预措施，试图减少人们对抑郁个体的可责态度和社会距离。
将 132 名大学生随机分为实验组和对照组。实验组的参与者接受了 30 分钟的基于神经生物学的抑郁症心理教育讲座，并在干预前和 2 周后填写问卷。对照组（无干预）也在实验前后填写了相同的问卷。基于神经生物学的心理教育的主要内容涉及抑郁的神经传递过程和生物学机制，以强调抑郁的生物学归因。
协方差分析表明，基于神经生物学的心理教育干预显著提高了对抑郁的生物学归因，降低了与抑郁个体的社会距离。然而，对抑郁的心理可责态度并没有显著改变。
通过一个简短的关于抑郁的心理教育计划，神经科学知识可以带来积极的好处。公众认识到抑郁是可以有效预防和治疗的，这可能是人们接受抑郁个体的一种方式。需要进一步的研究来证实基于神经生物学的心理教育的效果机制。
