Angelillo J, Cimbolic P, Doster J, Chapman J
J Nerv Ment Dis. 1985 Sep;173(9):546-53. doi: 10.1097/00005053-198509000-00005.
Personal construct psychology has contributed substantially to our understanding of psychopathology. The few studies of personal construct psychology in depression have focused on the content of self-constructs and cognitive complexity. The purpose of this study was to examine the construct system in depressed patients by investigating the relation of depressive symptoms to the content of constructs about others, cognitive complexity, and ordination. Participants were divided into three groups of 25. The depressed group had either a major depressive episode or dysthymic disorder; psychiatric controls had nonaffective psychological disorders; normal controls were hospital employees who had not exhibited psychological distress. Results indicated no differences among the three groups in cognitive complexity. However, normal controls exhibited a higher degree of ordination than either patient group. Furthermore, depressed and psychiatric controls utilized ambiguous constructs more than normal subjects. Finally, symptom severity within the depressed group related to the use of ambiguous and undesirable constructs. On the basis of these and others' results, a "two-level" personal construct explanation of depression is offered. On a comprehensive level, ordination and the use of ambiguous constructs could be viewed as relating to general psychological adaptation, whereas negative self-construing (and perhaps ambiguous construing) may relate more directly to depression. Therapeutic implications and directions for future research are discussed.
个人建构心理学对我们理解精神病理学做出了重大贡献。少数关于个人建构心理学在抑郁症方面的研究聚焦于自我建构的内容和认知复杂性。本研究的目的是通过调查抑郁症状与关于他人的建构内容、认知复杂性和排序之间的关系，来检验抑郁症患者的建构系统。参与者被分成三组，每组25人。抑郁组患有重度抑郁发作或恶劣心境障碍；精神科对照组患有非情感性心理障碍；正常对照组是未表现出心理困扰的医院员工。结果表明，三组在认知复杂性上没有差异。然而，正常对照组比两个患者组表现出更高程度的排序。此外，抑郁组和精神科对照组比正常受试者更多地使用模糊建构。最后，抑郁组内的症状严重程度与模糊和不良建构的使用有关。基于这些及其他结果，提出了对抑郁症的“两级”个人建构解释。在综合层面上，排序和模糊建构的使用可被视为与一般心理适应有关，而消极的自我建构（也许还有模糊建构）可能与抑郁症更直接相关。文中讨论了治疗意义和未来研究方向。
