Cognitive style in depressed and recovered depressed patients.

Depressed and recovered depressed patients were compared with a recovered mixed psychiatric group and normal controls on three cognitive measures relating to Beck's theory of depression. Levels of depression and neuroticism were also assessed. Cognitive response was not found to differentiate the recovered depressed patients from the two control groups, though depressed patients were consistently differentiated. The three cognitive measures, of which one was devised by the authors, intercorrelated highly among themselves and with levels of depression and neuroticism. When levels of depression and neuroticism were controlled for, the differences between the depressed group, recovered depressed and control groups, disappeared, except on one of the measures. The implications of the findings for the cognitive theory of depression are discussed.