Psychological Perspectives on the Etiology of Depression

Psychodynamic Models- Focuses on unexpressed rage and the inadequate processing of aggression of an individual combined with an overly punitive superego.¹ Also focuses on depression as a disturbance of self-esteem in the context of failed interpersonal relationships. These childhood relationships are internalized and reactivated in adulthood with the onset of depression.²

Attachment Theory- Focuses on the role that loss plays in precipitating depression in humans and animals.³

Object Relations Theory- Associates depression with problematic separation-individuation experiences and the failure to develop self-soothing introspection processes.⁴

Learned Helplessness Model- Depression is seen to emerge when people (or animals) perceive that "No matter what I do, I have no ability to escape or change bad experiences."⁵

Cognitive Model- Certain life experiences contribute to the development of pervasive cognitive schemas or cognitive distortions-- negative attitudes and expectations that automatically influence ongoing perceptions, conclusions, and predictions about the future.⁶

References

1. Freud, S. (1917). Mourning and melancholia. In vol. 14 of The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. London: Hogarth Press, 1957.
2. Gabbard, G. O. (2000). Psychodynamic psychiatry in clinical practice. Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
3. Bowlby, J. (1986). Attachment and loss. New York: Basic Books.
4. Mahler, M., et al. (1975). The psychological birth of the human infant: Symbiosis and individuation. New York: Basic Books.
5. Seligman. M. E. P. (1990). Learned optimism. New York: Pocket Books.
6. Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: International Universities Press.