Introduction: women, depression, and the struggle for control over the evaluation of self-worth

The papers in this volume present both quantitative and qualitative studies on the various stages of women's experiences with depression including the antecedents of depression, dysfunctional reactions to depressive symptoms, and services and resources available in the community for depressed women. A recurrent theme in the findings of these studies is that depressed women tend to apply negative socially-derived and externally-imposed cognitive constructs or frames of reference by which they evaluate their self-worth. Having lost the social struggle over the control of these frames of reference, they become entrapped in cognitive constructs in which the self is seen as rejected, subordinate, and as a passive victim of hostile circumstances. The evidence suggests that psychological, social, and community interventions for depressed women need to encourage and empower them to own and control the processes of positive and constructive self-evaluation.