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Demoralization: a systematic review on its clinical characterization
L Tecuta1, E Tomba1, S Grandi1
1Laboratory of Psychosomatics and Clinimetrics, Department of Psychology,University of Bologna,Bologna,Italy.
Psychological Medicine
|July 18, 2014
Summary
Demoralization is a distinct psychological state of helplessness and hopelessness, not limited to severe illness. It is associated with stress and adverse health outcomes, differing from major depression.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry and Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Medical Psychology
Background:
- Demoralization is a psychological state marked by helplessness, hopelessness, and inability to cope.
- This state is not confined to life-threatening diseases but can occur in various clinical settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review validated assessment instruments for demoralization.
- To report findings on demoralization prevalence, validity, and clinical utility.
- To compare identified instruments for assessing demoralization.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review with qualitative data analysis following PRISMA criteria.
- Electronic searches in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science, supplemented by manual searches.
- Selection of 74 studies assessing medical patients using validated demoralization instruments.
Main Results:
- Four validated instruments for assessing demoralization were identified.
- Findings include prevalence rates, discriminant validity from major depression, associated factors, and clinical utility.
- Demoralization is characterized by helplessness, hopelessness, and subjective incompetence, distinct from major depression.
Conclusions:
- Demoralization appears to be a distinct psychological condition with specific clinical features.
- Further research is needed on the incremental value of assessing demoralization in psychiatry and psychology.
Keywords:
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