Does cognitive behavioral therapy for depression target positive affect? Examining affect and cognitive change...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research

Background:

• Negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) are key components in understanding depression.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a widely used treatment for depression, but the interplay between cognitive change (CC) and affect during therapy requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the trajectory of NA and PA during CBT for depression.
• To investigate the relationship between cognitive change (CC) and changes in NA and PA throughout CBT.
• To determine if changes in affect predict symptom improvement in depression.

Main Methods:

• 125 patients with depression underwent 16 weeks of CBT.
• Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Immediate Cognitive Change Scale were administered each session.
• Measures of affect (NA and PA) were collected before and after each session.

Main Results:

• NA significantly decreased (d = -1.08) and PA significantly increased (d = 0.53) during CBT.
• Cognitive change (CC) predicted subsequent changes in both PA and NA.
• Pre-session affect predicted post-session CC, and changes in affect predicted changes in depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

• While both NA and PA change during CBT, PA changes are more modest.
• Both NA and PA changes are associated with symptom improvement, suggesting potential benefits of increasing PA.
• Cognitive change and affect are reciprocally related, indicating a dynamic interplay during depression treatment.