Clinical characteristics associated with interpersonal depression: symptoms, course and treatment response

A range of theories, including environmental, personality and cognitive theories, have suggested that loss may be a particularly critical form of stress in the etiology and expression of depression. The current study examines whether interpersonal depression predicted a unique clinical presentation and course in subjects with major depression. Subjects who became depressed following a severe interpersonal event were contrasted with two control groups: patients without antecedent stressors and patients with major non-interpersonal stressors. The hypothesized interpersonal subgroup was differentiated from the control groups only in the speed of treatment response. Proposals for future research are discussed.