Social and cognitive approaches to depression: towards a new synthesis

A description of a social-cognitive theory of depression is presented which combines the concepts of mental models, personal goals and social roles. An analysis is made of how a number of proposals about the onset of depression can be summarized as the loss of a valued goal or social role in an individual who has few other sources of self-worth. In subsequent sections, limitations of the theory are outlined, and the relationship between the present theory and other theories of depression is briefly considered.