The relationships between obsessional personality, obsessions in depression, and symptoms of depression

The relationships between obsessional personality, obsessions in depression, and symptoms of depression were investigated by means of a retrospective study of case notes and item sheets. One hundred and sixty-eight cases of depression, aged 20 to 29 years, were rated for obsessional personality as defined by Ingram (1961). The presence of previous obsessions, of obsessions in depression and of eight symptoms of depression was assessed from the item sheets. Obsessional personality was found to be significantly associated only with a decreased frequency of objective apathy, although it seemed to act to reduce the anxiety experienced by those with obsessions, in depression. Obsessions in depression were associated with rapid changes of mood, anxiety, agitation and overactivity and with a relative absence of retardation.