Hopelessness Depression in Persistent Psychosis: Assessment, Vulnerability, Rehabilitative Consequences, and Responsiveness to Community-Based Treatment

Summary : Golan Shahar, Ph.D. aims to study hopelessness depression (HD), a subtype of depression, and its role in psychosis. Dr. Shahar hypothesizes that HD is (1) distinguishable from other types of psychotic and depressive symptoms, (2) transpires as a function of an interaction between hopelessness based attribution style and illness related stress, and (3) brings about increased functional disability and social isolation, but (4) is responsive to ENGAGE, a community based intervention which focuses on assisting people with psychosis to identify and actively pursue their interests and goals as avenues to community integration. These hypotheses will be tested in a study of 200 individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Findings should have the potential to illuminate the course, correlates, assessment, and intervention of depression, a prevalent, but poorly understood, complicating factor in psychosis.