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Brown et al. (1986) - Study investigating the factors that affect the…
Brown et al. (1986) - Study investigating the factors that affect the development of depression (CLINICAL USE OF INTERVIEWS - DEPRESSION)
Sample
The first sample consisted of 395 women aged 18-50 years old with husbands in manual labour and at least one child under 18 years old, from Islington, North London. GPs were sent letters and 495 single mothers responded, leaving 395 who were used in the first sample.
Procedure
In Phase 1 of the study, contact measures of self-esteem and personal ties were measured and psychiatric history was collected. Psychiatric disorder was measured using an interview. 393 participants conested and 1 year later a follow-up was done.
50 participants were excluded from Phase 2 due to the researchers only being interested in new cases of depression to find causation factors. Data about the onset of psychiatric disorder, measures of life event stress and social support received during any crisis was collected using semi-structured interviews.
Results
In the 1- year follow-up after Phase 2, 49.5% of women were found to have suffered a severe event or major difficulty.
After Phase 2 leaving 303 women, 32 were found to have depression and 91% of these cases were due to a stressful life event. The other 271 women didn't have depression and 23% of these had experienced a stressful life event.
92% of the women who had crisis report saw it as helpful and there was no difference in their perception of support being helpful and whether they developed depression or not.
Aim
To investigate whether crisis support protects against the onset of depression even with low self-esteem and a lack of general support before a crisis.
To investigate whether a lack of support and low self-esteem are vulnerability factors for depression.
To investigate whether the support from a husband, partner or close relationship reduced the onset of depression.
Method
An interview using a prospective design to determine factors as they occurred that could lead to depression. This was a longitudinal study as it gathered data over time.
Evaluation
✓ Validity - The data gathered was valid as it was gathered carefully by trained and experienced interviewers using semi-structured interviews, allowing detailed information to be gathered about factors that contribute towards depression.
✓ Reliability - There was strong inter-rater reliability due to a standardised procedure and the researchers analysing the taped interviews.
✗ Generalisability - 11% of the sample was lost due to sample attrition which is a common problem with longitudinal studies. The absence of these women may have skewed the results significantly. Furthermore, the women were from Islington, North London from working-class families with at least one child which can't be generalised to all women, for instance those in rural villages or other areas of London.
✓Application - This study shows the risk factors for depression, making it easier for a doctor or social worker to identify individuals with a risk of developing it. Early diagnosis and treatment can be implicated before the symptoms get worse.
✗ Ethics - The interview may have been distressing due to the details it touched upon and may have triggered the participants, violating the guideline of protection from harm.
Conclusion
Brown concluded that those women with a husband or close ties had a lower chance of developing depression. Those women with core support from their husbands but had been let down by their crisis support had an increased risk of developing depression. Those women with low self-esteem were at risk of developing depression, due to a lack of social support. In most cases, negative self-esteem, lack of social support and stressful life events all contributed to the onset of depression.