Study finds vulnerability to depression can be \'contagious\'

People you live with can affect your risk of depression People with a particular style of thinking, who are vulnerable to depression, could “rub off” their attitude onto others, which increases their symptoms of depression six months later, new research has found. The study, conducted using college roommates, found that people who react negatively to stressful life events and attribute the happenings occurring as a result of their own shortcomings, are more susceptible to depression.
This "cognitive vulnerability" is such a potent risk factor for depression that it can be used to predict which individuals are likely to experience depression in the future.
Psychological scientists Gerald Haeffel and Jennifer Hames of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana noted that this “cognitive vulnerability” appeared to establish in early adolescence and remain stable into and throughout adulthood.
Haeffel and Hames used 103 random roommates who were all freshman to test their hypothesis that cognitive vulnerability might be “contagious” during major life changes and when our social environments are destabilised.
The roommates completed an online questionnaire that included measures of cognitive vulnerability and depressive symptoms. They completed the same measures again 3 months and 6 months later, followed by a questionnaire measuring stressful life events at the two time points.
The scientists found that freshman who were assigned to a roommate with high levels of cognitive vulnerability were likely to “catch” their roommate’s cognitive thinking and develop higher levels of cognitive vulnerability.
The reverse was true of those assigned roommates who had low initial levels of cognitive vulnerability, who experienced decreases in their own levels.
It was concluded that the contagion effect was evident at both the three month and six month assessments.
The findings confirm the researchers’ initial hypothesis, which they have suggested could be used to help treat symptoms of depression.
The research is published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.