Objectives: In unipolar depression, the action of early life events has been shown to be linked to a deficit in accessing details of such autobiographical events ('overgeneral memory'). In this study, we test whether a similar deficit can be observed in post-psychotic depression (PPD) in first-episode psychosis.
Method: A group of 29 patients were followed up during the 12 months after their first onset, and monitored for PPD.
Results: Of the sample group, 45% developed PPD, which was associated with overgeneral memory (p <.05; effect size = 1.05) and a heightened awareness of the diagnosis.
Conclusions: Our findings raise the possibility that anomalies of psychosocial development may confer vulnerability to depression in psychosis.