The Hopelessness Theory of Depression: What is it and What Does it Propose?

One of the most common mental health problems around the globe is major depression. It is a disorder that generates great anguish and suffering for those who suffer from it, and is generally highly disabling.

Throughout history, there have been many authors who have tried to explain the causes or factors that lead to suffering from depression, in order to understand it and find ways to combat it. In this sense, there are a large number of theories and models that attempt to analyze and explain this disorder.

One of them is the hopelessness theory of depression which we are going to explore throughout this article.

Depression: description and general symptoms

Major depression is called one of the most prevalent mental disorders worldwide, which is characterized by the continuous presence (for much of the day and almost every day for a period of at least two weeks) of a sad mood and loss of ability to feel pleasure (something known as anhedonia).

Along with these, other symptoms appear such as sleep and/or eating problems, weight changes, isolation, loss of desire to do things, fatigue, decreased libido, passivity, concentration problems, suicidal ideation and/or hopelessness.

All of this leads to great difficulties in the functionality of those who suffer from it who also over time may find themselves socially isolated and lose many social interactions with other people while seeing their work and/or academic performance reduced, something that can generate conflicts and a worsening of the patient’s quality of life. patient.

Passivity and hopelessness, along with anhedonia and possible cognitive distortions typical of depressive patterns, are two of the symptoms that make it most difficult to overcome the disorder by reducing the belief in one’s own ability to improve. AND hopelessness has been considered fundamental in major depression by some authors, including the creators of the hopelessness theory of depression.

Hopelessness theory of depression

The hopelessness theory of depression is one of the different explanatory models aimed at trying to provide an explanation for the reason or factors that influence the appearance of depression.

This model It was proposed by Abramson, Metalsky and Alloy, who start from a cognitivist conception of depression similar but different from that of Aaron Beck. In the theory of depression due to hopelessness, the existence of a basic vulnerability is established that would make it easier for the person to fall into depression when faced with a stressful situation.

This vulnerability is mainly cognitive in origin and specifically it arises from cognitive inferential styles in which an internal, global and stable attribution for negative situations prevails, as well as in the anticipation of adverse situations and events as a consequence of one’s own actions.

This style brings up the idea of ​​hopelessness, taking responsibility for everything negative that could happen to the person and the absence of belief in one’s own ability to affect the results of events.

Generally, the presence of these styles facilitates the appearance of a type of depression called hopelessness, which It is linked to specific symptoms that would include sadness, fatigue, low levels of self-esteem and possibly suicidal thoughts and ideations.

A mentality close to learned helplessness emerges, in which no matter what is done, the subject will believe that he or she has no impact on the world and is unable to successfully cope with situations.

This theory has been reviewed and criticized over time, but it has been found to be especially relevant in explaining the symptoms of depression in adolescents, especially in the case of young girls.

Differences with Beck’s theory

Although the theory of Abramson and collaborators and that of Beck are similar in many aspects, the truth is that they have relevant differences between them.

One of them is precisely the fact that while for Beck the causes of depression are found in the activation of dysfunctional mental schemes derived from negative biases (among which the fact of ignoring positive information and focusing on negative information stands out), in the theory of depression due to hopelessness we would not find ourselves faced with strange inferences, but rather they are logical based on the life learning that could have generated them.

The hopelessness theory of depression assesses that, in fact, people with depression may have a less biased perception than the non-clinical population by not being influenced by the illusion of control.

Likewise, while for Beck the cognitive schemes of the cognitive triad are the central elements of depression, for the hopelessness theory of depression, the most central and important thing in the explanation of depression is the feeling of hopelessness.

Other influential factors

Subsequent research has analyzed how various factors can also lead to certain vulnerability. An example of this is the existence of experiences of abuse in addition to the comorbid existence of personality disorders (especially those who suffer from clusters C and B personality disorders).

This model also establishes the existence of influential biological factors, such as the presence of cerebral asymmetry or the greater activity of the relative right anterior area.

Although these factors are not necessary for depression to exist, if they exist, they would be facilitators or risk factors for suffering from it.