Many studies showed the efficacy of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) on depression; however, there were limited studies concerning the universality of the IPT problem areas in different countries. This study identified whether the interpersonal triggers of depression defined in the manual were present in Thai depressed patients.

Thai Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Thai HRSD) and Thai Interpersonal Questionnaire were used to assess the 90 depressed and 90 non-depressed subjects in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, during July 2007 - January 2008. The association between interpersonal problem areas / sociodemographic variables and depressive disorder were analyzed by chi-square test. The logistic regression was performed to identify the predictors of depressive disorder.

Most of subjects were young and middle-aged females, living in Bangkok. All four interpersonal problem areas (grief, interpersonal role disputes, role transitions, and interpersonal deficits) were increased in the depressed as compared to the non-depressed subjects as well as in sociodemographic variables (low education, unemployment, low income, and having a physical illness). Logistic regression showed that all interpersonal problem areas still remained the significant predictors of depression. (grief: adjusted OR = 6.01, 95%CI = 1.93 - 18.69, p < 0.01; interpersonal role disputes: adjusted OR = 6.01, 95%CI = 2.18 - 16.52, p < 0.01; role transitions: adjusted OR = 26.30, 95%CI = 7.84 - 88.25, p < 0.01; and interpersonal deficits: adjusted OR = 2.92, 95%CI = 1.12 - 7.60, p < 0.05)

All four interpersonal problem areas are applicable to Thai depressed patients.