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Life events, depressive relapse and maintenance treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

E. S. Paykel  and
J. Tanner
E. S. Paykel*
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital and Medical School, London
J. Tanner
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital and Medical School, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr E. S. Paykel, Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital, London SW 17.
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Synopsis

Occurrence of life events was recorded in 30 recovered depressed women undergoing clinical relapse in a controlled trial of maintenance treatment with amitriptyline and psychotherapy, and in 30 matched patients who did not relapse. Overall, patients who relapsed experienced significantly more life events in the three months before relapse, and especially in the month immediately preceding it. Undesirable events were particularly implicated. Event rates prior to relapse were closely comparable in treatment subgroups, giving no evidence that differential stress was required to produce relapse. The findings reinforce previous studies indicating an overall relationship between life events of certain types and depression, but do not suggest that the beneficial effects of maintenance treatment are specifically protective against life stress.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , August 1976 , pp. 481 - 485
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

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References

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