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Stressful life events preceding the onset of neurotic depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

S. Benjaminsen
S. Benjaminsen*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Sigurd Benjaminsen, Department of Psychiatry, Odense University Hospital, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark.
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Synopsis

Successively admitted neurotic and non-neurotic depressives were compared with respect to stressful life events experienced in the 6 months before the onset of the illness. Almost equal proportions of neurotics and non-neurotics had experienced a single stressful event. Significantly more neurotics than non-neurotics had suffered multiple stressful events. An analysis of the multiple events revealed that many were related and involved a single calamity. For multiple unrelated stressful events no significant difference was found between neurotic and non-neurotic depressions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , May 1981 , pp. 369 - 378
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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