What Diverse Samples Can Teach Us About Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression

Abstract

Tests of generalizability can diversify psychological science and improve theories and measurement. To this end, we conducted five studies testing the cognitive vulnerability to depression hypothesis featured in the hopelessness theory of depression: Study 1 was conducted with Honduran young adults (n = 50); Study 2 was conducted with Nepali adults (n = 34); Study 3 was conducted with Western hemisphere adults (n = 104); Study 4 was conducted with Black U.S. adults (n = 119); and Study 5 was conducted with U.S. undergraduates (n = 110). Results showed that cognitive vulnerability could be measured reliably in diverse populations and the distribution of vulnerability scores was similar for all samples. However, the tendency to generate negative inferences about stress had different implications for depression depending on sample; the association between cognitive vulnerability and depressive symptoms did not generalize to Honduran and Nepali participants. It is now necessary to understand why a negative cognitive style confers risk for depression in some contexts but not others (e.g., is it issues related to measurement, theory, or both). The results also suggest that understanding and reducing the global burden of depression will require more than simply “translating” existing cognitive measures and theories to other countries.