Coping, thought suppression, and perceived stress in currently depressed, previously depressed, and never depressed individuals.

BACKGROUND: Previous research shows that depression is associated with an increase in stressful life events and perceived stress as well as dysfunctional ways of coping with stress. However, knowledge about coping in previously depressed individuals is scant.

METHODS: This study compared perceived stress, coping, and thought suppression in a sample of 30 currently depressed, 63 previously depressed, and 42 never depressed individuals.

RESULTS: Analysis of variance revealed that previously depressed individuals showed less wishful thinking and thought suppression than the currently depressed individuals, but scored significantly higher on these strategies than the never depressed individuals. However, the group differences became nonsignificant when controlling for perceived stress and intrusions.

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that both current depression and previous depression is related to avoidant coping (wishful thinking and thought suppression). However, these associations might be explained by the higher level of perceived stress among individuals with current or previous depression.