Upplevelser av skam och avvisande hos deprimerade unga vuxna
Depression in young adults is a serious condition causing serious suffering for the victim. By finding risk factors for depression the opportunity for early preventive action is increased, which, in turn, may prevent a negative course. Two risk factors which have been shown to be related to depression are shame and rejection. Therefore this study examined the relationship between shameproneness, rejection sensitivity, shame-related events and depressive symptoms. The self-report questionnaires used were TOSCA, RSQ, Shaming index and BDI-II. 23 people aged 18-25 were recruited from a non-institutional psychiatric care clinic. They were all diagnosed with depression or demonstrating symptoms of depression. 22 university students in the same age range were used as a control group. The analysis revealed that both groups showed a significant correlation between shameproneness, rejection sensitivity and depressive symptoms. However, in regards to shame-related events, the control group differed from the clinical group by not showing a correlation with any of the other primary variables. When all participants were included, shameproneness was the variable that primarily explained symptoms of depression. The results of this study indicate that affectfocused interventions should play a large part in psychological treatment of depressed young adults.