Towards a better understanding of the psychological processes leading to the incidence of depression: a prospective study (WC2008-024)

Background

Starting date: 01/01/2009 Currently, depressive disorders are the fourth disorder worldwide in terms of disease burden and will be the disorder with the highest disease burden in high-income countries in 2030. In The Netherlands, each year about 7,5% percent of the population is affected by a depressive disorder, and almost 50% of the patients suffering from this disorder is a first-ever incident case. Despite the clinical, economic and societal relevance, it is not yet known what the causes and processes are which lead to the incidence of depressive disorders. A number of vulnerability theories give an explanation as to why some people develop a depressive disorder and others do not, but there's still a lack of research comparing the predictive value of each of the different theoretical frameworks. Empirical knowledge about the psychological processes that lead to the onset of depressive disorders would be of great value for prevention and treatment.