Depression and coping in stressful episodes.

Fifteen depressed and 72 nondepressed middle-aged persons were repeatedly assessed over a 1-year period with respect to the thoughts and actions they used in coping in specific stressful episodes. Depressed persons tended to appraise situations as requiring more information in order for them to act, but they were less likely to appraise situations as requiring their acceptance. Overall, the coping of depressed persons was characterized by the seeking of emotional and informational support and by wishful thinking, but they did not differ from nondepressed persons in amount of problem-focused coping or self-blame. Results were generally inconsistent with the learned helplessness model of depression and highlight the need to examine interpersonal aspects of depression.