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An investigation of different aspects of overgeneralization in patients with major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder
- Authors:
- HEUVEL Thom J. van den, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51(4), November 2012, pp.376-395.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Overgeneralisation (defined as unjustified generalisation on the basis of a single incident), is a prominent concept in cognitive theories of personality and depression. This study carried out in the Netherlands investigated whether it is restricted to negative attributions directed at the self or also extends to positive self-attributions and attributions of situations in the outside world. The study participants were 87 psychiatric patients (34 with major depressive disorder, 18 with borderline personality disorder, and 35 with both) and 50 never-depressed non-patients, who all completed various measures of overgeneralisation. The article describes the study background and methodology, and presents the results of data analysis. It reports that patient groups differ from non-patients with respect to negative and positive overgeneralisation, and that there is variation in positive or negative and direction of overgeneralisation among patients with major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder. It suggests that these patients lack a buffer against negative overgeneralisation directed at the self, and discusses the implications of the study findings.