Abstract
Previous investigations of the interpersonal response to depression and spinal cord injury have used different analog methods, and this has prevented reliable comparisons across studies. This study examined the effects of disparate analog methods on the interpersonal response to depression and spinal cord injury. Male and female college students were exposed to one of four analog presentations (in vivo,videotape, audiotape, and videotape without sound) in which a male spinal cord injured actor portrayed a depressed or nondepressed state during a brief interview. Subjects rated their own mood following the analog presentation and responded to a series of questions measuring their reactions to the actor. Subjects in the depressed condition experienced greater negative mood and reported more negative reactions toward the actor than subjects in the nondepressed condition. Subjects exposed to the in vivoanalog method experienced greater anxiety and hostility than those in the audiotape, videotape, or videotape without sound methods. There were no differential analog effects, however, for subjects' reactions to the actor. The presence or absence of actor depression and method of analog presentation did not interact with one another. These findings are discussed in terms of the interpersonal model of depression as it relates to spinal cord injury. The theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the study are presented.
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This article is based on a dissertation submitted by the first author as partial fulfillment of the requirements for a doctoral degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
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Corcoran, J.R., Frank, R.G. & Elliott, T.R. The interpersonal influence of depression following spinal cord injury: A methodological study. Journal of the Multihandicapped Person 1, 161–174 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01102621
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01102621