Depression in Schizophrenia: Understanding the Role of Hopelessness

It has been demonstrated that levels of depression are elevated in individuals diagnosed with Schizophrenia. This monograph describes doctoral research that investigated the role of hopelessness in depression experienced by individuals with Schizophrenia. High levels of hopelessness are highlighted as a key factor mediating the difference between depression scores of individuals with Schizophrenia and those with no history of contact with psychiatric services. Associations have previously been noted between the individual's personal beliefs about the illness and the occurrence of depression following Schizophrenia. It is proposed that these associations may in fact be a statistical artefact of the relationship between hopelessness and personal beliefs about the illness. The potential interplay between depression, hopelessness and self-harming behaviour in individuals with Schizophrenia is discussed.