Early maladaptive schemas in diabetes and depression
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The role of early maladaptive schemas in the development of depression in diabetes.
IRAS ID
182302
Contact name
Kristina van Dam
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Middlesex University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
People with diabetes are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression as the general population (Anderson et al., 2001). A recent meta-analysis found that this pattern is only true for people who have actually been diagnosed with diabetes and not for people with undiagnosed diabetes or pre-diabetes (Nouwen et al., 2011). This points towards psychological factors playing a role in the development of depression in diabetes.
One possible explanation is that early maladaptive schemas play a role. These are assumptions about ourselves, the world and the future that ensue as a result of adverse early experiences. When these schemas are activated by stressful life events, they generate negative automatic thoughts, which, in the context of additional stress from living with diabetes and having to care for the condition, could play a role in the development of depression. The aim of this study is to test whether the relationship between stress and depression in people with diabetes can be explained by early maladaptive schemas, while controlling for diabetes-specific and general stressors. Moreover, this study will examine whether this relationship is independent of culture.Participants will be three different groups of patients, namely (1) people with diabetes who have never been depressed, (2) people with diabetes who have been depressed in the past but are no longer depressed (remitted depression), and (3) people with diabetes who have a current diagnosis of major depression. 192 participants will be recruited from the diabetes clinics at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. They will be asked to fill out questionnaires measuring early maladaptive schemas, depressive symptoms, diabetes distress, and non-diabetes related stress, in addition to demographic information. The study takes about 45-60 minutes to complete. HbA1C will be obtained from the participants’ medical files. The same procedure will be followed in Romania and Iran.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/2122
Date of REC Opinion
1 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion