Self-initiated behavior change by depressives following verbal behavior therapy

Abstract

The ability of patients to initiate their own positive behavior change was studied on a sample of hospitalized female depressives. A Treatment group (N=15), a Contact control group (N=15), and a No-contact Control group (N=16) constituted the sample of 46 patients. Treatment subjects, in groups not exceeding four in number, had one hour of daily instruction for three weeks, in accord with findings from the current social learning literature. The instruction was designed to teach patients self-management techniques whereby they could initiate their own private and public behavior change, in a manner incompatible with their predominant depressive behavior. Contact Control subjects received non-directive therapy which included low level interpretations and questioning for information. No-contact Control subjects received no treatment form the Experimenter, but were participants in other group therapy meetings. All groups were tested by a battery of criterion measures on entry to the program, again after three weeks, and finally at two months after their leaving hospital. Patients undergoing self-management training showed, generally, a more rapid and sustained improvement then patients in other groups. They also had a shorter stay in hospital. Both control groups showed slight and comparable improvement from pretest to post test, with No-contact Control subjects superior, but with Contact Control subjects not sustaining their improvement after leaving hospital. The findings are discussed within the context of the hospital environment.