Ambivalence over emotional expression in major depression

Abstract

High ambivalence over the expression of emotions (AEE) has consistently been associated with high levels of depression in previous research. However, there is a lack of studies examining this construct and its associations in a clinical sample of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, the present study compared 76 MDD with 77 non-depressed controls (NC) regarding AEE. As expected, MDD reported greater AEE as compared to ND. Furthermore, levels of AEE and levels of depression were positively correlated in the MDD group. These findings extend previous work and underline the importance of AEE as a central construct in depression. Targeting AEE in treatments of depression may help to modify maladaptive interpersonal patterns of emotional expression.