Negative Mood Regulation as a Mechanism of Change in Cognitive Therapy for Depression

AREAS, MALENKA; PENEDO, JUAN MARTÍN GÓMEZ; ALALÚ, NICOLÁS; BABL, ANNA MARGARETE; ROUSSOS, ANDRÉS; HOLTFORTH, MARTIN GROSSE

Psychotherapy

American Psychological Association

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2021 vol. 58 p. 485 - 492

0033-3204

The present study investigates the effects of negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE) on symptom severity of depression in 2 cognitive therapies for depression. The sample included the first 146 consecutively recruited patients from a randomized controlled trial. Patients received 22 sessions of either cognitive-behavioral therapy or exposure-based cognitive therapy. They completed the Beck Depression Inventory and Negative Mood Regulation Scale at baseline and treatment termination, as well as after Sessions 7 and 14. Multilevel modeling was applied. We found a significant betweenpatient effect of NMRE on symptom severity of depression, when NMRE within-patient effects were set to random. There was no significant interactive effect of the between-patient NMRE with type of treatment. However, a significant moderation effect of the within-patient NMRE effect by treatment condition on depression severity was detected, with patients receiving cognitive-behavioral therapy benefiting more from improvements in NMRE. Together, these results empirically support NMRE as a relevant mechanism of change in cognitive therapy for depression.