Interpersonal expectations in Major Depressive Disorder: Examining the impact of day-to-day negative interpersonal expectations on momentary depressive symptoms and long-term symptom trajectories

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Stefan Westermann
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 533266457

Approximately 50% of people with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) experience a relapse (returning symptoms after remission) or a recurrence (a new episode after recovery) within five years. To improve the prediction of relapse, we need empirically supported theoretical models on processes underlying the formation, maintenance, and re-emergence of depressive symptoms. Recent advances in the understanding of cognitive processes associated with MDD suggest that negative expectations and their ‘immunity’ (i.e., persistence) when faced with correcting positive experiences could be a central underlying mechanism (“ViolEx” model). The basic assumption is that depressive symptoms emerge due to elevated negative expectations regarding specific situations (e.g., task performance), which remain unaffected by positive expectation violations (e.g., an unexpectedly good performance). Correlational and experimental studies on performance expectations support the model but expectations in the interpersonal domain have received very little attention so far. This paucity of research is striking given that MDD is an inherently social disorder characterized by social anhedonia, social skill deficits, and increased sensitivity to social rejection. Given the importance of interpersonal processes in MDD, it seems promising to examine subjective expectations about interpersonal interactions longitudinally in the daily lives of people with MDD to understand the emergence and persistence of depressive symptoms. Negative interpersonal expectations are an intriguing candidate mechanism because they apply the well-established ViolEx model to subjectively meaningful interpersonal interactions in the real world. We will conduct a study using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), which allows to examine expectations about interpersonal interactions in situ with high ecological validity. Specifically, we build upon prospective ESM, a method which we evaluated in a pilot study. In prospective ESM, we ask participants to anticipate upcoming interactions during the day and to report their interpersonal expectations. This prospective assessment can later be compared to actual interpersonal interactions occurring during the day, allowing us to compare the negativity of expectations with experiences (i.e., expectation violations) and to examine the stability of negative expectations over time. Assessments of interpersonal situations will be operationalized within the framework of contemporary integrative interpersonal theory (CIIT) by Hopwood, Pincus, Wright et al. We will compare interpersonal expectations between people with MDD, non-clinical controls, and people with anxiety disorders to assess the specificity of the effect. Further, we will examine whether everyday life interpersonal expectations are associated with 6-month depressive symptom trajectories in people with MDD to improve our understanding of the predictors contributing to relapses and recurrences.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Christopher Hopwood