The Psychosocial Mechanism Of College Students' Depression And The Cognitive Coping Intervention

Depression is a major influential element on human health in 21st century, and it is found that the rate of common people suffering from depression is rising continuously. From the researches abroad we find that college students suffer a lot of depression. Moreover, people who suffer from the sub-threshold depression are greater than the people who suffering from depression in both numbers and the negative effects to individuals and society. Sub-threshold depression defines symptoms that do not meet full diagnostic criteria of individuals with the serious depression indicators (Malignant depression meets 5 diagnostic indicators or more among the nine and at least 2 weeks of diagnostic process). Researches on sub-threshold depression are in high tide in America since 1993. However, in China, the concerns of college students'sub-threshold depression are few, so are the researches. Therefore, the theme of this research is: The Psycho-social Mechanism of College Students' Depression and the Cognitive Coping Intervention. This theme has imporant theory significance and practice value.People surveyed are college students who certainly have depressive mood but are not conforming to the diagnostic standards. Statistical methods in this survey are questionnaires, interviews, experiments and etc. On the basis of the regularity and features of college students'depression development, this study researches the environmental element (life events) and psycho-social elements (personality, social support, self-esteem and cognitive coping), and probes into the social mechanism which have influenced college students'depression by a comprehensive description of theoretical research and empirical results from home and abroad. On the basis of Rational Emotion-Behavior Therapy (REBT), this study designs and carries out group counseling works concerning the practices of the methods, in order to alleviate college students'depressive mood and improve their life quality.The first part is introduction. The contents are mainly raising question, study designing and the meaning of this study. This study is based on three parts, which are the situation of the education of the students'psychological health and the relevant counseling work, the current situation of the domestic and abroad college students'depression rate, and thinking of the current situation, as well as the existing questions. The purpose is to find a proper cut-in point for this research. In addition, this part tells the basic framework, content and methods of this study. At the end ,it illustrates the theoretical and practical meaning of this research.The second part is the summary of literature. This part sums up the theoretical and empirical study of depression, N. Garnefski cognitive coping study and the connotation of REBT as well as the advantage of the research result of improving depression. (1) Theoretical base of depression study. In the first place, it illustrates the connotation and classification of depression. Then it analyzes the reasons of forming depression from the biological and psychosocial point of view. The depression's psychosocial theory mainly contains behavioral theory, social cognitive theory, self-esteem theory, personality theory and depression's diathesis-pressure theory. In fact, depression's diathesis-pressure theory is the theoretical framework of explaining the phenomenon of depression. Individual depression's diathesis (such as personality, attribution, self, coping, various biological diathesis) and pressure events work together on individuals, which will generate depression. At last, the measurements and interventional methods are summarized. (2) Empirical study of influencing elements of depression. This study starts out from the theoretical framework of depression's diathesis-pressure theory, mainly summarizes the domestic and abroad study results of the relationship among depression, daily events, personality, social support, self-esteem and the dealing methods of these things. (3) Study of N.Garnefski cognitive coping and its relationship with depression. Coping, especially the cognitive coping is the critical element influencing depression. This part mainly summarizes the cognitive coping theory and the study result of the relationship between perceptional answer and depression. (4) Expatiating the connotation of REBT as well as the advantage of improving depression.The third part is to test the reliability and validity of Chinese version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire(CERQ). The central part of this study is the connection between college students'depression and psychosocial factors, especially the investigation about the connection between depression and cognitive coping (or cognitive emotion regulation).Thus based on this, we compiled the college students'Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, which was formally administered in 781 college students from 4 universities. The results indicate that the Chinese version of CERQ is composed of eight factors: Self-blame, Acceptance, Rumination, Positive refocusing, Positive presume, Putting into perspective, Catastrophizing and Other-blame. The eight factors'coefficientαwas ranged from 0.60~0.89, and the test-retest reliability of them was ranged from 0.60~0.79 three months later. The confirmatory factor analyze technology indicates that the revised Chinese version of CERQ has a better constructure validity, and the associated validity of CERQ is also perfect. The Chinese version of CERQ is an effective tool to investigate college students'cognitive emotion regulation strategy and to forecast their depressive mood. This investigation provides the scientific foundation for the following study of depression Intervention.The forth part is the empirical study of influencing factors of college students'depression. Research 1: It is the situation and characteristics of college students'depressive mood. It administered in 812 college students. It adopted the SDS compiled by William W K. in 1965 to inspect the college students'depression. (1)The results showed that, as a whole,51% of college students were in the depressive state at different degrees. Among of them, the number of mild, moderate and severe depression was 34.4%, 13.4% and 3.2% respectively. And also the standard mark of college students'SDS (50.29±9.79) was higher than the nation ordinary mark (41.88±10.57). The difference was so noticeable (p<0.001). (2) The gender compare indicated that girls were much easier than boys to cry and constipation. However, boys were much easier than girls to lose weight, to upset, to exasperate and to have no value sense. (3) Although the depression degrees of college students at different grades did not differ very much, we could see the increasing high trend of depression along with the going up grades. The college students at the fourth grade had the lowest score. (4) The meaningless life feeling, the disappointing feeling, the despair feeling of the third grade college students and the melancholy moods of the freshmen were all very outstanding. Research 2 to research 6: taking 631 college students as examples, we emphasized on an investigation of students'depression and live events, personality, social support, self-esteem and cognitive coping. Research 7 went deeply in the inquiry of the psychosocial Mechanism of college students' depression, which set up a model of a relationship between the students'depression and the social mechanism. As a result, depression of college students had an intimate relationship with psychosocial factors.The fifth part is the experimental research work about curing students' depression by group counseling. Twenty-four students are involved in the experiment: one half of the students are in the experimental group and the other half in the controlling group. We get a conclusion from the research: group counseling not only improved the way of group members'cognitive coping but also it trained them to find positive solutions rather than to be silent or to blame others for their wrongs. Furthermore, the frequency of negative automatic thinking decreased. It also helps group members gain social support as well as self-esteem. Therefore, group counseling of cognitive coping which is based on REBT is effective for curing depression.The sixth part is to draw a conclusion. 1.General conclusion. (1)The Chinese edition CERQ is an effective tool to study students'cognitive coping and predict their depression. (2)The crucial factors which affect depression is life events, personality, social support, self-esteem and so on. (3) Group counseling of cognitive coping which is based on REBT is effective for curing depression.2. Creation and omissions.