INTERPERSONAL PROBLEM-SOLVING IN DEPRESSED STUDENTS

This study investigated whether depressed students suffer from a deficit in interpersonal problem‐solving and attempted to specify the hypothesized deficit using a qualitative analysis of problem‐solving strategies. Twenty depressed students were compared with 20 nondepressed controls with respect to the strategies they developed on a Situation Specific Problem‐Solving Inventory. Results supported the hypothesis of a problem‐solving deficit in depressed students. Although depressed students seemed to have an adequate definition of the problem and the target, they showed a significant lack of action‐oriented strategies. Copyright © 1991 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company