Comparison of the deficit in theory of mind and emotion regulation in depressed and normal subjects

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Depression is a common disorder in psychology. Theory of mind abilities affected and lack of normal emotion regulation strategieshave been reported in depressed patients.So this study comparedthe patterns ofdeficit in theoryofmind andemotionregulationinpatientswith major depression disorderandnormal group. METHODS: This study was cross-sectional and conducted on 40 depressed patients and 50 normal individuals. Depressed patients were selected among patients referred to a psychiatric clinic by access sampling method and depression was diagnosed by a psychiatrist and controls were recruited from University of Tabriz staff. Data was collected through the two scales of mind reading with eyes test and emotion regulation questionnaire and then compared. FINDINGS: Mean score of subjects in the study variables, theory of mind (depressed: 12.35آ±2.47 and normal subjects: 21.30آ±2.47), re-evaluation (depressed: 18.50آ±4.86 and normal subjects: 25.95آ±4.53) and emotion suppression (depressed: 28.85آ±5.88 and normal subjects: 15.60آ±2.60) obtained. Thus, depressed patients in compared to normal group in the theory of mind and re-evaluation achieved lower score and in emotional suppression achieved higher score. CONCLUSION: The results showed that in the patients with depression compared with normal individuals, theory of mind is damaged and depressed patients use more maladaptive strategies of emotion suppression and less adaptive strategies of re-evaluation. é 2014, Babol University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.