Predicting Recurrence of Major Depressive Disorder in Young Adults: a Prospective Study

Sixty-five young adults with remitted major depressive disorder (MDD) were followed for 18 months. Recurrence of MDD was reported by 41.5% of the initial sample and 49.1% of those who completed the study (n-53). Survival analyses were used to identify predictors of recurrence so that individuals at greatest risk could be targeted for intervention. Potential predictors included measures of comorbid psychopathology, depression-specific clinical features, and self-reported cognitive and interpersonal contstructs. Only personality pathology significantly predicted hazard of recurrence. (64 refs)