Theories of Depression

Ex. 1. Learn the new words and word combinations:

1. to assess – оценивать, определять величину;

2. to be available – быть доступным, меться в распоряжении;

3. to contribute – содействовать, способствовать ( to ), contribution – вклад ( в науку и т. п. ); сотрудничество;

4. to divide – делить (ся), разделять (ся);

5. to focus on – сосредоточиваться; концентрироваться (на - on, upon )

6. labour force – рабочая сила, рабочий класс;

7. to occur – происходить, случаться, совершаться;

8. to predispose – предрасполагать, предопределять;

9. twin – близнец.

Ex.2. Read the following text:

There seem to be many types of depression. The causes of clinical depression seem to be numerous. Theories about its causes can be divided broadly into the biological and the psychosocial. Biologically based theories focus on genetic predispositions and irregularities in brain chemistry. Genetic contributions to behavioral phenomena like depression are often assessed through family and twin studies. Family studies look at the incidence of depressive disorders in relatives (who share genetic material) of depressed patients and compared it to the incidence in the population at large, who presumably share little significant genetic information. Twin studies look at genetic effects by comparing the concordance, or agreement, on certain traits between identical twins and fraternal twins. If a trait is genetically influenced, it should be more prevalent in identical twins, who inherit 100 percent of the same genes, than in fraternal twins, who inherit only about 50 percent of the same genes.

Psychosocial theories focus on how situations, events, and interpretations of them, can cause depression. Classic psychoanalytic theory as proposed by Sigmund Freud holds that loss of a significant other, usually in childhood, predisposes one toward depression. Generally, behaviorally oriented theories hold that depression can be caused by a shortage of positive experiences. Based on research with animals, learned helplessness theory proposes that depression occurs when people feel powerless to change certain negative situations. The cognitive theory based on the work of Aaron Beck focuses on how thought affects emotion, and suggests that depression is caused by faulty thinking that focuses on negative beliefs. Overgeneralization is an example of faulty thinking in which one creates a general rule based on only one or just a few isolated incidents, and then applies the new rule across the board to both related and unrelated situations.

A popular view is that women are naturally more emotional than men, and so are more vulnerable to emotional upsets. R.Cochrane identifies a number of non-biological explanations of women’s greater sensitiveness to depression.

1. Girls are very much more likely to be abused than men.

2. A woman’s acceptance of the traditional female gender role involves accepting that she’ll have relatively little control over her life, what may contribute to learned helplessness.

3. The female-male difference in the rate of depression is at its greatest between the ages of 20 and 50, during which time marriage, childbearing, motherhood will be experienced by a majority of women. Although women are increasingly becoming part of the labour force, being a full-time mother and a wife, and not having paid employment outside the home, are increasingly being seen as risk factors for depression, especially if the women lack an intimate relationship.

Depression may be seen as a coping strategy that is available to women, in contrast in those of men (including alcohol, drugs and their work). It may represent a means of changing an intolerable situation.

1. incidence – падение, понижение

2. vulnerable – уязвимый; ранимый

Ex.3. Practice to pronounce the following words.

Chemistry, genetic, overgeneralization, irregularity, to identify, identical, fraternal, shortage, significant, helplessness, vulnerable, intolerable, acceptance, naturally, employment.

Ex. 4. Read and translate the following words and word-combinations.

Genetic predisposition, genetic contribution, genetic material, genetic information, genetic effects, clinical depression, identical twins, fraternal twins, loss of a significant one, psychoanalytic theory, behaviourally oriented theory, cognitive theory, learned helplessness, a general rule, non-biological explanations, intimate relationship, a means of changing.

Ex.5. Match the words with opposite meanings:

1. related, powerful, employment, similar, positive, tolerable, formal, to accept, able, agreement, helpful, inside, correct;

2. informal, to reject, negative, intolerable, disagreement, different, unrelated, fault, helpless, outside, unable, powerless, unemployment.

Ex.6. Find English equivalents in the text:

Близнецовый метод, малозначительный, согласование, наследовать, приводить к депрессии, ошибочное мышление, чувствовать беспомощным, эмоциональное расстройство, подвергаться насилию, гендерная роль, факторы риска, невыносимая ситуация, материнство, воспитание детей.

Ex.7. Translate the words in the brackets from Russian into English:

1. Health psychology attempts (способствовать) health behaviour and (предупреждать) illness.

2. Aerobic exercises help (уменьшать) risk of several life-threatening diseases as well as (увеличивать) positive mental health.

3. Cognitive methods (нацелены на) trying to change the way individuals think about their life and selves.

4. Some people turn to others for help and (эмоциональная поддержка).

5. (Исследования близнецов) point towards a major genetic contribution.

6. (Культурные факторы) are important in diagnosis of depression.

7. The higher rate of depression among women is more likely to be due to (небиологические) than hormonal (факторы).

8. According to Rogers depression are responses to (недостаток, отсутствие) of congruence between our experience and (самопознание).

Ex.8. Study the following table.

T.H. Holmes and R.H. Rahe examined 5000 patients’ records and made a list of 43 life events, which cause stress and depression. It is called the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. There are some of the most important events:

Number	Rank	Life event	Mean value
1.	1.	Death of spouse	100
2.	2.	Divorce	73
3.	3.	Marital separation	65
4.	4.	Jail term	63
5.	5.	Death of close family member	63
6.	6.	Personal injury or illness	53
7.	7.	Marriage	50
8.	8.	Fired at work	47
9.	10.	Retirement	45
10.	12.	Pregnancy	40
11.	13.	Sex difficulty	39
12.	14.	Gain a new family member	39
13.	16.	Change in financial state	38
14.	17.	Death of close friend	37
15.	18.	Change to different line of work	36
16.	27.	Begin or end school	26
17.	28	Change in living conditions	25
18.	41	Vacation	13
19.	42.	Christmas	12

What conclusions can we make from the table? Whar events cause stress and depression? How can we prevent from depression?

Ex.9. Translate the following text in writing.

The term depression used to describe a normal state of mind as well as a serious mental disorder. Normal depression is a mood state everyone experiences that involves short-lived states of sadness, pessimism, a sense of inadequacy, and other negative feelings. It usually occurs in response to stressful or unpleasant experiences and generally does not exceed seven to ten days in length. A stricter definition of depression is a clinically diagnosed depressive disorder. Clinical depressive disorders are currently the most common of mental disorders. As of 1990, more than 100 million people per year were diagnosed with depression worldwide.

Ex.10. Retell about the theories of depression.

Keys to the grammar exercises

Unit 1.

Text 1. Ex.6. 1-an; 2-the; 3- an,a; 4-a; 5-a; 6-the; 7-a; 8-the.

Text 2. Ex.6. 1-many; 2-little; 3-many; 4-few; 5-much; 6-little; 7-much; 8- a few.

Unit 2.

Text 2. Ex.8. 1-am going; 2-have you been waiting; 3-spent; 4-haven’t seen; 5-has looked, is writing; 6-go; 7-wrote; 8-saw.

Text 4. Ex.7. 1-a lot; 2-good; 3-nice; 4-much; 5-warmer; 6-less, less; 7-late; 8-as.

Unit 3.

Text 2. Ex.8. 1-can; 2-can; 3-can; 4-could; 5-may; 6-could; 7-are able to; 8-can; 9-are not able, can.

Unit 4.

Text 1. Ex.6. 1-have to; 2-must; 3-should; 4-could; 5-could; 6-shall; 7-could be; 8-can, 9-may.

Unit5.

Text 1. Ex. 8. 1-was; 2-had made; 3-have suggested; 4-were; 5-might; 6-is; 7-could not; 8-has; 9-were waiting; 10- would.

Text 3. Ex.9. 1-being; 2-crossing; 3-to conduct; 4-to make; 5-visiting; 6-waiting; 7-to tell; 8-to tell; 9-to buy; 10-to cook.

Unit 7.

Text 1. Ex.8. 1-would; 2-knew; 3-solves; 4-would; 5-had been; 6-have; 7-might have succeded; 8-didn’t work.

СПИСОК ИСПОЛЬЗОВАННОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ

1. Eastwood J. Oxford Practice Grammar (2^nd ed.). – Oxford University Press, 2002. – 432 p.

2. Gross R. Key Studies in Psychology (4^th ed.) – London: Hodder&Stoughton, 2003. – 752 p.

3. Gross R. Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour (4^th ed.) – London: Hodder&Stoughton, 2001. – 882 p.

4. Harley T. The Psychology of Language (2^nd ed.) – London: Psychology Press Ltd, 2004. – 528 p.

5. Никошкова Е.В. Английский язык для психологов: Учеб. пособие для студентов высш. учеб. заведений. – М.: Изд-во ВЛАДОС-ПРЕСС, 2002. – 160 с.

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