Dickson, Matthew Edmund. Expectations and beliefs associated with different treatment modalities for depression. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3NC5ZNS
DescriptionThis study utilized a vignette based approach to understand lay persons’ beliefs about psychotherapy and anti-depressant medication for the treatment of depression. It was hypothesized that treatment recommendation would influence belief in cause of depression and that depression would be viewed as more permanent when a person is treated with anti-depressants than with psychotherapy. Differences in stigma associated with these two treatments were also examined. The results showed no difference in perceived cause of depression by treatment recommendation condition. The results indicated that respondents who received a vignette about a man receiving a psychotherapy treatment for depression rated the depression as less likely to recur than respondents reading the vignette about a medication treatment. The results showed no difference in the overall level of stigma by treatment condition.