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If you feel you can’t, you won’t: the role of subjective and objective cognitive competence on psychosocial functioning in depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2023

Muriel Vicent-Gil
Affiliation:
Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group, Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERSAM-ISCIII), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
Joan Trujols
Affiliation:
Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group, Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERSAM-ISCIII), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
Maria Serra-Blasco
Affiliation:
eHealth ICOnnecta’t Program and Psycho-Oncology Service, Institut Català d’Oncologia, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
Guillem Navarra-Ventura
Affiliation:
Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears (IdISBa), Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Palma, Spain Institut Universitari d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma, Spain Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERES-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
Dolors Puigdemont
Affiliation:
Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group, Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERSAM-ISCIII), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
Carlo Alemany
Affiliation:
Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group, Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERSAM-ISCIII), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
Sara Crivillés
Affiliation:
Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group, Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERSAM-ISCIII), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
Javier de Diego-Adeliño
Affiliation:
Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group, Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERSAM-ISCIII), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
Narcís Cardoner*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
Maria J. Portella
Affiliation:
Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group, Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERSAM-ISCIII), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
*
Corresponding author: Narcís Cardoner; Email: ncardoner@santpau.cat

Abstract

Background

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the role of sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive – both objective and subjective – factors in overall and in specific domains of psychosocial functioning, in patients with depression at different clinical states of the disease (remitted and non-remitted).

Methods

A sample of 325 patients with major depressive disorder, 117 in remission and 208 in non-remission, were assessed with a semi-structured interview collecting sociodemographic, clinical, cognitive (with neuropsychological tests and the Perceived Deficit Questionnaire), and functional (Functioning Assessment Short Test) characteristics. Backward regression models were conducted to determine associations of global and specific areas of functioning with independent factors, for both clinical states.

Results

Residual depressive symptomatology and self-appraisal of executive competence were significantly associated with psychosocial functioning in remitted patients, in overall and some subdomains of functioning, particularly cognitive and interpersonal areas. While depressive symptoms, executive deficits and self-appraisal of executive function were significantly related to functional outcomes in non-remitted patients, both in overall functioning and in most of subdomains.

Discussion

This study evidences the strong association of one’s appraisal of executive competence with psychosocial functioning, together with depressive symptoms, both in remitted and non-remitted patients with depression. Therefore, to achieve full recovery, clinical management of patients should tackle not only the relief of core depressive symptoms, but also the cognitive ones, both those that are objectified with neuropsychological tests and those that are reported by the patients themselves.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
Figure 0

Table 1. Sociodemographic, clinical, functional, and cognitive characteristics between remitted and non-remitted patients

Figure 1

Table 2. Pearson’s correlation coefficients (p-values) between FAST total and FAST subdomains and possible explanatory factors

Figure 2

Table 3. Backward regression models to assess the relationship between possible explanatory factors and functioning measures remitted patients

Figure 3

Table 4. Backward regression models to assess the relationship between possible explanatory factors and functioning measures in non-remitted patients

Figure 4

Figure 1. Relative importance of sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive characteristics for predicting psychosocial functioning (FAST scores).

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