Evidence for the Aetiological theories: Early Adverse Life Experiences and Cognitive Distortion
- Parental separation (but not death of a parent) increases the risk of developing depression in later life.
- Physical and sexual abuse in childhood predispose to various psychiatric disorders, including depression
- Unprotective or overprotective parenting may also predispose towards Depression in adulthood.
These experiences may 'set up' the person's thinking style as follows: