Depression coping self-efficacy as a predictor of relapse 1 and 2 years following psychiatric hospital-based treatment.

This longitudinal study involved 1 - and 2-year follow-up assessments of participants who received inpatient (n = 25) or partial hospital program (PHP) (n = 24) treatment for depression. The purposes of this study were to (a) compare 2-year follow-up depressive symptom and depression coping self-efficacy scores with posttreatment scores, (b) examine depression coping self-efficacy scores as a predictor of health care visit frequencies following treatment, and (c) examine differences in 2-year depressive symptom and depression coping self-efficacy scores between original treatment groups. Participant (n = 49) health records were reviewed for frequencies and types of health care visits at 1-year posttreatment. Twenty-six (52% response rate) participants completed the Depression Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and Two-Year Follow-Up Questionnaire at 2-years posttreatment. One-year findings indicated posttreatment depression coping self-efficacy scores were associated with frequencies of psychiatric episodes of care. Relapse rates (> 25%) were consistent with previous reports. Despite maintenance of improvements in depressive symptom and depression coping self-efficacy scores, depressive symptom scores remained above cutoff levels at 2 years posttreatment. Two-year findings did not differ based on original treatment type. Findings support further research examining the DCSES as a predictor of relapse and a target for treatment.