Previous research into subjective probability estimates
for negative events revealed that
depressed children estimated events as equally likely to happen to themselves
as to other
children. In contrast, both controls and anxious children estimated that
negative events were
more likely to happen to others than to themselves. The present study followed
up this
finding by investigating the subjective probability judgements concerning
future negative
events generated by children and adolescents who have recovered from depression.
Subjects
generated probability estimates either for themselves or for other children
for a range of
negative events on a visual analogue scale. The results revealed that both
recovered
depressed and matched control groups estimated negative events as significantly
more likely
to happen to others than to themselves. It was also found that the recovered
depressed
subjects estimated that negative events were less likely overall, compared
to the controls.
These results are discussed in the context of the adult literature.