Depression construct as generative of the identity of “sick”

Cristina Landi - Chiara Monaco - Gian Piero Turchi
- Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, University of Padova

INTRODUCTION: The research is collocated within narrativistic paradigm in which the identity is conceived as discursive production. The aim of the research is to analyse the scientific quality of the construct of “depression” and the operative implications (identity’s generation) of its use in diagnostic practice.
METHOD: The first part concern the analysis of DSMIV and BDI to notice how the construct of “depression” is defined. The second part pertain the administration of BDI to a group (320 diagnosed as “Major Depression”; 320 without any diagnosis) in three steps: “Making reference to yourself”, “Like a ‘depressed’ person”, “Like a ‘normal’ person”.
RESULTS: DSMIV doesn’t give a definition of “depression”; BDI, to refer to it use judgments value: is not possible to locate these construct on the scientific sense, but at the level of common sense.
The second part show that the group "depressed" obtains highest scores in the first delivery, while both groups obtain minimal scores when compile it as "normal" and maximum scores as "depressed".
DISCUSSION: depression diagnosis imply the use of discursive productions coherent with the role of "depressed": emerges the necessity to use clinical praxis not to build this role but to change discursive productions that generate it.

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