Manic-depressiveness and its correlates

Factorial Structure of the Manic-Depressiveness Scale in American College Students

In a sample of 503 American college students, the correlational matrix (18 × 18) of the Thalbourne, et al. Manic-Depressiveness Scale (1994) was subjected to exploratory factor analysis with a varimax rotation, which showed 13 items had the correct assignment to one of the scales (six for depression and seven for mania).

ARE DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE ILLUSION OF CONTROL?

This research addressed whether depressive symptoms were positively or negatively associated with the extent to which research participants showed an illusion of control. In Study 1, 85 female college students participated in a psychokinesis (PK) task and completed a magical ideation scale. Consistent with research reported by Thalbourne and others (e.g., Thalbourne & Delin, 1994), participants who showed higher levels of depressive symptoms also showed higher illusory control scores. In Study 2, 105 participants completed a precognition task and a PK task as well as a judgment of contingency task used by Alloy and Abramson (1979) to test the so-called “depressive realism” hypothesis. Factor analysis confirmed two factors, one on which the judgments on the Precognition and PK tasks loaded and one on which the judgment on the contingency task loaded. Results replicated the finding in Study 1 for the paranormal tasks. For the contingency task, consistent with Alloy and Abramson's depressive realism model, participants showing higher levels of depressive symptoms also showed lower illusory control scores. Results are related to research that documents a relation between various forms of magical thinking and psychopathology.

Comment on "manic-depressiveness and its correlates"

Data from a sample of 612 college students showed that the Depression subscale of the Manic-Depressiveness Scale had greater internal reliability than the Mania subscale. Furthermore, correlates of the total scale score did not appear to provide as useful information as use of the Depression and Mania subscales separately.