One of the more recent development in clinicalstudy of depression is the formal assessment and evaluation of the so-called precipitating events of the depressive condition. Very frequently, patients are able to point out one or several incidents that have had a decisive impact on their lives, prompting the appearance of symptoms.
In this study, we analyzed characteristic precipitating events of depression according to their sex and age distribution, marital status and diagnostic categories in order to keep preventive and psycho-therapeutic intervention of Korean depressives. The author studied precipitating events of 886 de-pressed patients admitted to the Dept. of Neuropsychiatry, Chung-Ang Univ., School of Medicine from June 1968 to December 1975. Among 886 depressed patients admitted during the study period, 189 cases (21.3%) were male and 697 cases (78.7%) were female. 663 cases were diagnosed as depressiveneurosis, 50 cases as psychotic depression, 167 cases as involutional melancholia and 6 cases as depressive type of manic depressive illness. And the results were as followes:
1. As to the precipitating events in the 886 cases of depression, it was revealed that financial problems (16.0%), serious personal illness (12.4%), trouble with family member (10. 5%), death of family member (9. 0%), extra marital affair of husband (& 9%) and increase in arguments with spouse (8.0%) were more important ones. In sex distribution, male cases tended to show more various events such as f financial problems(28.0%) including business failure, serious personal illness (18.0%), or increased responsibility(7.4%), and female cases as trouble with parents-in-law(4.6%) or extra marital affair of husband (11.3%) .
2. In age distribution, life events such as trouble with family member or disappointment in love among younger age groups, trouble with husband including extramarital affairs or business failure of husband in the middle aged women, their business failure in the elderly men, and trouble with their children including son in the elderly women were more significant precipitating events.
3. In marital status, various life events such as interpersonal difficulties including trouble with family member or disappointment in love in the unmarried cases, business failure in the married men, trouble with husband including extra marital affairs of husband or increase in arguments with husband in the married women, loss of their male object including father, husband or son in the widowed were more characteristic precipitating factors.
4. According to diagnostic categories, the neurotic or psychotic depressive cases were precipitated by extra-familial problems including their serious personal illness or occupational problems in male cases, but female cases were apted to break down due to intra-familial problems including disappointment in love extra marital affairs or business failure of ´their husbands. The cases of involutional melancholia were also precipitated by extra-familial problems including financial problems in male cases, and female cases as intra-familial problems including trouble with family member or
separation from family member, but manic depressive depression has problem of trouble with parents-in-law only.
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