Salience of positive and negative affect in the recognition of depression among elderly persons

Generally, depression is thought of in terms of negative affect However, in the following paper, the contribution of positive affect (PA), as well as negative affect (NA), is demonstrated in the recognition of clinically significant depression. Affect and depression data were collected from 554 residents of a large, urban geriatric center. Statistical analyses demonstrated that both PA and NA were correlated with depression and measures of frailty, and that low PA and high NA were risk factors for depression 1 year later. Results suggest that low PA, or anhedonia, may be particularly important in diagnosing depression among older persons who may not readily report depressive symptoms such as sadness.