Presentation Information
[P-20-03]Comparative Network Structures of Depressive Symptoms in Asian Individuals With Guilt-Rich and Guilt-Free Depressive Disorders: Findings From the REAP-AD3
*Seon-Cheol Park (Department of Psychiatry, Hanyang University College of Medicine(Korea))
Keywords:
Christianity,depressive symptoms,guilt,melancholia,network structure
Objective: This study aimed to compare the network structures of depressive symptoms in individuals with guilt-rich versus guilt-free presentations of depression in a large-scale cross-national Asian data set.Methods: We analyzed data from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antidepressants, Phase 3 (REAP-AD3), which included patients with depressive disorders from 11 Asian countries. Network analysis was used to estimate symptom interactions and identify central symptoms in each group. Participants were categorized based on the presence or absence of prominent guilt symptoms.Results: The network structures of the two groups differed substantially. In the guilt-rich group, depressed mood was a highly central node, closely linked to self-blame. In contrast, the guilt-free group exhibited networks centralized with loss of energy.Conclusions: Variation in symptom network structures is consistent with Richard Baxter’s and Robert Burton’s early ideas on melancholia. From a clinical standpoint, symptoms related to moral judgment and self-criticism require specific therapeutic attention in individuals with prominent guilt.