Person: Chaves Vélez, Covadonga
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First Name
Covadonga
Last Name
Chaves Vélez
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Psicología
Department
Personalidad, Evaluación y Psicología Clínica
Area
Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamiento Psicológico
Identifiers
5 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Item The impact of economic recessions on depression and individual and social wellbeing: the case of Spain (2006–2013)(Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 2018) Chaves Vélez, Covadonga; Castellanos, Tamara; Vázquez Valverde, Carmelo José; Abrams, MathewPurpose Although there is abundant evidence about the impact of economic crises on depression and other mental health problems, little is known about the protective role of variables linked to positive functioning (i.e., psychological well-being). Methods We analyzed data from Spain, one of the European countries most affected by the 2008–2013 economic recession, collected in Round 3 (R3, 2006) and Round 6 (R6, 2013) of the European Social Survey interviews. Both surveys included measures of psychological well-being, social well-being and depression. Both samples were nationally representative of the general population (R3: 1877 participants, 49.2% men; R6: 1889 participants, 48.9% men). Results Data from the R6 survey showed that, compared to data gathered in R3 (i.e., before the onset of the recession) Spanish citizens showed significantly less life satisfaction (95% CIs 0.37–0.63), less personal optimism (95% CIs 0.03–0.15), less social optimism (95% CIs 0.75–0.85), and higher levels of depressive symptoms (95% CIs − 0.74 to − 0.19). Structural equation modeling revealed that protective factors for depression changed in both rounds. In R3 (2006), close relationships, social optimism and social trust were significant mediators between well-being and depression. However, social optimism and social trust were no longer significant in R6 (2013), whereas close relationships remained a partial mediator of the effects of psychological well-being on depression. Conclusions Economic crises are associated with a significant increase in depressive symptoms. Furthermore, financial crises seem to have a corrosive impact on mental health by reducing the mediating effects of positive beliefs regarding the good nature of society.Item Positive interventions in depression change the structure of well-being and psychological symptoms: a network analysis(The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2020) Blanco Martínez, Iván; Contreras, Alba; Chaves Vélez, Covadonga; López Gómez, Irene; Hervás Torres, Gonzalo; Vázquez Valverde, Carmelo JoséAlthough positive psychology interventions increase well-being and reduce depression, little is known about whether they facilitate a reorganization of the connections between psychological elements. We used Network Analysis (NA) to explore the topography of changes in psychological elements after a Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) and a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program for depression. Clinically depressed women were blindly allocated to a PPI (n = 45) or CBT (n = 48) 10-week group treatment. NA showed that the PPI program was the only one that significantly changed the structure of the network for psychological elements. The results showed that hedonic and eudaimonic elements played a substantial role in the reorganization of the network, becoming key connecting elements between the group of clinical variables and the group of positive functioning variables. Our findings support, from the NA perspective, the unique contributions of positive intervention programs to change the complex patterns of relationships between symptoms and positive variables.Item A Comparative Study on the Efficacy of a Positive Psychology Intervention and a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Clinical Depression(Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2016) Chaves Vélez, Covadonga; López Gómez, Irene; Hervás Torres, Gonzalo; Vázquez Valverde, Carmelo JoséTraditionally, treatments for depression have been primarily focused on reducing patients’ symptoms or deficits and less concerned with building positive resources. This study aims to compare the efficacy of a manualized protocol of empirically-validated positive psychology interventions (PPI) with a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) protocol. This controlled clinical trial included 96 adult women with a DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression or dysthymia. Participants were blindly allocated to a 10-session PPI (n = 47) or CBT (n = 49) group therapy condition. Intention to treat analysis showed that both interventions were effective in reducing clinical symptoms and increasing well-being. There were no significant differences between groups in either main outcomes (i.e., severity of depressive symptoms and clinical diagnosis) or secondary outcomes (e.g., positive and negative affect, and satisfaction with life). Even within the most severely depressed participants, no differences between PPI and CBT emerged. If further clinical studies confirm these results, this would widen treatment choice for both patients and professionals.Item Predicting optimal interventions for clinical depression: Moderators of outcomes in a positive psychological intervention vs. cognitive-behavioral therapy(General Hospital Psychiatry, 2019) López Gómez, Irene; Lorenzo-Luaces, Lorenzo; Chaves Vélez, Covadonga; Hervás Torres, Gonzalo; DeRubeis, Robert J.; Vázquez Valverde, Carmelo JoséIdentifying differences in the clinical response to specific interventions is an important challenge in the field of Clinical Psychology. This is especially true in the treatment of depression where many treatments appear to have comparable outcomes. In a controlled trial, we compared a positive psychology group intervention, the Integrative Positive Psychological Intervention for Depression (IPPI-D; n = 62) to a cognitive-behavioral therapy group intervention (CBT; n = 66) for depression. No statistically or clinically-significant differences between the treatments were found, but a slight advantage was observed, on average, for IPPI-D. The aim of the present study was to identify and combine moderators of the differential efficacy of these two psychological interventions for clinical depression. For this purpose, a secondary analysis using the Personalized Advantage Index (PAI) was performed to identify the intervention predicted to produce the better outcome for each patient. Six of the 21 potential moderators were found to predict differential efficacy between the treatments. IPPI-D was predicted to be the optimal treatment for 73% of the sample. Baseline features that characterized these individuals were: mental and physical comorbidity, prior antidepressant medication, higher levels of negative thoughts, and higher personal growth. The 27% who were predicted to achieve better outcomes in CBT than in IPPI-D tended to have these baseline features: no comorbidities, no prior antidepressant medication, lower levels of negative thoughts, and lower personal growth.Item Comparing the acceptability of a positive psychology intervention versus a cognitive behavioural therapy for clinical depression(Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2017) López Gómez, Irene; Chaves Vélez, Covadonga; Hervás Torres, Gonzalo; Vázquez Valverde, Carmelo JoséThere is growing evidence on the efficacy of positive psychology interventions (PPI) to treat clinical disorders. However, very few studies have addressed their acceptability. The present study aimed to analyse 2 key components of acceptability (i.e., client satisfaction and adherence to treatment) of a new PPI programme, the Integrative Positive Psychological Intervention for Depression (IPPI‐D), in comparison to a standard cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programme in the treatment of clinical depression. One hundred twenty‐eight women with a DSM‐IV diagnosis of major depression or dysthymia were allocated to a 10‐session IPPI‐D or CBT group intervention condition. Results showed that both interventions were highly acceptable for participants. Attendance rates were high, and there were no significant differences between conditions. However, the IPPI‐D condition showed significantly higher client satisfaction than the CBT condition. Moreover, acceptability did not differ based on participants' severity of symptoms, regardless of condition. These findings encourage further investigations of the applicability of PPI in clinical settings in order to broaden the range of acceptable and suitable therapies for depressed patients.