Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment: a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of CoST for reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms
Depression rates are rising globally, with traditional treatments often failing to address cognitive overgeneralization – a distortion that perpetuates negative thinking and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in reducin...
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2025.2514328 |
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| author | Zobeydeh Dehghan Manshadi Hamid Taher Neshat-Doost Laura Jobson Filip Raes |
| author_facet | Zobeydeh Dehghan Manshadi Hamid Taher Neshat-Doost Laura Jobson Filip Raes |
| author_sort | Zobeydeh Dehghan Manshadi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Depression rates are rising globally, with traditional treatments often failing to address cognitive overgeneralization – a distortion that perpetuates negative thinking and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms, particularly in patients with childhood maltreatment. Using a quasi-experimental design, 40 depressed patients (Mage = 33.02 ± 10.69) with a history of childhood maltreatment were purposively sampled and randomly assigned to experimental (n = 20) or control (n = 20) groups. The experimental group underwent four CoST sessions, while the control group received no intervention. After dropouts, 35 participants (18 experimental, 17 control) completed the study. Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS-10), and Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) were administered pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at a one-month follow-up. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant reductions in BDI-II and RRS-10 scores in the experimental group (p < .05), maintained at follow-up. No significant changes were observed for cognitive avoidance in either group. These findings highlight that the short-term intervention CoST may be effective in improving rumination and depression symptoms amongst depressed patients with history of childhood maltreatment as a vulnerable social group. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a7e03214f7f4a459dca25cf8aedc2f1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2000-8066 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a7e03214f7f4a459dca25cf8aedc2f12025-08-20T02:10:09ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEuropean Journal of Psychotraumatology2000-80662025-12-0116110.1080/20008066.2025.2514328Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment: a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of CoST for reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptomsZobeydeh Dehghan Manshadi0Hamid Taher Neshat-Doost1Laura Jobson2Filip Raes3Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, IranDepartment of Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, IranTurner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, AustraliaPsychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumDepression rates are rising globally, with traditional treatments often failing to address cognitive overgeneralization – a distortion that perpetuates negative thinking and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms, particularly in patients with childhood maltreatment. Using a quasi-experimental design, 40 depressed patients (Mage = 33.02 ± 10.69) with a history of childhood maltreatment were purposively sampled and randomly assigned to experimental (n = 20) or control (n = 20) groups. The experimental group underwent four CoST sessions, while the control group received no intervention. After dropouts, 35 participants (18 experimental, 17 control) completed the study. Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS-10), and Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) were administered pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at a one-month follow-up. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant reductions in BDI-II and RRS-10 scores in the experimental group (p < .05), maintained at follow-up. No significant changes were observed for cognitive avoidance in either group. These findings highlight that the short-term intervention CoST may be effective in improving rumination and depression symptoms amongst depressed patients with history of childhood maltreatment as a vulnerable social group.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2025.2514328Major depressive disorderovergeneralizationcognitionruminationcognitive avoidanceTrastorno depresivo mayor |
| spellingShingle | Zobeydeh Dehghan Manshadi Hamid Taher Neshat-Doost Laura Jobson Filip Raes Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment: a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of CoST for reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms European Journal of Psychotraumatology Major depressive disorder overgeneralization cognition rumination cognitive avoidance Trastorno depresivo mayor |
| title | Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment: a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of CoST for reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms |
| title_full | Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment: a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of CoST for reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms |
| title_fullStr | Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment: a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of CoST for reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment: a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of CoST for reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms |
| title_short | Cognitive Specificity Enhancement Training (CoST) in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment: a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of CoST for reducing rumination, cognitive avoidance, and depressive symptoms |
| title_sort | cognitive specificity enhancement training cost in depressed patients with a history of childhood maltreatment a pilot study on the feasibility and efficacy of cost for reducing rumination cognitive avoidance and depressive symptoms |
| topic | Major depressive disorder overgeneralization cognition rumination cognitive avoidance Trastorno depresivo mayor |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2025.2514328 |
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