Time in remission from depression predicts cognitive-affective regulation dynamics in everyday life

Although cognitive-affective processes often are conceptualized as traits, our data indicate that these measures are dynamic, fluctuating across the course of a week. Several of these processes also appear to attenuate and stabilize as depressive episodes become more distal. These findings have important clinical implications, suggesting that remitted individuals may continue to benefit from interventions to reduce impulsive and perseverative cognitive-behavioral patterns and improve regulation success and affective stability. Interventions may have particular utility earlier in remission when these skills may be more impaired, with the goal of restoring functioning and reducing the likelihood of relapse.