{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,9]],"date-time":"2026-11-09T17:14:53Z","timestamp":1794244493275,"version":"4.9.0"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,1,27]],"date-time":"2016-01-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1453852800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Clin Psychology and Psychoth"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:label\/><jats:p>Several theories suggest that self\u2010focused attention plays an important role in the maintenance of depression. However, previous studies have predominantly relied on self\u2010report and laboratory\u2010based measures such as sentence completion tasks to assess individual differences in self\u2010focus. We present a prospective, longitudinal study based on a sample of 29 inpatients with clinical depression, investigating whether an implicit, behavioural measure of self\u2010focused attention, i.e., the relative frequency of first\u2010person singular pronouns in naturally spoken language, predicts depressive symptoms at follow\u2010up over and above initial depression. We did not find a significant cross\u2010sectional association between depressive symptoms and first\u2010person singular pronoun use. However, first\u2010person singular pronoun use significantly predicted depressive symptoms approximately 8\u2009months later, even after controlling for depressive symptoms at baseline or discharge. Exploratory analyses revealed that this effect was mainly driven by the use of objective and possessive self\u2010references such as \u2018me\u2019 or \u2018my\u2019. Our findings are in line with theories that highlight individual differences in self\u2010focused attention as a predictor of the course of depression. Moreover, our findings extend previous work in this field by adopting an unobtrusive approach of non\u2010reactive assessment, capturing naturally occurring differences in self\u2010focused attention. We discuss possible clinical applications of language\u2010based assessments and interventions with regard to self\u2010focus. Copyright \u00a9 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Key Practitioner Message<\/jats:title><jats:p>\n<jats:list list-type=\"bullet\">\n<jats:list-item><jats:p>Naturally occurring individual differences in first\u2010person singular pronoun use provide an unobtrusive way to assess patients' automatic self\u2010focused attention.<\/jats:p><\/jats:list-item>\n<jats:list-item><jats:p>Frequent use of first\u2010person singular pronouns predicts an unfavourable course of depression.<\/jats:p><\/jats:list-item>\n<jats:list-item><jats:p>Self\u2010focused language might offer innovative ways of tracking and targeting therapeutic change.<\/jats:p><\/jats:list-item>\n<\/jats:list><\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/cpp.2006","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,1,28]],"date-time":"2016-01-28T03:02:42Z","timestamp":1453950162000},"page":"384-391","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":96,"title":["First\u2010person Pronoun Use in Spoken Language as a Predictor of Future Depressive Symptoms: Preliminary Evidence from a Clinical Sample of Depressed Patients"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6975-2356","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Johannes","family":"Zimmermann","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Psychologische Hochschule Berlin  Berlin Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Timo","family":"Brockmeyer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics University Hospital Heidelberg  Heidelberg Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matthias","family":"Hunn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology University of Koblenz\u2010Landau  Landau Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Henning","family":"Schauenburg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics University Hospital Heidelberg  Heidelberg Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Markus","family":"Wolf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology University of Zurich  Zurich Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,1,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_7_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpr.2009.11.004"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_3_1","volume-title":"Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders","author":"American Psychiatric Association","year":"1994"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2012.01.003"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/cpp.1885"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2015.01564"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.70.3.591"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_9_1","first-page":"334","article-title":"The language of depression","volume":"45","author":"Bucci W.","year":"1981","journal-title":"Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-9280.01419"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/pspp0000029"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1022809815567"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_13_1","first-page":"343","volume-title":"Social communication","author":"Chung C.","year":"2007"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_14_1","volume-title":"Applied multiple regression correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences","author":"Cohen J.","year":"2003"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0022-1031(75)90017-7"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-6494.2009.00617.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0022-1031(84)90049-0"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.bp.113.140046"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_19_1","volume-title":"Structured Clinical Interview for DSM\u2013IV Axis II personality disorders (SCID\u2013II)","author":"First M. 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