Irrational thoughts and their relationship to depression in a sample of visitors to a hospital specialized in mental illnesses -Drid Hocine- Algeria

Abstract

The current study aims to reveal the prevalence of irrational thoughts and their relationship to depression among a sample of patients attending the specialized mental health hospital in -Drid Hussein- Algeria. A descriptive approach was used, given its suitability to the nature of the study. To verify the validity of the study's hypotheses, measurement tools were used: the "Ellis" Irrational Thoughts Test, translated and developed by "Al-Rayhani", and the "Beck" Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), standardized and translated by "Maamaria". After verifying its psychometric properties, the

 researchers administered the questionnaire to a sample of 119 male and female individuals. After collecting and transcribing the data, statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 26) to calculate appropriate statistical methods. The study reached the following results:

- The prevalence of irrational thoughts was 76.47% among the study sample.

- There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of irrational thoughts among the study sample based on gender.

- There is a statistically significant correlation between irrational thoughts and depression in the study sample.

These results were discussed and interpreted in light of the theoretical framework and previous studies. To complement the findings of this study, some research proposals were presented. These proposals support efforts to understand the causes of the prevalence of these unrealistic thoughts, their association with psychological disorders such as depression, and their negative impact on an individual's