Easton saw his best friend shot and killed by a gunman who was driving through his neighborhood. A month later, Easton is in a psychologist's office complaining that he cannot work; everything seems hopeless. He has several other symptoms consistent with these complaints. Based on these data, the diagnosis would MOST likely be:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Easton's symptoms are a direct response to a traumatic event (witnessing his best friend's death), which aligns with reactive depression. Reactive depression occurs in response to external stressors, unlike endogenous depression, which has no apparent external cause. Recurrent and melancholic depression are specific types of depression but do not specifically account for a reaction to an external event as the primary cause.

Easton Saw His Best Friend Shot and Killed by a Gunman