The instruments used in the study were the Beck Depression Inventory, which assesses the presence of a range of depressive symptoms; the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV-Module A-Section on Major Depression, which assesses major depressive disorder at the time of the interview; and Emotional Abuse Interview, which was administered to cover a range of potentially stressful domains in the participant's life. The study findings show that emotional abuse that occurred in the year preceding the interview was associated with an increased likelihood of current major depression and with elevated scores on the Beck Depression Inventory. The findings also show that the most prevalent domains of depressogenic emotional abuse in this sample of women were abuse in intimate relationships and harassment in the workplace. The study recommends that these forms of abuse be integrated into the conceptualization of psychosocial risk factors for depression in women. By including these forms of abuse in an assessment for depression, the client is encouraged to examine the interplay between her own life events and emotional well-being. Such an approach can empower clients by decreasing their self-blame and by enabling them to begin to overcome the potentially devastating consequences of emotional abuse. 2 tables and 22 references