Partially remitted major depressive disorder (MDD) patients are vulnerable to depressive episode relapse and often report experiencing persistent problems with cognitive functioning. The state, scar, and trait hypotheses are theoretical frameworks which are commonly used to explain the relationship between depression and cognitive impairment. In the current study, a secondary data analysis of partially remitted patient data was conducted to assess the relative contributions and interactions between state and scar factors. Structural equation modeling was used to compare models based on the state and scar hypothesis - as well as a new proposed integrated (state and scar) model - in order to assess whether cognitive functioning is better explained by current symptom severity, past illness burden (number of episodes, total duration of depression), or a combination of both. The aim was to inform relapse prevention strategies and contribute to ongoing debates on state, scar, and trait frameworks in the literature.