Proximal Effects of Dependency and Self-Criticism: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges for Depressive Vulnerability Research

[The effect of interpersonal dependency on judgment of gaze direction]

This study investigated the effect of interpersonal dependency on judgments of gaze direction of individuals with different facial expressions. Based on interpersonal dependency scores, 46 participants were divided into two groups (high interpersonal dependency and low interpersonal dependency). Participants judged the gaze direction of photographs of faces with angry, neutral or happy expressions. Relative to the low interpersonal dependency group, the high interpersonal dependency group was more accurate in the judgments of gaze direction. This tendency was more salient for the happy and neutral expressions than for the angry expressions. Since people with high interpersonal dependency are highly motivated to seek support from others, this result suggests that they are sensitive to signals with pro-social information such as the gaze direction of others with positive attitudes.

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: construct validity and prediction of depressive symptoms in a sample of Chinese undergraduates

BACKGROUND

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) was developed to measure two dimensions of depression-prone personality, Dependency and Self-criticism. We investigated the construct validity and prediction of DEQ in a Chinese sample, and explored whether Blatt's conceptualizations of depression-prone personality variables are appropriate for the Chinese context.

METHODS

The original version of the DEQ was translated into Chinese (DEQ-C). During the initial assessment, 640 Chinese university students completed the DEQ-C and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Six months later, the CES-D was re-administered.

RESULTS

A principal components analysis yielded a three-factor model that was consistent with Blatt's theory. However, these three factors emerged in a different order in comparison to the original sample. Factorial validity was also acceptable with low correlations between each DEQ-C factor in males (r=.01 approximately -0.14), and females (r=0.19 approximately 0.28). Convergent validity was supported by significant positive correlations between the CES-D and both Dependency and Self-criticism. Predictive validity was demonstrated by hierarchical multiple regression analyses showing that Self-criticism predicted increased depressive symptoms both in males (beta=0.27, p<0.01) and in females (beta=0.16, p<0.05); Dependency predicted levels of depressive symptoms only in females (beta=0.11, p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The Chinese version of the DEQ demonstrated satisfactory validity, including construct validity and predictive validity, the DEQ-C can be considered as an appropriate tool for assessing personality vulnerability to depression in Chinese college students.

Parental recall, attachment relating and self-attacking/self-reassurance: their relationship with depression

OBJECTIVES

When things go wrong for people they can become self-critical or focus on positive, reassuring aspects of the self. This study explored the relationship between forms of self-criticism and self-reassurance, recall of parental experiences and attachment style in relation to depressed symptoms in students.

METHODS

A sample of 197 undergraduate students from the UK and Canada completed self-report questionnaires measuring recall of parental styles, attachment, forms of self-criticism, self-reassurance, and depression symptoms.

RESULTS

Recall of parents as rejecting and overprotecting was significantly related to both inadequacy and self-hating self-criticism. In contrast, parental warmth was negatively correlated with these forms of self-criticism. In addition, when things go wrong for the person, recall of parental warmth was associated with the ability to be self-reassuring. A mediator analysis suggested that (I) the impact of recall of negative parenting on depression is mediated through the forms of self-criticism and (2) the effect of parental warmth on depression was mediated by the ability to be self-reassuring.

CONCLUSIONS

The impacts of negative parenting styles may translate into vulnerabilities to depression via the way children (and later adults) develop their self-to-self relating (e.g. as self-critical versus self-reassuring). Hence, there is a need for further research on the link between attachment experiences, recall of parental rejection/warmth and their relationship to internal, self-evaluative and affect systems in creating vulnerabilities to psychopathology.

Refining diathesis-stress models of depression or introducing ptolemaic epicycles? Commentary on Santor

Work guided by diathesis-stress models of depression has not been as productive or clinically relevant as hoped. Santor (this issue) suggests some promising refinements of these theories. He proposes more of a contextual focus and addresses temporal instability in presumed diatheses. However, if carelessly applied, the innovations he proposes risk being so accommodating of diverse findings as to be unfalsifiable. Santor also suggests that the selection of coping strategies may be the means by which personality mediates between life events and subsequent depression; though reasonable, this elaboration too can lead to formulations immune to data. Other issues are raised concerning the distinction between fluctuations and disturbances in mood, the role of a history of depression, and operationalization of life events. One immediate solution to some of the problems inherent in this research may be intensive study of more select samples.

Self-criticism and major depression: an evolutionary perspective

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to incorporate the personality style of self-criticism within an evolutionary framework to help explain its relationship to major depression. It was expected that self-critics would engage in poor social comparisons and have greater feelings of internal entrapment, which are both processes related to depression by evolutionary thinkers.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional design was employed such that participants were first interviewed and then completed several questionnaires.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 146 graduate students who had experienced at least one prior episode of major depression, which was confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Participants were subsequently administered the Center for epidemiological studies depression scale (CESD), Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), Social comparison rating scale (SCRS), and Entrapment scale (ES).

RESULTS

Regression analyses revealed that self-criticism significantly predicted internal entrapment and social comparison when controlling for mood and for levels of dependency. Subsequent Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) revealed that a factor of self-reported entrapment and social comparison mediated the effect of self-criticism on the number of previous episodes of depression.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that part of the reason self-critics are vulnerable to clinical episodes of depression lies in their subjective experience of entrapment and in their negative social comparisons.

Conceptualizing and measuring personality vulnerability to depression: comment on Coyne and Whiffen (1995)

J. C. Coyne and V. E. Whiffen (1995) reviewed research on personality vulnerability to depression, focusing on S. J. Blatt's (1974, 1990) concepts of dependency and self-criticism and A. T. Beck's (1983) concepts of sociotropy and autonomy. The authors discuss 6 issues raised in that review: (a) the typological or dimensional nature of vulnerability, (b) the theoretical implications of "mixed" vulnerability, (c) the relations of vulnerability to Neuroticism. (d) the potential confounding of vulnerability with concurrent depression, (e) the potential confounding of vulnerability with social context, and (f) the differentiation of dependency from relatedness. The authors conclude that Blatt's and Beck's concepts are continuous, nearly orthogonal dimensions that can be identified and measured independently from Neuroticism, depression, and social context.