Parental Representations and Support-Seeking Behaviors Related to Dependency and Self-Criticism

Cognitive and interpersonal models of depression were integrated by examining the links between parental representations and the interpersonal behaviors of individuals at risk for depression. Study 1 assessed the quantity and type of social support associated with Dependency and Self-Criticism. Study 2 examined the parental representations related to these personality styles, in an effort to document cognitive variables that might contribute to interpersonal behaviors. Self-critics were found to be more dysphoric over a 21-day, self-monitoring period, made fewer requests for social support, and showed lower perceptions of support. Peers did not report providing less support to self-critics, but found them less expressive and did not know them as well. Study 2 found pervasive, negative parental representations associated with Self-Criticism providing a cognitive underpinning to social distancing. Dependent participants reported higher levels of support, which was corroborated by the peer reports. Study 2 found Dependency to be related to favorable representation of parents for friendly and submissive, but not hostile, situations. The impact of cognitive representations for interpersonal functioning is highlighted, and reciprocal processes between the two are discussed.     

Interpersonal relatedness and self-definition in the experience of loneliness during the transition to university

Blatt's (1900) theory on the two primary dimensions in personality—interpersonal relatedness and self—definition—was applied to the study of loneliness during the transition to university. Participants were 176 students (84 males and 92 females) who completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) at the beginning of First-year university (time 1) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (trait and state versions) at the beginning and at the middle of first-year university (time 2). A subsample of students (n= 74) also completed Sharabany's Intimacy Scale at time 2. Trait loneliness was accounted for by higher levels of Self-Criticism (SC) and lower levels of Efficacy (E). Change in state loneliness from time t to time 2 (i.e., overcoming state loneliness) was predicted by lower Self-Criticism and higher Efficacy. In the relationship with an intimate partner, Self-Criticism negatively predicted frankness, sensitivity, and trust, whereas Dependency positively predicted attachment, giving, and trust. The centrality of self-criticism in vulnerability to loneliness and in lack of intimacy is discussed, and directions for future research on loneliness and personality styles are suggested.     

Psychometric properties of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire in a college population

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976) was developed to permit the study of the continuities between normal and pathological forms of depression. Since its publication over 10 years ago, the DEQ has been increasingly used in a wide range of investigations of depression in clinical and nonclinical samples and as a measure of two major personality dimensions in a number of studies of differential responsiveness to various life stressors. This study provides an analysis of the DEQ responses in a large sample of undergraduate subjects in an attempt to articulate more clearly the psychometric properties of the DEQ. The DEQ consists of 66 items describing experiences frequently reported by depressed individuals. In the original development of the DEQ, factor analyses using male and female undergraduate samples yielded three orthogonal factors, Dependency, Self-Criticism, and Efficacy (Blatt et al., 1976). Most subsequent studies have used the factor scoring coefficients from the female sample to score men and women's DEQs. The factor loadings in the new male and female samples were very similar to one another and to the original female factor loadings. Thus, the continued use of the scoring parameters from the original female sample is recommended. Factor scores for Dependency and Self-Criticism continue to be uncorrelated in both men and women. Normative data are presented from the new samples, with men scoring higher on Self-Criticism and women scoring higher on Dependency.     

Psychometric Properties of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire in a College Population

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976) was developed to permit the study of the continuities between normal and pathological forms of depression. Since its publication over 10 years ago, the DEQ has been increasingly used in a wide range of investigations of depression in clinical and nonclinical samples and as a measure of two major personality dimensions in a number of studies of differential responsiveness to various life stressors. This study provides an analysis of the DEQ responses in a large sample of undergraduate subjects in an attempt to articulate more clearly the psychometric properties of the DEQ. The DEQ consists of 66 items describing experiences frequently reported by depressed individuals. In the original development of the DEQ, factor analyses using male and female undergraduate samples yielded three orthogonal factors, Dependency, Self-Criticism, and Efficacy (Blatt et al., 1976). Most subsequent studies have used the factor scoring coefficients from the female sample to score men and women's DEQs. The factor loadings in the new male and female samples were very similar to one another and to the original female factor loadings. Thus, the continued use of the scoring parameters from the original female sample is recommended. Factor scores for Dependency and Self-Criticism continue to be uncorrelated in both men and women. Normative data are presented from the new samples, with men scoring higher on Self-Criticism and women scoring higher on Dependency.     

Relating mindfulness and self-control to harm to the self and to others

Aggression to others and harm to the self (self-harm) have both been associated with similar possible antecedents; however, literatures on aggression and self-harm are commonly separated. This web-based study (N = 241) aimed to explore the dynamics of self-reported mindfulness and self-control towards aggression and self-harm. As predicted, those who were more mindful and more self-controlled reported being less aggressive and self-harmless typically. Bootstrap analyses suggested that self-control mediated the link between mindfulness and general trait aggression, physical aggression, anger, hostility, and self-harm, but not verbal aggression. With the inclusion of self-control, the direct effect of mindfulness on trait aggression, anger, and hostility, but not on physical aggression and self-harm, remained significant. Self-control, therefore, may be a pertinent individual difference on the link between mindfulness and behaviours that are physically harmful to the self and to others.     

Self-criticism, dependency and the five factor model of personality in depression: assessing construct overlap

The construct overlap between the lower-ordered personality constructs linked to depression, dependency and self-criticism, and higher-ordered personality constructs of the Five Factor Model (FFM) were assessed by exploratory factor analysis in a depressed sample. Three robust factors were extracted: negative affectivity (Neuroticism, Self-Criticism), positive affectivity (Extraversion, Openness), and interpersonal sensitivity (Dependency, Agreeableness). These findings suggest that there is significant construct redundancy between self-criticism and Neuroticism, while dependency appears to represent a more unique dimension associated with, but relatively distinct from Neuroticism and the other dimensions of the FFM.     

Construct validation of the dependency and self-criticism scales of the depressive experiences questionnaire

S. J. Blatt (Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 1974, 29, 107–157) distinguished between two types of depressive experiences, one characterized by strong dependency needs and the other by self-criticism and guilt. This paper reports a series of validation studies of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), which was developed to measure individuals' vulnerabilities to these types of experiences (S. J. Blatt, J. P. D'Afflitti, & D. M. Quinlan, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1976, 85, 383–389). The Dependency and Self-Criticism scales were shown to be stable in the face of both a 13-week interval and the receipt of midterm grades. Dependency was associated with conflict concerning the expression of hostility and, in males, feelings of helplessness. Self-Criticism was associated with low self-esteem and high levels of morality-conscience guilt. In a study of behavior in dyadic problem-solving tasks, Dependency in males was found to be negatively related to task leadership, and Self-Criticism in females tended to be negatively related to judged likeability. On the other hand, little support was found for the hypotheses that Dependency would be related to field dependent cognitive style and to the use of primitive defense mechanisms. The results were viewed as supporting the utility of Blatt's distinction between the two types of depression, but a number of anomalous findings indicated a need for further study of the DEQ. The question of the developmental level of the two types of depression, possible sex differences in the correlates of the scales, and the possibility of situational specificity in individuals' responses were identified as the areas most in need of study.     

Validating the McGill Revision of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire

Research has identified important psychometric differences between the original Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Affliti, & Quinlan, 1976) and two of its most widely used revisions, which have failed to preserve the degree of between-scale orthogonality routinely observed with the original Dependency and Self-Criticism scales. The purpose of this study was (a) to examine construct validity for the recently developed McGill revision of the DEQ (Santor, Zumff, & Fielding, this issue), which preserves between-scale orthogonality; (b) to compare the McGill revision of the DEQ with other existing revisions with respect to measures of personality, motivation, and interpersonal relatedness; and (c) to explore the correlates of items that appear to be responsible for maintaining the degree of orthogonality between measures of Dependency and Self-Criticism. Results suggest that (a) the McGill revision of the DEQ offers more valid estimates of the relations among dependency, self-criticism, and other theoretically relevant constructs, such as depressed mood and agreeableness, than other existing revisions and (b) items differentiating Dependency and Self-Criticism assess broad interpersonal orientations that can be characterized as communal or agentic. Results validate the newer McGill scales, further support the utility of the methods used in their development, and provide insights into the differences between Dependency and Self-Criticism.     

Personality and Reaction Time after Sleep Deprivation

The relationship between reaction time and both state and trait personality variables was investigated in 37 participants after 30 h of sleep deprivation. Regression analyses suggested that endorsement of greater Novelty Seeking, anger/hostility, and depression/dejection, and less confusion, was associated with greater reaction time declines on one Multi-Attribute Task Battery index after sleep deprivation. Further, greater Novelty Seeking and depression/dejection, and less vigor/activity, was associated with greater reaction time declines after sleep deprivation on another Multi-Attribute Task Battery index. Additional correlational analyses indicated that better reaction times were associated with greater Novelty Seeking and lower anger/hostility prior to sleep deprivation, and less confusion/bewilderment following sleep deprivation. Findings suggest that both state and trait personality variables are associated with reaction time performance following sleep deprivation.     

Separate personality traits from states to predict depression

Results have been inconsistent regarding the ability of personality measures to predict future depression severity levels, leading some researchers to question the validity of personality assessment, especially when patients are acutely depressed. Using a combination of regression and factor analytic techniques, we separated the variance of personality measures into stable trait and variable state-affect components. Findings supported the hypotheses that depression severity measured at different time points would correlate with both stable trait and concurrent state-affect components in personality measures, whereas change in depression severity would correlate with state changes but not with stable trait scores. Thus, personality assessments tap both state affect and trait variance, with the state-affect variance masking the trait variance when patients are depressed.     

Direct and indirect relationships among posttraumatic stress disorder,depression, hostility,anger, and verbal and physical aggression in returning veterans

Hostility, anger, and aggression are conceptually related but unique constructs found to occur more often among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than among civilians or veterans without PTSD. However, the pathways between PTSD, depression, hostility, anger, and aggression have not been comprehensively characterized. Therefore, drawing on a sample of returning Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veterans ( N = 175; 95% male; mean age 30 years), this study sought to examine the direct and indirect relationships among PTSD, depression, hostility, anger, and four types of aggression: verbal, and physical toward self, others, and objects. Functional modeling of direct effects was done using multiple least-squares regression and bootstrapped mediation analyses were carried out to test indirect effects. Results indicate that PTSD is not the overall direct contributor to different forms of aggression, supporting the mediating role of depression and trait anger. Depression symptoms explain part of the relationships between PTSD and verbal aggression, physical aggression toward objects, and physical aggression toward self and trait anger explains part of the relationships between PTSD and verbal aggression, physical aggression toward objects, and physical aggression toward others. Our findings support the importance of assessing for anger, depression, and different types of aggression among veterans presenting for PTSD treatment to develop individualized treatment plans that may benefit from early incorporation of interventions.     

Not as Different as We Want to Be: Attitudinally Consistent Trait Desirability Leads to Exaggerated Associations Between Personality and Sociopolitical Attitudes

Research connecting sociopolitical attitudes to personality typically relies exclusively on self‐report measures of personality. A recently discovered mechanism of bias in self‐reports highlights a particular challenge for this approach. Specifically, individuals tend to report exaggerated levels of a trait to the extent that they view that trait as desirable. In a community sample of 443 participants, differences in sociopolitical attitudes were associated with differences in the extent to which individuals provided biased self‐reports for a given trait (relative to trait levels indicated by peer‐report or an objective measure) as well as differences in views of the desirability of that trait. Further, the tendency to misrepresent traits in a manner consistent with one's sociopolitical attitudes was mediated by differences in views of trait desirability. Thus, although meaningful personality differences exist among those with differing sociopolitical attitudes, those differences may not be as large as people with opposing sociopolitical attitudes might like them to be.     

Anger style, psychopathology, and regional brain activity

Depression and anxiety often involve high levels of trait anger and disturbances in anger expression. Reported anger experience and outward anger expression have recently been associated with left-biased asymmetry of frontal cortical activity, assumed to reflect approach motivation. However, different styles of anger expression could presumably involve different brain mechanisms and/or interact with psychopathology to produce various patterns of brain asymmetry. The present study explored these issues by comparing resting regional electroencephalographic activity in participants high in trait anger who differed in anger expression style (high anger-in, high anger-out, both) and participants low in trait anger, with depression and anxiety systematically assessed. Trait anger, not anger-in or anger-out, predicted left-biased asymmetry at medial frontal EEG sites. The anger-in group reported higher levels of anxious apprehension than did the anger-out group. Furthermore, anxious apprehension moderated the relationship between trait anger, anger-in, and asymmetry in favor of the left hemisphere. Results suggest that motivational direction is not always the driving force behind the relationship of anger and left frontal asymmetry. Findings also support a distinction between anxious apprehension and anxious arousal.     

The distressed (Type D) and Five-Factor Models of personality in young,healthy adults and their association with emotional inhibition and distress

The distressed (Type D) personality (the combination of negative affectivity and social inhibition traits) has been associated with adverse health outcomes. This study investigated the validity of the Type D construct against the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, and its association with emotional control and distress. In total 498 university students (mean age 28.9 ± 8.4 years) completed the Type D scale (DS14), and measurements for the FFM of personality, emotional control, anxiety, depression and stress. The construct validity of the Icelandic DS14 was confirmed. The Type D components negative affectivity and social inhibition were strongly associated with neuroticism and extraversion of the FFM (r = 0.82 and r = −0.67, respectively). Negative affectivity also correlated with rehearsal/rumination (r = 0.58) and social inhibition with emotional inhibition (r = 0.54), indicative of emotional control. Type D personality (40% of sample) was associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and stress. The Type D personality components were associated with the FFM of personality, emotional control and emotional distress. Importantly, social and emotional inhibition were closely related, providing novel information about the presence of emotional inhibition within the social inhibition trait.     

Effects of trait anger and anger expression style on competitive attack responses in a wartime prisoner’s dilemma game

We assessed the role of trait anger and anger expression style on competitive/aggressive decision making and responding. In a 100‐trial iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma (IPD), with instructions to simulate wartime interactions, competition/aggression was defined as “attacking the opponent,” and “waiting for troop reinforcements” was the noncompetitive alternative response. Prior to play, 92 university student players completed the State‐Trait Anger Expression Inventory. They were then paired to play the IPD against partners of similar or dissimilar trait anger levels. At postplay, the State Anger scale was readministered. Results showed significant preplay to postplay increases in state anger, with greater increases shown by high trait anger players. Thus, high trait anger players were especially subject to arousal. Players in the high trait anger group made more competitive/attack responses, and they were more likely to do so when paired with a high trait anger partner. As a result of the high level of competitive/aggressive play, both groups ended with a negative troop count. Trait anger as a general personality temperament was predictive of state anger, competitive/attack responses, and the number of trials before a retaliation was made. The expressive style of anger‐control was also related to manner of play. Trait anger had strong direct and indirect effects through anger control on the number of competitive attack responses. It was concluded that trait anger, especially trait anger/temperament, and anger control difficulties may be toxic personality factors in decision making and competitive behavior. Aggr. Behav. 28:117–125, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The relationship between defense mechanisms,trait anxiety and need for approval

The current study investigated the relationship between three personality constructs, defense mechanisms as measured by the DMI (Gleser and Ihilevich, 1969), trait anxiety, and need for approval (nApp). 92 undergraduates completed the DMI, Spielberger, Gorsuch and Lushene (1970) A-Trait scale and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability [MC-SD] scale. It was found that for females, defenses that turn anger towards others or towards the self were positively related to trait anxiety while defenses such as denial, repression, rationalization and intellectualization were negatively related to trait anxiety. No relations between defenses and A-Trait were found for males. It was also found that the approval motivated subjects reported less A-Trait as compared to low-nApp individuals and preferred to use socially desirable defenses such as repression, denying or reaction formation. Those who scored low on nApp preferred to use defenses which are less socially desirable. Gender differences in the effectiveness and social desirability of the different defenses are discussed.     

Trait anger and anger expression style in children's risky decisions

In this study, 104 children completed a task, measuring risk decision-making, and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory for Children and Adolescents. Subjects were also asked to evaluate the degree of danger, benefit, fun and fear perceived for each risky choice. Analyses indicated that (a) risk decision-making was predicted by both trait anger and outward expression of anger; (b) appraisal of danger fully mediated the relationship between trait anger and risk; (c) perceptions of benefit, scare and fun partially mediated the relationship between trait anger and risk; and (d) appraisal of danger partially mediated the relationship between outward expression of anger and risk decision-making. The results provide evidence for a relationship between dispositional anger and risk decision-making during childhood, suggesting a possible explanation of the mechanisms below. In particular, risk decision-making can be viewed as the output of cognitive and emotive processes, linked to dispositional anger that leads children to be amused, optimistic and fearless in potentially risky situations. These findings substantiate the importance of incorporating cognitive and emotive factors in theories that seek to explain the relationship between personality traits and risk decision-making across a broad age range.     

The associations between Self-Criticism and Dependency and incidental learning of interpersonal and achievement words

Personality trait-congruent implicit content processing was studied experimentally. In Experiment-1 (N = 132), individual differences in Self-Criticism were most strongly associated with incidental learning of negative achievement words, whereas individual differences in Dependency were most strongly associated with incidental learning of negative interpersonal words. In Experiment-2 (N = 172), individual differences interacted with processing tendencies in predicting negative affect. Highly dependent and highly self-critical individuals experienced higher negative affect if they were low in incidental learning of positive interpersonal words. Overall, these findings indicate that Self-Criticism and Dependency have significantly differential impacts on implicit cognitive processes.     

Social decision making mediates the association between anger and externalising problems in Chinese adolescents

The goal of this study was to test the mediating effect of social decision making in the relations of anger and anger control to externalising and internalising problems. A sample of 174 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.36 years) completed self‐reports of trait anger, anger control, externalising problems, internalising problems and social decision making, which was operationalized as situational judgement reflecting an individual's ability to interact effectively with parents, teachers and peers. Findings indicated that adolescents' trait anger and anger control were positively related to both externalising and internalising problems. In addition, path analysis revealed that social decision making mediated the relationship between trait anger, anger control and externalising problems. Findings on the mediating effect will be discussed by referencing appraisal tendency theory and response evaluation and decision.