Sociotropy and autonomy: the nature of vulnerability

Sociotropy and autonomy are 2 personality dimensions related to an individual's vulnerability to depression (A. T. Beck, 1983). The Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (D. A. Clark, R. A. Steer, A. T. Beck, & L. Ross, 1995) and the Personal Style Inventory (C. J. Robins et al., 1994) were developed to assess these personality dimensions independent of each other. The present study is an examination of the relationship between the 2 scales and an attempt to specify the various factors that emerge when the items of the 2 scales are integrated. Participants (N = 514) responded to the Personal Style Inventory, the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory (A. T. Beck & R. A. Steer, 1987). A principal component analysis on all of the items of the 2 scales revealed a four-factor structure (2 sociotropy and 2 autonomy). The author examined the relationships between depression, the 4 factors, and the 2 original scales and discussed the results in the context of vulnerability to depression.     

Sociotropy and autonomy: an examination of interpersonal and work adjustment

One-hundred and sixty-five undergraduate students completed measures of sociotropy, autonomy, and adjustment. Autonomy was associated with poor social adjustment but was not associated with work role adjustment. Sociotropy failed to evidence a significant relation with work role or social adjustment. In past research, autonomy has primarily been theorized to contribute to depression when achievement needs are not met. Our results raise the possibility that autonomy may be linked to depression through the pathway of low social support and interpersonal difficulties. In addition, the results suggest that sociotropic individuals may not have objectively poor social adjustment despite their concerns regarding this area. Likewise, autonomous individuals may not have better or worse work adjustment despite their efforts to achieve.     

Sociotropy and autonomy: differential patterns of clinical presentation in unipolar depression

We examined the relations between sociotropy and autonomy and clinical features of depression. Beck (1983) proposed that sociotropy is related to a sense of deprivation and clinical features associated with reactive depression and that autonomy is related to a sense of defeat and clinical features associated with endogenous depression. Robins, Block, & Peselow (1989) found support for the hypothesis for sociotropy but not for autonomy, and they suggested that the autonomy scale may be problematic. We administered new measures of sociotropy and autonomy and a more comprehensive assessment of clinical features to 50 unipolar depressed inpatients. The results support the selective relations of both sociotropy and autonomy to the predicted sets of clinical features. This study adds to the growing evidence that these personality dimensions are important to the understanding of depression.     

Sociotropy and autonomy: preliminary evidence for construct validity using TAT narratives

In this investigation, we evaluated the construct validity of sociotropy and autonomy as assessed by the revised Personal Style Inventory (PSI; Robins et al., 1994). Stories given to 6 cards of the Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943) were coded for need for Achievement (McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, & Lowell, 1953) and need for Affiliation (Heyns, Veroff, & Atkinson, 1958). These scores were correlated with PSI Sociotropy and Autonomy, along with their component subscales. The construct validity of Sociotropy, Autonomy, and 5 of 6 component subscales were supported as hypoth sized. Consistent with past research, there was no support for the construct validity of the Perfectionism/Self-Criticism subscale of Autonomy. In addition, separate analyses by gender suggested that the construct validity of sociotropy may be greater for women than for men. The results represent an important finding in that nonquestionnaire measures of interpersonal and achievement-related concerns were found to support the validity of the PSI, a need identified by the questionnaire's authors.     

Sociotropy,autonomy, and personality disorder criteria in psychiatric patients

Sociotropy and autonomy (Beck, 1983) are sets of beliefs, concerns, and behavioral tendencies that are proposed to create vulnerability to depression and other psychopathology and to influence its manifestation and treatment response. Other theoretical frameworks (Blatt, 1974) have made similar suggestions. We investigated the differential relations of sociotropy and autonomy to dimensional scores for each DSM-III-R personality disorder (PD) in a sample of 188 psychiatric patients, controlling for the other set of characteristics and for the other PDs. Histrionic and dependent PD traits were related specifically to sociotropy. Paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, and passive-aggressive PD traits were related specifically to autonomy. Borderline, narcissistic, avoidant, and self-defeating PD traits were related significantly and about equally to both sociotropy and autonomy. Obsessive-compulsive PD traits were not related consistently to either. Results were mostly as predicted and suggest that sociotropy and autonomy may be useful constructs for understanding and treating PDs.     

Sociotropy/autonomy and vulnerability to specific life events in patients with unipolar depression and bipolar disorders

Followed samples of unipolar and bipolar patients for a 6-month period, with independent assessment of symptoms and life events. Patients were initially categorized into subtypes using Beck's Sociotropy/Autonomy Scale, with the prediction that onset or exacerbation of symptoms, as well as more total symptoms, would occur for sociotropic individuals experiencing more negative interpersonal events than achievement events, and for autonomous-achievement patients experiencing more achievement events than interpersonal events. Results were confirmed for unipolars, indicating that the course of disorder was associated with the occurrence of personally meaningful life events, but not for bipolars. Further research is recommended to examine whether the effect is equally robust for both subtypes of unipolars, whether longer study duration may be required for bipolars, and whether a cognitive self-schema mechanism may account for the specific vulnerability to a subset of stressful events.     

Religiosity and treatment response to antidepressant medication: a prospective multi-site clinical trial

The present study examined the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and treatment response to antidepressant medication (citalopram). One-hundred and forty-eight Caucasian and African-American adults with uncomplicated major depression were treated with citalopram (20–60?mg/day) over an eight-week period in a prospective multi-site clinical trial. Treatment response was assessed weekly with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Religiosity (i.e., religious behaviours) and spirituality (i.e., spiritual well-being) were assessed at week 3. No significant associations between spirituality and treatment response were found; however, there was a strong curvilinear relationship between religiosity and treatment response. Compared to lower or higher levels of religiosity, a moderate level of religiosity was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of remission and greater reduction in severity of depression. This association was independent of social support, ethnicity, gender, education, and baseline depression severity. A moderate amount of religiosity appears to be independently associated with an enhanced treatment response to citalopram.     

Religiosity and treatment response to antidepressant medication: A prospective multi-site clinical trial

The present study examined the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and treatment response to antidepressant medication (citalopram). One-hundred and forty-eight Caucasian and African-American adults with uncomplicated major depression were treated with citalopram (20-60mg/day) over an 8-week period in a prospective multi-site clinical trial. Treatment response was assessed weekly with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Religiosity (i.e., religious behaviours) and spirituality (i.e., spiritual well-being) were assessed at Week 3. No significant associations between spirituality and treatment response were found; however, there was a strong curvilinear relationship between religiosity and treatment response. Compared to lower or higher levels of religiosity, a moderate level of religiosity was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of remission and greater reduction in severity of depression. This association was independent of social support, ethnicity, gender, education, and baseline depression severity. A moderate amount of religiosity appears to be independently associated with an enhanced treatment response to citalopram.     

Chinese intimacy: Filial piety,autonomy, and romantic relationship quality

Due to its accurate representation of parent–child interaction quality in Confucian-influenced cultures, contemporary filial piety, which refers to general beliefs about how children are expected to behave toward their parents, has drawn increasing attention in academia. However, how filial piety associates with intimate relationships beyond the family setting is less clear. This study examined the relation between dual filial piety (i.e., reciprocal filial piety and authoritarian filial piety) and romantic relationship quality among Chinese youths. We explored a mediational model in which we tested whether dual autonomy (i.e., individuating autonomy and relating autonomy) would help explain how Chinese youths' beliefs in filial piety are linked to the quality of their romantic relationships. A total of 605 youths from Macau (N = 291) and Taiwan (N = 314) who are currently or once romantically involved participated in the study. We employed structural equation modeling to analyze the data. Results showed within-culture invariance regarding the direct and indirect associations between filial piety, autonomy, and romantic relationship quality. Specifically, young people in both Macau and Taiwan who endorsed higher reciprocal filial piety had more individuating autonomy, which in turn contributed to them having higher quality romantic relationships.     

Family treatment approaches to drug abuse problems: a review.

This review covers the literature that has emerged specifically on the family treatment of drug abuse problems. Following a brief discussion of patterns and structures prevalent in drug-abusing families, 68 different studies or programs (discussed in 74 papers) are compared as to their techniques and results. These are categorized within the following modalities: marital treatment, group treatment for parents, concurrent parent and identified patient treatment, treatment with individual families (both inpatient and outpatient), sibling-oriented treatment, multiple family therapy, and social network therapy. A table presents the various studies, along with the types of results they provide. Outcomes are contrasted for the 14 studies that quantified their results. The final section presents implications for the following areas: treatment activities (clarification of technique, family recruitment, direction and effectiveness of treatment, confidentiality, and treatment delivery systems), training, prevention, and future research (outcome, technique and responsibility). It is concluded that family treatment for drug abuse is gaining widespread acceptance and shows considerable promise for dealing effectively with problems of this type.     

Patients' autonomy: Three models of the professional-lay relationship in medicine

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics - Health care is not merely a matter of individual encounters between patients and physicians or other health care personnel. For patients and those who provide...     

Associative response heterogeneity: an indicator of stimulus word semantic autonomy

The total number of different responses, given by a group of subjects to a stimulus word in a single-word, free-association situation ( D ), is a primary determinant of associative response latency (Tecce & Glassco, 1965; Flekkøy, 1981). D has traditionally been assumed to reflect a word's associative potential, and the increased latency to high D words has been explained by response competition. The results of the present experiments indicate, however, that D reflects in an inverse manner semantic autonomy , high D words requiring more contextual information for their semantic specification than low D words. The process of semantic specification requires time, creating the positive D -response latency relationship. Based on a semantic interpretation of D , associative response heterogeneity may be used as an index of a word's semantic autonomy.