The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: a further evaluation

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976b) was designed to assess the introjective and anaclitic personality dimensions hypothesized by Blatt (1974) to underlie different forms of depression. Welkowitz, Lish, and Bond (1985) revised the DEQ (RDEQ) in order to simplify its scoring and facilitate cross-gender comparisons. The study described herein explored the relation between the original and revised forms of the DEQ and assessed the reliability and validity of the Welkowitz et al. (1985) version of the inventory. Two samples were employed: (a) 163 psychiatric outpatients; and (b) 144 adolescent and young-adult offspring of patients with major affective disorders, chronic physical diseases, and normal controls. The results indicated that the three scales comprising the RDEQ were highly correlated with the corresponding scales from the original DEQ, however, the original and revised forms of the inventory exhibited different patterns of intercorrelations between scales. The RDEQ was internally consistent and stable over a 6-month period. In addition, it exhibited the predicted patterns of relationships with interview and self-report measures of depression and depressive personality traits and cognitive styles. Finally, the RDEQ was significantly associated with the course of depression in a 6-month follow-up study. The findings were generally similar across samples and genders. Overall, these results support the reliability and validity of the RDEQ, but indicate that there are important structural differences between the original and revised forms of the inventory.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Personality and depression: a validation study of the Depressive Experience Questionnaire

This study investigated the validity of Blatt's model of depression as indicated by his operational measure of its constructs via the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976). Hypothesized relations between the two relevant scales of the DEQ and Tellegen's (1982) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, (MPQ) were examined, Participants consisted of 195 women, including 67 hospitalized unipolar depressives, 77 never-hospitalized unipolar depressives, and 51 nonpsychiatric controls. Overall, the results partially supported the validity of the DEQ even though all participants were women and prior studies have indicated the DEQ's greater discriminative validity for men than for women. However, several of the most strongly predicted relations, such as between DEQ Self-Criticism and MPQ Achievement were not confirmed. Coherent, significant relations between scales of the two measures remained after partialling out the effects of severity of depression.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: Validity and Psychological Correlates in a Clinical Samples

This study sought to compare the original and revised scoring systems of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) and to assess the construct validity of the Dependent and Self-critical subscales of the DEQ in a clinically depressed sample. Subjects were 103 depressed inpatients who completed the DEQ the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hopelessness Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The original and revised scoring systems of the DEQ evidenced good concurrent validity for each factor scale, but the revised system did not sufficiently discriminate dependent and self-critical dimensions. Using the original scoring system, self-criticism was significantly and positively related to severity of depression, whereas dependency was not, particularly for males. Factor analysis of the DEQ scales and the other scales used in this study supported the dependent and self-critical dimensions. For men, the correlation of the DEQ with the MMPI scales indicated that self-criticism was associated with psychotic symptoms, hostility/conflict, and a distress/exaggerated response set, whereas dependency did not correlate significantly with any MMPI scales. Females, however, did not exhibit a differential pattern of correlations between either the Dependency or the Self-criticism scales and the MMPI. These findings suggest possible gender differences in the clinical characteristics of male and female dependent and self-critical depressive subtypes.     

Neediness and connectedness and the five‐factor model of personality

This study examined maladaptive and relatively more adaptive forms of dependency, as measured by the neediness and connectedness factors of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976 ), within a comprehensive scheme of personality provided by the revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO‐PI‐R; Costa & McCrae, 1992 ). University students (n = 475) completed the DEQ, NEO‐PI‐R, and a measure of depressive symptoms. Results indicated that neediness reflected anxiety, self‐consciousness, vulnerability, unassertiveness, and inactivity, whereas connectedness reflected anxiety, warmth, agreeableness, and valuing of relationships. Neediness demonstrated stronger relations than connectedness with depressive symptoms. These results support the validity of DEQ neediness and connectedness as measures of maladaptive and relatively more adaptive forms of dependency. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality and Depression: A Validation Study of the Depressive Experience Questionnaire

This study investigated the validity of Blatt's model of depression as indicated by his operational measure of its constructs via the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976). Hypothesized relations between the two relevant scales of the DEQ and Tellegen's (1982) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, (MPQ) were examined, Participants consisted of 195 women, including 67 hospitalized unipolar depressives, 77 never-hospitalized unipolar depressives, and 51 nonpsychiatric controls. Overall, the results partially supported the validity of the DEQ even though all participants were women and prior studies have indicated the DEQ's greater discriminative validity for men than for women. However, several of the most strongly predicted relations, such as between DEQ Self-Criticism and MPQ Achievement were not confirmed. Coherent, significant relations between scales of the two measures remained after partialling out the effects of severity of depression.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: validity and psychological correlates in a clinical sample

This study sought to compare the original and revised scoring systems of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) and to assess the construct validity of the Dependent and Self-Critical subscales of the DEQ in a clinically depressed sample. Subjects were 103 depressed inpatients who completed the DEQ, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hopelessness Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The original and revised scoring systems of the DEQ evidenced good concurrent validity for each factor scale, but the revised system did not sufficiently discriminate dependent and self-critical dimensions. Using the original scoring system, self-criticism was significantly and positively related to severity of depression, whereas dependency was not, particularly for males. Factor analysis of the DEQ scales and the other scales used in this study supported the dependent and self-critical dimensions. For men, the correlation of the DEQ with the MMPI scales indicated that self-criticism was associated with psychotic symptoms, hostility/conflict, and a distress/exaggerated response set, whereas dependency did not correlate significantly with any MMPI scales. Females, however, did not exhibit a differential pattern of correlations between either the Dependency or the Self-Criticism scales and the MMPI. These findings suggest possible gender differences in the clinical characteristics of male and female dependent and self-critical depressive subtypes.     

Psychometric properties of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for adolescents.

Items of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) were rephrased and simplified to make them appropriate for younger subjects. This adolescent form of the DEQ (DEQ-A) was administered to high school students; a factor analysis revealed three factors that were highly congruent in female and male students and with the three factors of the original DEQ. Internal consistency as well as short- and long-term reliability for each of the 3 DEQ-A factors were at acceptable levels. Each factor correlated highly with its counterpart factor in the original DEQ, especially the Dependency and Self-Criticism factors. Correlations of the DEQ-A factors with other measures of depression essentially replicate relationships found between these measures of depression and the original DEQ for adults. The reliability, internal consistency, and validity of the DEQ-A indicate that it could be useful in studying depressive experiences in younger adolescents.     

Psychometric Aspects of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: Implications for Clinical Assessment and Research

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) is a self-report measure that assesses self-criticism and dependency, 2 personality traits that confer vulnerability to depression (Blatt, 2004 Blatt, S. J. (2004). Experiences of depression: Theoretical, clinical, and research perspectives. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Over several decades, different, shortened versions of the DEQ have been constructed to offer an alternative to the complex scoring procedure of the original DEQ. This study explores the factor structure as well as the construct and convergent validity of the DEQ by comparing a clinical and nonclinical sample. We also compared the original DEQ with 5 shortened versions. There were 621 participants (358 university students and 263 outpatients). Fit indexes for models of the original DEQ did not meet minimum fit criteria. Moreover, the only versions with satisfactory fit were the Theoretical Depressive Experiences Questionnaire–21 (TDEQ–21) and the Theoretical Depressive Experiences Questionnaire–12 (TDEQ–12), which also showed acceptable construct and convergent validity. Finally, the diagnostic and clinical applicability of the DEQ is discussed.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: A Critical Review

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976) is critically reviewed. First the developmental, object representations theory differentiating depression into anaclitic and introjective subtypes is presented. The DEQ factors of Dependency and Self-Criticism were initially found to be consistent with these clinically meaningful depressive subtypes. Subsequent research has generally demonstrated that these subtypes, at least as measured by the DEQ, do not hold up well in clinical populations. Furthermore, the validity of the developmental theory of these subtypes is weak. We suggest that more internally consistent and distinct factors should be developed from clinical populations because of their potential clinical usefulness.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: a critical review

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976) is critically reviewed. First the developmental, object representations theory differentiating depression into anaclitic and introjective subtypes is presented. The DEQ factors of Dependency and Self-Criticism were initially found to be consistent with these clinically meaningful depressive subtypes. Subsequent research has generally demonstrated that these subtypes, at least as measured by the DEQ, do not hold up well in clinical populations. Furthermore, the validity of the developmental theory of these subtypes is weak. We suggest that more internally consistent and distinct factors should be developed from clinical populations because of their potential clinical usefulness.     

Attachment Theory,Psychoanalysis, Personality Development,and Psychopathology

Blatt and Levy place attachment theory and research in a broad theoretical matrix by considering the relationship of attachment patterns to personality development and to different types of psychopathology in adults. Thus Blatt and Levy construct conceptual bridges between the two configurations of personality development and psychopathology that Blatt and colleagues have developed over the past quarter century (e.g., Behrends and Blatt, 1985; Blatt, 1974, 1995; Blatt and Behrends, 1987; Blatt and Blass, 1990, 1996; Blatt and Shichman, 1983) and attachment theory and research. Blatt and Levy identify a polarity that is central to attachment theory and research, the polarity of attachment and separation, and they note that this polarity has also been central in much of classic psychoanalytic theory (e.g., Freud, 1930; Loewald, 1962). This polarity is expressed in attachment theory and research in the differences between avoidant and anxious-preoccupied insecure attachment patterns as well in the distinction between two types of disorganized attachment, helpless-withdrawn and negative intrusive, identified by Lyons-Ruth (1999, 2001).

This polarity of attachment and separation, or relatedness and self-definition is also fundamental to personality development that occurs in the hierarchical dialectic transaction of two basic developmental lines—interpersonal relatedness and self-definition (Blatt and Blass, 1990, 1996). This polarity is also inherent in the conception of two fundamental configurations of psychopathology—anaclitic psychopathology, the dependent (or infantile) and hysterical personality disorders—that are preoccupied with issues of interpersonal relatedness, and introjective psychopathology, the paranoid, obsessive-compulsive and depressive personality disorders, in which issues of self-definition and self-worth are dominant (Blatt, 1974, 1995; Blatt and Shichman, 1983). Thus, the identification of this fundamental polarity provides the basis for establishing links between attachment patterns, personality development, and adult psychopathology. Blatt and Levy also attempt to integrate psychoanalytic concepts of the representational world (e.g., Sandler and Rosenblatt, 1965)—the development of concepts of self and significant others—with the internal working models (IWMs) of attachment relationships. This integration enabled Blatt and Levy to bring a fuller developmental perspective to the IWMs of attachment theory and to note that, based on differences in the content and structural organization of the IWMs or mental representation of self and significant others, several developmental levels can be identified in both avoidant and anxious preoccupied attachment. These developmental levels within each attachment style also identifies less and more adaptive forms of both types of insecure attachment. Thus, the integration of the psychoanalytic concepts of mental representation with concepts of the IWM of attachment theory and research enables Blatt and Levy to create a fuller developmental perspective in the study of insecure attachment patterns.     

The Mosaic Test as a Diagnostic Instrument and as a Technique for Illustrating Intellectual Disorganization

The present study presents a new, unit-weight scoring system for the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ). One hundred thirty-one college students completed the DEQ, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The revised DEQ scales were shown to have substantial levels of internal consistency. The three subscales, of the revised DEQ were significantly correlated with the BSRI masculinity and femininity scales but not with gender. Significant correlations were also obtained between DEQ anaclitic. DEQ introjective scales and the BDI.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: revision and validation

The present study presents a new, unit-weight scoring system for the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ). One hundred thirty-one college students completed the DEQ, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The revised DEQ scales were shown to have substantial levels of internal consistency. The three subscales of the revised DEQ were significantly correlated with the BSRI masculinity and femininity scales but not with gender. Significant correlations were also obtained between DEQ anaclitic, DEQ introjective scales and the BDI.     

Effects of response sets on NEO-PI-R scores and their relations to external criteria

Validity scales indicate the extent to which the results of a self-report inventory are a valid indicator of the test taker's psychological functioning. Validity scales generally are designed to detect the common response sets of positive impression management (underreporting, or faking good), negative impression management (overreporting, or faking bad), and random responding. The revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992b) is a popular personality assessment tool based on the 5-factor model of personality and is used in a variety of settings. The NEO-PI-R does not include objective validity scales to screen for positive or negative impression management. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of recently proposed validity scales for detecting these response sets on the NEO-PI-R (Schinka, Kinder, & Kremer, 1997) and to examine the effects of positive and negative impression management on correlations between the NEO-PI-R and external criteria (the Interpersonal Adjective Scale-Revised-B5 [Wiggins & Trapnell, 1997] and the NEO-PI-R Form R). The validity scales discriminated with reasonable accuracy between standard responding and the 2 response sets. Additionally, most correlations between the NEO-PI-R and external criteria were significantly lower when participants were dissimulating than when responding to standard instructions. It appears that response sets of positive and negative impression management may pose a significant threat to the external validity of the NEO-PI-R and that validity scales for their detection might be a useful addition to the inventory.     

Levels of interpersonal concerns and social functioning in early adolescent boys and girls

Previous research has shown that the Interpersonal Concerns factor of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Affliti, & Quinlan, 1976, 1979; Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for Adolescent [DEQ-A]; Blatt, Schaffer, Bers, & Quinlan, 1992) assesses 2 levels of interpersonal relatedness in young adults and older adolescents: neediness and relatedness. However, studies investigating the relation of the DEQ and DEQ-A with social functioning have not used the Neediness and Relatedness subscales of the Interpersonal Concerns factor. This study investigated (a) whether the Neediness and Relatedness subscales can be differentiated in a sample of early adolescents and (b) how the 2 subscales are differentially associated with indexes of social functioning. Results indicate that this differentiation of Neediness and Relatedness, and their associations with social functioning, emerges in early adolescence, especially for girls.