Dependency, self-criticism, interpersonal behaviour and affect: evolutionary perspectives

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Evolutionary theories of depression vulnerability focus on attachment and social rank systems.
• A two-factor model suggests depression-prone individuals have insecurities in both attachment and social rank.
• These individuals differ in their strategies for managing these insecurities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between self-criticism, dependency, interpersonal behavior, and affect.
• To test predictions from a two-factor evolutionary model of depression vulnerability.
• To identify interpersonal processes contributing to depression risk.

Main Methods:

• Employed adults (N=119) used event-contingent recording over 20 days to track agentic/communal behaviors and affect.
• Participants completed questionnaires assessing agency and communion.
• Self-criticism and dependency levels were measured.

Main Results:

• Self-criticism correlated with lower agency and communion.
• Agentic and communal behaviors were generally linked to pleasant affect.
• Highly self-critical individuals reported less pleasant affect during agentic/communal actions.
• Immature dependency (neediness) related to low agency; mature dependency (connectedness) related to high communion.

Conclusions:

• Findings support evolutionary models linking attachment and social rank insecurities to depression vulnerability.
• Interpersonal behaviors and affect regulation strategies are crucial in understanding depression risk.
• Self-criticism appears to impair the positive effects of agentic and communal behaviors, increasing vulnerability.