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Self-defeating personality and depression: a closer look
1Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale 62901-6502, USA.
Psychological Reports
|June 1, 1995
Summary
Self-defeating personality traits correlate with negative thinking patterns. For both men and women, social dependence (sociotropy) is linked to self-defeating behaviors, while women also show links to threats to independence.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Personality Psychology
Background:
- Self-defeating personality patterns are associated with negative cognitive styles.
- Sociotropy (social dependence) and autonomy are key personality dimensions influencing mental health.
- Understanding these relationships is crucial for developing effective depression treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between self-defeating personality traits and cognitive patterns.
- To examine the role of sociotropy and autonomy in self-defeating behaviors in men and women.
- To explore gender-specific pathways through which self-defeating traits may contribute to depression.
Main Methods:
- Administered Schill's Self-defeating Personality Scale to 110 participants (55 men, 55 women).
- Utilized measures of Beck's cognitive triad (negative cognitions about self, world, future).
- Assessed personality dimensions of sociotropy and autonomy.
Main Results:
- Higher endorsement of self-defeating traits correlated with more negative cognitions.
- Both self-defeating men and women exhibited higher sociotropy.
- Self-defeating women additionally scored higher on autonomy subscales.
Conclusions:
- Self-defeating personality is strongly linked to negative cognitive biases.
- Social dependence (sociotropy) is a common factor for self-defeating individuals of both genders.
- Threats to independence may uniquely contribute to depression in self-defeating women.
- Findings inform targeted therapeutic interventions for self-defeating personality and depression.