Issues in personality as diathesis for depression: the case of sociotropy-dependency and autonomy-self-criticism

A congruency between personality and life stress is assumed to pose a particular risk for depression. The authors review relevant research as a way of examining broader issues entailed in diathesis-stress models of depression. Topics include the identification of distinct personality modes and the differentiation of these modes from the phenomena of depression and the influence of the social context. Diathesis-stress models face formidable conceptual and methodological challenges. More complex models are needed to accommodate the dynamics of a person's life course, involvement in significant social contexts, and fluctuations in vulnerability to depression. Base rates of key phenomena favor development of models of depression recurrence in high-risk samples rather than its onset in the general population.