Date of Award:

5-1995

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Susan L. Crowley

Committee

Susan L. Crowley

Committee

Elwin C. Nielsen

Committee

David M. Stein

Committee

Xitao Fan

Committee

Deana Lorentzen

Abstract

The relationships between depression and the traits of dependency and self-criticism are well documented in the research literature. However, relatively few studies have investigated anxiety in relation to the two traits. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship each trait has with general anxiety and with social anxiety. Also, because depression and anxiety overlap, a multivariate analysis examined the relationships among the trait and mood constructs while accounting for the overlap between constructs. Subjects completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (assessing dependency and self-criticism), the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale. Results indicated that general anxiety strongly correlates with self-criticism, accounting for significant unique variance. Social anxiety is strongly associated with dependency, also accounting for noteworthy unique variance. Also, dependency, self-criticism, depression, anxiety, and social anxiety were moderately to strongly interrelated, suggesting that much of the observed relationships can be accounted for by a general distress "factor"--negative affect. Specific item clusters were identified, and treatment implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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