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Sociotropy and autonomy (Beck, 1983) are sets of beliefs, concerns, and behavioral tendencies that are proposed to create vulnerability to depression and other psychopathology and to influence its manifestation and treatment response. Other theoretical frameworks (Blatt, 1974) have made similar suggestions. We investigated the differential relations of sociotropy and autonomy to dimensional scores for each DSM-III-R personality disorder (PD) in a sample of 188 psychiatric patients, controlling for the other set of characteristics and for the other PDs. Histrionic and dependent PD traits were related specifically to sociotropy. Paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, and passive-aggressive PD traits were related specifically to autonomy. Borderline, narcissistic, avoidant, and self-defeating PD traits were related significantly and about equally to both sociotropy and autonomy. Obsessive-compulsive PD traits were not related consistently to either. Results were mostly as predicted and suggest that sociotropy and autonomy may be useful constructs for understanding and treating PDs.
Several theoretical perspectives have suggested that two critical processes in personality development are inter-personal relatedness and self-definition and that overemphasis on either of these dimensions creates vulnerability to depression (Arieti & Bemporad, 1980; Beck, 1983; Blatt & Zuroff, 1992; Bowlby, 1977). Highly sociotropic (Beck, 1983) or dependent (Blatt, 1974) individuals have a strong need to develop and maintain close relationships and the approval of others, which is proposed to leave them vulnerable to depression following negative interpersonal events. Autonomous (Beck, 1983) or self-critical (Blatt, 1974) individuals have a strong need to meet their own high standards and to avoid being controlled by other people or circumstances (Blatt & Zuroff, 1992), which is proposed to leave them vulnerable to depression following perceived failure or lack of control. This personality-event congruence vulnerability hypothesis has been supported in several clinical and nonclinical samples (Robins, 1995). Furthermore, sociotropy and autonomy are related to different clinical presentations of depression (Robins, Bagby, Rector, Lynch, & Kennedy, 1997; Robins & Luten, 1991) and differential response to antidepressant medication (Peselow, Robins, Sanfilipo, Block, & Fieve, 1992).
Researchers have begun to relate these personality styles to other forms of psychopathology, including personality disorders (PDs). According to cognitive theory (Beck et al., 1990), PDs reflect the operation of core unconditional beliefs about the self and the world that are linked to more conditional beliefs and associated behavioral...