NEGATIVE LIFE EVENTS, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND DEPRESSION IN 3 PERSONALITY-TYPES

The main purpose of this study was to test hypotheses relating to direct effects models of life stress and social support, and the stress-buffering effects model of social support, in relation to depression within dependent, detached/ambivalent, and independent personality groups. A secondary purpose was to determine if there were theoretically predicted differences among these three personality groups in level of depression. Results of this investigation revealed that detached/ambivalent personalities, in this mixed inpatient sample, were significantly more likely to report clinically relevant depression than dependent and independent personalities. Both detached/ambivalent and dependent personality types reported higher levels of depression under conditions of high stress than low stress. No evidence was found to support predictions relating to directly beneficial effects, or to beneficial stress-buffering effects, of social support in relation to depression in the dependent personality group.