Da. Clark et al., PSYCHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF REVISED SOCIOTROPY AND AUTONOMY SCALES IN COLLEGE-STUDENTS, Behaviour research and therapy, 33(3), 1995, pp. 325-334
Beck, Epstein, Harrison and Emery (unpublished manuscript, 1983) devel
oped the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (SAS) to assess personality constru
cts that were considered possible vulnerability factors to reactive de
pression. Principal components and factor analyses of an expanded 93-i
tem version of the SAS were performed with successive samples of under
graduates totalling 2041 Ss. Only 59 items were needed to establish th
e generalizabilities of one dimension of Sociotropy and two dimensions
of Autonomy. Three subscales reflecting Sociotropy, Solitude and Inde
pendence were constructed from these items. The convergent and discrim
inant validities of the three subscales were assessed with respect to
a variety of other psychological tests. The overall pattern of relatio
nships indicated that Solitude was positively correlated with dysphori
a, perfectionism, self-criticalness, and loneliness. In contrast, Inde
pendence was positively correlated with perfectionism and self-efficac
y, but inversely related to concern about approval from others. Sociot
ropy was correlated with dependency, self criticalness, and affiliatio
n motivation. The findings supported the construct validity of the thr
ee revised SAS subscales.