DAILY HASSLES, MAJOR AND MINOR LIFE EVENTS, AND THEIR INTERACTION WITH SOCIOTROPY AND AUTONOMY

A cross-sectional study investigated whether Beck's ( 1983; 1987) (Tre atment of depression : Old controversies and new approaches. New York: Raven Press; Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 1, 2-27) cognitive-p ersonality traits of sociotropy and autonomy had a specific interactio n with daily minor life events (hassles) or major life experiences wit hin the interpersonal and autonomous domains. Ninety-four undergraduat es were administered the revised Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (SAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Negative Experiences Inventory-Student Ve rsion (NEI), List of Threatening Events and the Hassles and Uplifts Sc ale. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis, with the BDI as the de pendent variable, revealed a specific congruent interaction between So litude, one of the two dimensions of autonomy, and NEI negative autono mous events. Sociotropy and the other dimension of autonomy, Independe nce, did not interact significantly with any of the life event scales. The findings suggest that more severe life events rather than daily h assles or strains may be more relevant when investigating cognitive di athesis-stress interactions in dysphoria.