M. Mongrain et Dc. Zuroff, AMBIVALENCE OVER EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION AND NEGATIVE LIFE EVENTS - MEDIATORS OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN DEPENDENT AND SELF-CRITICAL INDIVIDUALS, Personality and individual differences, 16(3), 1994, pp. 447-458
We examined life events, emotional intensity, and ambivalence over the
expression of emotion as possible mediators to account for the relati
on between Dependency, Self-Criticism and depressive symptoms. Depende
ncy in both men (N = 74) and women (N = 76) was related to a greater n
umber of negative relationship events and ambivalence over the express
ion of emotion, both of which predicted self-reported, depressive symp
toms. Self-Criticism in women was related to a greater number of negat
ive academic events and ambivalence, both of which also predicted depr
ession. Self-Criticism in men was related only to ambivalence, which p
redicted depression. The mediational model including life events and a
mbivalence successfully accounted for 74% of the effect of personality
on depression for women, and 47% of the effect for men.