The stability of sociotropy and autonomy in depressed patients undergoing treatment

There is mounting evidence that sociotropy and autonomy are associated with vulnerability to depression following interpersonal or achievement-related life events. This study examined whether a measure of these personality characteristics, the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale, was stable in a sample of 119 unipolar depressed patients undergoing treatment with cognitive therapy or medication. Initial scores on these characteristics were highly correlated with scores after 16 weeks' treatment. In the whole sample, despite highly significant changes in the severity of depression, there was no significant change over time in scores on these personality measures. However; patients who had responded to treatment did exhibit a significant decrease in levels of sociotropy, although scores remained significantly higher than those of nondepressed control subjects from a previous study. No difference was found between a treatments in the magnitude of changes. These findings provide some support for the possibility that sociotropy and autonomy may represent enduring vulnerability factors for depression, and the implications for cognitive therapy are discussed.