Subscales Within the Dependency Factor of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire

Abstract

Recent theoretical formulations differentiate two types of depressive experiences: one focused on interpersonal issues, such as loss, abandonment, and loneliness; the other focused on issues of self-esteem, such as failure, guilt, and lack of self-worth and autonomy. The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976, 1979) assesses these two types of depression. Symptom-based measures of depression (i.e., the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979) have highly significant correlations with the DEQ Self-Criticism factor but only marginally significant correlations with the DEQ Dependency (or interpersonal) factor. Through the use of facet theory and Smallest Space Analysis (Guttman, 1982a), two facets were identified within the DEQ Dependency factor that appear to assess two different levels of interpersonal relatedness. One facet, labelled dependence, includes items expressing feelings of helplessness; fears and apprehensions about separation and rejecti...