Sociotropy and autonomy vulnerabilities to depressed mood: A daily life comparison of reunion island and metropolitan France

摘要

The current study examines whether sociotropy and autonomy traits prospectively predict depressed mood following daily events in young adults and considers whether relationships between personality, daily events, and mood differ by cultural context. Samples in Metropolitan France (n = 99) and Reunion Island (n = 70) participated in identical ambulatory monitoring procedures over a 1-week period and were assessed relative to cultural variables and additional psychological vulnerabilities known to influence depression or stress reactivity. Sociotropy heightened depressed mood responses to negative interpersonal events in Metropolitan France but not in Reunion Island. This finding was replicated when a continuous measure of cultural investment replaced geographic location. Contrary to Beck's theory, there was no evidence that autonomy moderated the relationship between subjective achievement events and depressed mood at either site. The results are discussed in terms of the cultural specificity of cognitive vulnerability-stress theories of depression, as well as their usefulness for explaining normal mood variance in daily life.