Skip to main content
Log in

An interpersonal analysis of social anxiety and depression

  • Published:
Cognitive Therapy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Depressed and socially anxious individuals were compared in terms of their social self-perceptions using the interpersonal problem circle, a conceptualization of the domain of interpersonal problems derived from Horowitz' Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. Subjects who were socially anxious, whether depressed or not, differed significantly from a control group of nondepressed, nonanxious subjects on both dimensions of problematic social behavior. These subjects characterized themselves as nonassertive and socially avoidant. Individuals who were depressed but not socially anxious were no different than control subjects in their social self-perceptions. These results suggest that beliefs and self-perceptions concerning characteristic patterns of interpersonal behavior may distinguish individuals with various types of affective complaints.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahrens, A. H., Zeiss, A. M. & Kanfer, R. (1988). Dysphoric deficits in interpersonal standards, self-efficacy, and social comparison.Cognitive Therapy and Research, 12, 53–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alden, L. E., Wiggins, J. S., & Pincus, A. (1990). Construction of the IIP Circumplex Scales.Journal of Personality Assessment, 55, 34–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arieti, S., & Bemporad, J. R. (1980). The psychological organization of depression.American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 1360–1365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. (1981).Cognitive therapy of depression: New perspectives. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychopathological Association.

  • Beck, A. T., & Beamsdorfer, T. (1974). Assessment of depression: The depression inventory.Pharmacopsychiatry, 7, 151–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blatt, S. J., Quinlan, D., Chevron, E., Mcdonald, C., & Zuroff, D. (1982). Dependency and self-criticism: Psychological dimensions of depression.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 113–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruch, M. A., Gorsky, J. M., Collins, R. M., & Perger, P. A. (1989). Shyness and sociability reexamined: A multicomponent analysis.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 904–915.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheek, J. M., & Buss, A. H. (1981). Shyness and sociability.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 330–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotlib, I. H., & Kane, D. B. (1989). Self-report assessment of depression and anxiety. In P. D. Kendall & D. Watson (Eds.),Anxiety and depression: Distinctive and overlapping features (pp. 131–170). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotlib, I. H., & Meltzer, S. J. (1987). Depression and the perception of social skill in dyadic interaction.Cognitive Therapy and Research, 11, 41–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotlib, I. H., & Robinson, A. (1982). Responses to depressed individuals: Discrepancies between self-report and observer-rated behavior.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 91, 231–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harpur, T. J., Hare, R. D., & Hakstian, A. R. (1989). Two-factor conceptualization of psychopathy: Construct validity and assessment implications.Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1, 6–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heimberg, R. G., Klosko, J. S. Dodge, C. S. Shadick, R. Becker, R. E., & Barlow, D. H. (1989). Anxiety disorders, depression, and attributional style: A further test of the specificity of depressive attributions.Cognitive Therapy and Research, 13, 21–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschfeld, R. A. Klerman, G. L., Clayton, P. J., & Keller, M. B. (1983). Personality and depression: Empirical findings.Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, 993–998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz, L. M. (1979). On the cognitive structure of interpersonal problems treated in psychotherapy.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 5–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz, L., Rosenberg, S., Baer, B, Ureno, G., & Villasenor, V. S. (1987).The syndrome depression and interpersonal problems. Unpublished manuscript, Stanford University, Stanford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz, L., Rosenberg, S. E., Baer, B. A., Ureno, G., & Villasenor, V. S. (1988). The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems: Psychometric properties and clinical applications.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 885–892.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. E. (1988). Differentiation of cognitive variables in depression and social anxiety. In P. C. Kendall & D. Watson (Eds.),Anxiety and depression: Distinctive and overlapping features (pp. 33–34). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. E., Kendall, P. C., Smith, T. W., Donnell, C., & Ronan, K. (1987). Cognitive specificity in emotional distress.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 734–742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. E. (1989). Affective confounds in social-cognitive research.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 715–722.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W. H., & Carpenter, B. N. (1986). Shyness, social behavior, and relationships. In W. H. Jones, J. M. Cheek, & S. R. Briggs (Eds.),Shyness: Perspectives on research and treatment (pp. 227–238). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendall, P. C., & Ingram, R. E. (1989). Cognitive-behavioral perspectives: Theory and research on depression and anxiety. In P. C. Kendall & D. Watson (Eds.),Anxiety and depression: Distinctive and overlapping features (pp. 27–53). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiesler, D. J. (1983). The 1982 Interpersonal Circle: A taxonomy for complementarity in human transactions.Psychological Review, 90, 185–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiesler, D. J. (1986).Use of metacommunicative feedback in interpersonal communication psychotherapy: A training manual. Richmond, VA, Virginia Commonwealth University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Libet, J. M., & Lewinsohn, P. M. (1973). Concept of social skill with special reference to the behavior of depressed persons.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 40, 304–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mardia, K. U. (1972).Statistics of directional data. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steer, R. A., Beck, A. T., & Garrison, B. (1986). Applications of the Beck Depression Inventory. In N. Sartorius & T. Ban (Eds.),Assessment of depression. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stravynski, A., & Greenberg, D. (1984).Patients who complain of social dysfunction: Comparison with other outpatients seen for psychotherapy. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychiatry, University of Montreal, Montreal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stravynski, A., & Shahar, A. (1983). The treatment of social dysfunction in nonpsychotic outpatients: A review.Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 171, 721–728.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trower, P. (1980). Situational analysis of the components and processes of behavior of socially skilled and unskilled patients.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48, 327–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, S. M., Beidel, D. C., Dancu, C. U., & Keys, D. J. (1986). Psychopathology of social phobia and comparison to avoidant personality disorder.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 389–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, S., & Alden, L. E. (in press).The effects of self-efficacy and social feedback on standard setting in social situations. Cognitive Therapy and Research.

  • Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1984). Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states.Psychological Bulletin, 96, 465–490

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., & Friend, R. (1969). Measurement of social-evaluative anxiety.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33, 448–457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, G. S., & Williams, E. J. (1956). On the construction of significance tests on the circle and the sphere.Biometrika, 43, 344–352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins, J. S. (1982). Circumplex models of interpersonal behavior in clinical psychology. In P. C. Kendall & J. N. Butcher (Eds.),Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology (pp. 183–221). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Youngren, M. A., & Lewinsohn, P. M. (1980). The functional relation between depression and problematic behavior.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 333–341.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

This research was supported by a grant to Lynn Alden from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Alden, L.E., Phillips, N. An interpersonal analysis of social anxiety and depression. Cogn Ther Res 14, 499–512 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172970

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172970

Key words

Navigation