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Sociotropy and autonomy are conceptualized as two personality dimensions that relate to an individual's vulnerability to depression. Sociotropy is characterized as an excessive investment in interpersonal relationships, and autonomy is characterized as an excessive concern with personal achievement and control. This study examined the relationships between sociotropy and autonomy, and a variety of interpersonal problems with close and nonclose others. Results suggested that sociotropic individuals are overly nurturant to nonclose others but vindictive to individuals who are close to them. In contrast, autonomous individuals were found to be domineering to nonclose others but socially avoidant toward people close to them. These findings are discussed in the context of recent research regarding the interpersonal patterns associated with sociotropy and autonomy.

The Facets of Sociotropy-autonomy (Beck, 1983) describes a set of personality dimensions that relate to an individual's vulnerability to depression. Two recently developed scales, the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (Clark & Beck, 1991) (Clark & Beck, 1991). A factor analysis on all of the items of the two scales revealed a five-factor structure (two sociotropy, two autonomy, and one achievement factor). The relationships among depression, the five derived factors, and the original scales developed by Clark and Beck (1991) and Robins et at (1994) were critically examined. The results are discussed in the context of vulnerability to depression.

Ableism, as it relates to mental illness, is a serious social issue that exists across nations and cultures. Implicit stigma caused by ableism can be especially problematic given that it is typically expressed subtly and automatically causing it to remain unnoticed and thus unchanged. This research illustrated across two studies that individuals have automatic ableist attitudes toward mental illness, yet the expression of stigma depends on the combination of their implicit and explicit attitudes. Furthermore, Study 2 was the first to demonstrate an effective intervention designed to specifically target implicit stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness. The findings have implications for implementing social policies that serve to raise awareness of and reduce implicit stigma to ultimately improve the lives for those affected by mental illness.

Sociotropy and autonomy are conceptualized as two personality dimensions that relate to individuals' vulnerability to anxiety and depression. Sociotropy is characterized as an excessive investment in interpersonal relationships, and autonomy is characterized as an excessive concern with independence as well as a lack of concern for others. The present study investigated the relationships between sociotropy-autonomy and trait anxiety associated with four types of situations, i.e., Social Evaluation, Physical Danger, Ambiguous Situation, and Daily Routine. 255 undergraduate students completed the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale, the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Analyses indicated that scores on Sociotropy were positively correlated with rated trait anxiety in situations of Social Evaluation, Physical Danger, and Ambiguous Situations, whereas scores on Autonomy were positively correlated with rated trait anxiety in Daily Routines. These findings are discussed in the context of the diathesis-stress model of anxiety and depression.