Depression and the wish to be held

Abstract

The relation between aspects of depression and the wish to be held was studied in 72 male and 57 female college students. Females reported higher levels of depressive experiences associated with issues of dependency as well as more intense wishes to be held. In both sexes the intensity of the wish to be held was related to dependency; however, it was the correlations of these variables with level of depression that revealed differences between males and females. In males, the wish to be held covaried positively with the overall level of depression, whereas in females it remained invariant across levels of depression. Thus, males who describe themselves as more depressed, relative to other males, expressed more feelings associated with dependency and more intense wishes to be held.

The Dependent Personality: II. Risk for Psychological Disorders

“…Fisher & Greenberg, 1985) and that they tend to show a marked increase in symbolic oral behaviors such as smoking or wishing to be physically held in an attempt to comfort themselves (Blatt et al, 1982;Hollander et al, 1970;Stein & Sanfilipo, 1985). These behaviors, with their emphasis on oral stimulation and childlike wishes to be taken care of, are consistent with the psychoanalytic hypothesis that a dependent personality orientation is re lated, at least in part, to unresolved infantile oral conflicts.…”

“…Furthermore, research shows that an oral dependent orientation may influence how psychopathology is expressed when an individual feels conflicted or stressed. Blatt, Quinlan, Chevron, McDonald, and Zuroff (1982) ;Hollander, Luborsky, and Harvey (1970); and Stein and Sanfilipo (1985) each found an increase in symbolic oral behaviors (e.g., cigarette smoking, asking to be physically held and comforted) among clinically de pressed members of psychiatric inpatient populations.…”

Oral Pessimism and Depressive Symptoms

“…The Journal of Psychology Donald, & Zuroff, 1982;Hollander, Luborsky, & Harvey, 1970;Stein, & Sanfilipo, 1985).…”

A Self-Report Measure of Touching Behavior

“…Several personality characteristics seem to be related to the amount of touching a person does, including dominance, assertiveness, warmth (Deethhart & Hines, 1983;Major & Heslin, 1982), status (Henley, 1973;Watson, 1975), and depression (Stein & Sanfilipo, 1985). There has also been interest in the usefulness of touching in therapeutic settings (Borenzweig, 1984;Clark & Clark, 1984;Frith & Lindsey, 1983;Krieger, 1975;Pattison, 1973).…”