There has been relatively little investigation of depression as a normal affect state that could have continuity with types of clinical depression. A 66-item Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) was constructed to assess a wide range of experiences that, though not direct symptoms of depression, are frequently associated with depression. The DEQ, the Wessman-Ricks Mood Scale, a version of the semantic differential, and the Death-Concern Questionnaire were administered to 500 female and 160 male college students. In a subsequent sample, 128 college students were given the DEQ and the Zung Depression Scale. Three highly stable factors emerged from the DEQ: Dependency, Self-Criticism, and Efficacy. These factors had significant differential correlations with other measures, which support the interpretation of the factors derived from the items. These data are discussed in terms of the need to consider dependency and self-criticism as two primary dimensions in depression and as indicating the value of investigating the continuity between normal mood states and the clinical phenomena of depressions.
This book traces the long, productive development of an idea that fi rst inspired Sid Blatt early in his clinical career, some 30 years ago: that attention to 'phenomenology … rather than symptoms' (p. 8) consistently revealed the existence of two distinct types of depression, an 'anaclitic (dependent)' type, and an 'introjective (self-critical)' type. For this reviewer, Blatt's book called to mind the old saw 'There are two kinds of people in the world-those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don't' (attributed to the actor and humorist Robert Benchley, and-with slightly altered phrasing-to Woody Allen). Remarkably, Blatt is both kinds of people. As a clinical psychologist with a prodigious research career, he seeks meaningful, quantifi able similarities within groups, and also meaningful differences between groups. As an analyst, he remains mindful of individual differences. At its best-as when he brings an idiographic sensibility to research design, gracefully melding quantitative and qualitative approaches-Blatt's work shows what good can come of being two kinds of people.
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