Humor styles and personality-vulnerability to depression
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Paul A. Frewen
Abstract
Sociotropy and autonomy are personality dimensions that represent vulnerabilities for depression, although relatively little is known about the social-psychological mechanisms underlying this association. The present research tested associations between personality-vulnerability dimensions, depressive symptoms, and positive and negative styles of humor in undergraduates as one means of characterizing the social interaction patterns of sociotropic and autonomous individuals. Sociotropy was associated with a self-defeating humor style, whereas Need for Control (an autonomy dimension) was related to the use of an aggressive humor style. Increased use of a self-defeating humor style and decreased use of self-enhancing and affliative humor styles, were associated with increased depressive symptoms. The results are discussed relative to personality-vulnerability theories of depression.
© 2008 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin
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Articles in the same Issue
- Emotional responses to ridicule and teasing: Should gelotophobes react differently?
- Personality and humor appreciation: Evidence of an association between trait neuroticism and preferences for structural features of humor
- Measuring responses to humor: How the testing context affects individuals' reaction to comedy
- Remembering and anticipating stressors: Positive personality mediates the relationship with sense of humor
- Humor styles and personality-vulnerability to depression
- Relating humor preference to schizotypy and autism scores in a student sample
- Book reviews
