Unraveling the Motivational and Emotional Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship Between Dependency, Self-Criticism, and Adolescent Depression

Dependency and self-criticism represent personality dimension involving vulnerability to depression. It is examined whether this vulnerability is accounted for by frustration of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Need frustration would generate stress which, in turn, would increase the risk for depressive symptoms. The hypotheses are examined in a series of longitidunal, diary, and experimental studies.