Dysphoric College Students and Roommates

Abstract

Subjects in this study were 22 dysphoric individuals who initially scored in the mild to moderate range of the Beck Depression Inventory and their nondysphoric college roommates. Twenty-two additional roommate pairs who were nondysphoric served as controls. On a post hoc basis the initially dysphoric subjects were divided into those who remained dysphoric for the duration of the 3-month study (unremitted) and those who had remitted. Roommates' interpersonal behaviors toward one another were assessed by the Interpersonal Checklist, on which they reported their own behaviors and their perceptions of roommate behaviors after they had been living together for 1, 5, and 1I weeks. The results indicated that unremitted subjects initiated the roommate relationship with relatively dependent, distrustful, and self-devaluating behaviors; and, further, that their dependent behaviors increased over time. The roommates of unremitted subjects showed some evidence of progressive increases in caretaking behaviors over the measurement periods. There was also suggestive evidence that unremitted subjects perceived their roommates as being relatively distrustful and competitive after 3 months of living together.

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