Components of Self-Complexity as Buffers for Depressed Mood

The self-complexity model (Linville, 1987) predicts that individuals who have numerous self-aspects with little overlap among them will be buffered against the effects of stressful life events and will experience less depression. Despite some evidence to this effect, many replication attempts have failed (cf. Rafaeli-Mor & Steinberg, 2002). The present studies reexamine the self-complexity model, incorporating recent theoretical and methodological critiques of its original formulation (e.g., Brown, Hammen, Wickens, & Craske, 1995; Rafaeli-Mor, Gotlib, & Revelle, 1999). Two prospective studies provide some support for a revised self-complexity hypothesis, which examines separately the effects of differentiation (number of self-aspects) and integration (overlap among them) and considers more carefully the role of stress.