Exploring the Experiences of Young Adults with Sociotropy: A Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract

Scholars from a variety of schools of thought have attempted to understand the personality traits that precipitate and mediate depression and other maladaptive behavioural patterns and one of these traits is sociotropy, coined by Beck (1983). Therefore, the present study aims to explore the experiences of young adults with sociotropy using a qualitative methodology. The data from 12 in-depth interviews was analysed and presented in the article from participants belonging to the age group of 18-25 years including both males and females having different birth orders (firstborns and secondborns), chosen through convenient sampling who were screened for sociotropy and then shortlisted for interviews. There exist differences between the way sociotropic traits manifest in males and females and different birth orders in terms of involvement in decision-making, affiliative processes and need for feedback. It was also found that sociotropy can be traced back to aspects of parental authoritarianism and overprotection, and lack of emotional availability of the father. There were also perceived differences in the way participants from different birth orders sought validation from their parents and the expectations they had in terms of parents’ responses to negative emotional expressions. The study has implications for parental counselling and the designing of sibling intervention programs.