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Coyne's Interactional Theory of Depression

Coyne's Interpersonal Model details the processes by which a depressed individual seeks to restore his sense of self-worth through his social environment (including possible reconciliation with that environment), and how this process can often backfire when others reject him. Symptoms of depression--helplessness, social withdrawal, crankiness, hopelessness and others are most often brought on by stressful life events (especially a break in relationships). As with any type of depression, the individual should seek professional help.

  1. Initial Social Acceptance

    • The first response by the social environment towards the depressed person is concern, support, and acceptance. Ironically, this positive response leads to the reinforcement of the depressed behavior, according to the theory.

    Doubting Others

    • Next, the depressed person will begin to wonder whether people genuinely care. He will begin asking himself whether others are expressing concern because they are truly supportive, or whether it's because he has acted to elicit this response from them.

    Self-Esteem

    • According to Coyne, the depressive's doubt is, on a deeper level, about a lack of self-esteem. The depressed person raises the doubt in order to feel that he is worthy of such support.

    Social Hostility and Rejection

    • The continuance of these behaviors by the depressed person will primarily result in two different kinds of responses from his social environment. Both types involve hostile feelings and resentment toward the depressed person, but individuals differ in how they respond to the depressed person. One type of response is outright rejection of the depressed person. Sometimes this takes the form of avoidance excuses that are not always honest ("Oh, tonight? I'm washing my dog."). The other type of response, involving guilt, is a continued, but unauthentic, support of the depressed person.

    The Response

    • Whether the person uses excuses not to hang out anymore, outright rejects, or continues to insincerely support the depressed person, the result is continued insecure behavior on the part of the depressed person. A rejection will lower his sense of self-esteem, as will continued false support, because the depressed person senses that both types of behavior are the result of resentful and hostile feelings.

    Variables and Criticism of Coyne's Theory

    • The degree to which the depressed person is rejected might also be reflective of a number of other factors, including his gender, sexual appeal, self-esteem (and how much this has been affected by the depression), length of depression, and length and depth of the relationship, among others.

      While it may be widely agreed that depressed persons are rejected by their social environment due to their excessive approval-seeking, not all believe that it is always his environment's feelings of hostility and resentment that inspires it to reject him. One other argument is that the cause of the depressed person's rejection may not (always) be hostility or resentment, but his lack of social skills.

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