Abstract
Examined the relation of dependency to psychological distress among youngsters adapting to summer sleep-away camp. Levels of dependency, self-criticism, and psychological distress were assessed in three groups of campers: children attending a neighborhood day camp, children who were returning to sleep-away camp, and children who were attending sleep-away camp for the first time. Psychological distress was assessed in terms of depression and low self-esteem. The results supported the prediction that dependency would be more predictive of distress for children at sleep-away camp (particularly for names) than at day camp. The specificity of dependency as a vulnerability factor during attachment-related transitions was supported by showing that children's level of self-criticism was not differentially related to distress for the three groups of campers. Results are discussed within the framework of the Personality-Event Congruence Model of Depressive Vulnerability.
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Fichman, L., Koestner, R. & Zuroff, D.C. Dependency and Distress at Summer Camp. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 26, 217–232 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024556732581
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024556732581