The interaction of depressed roommates : affiliation or rejection?

The interactional theory of depression posited by Coyne (1976b) suggests that depressed persons elicit negative reactions from others which result in the depressed person feeling rejected and potentially even more depressed. A potential qualification to Coyne's model was examined. Social psychology research has found that those who are similar are more likely to affiliate. It was, therefore, hypothesized that affectively heterogeneous roommate pairs would experience negative mood induction and rejection, as predicted by Coyne's model, while homogeneously depressed roommates would not experience these interactional difficulties. Results suggest that affect similarity did not mediate negative mood induction and rejection effects. In addition, Coyne's model was not supported.