68 women but not 51 men who scored higher on a measure of self-defeating personality had greater difficulty with dating and situations calling for assertion, reported having experienced more self-defeating relationships, and staying in them for a longer period of time. The results were seen as partial support for the measure of self-defeating personality since two common characteristics of this personality style are passivity or lack of assertiveness and a strong tendency to be drawn to relationships in which the person will suffer.
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