Longitudinal Dynamics of Depressogenic Personality and Attachment Dimensions in Adolescence: An Examination of Associations with Changes in Depressive Symptoms (original) (raw)
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Insecure attachment as a risk factor for future depressive symptoms in early adolescence
Journal of the American Academy of Child & …, 2002
Depressive symptoms are common among adolescents (Rutter, 1986). Both symptoms, especially among girls (Angold et al., in press; Garrison et al., 1990), and disorders (Lewinsohn et al., 1994) increase during adolescence. Increase of depressive symptoms seems to be most pronounced during early adolescence (Angold et al., in press; Rutter, 1986; Wichstrøm, 1999). Relationships within the family and relations with parents in particular have been studied as correlates and as possible etiological factors in the development of depressive problems in adolescence (Fombonne, 1996). There has been a marked theoretical interest in the concept of attachment to parents. Secure attachment to parents has been suggested as pivotal in buffering the development of depression in adolescence (Allen, 1999; Papini and Roggman, 1992). Attachment The attachment theory accentuates the importance of early attachment relationships for the child's development. It is hypothesized that attachment is formed in the relationship with the primary caregiver. The strength of attachment has been interpreted as an assessment of the individual's likelihood of using that relationship in times of stress and as a source of support for exploration (Bowlby, 1982) and autonomy (Allen, 1999). Central is the notion that secure or insecure attachment patterns give way to internally represented expectations, referred to as "the internal working model," about the caregiver's responsiveness and the child's own ability to elicit such behavior from the caregiver (Ainsworth, 1989; Bowlby, 1982). Both biological and cognitive processes are activated. Presumably, among adolescents cognitive and affective development promotes attachment organization, leading to a more generalized stance. The caregiver's emotional availability more than physical availability fosters
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2011
Parental depression has been identified as a risk factor for psychopathology in children, and for child depression in particular. Increasingly, research is addressing the underlying psychological processes that may explain the intergenerational similarity of depressive symptoms. In the present study, we aim to investigate the role of two theoretically relevant vulnerability factors in this intergenerational similarity, that is, (a) dimensions of depressogenic personality (i.e., sociotropy and autonomy) and (b) dimensions of attachment (i.e., anxiety and avoidance). Results in a sample of early adolescents and their mothers show significant intergenerational similarity in both sets of vulnerabilities. Moreover, the intergenerational similarity of both vulnerability factors was found to account for the association between mothers' and children's depressive symptoms. Within each generation there were also meaningful and specific associations between dimensions of depressogenic personality and dimensions of attachment, with sociotropy being primarily related to anxiety and with autonomy being primarily related to avoidance.
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2009
This study extends the existing adult literature on insecure attachment as a predictor of depression and anxiety by examining these pathways in a sample of adolescents. In addition, dysfunctional attitudes and low self-esteem were tested as mediators of the association between insecure attachment and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Youth (N =350; 6th-10th graders) completed self-report measures of attachment, dysfunctional attitudes, self-esteem, and symptoms of depression and anxiety in a 4-wave prospective study. Results indicate that anxious and avoidant attachment each predicted changes in both depression and anxiety (after controlling for initial symptom levels). The association between anxious attachment, but not avoidant attachment, and later internalizing symptoms was mediated by dysfunctional attitudes and low self-esteem. Effects remained even after controlling for initial co-occurring symptoms.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Although widely accepted, attachment theory’s hypothesis that insecure attachment is associated with the development of depressive symptoms through emotion regulation strategies has never been longitudinally tested in adolescence. Additionally, previous research only focused on strategies for regulating negative affect, whereas strategies for regulating positive affect may also serve as a mechanism linking insecure attachment to depressive symptoms. This study aimed to fill these research gaps by testing whether the association between attachment and change in depressive symptoms over time is explained by strategies for regulating negative and positive affect in adolescence. Adolescents (N = 1706; 53% girls; Mage = 12.78 years, SDage = 1.54 at Time 1) were tested three times, with a 1-year interval between measurement times. They reported on their attachment anxiety and avoidance at Time 1, depressive symptoms at Times 1 and 3, and regulation of negative affect (brooding and dampeni...
Personal Relationships, 2011
This research examines differential associations between attachment dimensions (anxiety and avoidance) and emotion regulation (ER) strategies (dysregulation and suppression) in middle childhood and early adolescence. Furthermore, the study investigates how attachment and ER relate to depressive symptoms and perceived parenting. Two cross-sectional studies (N = 339 and N = 746) supported the hypothesized associations between attachment anxiety and avoidance and emotional dysregulation and suppression, respectively. Mixed evidence was found for ER as a mediator in associations between attachment and depressive symptoms. Study 2 found that parental responsiveness and autonomy-support are related differentially to the attachment dimensions. The Discussion focuses on the dynamics involved in associations between parenting, attachment, ER, and depression and on directions for future research. A central tenet in Bowlby's attachment theory (1980) is that early interactions with attachment figures form a critical context for later emotion regulation (ER) processes and subsequent adjustment. Building on this global formulation, several models were developed to detail the specific dynamics involved in associations between specific attachment dimensions and ER strategies. Cassidy (1994), for instance, argued that children with different types of insecure attachment engage in different predominant modes of regulating emotions. Specifically,
2017
Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of internal working models in the prediction of depression. Insecure attachment has been theorized to form a vulnerability factor for the emergence of depressive symptoms. Methods: This study examined the association of attachment style with depressive symptoms among early adolescents 12–15 years of age (N = 84). For the assessment of attachment style and depressive symptoms, the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, Main), and the Child Depression Inventory (Kovacs) were used. Results: As expected, insecurely attached adolescents more often reported the depressive symptoms (52,3%). 58,8% of the securely attached did not manifest any symptoms of depression. In the group of the continuous secure adolescents, there were 71,4% of non-depressive ones. 50% individuals in the earned secure category did not report any depressive symptoms, and the other 50% expressed light depressive symptoms. There were no cases of seve...
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Vojnosanitetski pregled, 2017
Background/Aim. Attachment and emotion regulation skills are recognized as important factors in the development of depression, but their specifics have rarely been discussed in clinical adolescent population. The aim of our study was to investigate attachment and emotion regulation strategies in adolescents with depression. Methods. The sample consisted of 101 adolescents, age 16 to 24, divided into three groups: 1) 41 adolescents with the diagnosis of depressive disorder; 2) 30 adolescents with the diagnosis of anxiety disorder; 3) 30 health adolescents (without psychiatric diagnosis). The assessment was done by the following instruments: the Socio-demographic questionnaire; the Semistructured clinical interview (SCID-I) for the Diagnostic and Stratistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV); the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) and Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Data were analyzed using MANCOVA and parti...
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Health Psychology Report, 2015
Background Attachment is one of the more important developmental aspects for predicting a person’s level of adaptation and mental health. Previous research in this area suggests a relationship between insecure attachment and behavioural disorders, deviations as well as depression and other affective disorders. The goal of this study was to determine the relationships between adolescents’ attachment patterns and aggression as well as internalisation and externalisation of problems – expressed as a tendency to assume the role of the victim or the perpetrator. We hypothesised that insecure patterns of attachment foster both aggression (as a personality feature) and a tendency towards mental health issues, through increasing the frequency of entering the role of a victim or a perpetrator. participants and procedure One hundred and twenty individuals aged 14-19 took part in the study, mainly high school and university students. The study was conducted in groups, with the consent of parti...
Adolescent attachment, family functioning and depressive symptoms
South African Journal of Psychiatry, 2015
Background. Adolescence represents a challenging transitional period where changes in biological, emotional, cognitive and social domains can increase the risk of developing internalised problems including subthreshold depression. Adolescent-parent attachment style, perceived support and family functioning may increase risk for depressive symptoms or may reduce such risk. Adolescent-parent attachment, adolescentperceived support from parents and family functioning were examined as correlates of depressive symptom presentation within this age group. Methods. Participants included a maternal parent and an adolescent (65.5% female) from each family. Adolescents were in Grade 7 (n=175) or Grade 10 (n=31). Data were collected through home interviews. The Self-Report of Family Inventory (SFI), Experiences of Close Relationships Scale (ECR), Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were used to assess depression, parental support and attachment. Results. Two models were examined: one with adolescent report of depressive symptoms as the outcome and a second with parent report of adolescent internalising symptoms as the outcome. The model predicting adolescent-reported depressive symptoms was significant with older age, higher levels of avoidant attachment, and higher levels of youth-reported dysfunctional family interaction associated with more depressive symptomatology. In the model predicting parent report of adolescent internalising symptoms only higher levels of dysfunctional family interaction, as reported by the parent, were associated with higher levels of internalising symptoms. Conclusion. Positive family communication, cohesion and support predictive of a secure parent-adolescent attachment relationship reduced the risk of a depressive symptom outcome. Secure adolescents were able to regulate their emotions, knowing that they could seek out secure base attachment relations within their family and from friends during times of stress, buffering against the development of depressive symptoms.