Attachment and the risk of mental health disorders during adolescence (original) (raw)
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Adolescent Attachment Profiles Are Associated With Mental Health and Risk-Taking Behavior
Frontiers in Psychology, 2021
This person-oriented study aimed to identify adolescents’ hierarchical attachment profiles with parents and peers, and to analyze associations between the profiles and adolescent psychosocial adjustment. Participants were 449 Finnish 17–19-year-olds reporting their attachments to mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner and details on mental health (internalizing symptoms, inattention/hyperactivity, and anger control problems) and risk-taking behavior (substance use and sexual risk-taking). Attachment was measured with Experiences in Close Relationships – Relationship Structures (ECR-RS); internalizing, inattention/hyperactivity, and anger control problems with Self-Report of Personality — Adolescent (SRP—A) of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, third edition (BASC-3); substance use with the Consumption scale of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) and items from the Finnish School Health Promotion Study; and sexual risk-taking behavior with the...
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...
Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research, 2018
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) often occurs before age 15, yet the majority of research on risk factors for this dangerous behavior has focused on older samples. Insecure attachment has been previously identified as a risk factor for both NSSI and behavioral problems, and behavioral problems appear to be particularly associated with NSSI among young populations. Redressing the lack of young adolescent NSSI research, the present study uses longitudinal data from a sample of young adolescents to test a model in which insecure attachment acts as a prospective risk factor for NSSI via emotional and behavioral problems. Data on NSSI, child-mother attachment, and emotional and behavioral problems were collected from 559 (41.1% male) Flemish adolescents when they were 13 years old (M = 12.71, SD = 0.32), and again one year later. Insecure attachment was measured using maternal items on the Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised Child scale. Psychological adjustment was assessed with...
Journal of Genetic Psychology, 2006
The authors examined the relation between dimensions of attachment and internalizing and externalizing problems in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents (n = 62) who completed the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; J. Feeney, P. Noller, & M. Hanrahan, 1994) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR; T. M. Achenbach, 1991). In total, the ASQ dimensions accounted for 48% of the variance in scores on the broad YSR internalizing problem scale. Three ASQ dimensions (confidence, discomfort with closeness, preoccupation with relationships) accounted for unique variance. Girls exhibited higher problem scores than did boys even when the authors considered ASQ scores. The authors observed comparable results for the anxious/depressed subscales. The confidence, discomfort, and preoccupation dimensions predicted scores on the withdrawn subscale. The authors observed weak relations or no relations between results on the ASQ and the externalizing problems scale. In conclusion, dimensions of attachment are powerful predictors of internalizing problems in adolescents. The authors discussed the potential cause and effect relationship between attachment variables and self-reported problems.
Aggression, Attachment, and Depression among School-age Children at High Social Risk
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1996
Support was provided for the hypothesized relations between (I) aggression and attachment, and (2) aggression and depression. Children who exhibited insecure attachment behavior and representations, particularly the D insecure controlling classification, were reported to exhibit more aggressive behavior at home and school. Children with other attachment patterns (A, insecure avoidant; B, secure; C, insecure ambivalent) displayed less aggressive behavior (FIGURES 1 and 2).
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
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
Background: There is a significant link between insecure attachment and the development of psychopathology in adolescence. We investigated the relationship between adolescent attachment styles and the development of emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents in Kenya. We also examined the modifying influence of socioeconomic-status (SES). Method: One hundred and thirty-seven adolescents who were attending two schools participated in the study. One school (low SES school) catered for children from predominantly low-income households, while the second school (middle SES school) catered for children from predominantly middle-income households. The data were collected using three instruments: researcher designed questionnaire to obtain socio-demographic information, the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) that is designed to assess symptoms of disorder, and the Vulnerable Attachment Scale Questionnaire (VASQ) that is designed to measure attachment style. Results: Adolescents from the low SES school had higher vulnerable attachment scores than those from the middle SES school (t(135) = − 2.5, P = 0.02). Male students had higher vulnerable attachment scores than females (P = 0.03). Adolescents who had experienced adversity in childhood had higher vulnerable attachment scores than those who had not (P < 0.00). Results from Pearson's correlation showed moderate to strong positive correlations between attachment insecurity and emotional and behavioral problems with participants who had higher emotional symptoms (r = 0.47, P < 0.01), conduct problem score (r = 0.33, P < 0.01), hyperactivity (r = 0.26, P < 0.01) and total difficulty scores (r = 0.47, P < 0.01), experiencing significantly higher levels of attachment insecurity than those with lower scores. Conclusions and recommendations: This study supports the notion that attachment insecurity increases the adolescents' susceptibility to develop psychological problems.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2011
In this study we examined the relations between insecure attachment styles, commitment and behavioral problems, focusing on the unique and common contribution that avoidant and anxious styles and commitment made to internalizing and externalizing problems. 535 adolescents, 267 boys and 268 girls, aged from 16 to 18 years, completed self-report measures of attachment, identity and problem behaviors. The data showed that both internalizing and externalizing problems were positively related to insecure attachment styles and negatively to commitment. Results supported a unique contribution of both insecure styles to the prediction of internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas commitment negatively predicted only internalizing behaviors. The data supported a joint effect of avoidant attachment and commitment such that commitment contributed to moderate the display of internalizing and externalizing problems among avoidant adolescents.