Do Adult Attachment Style or Personality Mediate the Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Late-Life Depression in Poor Communities?

Abstract

Objective Childhood maltreatment is associated with late-life depression. Preliminary evidence indicates that personality characteristics, in particular neuroticism and extroversion, and an anxious attachment style mediate this association. The objective is to evaluate 3 models, in which personality and attachment are considered mediators between childhood maltreatment and late-life depression in a socioeconomically disadvantaged Brazilian population. Methods This study included participants (n = 260) from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Porto Alegre, Brazil, who completed measures of childhood maltreatment (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire – CTQ), personality characteristics (NEO-Five Factor Inventory), attachment styles (Relationship Scales Questionnaire), and geriatric depression (Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Plus). General multiple and sequential mediation analyses were used to test for possible associations. Results Attachment anxiety but not attachment avoidance is a mediator between childhood maltreatment and geriatric depression. Neuroticism is a full mediator. At that, attachment anxiety was found to be a predictor of neuroticism. Finally, sequential mediation analysis shows a path from childhood maltreatment to geriatric depression through attachment anxiety and neuroticism. Conclusions The results suggest a pathway from childhood maltreatment to anxious attachment, which in turn predicts higher neuroticism that itself may favor late-life depression. This hypothesis could have implications for older adults living in low socioeconomic settings in that treating the high-risk group of maltreated children may help prevent late-life depression.

Predicting the Desire for Remarriage Based on Family Relationships, Attachment Styles, and Personality Traits Among Married Men

“…Hundreds of studies have shown that an individual's attachment pattern is a reliable predictor for explaining their differences in psychological dimensions, social dependencies, social cognition, romantic and marital relationships, stress and emotion control, reactions to separations, efficacy in interpersonal relationships, and individuals' schemas about themselves and others (Chen, 2023). The formation of insecure attachment styles (avoidant, anxious-ambivalent) leading to the acquisition of deviant identity bases (disorganized and premature) restricts their autonomy, increases their susceptibility to imitation, compliance, and seduction, thereby losing the decisiveness and clarity needed to reject irrational and socially unconventional demands (Jardim et al, 2022;Malek et al, 2022). Individuals with insecure attachment styles, due to their inability and inflexibility in adequately responding to adverse situations, will encounter behavioral and psychological problems (Guo & Ash, 2020;Huh et al, 2020).…”

“…Neurotics have low emotional stability, are worried, nervous, despondent, hopeless, stressed, shy, vulnerable, and impulsive. They generally have a negative attitude towards their work and living environment (Jardim et al, 2022). They react to their surroundings with higher emotional responses than the average person.…”

“…Significant individual differences exist among people, and these differences are logically predictable and justifiable by individual differences. Personality directly affects and acts as an influential factor on the communication process of couples (Jardim et al, 2022).…”

Depression symptom changes in triphasic trauma therapy: Initial findings from a community-based observational study.

“…Childhood trauma also moderates the effects of stressors experienced in adulthood, further increasing the chances that individuals will become depressed after experiencing stressful events (Colman et al, 2013). Attachment style may also play a role here, as attachment anxiety has been shown to mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and depression later in life (Gomes Jardim et al, 2023). Among those struggling with severe mental health challenges, PTSD was found to partially mediate the relationship between trauma and depression severity, such that those with severe PTSD had increased severity of depression as well (Subica et al, 2012).…”