Parent and peer attachment in early adolescent depression

Abstract

Insecure attachment relations have been theorized to play a significant role in the development of depressogenic modes of adaptation and to thus form a vulnerability factor for the emergence of depressive disorder in children. This study examined security of parent and peer attachment among four groups of early adolescents: clinically depressed, nondepressed psychiatric controls, nonpsychiatric controls, and adolescents with resolved depression. Depressed adolescents reported significantly less secure parent attachment than either of the control groups, and less secure peer attachment than the nonpsychiatric control group. Attachment security of adolescents with resolved depression was on a par with the nonpsychiatric control group. Among all psychiatric patients, security of attachment to parents was negatively correlated with severity of depression according to interview and self-report ratings. Less secure attachment to parents, but generally not to peers, was also related to more maladaptive attributional styles, presence of separation anxiety disorder, and history of suicidal ideation.

Youth Depression in the Family Context: Familial Risk Factors and Models of Treatment

“…In this interactional approach, excessive reassuranceseeking is coupled with rejection by others, resulting in an increasingly negative interpersonal experience, increased reassurance-seeking, and an unpleasant ongoing cycle and greater depression. A clear model with data to support an interactional model of depression remains unavailable (Coyne, 1999), but several studies have noted links between perceptions of parental perceptions and emotional availability, theoretically related to attachment, and depression (Armsden, McCauley, Greenberg, Burke, & Mitchell, 1990;Burge et al, 1997;Cole-Detke & Kobak, 1996;. In a recently published article, Abela et al (2005) reported that severity of depressive symptoms was related to perceptions of parenting that are consistent with insecure attachment, but the relationship was moderated by the youth's excessive reassurance seeking.…”

Low Emotional Trust in Mothers is Associated with Increased Suicide Attempts in Inpatient Adolescents with Depressive Symptoms

“…Further support for the importance of caregiver relationships in adolescent depression and suicide can be found in the broader literature bases on interpersonal trust and attachment security. For example, higher interpersonal trust has been associated with reduced internalizing symptoms in adolescents (Rotenberg, Sharp, & Venta, under review), and secure attachment relationships with caregivers have been linked with reduced depression (Armsden, McCauley, Greenberg, Burke, & Mitchell, 1990) and suicidality (de Jong, 1992) among adolescents. Moreover, adolescents with psychiatric symptoms who perceive their caregivers as unavailable engage in more suicidal behaviors (West, Spreng, Rose, & Adam, 1999).…”

Understanding the Sex Difference in Vulnerability to Adolescent Depression: An Examination of Child and Parent Characteristics

“…It is important to examine both kinds of relationships, as adolescence is characterized by a process of individuation from the family (Furman & Buhrmester, 1992), and both parent and peer attachments are associated with adolescent depression (Armsden, McCauley, Greenberg, Burke, & Mitchell, 1990). Specifically, we consider factors related to the quality of adolescents' relationships with parents (e.g., parental depression, parenting practices) as well as their cognitions about peer relationships.…”