Preliminary Evidence that Thoughts of Thwarted Belongingness Mediate the Relations Between Level of Attachment Insecurity and Depression and Suicide-Related Thoughts in Inpatient Adolescents

Abstract

there are well-documented associations between adolescent depression, suicide-related thoughts, and interpersonal functioning, which include identified relations between these variables and insecure attachment. Dykas and Cassidy (2011) recently reframed traditional attachment theory into a social information processing model in which early caregiver experiences produce secure or insecure attachment-related schemas which, in turn, lead to biased social information processing. this model echoes beck's cognitive theory, which suggests that negative schemas arise from negative experiences and act on daily life through negative thoughts about the self, the world, and others. No one has extended Dykas and Cassidy's (2011) model to the level of attachment-related thoughts to explore how attachment-related schemas relate to depressive cognitions. in this study, we sought preliminary evidence for this hypothesis with two specific aims. First, we sought to determine whether the relation between level of attachment security

A Longitudinal Study of Health Care Resources, Family Support, and Mental Health Outcomes Among Suicidal Adolescents

“…Surprisingly, however, family support was not significantly associated with either of the suicide-specific outcomes. This contradicts other findings that have linked higher levels of family support and attachment with lowered risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adolescents (Maimon, Browning, & Brooks-Gunn, 2010;Sheftall, Schoppe-Sullivan, & Bridge, 2014;Venta, Mellick, Schatte, & Sharp, 2014) as well as studies that have found that family-based interventions focused on repairing attachment (Diamond, Russon, & Levy, 2016) and improving family communication (Asarnow, Berk, Hughes, & Anderson, 2015;Pineda & Dadds, 2013;Wharff, Ginnis, & Ross, 2012) are effective at reducing suicidal symptoms among adolescents. It is possible that because parental support was only measured at Wave I, the models were unable to account for the impact of changing parental support over time.…”

Serial Multiple Mediation of General Belongingness and Life Satisfaction in the Relationship Between Attachment and Loneliness in Adolescents

“…Chen et al (2012) found a positive relationship between insecure attachment and social disconnection in adolescents in their study. In other studies, significant-level relationships were found between attachment styles and need for belongingness (Chen, Hewitt, & Flett, 2015;Greenwood & Long, 2011;Leary, Kelly, Cottrell, & Schreindorfer, 2013;Venta, Mellick, Schatte, & Sharp, 2014).…”

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

“…Each item is rated on a 0-3 scale and, thus, total scores range from 0-63. The internal consistency, factor structure, and validity of BDI-DEPRESSION, SUICIDE, AND EMOTIONAL TRUST 8 II have been previously evaluated (Beck et al, 1996) and the measure has been used with adequate validity among inpatient adolescents (e.g., Cronbach's alpha = .92 in Grover, Green, Pettit, Monteith, Garza, & Venta, 2009 and Cronbach's alpha = .92 in Venta et al, 2014). In the present study, Cronbach's alpha for the BDI-II was .930.…”

“…Joiner's interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior (2005), a widely accepted conceptualization of suicide risk, suggests that the desire for death is driven by negative interpersonal beliefs (i.e., perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness). Venta and colleagues (Venta, Mellick, Schatte, & Sharp, 2014) built upon Joiner's (2005) theory, by demonstrating that, in inpatient adolescents, these negative interpersonal beliefs are associated with depression, suicide-related thoughts, and maternal attachment insecurity-providing tentative evidence that insecure attachments produce interpersonal beliefs that, in turn, increase vulnerability for depression and suicide-related thoughts in teens. In the context of these models, the findings of the present study suggest that perhaps emotional trust beliefs in mothers serve as an antidote to the interpersonal beliefs implicated in both models (i.e., perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness).…”

“…However, it should certainly be noted that not all adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms will make a suicide attempt-highlighting the importance of examining moderating, protective factors in this relation. A number of studies (Bostik & Everall, 2006;Bearman & Moody, 2004;Prinstein, Boergers, Spirito, Little, & Grapentine, 2000;Venta, Mellick, Schatte, & Sharp, 2014) and theoretical models (e.g., Joiner, 2005) have pointed to the importance of examining interpersonal variables when considering links between depressive symptoms and suicide attempts. The broad aim of the present study was to add to this literature base by examining the role of trust in mothers as a moderating variable in the relation between depressive symptoms and suicide attempts in a sample of adolescents in an inpatient psychiatric hospital.…”