Preschool attachment, self-esteem and the development of preadolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms

Abstract

This study examined the longitudinal association between preschool attachment patterns, the development of anxiety and depression at preadolescence and the mediational role of self-esteem. Child-mother attachment classifications of 68 children (33 girls) were assessed between 3-4 years of age (M = 3.7 years, SD = 4.4 months) using the Separation-Reunion Procedure. At age 11-12 (M = 11.7 years, SD = 4.3 months), anxiety and depressive symptoms (Dominic Interactive Questionnaire), and self-esteem (Self-Perception Profile for Children) were also evaluated. Preadolescents who had shown disorganized attachment at preschool age scored higher on both anxiety and depression and lower on self-esteem than those who had shown secure and insecure-organized attachment strategies. Self-esteem was a partial mediator of the association between preschool disorganization and symptoms of preadolescent depression, but the model was not supported for anxiety. These findings support the idea that early attachment and self-esteem should be central themes in prevention programs with young children.

The stress–reward–mentalizing model of depression: An integrative developmental cascade approach to child and adolescent depressive disorder based on the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approach

“…However, parental avoidant/dismissive attachment might be associated with greater vulnerability for a hostile/aggressive subtype of depression (MacGregor et al, 2014). Furthermore, there is some evidence that individuals with disorganized attachment, that is, individuals who interchangeably use attachment hyperactivating and deactivating strategies, are at increased risk for a subtype of depression that is typically associated with borderline personality disorder, marked by greater severity of depression, feelings of emptiness, anger, shame, and identity diffusion (Lecompte, Moss, Cyr, & Pascuzzo, 2014;Luyten & Fonagy, 2014).…”

Parental perceptions of children's agency: Parental warmth, school achievement and adjustment

“…This study comprises four components: self-esteem, purpose in life, internal locus of control and self-efficacy, as measured in the Multi-Measure Agentic Personality Scale (Côté, 1997). First, self-esteem can be defined as individuals’ descriptions of themselves (Lecompte, Moss, Cyr, & Pacsuzzo, 2014) and the belief of being worthy or competent. Second, purpose in life is a construct that describes individuals’ setting goals and striving to achieve their goals (Floyd, Mailick, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Song, 2013).…”

Attachment and Socioemotional Problems in Middle Childhood

“…Thus, effect sizes based on combined early and later childhood outcomes may mask a significant association for the middle childhood period. This finding is supported by studies showing that depression, anxieties, and fears related to performance, abilities, and self‐worth are associated with disorganization in middle childhood and adolescence (e.g., Brumariu, Kerns, & Seibert, ; Lecompte, Moss, Cyr, & Pascuzzo, ; Moss et al., ). In addition, the Madigan and Groh meta‐analyses selected associations based on maternal reports, in cases of multiple reporters.…”

“…The Brumariu and Kerns () review is notable for differentiating between subtypes of internalizing problems (e.g., depression and anxiety) in assessing associations with different forms of insecurity. In fact, this suggestion has been empirically supported by recent middle childhood/preadolescent studies (Dubois‐Comtois et al., ; Lecompte et al., ). In addition, results from meta‐analyses and other studies that have considered the disorganized classification as a whole in evaluating associations with risk may not adequately reflect the situation for children showing different disorganized/controlling subtype patterns.…”

“…O'Connor et al () found that teacher–child relational closeness completely mediated associations between behavioral disorganization and externalizing and internalizing problems in late childhood. Other representational mechanisms, such as child self‐esteem, have also been found to play a mediational role in middle childhood, particularly in linking attachment to depression (Lecompte et al., ). The mediational role of peer relations in linking attachment to internalizing outcomes has been demonstrated (Bosquet & Egeland, ; Brumariu & Kerns, ), but much more research on this is needed, given known associations between vulnerable children's affiliations with deviant peers and heightened risk for externalizing problems (Dishion, Nelson, & Bullock, ).…”