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The Relationship Between Adult Attachment Classification And Symptoms Of Depression

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between adult attachment classification and symptoms of depression. By assessing adult attachment classifications in this study it is proposed it will identify individuals at risk to depressive symptoms and help in gaining a better understanding of the types of treatment interventions that may be most effective given an individual’s attachment style.

One hundred undergraduate students will complete two online questionnaires each, with one on adult attachment and one on depression. Data on age and gender will also be collected. It is hypothesized that participants with a preoccupied or fearful style (negative view of self) will have higher levels of depression symptoms as compared to participants with a Secure or Dismissing style (positive view of self).


John Bowlby once proclaimed that attachment relationships were important for humans across the life cycle and that attachment behaviours characterised human interaction “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979). This theory was developed from his observations of common attachment in infants and Bowlby (1979) proposed that early interactions between an infant and his or her primary caregiver determine an infant's sense of security, both in terms of feelings of self-worth and expectations about the availability of others.

Bowlby (1979) found that children who are securely attached to their caregivers treated them as sources of emotional support to which they turned for comfort in times of distress. Children with avoidant attachments, in contrast, actively distanced themselves both physically and psychologically when they were upset and did not view their caregivers as sources of support. Children with anxious–ambivalent attachments exhibited approach–avoidance behaviors toward their caregivers when distressed, mixing bids for comfort and support with withdrawal and anger. These patterns of attachment were partly in response to the...