Abstract
Background. Adolescence represents a challenging transitional period where changes in biological, emotional, cognitive and social domains can increase the risk of developing internalised problems including subthreshold depression. Adolescent-parent attachment style, perceived support and family functioning may increase risk for depressive symptoms or may reduce such risk. Adolescent-parent attachment, adolescent-perceived support from parents and family functioning were examined as correlates of depressive symptom presentation within this age group. Methods. Participants included a maternal parent and an adolescent (65.5% female) from each family. Adolescents were in Grade 7 ( n =175) or Grade 10 ( n =31). Data were collected through home interviews. The Self-Report of Family Inventory (SFI), Experiences of Close Relationships Scale (ECR), Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI), Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were used to assess depression, parental support and attachment. Results. Two models were examined: one with adolescent report of depressive symptoms as the outcome and a second with parent report of adolescent internalising symptoms as the outcome. The model predicting adolescent-reported depressive symptoms was significant with older age, higher levels of avoidant attachment, and higher levels of youth-reported dysfunctional family interaction associated with more depressive symptomatology. In the model predicting parent report of adolescent internalising symptoms only higher levels of dysfunctional family interaction, as reported by the parent, were associated with higher levels of internalising symptoms. Conclusion. Positive family communication, cohesion and support predictive of a secure parent-adolescent attachment relationship reduced the risk of a depressive symptom outcome. Secure adolescents were able to regulate their emotions, knowing that they could seek out secure base attachment relations within their family and from friends during times of stress, buffering against the development of depressive symptoms.
Highlights
Adolescence represents a challenging transitional period where changes in biological, emotional, cognitive and social domains can increase the risk of developing internalised problems including subthreshold depression
Owing to high correlations among the predictor variables, regression analyses were used to examine the unique contributions of the predictor variables of anxious and avoidant attachment, perceived support from mother and father, and caregiver and adolescent reports of family functioning on depressive symptoms in adolescence
Our research examined adolescent attachment, adolescent-perceived support from parents and reports of family functioning from the adolescent and primary caregiver as correlates of a subthreshold depressive presentation
Summary
Adolescence represents a challenging transitional period where changes in biological, emotional, cognitive and social domains can increase the risk of developing internalised problems including subthreshold depression. A further finding showed that consistent parenting by both parents, implicit of a secure attachment, contributed positively to adolescent ability to regulate emotions when coping with stressors Another longitudinal study conducted by Gaylord-Harden et al.[20] did not confirm a longitudinal relationship from attachment style to depression, but prospective analysis of the data reported by their adolescent sample revealed a cross-sectional link between attachment and depression. Kapanee and Rao[23] examined the effect of attachment styles in relation to family functioning and depressive symptoms They found that participants who reported greater levels of family cohesion and better communication patterns within their families reported greater levels of secure attachment and were at a lower risk for the development of depressive symptoms, because secure attachment serves as a protective factor against negative psychological outcomes, such as symptoms of depression. The current study contributes to the literature by examining associations between attachment patterns, as reported by adolescents, perceived adolescent reports of parental support, and adolescent and parent reports of family functioning, with adolescent-reported depressive symptoms and parent-reported internalising symptoms within the SA context
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