Attachment and depressive symptoms in romantic relationships: The mediating role of excessive reassurance seeking and dysfunctional attitudes
Year: 2005
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Previous research has identified dysfunctional attitudes, insecure attachment, and excessive reassurance seeking as possible risk factors in the etiology o f depression.This research study examines the relationship between these factors by integrating Beck's cognitive vulnerability theory, Bowlby's attachment theory, and Coyne and Joiner's theories on reassurance seeking.At time one, undergraduate psychology students completed measures o f parental attachment, romantic attachment for self and partner, dysfunctional attitudes, reassurance seeking and depression.Their romantic partners completed a measure o f romantic attachment for self and partner as well.At time two, approximately six weeks later, undergraduate psychology participants were administered the measures a second time and a measure of negative life events.Results indicated main effects for dysfunctional attitudes, reassurance seeking, low parental care and anxious attachment on depression at Time 1. Partner's attachment style and other perceptions of attachment did not significantly predict depression at Time 1. Independent analyses demonstrated that both dysfunctional attitudes and excessive reassurance seeking acted as partial mediators o f the relationship between the anxiety scale of the adult, romantic attachment measure and depressive symptoms.However, when the anxiety scale, dysfunctional attitudes and reassurance seeking were tested simultaneously within a full model, the two-way interaction between dysfunctional attitudes and excessive reassurance seeking emerged as the only significant predictor of depressive symptoms and accounted for 29% of the variance.Thus, results suggest that insecure attachment does not add to the model when both dysfunctional attitudes and reassurance seeking are present.However, in the presence o f either dysfunctional attitudes or reassurance seeking alone, anxious attachment appears to act as an additional vulnerability factor for depression.Longitudinal analyses, which would have added to a better understanding of the vulnerability process, were not significant.Limitations and directions for future research are discussed. Attachment and Depression
Source: The Mathematics Enthusiast
Author: Elizabeth Harwood
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2474092965