Relationship Between Attachment Styles And Depression

The concepts proposed by attachment theory have been very influential to the field of personality psychology. Over the years, many studies have supported the notion that mother-child attachment styles during childhood can impact future styles of behavior. Research conducted by Festa and Ginsburg (2011) examined the impact of parental and peer factors on the development of social anxiety amongst children. Further research conducted by Li and Chan (2012) examined the specific impact of anxiety and avoidant attachment styles on the development of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral indicators in determining the quality of romantic relationships amongst adults (Li & Chan, 2012).

Individual attachment style and its effects on adult romantic relationships were examined. The hypothesis of this literature review was that insecure attachment style would negatively affect the overall dynamic of adult romantic relationships while secure attachment would promote positive and healthy romantic relationships. Empirical studies looking at attachment style and relationship issues such as one’s views of self and others, communication, sexual intimacy, childhood family dynamic and God were evaluated. Reviews of studies were in line with the hypothesis indicating that insecure attachment does negatively affect the overall dynamic of romantic

This essay will comprise, firstly, of past research looking into what attachment/ attachment theory is, focusing on Bowlby’s (1973) research into why an infant’s first attachment is so important. Followed, by the work of Ainsworth et al (1978) bringing to light the findings from the strange situation, and how the research can explain mental illness. From this and in-depth discussion looking at how the previously discussed pieces of research have an effect on two particular disorders, depression and anxiety; while keeping a holistic approach considering other variables within attachment theory which have been linked with the development of these disorders. Through-out, the implications of knowing about this potential link between attachment and mental health will also be discussed. Finally, a conclusion will be made to whether there is a strong link with attachment and mental illness.

Fraley (2002) completed a meta analysis of studies concerning attachment in order to investigate the level of attachment pattern’s continuity throughout life. The study indicated that there was a certain stability of the attachment pattern, and that the stability is independent of time. Even though it is theorized that a secure pattern will be likely to stay unchanged, it is still indicated that experiences such as bad relationships will be able to change the attachment pattern (Fraley,

Humans are complicated and so are our relationships. Attachment theory is a psychological modal used to guide clinical interventions to understand the long-term effects of interpersonal human relationships. However, this theory is not about relationships in general but is about human relations and the support seeking behavior in response to emotional trauma or threats (Vrtička & Vuilleumier,

Depression during pregnancy is scarily something that is often overlooked. According to Clay (2016), mothers feel as if they are unable to care for the coming baby. These mothers may have one or more other kids and are worried about the care that they may receive, or lack thereof. Along with this, mothers may worry about their identity to the baby. Many people do not know just exactly what a Psychological disorder is. Along with this, the effects of attachment that are extremely beneficial to all age children. Depression is never something that should be taken lightly. Though it is widely overlooked, depression in pregnancy causes premature births in 82% of women.

This shift in thought suggested that human beings are biologically wired for connection because attachment to others improves our chances for survival and reproductive success. This theory of attachment also introduced a new explanation for pathology: not necessarily “bad mothers,” as Bowlby suggested – but, rather, unavailable caregivers. (Ein-Dor, Reizer, Shaver, & Dotan, 2012) Within this theoretical framework there are essentially two modes of attachment: secure and insecure. Of the two, insecure attachment has long been viewed as a contributing factor to a host of maladaptive behaviors, disorders, and cognitions (Ein-Dor & Doron, 2015). It is seen, historically, as something that needs repair. However, new literature is shedding light on an alternative interpretation of insecure attachment. This new interpretation suggests that insecure attachment can have adaptive qualities. This new theory falls under the moniker of social defense theory. This study seeks to further the empirical support for social defense theory by hypothesizing that insecure attachment has adaptive qualities that may be beneficial to group, as well as individual,

There are three types of insecure attachment; Dismissing/avoidant attachment- an insecure attachment category, associated with experiences of rejection, Preoccupied/ ambivalent attachment- an insecure attachment category, this category is associated being overly tuned to their experiences due to parent’s inconsistency in discipline and shows of affection. And Anxious/ Fearful attachment- another insecure category associated with extreme fear usually related to a parent’s death (Santrock 2010) & (McNally, Palfai, Levine and Moore 2003). Over the past decade many researchers have studied the role of secure and insecure attachments. It is believed that secure attachments to parents in adolescent’s leads to higher self-esteem and social adjustments in adulthood, securely attached adolescents have a lower chance of being involved in problem behaviours and drug and alcohol abuse as they get older, where insecure attachments lead to an increase in depression and problem behaviours (Santrock). Studies have shown that individuals with different attachments viewed themselves and others in either positive or negative way. Secure individuals view themselves as relatively unstressed (positive) and others as supportive (positive), Insecure/fearful individuals view themselves as distressed (negative) and others as supportive (positive) and insecure/ dismissive, preoccupied

There are four types of attachment styles and each of these attachment styles has their own distinct characteristics. Your attachment style is formed very early in life and it affects you throughout your entirity of it. Attachment begins in stages, and by 25 months old a child 's attachment is fully formed with their primary caregivers. Each attachment style in childhood has a related attachment style in adulthood (Chauhan). Secure attachment in childhood is associated with secure attachment in adulthood. Insecure-amvivalent/resistantattachment is associated with Preoccupied attachment in adulthood. Insecure-avoidant attachment is associated with Dismissive-avoidant attachment in adulthood. Finally, Disorganized attachment in childhood is associated with Fearful Avoidant attachment in adulthood. Now to look at the first of our attachment styles, Secure.

New research does show that even though the primary attachments develops during infancy as a person grow the types of attachments could be altered with new types of attachments due to positive or negative life events. Secure attachment used to be the most common type of attachment among early people but with the new generation studies shows a decline in it and a small growth in avoidant and resistant attachment

Most studies utilized the The Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) to assess attachment style. This scale rates the two dimensions of attachment, anxious and avoidant, using a Likert Scale of 1 (disagree strongly) to 7 (agree strongly) to respond to statements such as “I often worry about being abandoned” and “I don’t feel comfortable opening up to romantic partners.” It is common for descriptive statistics to reveal average scores of a sample for attachment style to be around a midpoint or less. Consequently, many of the participants in the studies are likely relatively neutral in terms of their attachment style. Whereas this may be representative of the population at large, it may fail to give further understanding of how attachment style and co-rumination interact. A solution to this dilemma could be to screen samples first for individuals who rank relatively high on insecure attachment to see how these individuals react to

An infant with a secure attachment style has a natural bond with their parent, where they are able to trust them, at the same time leaving their side to discover and explore their surroundings. In an insecure/resistant attachment the relationship the child has with their mother or caregiver is very clingy, thus making them very upset once the caregiver is away. When the mother or caregiver is back they are not easily comforted and resist their effort in comforting them. In an insecure/avoidant attachment the infant is, “indifferent and seems to avoid the mother, they are as easily comforted by a stranger, as by their parent” (Siegler 2011, p.429). Lastly, the disorganized/disoriented attachment is another insecure attachment style in which the infant has no way of coping with stress making their behavior confusing or contradictory. Through these brief descriptions of the attachment theory, many researchers have defined the turning point in which each attachment definition can have an influence on one’s self esteem, well-being and their marital relationship.

Blakely and Diadosz (2015) reported that the key concepts in the attachment theory are the Attachment Behavioral System (ABS), attachment style, and working model. The ABS was said to be “concerned with the proximity of the primary attachment figure when there was a threat of separation: if the attachment figure was not nearby or nonresponsive the child would have displayed anxious behaviors until they returned” (Blakely & Diadosz, 2015, p. 284). The second aspect of the theory was said to be the attachment style, which

The researchers (Reising, et al., 2013) demonstrated parents who suffered from depression as well as financial hardship did not have a great relationship with their children impacting their psychopathology internally and externally. Thus (Reising, et al., 2013) revealed there are countless children living in the United States surrounded by triggers that may direct them to apprehension, for instance, parents who have suffered or are still suffering from compulsive dejection, financial economic hardship, and parents who are neglectful are a few characteristics that can and may influence children and adolescent to stress leading them to behave in a manner that is not aligned with their community. The following research article are in accordance with the previous literature review relating to parental stress and depression does have an influence on children’s behavior:

In interacting with people in my daily life, I often attribute an individual’s negative actions or attitudes to their innate personality. If someone is overly emotional or selfish, I, like many others, will initially believe that those traits are simply who they are as a person. What if this is untrue, and these individuals are simply a product of unhealthy attachment styles in their younger years? As I have continued to learn more about the subject of attachment theory, I am struck by the amount of influence a person’s younger years can have on their later psychological development. I was aware that childhood years were quite impactful on one’s future, but did not fully understand the specifics. This newfound knowledge