Attachment and depressive symptoms during adolescence: A developmental pathways analysis

Abstract

This article uses a developmental pathway model to consider the role of attachment processes in adolescents' reports of depressive symptoms. Teen attachments were assessed with both interview and observational methods. Assessments of teens' strategies in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) indicated that insecure and preoccupied strategies were associated with increased reports of depressive symptoms. Observations of mother-teen problem-solving revealed that depressed teens engaged in interactions characterized by high levels of maternal dominance and dysfunctional anger. Maternal reports of teens' negative life events contributed additional variance to a regression model for depressive symptoms. Gender differences further specified pathways to depressive symptoms. Females reported more depressive symptoms, while depressed males engaged in problem-solving interactions characterized by high levels of dysfunctional anger. Competency-based treatments of depressive symptoms designed to improve parent-teen communication and meta-monitoring skills are discussed.