Researcher(s)
- My Trieu, Psychology, Vassar College
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Mary Dozier, Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
BACKGROUND—Various conceptualizations of the relationship between early life adversity and later depression have been offered in the literature (St Clair et al., 2015, Tracy et al., 2019). However, most have not accounted for the possibility that early adversity predicts quality of later attachment, proximal to depression onset. Previous research has established links between early adversity and attachment, as well as between attachment and depression symptoms (Cyr et al., 2010, Spruit et al., 2020).
OBJECTIVE—The current study examined the mediating role of parental attachment on the relationship between early life adversity and change in depressive symptoms in adolescence.
METHODS—Participants (N=138) included a subsample of high-risk CPS-referred children who were enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal study (n=93), as well as children in a low-risk comparison group (n=45). Attachment quality was measured at age 13 from the child’s perception using the revised version of the Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment (IPPA-R), assessing three dimensions: Trust, Communication, and Alienation. Change in depressive symptoms was assessed using the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), from age 13 to 14.
RESULTS—Although there was no direct relationship between high and low risk and change in depression from age 13 to 14, attachment quality had an indirect effect on the relationship between high and low risk groups and change in depressive symptoms. There was a significant mediating effect of Trust and Alienation subscales on the relationship between high and low risk and change in depression. The overall attachment score and the Communication subscale did not mediate the relationship between risk group and change in depressive symptoms. Additionally, children in the low-risk group demonstrated significantly more trust, better communication and less alienation from their caretaker than children in the high-risk group.
CONCLUSION—The present study supported the existing literature that early adversity affects adolescent attachment and highlighted certain aspects of attachment as the potential driving force behind the relationship between early risk and later depressive symptoms.