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van Aswegen T, Seedat S, van Straten A, Goossens L, Bosmans G. Depression in middle childhood: secure base script as a cognitive diathesis in the relationship between daily stress and depressive symptoms. Attach Hum Dev 2023; 25:353-367. [PMID: 37078577 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2023.2204837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
A better understanding of protective factors against childhood depression may allow for the mitigation of severe and chronic symptoms and the timely implementation of intervention strategies. This study investigated the protective effect of having a secure base script on depressive symptoms when children face daily stressors. To test this hypothesis, moderation analyses were performed in a cross-sectional study with 378 children (48.5% boys, 51.5%) aged 8-12 years (M = 10.20; SD = 0.57). The results provided some support for the moderation effect when secure base script knowledge was investigated as a categorical variable in middle childhood. However, the results did not support the moderation effect when investigating secure base script as a continuous variable. Therefore, future investigations may need to address whether a categorical approach could better elucidate the protective role of secure base script knowledge in childhood depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- T van Aswegen
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - S Seedat
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - A van Straten
- Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - L Goossens
- Department of School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - G Bosmans
- Department of Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium
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Lindblom J, Bosmans G. Attachment and brooding rumination during children's transition to adolescence: the moderating role of effortful control. Attach Hum Dev 2022; 24:690-711. [PMID: 35536544 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2022.2071953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Brooding rumination is a maladaptive form of emotion regulation and confers a risk for psychopathology. Insecure attachment and low cognitive self-regulation are important antecedents of brooding. Yet, little is known about the developmental interplay between these two systems. Thus, we tested how children's attachment and cognitive self-regulation, conceptualized as effortful control (EC), interact to predict brooding. The participants in the three-wave longitudinal study were n = 157 children (10 to 14 years) and their mothers. Children reported their attachment and brooding, and mothers reported children's EC. Results showed that children with low avoidance received benefit from high EC to decrease brooding, whereas children with high anxiety brooded irrespective of EC. Thus, high EC may foster constructive emotion regulation among securely attached children, whereas the beneficial effects of high EC on emotional functioning seem to be overridden by insecurity. The functional role of cognitive self-regulation on different attachment strategies is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jallu Lindblom
- Clinical Psychology,KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology,KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Waters TEA, Yang R, Finet C, Verhees MWFT, Bosmans G. An empirical test of prototype and revisionist models of attachment stability and change from middle childhood to adolescence: A 6-year longitudinal study. Child Dev 2021; 93:225-236. [PMID: 34549815 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
We examined the prototype v. revisionist models of attachment stability with a five-wave, 6-year, longitudinal study of attachment security from middle childhood to adolescence in a White Western European sample (N = 157; Wave 1 Mage = 10.91, SD = 0.87; 52% female). Attachment was assessed using both questionnaire (Experiences in Close Relationships) and narrative-based measures (Attachment Script Assessment). In addition, a set of potential moderators of prototype-like stability were examined. Results indicated that data from both attachment assessments best fit the prototype model. Moderator analyses indicated that male sex significantly undermined the influence of an attachment prototype and parent-child conflict and parental divorce enhanced the influence of an attachment prototype on stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodore E A Waters
- Department of Psychology, New York University-Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Rui Yang
- Department of Psychology, New York University-Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Chloë Finet
- Parenting and Special Education Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Martine W F T Verhees
- Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology Unit, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Problem Talk in Adolescence: Temperament and Attachment as Predictors of Co-Rumination Trajectories in Boys and Girls. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11091157. [PMID: 34573179 PMCID: PMC8469767 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11091157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Co-rumination has consistently been shown to be maladaptive in the context of emotional well-being. However, not much is known about factors that predict one's tendency to co-ruminate. The current study investigated temperament, attachment, and gender as predictors of co-rumination trajectories in a sample of 1549 early and middle adolescents from fifth to ninth grade (53.4% girls; Mage = 12.93). Analyses were performed on four waves of data with one-year intervals using multi-level modeling. First, girls were found to be more likely to co-ruminate. Second, high positive affectivity in boys and girls and high effortful control in boys was related to higher co-rumination. Third, high attachment anxiety and high general trust in the availability and support of a mother were predictive of higher co-rumination levels. High attachment avoidance was negatively related to co-rumination in boys. High positive affectivity in boys and girls and high trust in boys predicted decreases in reported co-rumination levels over time. Results highlight differences between boys and girls in factors that predict the tendency to co-ruminate. The current study adds to the literature by helping to identify factors associated with the development of co-rumination, which is a well-established risk factor of internalizing symptoms. Monitoring youth affected with these vulnerabilities may be recommended for prevention efforts.
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Iwanski A, Lichtenstein L, Mühling LE, Zimmermann P. Effects of Father and Mother Attachment on Depressive Symptoms in Middle Childhood and Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11091153. [PMID: 34573173 PMCID: PMC8469211 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11091153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Attachment and emotion regulation play a decisive role in the developmental pathways of adaptation or maladaptation. This study tested concurrent and longitudinal associations between the attachment to mother and father, sadness regulation, and depressive symptoms. Methods: A total of 1110 participants from middle childhood to adolescence completed measures of attachment, emotion regulation, and depressive symptomatology. In total, 307 of them participated in the longitudinal assessment. Results: Results revealed attachment affects emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, we found linear effects of the cumulative number of secure attachment relationships on adaptive and maladaptive deactivating sadness regulation, as well as on depressive symptoms. Longitudinal analysis showed the significant mediating role of sadness regulation in the relationship between attachment and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Adaptive and maladaptive deactivating sadness regulation explain the longitudinal effects of attachment on depressive symptoms. Insecurely attached children and adolescents use maladaptive and adaptive sadness regulation strategies, but differ in their hierarchy of strategy use.
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Verhees MWFT, Finet C, Vandesande S, Bastin M, Bijttebier P, Bodner N, Van Aswegen T, Van de Walle M, Bosmans G. Attachment and the Development of Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: The Role of Regulating Positive and Negative Affect. J Youth Adolesc 2021; 50:1649-1662. [PMID: 33797009 PMCID: PMC8270806 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-021-01426-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Although widely accepted, attachment theory's hypothesis that insecure attachment is associated with the development of depressive symptoms through emotion regulation strategies has never been longitudinally tested in adolescence. Additionally, previous research only focused on strategies for regulating negative affect, whereas strategies for regulating positive affect may also serve as a mechanism linking insecure attachment to depressive symptoms. This study aimed to fill these research gaps by testing whether the association between attachment and change in depressive symptoms over time is explained by strategies for regulating negative and positive affect in adolescence. Adolescents (N = 1706; 53% girls; Mage = 12.78 years, SDage = 1.54 at Time 1) were tested three times, with a 1-year interval between measurement times. They reported on their attachment anxiety and avoidance at Time 1, depressive symptoms at Times 1 and 3, and regulation of negative affect (brooding and dampening) and positive affect (focusing and reflection) at Time 2. The results from multiple mediation analyses showed that more anxiously attached adolescents developed more depressive symptoms via increased brooding and dampening. More avoidantly attached adolescents developed more depressive symptoms via decreased focusing. These findings provide longitudinal support for attachment theory's emotion regulation hypothesis, and show that the regulation of both negative and positive affect is important.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martine W F T Verhees
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Chloë Finet
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Margot Bastin
- School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Nadja Bodner
- Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tanya Van Aswegen
- Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Clinical Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Guy Bosmans
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Cortés-García L, Takkouche B, Rodriguez-Cano R, Senra C. Mediational mechanisms involved in the relation between attachment insecurity and depression: A meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 2020; 277:706-726. [PMID: 32911221 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Several studies have investigated the intermediate variables or mediators through which attachment insecurity influence the development of depression. However, there has not been a systematic synthesis of this literature to date. The current meta-analytic review aimed at identifying such mediators and quantifying their effect size. METHODS We systematically searched Medline, Pubmed, Psycinfo, Embase, Proceedings Web of Science and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global up until May 2019. 108 studies met inclusion criteria (i.e., investigated intermediate variables that explain the effect of attachment insecurity [exposure] on depressive symptoms [outcome]). Standardized regression coefficients of the indirect and total paths of mediation models of 80 studies were pooled using the inverse of their variance as a weight. Studies were coded and ranked for quality. RESULTS Dysfunctional attitudes (β = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.20), self-criticism (β = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.04 to 0.28), low self-compassion (β = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.29), and cognitive hyperactivating regulation strategies (β = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.20), such as repetitive thinking (β = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.07 to 0.28), and particularly, brooding rumination β = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.07 to 0.32), mediated the association between insecure attachment and depressive symptoms. Indirect effects were only significant among adult populations. LIMITATIONS The methodological quality of studies was mostly moderate to low and analyses revealed considerable heterogeneity. CONCLUSION Our findings support the direct targeting of cognitive-emotional psychological mechanisms in prevention programs and treatment of depression. More longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the interplay of such mediators along with other interpersonal factors between insecure attachment and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Cortés-García
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Bahi Takkouche
- Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBER-ESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ruben Rodriguez-Cano
- Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Carmen Senra
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
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Children's Attention to Mother and Adolescent Stress Moderate the Attachment-Depressive Symptoms Link. Psychol Belg 2020; 60:294-314. [PMID: 32944262 PMCID: PMC7473194 DOI: 10.5334/pb.550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The breadth of children’s attentional field around their mother determines whether securely or insecurely attached children are at risk to develop depressive symptoms when confronted with distress in adolescence. To test this effect longitudinally, we measured children’s (Mage = 10.93; N = 109) baseline attentional breadth around their mother, attachment status (combining attachment coherence, secure base script knowledge, and self-reported trust), and self-reported depressive symptoms. One and two years later, we measured self-reported distress and depressive symptoms. We tested three-way interactions between attentional breadth × attachment × distress on changes in depressive symptoms. This three-way interaction was marginally significantly linked with changes in depressive symptoms from baseline to year 1, and significantly with changes in depressive symptoms from baseline to year 2. Results pointed to the protective role of a narrow attentional field around the mother in middle childhood for securely attached children who are confronted with distress later in life.
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Bosmans G, Goldblum E, Braet C, van de Walle M, Heylen J, Bijttebier P, Santens T, Koster EHW, De Raedt R. Children's attentional breadth around their mother: Comparing stimulus-driven vs. cognitively controlled processes. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Children and Adolescents: Can Attachment Theory Contribute to Its Efficacy? Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2016; 19:310-328. [DOI: 10.1007/s10567-016-0212-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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