Mother-Infant Attachment Style as a Predictor of Depression among Female Students

Background and aim: There are an increasing number of studies showing an association of adult attachment styles to psychopathology. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between attachment style and depression among students of Bu-Ali Sina University in Iran. Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 157 girl students who were randomly selected. They were evaluated by demographic questionnaire, Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI) (Hazan and Shaver), and theBeck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). The data was analysis by using Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis in SPSS 16 statistical package. Results: Findings indicated that secure attachment style had no significant correlation with depression and insecure attachment styles had a significant positive correlation with depression (p<0.05). Regression analysis showed that Attachment styles may predict acceptable rate of depression. Finally analysis showed, Anxious/Ambivalent style had a significant positive effect on girls depression (P<0.05, β=0.24), so that with a one-unit increase in the standard deviation of the predicting variable (Anxious/Ambivalent style), standard deviation of the dependent variable (girls depression) increased by 0.24 units (p<0.05). Conclusions: The findings of the present study supply to improve the understanding of attachment styles involved in the development of vulnerability to depression.

Keywords:

Attachment Styles , Depression , young girl