Attachment in Adolescent Depression

This literature review explores the role of attachment in adolescent depression, including the impact of secure and insecure attachments on depression symptoms and behaviors. The study also examines the relationship between depression and social networks, personality traits, and parental representations.

Running Head: Teenage Depression Review 1
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Teenage Depression Review 2
Introduction
Depression impacts over 20% of adolescents globally. It is a disorder that mainly
involves mood disturbance, leads to decrease in pleasure or interest in activities they should be
involved in. various factors are believed to be connected with depression in adolescents today.
Such factor includes, negative parental representations, personal failures and insecure
connections among many other factors. In this paper, attachment role has been researched since
it plays as common factor in adolescents’ depression. It is believed that teenagers with insecure
attachments shows high levels of depression connected signs and symptoms than securely
connected teenagers. The following five literature reviews display and support the theory.
Research Question
In this study, two major questions came up to help the research process. The first
question that was developed involved the age group (16-20) picked; was it going to match with
other registered research in terms of its quality and the attachment structure applied? The second
question involved personality traits of dependable teenagers’ connections; does it correspond
with individual traits of child and infant researches?
Objective
This research’s objective is to undertake the study on female teenagers’ attachment
structure, particularly maternal, applying a semi-structured interview. It is speculated that
securely connected females will exhibit identical positive characteristics with their mother,
decreased depression results, more self-esteem ratings, and higher depression results. This study
originally had over 101 randomly picked psychology learners from a school where screening
process was applied and the relevance conducted to show almost similar numbers in all sections
of the connection. The figure of learners involved in the process was later minimized to 25.

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Results
This research’s outcome aided the thesis that the comparative percentages of the
connections (doubtful, avoidant, secure) will depict similar results with those provided in the
children researchers. The latest study shows a 70%; percentages with dependable attachments,
while doubtful was represented by 18% as avoidant had 12%. The result further shows a
remarkable contrast in individual traits between the doubtful and dependable groups. Doubtfully
connected females exhibited notably high levels of depression and depicted remarkably low
levels of self-esteem compared to dependably connected teenagers. The avoidant teenagers had
very dependable and doubtful self-esteem and depression rates but didn’t exhibit outstanding
results compared to other groups. The report further shows that the securely attached teenagers
have a remarkably positive maternal identification compared to the avoidantly attached teenagers
and ambivalently attached adolescents. Combining all these outcomes depicts that the hypothesis
is personally characterized by interpersonal skills, self-esteem and positive impacts of
dependable adolescents and are connected to young children’s individuality traits of dependable
connections.
Limitations
Apart from being longitudinal, this research is placed here and then, apart from starting at
a tender age and making a follow up of the females as they grew up. Furthermore, the group
picked in the study was made of females only. The outcome might have been notably opposite
had teenager boys been involved.
Attachment in relation to adolescent depression based on social networks
Questions
Two questions were brought up in this research: First, do depressed teenagers consider
emotional distress of their household to be negative? Second, do teenagers going through
depression show a limited and lower social relationship? Identifying the social relationships of
depressed teenagers is the main objective of this study. This can be completed by relating the
outcome with social relationships of less depressed teenagers. 150 participants of 15-20 ages of

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both female and male gender were picked to assist in the study. Five subgroups were made by
the use of screening technique.
Results
The results obtained exhibited that a teenager with a series of common depression is not
remarkably unique from the controls. They do not show any defectives in their social
attachments, networks or even family conditions. This identification is not cheap to understand
since these persons are less impacted by the repressive approach. On the other side, an
adolescent showing dysthymia emotions or double depression thinks their main caregiver is
present but less satisfying compared to controls. Furthermore, they believe the situations in their
household shows a negative aspect compared to controls. Such results ascertain assumption that
depressed teenagers exhibit low, limited social relationships and they tend to agree that the
situations in their household originate from the teenagers themselves.
Limitations
The data collected in this study involved adolescents only. It did not put into
consideration any feedback from parents. Another limiting factor shows that controls obtained
from the group were made after administering screening process by exhibiting an outcome under
moderate behavior. The controls are still dictated by depression as identified.
Adolescent depression in connection with the hypothetical model
This research was made to identify the processes that are attached to depression.
Objective
This study was developed as a model that consists of characterization of parents,
interpersonal concerns, parent connections, disassociation of individuals, self-critical cover,
parental representations and peer attachment that shows when and how they can identify features
of depression in teenagers.

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Methodology
This study was made up of 70 females learners aged between 13 and 17 from various
schools. The research determined that old parenting is associated to connection felt to modern
parenting, in that maternal command and guidance is associated to the connection and further
separation-personalization practice, where the adolescent relationship to parents match with
separation-personalization and depression behaviors, and that peer relationship will be directly
reflected in the parents' attachment.
Results
The outcome shows that female adolescent behaviors of depression are expressed by
interpersonal concerns, perceived parenting, peer relationship, self-critical concerns, and
separation-personalization and parent relationship. The outcome explains that female teenagers
are more affected by depressive behaviors if they possess low levels of dependency, low
maternal care, self-criticism, guilt experiences and have peer and faulty parent relationships.
Maternal command and care depict parent connection. In relation to such discovery, high levels
of maternal protection might result in an escalated depression. Such outcome is opposite to the
expected and assumed to be correct since there is an extent where exited maternal protection can
result in cynical impacts.
Limitations
The shorter version of some measures was applied since time was limited in the schools
the study was conducted. Furthermore, the study is limited to only focus on one gender of
females and the attachments they have with their mothers
Adolescent depression in relation to factors related to attachment
Introduction

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The research is based on articles made by Muris, Mesters, zwambag, and Melick (2011).
It is believed that adolescents who regard themselves securely relate to the first considerations
would display a lower outcome of alienation compared to avoidant attached or ambivalent
attached teenagers. It further indicates that adolescents who find themselves as insecurely related
will show more levels of depressive zeal and symptoms disorders compared to securely related
teenagers. In addition, communication and trust will be related in a negative way with both zeal
and depression and correspond positively with alienation.
Methodology
The sample was made up of 155 male and female aged between 12-14 years of age. The
test was carried out in class time with the assistance of a teacher and a research assistant.
Results
The percentage obtained for all the attachments (avoidant, yielded, secure) were common
with infant child research but was also based on Salzman’s research. The latest findings had
percentages as follows: 72% consisted of secure, 16% were ambivalent and 12% avoidant. The
outcome gives both the predictions developed by the authors only that communication conducted
was based on adolescent depression results.
Limitations
The limitation of this study is that it deduces that relationship will be a direct outcome of
early attachment in later life. It further assumed that if or not sectional study similar to
attachment questionnaire for kids is as brief as extensive measure might appear. With this
estimate, the level at which the adolescent portrays an attachment can be deduced.
Adolescent depression addressed using a longitudinal study
A longitudinal study displays the impacts of teenager psychopathology on future
relationship structure.
Question

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Two questions were tackled in this study that is vital to major subjects of this research
paper. First, does teenager psychopathology that is obtained from hospitalization exhibits future
insecure relationship in young adulthood? Second, are teenagers’ attachments techniques
reflective of the resulting state of mind and does it affect adolescents psychopathology directly?
Methodology
The study is made up of 140 middle-class males and females aged between 14-18 years.
Seventy-seven of the teenagers were employed from high school while sixty-three were
conducted in a psychiatric hospital due to serious psychopathology. After conducting an
interview, a few years later the results were re-analyzed and information obtained was compared.
At the beginning of the interview, parents were assimilated into the process.
Results
The findings display a remarkable contrast between teenagers and adults previously
conducted in the process. Over 45% of the middle school teenagers displayed a secure
connection technique. On the other hand, the percentages of the hospitalized young adults were
made of 8% only. Furthermore, previously hospitalized adults depicted low levels of purpose for
the foregoing trauma and could not secure connection incidences consistently. The outcomes
resulted in a vital conclusion question in the study.
Limitations
The dependency question of trauma data by the adolescents is a limitation in the research.
Furthermore, all the persons conducted originated from the same socio-economic standards.
Conclusion
Sampled as a unit, the outcome shows that connection is a crucial technique in teenager
depression, particularly avoidant and ambivalent. Securely attached adolescents to their main
caregiver seem to display reduced levels of depression associated with both behaviors and
symptoms. These literature reviews can summarize that infant attachment technique affects
behaviors, psychological state, and the future attachments. Longitudinal studies should also be
done further. It is vital to comprehend the undeniable thought process over many years of

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persons who display different attachment techniques. Furthermore, other persons and parents
who a play a major role in individuals’ lives should be involved more in such studies. This will
assist in improved assessments and provide reliable evidence of the disorder.
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