Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-07T14:28:50.326Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Contribution of Social Rank and Attachment Theory to Depression in a Non Clinical Sample of Adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Sylvia Pinna Puissant ,
Jean-Marie Gauthier  and
Robin Van Oirbeek
Sylvia Pinna Puissant*
Affiliation:
Université de Liège (Belgium)
Jean-Marie Gauthier
Affiliation:
Université de Liège (Belgium)
Robin Van Oirbeek
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sylvia Pinna Puissant, Département Psychologies et cliniques des systèmes humains, Boulevard du Rectorat, 3 (B33) 4000 Liège, Belgium. E-mail: sylviapinna@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study explores the relative contribution of the overall quality of attachment to the mother, to the father and to peers (Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment scales), the style of attachment towards peers (Attachment Questionnaire for Children scale), the social rank variables (submissive behavior and social comparison), and sex and age variables in predicting the depression score (Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale) on a non-psychiatric sample of 13-18 year old adolescents (n = 225). Results of our integrated model (adjusted R-Square of .50) show that attachment variables (overall quality of attachment to the father and to the mother), social rank variables (social comparison and submissive behavior), age and sex are important in predicting depressive symptoms during adolescence. Moreover, the attachment to peers variables (quality of attachment to peers, secure and ambivalent style of attachment) and sex are mediated by the social rank variables (social comparison and submissive behavior).

En este estudio se explora la contribución de la calidad general del apego a la madre, al padre y a los iguales (Inventario de Apego con Padres y Pares); el estilo del apego a los iguales (Cuestionario de apego para niños); variables de rango social (conducta sumisa y comparación social); y las variables de género y edad como predictoras de depresión (Escala de Depresión del Centro de Estudios Epidemiológicos) en una muestra no psiquiátrica de adolescentes de 13 a 18 años de edad (n = 225). Los resultados del modelo propuesto (R-cuadrado ajustado de .50) indican que las variables de apego (calidad general de apego al padre o la madre), las variables de rango social (comparación social y conducta sumisa), así como la edad y el género, son importantes a la hora de predecir síntomas depresivos durante la adolescencia. Más aún, las variables de apego hacia los iguales (calidad del apego a los iguales, estilo de apego seguro y ambivalente) y el género, están influenciadas por variables de rango social (comparación social y conducta sumisa).

Keywords

depressionadolescencesocial rankattachmentadolescentsdepresiónadolescenciarango socialapegoadolescentes
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , November 2011 , pp. 832 - 842
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment. A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdayle, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Allen, J. P., Moore, C., Kuperminc, G., & Bell, K. (1998). Attachment and adolescent psychosocial functioning. Child Development, 69, 1406–1419. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06220.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Armsden, G. C., & Greenberg, M. T. (1987). The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427–454. doi:10.1007/BF02202939Google Scholar
Aslund, C., Nilsson, K.W., Starrin, B., & Sjöberg, R. L. (2007). Shaming experiences and the association between adolescent depression and psychosocial risk factors. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 16, 298–304. doi:10.1007/s00787-006-0564-1Google Scholar
Bauminger, N., Finzi-Dottan, R., Chason, S., & Har-Even, D. (2008). Intimacy in adolescent friendship: the roles of attachment, coherence, and self-disclosure. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25, 409–428. doi:10.1177/0265407508090866Google Scholar
Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.61.2.226CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachement et perte [Attachment and loss] (Vol. I). Paris, France: J. Presses universitaires de France.Google Scholar
Brown, L. S., & Wright, J. (2003). The relationship between attachment strategies and psychopathology in adolescence. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 76, 351–367. doi:10.1348/147608303770584728Google Scholar
Chabrol, H., Montovany, A., Chouicha, K., Duconge, E., Massot, E., & Kallmeyer, A. (2002). Étude de la CES-D dans un échantillon de 1953 adolescents scolarisés [Study of the CES-D on a sample of 1953 high-school students]. L'Encéphale, 28, 429–432.Google Scholar
Chabrol, H., Rodgers, R., & Rousseau, A. (2007). Relations between suicidal ideation and dimensions of depressive symptoms in high-school students. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 587–600. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.07.003Google Scholar
Cole-Detke, H., & Kobak, R. (1996). Attachment processes in eating disorder and depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 282–290. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.64.2.282Google Scholar
Cooper, M. L., Shaver, P. R., & Collins, N. L. (1998). Attachment styles, emotion regulation and adjustment in adolescence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1380–1397. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1380Google Scholar
Dekovic, M., & Meeus, W. (1997). Peer relations in adolescence: effects of parenting and adolescents' self-concept. Journal of Adolescence, 20, 163–176. doi:10.1006/jado.1996.0074CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doyle, A. B., Lawford, H., & Markiewicz, D. (2009). Attachment style with mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner during adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 19, 690–714. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2009.00617.xGoogle Scholar
Duchesne, S., & Larose, S. (2007). Adolescent parental attachment and academic motivation and performance in early adolescence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 1501–1521. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00224.xGoogle Scholar
Eskin, M., Ertekin, K., Harlak, H., & Dereboy, C. (2008). Prevalence of and factors related to depression in high school students. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry, 19(4), 1–8.Google Scholar
Ge, X., Lorenz, F. O., Conger, R. D., Elder, G. H. Jr., & Simons, R. (1994). Trajectories of stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 30, 467–483. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.30.4.467Google Scholar
Gilbert, P. (2000). The relationship of shame, social anxiety and depression: the role of the evaluation of social rank. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 7, 174–189. doi:10.1002/1099-0879(200007)7:3<174::AID-CPP236>3.0.CO;2-UGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, P., & Allan, S. (1994). Assertiveness, submissive behaviour, and social comparison. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 33, 295–306.Google Scholar
Gilbert, P., Allan, S., & Trent, D. R. (1995). Involuntary subordination or dependency as key dimensions of depressive vulnerability? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 740–752. doi:10.1002/1097-4679(199511)51:6<740::AID-JCLP2270510604>3.0.CO;2-#3.0.CO;2-#>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hankin, B. L. (2006). Adolescent depression: description, causes, and interventions. Epilepsy & Behavior, 8, 102–114. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2005.10.012Google Scholar
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511Google Scholar
Irons, C., & Gilbert, P. (2005). Evolved mechanisms in adolescent anxiety and depression symptoms: the role of the attachment and social rank systems. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 325–341. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2004.07.004Google Scholar
Laible, D. (2007). Attachment with parents and peers in late adolescence: links with emotional competence and social behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 1185–1197. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.03.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leary, M. R. (2003). Commentary on self-esteem as an interpersonal monitor: the sociometer hypothesis (1995). Psychological Inquiry, 14, 240–274. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1403&4_15Google Scholar
Leyva-Jiménez, R., Hernández-Juárez, A. M., Nava-Jiménez, G., & López-Ganoa, V. (2007). Depresión en adolescentes y funcionamiento familiar [Depression in adolescents and family functioning]. Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, 45, 225–232.Google Scholar
Lieberman, M., Doyle, A. B., & Markiewicz, D. (1999). Developmental patterns in security of attachment to mother and father in late childhood and early adolescence: Associations with peer relations. Child Development, 70, 202–213. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00015CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, Y. L. (2008). An examination of three models of the relationships between parental attachments and adolescents' social functioning and depressive symptoms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 941–952. doi:10.1007/s10964-006-9147-1Google Scholar
Margolese, S. K., Markiewicz, D., & Doyle, A. B. (2005). Attachment to parents, best friend and romantic partner: predicting different pathways to depression in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 637–650. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-8952-2Google Scholar
Nickerson, A. B., & Nagle, R. J. (2005). Parent and peer attachment in late childhood and early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25, 223–249. doi:10.1177/0272431604274174Google Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2001). Gender differences in depression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 173–176. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00142CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Öngen, D. E. (2006). The relationships between self-criticism, submissive behavior and depression among Turkish adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 793–800. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2006.03.013Google Scholar
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401. doi:10.1177/014662167700100306Google Scholar
Rigby, K., Slee, P. T., & Martin, G. (2007). Implications of inadequate parental bonding and peer victimization for adolescent mental health. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 801–812. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.09.008Google Scholar
Rushton, J. L., Forcier, M., & Schetman, R. M. (2002). Epidemiology of depressive symptoms in the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 199–205. doi:10.1097/00004583-200202000-00014CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharpe, T. M., Killen, J. D., Bryson, S. W., Shisslak, C. M., Estes, L. S., Gray, N., … Taylor, C. B. (1998). Attachment style and weight concerns in preadolescent and adolescent girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 23, 39–44. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-108X(199801)23:1<39::AID-EAT5>3.0.CO;2-2Google Scholar
Sloman, L. (2008). A new comprehensive evolutionary model of depression and anxiety. Journal of Affective Disorders, 106, 219–228. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2007.07.008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sloman, L., Gilbert, P., & Hasey, G. (2003). Evolved mechanisms in depression: the role and interaction of attachment and social rank in depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 74, 107–121. doi:10.1016/S0165-0327(02)00116-7Google Scholar
Stevens, A., & Price, J. (2000). Evolutionary Psychiatry. A new beginning (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Brunner-Routledge, Taylor&Francis Group.Google Scholar
Sund, A. M., & Wichstrom, L. (2002). Insecure attachment as a risk factor for future depressive symptoms in early adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 1478–1485. doi:10.1097/00004583-200212000-00020Google Scholar
Wilkinson, R. B. (2004). The role of parental and peer attachment in the psychological health and self-esteem of adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 479–493. doi:10.1023/B:JOYO.0000048063.59425.20CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Head Organization (2005). La santé des enfants et adolescents en Europe [Children's and adolescents' health in Europe]. Aide Mémoire EURO/06/05. Retrieved from http://www.euro.who.int/en/homeGoogle Scholar
Young, J. F., Berenson, K., Cohen, P., & Garcia, J. (2005). The role of parent and peer support in predicting adolescent depression: a longitudinal community study. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15, 407–423. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2005.00105.xGoogle Scholar