Adult attachment security and symptoms of depression: The mediating roles of dysfunctional attitudes and low self-esteem.

Three studies investigated the relation between adult attachment security and symptoms of depression.Study 1 examined the overall magnitude of the association between adult attachment and depression, and Studies 2 and 3 tested whether this relation was mediated by dysfunctional attitudes and low self-esteem.Results from the three studies were consistent with a mediation model.This model suggests that insecure adult attachment styles are associated with dysfunctional attitudes, which in turn predispose to lower levels of self-esteem.Such depletions in self-esteem are directly associated with increases in depressive symptoms over time.Insecure attachment appears to lead to depressive symptoms in adulthood through its impact on self-worth contingencies and self-esteem.It has become increasingly clear that depression involves both interpersonal and cognitive dysfunctions that are hypothesized to play a crucial role in the etiology and maintenance of the disorder (e.g.,