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The role of partner characteristics in attachment insecurity and depressive symptoms
Author(s) -
WHIFFEN VALERIE E.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2005.00123.x
Subject(s) - closeness , attachment theory , psychology , spouse , vulnerability (computing) , depressive symptoms , depression (economics) , distress , insecure attachment , clinical psychology , romance , developmental psychology , psychiatry , anxiety , computer security , mathematical analysis , mathematics , sociology , anthropology , computer science , psychoanalysis , economics , macroeconomics
Depression is associated with marital distress and attachment insecurity in romantic relationships. In this article, I propose an attachment‐theory model of depression, which links the characteristics of romantic partners to attachment insecurity and depression. I hypothesized that individuals who are avoidant of closeness and/or who devalue their spouses will be perceived as unresponsive to their spouses’ vulnerability, which will increase the spouse's attachment insecurity. Attachment insecurity was then proposed to contribute to depressive symptoms over time. A sample of married or cohabiting couples was recruited to complete questionnaires at an Internet Web site at 2 time points, approximately 3 months apart. Path analysis showed that for both husbands ( N = 82) and wives ( N = 99), avoidance of closeness in 1 partner was associated with perceived unresponsiveness to vulnerability and attachment insecurity in the other partner. In addition, for husbands, attachment insecurity at T1 predicted depressive symptoms at T2, above and beyond baseline levels of depression. These results provide encouraging support for an attachment‐theory approach to the study and treatment of depression, particularly among married or cohabiting men.