Capute Caroline, Quigley Leanne, Bate Jordan
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York, USA.
Br J Clin Psychol. 2024 Sep;63(3):295-314. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12458. Epub 2024 Feb 29.
The ways that people seek support during times of stress influence their mental health outcomes, including depression. Insecure attachment is a risk factor for depression and may also interfere with adaptive support and feedback-seeking behaviour during stress. The purpose of the present study was to test theorized associations between insecure attachment, support and feedback seeking, and changes in depression symptoms over 1 year, in a sample of mothers of school-age children in the context of stress elicited by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participants (N = 70 mothers) completed self-report measures of anxious and avoidant attachment and depression severity at baseline in spring 2020 and then completed measures of past-year engagement in direct and indirect support seeking and excessive reassurance seeking (ERS), preference for negative feedback, and depression severity at a follow-up assessment in summer 2021.
Greater attachment anxiety at baseline predicted more frequent direct support seeking, indirect support seeking, and ERS during the 1-year follow-up period. In turn, greater indirect support seeking predicted greater increases in depression from baseline to follow-up. Greater attachment avoidance at baseline predicted less direct support seeking during the 1-year follow-up period. Greater attachment avoidance at baseline also predicted depression severity at follow-up, particularly among mothers with moderate to high levels of attachment anxiety, although none of the examined support and feedback-seeking behaviours mediated this association.
These results provide support for the role of activated attachment systems in determining support and feedback-seeking behaviour during stress, as well as the role of support and feedback-seeking behaviour in the maintenance and exacerbation of depression.
人们在压力时期寻求支持的方式会影响他们的心理健康结果，包括抑郁。不安全依恋是抑郁的一个风险因素，也可能干扰压力期间的适应性支持和寻求反馈行为。本研究的目的是在新冠疫情引发的压力背景下，对学龄儿童母亲样本中不安全依恋、支持与寻求反馈以及抑郁症状在1年中的变化之间的理论关联进行检验。
参与者（N = 70名母亲）于2020年春季基线时完成焦虑和回避依恋以及抑郁严重程度的自我报告测量，然后于2021年夏季随访评估时完成过去一年直接和间接寻求支持以及过度寻求安慰（ERS）、对负面反馈的偏好和抑郁严重程度的测量。
基线时更高的依恋焦虑预测了在1年随访期内更频繁的直接支持寻求、间接支持寻求和ERS。反过来，更多的间接支持寻求预测了从基线到随访期间抑郁的更大增加。基线时更高的依恋回避预测了1年随访期内更少的直接支持寻求。基线时更高的依恋回避也预测了随访时的抑郁严重程度，特别是在依恋焦虑程度为中度到高度的母亲中，尽管所考察的支持和寻求反馈行为均未介导这种关联。
这些结果为激活的依恋系统在压力期间决定支持和寻求反馈行为中的作用，以及支持和寻求反馈行为在抑郁的维持和加重中的作用提供了支持。
