[Cultural differences concerning depressive disorders and attachment dimensions]

Attachment is a psychological parameter across cultures and is influenced by childhood experiences. Though the construct of attachment tends to certain stability, different influences, like culture, can change the quality of attachment during lifetime. As can be seen from the example of depression in adulthood the clinical symptoms of this disorder may be different due to the cultural background.

The present study focuses on inter- and intracultural differences concerning the attachment qualities of Turkish people in the homeland, Turkish migrants in Austria and Austrians (N = 297) by using the self-assessment questionnaire RSQ. Each ethnic group consisted of a healthy control group (N = 153) as well as a patient group currently suffering from a depressive episode (N = 144) and were getting an in or outpatient treatment.

The hypothesis tested was whether culture moderates a correlation between depressive disorders and attachment abilities.

There were significant differences in attachment ability between cultures whereby controls presented significantly more secure attachment ability in all parameters compared to patients. While the Austrian control group showed the most secure attachment orientation, the Austrian patients had the highest level of insecurity, followed by the migrant group. However, the comparison of healthy and depressive Turks revealed no significant differences.

Thus, culture shows significant effects concerning depressive disorders and attachment dimensions.