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Relationships between depression and attachment styles in parent- and institution-reared Turkish children

N Hortaçsu1, S Cesur, A Oral

  • 1Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, Turkey.

The Journal of Genetic Psychology
|September 1, 1993
PubMed

Insights

Children raised in institutions showed less secure attachment styles and more depressive symptoms compared to those from two-parent families. This highlights the impact of early separation on child development and mental health.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry
  • Attachment Theory

Background:

  • Early childhood separation from parents can impact psychological development.
  • Attachment theory posits that early relationships form foundational schemas.
  • Institutional rearing presents unique challenges to secure attachment formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate attachment security in institution-reared versus parent-reared children.
  • To examine the relationship between depressive schemas and attachment styles.
  • To test if systems theory explains a stronger link between depression and attachment in institutionalized children.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized Hazan and Shaver's attachment-style inventory.
  • Administered the Beck Depression Inventory to assess depressive symptoms.
  • Sample comprised 20 institution-reared and 20 parent-reared Turkish boys.

Main Results:

  • Institution-reared children exhibited less secure attachment schemas than parent-reared children.
  • Depressive schemas were positively associated with insecure attachment.
  • Depressive schemas were negatively associated with secure attachment.

Conclusions:

  • Early separation and institutional rearing are linked to insecure attachment.
  • Depression and insecure attachment are closely related in children.
  • Findings support attachment theory predictions regarding early life experiences and psychological outcomes.

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