Dysfunctional Attitudes and Low Self-Esteem Mediate the Effect of Attachment Anxiety Priming on Depression

Previous studies regarding the relationship between attachment anxiety and depression and the mediating roles of dysfunctional attitudes and self-esteem have been correlational in nature. The current study used an experimental design to look at these relationships. Attachment style was determined using a shortened version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, and then either secure attachment, anxious attachment, or a control of grocery shopping was primed by instructing participants to write about one of the three scenarios. Dysfunctional attitudes were assessed, followed by state self-esteem and then state depression. Multiple regression analyses revealed that trait attachment anxiety and the anxiety prime predict dysfunctional attitudes, which in turn predict state-self esteem. Finally, state-self esteem predicted state depression and rendered previously significant associations between attachment anxiety, avoidance, anxiety priming, dysfunctional attitudes and depression insignificant when included in the analysis. DYSFUNCTIONAL ATTITUDES AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM 3 Dysfunctional Attitudes and Low Self-Esteem Mediate the Effect of Attachment Anxiety Priming on Depression Attachment theory posits that interactions with caregivers early in life form the basis of cognitive “working models” about the self and others which people use to navigate interpersonal relationships (Bowlby, 1969/1982). According to research based on the theory, having an inconsistent and unresponsive caregiver contributes to a negative working model, which causes an insecure attachment consisting of negative thoughts and feelings about oneself and others that then transfer from one relationship to another (Hazan & Shaver, 1994). Insecure attachment can manifest itself in two main ways. Individuals who are avoidant exhibit fear of closeness with others, and strict self-reliance, whereas those of the anxious style tend to have a strong fear of abandonment and become highly distraught when others are not available (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998). A wealth of research has shown that the working models associated with anxious and avoidant attachment styles are related to a variety of psychopathologies, one of them being depression (Shorey & Snyder, 2006). One reason for this is that being insecurely attached is related to being more cognitively disposed (Beck, 1987) to low self-esteem and other vulnerabilities. Studying these working models appears to be a useful way to determine the cognitive and emotional pathways that lead to depression. Roberts, Gotlib, and Kassel (1996) demonstrated that the relationship between attachment style and depressive symptoms is mediated almost entirely by maladaptive self-views and low self-esteem. However, their studies and others like them have been correlational in nature. The current study expands upon them by investigating whether experimentally primed anxious attachment increases depressive affect, and whether state self-esteem and dysfunctional attitudes mediate the causal relationship between anxious DYSFUNCTIONAL ATTITUDES AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM 4 attachment and depression. Anxious attachment in particular was focused on because previous research has shown that the relationship between avoidant attachment and depression is not mediated by dysfunctional attitudes, but other pathways (Lee & Hankin, 2009). Attachment Theory and Research Bowlby (1969/1982) developed his theory of attachment as a way of explaining the infant-caregiver relationship. He observed, in his own studies and those of others (based upon children who had been separated from their primary caregiver during World War II and also from children who had to endure long stays in the hospital while separated from their parents), that infants who had been separated from their caregivers exhibited extreme levels of distress and made drastic efforts to increase proximity to a caregiver (i.e., crying, clinging, and searching). While the tendency of this time period was to consider this behavior a manifestation of early defense mechanisms, as posited by psychoanalysts, Bowlby noted that these behaviors can be observed across a wide variety of mammalian species and therefore appeared to have a biological basis. Based on these observations, Bowlby (1969/1982) posited an evolutionary function to infants’ maintaining proximity to their caregivers. The hypothetical psychological underpinnings of proximity maintenance came to be known as the attachment behavioral system, a biologically ingrained system with a goal of maintaining proximity in the face of danger, and the function of promoting survival. Distance between an infant and caregiver, especially in threatening situations, activates the attachment system, which activates behaviors that increase the likelihood of regaining closeness. Because these behaviors occur in response to the distancing of a primary caregiver, they were named “attachment behaviors,” whose sole purpose was to maintain proximity and a corresponding sense of “felt security” (Sroufe & Waters, 1977). As a result, DYSFUNCTIONAL ATTITUDES AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM 5 these caregivers came to be referred to as attachment figures; for infants this would be a primary caregiver, one who provides care and protection necessary for survival. Furthermore, the presence of an attachment figure enables infants to explore without being inhibited by anxiety. The attachment behavioral system is modeled after ethological explanations of human development, but also provides a basis for explaining emotion regulation and personality. Modeled on control systems theory, the main function of the system is to constantly check whether or not the caregiver is within proximity. If yes, then infants feel secure and confident in themselves and are free to explore the environment (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters & Wall, 1978). The attachment figure provides a “secure base” for the infant. However, if the caregiver is not within proximity, the attachment behaviors discussed above come into effect. In this case children feel acute anxiety and distress and are too preoccupied to explore the environment and be social. In this way, the attachment system begins to shape personality at an early age with anxious infants developing inhibited personality characteristics. Experiences with early caregivers cause individual differences to develop among infants, called attachment styles (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Mary Ainsworth developed a laboratory technique called the strange situation to measure these styles, in which an infant and parent are both brought into the laboratory and are separated and then reunited in a series of brief stages. As Bowlby posited, the attachment behavioral system usually operates in such a way that infants will seek proximity when a caregiver leaves, but also that the system will be deactivated once proximity is restored and that children will be calmed by this reunion. However, the strange situation shows us that this is not always the case; though the system operates that way for the majority of infants (whom Ainsworth called “secure”), there are two main alternative patterns of attachment system functioning: “anxious-ambivalent,” and “avoidant. ” DYSFUNCTIONAL ATTITUDES AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM 6 Securely attached infants in the strange situation become concerned when separated from the parent, but are easily comforted when the parent returns (Ainsworth et al., 1978). However, some infants appear to have mixed emotions when it comes to the reunion phase. These infants are not easily comforted and are referred to as having an anxious-ambivalent attachment style, as they seek comfort from caregivers but also express anger at them for having left, and appear to experience continued anxiety even when proximity is restored. Avoidant infants seem to show little emotion when their caregivers leave. These infants ignore their caregivers upon return and even go so far as to actively avoid contact with them. These three styles develop within the first year of life as a result of the level of sensitivity and responsiveness of the infant’s caregiver (Ainsworth et al., 1978; Bowlby & Ainsworth, 1991). Infants who are secure tend to have caregivers who are sensitive and responsive to their needs. Anxious-ambivalent infants are those whose caregivers are delayed or inconsistent in responding to their cries or interfere with their activities. These infants will cry more, engage in less exploration in general, and have an anxious disposition. Caregivers who are consistently rejecting and unresponsive produce avoidant infants who avoid their caregivers and seem indifferent to their presence. These connections show that infants learn what to expect from their caregivers, and construct working models of themselves and their social interactions, which are based upon what they have learned to expect (Bowlby, 1969/1982). For example, infants who are securely attached will learn to expect that if they are hungry and cry, their caregivers will most likely respond by feeding them. This example also shows the interplay between working models and attachment style that will be elaborated upon in the next section. The way in which caregivers respond to infants needs allow the infants to form mental representations about what to expect in close relationships, which in turn affect how they process DYSFUNCTIONAL ATTITUDES AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM 7 social information (Bowlby, 1973). These mental representations are referred to as internal working models and can shape perceptions of social interactions in positive or negative ways, depending on whether the individual’s attachment style is secure or insecure. Attachment in Adulthood Bowlby contended that attachment processes are so important to human character that they operate from the “cradle to the grave” (1982). The mechanisms by which these processes are proposed to transfer are the same working models that are begun in infancy; however,