These 554 individuals were mailed a brief questionnaire to determine their eligibility for inclusion in the study. The remaining 428 individuals were mailed a questionnaire package. A covering letter with the questionnaire package indicated that the return of the completed questionnaires implied informed consent was given to participate in the study. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Conjoint Medical Research Ethics Board of the University of Calgary. Each depressive symptom is scored on a 0 to 3 scale of frequency of occurrence in the past week.
Higher scores indicate greater insecurity with respect to the attachment dimension being measured.
The degree of support satisfaction is rated on a 6-point scale from very dissatisfied to very satisfied. The eighth item gives an overall global rating of perceived stress. Each item is rated on a 9-point scale from none to extreme. There were 129 women in the depressed group and 291 women in the nondepressed group. The majority of women in both groups were currently living with their attachment figure.