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Cited by 200Attachment and Relationship DynamicsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Emotion regulation as a mediator in the relationship between attachment and depressive symptomatology: A systematic review

Malik, Sonia, Wells, Adrian, Wittkowski, Anja·2015·Journal of Affective Disorders
DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.007
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Abstract

Background Attachment theory has been conceptualised as an emotion regulation theory. Research attributes the occurrence of depressive symptoms to a dysfunction of emotion regulation. Anxious attachment and avoidant attachment, which are two dimensions of insecure attachment, are hypothesised to lead to the development of hyperactivating and deactivating emotion regulation strategies.Methods This systematic review examines the literature on the role of emotion regulation and its relationship with attachment and depressive symptomatology. Furthermore, we examined evidence for hyperactivating and deactivating strategies.Results Nineteen papers were identified. Adolescent studies demonstrated associations of varying strength and found unreliable and contradictory results for emotion regulation as a mediator. Conversely, adult studies provided strong evidence for emotion regulation as a mediator. The hypothesis that hyperactivating strategies mediate anxious attachment and depressive symptoms was consistently supported. Mixed evidence was provided for deactivating strategies as mediators to avoidant attachment and depressive symptomatology.Limitations Limitations of methodology and quality of studies are identified with particular attention drawn to problems with conceptual singularity and multicollinearity.Conclusions Despite mixed variable findings, this review indicates that emotion regulation is a mediator between attachment and depression. Hyperactivating strategies, in particular, have been consistently noted as mediators for anxious attachment and depressive symptomatology, whereas evidence for deactivating strategies as mediators between avoidant attachment and depressive symptoms has been mixed. Future research should test the mediators of attachment and symptoms and examine theoretically grounded models of psychopathology, such as metacognitive and cognitive models using clinical samples.

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  • When a child's sense of attachment becomes chronically disorganized, lifelong problems with relationships, the core sense of self or identity, suicidality, and addictions may develop.

    “When a child’s sense of attachment becomes chronically disorganized, lifelong problems with relationships, the core sense of self or identity, suicidality, and addictions may develop [80, 104, 114, 164, 167].”

    From Complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder (2021) · cites this paper as [114]

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Authors
Malik, S., Wells, A., & Wittkowski, A.
Affiliations
University of Manchester (GB)
Corresponding author
Wittkowski, Anja
ORCID
Wittkowski, Anja
Venue
Journal of Affective Disorders
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-02
Volume
172
Pages
428-444
ISSN
0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.007
OpenAlex
W2021662511
Cited by
200
References
143
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 3
FWCI
1.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
emotion regulation, attachment, depressive symptoms, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, insecure attachment, mediation, adolescents, adults, attachment theory
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Avoidance Learning, Depression, Depressive Disorder, Emotions, Humans, Male, Object Attachment

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