A comparison of attachment styles in individuals with depression, anxiety disorders, and those without these disorders

Deficiency in emotion regulation is considered to be a fundamental problem among people suffering from mood and anxiety disorders. Developing in the context of mother-child relationship from early childhood, attachment style is the major determinant of emotion regulation. Pathologies of attachment styles may influence the normal process of emotion regulation. The main aim of this study was to compare attachment styles in individuals with depression, anxiety disorders, and those without these disorders. Two hundreds and twenty individuals (87 depressed, 64 anxious, 73 normal) voluntarily participated in the study. Following a psychiatric diagnosis of the disorders, participants were asked to complete the Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI; Besharat, 2005, 2011). The results indicated that the predominant attachment styles of the depressed, anxious, and normal individuals are avoidant, ambivalent, and secure, respectively. Comparison of attachment styles of participants provides evidence for the possible impact of pathological attachment styles on emotion regulation. The differences between attachment styles of the two groups of depressed and anxious patients also may justify their differences in terms of the kind of emotion regulation deficiency.