Relationships of Attachment Behaviors with Depression and Marital Quality among Women in Ahvaz, Iran: Mediating Role of Self-esteem

Depression could negatively impact the mood, behavior, attitude, and efficiency of women and massively harm family performance. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of the self-esteem in the association of attachment behaviors with depression and marital quality in women in Ahvaz, Iran.

The study was descriptive-correlational estimated through structural equation modeling. The statistical population was made up of married women with at least high school education in Ahvaz, Iran in 2021. Convenience sampling was used to choose 340 individuals. The instruments included the Quality Marriage Index (QMI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI- 13), the Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement (BARE) Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). A path analysis approach was adopted to evaluate the proposed model and the indirect relationships were examined through bootstrapping in AMOS version 24.

The mean and standard deviation (SD) of depression, marital quality, and self-esteem were 5.78±2.86, 28.58±6.48, and 7.22±2.93, respectively. Depression was negatively correlated with marital quality (r=-0.78) and self-esteem (r=-0.72) in women. The direct paths from attachment behaviors to self-esteem (P<0.001) and from self-esteem to depression (β=-0.53, P<0.001) and marital quality (β=0.18, P<0.001) were significant. The indirect paths from attachment behaviors to depression and marital quality through self-esteem were also significant (P<0.05).

The suggested model suited the data well. The relationship between attachment behaviors, depression, and marital quality in women was mediated by self-esteem. Workshops on boosting self-esteem and outlining its advantageous effects on women’s mental health are advised.