Author:

Keywords:

Social Sciences, Psychology, Educational, Psychology, Developmental, Psychology, ASSOCIATIONS, ADOLESCENCE, PARENT, Adolescent, Child, Depression, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Help-Seeking Behavior, Humans, Male, Mother-Child Relations, Object Attachment, Self Report, Stress, Psychological, 1701 Psychology, 1702 Cognitive Sciences, Developmental & Child Psychology, 3904 Specialist studies in education, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology

Abstract:

This study tested whether children's more anxious and avoidant attachment is linked to decreased support-seeking behavior toward their mother during stress in middle childhood, and whether children's decreased support-seeking behavior enhances the impact of experiencing life events on the increase of depressive symptoms 18 months later. Ninety-eight 8- to 12-year-old children filled out questionnaires assessing their level of anxious and avoidant attachment and depressive symptoms. Children's support-seeking behavior was observed through measuring the time children waited before calling for their mother's help while carrying out a stressful task. Results supported the hypothesis that more anxiously or avoidantly attached children waited longer before seeking maternal support. Moreover, waiting longer was related to increased depressive symptoms at follow-up in children who reported more experienced life events.