title: Assessing attachment cognitions and their associations with depression in youth with eating or drug misuse disorders.
abstract: The study investigates associations between attachment cognitions and depression symptoms in 71 15-25-year-olds, 26 of whom have eating disorders, and 20 of whom are drug misusers. Attachment cognitions were measured with the CaMir Q-sort, which provides indexes for secure, avoidant, and preoccupied attachment, as well as scores on 13 dimensions. The BDI-13 was used to measure depressive symptomatology. Consistent with the literature, BDI scores were associated with cognitions of preoccupied attachment. They were also related to cognitions of avoidant attachment, confirming Bowlby's theory on defensive exclusion. For participants with eating disorders, depressive symptomatology was related to preoccupation and parental interference, whereas for drug misusers, it was negatively related to security, preoccupation, parental support, and lack of parental concern. These findings help understand how attachment cognitions may participate in depressive symptomatology, namely in youth whose behavior problems may be associated with specific attachment experiences.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris X, Nanterre, France. raphaele.miljkovitch@u-paris10.fr
authors.forename: Raphaële
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miljkovitch
authors.forename: Blaise
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pierrehumbert
authors.forename: Athanassia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karmaniola
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Halfon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012919:Social Behavior; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*