Mother-Infant Attachment Style as a Predictor of Depression among Female Students

Background aim: A multitude of studies show an association between adult attachment styles and psychopathology. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the relationship between attachment style and depression among students of Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran. Methods: To this end, 157 female students were randomly selected. Data were obtained using a demographic form, Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI) (Hazan and Shaver), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). The data was analyzed by performing Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and regression analysis, using SPSS version 16. Results: Our findings indicated that secure attachment style had no significant correlation with depression, while Anxious/ambivalent attachment style had significant positive correlation with depression (r=0.24, P 0.05), and avoidant attachment style had significant positive correlation with the participants’ depression (r=0.15, P 0.05). Regression analysis reflected that attachment styles may predict depression. Finally, anxious/ambivalent style had a significant positive effect on depression (P 0.05, β=0.24), such that with one unit increase in the standard deviation of the predicting variable (anxious/ambivalent style), standard deviation of the dependent variable (depression) increased by 0.24 units (P 0.05). Conclusion: The results of the present study can promote understanding of attachment styles involved in the development of vulnerability to depression.