engleski

Attachment and internalizing problems in adolescence: The mediating role of personality

Insecure attachment to parents has been proven to contribute to the development of internalizing problems in children and adolescents. However, many questions concerning this relationship remain unanswered. The aim of this study was to examine three research questions. First, does the quality of adolescents’ attachment to parents relate differently to different internalizing problems, that is, anxiety versus depression? Second, do attachment to mother and attachment to father relate differently to adolescents’ internalizing problems? Third, does adolescent personality mediate the links between attachment to parents and internalizing problems? The study was conducted on 1066 1st grade high- school students (Mage=15.18, SDage=0.511), from six counties in Croatia, using measures of sociodemographic variables, attachment to parents (Inventory of Parent And Peer Attachment – IPPA, Armsden & Greenberg, 1987), personality (NEO FFI, Costa & McCrae, 1992), adolescents’ depression and anxiety (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale – DASS 21, Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that attachment to parents was better predictor of adolescents’ depression than anxiety, while the attachment to father was better predictor of internalizing problems than attachment to mother. The mediation effects were examined by using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. Multiple mediational analyses were conducted to test whether the effects of attachment to mother and father on depression and anxiety were mediated by personality traits of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. Neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness partially mediated the relationship of attachment to father and depression, whereas neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness partially mediated the relationship of attachment to father and anxiety. Relationships between attachment to mother and depression and anxiety were partially mediated by agreeableness. Results suggest different roles of personality traits in mediating relationship between attachment to parents and adolescents’ internalizing problems and have important implications for prevention and intervention programs for reducing internalizing problems in adolescence.

attachment, personality, adolescence

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