The impact of parental-childhood attachment bonds on stress, anxiety, and depression in adulthood

Attachment bonds between children and parents is an emotional connection which can provide security for children during a developmental period in their lives. Attachment bonds during childhood can be secure, avoidant, anxious or disorganized and have shown to have an effect on mental health in adulthood. The Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) was used to measure attachment bonds between a child and parent. DASS-21 was used to measure current symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Participants were 133 in total. Correlation analysis was used to assess the strength of the relationship between PARQ and DASS-21. Results showed strong correlation between PARQ and anxiety symptoms. In addition, father bonds showed stronger correlation with DASS-21 than mother bonds, indicating that father attachment bonds in childhood have a stronger association with mental health later in life. These results indicate that experiencing rejection in childhood can affect emotional well-being during adulthood and support former studies showing the negative effects that childhood rejection can have on mental well-being in adulthood.

Author dc:creator

• Bergdís Rán Jónsdóttir 1995-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskólinn í Reykjavík

• Sálfræði
• Þunglyndi
• Kvíði
• Streita
• Psychology
• Depression
• Anxiety

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/35861

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/35861