The Roots of Depression in Early Attachment Experiences

Abstract

This chapter reviews attachment theory and research with an eye to those features that are most relevant to current accounts of depression and its developmental origins. The attachment relationship between infant and caregiver, which is the first human relationship, plays a significant role in placing an individual at risk for depression in adulthood. In doing so, the chapter identifies the place that attachment might fill in existing theories of vulnerability to depression and reviews the aspects of attachment theory that are likely to be most relevant to understanding the developmental processes proposed to underlie depression vulnerability. This background allows specification of those aspects of attachment that might contribute to risk for depression. Early attachment experiences and their cognitive, emotional, and social consequences are compelling candidate contributors to risk for depression in later life. Many aspects of insecure and, especially, disorganized attachment processes align with our understanding of the social and cognitive mechanisms that increase the risk of depression. Theoretical integration is supplemented with references to existing empirical evidence; where such evidence is lacking in this relatively uncharted area, critical questions and suggestions that need empirical validation and exploration are addressed