The Relationships Among Attachment Quality, Depressive Symptom Levels, and Metacognition Problems in Adolescents

Objectives:The aim of this study was to examine the association between metacognition problems in adolescents, their attachment quality, and depressive symptom levels.Materials and Methods:The sample consisted of 559 adolescents (52.5% males, n=293; 47.5% females, n=266) aged between 11 and 17 years. The participants completed the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), the short form of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (s-IPPA), and the metacognitions questionnaire for children. The correlation coefficients of the associations among the scale scores were analyzed by the pearson product-moment correlation test. The process extension of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 24) for Windows was performed to evaluate the associations between the s-IPPA and CDI scores, and the mediating effects of metacognition problems between the two.Results:The CDI scores were negatively associated with maternal and paternal attachment levels. Furthermore, metacognition problems had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between attachment quality and depression.Conclusion:The results suggest that there is a relationship between insecure attachment and depression scores; further, metacognition problems increase the risk of developing depressive symptoms in adolescents with insecure attachment style. Further research on the success of therapeutic interventions about metacognition problems in the relationship between depressive symptom development and insecure attachment style may contribute to our knowledge about these aspects.