The relationship between self-report adult attachment dimensions and depressive symptoms: a meta-analysis

Depression affects hundreds of thousands of Australian adults every year, is a major cause of disease burden and is the most common condition associated with suicide. Research has consistently reported a link between attachment in adulthood and the presence of depressive symptoms. The aim of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis on the extant empirical literature reporting statistical relationships between self-reported attachment dimensions and self-reported depressive symptoms. A literature search and screening process resulted in a total of 107 studies (N=31,916) being selected for inclusion. Results demonstrated that secure attachment is negatively correlated with depression with a medium effect size (r = -.28), and both avoidant and anxious attachment are positively correlated with depression with medium and large effect sizes (r = .27 and r = .40, respectively). Since significant heterogeneity was found across the studies a number of categorical moderator variables related to sample and study design characteristics were explored. The relationship between various attachment dimensions and depression were moderated by sample composition, type of attachment measure and language of the sample. Implications for future research and clinical applications are discussed.