1. Ines Rezo*, Gordana Keresteš**
Attachment and internalizing problems in adolescence: The mediating role of personality
Ines Rezo*, Gordana Keresteš**
*University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, Social Work Study Centre, Zagreb, Croatia
**University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Zagreb, Croatia
pos101.24
Introduction
Insecure attachment to parents predicts development of depression and anxiety (e.g. Lee & Hankin, 2009)
Studies assessing relationship between mother–child and father–child attachment and internalizing symptoms yielded mixed results (Brumariu & Kerns, 2010)
Personality development is assumed to be influenced by internal working models of attachment, based on early experiences in the infant-caregiver interactions (e.g. Hagekull & Bohlin, 2003)
There is no evidence on interrelationships between attachment to parents, personality traits and internalizing problems in adolescence
The aim of this study was to examine:
Does the quality of adolescents’ attachment to parents relate differently to different internalizing problems, that is, anxiety versus depression?
Do attachment to mother and attachment to father relate differently to adolescents’ internalizing problems?
Does adolescent personality mediate the links between attachment to parents and internalizing problems?
Models B SE β
Criterion depression: F (1, 967) = ***, R2 = .122
Attachment to mothers
-.10
0.008
-.35***
Criterion anxiety: F (1, 967) = 62.77***, R2 = .06
-.07
0.009
-.25***
Criterion depression: F (1, 967) = ***, R2 = .131
Attachment to fathers
-.09
0.007
-.36***
Criterion anxiety: F (1, 967) = 88.74***, R2 = .083
-.29***
Conclusions
The results are in accordance with previous studies on the relationship between attachment and internalizing problems
Adolescents’ depression was better explained by attachment to parents than adolescents’ anxiety
Attachment to fathers showed somewhat better predictive validity than attachment to mothers, both for anxiety and depression
Personality traits mediated the relationship between attachment to mothers and fathers and depression and anxiety
Neuroticism and agreeableness were mediators for both the quality of attachment to mothers’ and attachment to fathers’ relationship with adolescents’ depression
Neuroticism, openness to experience and agreeableness mediated the association between the quality of attachment to mothers and adolescents’ anxiety, as well as the association between the quality of attachment to fathers and adolescents’ anxiety
Neuroticism was the strongest mediator in all analyses using pairwise contrast
b5= .02
b4= -.07***
b3=.02
b1=.32***
b2= -.04
c'=-.05***
a2=.08***
a5=.15***
a4=.11***
a1= -.11***
a3= -.03*
Attachment to mother
Extraversion
Openness
Agreeableness 
Neuroticism
Conscientiousness
b5= .02
b4= -.07**
b3=.07*
b1=.30***
b2= -.02
c'=-.05***
a2=.08***
a5=.15***
a4=.11***
a1= -.11***
a3= -.03*
Attachment to mother
Extraversion
Openness
Agreeableness 
Neuroticism
Conscientiousness
Depression
Anxiety
Figure 1. Attachment to mother as a predictor of adolescents’ depression, mediated by adolescents’ personality traits.
Figure 2. Attachment to mother as a predictor of adolescents’ anxiety, mediated by adolescents’ personality traits.
References
Armsden, G.C., & Greenberg, M.T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427–454.
Brumariu, L. E., & Kerns, K. A. (2010). Parent–child attachment and internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence: A review of empirical findings and future directions. Development and psychopathology, 22,
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Hagekull, B., & Bohlin, G. (2003). Early temperament and attachment as predictors of the Five Factor Model of personality. Attachment & human development, 5, 2-18.
Lee, A., & Hankin, B. L. (2009). Insecure attachment, dysfunctional attitudes, and low self-esteem predicting prospective symptoms of depression and anxiety during adolescence. Journal of clinical child & Adolescent Psychology, 38,
Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour research and therapy, 33,
Method
Participants
968 first grade high school students (M=15.16; SD=0.481; 50.6% males)
Measures
Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA; Armsden and Greenberg, 1987) measured quality of attachment to parents; higher scores indicate higher quality of attachment
NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1989, 1992) measured the personality traits in adolescence; higher scores indicate higher levels of a trait
Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) measured internalizing problems. In this study only scores for the Depression and Anxiety scales were used; higher scores indicate higher level of depression and anxiety
b5= .03
b4= -.08***
b3=.02
b1=.31***
b2= -.04
c'=-.03***
a2=.07***
a5=.13***
a4=.11***
a1= -.14***
a3= -.03**
Attachment to father
Extraversion
Openness
Agreeableness 
Neuroticism
Conscientiousness
b5= .01
b4= -.07**
b3=.07**
b1=.29***
b2= -.02
c'=-.03***
a2=.07***
a5=.13***
a4=.11***
a1= -.14***
a3= -.03**
Attachment to father
Extraversion
Openness
Agreeableness 
Neuroticism
Conscientiousness
Depression
Anxiety
The study is a part of the project FEHAP, fully financed by the Croatian Science Foundation. The aim of the project is to advance the understanding of the effects of family economic hardship on family relations, parenting, and adolescents’ psychosocial and educational problems at the time of a nationwide economic crisis.
Figure 3. Attachment to father as a predictor of adolescents’ depression, mediated by adolescents’ personality traits.
Figure 4. Attachment to father as a predictor of adolescents’ anxiety, mediated by adolescents’ personality traits.