Roles of attachment and self-esteem: impact of early life stress on depressive symptoms among Japanese institutionalized children

BMC Psychiatry

Akemi Tomoda¹  Hanako Suzuki² 

[1] Research Center for Child Mental Development

[2] , University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193, Japan;International Student Center, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

关键词: Self-esteem;    Maltreatment;    Institutionalized children;    Depressive symptoms;    Attachment;    Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs);   

Others  :  1123298
DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-015-0385-1

 received in 2014-07-04, accepted in 2015-01-14,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Although exposure to early life stress is known to affect mental health, the underlying mechanisms of its impacts on depressive symptoms among institutionalized children and adolescents have been little studied.

Methods

To investigate the role of attachment and self-esteem in association with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depressive symptoms, 342 children (149 boys, 193 girls; age range 9-18 years old, mean age = 13.5 ± 2.4) living in residential foster care facilities in Japan completed questionnaires related to internal working models, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Their care workers completed questionnaires on ACEs.

Results

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was created and the goodness of fit was examined (CMIN = 129.223, df = 1.360, GFI = .959, AGFI = .936, CFI = .939, RMSEA = .033). Maltreatment negatively predicted scores on secure attachment, but positively predicted scores on avoidant and ambivalent attachment. The secure attachment score negatively predicted depressive symptoms. The ambivalent attachment score positively predicted depressive symptoms both directly and through self-esteem, whereas the avoidant attachment score positively predicted depressive symptoms only directly. Maltreatment neither directly predicts self-esteem nor depressive symptoms, and parental illness/death and parental sociopathic behaviors did not predict any variables.

Conclusions

Results show that the adversity of child maltreatment affects depression through attachment styles and low self-esteem among institutionalized children. Implications of child maltreatment and recommendations for child welfare services and clinical interventions for institutionalized children are discussed.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Suzuki and Tomoda; licensee BioMed Central.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

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