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Emotion‐driven or relationship‐driven? Longitudinal associations between insecure parent–child attachment, perceived family support and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.

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Title: Emotion‐driven or relationship‐driven? Longitudinal associations between insecure parent–child attachment, perceived family support and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.
Authors: Ying, Jiefeng (AUTHOR), Liu, Sihan (AUTHOR), Shi, Jialin (AUTHOR), Shi, Qian (AUTHOR), Wu, Xinchun (AUTHOR)
Source: British Journal of Psychology. Nov2025, Vol. 116 Issue 4, p789-806. 18p.
Subjects: Families & psychology, Prevention of mental depression, High schools, Statistical power analysis, Research funding, Parent-child relationships, Attachment behavior, Sex distribution, Descriptive statistics, Chi-squared test, Anxiety, Longitudinal method, Family support, Data analysis software, Counseling, Mental depression, Avoidance (Psychology), Adolescence
Geographic Terms: China
Abstract: Insecure parent–child attachment is often observed in adolescents with depressive symptoms. However, the directionality of the association between insecure parent–child attachment and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential mechanisms of family support, is not clearly understood. This study investigated the reciprocal longitudinal associations between insecure parent–child attachment (i.e. attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety), perceived family support, and depressive symptoms. A total of 1535 Chinese adolescents (52.6% being boys; baseline Mage = 13.19 years, SD = 0.51) participated in a four‐wave longitudinal study with 6‐month intervals. Random intercept cross‐lagged panel models were employed to disentangle the between‐ and within‐family effects. The results indicated that there was a vicious cycle in which attachment avoidance and depressive symptoms reinforced each other. Furthermore, an increase in depressive symptoms significantly predicted a decrease in perceived family support over time, subsequently leading to higher levels of both attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety. These findings suggest the coexistence of emotion‐driven processes (from depressive symptoms to attachment avoidance) and relationship‐driven processes (from attachment avoidance to depressive symptoms). Additionally, psychotherapists and family therapists are advised to enhance adolescents' perceived family support to nip depressive symptoms in the bud, therefore preventing subsequent insecure parent–child attachments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of British Journal of Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Emotion‐driven or relationship‐driven? Longitudinal associations between insecure parent–child attachment, perceived family support and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22British+Journal+of+Psychology%22">British Journal of Psychology</searchLink>. Nov2025, Vol. 116 Issue 4, p789-806. 18p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Families+%26+psychology%22">Families & psychology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prevention+of+mental+depression%22">Prevention of mental depression</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+schools%22">High schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistical+power+analysis%22">Statistical power analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent-child+relationships%22">Parent-child relationships</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attachment+behavior%22">Attachment behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+distribution%22">Sex distribution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chi-squared+test%22">Chi-squared test</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anxiety%22">Anxiety</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Longitudinal+method%22">Longitudinal method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Family+support%22">Family support</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Counseling%22">Counseling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+depression%22">Mental depression</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Avoidance+%28Psychology%29%22">Avoidance (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adolescence%22">Adolescence</searchLink>
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  Data: Insecure parent–child attachment is often observed in adolescents with depressive symptoms. However, the directionality of the association between insecure parent–child attachment and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential mechanisms of family support, is not clearly understood. This study investigated the reciprocal longitudinal associations between insecure parent–child attachment (i.e. attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety), perceived family support, and depressive symptoms. A total of 1535 Chinese adolescents (52.6% being boys; baseline Mage = 13.19 years, SD = 0.51) participated in a four‐wave longitudinal study with 6‐month intervals. Random intercept cross‐lagged panel models were employed to disentangle the between‐ and within‐family effects. The results indicated that there was a vicious cycle in which attachment avoidance and depressive symptoms reinforced each other. Furthermore, an increase in depressive symptoms significantly predicted a decrease in perceived family support over time, subsequently leading to higher levels of both attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety. These findings suggest the coexistence of emotion‐driven processes (from depressive symptoms to attachment avoidance) and relationship‐driven processes (from attachment avoidance to depressive symptoms). Additionally, psychotherapists and family therapists are advised to enhance adolescents' perceived family support to nip depressive symptoms in the bud, therefore preventing subsequent insecure parent–child attachments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of British Journal of Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=188606572
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/bjop.12792
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 18
        StartPage: 789
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Families & psychology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Prevention of mental depression
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: High schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistical power analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parent-child relationships
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Attachment behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sex distribution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Chi-squared test
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Anxiety
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Longitudinal method
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Family support
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Counseling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental depression
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Avoidance (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adolescence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: China
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Emotion‐driven or relationship‐driven? Longitudinal associations between insecure parent–child attachment, perceived family support and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.
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            NameFull: Ying, Jiefeng
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            NameFull: Liu, Sihan
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            NameFull: Shi, Jialin
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            NameFull: Shi, Qian
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            – D: 01
              M: 11
              Text: Nov2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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