The Mediating Role of Defense Mechanisms in the Relationship Between Attachment Pathologies and the Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety

Subject Areas : Clinical psychology

Tohid Ranjbari ¹ , Mohammad Ali Besharat ² , Reza Pourhossein ³

1 - MA in Clinical Psychology University of Tehran
2 - University of Tehran
3 - University of Tehran

Received: 2017-12-10 Accepted : 2017-12-10 Published : 2017-09-23

Keywords: Anxiety, Depression, attachment, defense mechanism,

Abstract :

The present study aimed to determine the mediating role of defense mechanisms in the relationship between attachment pathologies and the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Four hundred and six participants (242 boys and 164 girls) were recruited to fill out Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI; Besharat, 2011, 2013), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), and Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ; Andrews, Singh & Bond, 1993). The results of path analysis indicated that the proposed model had a good fit with the observed data, confirming that the relationship between attachment pathologies and the symptoms of depression and anxiety is a non-linear relationship. Specifically, it was found that attachment pathologies affect the depression and anxiety symptoms through defense mechanisms. Accordingly, it is very important to consider defense mechanisms in addition to attachment pathologies in depression and anxiety disorders.

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