Attachment Relationship Quality and Depression in Treated Female Youth

Female depressive disorders increase throughout adolescence. Research implicates the role of family background factors in adolescent depression, yet theoretical models of development guide few studies. The relationship between felt security of attachment and depression among female adolescents undergoing psychiatric treatment was investigated with Attachment theory forming the theoretical basis of the study. Consistent with Attachment theory, the failure to experience felt security in her primary attachment relationship increases a female adolescent’s risk for depression.