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Nugent, Sophie (2021) Investigating Attachment Styles as a Predictor of Depressive Symptoms and Friendship Quality; Gender Differences. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.
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Abstract
Research has shown that insecure attachment is associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and a range of other mental health issues. However, attachment and friendship quality in adulthood is scarcely examined in the literature. The present study sought to expand on previous findings about attachment and mental health, and investigate the association between attachment, depressive symptoms and friendship quality within an Irish context. Gender differences in these variables are examined. 408 participants with ages ranging from 18-68 participated in this study of three questionnaires (The Adult Attachment Scale, The Beck Depression Inventory and The Friendship Quality Scale). Results from multiple regression analysis, independent samples t-tests and Mann Whitney U tests indicate higher levels of depressive symptoms predict insecure attachment to a statistically significant level, and that these are both more prevalent in females than males. Attachment styles were not found to predict friendship quality in males or females. The results of the study suggest the need for future investigations into factors associated with the gender difference in attachment within relationships and depressive symptoms. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Undergraduate) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Attachment; Depressive symptoms; Friendship quality |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA790 Mental Health |
| Divisions: | School of Business > BA (Honours) in Psychology |
| Depositing User: | Clara Chan |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2021 11:43 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Sep 2021 15:45 |
| URI: | https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/4959 |
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