Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of alexithmia on the relationship between attachment and depression in early adulthood. Methods: A convenience sample of 260 young adults responded to the survey. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and path analyses using bootstrapping. Results: The path analysis indicated that anxious attachment and alexithymia was positively related to depression, but there was not a significant relationship between avoidant attachment and depression. In a modified path model, alexithymia mediated the positive effects of anxious attachment and avoidant attachment on depression. Conclusion: Our study findings suggest that early adults who have insecure attachments are vulnerable to alexithymia and depression. Targeted interventions to improve emotional expressive ability may reduce depression in early adulthood.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 124-132 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:-This article is article is a condensed form of the first author's master's thesis from University. -This study was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and future Planning (No. 2015R1A2A2A01004575/No. 2019R1H1A2039669)
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.
Keywords
- Adult
- Affective symptoms
- Depression
- Object attachment
