Adult Attachment and Depression in a Sample of Undergraduate Students: The Mediating Roles of Rumination and Suppression of Emotional Expression
AUTHOR : 한유경, 신나나
INFORMATION : page. 91~110 / 2019 Vol.26 No.1
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating roles of rumination and suppression of emotional expression on the relationship between adult attachment and depression in a sample of undergraduate students. A total of 274 undergraduate students participated in the survey. The data were analyzed using t-tests, correlations, and multiple mediational analyses. The main results of this study are as follows. First, undergraduate students’ adult attachment had a direct effect on depression. Students who had higher levels of attachment-related anxiety and avoidance experienced more depression. Second, rumination partially mediated the relationship between attachment-related anxiety and avoidance and depression. Undergraduate students who had higher levels of attachment-related anxiety and avoidance used more rumination and the more they used rumination, the higher levels of depression they experienced. Third, the suppression of emotional expression mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and depression. This study confirmed the relationship between adult attachment and depression among undergraduate students and found different pathways of attachment-related anxiety and avoidance. These findings have implications for future research and program development aimed at identifying scientific strategies for undergraduate students who experience high levels of depression.