Intergenerational transmission of attachment patterns in families of adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury: the mediating role of child insecure attachment.

Parental Insecure Attachment Styles and Clinical Psychological Symptoms in Adolescent Children: The Mediating Role of Coparenting

Adult Romantic Attachment and Parental Reflective Functioning in Parents of Pre-School Children: An Association Study With a Sex-Sensitive Approach.

BACKGROUND Parental reflective functioning (PRF) has important developmental roles in the offspring. The relationship between parents' attachment style and PRF, as well as their intergenerational transmission, have been object of investigation in recent years, however, the studies have been mostly limited to mothers and conducted with semi-structured interviews. We aimed to assess this relationship using self-reports (PRF Questionnaire and Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised), and discuss their impact on child development. METHODS A total of 240 parents of 262 pre-school children were recruited via online methods. They completed both questionnaires as well as data regarding sex and age of parents and children. General linear models were conducted to assess the relationship between PRF and attachment dimensions, controlled by potential sex and age confounders. RESULTS Anxious attachment was significantly associated with the "prementalization" and "certainty about mental states" subscales, with the models explaining 15.8% and 7% of their variability. These associations remained constant when performing sex-disaggregated analyses, and in both cases the sex-specific models explained a greater variability in men than in women. Attachment style didn't show any significant associations with the "interest and curiosity" subscale, nonetheless, differences between fathers and mothers in this latter dimension were also observed in the univariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS Parental attachment styles are significantly associated with specific PRF domains, and these associations differ between mothers and fathers. Our results replicate previous findings, obtained mostly with interview-based assessments, and incorporate a sex-specific approach. Finally, the impact of PRF and adult attachment on the socio-emotional and behavioral development of the offspring is reviewed and discussed, as well as the clinical implications that could be derived from the extensive use of these tools.

From defeat to non-suicidal self-injury: the roles of entrapment and interpersonal relationship patterns in adolescence

Introduction Based on the integrated motivational-volitional model and the functional theory of self-injury, this study examined the association between defeat and adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), with entrapment as a mediator and interpersonal relationship patterns as moderators. Methods Participants were 4,515 secondary school students (Mage = 15.24 years, SD = 1.66). Latent profile analysis was used to identify interpersonal relationship patterns across father-child, mother-child, peer, and teacher-student relationships. A moderated mediation model was then tested to examine the direct and indirect associations between defeat and NSSI across the identified profiles. Results Overall, 33.9% of adolescents reported engaging in NSSI at least once. Defeat, entrapment, interpersonal relationships, and NSSI were significantly correlated, and entrapment partially mediated the association between defeat and NSSI. Four interpersonal relationship profiles were identified: low, moderate, and high interpersonal relationship groups and a father-child and teacher-student relationship deficit group. Interpersonal relationship profiles moderated both the direct association between defeat and NSSI and the association between defeat and entrapment. The defeat–NSSI association was strongest in the low interpersonal relationship group, whereas the defeat–entrapment association was strongest in the high interpersonal relationship group. Discussion The findings indicate that entrapment is an important psychological mechanism linking defeat to adolescent NSSI and that the strength of these pathways varies across adolescents’ interpersonal relationship configurations. Prevention efforts may benefit from addressing both defeat-related psychological processes and adolescents’ broader relational contexts.

Adolescents’ Attachment-Related Insecurity with Custodial Grandmothers: Relations to Their Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

Objective. The primary goals of the present study were to (a) differentiate types of adolescents’ attachment-related insecurity with their custodial grandmothers, and (b) examine associations, including bidirectional relations, between grandchildren’s attachment insecurity and their maladjustment symptoms 9 months later. Background. There is limited research on attachment-related insecurity for adolescents in the care of custodial grandparents—a group that may be at heightened risk for insecure relationships and poor adjustment symptoms. Methods. Adolescent grandchildren (n = 348; aged 11 to 18 years, 39.7% male) reported on the quality of their relationship with their custodial grandmother and their internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T1 and T2 (9 months later). Bifactor analyses were used to compute orthogonal indices of attachment-related general insecurity, anxious-ambivalence, and avoidance. Results. Within time, general insecurity predicted higher internalizing and externalizing symptoms. T1 general insecurity longitudinally predicted higher T2 externalizing and internalizing symptoms, with relations for externalizing symptoms moderated by length of care. Interestingly, T1 internalizing symptoms positively predicted T2 general insecurity. Conclusions. Consistent with attachment theory and prior research on parent-child relationships, grandchildren’s relationship quality with their custodial grandmother predicted later maladjustment symptoms. Implications. Findings highlight the importance of attending to grandchildren’s attachment-related insecurity in providing supportive services and resources to custodial grandfamilies.

Young Adults With and Without Non-Suicidal Self-Injury History: A Moderated Mediation Model of Friends' Social Support Between Depression and Loneliness.

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the differences in perception of depressive symptoms, loneliness, and social support from friends between young adults with and without Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) engagement in the past year. Moreover, we proposed a model analyzing the moderating effect of NSSI engagement in the mediating role of perceived social support from friends between depressive symptoms and loneliness. METHOD A total of 320 young adults with a history of NSSI (aged 18-35 years) were assigned to two groups: NSSI engagement within the last 12 months (n = 160) and no NSSI episode in the previous 12 months (n = 160). Hayes' PROCESS macro for mediation analysis in SPSS was used to test the hypothesized model. RESULTS Participants with NSSI engagement in the last 12 months manifested significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms and loneliness. Conversely, young adults without NSSI engagement in the last 12 months manifested higher levels of social support from friends. This study found that social support from friends mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and loneliness. Moreover, the moderation model was significant, explaining that the indirect effect of social support from friends was significantly stronger among participants without NSSI engagement in the last 12 months. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the intricate interplay between depressive symptoms, loneliness, and social support from friends in a sample of Portuguese young adults with NSSI engagement behaviors in the last 12 months. These findings emphasize the need for a better understanding of factors that contribute to NSSI engagement behaviors particularly among young adults.

The mediating role of hopelessness and emotional dysregulation on the relationship between invalidating environments in childhood and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) encompasses any self-inflicted harm to the body surface without suicidal intent. The main risk factors include invalidating environments during childhood, hopelessness, and emotional dysregulation, which are the primary variables studied in this work. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether there is an interaction between these variables and how they relate to the onset of NSSI in adolescents. A total of 1733 students aged 12 to 19 composed the sample (mean age of 15.76, SD = 1.77; n = 809, 46.7% male and n = 924, 53.3%, female). Descriptive statistics were calculated for the sample, along with the correlations between the different measured variables. Two mediation models were analyzed, with invalidating environments as the indirect variable and NSSI as the direct variable in both cases. Hopelessness was the mediating variable in one model and emotional dysregulation in the other. Results show that 24.6% of adolescents have self-injured at least once in their lifetime, and 12.7% have resorted to more severe methods. All analyzed variables positively and significantly correlate with NSSI, except for the attention/disattention subscale of emotional dysregulation. In both mediation models, both hopelessness and emotional dysregulation have an indirect effect on the relationship between invalidating environments by both father and mother and the onset of NSSI during adolescence. In conclusion, hopelessness and emotional dysregulation increase the risk of engaging in self-injurious behaviors during adolescence when invalidating situations have been experienced during childhood.