Date of Conferral

5-22-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Amanda Rose

Abstract

Depression among adolescents has increased over the years and can affect development and potentially lead to substance abuse, self-injurious behavior, and suicide. Adolescents with secure attachments to parents have been found to have fewer symptoms of depression. Co-rumination with friends has shown to be related to positive quality in friendships due to self-disclosure between friends; however, co-rumination also is related to an increase in depression. The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine whether adolescent’s attachment style with parents is associated with depression and whether this association is moderated by co-rumination with friends. The theories that were used to ground this study included attachment theory by Bowlby and Ainsworth and response styles theory by Nolen-Hoeksema. Bowlby and Ainsworth’s theory of attachment proposes that individuals develop different attachment styles based on early relationships with parents, which has implications for emotional well-being. Nolen-Hoeksema’s response style theory is based on the premise that people can respond to a depressive mood by either ruminating or distracting themselves. This quantitative study included a nonexperimental design and secondary data that was collected from 628 adolescents who just completed seventh and 10th grade. Results indicated that there was not a significant relationship between secure attachments and depression, however co-rumination was a significant predictor of depression. Findings in this study are consistent with previous research that co-rumination among adolescents can lead to depression. Implications for positive social change indicates that it may be beneficial to teach adolescents problem solving strategies to decrease co-rumination among adolescents’ friendship dyads.

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