The Relationship between the Presence of Depression and Attachment Styles of Mothers with Autistic Children

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the presence of depression and various socio-demographic characteristics and attachment styles of mothers with autistic children. The research was descriptive and correlational in design. One hundred fifty-six mothers were included in the study. A sociodemographic characteristics information form, the Experiences in Close Relationship Inventory (ECRI), and the Beck Depression Inventory were used as the data collection tools. The mean depression score of the participating mothers was 10.86 ± 7.92. The study findings showed that the majority of mothers developed preoccupied-style attachment to their children.

Keywords:

• Attachment
• depression
• parenting
• mother

Acknowledgements

No financial support was received for the research. The authors would like to thank all the mothers who participated in this study.

Authors contribution

All authors collected the research data. F.A., assisted by S.T. and A.S.T., designed the study and analyzed the data. F.A. drafted the manuscript, and S.T. and A.S.T. critically revised the manuscript and approved the final version.

Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors.