More secure attachment to the father and the mother is associated with fewer depressive symptoms in adolescents

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive characteristics of the study sample.

	Total		Boys		Girls		Sex differences
	n	%	n	%	n	%	Chi-square	P
Family constellation
Nuclear family	2590	64.9	1294	66.8	1296	63.2
Other family constellation	1398	35.1	643	33.2	755	36.8	5.720	0.017
Ethnicity
Scandinavian	3163	79.3	1514	78.2	1649	80.4
Non-Scandinavian	825	20.7	423	21.8	402	19.6	3.040	0.081
School year
9th grade	1777	44.6	869	44.9	908	44.3
11th grade	2211	55.4	1068	55.1	1143	55.7	0.141	0.707
	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	Z	P
Symptoms of depression	2.72	2.69	2.10	2.48	3.30	2.76	−14.71	<0.001
More secure attachment to the father	5.46	1.23	5.57	1.11	5.36	1.33	−3.623	<0.001
More secure attachment to the mother	5.75	1.04	5.67	0.96	5.82	1.11	−7.257	<0.001
Subjective socio-economic status	4.48	0.99	4.58	1.01	4.38	0.96	−6.063	<0.001

Table 2. Linear regression for more secure attachment to the father and the mother in relation to number of depressive symptoms.

		95% CI
Variable	B	Lower	Higher	P
Boys^a
More secure attachment to the father	−0.499	−0.608	−0.391	<0.001
More secure attachment to the mother	−0.532	−0.656	−0.407	<0.001
Parents not living together	0.107	−0.112	0.326	0.338
Non-Scandinavian ethnicity	0.673	0.428	0.917	<0.001
Subjective socio-economic status	−0.167	−0.269	−0.064	0.001
School year (ref. lower)	0.076	−0.126	0.278	0.460
Girls^b
More secure attachment to the father	−0.494	−0.586	−0.401	<0.001
More secure attachment to the mother	−0.623	−0.730	−0.516	<0.001
Parents not living together	0.089	−0.142	0.321	0.449
Non-Scandinavian ethnicity	0.451	0.183	0.719	0.001
Subjective socio-economic status	−0.337	−0.453	−0.222	<0.001
School year (ref. lower)	0.068	−0.146	0.282	0.534

^aAdjusted R² = 0.181.

^bAdjusted R² = 0.220.