RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DEPRESSION AND ATTACHMENT STYLES IN PARENT-REARED AND INSTITUTION-REARED TURKISH CHILDREN

The present study, using a sample of Turkish children, aimed to test t wo attachment-theory predictions: (a) institution-reared children who were separated from their parents at an early age are less likely to h ave secure attachment schemata than children from two-parent families, and (b) depressive schemata are positively related to insecure attach ment schemata and negatively related to secure attachment schemata. Fo llowing a systems-theory perspective, we also predicted that the relat ionship between depression and attachment styles would be stronger for institution-reared children than for children from two-parent familie s. Hazan and Shaver's (1987) attachment-style items and the Beck Depre ssion Inventory were administered to 20 institution-reared and 20 pare nt-reared boys by a female interviewer. The results supported the firs t two predictions of the study.