Self-reported attachment style, anxiety, and depression in children

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between se lf-reported attachment styles, on the one hand, and levels of anxiety sympt oms and depression, on the other hand, in a sample of 12-year-old children (N = 91). Children completed a simplified version of Hazan and Shaver's (19 87) single-item measure of attachment style and self-report measures of anx iety and depression. Results showed that 20.9% of the children classified t hemselves as insecure (i.e., avoidantly or ambivalently) attached. Furtherm ore, it was found that insecurely attached children had elevated levels of anxiety symptoms and depression compared to securely attached children.