The Attachment Of Adolescents With Emotional Disorder And Related Family Factors

ObjectiveTo explore attachment characteristics of adolescents with emotional disorder and the relationship between attachment characteristics and family factors. So as to provide reference to the optimization of family environment and improvement of adolescents’ emotional problems.MethodsOne hundred adolescents with emotional disorder and their parents were from outpatient and impatient of Child Mental Health Research Center of Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University and compared with100gender-and age-matched controls from primary and middle schools in Nanjing. General demographic information inventory..Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR),Adol-escent Attachment Questionnaire and Egma Minnen av Bardndosnauppforstran (EMB U),the Chinese Version of Family Environment Scale (FES) were administered to all subjects.Results(1)Emotional disorder testees had lower scores on family proximity, friend proximity and higher scores on family negativity than the normal controls [(12.84±3.63)vs.(15.03±3.02),(14.39±3.83)vs.(15.45±3.12),(12.20±3.44)vs.(10.77±3.05),all P<0.01],the rest showed no significant difference between the two groups (all P>0.05).(2)There were statistically significances in paternal attachment avoidance [(4.59±0.68)vs.(3.77±0.62)], paternal attachment anxiety [(4.29±0.91)vs.(3.39±0.86)]; maternal attachment avoidance [(4.55±0.72)vs.(3.85±0.62)] and anxiety [(4.05±0.81)vs.(3.42±0.79),all P＜0.01] of two groups.(3)There were statistically differences among emotioal warmth and undstanding of parents,preference for testees of paternal between two groups[(45.09±10.87)vs.(52.60±11.07),(50.00±1.74)vs.(56.60±1.01),(10.91±3.20)vs.(9.98±3.27),all P<0.01].the rest showed no significant difference between the two groups (all P>0.05)(4)Adolescents with emotional disorder showed lower scores in cohesion,expressive-ness,achievement orientation,intellectual cultural orientation,active recreational orie-ntation and organization of FES than control group[(4.98±3.06)vs.(7.36±2.21),(4.49±2.06)vs.(5.08±1.72),(5.02±1.86)vs.(5.91±1.64),(3.44±2.09)vs.(4.76±2.23),(2.91±2.56)vs.(4.11±2.36),(4.19±1.94)vs.(5.77±1.60),all P<0.01].However,adolescents with emotional disorder showed higher scores in conflict of FES than control group [(5.08±2.40)vs.(2.74±2.16),P<0.01].(5)Regression analysis showed that the total scores of family proximity was postively associated with the scores of emotioal warmth and undstanding of maternal,cohesion (β=0.444,0.485,Ps<0.05);the total scores of family negativity was postively associated with the scores of rejection and deny of maternal,conflict,achievement orientation and negatively associated with the scores of expressiveness(β=0.537,0.237,0.256,-0.263,Ps<0.05);the total scores of family dependence was postively associated with the scores of emotioal warmth and undstanding of maternal,cohesion (β=0.455,0.361,Ps<0.05);the total scores of family anxiety was postively associated with the scores of maternal attachment anxiety and negatively associated with the scores of preference for testees of maternal(β=-0.236,0.381,Ps<0.05);the total scores of friend proximity was postively associated with the scores of emotioal warmth and undstanding of paternal,over intervention and protection of maternal,conflict,and negatively associated with the scores of preference for testees of paternal(β=0.336,0.327,0.273,-0.229,Ps<0.05);the total scores of friend negativity was negativity associated with the scores of cohesion(β=-0.244,Ps<0.05);the total scores of friend dependence was postively associated with the scores of over intervention and protection of maternal and negatively associated with the scores of paternal attachment anxiety(β=0.310,-0.319,Ps<0.05);the total scores of friend anxiety was postively associated with the scores of over intervention and protection of maternal,achievement onentation(β=0.283?0.278,Ps<0.05).(6)Path analysis showed that there were paths from emotioal warmth and undstanding of paternal factor to proximity factor,emotioal warmth and undstanding of parental factor and over intervention and protection of maternal to cohesion factor,cohesion factor to proximity factor (path coefficients=-0.262-0.364,Ps<0.05).There were paths from rejection and deny of maternal factor to expressiveness factor, expressiveness factor to negativity factor (path coefficients=-0.514～-0.229,Ps<0.05).There were paths from emotioal warmth and undstanding of maternal factor to dependence factor(path coefficients=0.344,Ps<0.05).There were paths from over intervention and protection of maternal factor and preference for testees of maternal factor to anxiety factor (path coefficients=0.204-0.290,Ps<0.05).ConclusionsThe attachment festures of adolescents with emotional disorder may be different from those of normal ones;and the attachment of their parents were insecure attachment.In their family,there were poor parental rearing behaviors and family environment.The relationships among parental rearing behaviors and attachment and family environment were closely related.