Parenting Journal · Volume 1 · Issue 1 · Licensed source edition
The Relation Between Attachment and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis
Originally published 2020-03-01 · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review
Springer Science and Business Media LLC · DOI 10.1007/s10567-019-00299-9 ↗
Editorial reading guide · Trust
How does relationship security relate to young people’s emotional wellbeing?
This synthesis extends the Trust theme into later childhood and adolescence by examining the association between attachment to primary caregivers and depressive symptoms.
Who was studied?
123 independent samples contributing 643 effect sizes
Age / stage: Children and adolescents
Read with three questions
- How were attachment security and depression measured?
- Which study and sample characteristics moderated the association?
- Why is a risk association different from proof that changing attachment prevents depression?
Keep the limits in view
The meta-analysis establishes an association, not a causal mechanism. Measurement, study design and national context varied; attachment is not a substitute for assessment or treatment of depression.
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Original authorship, publication date, journal and DOI are preserved. This issue’s TRICK placement and reading questions are editorial additions, not claims made by the original authors.
Anouk Spruit; Linda Goos; Nikki Weenink; Roos Rodenburg; Helen Niemeyer; Geert Jan Stams; Cristina Colonnesi (2020). The Relation Between Attachment and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00299-9
Permissions checked against the saved article notice; repository publication notices screened 2026-11-04. This is not a new peer-review decision. The source authors and publishers are not represented as endorsing this issue.