The mediating role of vulnerability factors in the association between attachment and internalizing/externalizing problems

Recent research indicates that secure attachment is a protective factor against the development of internalizing / externalizing behavioral problems (Laible et al., 2000), while the role of insecure attachment is more controversial, raising the question of potential mediating variables (Brumariu & Kerns, 2010). In literature it emerges how Blatt’s two-configurational model (self-definition and relatedness) correlates on the one hand with the attachment (Luyten & Blatt, 2011; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007), and on the other with the internalizing / externalizing spectrum (e.g. Campos, Besser, Morgado, & Blatt, 2014). This research has explored the mediation effects of relatedness (dependency) an…

Childhood maltreatment, personality vulnerability profiles, and borderline personality disorder symptoms in adolescents.

AbstractAdverse childhood experiences are significant risk factors in the development of adolescent borderline personality disorder symptoms (BPDs). Theorists have posited that two personality vulnerabilities factors, self-criticism and dependency, may inform our understanding of this relationship. However, no research has examined the associations between early negative experiences, personality vulnerabilities, and adolescent BPDs. The current study aimed to identify profiles of dependency and self-criticism to examine the associations of these profiles with cumulative forms of childhood maltreatment (CM) and BPDs as well as to explore the mediating and moderating role of vulnerable person…

The Relationship between Self-Esteem, Depression and Anxiety: Comparing Vulnerability and Scar Model in the Italian Context

Abstract Background: The relationship between low self-esteem and depression and anxiety disorders has solicited a growing body of empirical research. The most important explanation models are two: the vulnerability model states that low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression and anxiety, and the scar model states that low self-esteem is an outcome, not a cause, of depression and anxiety. Method: In the present research we tested the two different models using a sample of Italian preadolescent, aged 11 to 14 years, recruited from an Italian secondary school. To test the models, the path analysis technique was used: one in which self-esteem predicted anxiety and depression (Model 1), an…

Psychometric properties and clinical applicability of the deq-a in the assessment of adolescent personality

In line with the “two-polarities models” of personality development, Blatt (2008) proposed a “twoconfigurations” model, suggesting that self-definition and relatedness are two fundamental psychological dimensions useful in evaluating the vulnerability factors for psychopathology in adolescence. Based on the adult version of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, Blatt and colleagues (1992) developed the DEQ for Adolescents (DEQ-A).

The Italian version of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ): psychometric properties and a contribution to validation on students, community, and clinical groups

The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Italian validation of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), conceived as a measure of self-criticism and dependency, i.e. two personality factors acting, according to Blatt (2004), as risk factors for depression in particular and psychopathology in general. A series of standardized measures [Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), DEQ, Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, 3rd edition (MCMI-III)] was administered to three samples (i.e., students, community and clinical). Factorial validity was evaluated along with convergent and predictive validity. In order to evaluate the reliability…

SELF-CRITICISM AND DEPENDENCY IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATTACHMENT STYLES AND SUICIDE-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN ADOLESCENCE

The relationship between attachment styles and internalizing/externalizing problems: the mediating role of self-criticism

Many recent studies have explored the potential links between attachment style dimensions, personality vulnerability factors for psychopathology, and psychological and behavioral problems, particularly those along the internalizing and externalizing spectrum. However, previous studies have not examined these links within a structural equation model that can examine multiple predictors and outcomes, and therefore have not fully investigated the specificity of links between these factors. This cross-sectional study examined the mediating role of self-criticism in the relationship between attachment style dimensions and internalizing and externalizing problems. The sample included 420 nonclini…

Self-criticism, dependency, and borderline adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing problems