Childhood Attachment and Behavioral Inhibition: Links to Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Young Adulthood.

• In Event: Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is an under-treated yet prevalent and debilitating psychopathology. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), the tendency to react negatively to uncertain situations, is an important cognitive vulnerability and precursor for GAD, but, like GAD, little is also known about its etiology (Carleton et al., 2012). Developing IU at an early age can negatively impact an individual throughout life, since daily life is full of uncertain situations. Daily uncertainty has skyrocketed for many during this global pandemic. Being unable to cope with uncertainty puts an individual at risk of constant worry and anxiety, particularly GAD. Therefore, identifying early risk factors for the development of IU and GAD would not only contribute to their etiological model, but also to the identification of potential targets for early intervention.

Insecure attachment, specifically disorganized controlling and ambivalent attachment types, has long been proposed as a childhood risk factor for IU and GAD (Dugas et al., 2004). Similarly, temperament, particularly behavioral inhibition (BI) - characterized by negative reactions to uncertainty and unfamiliarity - was proposed as a risk factor for IU, and is consistently associated with anxiety disorders, including GAD (Hudson & Rapee, 2004). However, one study to date has empirically linked early attachment and BI to IU (Zdebik et al., 2018) and none have yet examined both their links to GAD. The present study’s objective is to examine longitudinal effects of attachment and BI in childhood on the development of GAD in young adulthood, while controlling for personality and maternal anxiety.

Participants are 60 Canadian children taking part, with their mothers, in a longitudinal study. At age 6, participants were classified as having a ‘secure’, ‘avoidant’, ‘ambivalent’, ‘disorganized controlling’ or ‘behaviorally disorganized’ attachment to their caregiver, using a separation-reunion procedure (Main & Cassidy, 1992). Children’s BI was also assessed with an observational measure at age 6 (Zdebik, 2018). Mothers completed the anxiety scale of the Symptoms Checklist 90-Revised (Derogatis, 1994) when participants were age 14. At age 21, participants completed the Intolerance of Uncertainty scale short form (Carleton et al, 2007). GAD has been measured at age 23 using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (Spitzer et al. 2006). Structural equation modeling was used to test direct and indirect pathways linking attachment and BI with GAD, while controlling for maternal anxiety. IU mediates the relationships between behavioral inhibition and GAD (0 ∉ 0.015; 0.293). The mediation is complete, as the direct effect of behavioral inhibition on GAD is no longer significant in the final model. Furthermore, attachment groups ambivalent (0 ∉ 0.031; 0.323) and disorganized controlling (0 ∉ 0.025; 0.285) are also indirectly associated with increased GAD symptoms via greater IU scores. Also, a direct and positive effect of BehD attachment was found on GAD symptoms. This study is the first to examine the links between attachment and BI in childhood and the development of IU and GAD in emerging adulthood over a 17-year span.

Authors

• Magdalena A. Zdebik, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)
  Presenting Author

• Katherine Pascuzzo, Université de Sherbrooke
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ellen Moss, Université du Québec à Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author