ICAP 2014 Abstract

Health Psychology / Psychologie de la santé

ICAP14-ABS2903

Long-term inclusion in high-avoidant individuals as a depression regulator: Investigation of perceived social exclusion and inclusion over a three-month period

Tsubasa Izaki ^1,*Taishi Kawamoto ¹Mitsuhiro Ura ²Keiko Ogawa ¹

¹Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, ²Department of Psychology, Otemon Gakuin University, Ibaraki, Japan

Abstract:  

  Avoidance, a sub-dimension of attachment style, has a positive correlation with the common mental illness of depression. Although depression has been shown to be increased by long-term exclusion, it is conceivable that depression is increased by long-term inclusion in high-avoidant individuals because they cannot adequately react to such social inclusion. In this study, we measured perceived social exclusion and inclusion experiences over the previous three months, and investigated whether long-term exclusion and inclusion moderate the relationship between avoidant attachment and depression.

  Participants were divided into high- and low-avoidant groups. Analyses indicated that in low-avoidant participants, depression had a positive correlation with long-term exclusion and no correlation with long-term inclusion. Conversely, in high-avoidant participants, depression had a negative correlation with long-term inclusion and no correlation with long-term exclusion. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that in low-avoidant participants, the higher the perceived long-term exclusion, the higher the level of depression. However, in high-avoidant participants, depression did not change long-term exclusion levels. Conversely, in high-avoidant participants, the higher the perceived long-term inclusion, the lower the level of depression. However, in low-avoidant participants, depression did not change long-term inclusion levels.

  Initially, we predicted that depression would be increased by long-term inclusion in high-avoidant individuals. However, it was demonstrated that long-term inclusion decreased depression. Although this was different from our prediction, current findings suggest that depression is influenced by long-term exclusion in low-avoidant individuals, but on long-term inclusion in high-avoidant individuals.

Keywords: attachment avoidancedepressionlong-term exclusionlong-term inclusion