ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH: PARENTAL ATTACHMENT RELATIONSHIPS AND NEGATIVE AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS AS VULNERABILITY FACTORS
Attachment and cognitive theories have been independently used to understand the development of maladaptive working models of self and others and the role it plays on the mental health of adolescents. Few studies have however, considered the interplay of both theories in a single study. This study fills the gap by examining the relationship between parental attachment relationships (maternal and paternal), negative automatic thoughts and mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) of adolescents. Additionally, the study examines the indirect effect of maternal and paternal attachment relationships on mental health via negative automatic thoughts of adolescents. A total of 1018 school-going adolescents across four regions of Malaysia and aged between 14 and 17 years (mean =15, Sd. =1.01) were recruited using proportional to size cluster sampling. Results of structural equation modelling analysis indicated a direct link between maternal and paternal attachment relationships to anxiety. Only maternal attachment was found to have a direct relationship to depression, whereas paternal attachment had an indirect link via negative automatic thoughts. Both maternal and paternal attachment relationships were found to have indirect relationships to stress via negative automatic thoughts. The study concludes that parental attachment and negative automatic thoughts play significant role in the development of adolescent’s mental health. Including aspects related to secure parent-adolescent attachment relationships and positive automatic thoughts in any prevention and intervention efforts for promoting better mental health of adolescents is ostensibly essential.