A study of attachment styles and parental bonding in patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and depression

Abstract

Introduction: The present study aimed to compare attachment styles and parental bonding in patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and depression. The main hypothesis of the study was that the three clinical groups could be distinguished through attachment styles. Material and methods: This is a causal-comparative study. All the patients seeking treatment at public and private psychiatric clinics in Ardabil from September 2009 to February 2010 participated in the study. A sample of 38 patients diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), 36 patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and 36 patients diagnosed with depression responded the questions in the questionnaires on attachment style Brennan, Clark, and Shaver, parental bonding Parker, Tupling, and Brown, anxiety and depression Beck and Steer. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey test. Results: The findings revealed significant differences among the three clinical groups using attachment style and parental bonding (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that three attachment styles from among the preoccupied and dismissing attachment styles correlated with anxiety and temperamental disorders also, attachment style was rarely reported.

Keywords

• parents
• obsessive-compulsive disorder
• anxiety
• depressive disorder