Cross Cultural Relationships of Depression, Attachment Styles, and Quality of Romantic Relationships: Cultural Difference between Taiwanese/Chinese and American College Students

Abstract

Relationship quality has been determined to be a positive factor in the treatment of depression (Brown, 2000; Fagan, 2009). Although the importance of marriage has been broadly studied, little research has investigated correlations among relationship quality, depressive moods, and attachment styles. Although the prevalence of depressive moods has been documented within populations of Taiwanese/Chinese international students and American college students (Wei et al., 2007), Wang and Mallinckrodt (2006) found that definitions of ideal attachment differ in these groups. Furthermore, researchers have not yet investigated the effect of cultural differences and attachment styles on the interactions between relationship quality and depressive moods among Taiwanese and Chinese international students. I would especially like to express appreciation to my dissertation chair, Dr. Jeffrey Daniels, for your support, time, and effort. I have learned a great deal from you about writing literature reviews, methodology development, and conducting dissertation research. I would also like to thank Dr. James Bartee for providing support, consultation, and training me to be a more advanced, flexible, and self-aware clinician. You have shown me the significant impact of positive regard, dedication, and genuineness. I would like to thank Dr. D. J. Hendricks for your tremendous assistance and guidance on the statistical analyses for this project. With your assistance, I was able to extend my understanding of more statistical analyses and interpretation of the results. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Daniel Hursh, for your feedback, support, and encouragement in the later development of this dissertation. I am so blessed to have had you on my committee. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Monica Leppma, for providing detailed feedback to my writing and helpful comments to the study. Thank you for your time and effort in the process as well as to the many other professors not mentioned here. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution and express my appreciation to the faculty and staff in the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling, and Counseling Psychology. Special thanks to Vicki Railing, who has been exceptionally helpful in assisting me with administrative issues throughout the completion process of my dissertation. I appreciate the teaching, training, and guidance from every faculty member in the Counseling Psychology program at West Virginia University, who has trained me well, challenged me, and encouraged me to strengthen my skills and integrate my cultural background into my professional and personal journey as a psychologist-in-training. And last, but certainly not least, many thanks go out to Margalit Persing, who edited this dissertation. I will take the lessons I have learned from all of you with me as I start my professional life. v