The mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation on attachment styles of adolescents with conduct disorders

Abstract

Adolescence is a period of achieving emotion regulation skills. One of the main responsibilities of adolescents is to learn adaptive emotion regulation and personal autonomy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation in the attachment styles of adolescents with conduct disorders. This was a cross-sectional and correlational study. The study consisted of 105 adolescent residing in detention centers in the southeast of Iran using multi-stage random sampling. Data were collected using various questionnaires such as the Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment-Revised (IPPA-R), the Difficulties of Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Information was analyzed using path analysis. The results show parental attachment and difficulties in emotion regulation significantly contribute to the prediction of conduct problems. A sense of alienation causes conduct disorders through disturbance in emotional regulation, but trust and communication with parents are only indirectly related to conduct disorders by disturbances in emotional regulation. As attachment is closely correlated with emotional regulation and difficulties in emotion regulation also lead to the conduct disorders, it is suggested to train emotion regulation in adolescents and their families with the aim of shaping relationships that will lead to the formation of a secure attachment style in the child.

Parenting Factors and Emotion Regulation among Asian Adolescents: A Systematic Review

“…In addition, no relationship was found between avoidance in both parents, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression. A study by Yaghoubipoor et al (2019) discovered that Iranian juveniles reported a reduction in the difficulties of emotion regulation (e.g., acceptance of emotional awareness and limited access to emotion regulation strategies) when there is an increased sense of trust and a decreased sense of alienation from their parents.…”

Interpersonal trust in adolescents with psychiatric disorders and borderline pathology

“…Two studies included in the review did not find significant associations between trust and anxiety (20,27). In terms of links between interpersonal trust and externalizing pathology in adolescents with mental illness, Clarke and colleagues' review (19) identified some studies that did not observe significant associations between interpersonal trust and conduct disorder, externalizing problems, or delinquency (20,(28)(29)(30), and other studies that did observe significant associations (31,32). Overall, studies included in Clarke and colleagues' review (19) point to strongest links between depressive symptomology and interpersonal trust beliefs among adolescents with mental illness, but also highlight a notable need for further examination of interpersonal trust beliefs in adolescent psychiatric populations.…”