Attachment-Based Support and Depression in Adult Child-Parent Dyads: The Role of Secure Base and Safe Haven

TL;DR

This study explores how support between adult children and aging parents affects depression, using attachment theory to understand emotional dynamics.

Contribution

The study introduces attachment-based support dynamics as predictors of depression in both adult children and aging parents.

Findings

Parents providing a secure base and safe haven reduced their own depressive symptoms.

Adult children's secure base support was linked to lower depression in themselves.

Safe haven support from adult children did not affect their own depression.

Abstract

The adult child-parent relationship is a key source of mutual support, promoting psychological well-being in both generations. This study examined the dynamics of support between adult children and their parents through an attachment framework, focusing on how two forms of attachment-based social support, secure base and safe haven, are associated with depressive symptoms in both generations. A total of 129 adult child-parent dyads (parents’ age: M = 69.63; adult children’s age: M = 42.02) participated. Multilevel modeling (MLM) was used to assess associations between depressive symptoms and attachment-based support dynamics. Results showed that parents’ provision of a safe haven and secure base was negatively associated with their own depressive symptoms, but not with their children’s. Adult children’s provision of a secure base, but not a safe haven, was negatively associated with their own depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that providing a secure base and safe haven may help parents preserve their parental role, enhancing resilience in older age and mitigating depression. Moreover, adult children’s provision of a secure base to aging parents may support their mental health by balancing the support of their parents’ autonomy with their own life goals.