# 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.

## Key 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.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12763227