Women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) are at risk for depressive symptoms, and an insecure attachment style may account for this relationship. Attachment insecurity may lead to depressive symptoms because it guides individuals to process information in a way that is congruent with their negative internal working models. A woman's history of interpersonal trauma, such as prior IPV or childhood maltreatment (CM), may also influence this process, as memories of prior trauma may be recalled when making sense of abuse in the present. The current study examined attachment style as a mechanism to depressive symptoms for women currently in abusive relationships. Information processing deficits (i.e., attention and implicit interpretation bias) were tested as mediators between attachment insecurity and depressive symptoms. Finally, the effects of interpersonal trauma history on attachment style and resulting information processing biases were examined. A sample of undergraduate women (n = 301) completed self-report measures as well as attention and interpretation bias tasks. Findings from structural equation modeling indicated that attachment insecurity fully mediated the effects of CM and current IPV on depressive symptoms; this effect was driven by attachment anxiety, rather than attachment avoidance. Implicit negative interpretations about self partially accounted for the relationship between attachment insecurity and depression. Attention bias did not emerge as a significant mediator. Findings suggest that unconscious negative perceptions of self are one mechanism through which attachment anxiety results in depressive symptoms for women experiencing IPV. Further, a history of CM contributes to greater attachment insecurity and negative interpretation biases in adult women, increasing their risk for depressive symptoms.
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