Abstract
Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans together make up one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States. In 2011, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanics of Mexican origin accounted for 11 percent of the U.S. population. For the purposes of this study, we focus on a large subset of this demographic: those who have come directly from Mexico and have been living in the U.S. most of their lives or who were born in the United States of Mexican-born parents. Immigration and being of recent immigrant descent produce transitions that can be associated with numerous problems throughout the life span, depression being the most common (Mendes de Leon and Markides 1988), but also including anxiety, substance abuse, behavioral problems at home, work, and school, perceived or actual discrimination, and negative expectations of the future (Vega and Alegria 2001). Mexican Americans have a higher rate of depression (6.3%) than non-Hispanic white individuals (4.8%) (National Institute of Mental Health 2011). Despite this statistic, the subtypes of depression, notably anaclitic and introjective (Blatt 1974), have not been well studied among this population.
Anaclitic depression, also called dependency, is a depression focused mainly on interpersonal issues, such as helplessness and feelings of loss and abandonment. Introjective depression, also called self-criticism, is a depression arising from a harsh, punitive superego and is focused primarily on concerns about self-worth, feelings of failure, and guilt. The present study explored the depressive experience of the Mexican population from a developmental perspective, focusing on Blatt’s psychoanalytic dimensions of depressive experience. In addition, we considered the impact of gender, since women consistently score higher on measures of dependency (anaclitic depression) than men, while men tend to score higher on self-criticism (introjective depression; Chevron, Quinlan, and Blatt 1978; Reis and Grenyer 2002). Moreover, since the developmental origins of anaclitic and introjective depression are believed to be related to differences in attachment style (Blatt and Homann 1992), and since vulnerability to depression has been explained by attachment theory (Rice and Mirzadeh 2000; Roberts, Gotlib, and Kassel 1996), we also investigated attachment style. In short, we wanted to determine if attachment style and gender are related to the types of depression experienced by Mexican Americans.
Method
Research design
The study used a quantitative research method and a nonexperimental research design using Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to see whether the variables were related in ways that are consistent with the researchers’ expectations.
Hypotheses
(1) Securely attached Mexican Americans will score higher on efficacy and lower on anaclitic and introjective depression than those with insecure dismissing, insecure fearful, or insecure preoccupied attachment styles. (2) Fearful-avoidant attachment style is involved in the development of introjective depressive experiences. (3) Preoccupied attachment style is involved in the development of anaclitic depressive experiences. (4) Women are more likely than men to experience anaclitic depression, and men are more likely to experience introjective depression.
Participants
The sample consisted of 85 male and 88 female participants (N = 173). Participants were mostly from California, but there were also participants from Kansas, Minnesota, Texas, and Arizona who participated online. All were born either in the U.S. or in Mexico, but those born in Mexico were raised in the U.S. with both parents from Mexico. The age range for the sample was 18 to 74 years.
Measures
Participants completed, in person or online, English or Spanish versions of the following measures: a demographic questionnaire; the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D’Afflitti, and Quinlan 1976); the Relationship Scale Questionnaire (RSQ; Griffin and Bartholomew 1994); the Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, and Brown 1996); and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (ARSMA-II; Cuellar, Arnold, and Maldonado 1995).
Results
Results indicated that Mexican Americans with secure attachment style were less depressed (had lower scores on the BDI scale) than Mexican Americans with dismissing, fearful, and preoccupied attachment styles. However, on the DEQ, those with dismissing attachment style scored lower on anaclitic depression than those with secure attachment. Attachment style had a significant effect on the DEQ self-criticism subscale F (3,165) = 7.98, MSE = 9.03, p < .001, η2 = .13, and the dependency subscale, F (3,165) = 10.23, MSE = 5.80, p < .001, η2 = .15. Mexican Americans with secure attachment style (M = -0.65, SD = 1.03) scored lower on self-criticism than those with insecure preoccupied attachment (M = -0.13, SD = 1.11; p = .03), those with insecure dismissing attachment style (M = -0.01, SD = 1.11; p = .01), and those with insecure fearful attachment style (M = 0.46, SD = 1.06; p = .001). Mexican Americans with insecure preoccupied attachment style scored higher on dependency (M = -0.13, SD = 0.88) than Mexican Americans with insecure dismissing attachment style (M = -1.20, SD = 0.75) or insecure fearful attachment Style (M = -0.62, SD = 0.73; p = .05). There was no significant effect for attachment on the Efficacy subscale of the DEQ, but there was a significant effect of gender on dependency scores, F (1,165) = 8.97, MSE = 5.08, p = .003, with an effect size of 52%. Men scored significantly lower (M = -1.01, SD = 0.83) than women (M = -.62, SD = 0.80). Gender did not have a significant effect, however, on self-criticism scores. Generational status had a significant effect on acculturation, F (1,171) = 14.08, MSE = 12.00, p < .001, η2 = .07, and higher income levels were associated with lower depression scores. Findings indicate an interplay between attachment and adjustment among Mexican Americans. In addition, the results were discussed with emphasis on the need to interpret dependency issues differently in Mexican Americans than in Americans of European descent. Income level seemed to be a protective factor against depression among this population, regardless of other variables.
Overall, the findings showed that securely attached individuals had lower scores in anaclitic depression compared to preoccupied attached individuals; however, those with dismissing and fearful attachment style did not show a statistical difference. Dismissively attached individuals, while the means were not significant, had lower scores on anaclitic depression than those with secure attachment. In line with this study’s hypothesis 1, securely attached individuals had lower scores on introjective depression than those with insecure dismissing, fearful, or preoccupied attachment style. It therefore seems that secure attachment style can function as a protective factor for Mexican Americans with introjective depression, but not necessarily for those with anaclitic depression. Mexican Americans with preoccupied attachment style had higher scores on anaclitic depression than those with dismissing or fearful attachment style. This finding was in line with previous research. With regard to fearful attachment style and introjective depression, too, our hypothesis was confirmed by statistically significant results, as fearfully attached individuals had higher scores on introjective depression than those with the other insecure attachment styles. Findings regarding gender and anaclitic depression were in line with previous research on Americans of European descent, and women scored higher on anaclitic depression than men. However, with regard to introjective depression and gender, there was no significant difference between women and men.
Discussion
Anaclitic depression (dependency)
In line with previous research with the general U.S. population, Mexican Americans with secure attachment style had lower scores on dependency (anaclitic depression) than those with insecure attachment. Within the insecurely attached group, individuals with preoccupied attachment style showed a greater propensity for anaclitic depressive issues (Blatt 1974; Hazan and Shaver 1987; Reis and Grenyer 2002). This result can also accord with Mexican Americans being a more collective-oriented society where relationships are highly valued and individuals experience greater external pressure to meet others’ expectations and a need to belong and be accepted by others. Contrary to our prediction, however, those with dismissing or fearful attachment style showed no statistical differences on anaclitic depression compared to those with secure attachment style. There appeared to be no difference between how securely attached, dismissively attached, and fearfully attached individuals experience anaclitic depression. Collectivist societies foster interdependence, stable hierarchical roles (dependent on gender, family background, and age), and share property and engage in group ownership (Oyserman, Coon, and Kemmelmeier 2002). Our nonsignificant results might therefore be attributed to a well-established cultural factor. Because dependency is more valued in Latino culture, our results perhaps did not show significant differences between Mexican Americans with secure, fearful, or dismissing attachment style with regard to dependency, the characteristics of anaclitic depression being aligned with what is accepted in this culture.
Introjective depression (self-criticism)
Mexican Americans with secure attachment style had lower scores on self-criticism than those with any of the insecure styles, much as is the case with Americans of European descent. Individuals in our sample with insecure attachment style, however, were more prone to introjective depression than those with secure attachment style. Among the insecurely attached groups, individuals with fearful attachment style scored higher on self-criticism than those with dismissing or preoccupied styles. Our findings with Mexican Americans are in agreement with research showing that fearful attached individuals show a greater propensity for introjective depressive issues.
Efficacy
Results on this dimension of depressive experience, which focuses on the adaptive functioning of an individual, indicated no significant differences among the various attachment styles; that is, having secure attachment did not mean their functioning was more adaptive, nor was there any difference in the confidence they expressed in their capacity to cope with depression. However, Wang and Mallinckrodt (2006) have studied attachment patterns across cultures and concluded that secure attachment may have a different meaning for each culture. For instance, individuals from Taiwan reflected ideas of appropriate attachment involving more preoccupied attachment and avoidance in comparison to the secure attachment seen in the U.S. sample. Perhaps for Mexican Americans appropriate attachment involves characteristics that Americans of European descent see as more aligned with the concept of dependency than with the concept of efficacy.
Depressive experiences and gender
As expected, women scored higher on anaclitic depression than men. However, we found no significant differences between Mexican American men and women in terms of introjective depressive style. A possible explanation for this finding is a shift in gender roles among Mexican Americans. Gender roles and gendered identities are changing both in Mexico and within the Mexican American population in the United States. When men migrate to the United States and leave their wives in Mexico, women gain much more autonomy and power, as they make important familial decisions independently. Also, when both migrate, women need to work to provide for the family (Hondagneu-Sotelo 1994; Rouse 2007). Consequently, gender roles and power relations are often transformed in the United States to meet this need. By entering the workforce, women gain leverage in their families to participate equally with men in household decision making and become more financially independent. This gender shift would mean that men and women are now equally prone to introjective depression (self-criticism).
Clinical Implications
An important clinical implication of this study relates to the anaclitic depressive style in the Mexican American population. There are cultural factors that might change what previous findings have shown in the American population of European descent. For instance, there was no significant difference on dependency between individuals in our sample with secure attachment style and those with fearful or dismissing attachment style. Dependency is a factor that is weighted with issues of relatedness. Mexican Americans are a collectively oriented culture that focuses on relationships. It is therefore important to consider that perhaps for Mexican Americans appropriate attachment involves characteristics that Americans of European descent consider aligned with the concept of dependency. Thus, therapists should be more sensitive when using the concept of dependency with Mexican Americans, as dependency can be normative for them and attributed to a cultural factor. The focus should be more on healthy versus unhealthy dependency.