Link of dysfunctional attitudes with the negative self-model

BACKGROUND: Beck’s cognitive theory postulates that dysfunctional attitudes predisposing to depression are formed by early negative experiences. Meanwhile, Bowlby’s attachment theory contends that distorted working models built through insecure attachment relationships lead to various psychopathologies such as depression. The present study examined the correlations of dysfunctional attitudes about achievement, dependency, and self-control with working models of the self and other, and tried to promote understanding of those dysfunctional attitudes from an attachment perspective. METHODS: The subjects were 591 Japanese healthy volunteers. Dysfunctional attitudes about achievement, dependency, and self-control were evaluated by the corresponding subscales of the 24-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, and working models of the self and other were assessed by the relationship scales questionnaire. RESULTS: The scores of the achievement (β = −0.26, P < 0.001), dependency (β = −0.41, P < 0.001), and self-control (β = −0.14, P < 0.01) subscales had negative correlations with the self-model score, suggesting the connections of all clusters of dysfunctional attitudes with the negative self-model. The score of the dependency subscale (β = 0.21, P < 0.001) had a positive correlation with the other-model score, suggesting the connection of this cluster of dysfunctional attitudes with the positive other-model. Meanwhile, the scores of the achievement (β = −0.17, P < 0.001) and self-control (β = −0.13, P < 0.01) subscales had negative correlations with the other-model score, suggesting the connections of these clusters of dysfunctional attitudes with the negative other-model. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that dysfunctional attitudes as a whole are linked with the negative self-model built through negative attachment experiences, while the content specificity of each cluster is related to the differential correlations with the other-model. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12991-016-0098-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.