Maladaptive Perfectionism and Ineffective Coping as Mediators Between Attachment and Future Depression: A Prospective Analysis

This study used a longitudinal design to examine whether maladaptive perfectionism and ineffective coping served as 2 mediators of the relation between adult attachment and future depression. Data were collected from 372 undergraduates at 2 time points. Results indicated that (a) the impact of attachment on future depression was mediated through future maladaptive perfectionism and ineffective coping, (b) ineffective coping mediated the relation between maladaptive perfectionism and depression, and (c) maladaptive perfectionism and ineffective coping influenced each other at 1 point in time and across time, and, in turn, both variables contributed to depression. A bootstrap procedure was used to estimate the significance of these indirect effects. About 60% of the variance in future depression was explained in the final model. Future research, counseling implications, and limitations of the present study are discussed.